MUCH ADO ABOUT LONG WEEKEND

Dear boredom and homesickness,

I hate you both.

I’m sick and tired of entertaining you.

always,

-docgelo.😀

FYI, long weekend in Penang started last Thursday night for Hindus’ Deepavali or Festivities of Lights was celebrated yesterday, Friday. Of course, our work resumes Monday so it follows I need not to spoil the 3-day-break.

Initially, my friends and I planned to go to Singapore and explore the Lion City via train from Penang;  don’t ask me why but it didn’t push through. 😦

Then one of us suggested to just stay within Malaysia and experience the island of Langkawi; too bad all ferry trips and hotel accomodations were fully booked. 😦

Worst,  3 of my housemates were all out –two of them went home to Manila; one of them chose to spend his birthday alone in an undisclosed place for the duration of our break, and the other one came home late at past 1AM 2 days ago after he attended a medical mission facilitated by our company.

Needless to say, I was absolutely bound to be home alone last Thursday evening.

After 6 years of being with my wife+kid  physically every single night and day before I became an expat, it dawned on me that I find it difficult to be alone.  Perhaps, I may be able to tolerate such in due time.

So after work last Thursday, I decided to go straight to Penang Island; went  to Queensbay Mall (the largest and the most welcoming mall in Penang) and did little shopping…

• bought some non-Halal supplies : ham, bacon and Spam lite for baon next week
• a baseball cap from GAP winked at me so I gave in. 🙂
• A 360-thread count King-sized bed sheet set in black from AKEMIuchi on sale with 70% discount
• 2 shirts on sale from a certain boutique
• and of course, phone calls to Tina and Gabby comforted my lonely evening.
• I also bought something to remind me of my most favorite holiday…

The kid in me kicks in and I put him beside my other pillows…

Now, Santa and Woody serve as my company whenever Tina+Gabby end call in Skype. 😀

Friday came and docRonnie (my housemate who came home late from Med Mission) and I went again to where else but Queensbay Mall. With our backpacks & laptops in tow, we spent the entire afternoon at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Two more colleagues came to join us–docJhoram & docAnna.

Before I savored CBTL’s Cafe Americano, chicken pie and yogurt parfait, I thought of resuming my old forgotten on-and-off habit of reading paperbacks.  So I went to the basement of the mall and at a bookstore called Popular, I purchased Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol.

After reading Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code long before they were shown on screen, it’s only now that I am following again Robert Langdon’s adventures.

It’s Saturday and we’re here again at the same coffee shop of our favorite mall, doing the same thing we did yesterday but certainly I am neither bored nor that homesicked.

I’d like to think it’s only mind over matter, is it not?

———————————————–o