those were the days my friend

Today made me wish I was a kid again.

I passed by TJC on bus 12 on my way to Parkway Parade. There facing the main gate hung a banner, announcing the occurence of Mardi Gras, on the 23rd May, next Friday evening. Mardi Gras is held once every 2 years, the last time it happened was back when I was in JC2. I remember how the dancers were reluctant to put an up item for Mardi Gras, because it was just one month before our concert and we were still rushing to work on that. Nevertheless, we still had fun that night. We pulled off a good performance, and we dressed up for the night after that. Besides our dance item, we had fire eaters brought in, our tutors doing an indian dance number, and a carnival. Then we were amused when we saw more tutors dressed as greek gods & egyptian princesses.

Things like that, and Chinese New Year carnival, and Teachers' Day, that I miss. Not forgetting our dance concert too, how we toiled tirelessly in those few months, and crying tears of bittersweet relief at the end of it all.

How I would love to don that dirty green uniform and collar badge again.
And I would sing the TJ anthem and shout the TJ cheer, and other orientation cheers proudly.
How I would love to sit in lectures or tutorials and scrawl on other people's notes, and skip over to the hawker centre opposite for char kway tiao or fish soap for lunch.
How I would love to jog along Bedok South road and Lucky Estate during PE, and sprint to the canteen for mango orange juice and breakfast set (with fries and LOTS of mushroom sauce!) after that.
How I would love to poke fun at the basketball / soccer / volleyball guys with the classmates.
How I would love to stroll into the hall or dance studio, and see other dancers sprawled on the floor catching a nap.

I get to dye my hair and dress in my own choice of clothes. That means I don't get a kick out of spraying my hair black and unbuckling and pulling down my skirt to avoid getting caught during spot checks anymore. 'A' Levels were stressful, but we didn't have to worry about class participation or irresponsible project mates every single semester, just the practice papers and final exams.

I guess you wouldn't truly appreciate what you had until it's over.

Moving on to after TJC was dinner with the girls at Aston's. That was one of the rare times I laughed hard. It's impossible not to when you see very retarded antics.

And you girls caused me to draw weird glances, as I grinned to myself when I recalled the heartwarming evening on the train ride home.