Full Moon Housewarming BBQ Zouk Party

It was a long workweek and and short weekend kind of a week.

Had a BBQ with my primary school mates at East Coast Park on Friday and the turn out was pretty impressive. There were almost twenty of us and including our form teacher Mrs Tan (formerly Ms Emily Wong), her daughter Tamara and an unknown Sunny (chauffeur of some sorts), it was a sizable party. Funny quote was how Emily said she was shocked the first time Mr Yeow, our pock-marked discipline master, used the word bloody on us students in her presence. She now admits that bloody is an English word that can be found in a dictionary.

I was late for the bbq cause I had sailing prior to that. The 8-hour sailing plus the week's worth of bustling must have taken it's toll on me however, with people I grew up with, the tiredness gave way to a genuine sense of enormous well-being when you feel comforted that friends you made 19 years ago still care to find out how you are doing and before the night ended, were already making plans for the next gathering.

It's funny how memories speed through your mind, sometimes back and forth, often choosing to linger when you least expect it. At the BBQ, we were going through the 6 years we shared together, from the the time we were 7 years old right to the brink of our pubescent years. Well, actually, I think amongst us, some hit puberty way earlier than others.

May Primary School is no more. Instead, the MOE May Adventure has taken over it's premises.
And May Primary School, which was made up of May North Primary and May South Primary has merged with Boon Keng Primary to become Farrer Park Primary School

Saturday was spent up north. Yishun and Sembawang. First was at Alvin and Yenli's place cause they had a full moon party. I have to explain this a little cause it wasn't a night time party. It wasn't a party in the way we would think of a party. No party music. Party ballons aplenty. But the most important misnomer was that it wasn't full moon that day (or night for that matter).

It has been a month since the both of them became the proud parents of their baby boy and was sharing that joy with us. It was a nice 2 hours there with plenty of food and geniune convival atmosphere that made the warm afternoon a little more pleasant.

I then had to spend a boring 2 plus hours at Sembawang Sun Plaza sipping tropical passion latte and reading Time magazine, reading Sideways, checking out the community library in the Plaza. I actually had to buy a bottle of wine and since I am only good at buying for myself (anybody can find Jacob's Creek 2001 Riesling please give me a call) I thought I could read Sideways and give myself some inspiration. The wine was meant as a gift to Edward (it's bloody Chongyu) and Amelia for their housewarming party.
After the first 20 pages I decided on a red cause it will be chilled to the right temperature faster blah blah....and it was to be a Pinot Noir and not the Merlot. So I called pin who said he'd get a Penfolds Merlot cause it was an "easy choice". I guess it is. I had a really good Australian red before. It was a Shiraz. Penfolds Coonawarra Shiraz 1996 and it was released in 1999. I must have bought it the first time I was back from UK at the Changi DFS. And I brought it along to a Christmas dinner with some York friends. Now I have a bottle of the same wine just different year. 2001. I am saving it for this year end's festivities, if any.

Anyway, back to the pinot and merlot dilemma. It has a name. It is the Sideways Effect.

Californian wines.....I can only think of Ernest and Julio Gallo. And I had a great experience with their White Zinfandel. It's not a complex wine. Which suits my simple palate completely. Which should be plain to all by now what a novice, non-oenophilic I am.

I got a Penfolds Merlot in the end. 2004. Very drinkable.

Merlot: a quintessential blending grape, when left to its own devices almost always - Petrus notwithstanding - results in a bland, characterless wine.

Pinot Noir: The one varietal that truly enchants me, both stills and steals my heart with its elusive loveliness and false promises of transcendence.

Can I tell the difference? Probably not. and that is why the Sideways effect is so important to the vineyards in Russian River Valley.

One thing at the Housewarming: Don't watch R-Point. It's crap.

Saturday Night: Zouk, Phuture, Velvet, Winebar. Hahaha......I'll leave this alone and not try to recollect too much of this.