The Best Laid Plans

It seemed like a good idea at the time: head down with a bunch of junior college mates to Geylang Serai to soak in the end-of-Ramadan festive atmosphere, tuck into hearty Malay cuisine and generally indulge in Malay culture.



It turned out, however, to be one of those nights when everything goes wrong. And it wasn't anyone's fault in particular; it just turned out that way. From people having to pull out at the last minute, to the numbing humidity and dizzying heat, to sheer bad luck--nothing was on our side. What began as a mission to trek through the bazaars ended up as a listless back-and-forth push through the crowds, an abortive attempt to actually have dinner, and the consumption of dodgy food and drinks. It ended with someone giving up and leaving early, and the rest of us heading to Bugis to console ourselves with a proper dinner.

We were so spent by the time we arrived that we too gave up and ate at the Bugis Junction food court. To add insult to injury, the Taiwanese dessert place we intended to redeem the night with was packed to capacity, so we settled on a similar one across the street that was empty.

We found out soon enough why it was empty. The dessert was tasteless, and before long, so was our conversation. I meant to cut my losses and run to Home where RNDM was still in progress, but two of my well-meaning friends--who had no idea how much the scene means to me now--coaxed me into staying a little longer. By the time I arrived at Home, Localbarboy had finished their set (apparently it's their last one for the year!!). It didn't help that the four people who had promised to go with me for RNDM and Poptart had backed out one by one in the course of the evening.



Thank goodness, then, for the Poptart that followed. Billed as a 'greatest hits' special, it didn't disappoint. From the opening salvo of Johnny Boy's "You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve", Kasabian's "Processed Beats", Suede's "Metal Mickey", Morrissey's "You're the One For Me, Fatty" and The Killers' "Mr Brightside (Thin White Duke Remix)", it went from one high to the next. To those who denounce Poptart by saying they always play the same songs, I say there are the same songs, and then there are the same songs. Last night's music was good enough for me to almost forget that I was essentially there alone, dancing away the anguish of not having anyone to dance with. I flailed my arms and stamped my legs, throwing myself into each song, as if to shake off the curse of having friends that are either not cool enough or too cool to give me time of day in my delayed adolescence.

Then I see the girl dancing with a cigarette in her hand, dancing like this is the only world she understands; she moves her lips like she knows the words to every song. I ask her silently: why do you kiss another? Don't you know I am the one who will write the songs that will save your life?