I'm not sure whether it was a result of some rare alignment of the planets and stars or just plain ol' destiny, but we had a spontaneous gathering of all but one member of my batch for lunch today. We haven't met up in a terribly long time and it felt so incredibly good to meet up with them and just talk (crap) with them. We were all laughing so much that at one point, tears just streamed down my face.

One classic exchange:
Chinese guy A: (referring to quite dark-skinned Indian colleague sitting opposite him) He's black.
Chinese guy B: You should say "he's dark."
A: No what, he's black.
B: You're dark too.
A: Yeah, that's why. I'm dark, he's black.
B: Actually, you're dark, he's darker.
A: Yeah. I'm dark, he's dark brown.

Obviously, it was one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Another exchange:
A: You don't drink, you don't dance, you don't eat (in reference to his being vegetarian)... do you gamble?
Indian guy C: No.
A: Do you do any sports? Any hobbies? Do you womanise?
C shakes his head in response to all three questions.
A: Then what do you do?!

And that's one of the reasons I've been with my company as long as I have. Regardless of the frustration that my job has been causing me, these people do mean a lot to me, in a way I never imagined they would when I first started working.

It's also one of the main reasons I'm not sure I'll be able to leave Singapore just yet. With the amount of time I've been spending with my friends (all of them, not just my work friends), I've developed relationships which I dearly cherish and rely on to help me get through life.

But when push comes to shove, I know I'll do the right thing. Nothing will keep me from going to work overseas. It's just a matter of timing.