Ten Years Ago ...

I met up with a very dear friend of mine, Dor, over the weekend. She recently came back to Penang for good after working in Sabah for a few years. It was really good seeing her again, especially now that she's expecting (by the way, four months along, and not a bump in sight??? Are you sure you're pregnant ah??).

We had such a good time reminiscing about the good 'ol times (we've known each other since Standard 4!), and how it's been ten years since we've left secondary school.

Gosh. It's been ten years since I've left secondary school. Where has the time gone?

I can still remember what life was like ten years ago. It all seemed like yesterday ...

• Going to McDonalds for a meal and to catch up with friends was a luxury.
• Being envious of friends who can drive ("wahhh you got lesen already ah? Terror man!"), and feeling so proud to be in a car of a friend who's the same age as you, and driving without an adult present.
• Wearing makeup only meant that you're going to go on stage.
• Ringing up huge telephone bills because I was up all night chatting with my girls on no particular subject (Mobile phone? Hello, what mobile phone?).
• It was cool bringing a boom-box to school on Teacher's Day, Speech Day, Whatever Day, and dancing to music with moves which will make you cringe now.
• Lasting on a RM2 per weekday allowance was no problem at all (there would still be spare cash left at the end of the week for shopping).
• Not being able to talk to boys because I get all tongue-tied, flushed, and ended up making a fool of myself most of the time.
• Getting burnt under the sun whilst marching in a Red Crescent uniform was no problem for me (I'm too vain to get all dark again like before now :p)
• Not burdened with tuition classes on every subject under the sun, and still being able to pass my SPM examinations.
• Having a group of very close friends whom you can talk and share about anything in the world with, and they'll still wanna be with you regardless.

Even though life's no longer as simple as before, I'm still thankful to God that my bestest friends are still the ones who remain with me from secondary school. Even though we live in different continents, I'm so glad that our friendship still remained.

Chin, May, Dor, you girls have been the pillars of my life for so many years now, and I'm so glad you still are. I love you.


So ... what was life like for you ten years ago?