#taking it easy this morning because I had a 14-hour day amusement park day yesterday

[adventures-with-aspen]

[eleanorbloom]

First Date (Aurora Emery x MC)

Disclaimer: The characters of this story, except Rosalía, belong to Pixelberry.

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Aurora Emery x f! MC (Rosalía Muñoz)

Warnings: Fluff, discussions of coming out, maybe some slight homophobia Rated: T

Word Count: 2.9k

Prompts: Day 7 of CFWC Female Characters Week, "Women In Love". Also, Day 14 of @choicesmonthlychallenge "Moonlight".

Summary: Aurora and Rosalía go on their first date after both confessed their feelings.

Author’s Note: This story follows the events of my first fanfic Until I Met You. This is not intended to be a series, but probably all my Aurora's fics will revolve around this premise story. Maaaaybe one day I'll do some rewrites, maybe not. Either way, I hope you enjoy this!

PS: I didn't proof read this, so forgive me the mess, probably I'll fix it later.

Taglist: @romereadingshop @starrystarrytrouble @penda-bear @queenelianar @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations @julia-highstorms

______

It was dark when Rosalía got out of bed, and beautifully quiet. Just a murmur of some cars passing by a few blocks from there, and no major movements in the apartment.

She had woken up early to leave for the hospital with Aurora, just as she used to do before starting to avoid her.

Rosalía couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the night before. Aurora confessing her feelings, reciprocating hers. Their first kiss and all the kisses that followed after. All the sweet words, the words of reaffirmation, the promises, the doubts.

Even the unknown didn’t seem so scary now that their affections were mutual.

The lights in the kitchen were on when she approached with her bag on her shoulder, ready to leave for the hospital. Aurora was there, at the counter with two travel mugs in front of her, putting a teabag in the purple one before carefully pouring boiling water on it.

Rosalía smiled, relishing in the beautiful view she had in front of her. How lucky she was for being able to do this freely now.

When Aurora noticed her staring from the corner of her eye, she glanced up and blushed instantly, “Oh, hey.”

"Good morning," Rosalía said, leaving her bag in a stool before approaching Aurora.

"Morning Rosie, I have your coffee ready," Aurora replied and pointed to the white floral mug next to the purple one.

"Thank you. Glad to be back on this routine,” she whispered, looking intently at her.

Aurora gave her a shy smile before putting the kettle back on the stove, “Yeah, me too.”

As Rosalía sensed slight nervousness in her words, she walked toward her and took her hand in hers, "Having second thoughts?"

“No. Why do you ask?”

“You seem… Nervous.”

The taller woman released a shaky breath before responding, “Well, I am, a bit."

“Why?”

"Because I…"Aurora bit her lower lip, pondering her words. This was never easy for her, but somehow it was a lot simpler with Rosalía. To open up. "Because I like you so much and I don't wanna screw it up."

“How could you screw it up? We're just starting.”

She shook her head, "It's just… I'm not used to this. It's not personal, with James it took me some time to… get accustomed to the idea of dating someone after not doing it for years. And with you is completely different because I've wanted you for so long and I have actual feelings for you so… This really feels something new to me, besides the whole 'I've never been with a girl before', it's… Scary not knowing what to do."

Rosalía gave her a sweet smile before caressing her cheek with her thumb, "Oh, gorgeous, you're not going to screw it up just because you don't know what to do or you're new to this. I bet most couples don't have a fucking idea what to do when they start, and then just figure it out with time. And in this case, we have each other to sort it out, alright?"

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s okay you feel that way, and if then you feel like I am or we are going too fast, you just have to say it, okay? You can be completely honest with me."

With a warm smile on her face, Aurora nodded and then leaned down to Rosalía and pressed her lips softly on hers, "Thank you."

Rosalia didn't take long to wrap her arms around Aurora's waist, deepening the kiss, lips caressing more eagerly.

Both sighed after a few seconds.

"We should get going,” Aurora breathed an inch away from Rosalía.

"Should we keep making out in your car?"

Aurora chuckled, “Not a bad idea.”

“Maybe in the elevator too, and the lockers…”

“Mmm, greedy much?”

“Can you blame me?”

Aurora stared at her deep in the eyes and bit her lip as she tucked a strand of hair behind Rosie’s ear “No. Would be very hypocritical of me.”

Rosalia chuckled and kissed her again, “Let's go, then."

Both residents took their mugs and bags and left the apartment still in complete silence.

As Rosalía anticipated, they kissed in the elevator, in the car, and every other red streetlight they stopped before they made it to Edenbrook. And then when she parked, they leaned to kiss again.

They were completely drunk with the new blossoming love.

“So, what are we gonna do?” Rosalía asked, parting after another breathtaking kiss, “We'll wait some time to tell the others?”

Aurora stared thoughtfully at her before answering, "Personally, "I'd like to wait for a while, maybe a couple of weeks? This is all too new to me, to you, and until yesterday I was dating someone else, so… We should talk about us first. If that's okay with you, of course. If-if you think I'm being too forward or going so fast, just tell me."

”I’d love to talk about us.” Rosalía said, “What is it?” she added as she saw Aurora fidgeting her hands and then bit her lips, nervous.

"Maybe we could go… on a date? Or not a date, just… going somewhere quiet to talk, just the two of us."

“That’s definitely a date, Emery,” she chuckled, amused with her strange denial.

Aurora smiled, "Okay, yes, a date, but… not a fancy thing, not with the paraphernalia of dressing and going to a fancy dinner, maybe going somewhere after work, if that's okay to you?"

“Yeah, I like that. We can do fancy anytime, right?”

The next two days were so challenging and stressful that none of them managed to end their shift before 10 pm, and by that time they were completely wiped out to even think about going somewhere else but their beds.

"Where are we going? Or is it a surprise?” Rosalía cheerily asked leaning against the wall in the emergency staircase, when both confirmed they could clock out on time that evening.

"No, it's not a surprise," Aurora assured, smiling at her excitement, "I was thinking about this place, Club Café that is… queer-friendly."

“Oooh, interesting.”

“I thought maybe both will feel a lot more comfortable in a space like that, free of prying eyes and more… Like… Like us, maybe it will help us to get… Used to this.”

“Oh God, Aurora Emery stuttering? You look adorable, you know that? All doe-eyed.”

“This isn’t easy for me, so don’t mock me, Rosie!” Aurora reprimanded, cheeks profusely blushed.

“This isn’t easy for me either, why do you think I’m laughing like an idiot? Why am I saying these things? I’m nervous as hell!”

Aurora shook her head, and arched an eyebrow, “So, what do you think?”

Rosalia placed her arms around her neck and kissed her before replying "I think it's perfect. You couldn't have picked a better place for our first date as members of the queer community."

"You just can't stop kissing and touching me, uh?”

Rosie kissed her again more deeply, “No, I can’t. There’s something about you... about your lips… that just… pull me, you know? And I’ve been restraining myself for so many weeks, that I don’t intend to stop anymore.”

“Oh, I think you’ll have to tell me about that.”

“Of course, anything you want. Tonight. I bet you have a lot to tell me too.”

“Indeed.”

After work, Aurora took Rosalía to the aforementioned cafe in Back Bay.

Despite the cafe being packed with lots of people, groups of friends chatting, couples talking, and live music being played, the atmosphere there was really pleasant and intimate. Perfect for a first date.

Aurora and Rosalía hadn’t had the time to feel particularly worried about being seen in public together, because they’d only been at the hospital and at the apartment the last three days, and all their affections would be private until they were ready to tell their friends, but the fact that they could show their love for each other in public felt absolutely liberating and somehow reassuring. It felt right.

While they were waiting for their orders, both took a moment to appreciate the soft piano melody a woman was playing on the other side of the room.

“I’ve never been much into jazz, but the melody is beautiful,” Aurora stated.

“What music are you into? I’ve only seen you listening to classical music.”

“Some pop, rock, instrumental. I’m not much into music actually, but when I do, it’s mostly for focusing.”

And that was just the first of many questions that night. They spent the following hours talking about them, but under a light, they never knew before. They were friends first, they had shared personal stuff, some interest in career paths, food, movies, etc, but when there is romance involved, every single detail seems suddenly more interesting and necessary to learn than before. Favorite place to have a coffee, to have a drink, best spots to go hiking. Favorite song. Favorite color. Favorite movie genre.

Anything that could involve future plans between them.

They also spend the evening talking about how everything happened, how Aurora realized she liked Rosalía, with more details than what they shared a few days ago, and Rosalía told her about how she felt about their first date with James, and how that night she realized she liked her. How much she tried to forget her and how difficult it was for her to avoid her in order to get her out of her mind and heart.

“And here we are,” Aurora stated, taking her hand over the table.

“Did you have any problem with the fact that you liked me, I mean, a girl?”

Aurora stood in silence for a moment, thinking, "Not really. It felt strange that after years of liking men, I was liking a woman now. I know I'm young, and there are people who are in their fifties that realize their sexuality isn't what they thought, but… it felt really concerning the fact that you were my friend and you wouldn't reciprocate me. That I'd do things that could probably ruin our friendship, that you'd realize I like you and you'd push me away, I don't know, that sort of things."

“Exactly what I thought when I realized I liked you.”

Both laughed.

“Is kind of weird but funny how it happened the same to both of us, right?” Aurora questioned, before taking a sip of her glass of water.

“Yeah, but I’m glad it happened this weirdly, lucky way. I was worried it would take me too much time and effort to forget you. But you got the worst part, around five months.”

“Yeah, but at least I didn’t see you dating another person under my nose.”

Rosalía closed her eyes and teasingly shook her head, as if she was trying to forget those painful moments, “At least you were dating a great guy. Like, damn, you dumped James Woods for me?”

“He is great, but you’re greater,” Aurora stated, serious, “Besides, I don’t like him as I like you.”

“Oh, and how much is that?” Rosalía asked, leaning to her, and stopping just a few inches from her nose.

“A lot,” Aurora answered and then cut the distance and brushed her lips on Rosalía’s, tasting the sweetness of the chocolate mousse she had been eating. “Mmm sweet.”

After a few moments of silence, both digging in their desserts, Rosalía glanced at her with a serious expression, “What do you think will happen to you when we tell everyone?”

“What do you mean?”

"I don't know, if you have family members that may not support you in this? Considering you always identified yourself as hetero."

“Mmm well, my parents will be surprised, that’s for sure, and maybe it will take them some time to get used to it, but they won’t kick me out of the family or anything.”

“And your Aunt?”

“Aunt Harper couldn’t care less as long as I don’t lose sight of my career.”

“Cool. Good to know you’ll have the support of your family, sort of.”

“Yeah. I know this will be a surprise for everyone, that my aunt will be very surprised but she won’t judge me. It’s just that... “ Aurora paused for a moment, considering her words, “Maybe… doing something no one expected from me is what worries me. I know it’s stupid, but I’ve been acting this way for a long time. And this is something clearly no one could’ve anticipated.”

“Aurora, it’s not stupid. It’s totally understandable that you feel worried about that, you’ve always lived with so much pressure on your shoulders, that obviously you wouldn't want to add more. ”

“Precisely, but it’s not just that. I’m also afraid that… I don’t know, something that feels so natural to us, won't be to everybody, that maybe some people won’t like it. I honestly don’t care what we might have to face but it’s a shame this won’t be as easy as it is… with straight people.”

"That's true. That's maybe the only thing I fear about this. The… hate we could receive, but I'm sure it will be minimal because we'll have our friends to support us. And as long as we're together, I think we can face anything."

Aurora watched as Rosalía slid her hand over the table and took it on her own, giving it a squeeze in agreement, “What about you?”

“Well, I think my mom will take it fine, but my dad won’t see me the same again in a long time. He’ll try to ignore it.”

“Oh.”

“He’s not a bad person, but it will be really disappointing that I won’t have the life he always dreamed for me. Marrying a good man and having children. Well, I’ve known since long ago that I will disappoint him because that never was something I was particularly interested in.”

“His loss, then.”

"Yeah, but eventually he'll align his dreams with reality, and he'll find out I am happy the way I am and doing the things I do. Well, that's what I hope."

“I hope so too. I hate the idea of you suffering because your dad doesn’t accept you.”

Aurora gave her a worried look to which Rosalía tried to reassure instantly with a wide smile, “Me too, but I’m kinda used to receiving the cold shoulder for not meeting his standards. I’m the black sheep of the family, after all. This just confirms my place even more.”

Aurora arched an eyebrow “You’re the best resident of our cohort, you have the job of your dreams, and you’re the black sheep of your family? What are your other siblings, CEO of Forbes 500?”

Rosalía cackled, amused with the irony of her life, "Nothing of the sort. Actually, I'm the most successful of the five, but the only lefty that rebelled against my dad’s desires and escaped from his authoritative wing.”

“Your father really needs to sort out his priorities.”

“Yeah, I keep thinking it’s never too late for that. Let’s hope I’m not being too optimistic.”

After a few minutes, Aurora paid the bill and both left the cafe to walk around the busy streets of Back Bay. Somewhere in the middle of rustled streets and the chill of the night, Rosalía extended her hand to intertwine her fingers between Aurora's.

Aurora simply smiled and gave it a squeeze before keeping walking until they reached Boston Public Garden.

"Wow, I don't think I remember seeing it this beautiful," Aurora sighed, taking in the view of the park when they stopped in the middle of the lagoon bridge.

The streetlights and the moon were softly reflecting in the water, and a few grouped ducks were sleeping by the lagoon bank.

“Yeah, but it certainly isn’t as beautiful as you,” Rosalía whispered, looking at her deeply in the eye.

“Flatterer.”

“Just stating facts.”

Aurora chuckled, and when she realized Rosalía was serious, her brows furrowed in concern, "What is it?"

“Is it too soon to ask you to be my girlfriend?”

Her eyes widened in amazement and despite trying to articulate a response, nothing could get out of her mouth.

"I know it's our first date and we said we would take things slow but…"

Somehow, seeing Rosalía nervous and blushing gave her the strength to speak, but maybe not in the way she used to do it, “You’ve been clinging to me like a limpet since we first kissed, I don’t know how much different from being a girlfriend you’ve been behaving..”

Rosalía arched a brow, baffled by her reaction “Oh I’m sorry Miss-I-Hate-Kisses, I won’t disturb you ever again.”

“Oh, so you’re the only one that can tease when the other is nervous?"

“You called me clingy while I was asking you something serious.”

"I did. But that doesn't mean I don't like you clingy. In fact, I love that you're clingy. Maybe I like you even more because you're clingy."

Rosalía's eyes illuminated as Aurora placed her hands on her hips, pulling her closer to her body.

“What I meant to say is… it’s not too soon. Whatever doubts I could have before, now I have none, so… I’d love to be your girlfriend, Rosie.”

"Oh," it's the only thing Rosalía could say. For the first time in ages, Rosalía didn't know what to say.

“Do you wanna be mine?” Aurora asked, completely touched by her sudden speechlessness.

“I am already yours, but yes, I do. I wanna be your girlfriend, Aurora Emery.”

[imaginekpoplikethis]

7 Years - BadBoy! Jeon Jungkook X Reader - Part 10.1

Well, this was meant to be a mini part but it turned out longer than all of the other main parts... The first mini part to the date mini series (can I even call it that?) Hope this lived up to your expectations guys because it killed me to write this without it becoming too predictable.

Leave me your thoughts on how you felt about this, okay?

Thanks for reading, I love you guys so much!

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10.1 - Here  Part 10.2  Part 10.3  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20 - Final

It was a random Wednesday morning in school when Jungkook approached you, his cheeks tinted a light pink. He had called you into school early, obviously wanting to speak with you before the rest of your classmates arrived. He was currently sitting in his usual position in front of your desk and instead of getting straight to the point, he stared at you in contemplation.

"Jungkook, the end of the day is going to come if you don't stop stalling." His eyebrows furrowed and he let his eyes drift to the side, avoiding looking directly at you.

"I... do you want to... you know, go out?" You couldn't stop the giggle that escaped you. His shy side was reemerging.

"Are you attempting to ask me out on a date?" Embarrassment was evident on his face and he switched his attention back to you.

"Attempting? That was harsh. If you think it's so easy, you try asking me out on a date."

Smirking at him, you held his gaze with confidence.

"Do you want to go on a date?" Jungkook's eyes widened at that, and his mouth fell open the tiniest bit, displaying to you how shocked he really was. The faint pink that was spread on his cheeks grew to a darker shade and you couldn't help but pinch them.

"Awww, Kookie'e shy side is still there. How I missed this." He slapped your hand away and scratched his cheek.

"Stop that bullshit otherwise I'm not going out with you."

It was your turn to widen your eyes in shock. You grabbed his large hand in your smaller ones and pouted at him.

"I'm sorry! You know I'm just teasing you." He shot you a crooked grin and affectionately patted your cheek, mumbling under his breath.

"Cute..."

"What was that?" Tilting your head to the side, you stared at him with questioning eyes. He merely stood from his seat, getting ready to return to his desk.

"Nothing important." Nodding your head slowly, you watched as he shuffled to the other side of the class room. Students began to file into the classroom and you prepared yourself for the day ahead, checking over your homework.

Your phone buzzed, alerting you that you had received a new message.

'I'll tell you the details on our way home today.'

Snapping your head in Jungkook's direction, he gave you a quick nod to which you replied with a thumbs up, anticipation building up inside if you.

-

When you and Jungkook had parted ways with Areum, he began to vaguely explain what he had in mind for you first date.

"I kind of want to keep it simple. I know you like that kind of stuff too. So how about this Saturday we go to that bowling alley place? You know, the one with the arcade too."

Mulling it over, you soon nodded your approval.

"Okay, sounds fun. Oh, but don't try and do the whole 'winning a bear for me' thing."

Jungkook simply chuckled, amused at your dislike for cliche couple dates.

"Noted."

Arriving in front of your house, Jungkook offered you a peck on the cheek and bid you a good night. Instead of doing the same, you opted to placing a kiss on his lips. He didn't seem all to surprised as he smirked in satisfaction before ushering you inside. Waving to him, you entered your house only to be greeted with your mothers delighted grin.

It seemed like your mother would never get over this.

-

When Saturday arrived, you awoke to a few messages from Jungkook, telling you to be ready for 1pm. It was currently 10am which gave you plenty of time to get ready so you took a long shower to try and tried to calm your nerves. Surprisingly, it worked out better than you expected. Deciding to keep your outfit plain and simple, you pulled on a black denim skirt and tucked in a long sleeved oversized grey T-shirt. After giving your outfit a once over, you headed downstairs. According to your phones time, you had successfully killed an hour and a half. Intent on having breakfast, you grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal whilst greeting your mother.

"Why are you all dressed up? Are you going out?" She observed you for a couple of seconds before returning her attention back to her phone.

"Yep, with Jungkook." At that, her head snapped back up and her eyes widened, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

"Really? It's your first date right?" Your mother was expressing more enthusiasm than you were. Watching her with caution, you poured cereal into your bow of milk. At her expectant gaze, you gave a curt nod and she let out a light squeal.

"You really are growing up! My daughter and Jungkook's first date! Tell him I said hello, will you?" Eating your breakfast in silence, you tuned out your mothers rambling. It was better this way.

When you had finished eating and getting ready, you bid your mother and sister a farewell. You had decided to spend the rest of your time walking to your meeting place, the nearby park. You had arrived early only to find Jungkook already sitting down on a swing, staring at his phone. Taking in his form, you mentally praised his choice of clothing. He was wearing a long plain white t-shirt coupled with an oversized green bomber jacket and black skinny jeans. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing his usual Timbaland boots and instead had a pair of black Dr. Martins on.

When he noticed someone approaching him, he glanced up and upon realising said person was you, a smile spread on his lips and he stood. When you reached him, he wrapped his arms around you in a quick embrace and placed a kiss upon your head. Your arms snaked their way around Jungkook as you eagerly returned his embrace. After a couple of seconds, you stepped back from him and his smile broadened.

"Hey, you're here early." You let a chuckle escape you and grabbed his hand, walking in the direction of the parks exit.

"I'm early? You looked like you'd been waiting since yesterday night. Didn't know you were that desperate to see me."

You felt his fingers flick your forehead and you winced in slight pain before laughing again.

"Me? Desperate? You're really full of yourself today, flaunting your legs and all."

Giving his arm a light slap, you glared at him with as much seriousness as you could muster only to have him chuckle at your mock anger.

"You're really asking to be beaten up right now."

"I'm kidding, I like it. You look really pretty today. And yes, you do look pretty all the time."

You could only blink up at him as he had answered your question before it had even left your mouth. Instead of coming up with a smart reply, you stared ahead. You had managed to spend the majority of your walk having pointless banter and soon found yourself standing outside your destination.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, you tugged Jungkook inside and looked around the arcade. He let go of your hand to run his own through his hair, deciding on what to do first. Spotting a boxer machine, he tapped your shoulder and motioned in the direction with his head.

"Watch this." Coming to the conclusion that Jungkook seemed to want to impress you, you followed behind him. He popped a coin into the machine and you watched as the punching bag came down.

"You see that high score? I set that the last time I came here with Yoongi Hyung." You must have seemed stunned since Jungkook sniggered at your expression.

"Yoongi isn't as lazy as you think he is, he does leave the house. He's one of the most hardworking people out of the seven of us. Most of the time he's composing new music or studying for school." As if he read your mind, once again he answered your unasked question. The machine let out a sound to alert you that the game had started and you observed how Jungkook prepared himself. He took a few steps back and put both of his hands together. A couple of seconds later, he threw himself forward putting all his power into this hands and you could only gape at the force the bag had been hit with. He stood back, a smirk of satisfaction on his face as he watched his score increase.

"New record!"

He placed both his hands on his hips and whirled his head in your direction, grinning.

"Hyungs call me the golden maknae because I'm good at pretty much everything I do." Whoever fed his ego really needed to stop. Scoffing, you rolled your sleeves up and inserted another coin into the machine.

"Oh yeah? Let me try." Once again, the bag was lowered and you mimicked Jungkook's previous stance. Placing as much power as you could into you arms, you swung down on the bag, shocked at how fast it went back up. You stood in anticipation, watching the glowing numbers grow. When they came to a stop, your jaw dropped and you heard Jungkook let out a strangled noise of surprise.

"New record!"

You didn't actually expect to surpass his high score. He stepped forward and stood beside you, dumbfounded. Shaking his head, he shoved a hand deep into this jacket pocket, pulling out another coin.

"It must be broken or something."

"What? You think just because I'm your girlfriend, I can't have a higher score than you?" He placed his hand on your shoulder, gazing at you with serious eyes.

"That's exactly it."

He readied himself and swung once again, setting a new high score. He turned to you, a pleased smile on his face and brushed off his clothes.

"Now we can go to another game." However, your competitive side emerged and you put another coin in, readying yourself for the next round.

"What are you doing?" His eyebrows were furrowed in mild confusion and you proceeded to clench your hands together.

"What does it look like? Passing your high score."

When your hand came into contact with the bag, it flew straight up and you eyed the score being displayed.

"New record!"

You let a sweet smile spread over your face and patted Jungkook's head.

"Let's go now."

Walking away from the machine, you glanced around the arcade.

"Where should we go next? The dance machine?"

"New record!"

Whipping back around, you watched Jungkook approach you with a smug smile.

"Heck no."

You struck the bag.

"New record!"

Jungkook slammed his hands into it.

"New record!"

You pummelled with a newfound strength.

"New record!"

He right hooked it.

"New record!"

"Here I go!"

With your last bit of strength, you pounded the bag. You watched with longing eyes, as your score rose until it suddenly stopped.

"Is that all you got? Try again!" Slumping down, you massaged your hands in hopes of soothing the raw skin of your knuckles.

"No... it can't end like this!" You felt Jungkook lift you up by your arms.

"Come on princess, let's play something else. You're dating the golden maknae so you shouldn't have expected anything less." Allowing him to drag you away, you glared at the boxer machine.

Soon you found yourself standing in front of a dance machine.  Hopefully you would do better than Jungkook on this. You had to.

You both put a coin in each and stood on your respective sides.

"You can pick the song, Y/N."

Yes! You would have an advantage over him. You quickly selected 'I Got A Boy' by SNSD and placed your hands on the bar behind you.

"Ready?" Giving him a quick glance, you immediately snapped your head back when you had realised he had smirked at you.

"What's with the sm- shit!" You hadn't realised the song had started and you made a quick recovery. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Jungkook's feet were moving as smoothly as yours were.

He ended up doing better than you had expected. In all six songs you had chosen.

This resulted in him beating you once again.

"You threw me off!" You pointed at him in accusation to which he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You just couldn't stop staring at me. Not my fault."

You sulked as you moved onto the next game. A multiplayer shooter.

Ten minutes later, Jungkook arose as the victor. Again. You lightly smacked him on his shoulder and he chuckled, placing a kiss on your cheek.

Sitting down to play a racing game, you had already accepted your fate. You couldn't deny that you were enjoying yourself albeit you were frustrated too. You just couldn't seem to beat him. At anything.

As you had predicted, you lost to Jungkook for what seemed like the hundredth time this afternoon.

"Let's go bowling!"

Following close behind, you fixed your outfit.

"Sure, whatever."

Paying for your bowling game, you slipped on the shoes they had provided you with and typed your name into the system, Jungkook doing the same. Grabbing a white and black marble ball, you positioned yourself and aimed for the pins. Pulling your arm back and swinging forward you released the ball, hope building up in the pit of your stomach. When the ball connected with the middle pin, you gaped as it then took down the surrounding pins landing you with a strike.

"A strike! I got a strike!" You threw your arms up and hopped up and down, cheering. Jungkook just shook his head in amusement.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I'm still the golden maknae."

"I'm going to make you eat your words, Jungkook!" The pure determination made him raise an eyebrow before he grabbed his own ball and rolled it onto the lane. He too made a clean strike.

You ignored the smug grin on his face and made your move. Another strike.

The game continued with a couple of strikes and spares which resulted in Jungkook taking the lead. You could still win this. He had already played his last move and stood behind you, arms crossed, a complacent look on his face. He seemed absolutely sure you would mess this last move up.

Rolling the ball with as much precision as you could, you watched in horror as it took a sudden detour and landed right in the gutters of the alley. That's it. You had fucked up. Spinning on your heel, you scowled at Jungkook and walked in his direction, picking up your bag.

"Where are you going? You still have one more move." Snapping your head back to the lane, you realised that you did in fact have one more chance. Dropping your bag, you trudged to the bowling balls and picked up the same one you had been using all night. Throwing the ball forward, you could only observe how it knocked all the pins down, earning you a spare. Eyes widening drastically, you studied the score board only to find you had beaten Jungkook by a couple of points.

"I won! I won!" Sprinting to Jungkook, you threw your arms around his neck and connected your lips with his in an overjoyed kiss which he eagerly returned with just as much emotion. Releasing him moments later, you grinned up at him in pride.

"I was beginning to think you weren't enjoying yourself. Clearly I was wrong." Your smile grew and you shook your head.

"I was never not having fun. It's just my competitive side." He seemed relieved to hear that and you found yourself feeling guilty for ever making him believe you were not having fun.

"Well, you may have won this time but I'm still the golden maknae."

"For now."

"Yeah, for n- wait! What do you mean for now?"

Your answer was a light peck on his cheek which effectively stopped his questions.

"I'm glad we went out, Jungkook."

He ruffled your hair in response and smiled down at you.

"Don't worry we'll have another date soon enough but right now I'm hungry. You're going to cook for me, right?"

"Am I your slave?"

"No, but you do have to prepare yourself for your future as my wife."

A crimson blush is what he was rewarded with.

"Shut up."

[travelingtheusa]

NEW YORK

14 Nov 2019 (Thu) – I was invited to participate in the Veteran’s Day ceremony on November 11th with the American Legion post.  We went to two sites to perform a formal ceremony then held a public ceremony at the Veterans Park next to town hall.  About 50 people showed up; mostly veterans.  There was a young man from the high school who sang the National Anthem that had the most beautiful, angelic voice.  After the ceremony, everyone was invited to the Post for hot dogs and hamburgers.

     On Wednesday, November 13th, members of the Post were invited to the local schools. First, we went to the high school and participated in a panel.  We each described our service experience but ran out of time for questions from the kids. The students all came in with jackets and back packs which made me think they were getting off the bus and immediately directed to the auditorium.

     After an hour at the high school, we went to the Maud Sherwood elementary school. We were directed to the end of a long hallway while the students (grades 2 through 5) lined up along the walls. Then we walked down the hall with the kids clapping, waving flags, and giving us high fives.  I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.  It was great!  We had a continental breakfast (courtesy of the PTA), then we split up into groups of three (there were nine of us there), and we went into 5th grade classrooms to talk with the kids.  They had prepared questions followed by freewheeling questions.  Some were very insightful.  The day was quite delightful.

     Following the school, I went directly to Toast Coffeehouse in Patchogue to meet my sister, Susan, for lunch.  The food in that place is awesome! We had a very pleasant visit and said our goodbyes.  She invited me to stay with her when I come back to New York for a checkup.

      At 6:00 p.m., we had Miranda, Kenny, and Caiden come over for a Thanksgiving dinner. Since we won’t be here on Thanksgiving Day, we took an opportunity to celebrate together early.  The food and company were all very nice.  Caiden is such a delightful little boy.

     Today, I had a visit with the oncologist.  I took a CT scan on Tuesday and this visit was to find out the results. It was great news!  Many of the lymph nodes are half their size now.  I am responding beautifully to the chemotherapy.  The nurse did a nose swab because I said I thought I had something brewing.  They wanted to make sure I don’t have the flu or pneumonia.  The doctor then gave me three months before coming back for a checkup. Woohoo!!!  We are cleared to hit the road!

9 Nov 2019 (Sat) – We took Caiden and a friend to an amusement area today. We wanted to take him to BounceU in Nesconset but when we arrived, they had birthday parties going on and no open play. So we drove another half hour to Huntington only to discover we were in the wrong town.  After a total of about an hour’s driving time with two very impatient six years olds in the back seat, we arrived at @Play Adventures in Farmingdale. It was a delightful afternoon for the boys – three hours of bounces, rides, and games.  Afterward, we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch.  The boys had a great time.

     Miranda’s best friend’s grandmother passed away.  She had the funeral and lunch this morning (hence, we were watching Caiden).  Later, she went back to the house for a memorial dinner with the family.  I went back into the house to watch Caiden until she and Kenny got back home.

     Yesterday, we went shopping at Kohl’s.  They were advertising 30% discount for veterans.  We spent too much money and it turned out that some items were not eligible for the discount.  Apparently, the manufacturer tells the store they can’t discount their products. Somehow, that seems dishonest. Kohl’s advertises taking the discount but then doesn’t do it.  We bought a new toaster oven with 11 functions (will I really ever use all of them?) that was advertised at $249.99.  The clerk rang it up at $349.99 at the register.  We had to go to customer service for the correction and it turned out we bought the Pro, with was $100 more.  AND there was no 30% discount on it!!

6 November 2019 (Wed – Paul’s Birthday) – It’s been a busy week.  We saw a lawyer to have our wills updated.  She gave us homework to do – lol.  It is hard to decide who your health care proxy and power of attorney should be.  Doing a will is an eye-opening event.  It makes you face your mortality.  Ugh.

     The American Legion post hosted their annual Law & Order dinner.  They honored firemen, two harbormasters, and a police officer who pulled a car off the train tracks minutes before a train rolled through.  One of the firemen was honored for 70 years of service as a volunteer fire fighter with Islip.  It turned out that he was Paul’s cousin! He knew Paul’s mother in high school and served with Paul’s grandfather in the department (his grandfather was a fire chief).  We exchanged information and promised to look each other up this winter when we are down in Florida.

     I took my laptop to Best Buy for tweaking. The tech did not find any viruses.  I saw a gastroenterologist on Monday and had a mammogram on Wednesday.  I took Paul to the Irish Coffee Pub for his birthday. They make the very best potato soup anywhere.

31 October 2019 (Thu - HALLOWEEN) – I had lunch with my daughter, Gina, on Tuesday.  We went to a place called Tula’s Kitchen.  It’s one of those very eclectic health food restaurants that are popping up all over the country.  The food was quite good.  On Wednesday, I had lunch with my sister, Susan.  We went to another eclectic place called Tiger Lily.  Again, the food was very good.

     We had Angel Fence Company come by and we signed a contract for a fence installation along the back of the property.  This it to replace the fence that was damaged during the thunderstorm that rolled through in August.  I sent the estimate to USAA and they already paid off on it – BEFORE we had the work done. I sent a note reminding them it was an estimate and it could wind up costing more depending on what they find when they do the actual installation.

     I spent over two and half hours on the phone in the last two days with Carbonite.  It is a cloud storage service where they back up our computer to the cloud.  When my computer was reset, we lost the program. It would not reinstall properly and I had to get techs to work on the problem.  Apparently, it wasn’t such an easy fix but they finally got it done.

     Today, Paul and I went to the movies to see “The Current Wars.”  It was about the competition among Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, and Thomas Edison.  The movie was very interesting and we would highly recommend it.

27 October 2019 (Sun) – It was a busy week.  I watched Lincoln two days this week so Sam could get some extra time in at work.  He is such a pleasant baby.  Always smiling.  Travis started his new job on Wednesday.  Hope it goes well for him.  Also on Wednesday, we went to the ophthalmologist for eye exams.  Paul and I both tested out at 20/25.  The doctor saw some pressure behind my left eye and wants me back in six months.  I’ll see if I can align an appointment with a Sloan Kettering checkup down the road.

     We went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with friends from the American Legion on Wednesday.  Then we went to dinner at Carrabba’s on Friday with my brother, Dennis, and his lady, Denise.  We had planned to meet them at their apartment before going to dinner but the plans changed.  Dennis & Denise recently moved into their new place and we still want to see it.

     We took Travis and the family to a pumpkin farm yesterday.  It was a small farm but not very busy considering this is the last weekend before Halloween.  They had a play area with bouncy houses and lots of pumpkins to choose from.  There was also a hay ride and a pony taking kids for a ride.

     We went to church this morning.  It was laity Sunday so the service was run by the lay leader. Several of us took part in the service doing readings and leading prayer.  I gave a five minute sermon.  It was a nice service.

21 October 2019 (Mon) – I went to the audiologist at the Northport VA on the 18th.  The doctor found a mild hearing loss in my right ear and a moderate hearing loss in my left ear.  She said it was unusual to have a greater loss in one ear over the other and that I needed to see a doctor to be sure there was not a medical reason for the difference.  She offered to make an appointment at the VA but said I probably wouldn’t get an appointment for two or three months.  We agreed that I would go to a civilian doctor because I could get an appointment sooner.  In the meantime, she would order one hearing aid for my left ear (she said I don’t need one for the right ear).  She also gave me information to download an app for the hearing aid onto my iPhone.  

     I saw a civilian audiologist yesterday.  He insisted on giving me another hearing test.  The results were more symmetrical and he cleared me for the hearing aid.  He suggested I get aids for both ears; the VA doctor refuses to do that.  If I bought the hearing aids at the civilian audiology office, it would cost me $6,000.  Actually, $3,000.  My insurance would pay $3,000 toward the cost.  If I got the hearing aids at the VA, it will cost me nothing.  Guess what I’m doing?

     Miranda and Kenny went to Philly for the weekend and we watched Caiden. We took him to Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns at Old Westbury Gardens on Friday.  They carve 5,000 pumpkins every week for six weeks.  Visitors walk down a trail lined with thousands of pumpkins on display along the walkway.  Several pumpkins had projections that had them singing Halloween songs.  The craftsmanship was simply amazing!

     On Saturday, we went over to the American Legion Hall where we met Samantha and her mother, Sharon.  Together, we set up tables and arranged everything for Lincoln’s baptism party the next day.  On Sunday, Lincoln Alexander Thomas was baptized.  Afterward, we enjoyed a party at the legion hall.  Lincoln was SO good.  He smiled and laughed all day and then just quietly went to sleep in my arms. Not one little tear or fuss escaped him all day.

16 October 2019 (Weds) – Another visit to the doctor brought mixed results.  The bloodwork continues to show a decrease in the cancer cells.  However, I am having some adverse effects from the chemo.  I have a rash on my leg and a drying out of my fingertips.  Neuropathy and cellulitis are common side effects.  The doctor told me to stop the Imbruvica for 3 days.  If the rash hasn’t improved, stay off the medication for 5 days. If there is still no improvement, I have to go back and have him treat me topically.  I’ve been doing so well that I find this to be something of a disappointment.  The rash has been getting better so that keeps me hopeful.

     My birthday was on Monday (October 14) and Paul took me to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  I took a picture with a margarita at an angle that made the drink look very large.  We have kind of developed a reputation with the margaritas and now find we have to post pictures of these drinks.  It’s kind of funny.

     We are still waiting for the guy behind us to take down two trees that threaten our property.  Three fence companies have given us quotes for a new fence but we won’t do anything until those trees are taken down.  A good windstorm will blow them down and damage the new fence.  We’ll have to go over there for a third time to ask them to take down those trees.  I don’t want to get into sending registered letters threatening legal action like the insurance company is suggesting we do.  Paul thinks the neighbor just can’t afford to pay for a tree removal.  Hmmmm,  what to do. What to do?

 13 October 2019 (Sun) - We took Caiden to church with us today. Afterward, Paul worked with a crew to take apart a piano that needed to be thrown out.  Jan has been advertising the piano for free to anyone but no one has claimed it so it was time to just throw it out.  Caiden and I played in the nursery area until they were finished.

     It was not a good day for me.  I woke feeling exhausted and nauseous.  At 3:00 p.m., Paul spelled me for an hour and I took a nap.  That was probably one of the best naps I have ever had. I really needed that!  After I woke, I made dinner then took Caiden into the house and gave him a bath.  

     On Friday, we went to an optometrist for eye exams.  I got annoyed with the whole thing.  The doctor was pushy and it seemed like his equipment was rigged so he could do more tests.  You cover one eye, stare at a red spot, and click a switch every time you see a green light.  Everything went fine with the left eye covered.  But when he covered my right eye, I couldn’t really see the red spot. It was faded and disappeared a lot so I just looked around and clicked on the green lights.  When the doctor came back to the room, I said he couldn’t trust the test because I couldn’t see the red light.  He told me not to worry about it.  That didn’t seem right at all.  When I checked with Paul about his test, he had the same experience.  We said we would wait on glasses and left. We won’t go back to him.  I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist.  

10 October 2019 (Thu) – Paul got the heater fixed.  That’s good because the weather has been cool – in the 40s at night.  

     I had an appointment at the VA today.  It is basically a perfunctory checkup.  The doctor knows I am being treated at Sloan Kettering and really just want a backup with the VA in the event I have trouble getting my medication.  She is a very pleasant doctor and completely understands my motivations.  She did make an appointment for me to see someone in dermatology.  I have a small spot on my bottom lip that I thought was chapped lips.  But it has been there a couple of months and now has started to change color.  My sister was just diagnosed with skin cancer and that made me think I should probably get my lip checked out.

     After the VA, I met my sister, Susan, and her daughter, Shay, for lunch at Tula Kitchen.  It is an eclectic restaurant with vegetarian dishes that are very different.  Susan, her husband, Bill, Shay and her boyfriend, Pat, just returned from a trip to Scandinavia.  Susan’s friend, Ronnie, passed away and left Susan and Bill to handle his affairs. Ronnie’s body was cremated and they took the ashes to Sweden where Ronnie was born.  After Sweden, they went to Norway and Iceland.  It was a great trip.

    Travis lost his job.  He has had such rotten luck with work.  Hope he finds a new one quickly.  They are in the middle of having their mortgage modified and this will certainly have an impact.  Lincoln will be baptized on October 20.  I coordinated with the American Legion Post to have a party there after the christening. The commander initially told me I had to pay $300.  When I told him commanders (past and present) were allowed one free rental a year and a second at half price when I was commander, he relented and will let us use the hall at no charge.  That was very nice of him.  We coordinated times to open the building.

8 October 2019 (Tue) – We took Caiden to church with us on Sunday. It was a pretty busy day with him. His father worked from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.  I gave Caiden his bath, read his books, and sang some songs.  He didn’t want to eat steak for dinner.  When I told him that was it for the night.  He didn’t have to eat it but there wouldn’t be anything else. We then went about eating and quietly watched while he ate his steak and a piece of potato.  It was amusing to watch the quiet surrender.

     Kenny was home on Monday so we did not watch Caiden but we did have them come in for dinner.  We had burgers, fries, and corn.  Caiden ate about half his burger, some fries, and made a token effort at the corn then was done.  I gave him chocolate ice cream for dessert.  That sure pumped him up! The sugar rush kept him running back and forth for an hour.

     Today, Kenny worked from 10 to 4.  Paul and I ran some errands.  I picked Kenny up at 4:15 and Paul got Caiden from the bus.  At 5 p.m., Paul and I went down to the church to help clean up after the yard sale.  There were several pieces of furniture (desks, dressers, couches, loveseats) left over that we had to break up and put in the dumpster.  Several of us turned out for the job and it took just over an hour to get it all done.  

 5 October 2019 (Sat) – We returned to New York on September 30 from the SMART National Muster in Urbanna, VA.  We stopped two nights in Washington, D.C. staying on Joint Base Andrews AFB.  The campground certainly could use some TLC.  Everything is run down and looking worn.  It seems weird that they would let it look like that since the President’s plane is kept there.  You’d think since it was a flagship airfield that they would keep it up better.  Paul thinks the only reason Andrews AFB is kept open is because it’s close to D.C.

     Well, I goofed big time.  I was trying to update our travel journal and I got an error message from the computer.  I inadvertently clicked on a RESET button and the computer reset itself back to its default mode.  All the programs and apps that we have loaded on the computer since we bought it six years ago were wiped off.  The version of Word that I have using (Word 2010) was removed and a docx file replaced it. That updated version would not open the older version.  Ugh. Poor Paul has spent hours reloading all those lost programs.  At least when the computer reset itself, it made a list of all those programs that were removed.  There is a list to follow in reestablishing the programs.

     Miranda is in Maine this week.  We have been driving Kenny back and forth to work and watching Caiden in between work and school.  He is a very energetic little boy!

     The church had a yard sale yesterday.  The weather was beautiful and there were yard sales all over town.  I drove down Brook Street (a small back street that cuts between two main roads) and there were four yard sales on that street alone.  It was a long day.  We went down to the church at 8 am and helped set up, then helped with the fair all day until it ended at 3 pm.  I picked Caiden up at noon and he enjoyed visiting at the fair.  At the end of the fair, all the stuff that didn’t sell went into the dumpster.  It was awful! We were throwing new or barely used items away – CDs, DVDs, glassware, toys, games, electronics, furniture, everything!  It all went into the garbage.  It sure seemed like all that stuff could have gone somewhere.  Oh, well.  

[cgxsg-blog]

June 12-18 2017 [Week 5]

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I arrived in Singapore! The first two weeks went by slowly but the past few days whizzed by at lightning speed. Since the previous 2 interns left, I have been swamped with tasks. On Monday June 12, I completed a cBOT clustering and NextSeq run. Those two tasks took up most of my time, but I was faster at the sample preparation processes. By the time I went down for lunch, Mealbox was almost empty. I ordered the vegetarian meal with rice, tomato, and sweet potatoes since I was too tired to decide what I felt like eating. When I got home, I felt lethargic so I took it easy at the gym and cycled around 6km. 

Click ‘Text’ to read the rest of the post!

Monday’s lunch because I cannot stop getting vegetarian food.

Tuesday June 13 was another busy day at work. The morning consisted of all the HiSeq washes for 2 sequencers and another NextSeq run. All these tasks also resulted in a late lunch. I ordered fried fish bee hoon from Ban Mian which was a light but delicious lunch. It consisted of fried fish filets, bok choy, and shrimp flakes in a soup noodle. After lunch, I started 2 HiSeq runs. I felt familiar with the protocols, but still needed to practice in order to increase my efficiency. To make up for my lazy gym day yesterday, I killed the elliptical at the gym and did light weight-lifting. After the heavy workout, I overate during dinner, which caused me to have a stomachache in the evening. Lesson learned.

Tuesday’s lunch. Funny story: the server asked me if I wanted milk, to which I replied no because I thought she was asking if I wanted to drink milk. Little did I know she meant if I wanted milk in the soup. This is my cousin’s favourite meal of all time so naturally he laughed forever when I told him about my confusion.

I woke up during the morning of Wednesday June 14 feeling normal despite my stomachache last night. In the morning, I completed another cBOT clustering. I definitely sped up during the processes, although it still took the entire morning. At the same time, I also completed the HiSeq washes in order to use it for sequencing in the afternoon. For lunch, I ordered Yong Tau Foo. I picked a variety of seafood items with carrots and bok choy in dry ramen noodles. I planned on starting my HiSeq run immediately following lunch but was delayed because the clustering was not finished. Instead of going to the gym after work, I swam a few laps around the pool. My cousin tagged along but I focused on exercising. Later in the evening, my cousin and I drew and coloured Pokémon. He drew Electrode, Oddish, Wailmer, and Foongus while I drew Luvdisc and Wooper. 

Wednesday’s lunch. The light at the table where I sat was broken so this picture came out dark.

Thursday June 14 was a calm day at work. In the morning I started a NextSeq run and washed a HiSeq. I caved in and ordered vegetarian during lunch with the best combination of salad, Japanese dressing, rice, tofu, and corn. At the gym, I did light weight-training first then ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes. It was a moderate workout which made me hungry during dinner but I controlled my food intake this time.

I woke up on Friday June 15 by a visit from Mother Nature because it’s the time of the month. Nevertheless, I was excited because our whole family is going to D’Resort this weekend! In the morning, I did cBOT clustering and a NextSeq run. During lunch, I took the one-north rider shuttle bus with some other interns to Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre, a hawker center close to GIS. For the longest time, I thought the food stalls on the first floors of HDB buildings were hawker centers. However, hawker centers are huge open markets with shops that sell groceries, clothes, and food. At Ghim Moh, I ordered carrot cake from Ghim Moh Carrot Cake (surprise!), red bean pancake from Granny’s Pancake, and chwee kueh from Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh (today is full of surprises). The carrot cake was made of rice noodles, egg, and radish (I believe), not carrots. Chwee kueh is steamed rice cake with with salty preserved radish as a topping. My favourite was the red bean pancake. The perfect consistency along with my favourite topping made it the best pancake I’ve ever had, even better than the one at Bread Street Kitchen. Sorry, Gordon Ramsay. Lunch was satisfying and delicious. I will definitely return many times in the future to try all the authentic Singaporean food before going back to Vancouver. After work, I made a few stops to run some errands before heading off to D’Resort.

Chwee Kueh.

Carrot cake with absolutely no carrots.

It was a lengthy ride to Pasir Ris, the last stop on the East-West line. I met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin at White Sands, the mall right beside the MRT station. We headed off to the food court for dinner. I ordered Yong Tau Foo, but this place was different from the one at Mealbox. It was a blend of tofu and fish balls in a gravy-like sauce with rice and soup on the side. I did not get to pick which toppings I wanted in the sauce. Nevertheless, everything was tasty which made sense since this place is famous for their Yong Tau Foo according to my aunt. We headed off to our hotel room shortly afterwards. We stayed at Beach Cove in last room before the elevators.

A different kind of Yong Tau Foo from the foodcourt at White Sands.

On Saturday June 16, I woke up at 7am from rooster calls. The circadian clocks of these animals were astonishing accurate, since sunrise was 6:58am according to the weather widget on the hotel room’s TV. I didn’t mind waking up early since the bed and pillow were comfortable so I had a good night’s rest. My aunt and uncle went for a morning bike ride so I stayed behind with my cousin and played some phone games. After their bike ride, we headed off to E!Hub, a shopping complex next to Beach Cove, for breakfast. My aunt and I ordered kaya toast from Heavenly Wang. She had Kopi, the traditional Singaporean coffee, while I drank honey lemon tea. My cousin and uncle had porridge from KFC. The concept of serving Asian cuisine in fast food restaurants here amuses me to this day.

The coziest morning.

My cousin and uncle went to my cousin’s tennis class after breakfast so my aunt and I rested in our hotel room. For lunch, we ate at The Basil Inn, a Thai restaurant. I ordered black cumin rice with floss, egg, cucumber, ginger, and onions on the side while my aunt ordered Pad Thai. We shared a broccoli and shrimp stir-fry. Everything tasted delicious. I cannot wait to visit Thailand! My uncle and cousin came back with my grandparents in the afternoon and I decided to move into their room in the Rainforest building because there were 3 single beds there. I had never seen a hotel room like that!

Thai lunch aesthetics.

Soon after, we prepared for the BBQ dinner. I attempted to prepare skewers but failed miserably. I decided it was best for me to be in charge of the food consumption instead of preparation. There were beef skewers, Taiwanese sausages, tofu skins, corn, spinach, and cucumbers at the BBQ. My favourite were the Taiwanese sausages since they were mildly sweet but delicious. My grandparents and I took an evening stroll in Pasir Ris park after dinner but it was dark so we couldn’t see the beach scenery. We decided to return the next morning. It was pleasant to spend quality time with my grandparents. This was undoubtedly one of the defining moments that will be imprinted in my collection of memories with them.

BBQing in the sunset.

I didn’t hear the rooster calls on the morning of Sunday June 17 from the Rainforest building. My grandma woke us up at 7:30am for the morning stroll. The scenery at Pasir Ris park was astounding. Towering palm trees lined the beaches. In the horizon, I could see Malaysia. The sun had just rose so there was a slight breeze in the air. I took advantage of this golden opportunity to take some beautiful iPhone and Polaroid photography since I left my camera at home. It was an extraordinary sight.

Pasir Ris park and beach. The land in the horizon is Malaysia!

My grandparents and I had breakfast at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. My grandma ordered Mee Siam, my grandpa ordered Laksa, and I ordered kaya butter steamed buns and kaya french toast with milk tea. I can’t comprehend how people eat a bowl of noodles for breakfast. It’s too savoury and heavy for my first meal of the day. We rushed back to our hotel room to finish packing to check out by 11am. We intended to leave D’Resort immediately after checking out but there was a sudden torrential downpour which lasted for a solid hour. When the rain finally eased, we loaded the baggage in the car. My aunt, cousin, and I took a GrabCar home since my uncle’s car didn’t fit us all inside. I fell asleep on the way back. 

Waiting for the rain to stop.

We had dumplings as a late lunch since we ate breakfast around 10am. I called my parents and wished my dad an early happy father’s day since it was Saturday in Vancouver. I spent the rest of the day resting so I can be refreshed for work next week. My week at work was productive as I gradually eased into the flow of my tasks. The weekend at D’Resort was relaxing and enjoyable. Looking forward to next week!

C.G.