Thu, 20 Aug 2009

It is with a heavy heart I had to say goodbye to mom. Every good thing must come to an end, unfortunately. But, knowing that mom is recovering well and walking good, it puts my mind at ease. And knowing that dad is growing healthier and has a good appetite, that's a relief.

Dad sent me to the airport at 9am for my flight at 10.25am departing for Sgp. I went to the lounge and bought my Cote D'or chocolates. Costs RM20.90 per bar. Well, can't get it here in the US so, beggars can't be choosers.

Arrived in Sgp at 11.40am. Checked out and waited for William to come by and fetch me for lunch in Sgp. Better than sitting in the lounge all by myself. William came on time and we went to this food court. I told Will I will buy lunch and won't hear anything about him paying. Gotta thank him for the use of his car whilst in Pg. This is the least I could do for him considering his kindness.

I had Sgp chicken rice. Do u know it actually taste better than the chicken rice in Pg? Well, if you don't know, now you do. I also tried the fried carrot cake which is like our koay kak. Hmm..pleasantly surprised that it actually tasted good. Aiyah, but nothing comparable to good 'ol koay kak in Penang. I am already missing it.

After the food court, we went to Starbucks and continued with our little chit chat about school in Sgp and US, social ills and the different systems in both the countries we lived in. It was good catching up Will. Thanks for the time accorded to me, appreciate it much.

William sent me to the airport at 3.30pm and I went to buy some more Cote D'or at T3. It costs SG$9.30 per bar but they had a promo of buy 4, free 1.

Went to the SQ lounge to check on last minute emails. Mom called me on my mobile and excitedly share with me that she is now able to sit on the sofa. The sofa being lower than the dinner chair she's sitting on means that she's now able to bend her knees even more. Also, sitting on the sofa means she can elevate her legs up thus, reducing the swelling on her right foot. So, I am most happy for her.

Went to the gate for my boarding of flight SQ2. The flight fm SGP to HKG was so full that I asked for an extra pillow and they were unable to give me one. They told me they will try on the HKG/SFO sector. The flight was very noisy as there were many babies on board and I was just praying to God that it'll be nice if SQ were to upgrade me to biz class for the long haul sector. Otherwise, sleep is going to a challenge for sure. And true enough, God is indeed very good as HE heard my prayers and I did indeed get an upgrade to biz class (seat 22A) for the HKG/SFO sector. I was most happy and texted Ed and Sam of this good news. I can finally sleep in peace, literally (not rest in peace, mind you!). Well, I did get at least 5 hours of sleep and was rejuvenated upon arrival.

We arrived at 8.05pm SFO time and luggage clearance took about 15-20 mins. Customs another 15 mins. My hainan chicken rice packs given to me courtesy of Choy Peng was confiscated by the customs. But, all my other foodstuff were passed, phew! The customs claimed that the chicken rice packs had chicken extract and that's a no-no. So, in future, for those of you coming to the US, be aware as the US customs are very sensitive to anything milk, egg and chicken related.

Ed and Sam fetched me from the airport. They were hiding from me in a corner but Ed's orange t-shirt gave him away. Can spot him from a mile away with that kind of outstanding color, hahaha. I missed them both so much. Feels good to be home where the heart is.

They took me to Joy Sushi for dinner which I gladly wolfed down in spite of having breakfast already on board before touch down. Well, happy times means eating time, don't u agree?