Three more days. I'm packing at a sloth like pace. Everything seems to be essential- even the nylon fishing line gets the green light.

Has it been two years and eight months since JH laughed at me for lugging 'loaves' of sanitary pads to Singapore? This time I'm going to travel light. Light is largely undefined yet, but certain to join the entourage are two gigantic fruits and four dogs, and my trusty table lamp.

Mum blew RM 190 on two haircuts. The hairdresser styled and highlighted her hair with red spray, and she looked like Peter Pan with glasses. Hahaha...

Tommorow meeting HW at her school! And then pasar malam for the last time in a few months. =l

I'm baffled by how complex human relationships are, yet I rejoice at the fact that somethings that are lost can be, although never as perfect as they were, found again after millions of years when the dust of bewilderment and sadness has all but covered the tip.

And today she came to my house with durians, and we spent the afternoon playing Mastermind and Tipover. A replay of an event that happened 5 years earlier, only we're much older now.

I was very surprised and hurt, mind you. Back then I thought we were inseparable, and if I ever considered switching to lesbianism you were my number 1 choice for a partner.

But that was back then. I thought I had forgotten you, and vice versa. When you called to say you were coming I couldn't have any expectations. When you gave me the Squeezy Stressball and The Surfer... well, it was, as I quote Celine Dion, "all coming back to me now".

Was it because... I don't know. Perhaps I will never know. I dare not ask you because you had a rather great impact in my life.

Let the buds blossom, with a thorn for cautiousness that shouldn't be here in the first place.

Achtung!

The word isn't used in the right context but I just love the sound of it.

So how was the trip to Switzerland, you say.

Well, I'm glad mum and I went.

I boarded the airplane with the Amazing Race kind of mentality- the Mum and Daughter team. Suffice to say it wasn't as smooth as butter. And me losing the 512mb memory card didn't help. But as every cloud has a silver lining, haha, we ended up with 2 new 2gb cards and took a total of 1887 photos.

Switzerland is so beeeaaauuu-tee-fuul, as the average Caucasian would express in their exaggerated manner. Because it really is. Rolling hills, stately alps, lakes like sheets of glass... even the blind would take wonderful photos with a digital camera.

Surreal view from Mt. Pilatus.


Lake Lucerne from the Church Bridge.


Random lake. Lakes of these sizes would be termed seas in Malaysia.


Each glacier has a name, like how each cow has.


Cows, bells, and everything else.

But topping it all was the great and unexpected company during the trip. During the welcome session on the first day I was somewhat unpleasantly surprised that the whole tour group (36 in total) comprised of only 2 people below the age of 50- me and an Australian Vietnamese who's 30+/- *horror* , and only 3 Asians. As the days went, they proved to be really sporting, witty, and intellectual. Here are some examples:

"Hey, that's a morgue!"
"Yeah, people are dying to get in there."

On the train through the Bernina Pass that has only 800+ tunnels:
"I think I'm starting to get tunnel vision."

These people know for sure that Malaysians don't live on trees. Some have even been to KL for holidays. And when Australians and Americans start to discuss politics, I just sit back and listen, silently thanking GP for though not allowing me to participate, was sufficient for me to follow the conversation without getting too lost.

Mum and I rather favoured the company of three people:

Here's John whom we always accidentally bump into. Terribly nice.

The one next to me is 85-year old Isabel who STILL works at a card distributing company, and at the far right is Marge whose bark is louder than her bite and has either given or sold 199 of her homemade bags in 2 years.

It's interesting to note that life after 55 or after retirement doesn't necessarily consist of only watching pay TV and medical checkups. Instead, one is free to do almost anything in the world, be it reading up and researching on Dali, taking care of granchildren, overseas trips that last 9 weeks, making personalised travelogues, joining a choir... as long as one has the health and financial means to do so. Probably quite foreign to our Asian ears are "My grandparents went paragliding last July", but that's what an elderly couple from the tour did! Amazing zest, these people have, hardly a common denominator of the senior society here.

Oh, weather is a real conversation topic in small, small Switzerland (pop. 7.5 million) because a 3 hour drive from atop the alps to lakesides like Lugano brings you from freezing -6c to a scorching 34c. Illustrated with clothes, it's something like this:

to

Of course, what's a trip for me without gastronomic endeavours, doggy sighting and artsy stuff? Foodwise, Switzerland is extremely disappointing. I suppose I'm a phillistine after all when I'd decline traditional Swiss cheese for 12-pieces-in-a-pack-Kraft singles. The only Swiss? dish that I like is barley soup.


But the Swiss make up for that because the country is an absolute doggy heaven! Doggies on trains, doggies in restaurants, doggies in parks... *woo hoo*

Doggy on snow!


St Bernards smooching.

Okay art definitely isn't at its zenith in Switzerland, but look at their woodcarvings...

The dog. I wasn't carved.

What else can I say? Switzerland: I like. But perhaps the Swiss could adopt curry as their national dish and grow chillis...

I'm a social animal. Haha.

This week has been really full-filling. Imagine, I went to Megamall for three days consecutively, and I met, accidently or pre-arranged, with in excess of 15 CHS people.

Sunday, lunch with Yam Gao & Co. That's Wenn Shin, Chow Chow, Kam Tong, Shu Ni and Li Shan.

Then Chow Chow, the catalyst came to be my live-in partner on Tuesday night. And because we're so good in bed, she decided to extend her stay =P. Barely ten minutes since her arrival, Wei Siang called. He came over and all three of us had love and lust themed drinks.

Tuesday's pasar malam nite, and we came across Yen Ying, Wei Wei, Ke Yuen, Kok Soon, and some CHS guy I don't know.

Current tally: 11 people.

---Note to self: Remember yummy ban mee on Tuesdays.

Then on Wednesday, shorties (5 of us) gathering at Megamall. One of us is newly attached! Lots of grilling from our PI =P. A little later, Wai Xin, Chun Seng and another unknown CHS guy popped in to Kim Gary's where we were having lunch to say hi.



At night, yum cha with Zhou Hau and his cousin (non CHS).

Total tally: 18 people!

Serious blast from the past. My curiosity as to who metamorphed was thoroughly satisfied.

But most fun was having Chow Chow over. She with her STD horror stories and crypt orchidism. And discussion about the female anatomy, and shopping like we own a mint, and having steamboat with Rotten with barely enough to pay the bill.


Lovely week, people!

Next two weeks: Switzerland.

I dumped my shell. Say bye bye to hermit Joleen. =)

Dorling Kindersly: I am indebted to you, o great travel guide with vivid pictures and costing close to RM100.

My second day as a hermit.

Or maybe I'm a hermit that's just emerged from its shell. Haha. Or maybe my brain's just trying to kill me.

Wonder when will things thaw.

*

Many thanks to Fatty. You're a genius! and a very patient one at that.

MILESTONE: I drove all by myself to Fatty's house! And we made cheese omelette for lunch =D