the day before yesterday [because it's sunday already and i really should be asleep at this time but im waiting for my hair to dry, such a wonderful excuse] i sent off one of my bestest friends in the world to the wonderful land of sushi and green tea and kotatsu and also obedient crows that wait at at crossings and watch the red man turn green to fly across the street.

fun thing is, it's not as if she hasn't left us before

[she went on exchange to hongkong for one semester]

but somehow when we sent her off this time

it felt like the goodbye was for real;

because japan is such a wonderful place, she won't wanna come back?

maybe because she told me that she might be looking for a job there;

or maybe because it's starting to hit me that it's my final orientation at EH

and that i only have 2 more freaking semesters to try to save my pathetic C.A.P.

that graduation is looming over us like the afternoon sun on road the busy road

that the future looks [somewhat] bleak; that we've really [whether we like it or not] have to/had to grow up/become grown up.

then i realised,

as she turned around at the immigration area,

and gave her final little crazy-aunty wave to us,

i will miss her like crazy.

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i [will always] still remember the first day of school,

lugging this stupid heavy overpacked schoolbag,

i was tugging at my blue shirt anxiously, wondering if my grey and yellow tie was properly in place, wiping the streams of sweat from my forehead, trying desperately to look presentable,

then this bespectacled, tan, super-big-eyed girl in front of me turned around [rather] abruptly, opened her mouth [which broke into a really huge smile, showing her set of large and very neat, whale-like teeth, with no braces [yet]], stuck out her be-watched hand, and said, in a rather excited/anxious/friendly/icanttellwhatelse voice,

'hi, my name is hui chiang. what's your name?'

for a second or two i was stumped.

i must have looked like a beached fish,

but it only took me a while to stick out my hand and shake hers in return.

and we've been friends ever since.