Soak came over the other day to test if my sewing machine could adhere velcro and thick paper for her new book. Jun and her turned up at the same time at the gate. We laughed as we greeted each other - all wearing our sloppiest home clothes. jun and I have been neighbours for the longest time, but didn't know each other until we went to college together.

I met soak through another Singaporean whom I started chatting with because I recognized her accent in a bank in Chicago. Soak and I only had dinner once, but kept in touch occasionally over social media. We bumped into each other sometime last year at an art show at temporary press. Soon, she moved to an apartment above the coffee shop near my place. 

I applied for an open call that happened to be by the company she works part time for. I remember receiving an excited text from her asking me to check my inbox - it was news that I had been chosen for the show! We went climbing together a few times and she also came by to help look at my works to figure out what to include in the show. I met Theo through her - though realized later that we had met before at an MOE event 4-5 years back. I even had his number stored in my phone already. It was all kinda serendipitous.

Back to sewing through velcro and thick paper - it worked pretty well! jun, soak and I hung out in my room and talked about our struggles with pursuing our practices, other artists who seem to have "made it" and reminisced about college days. Soak said she thought where we are now is still kinda exciting - the possibilities that lie ahead. Soak asked Jun if he wanted to see her apartment. Jun and I have lived near this coffee shop for decades, but had only ever seen the apartment above it from the outside.

The first time soak brought me up - it was so surreal being in a space that I've walked past and looked at from the outside almost everyday. I often wondered who inhabited the space, what it was like on the inside. I enjoyed wondering - but now being in the space - it didn't feel real. 

We sat on the floor of her room - and it felt like living overseas again - being with roommates and hanging out like we didn't have any other responsibilities, and time seemed to stop. Theo came back from work, exhausted. We sat for a little while longer before picking ourselves up for dinner downstairs.

The weekday evening exhaustion was very tangible as we ate, yet there was comfort in being together - snide comments were thrown across the table occasionally in jest, and we laughed and talked and ate - it was a lovely evening.