Today was a little out of sorts.  We experienced a series of coincidental events, which Krista calls it ’serendipity’.  Unlike other days, we had late lunch today – which was the beginning of it all.

We were engrossed with our tasks (and entertainment) that we took our own sweet time to call a time-out.  For the first time, I declared my hunger and we decided to have fast food for a change – most of the kopitiams would’ve run out of food during that hour anyway.  Our odd timing brought us to a familiar face, as I bumped into my good friend Jade at McD’s.  Jade is one of the most creative people I know – she has just finished her diploma and is looking for a job, and at the same time, the company has a vacancy!  After a brief introduction session, all four of us (Nic, Krista, Jade, myself) were talking like old friends.

We invited her to the office, to have a look and to join us for a few rounds of Jenga as Nic (Mr. Boss) applied his kungfu skills into the game, serenaded with Michael Jackson’s music in the background.    Above is a photo of Krista (Mrs. Boss) getting a block out of the tower.  She claims her left hand is steadier even though she’s a righty.

To remove a block and to keep the tower stable isn’t easy.  We all know that.  It’s like churning ideas and effort while keeping ourselves sane.  Sometimes we go a little too far, the tower wobbles and shakes – and that’s exactly how we feel when we’re exhausted from thinking or doing too much.  So we pause and let the tower be still, put the block back onto the top, and move on.

The difference between us and an ordinary Jenga tower would be that we last a whole lot longer than that.  We were made by the most advanced maker in the world, so wonderfully complex, and so amazingly strong.  If we play our cards right, we’ll be building and building ourselves to be the very best versions of us.  By playing our cards right means knowing when to stop, replenish, and carry on.

Fortunately for me, even though I made the tower topple twice out of three times, it was only a game and it had us in fits of laughter.  It’s important to sometimes take ourselves less seriously too.

When Jade left, Krista challenged me to a couple games of Master Mind.  I haven’t played that game in years!

I dislike going to places where I know I will end up being slightly deaf and smelling like a ciggarette.  I enjoy good beats from up-tempo techno music once in a while, but noisy places such as clubs aren’t exactly my cup of tea because I don’t get to spend good quality time with my friends that way.

Being the old soul that I am, I enjoy having conversations with people over a good cup of coffee.  Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t have to be Starbucks nor Coffee Bean or any fancy outlets.  As a matter of fact, I’m a fan of Kopi O and would appreciate a good cuppa anytime.

So Alexis is in town.  Alexis also roughly translates as my mentor, friend, and someone I would do crazy things with and still remain sober at the end of it all.  Oh, she’s also a dentist and she’s in town for a fancy dental conference at a fancy hotel.  Ok, enough personal information.

I picked her up from her friend’s place, went for makan and then settled at a quiet cafe sipping our coffee and telling each other stories.  And I like listening to people’s stories.  Because I think there are no better life lessons than those that have been tried and tested and shared from the heart.  And Alexis is one person who has a lot of stories to share.  Despite her cool and calm demeanour that she portrays because of her profession, she did have some wicked adventures and experiences when she was slightly younger (she’s still very young, by the way).

I’m pretty sure that underneath that humble character, a big dream is being built and a history maker is being molded.

When I meet such people who then become my friends, their lifestyle and outlook on things become an inspiration to me.  Which is a bit funny because just yesterday I was complaining to myself that I lacked some.

Coincidentally, today, my bosses were giving me a pep talk about dreams and where the possibilities are endless as long as one believes.  All I have to do, is to sit and think about it.

I think it’s time I put my beanbag and notebook to good use.