The Road to 40 Day 247/365: Walkaround Sunday

It was one of those “let’s see what happens” days as Vino was going to attend another birthday party.

Unlike in the Philippines or Vietnam where the adults stay while the kids partied, Singapore parents leave their kids and just come back for them at a certain time. Knowing this, Che said she’ll stay behind and clean up a bit while I go with Vino to the party.

Personally, I felt a bit overwhelmed when seeing all the mess we have at home.

I’ve been at home for most of the week longer than Che, but I haven’t gotten to unpacking our bags from the holidays. Now, there’s an even bigger mess as the bags are piling up on the dining table.

Whenever I see all the things, my mind goes to trying to fix them in my head, but that gets me tired, and I end up doing nothing about it. Meanwhile, Che is more of an action person in that sense, as she would zero in on the mess and won’t stop until everything is in order.

We had delivery food for lunch, then Vino and I went off. It was near the Singapore Stadium, so we took a cab. I hung around a bit because there was practically nothing nearby.

They had some kind of camp master, who organized the kids in a certain way so that they could all play.

After watching them play for a bit, I decided to leave so that Vino wouldn’t be uneasy with me watching. They are at an age where they would make fun of each other for the smallest things. I know, because I was a boy at his age once.

I didn’t have a plan. There was the Kallang Wave Mall nearby, but I didn’t want to go there and sit at a shop alone. I wanted to be more productive, so I decided to explore the area.

I saw in the maps that I could walk to Guillemard Road, where Steph and James stay. I didn’t tell them I might drop by because I was thinking I’d just walk to wherever.

Che asked me to go to a mall to find something, though, so I made that into my destination. Along the way, I bumped into a good friend I haven’t seen for quite a while, EJ. He was wondering why he saw me in his neighborhood, and I explained that I’m just passing the time.

According to my Strava, I walked about 4.5 kilometers in a little over an hour. I walked the whole stretch of Geylang and saw a lot of gatherings in parks and other open spaces. It was an adventure, and more lively than the sights I see on weekday mornings.

I got Che’s stuff and went to pick up Vino from the party. They were still eating, so I hung out with one of the dads, who was our neighbor from our last house here in Singapore.

We caught up a bit about life and how things are in the condo we stayed at before. Apparently, it’s been quieter compared to when we were there. The kids are a bit older now, so they’re not swimming together as much as they did before. He stopped drinking alcohol already, and our Japanese friend is already based in Cambodia.

I guess it’s not as lively as it was before, but he said he welcomes it, since he likes staying in with his family.

We agreed on some parenting principles, and we hoped the boys might be teammates in football in the future.

Meanwhile, Che has been sending updates of her hypercharged home cleanup while alone. She did laundry, cleaned up the bags, and cleaned up the rooms.

I asked if she wanted takeaway food, but she said she cooked pasta so we just have to go back home.

Vino was still full, so it was just Che and me who got to eat dinner on time. We were all tired for the day, but Che and I managed to finally finish Taxi Driver Season 2 to end the night.

She’ll be away for most of the week starting tomorrow, so she made sure that everything is organized before she leaves. I’ll try to clean it up more so that she won’t get stressed when she comes back from her trip.