...

We've been planning this for a couple of days. It's going to be great. It started out simply enough. We just wanted to meet up with old friends, schoolmates, hang out. A simple enough wish. Azreen, Azril, Nat and I got together a couple of times to discuss possibilities, and once we had a basic plan settled, we started calling contacts. Just close friends from high school, people that we shared history with. News spread faster than we thought.

No, it was never meant to be a reunion. No, I doubt we ever envisioned a full-scale barbecue event with kayaking races on the Putrajaya Lake. But that's what it seems like it's going to be. And it's going to be fun! Azreen has a fantastic eye for these details, what with her insistence of writing down every single thing we discuss. Azril is funny (after all this time I still can't quite bring myself to call him Betik), his constant whinging about being the only guy in our self-appointed organizing committee. Even more pronounced with Azreen's brainchild of the four so-called organizers to wear pink on the day. Poor guy. I like being behind the scenes like this. No pressure. At the end of the day, all we want to do is have some fun.

The sands of time passes us by... and as I become sensitive to the changes wrought in myself and the people I have known in my past, I am able to cherish our friendships a lot more, to become a lot more accepting of our individual strengths and weaknesses.

Age seems bring heightened sensitivity with my emotions. Perhaps it's because age brings experience... and with that empathy. My throat swells with emotion at the thought of the horrors of the world, what with poverty and war and malnutrition for the dying children of the world. Born only to follow an early grave. My disturbance for the social ills among the youth. My own weakness at not being able to do anything about it. Tears at the slightest hint of sadness, and I share the sheer joy of happiness as well, even in movies.

My emotions are taking me on a rollercoaster ride. And I am drawn more and more to a world where I can seek refuge, a world of words and pictures. I've rediscovered my Japanese anime. :)