past

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This was supposed to be a short post to just roughly create a timeline of my life, but I started haunting for pictures and spent ages looking through them!

So now it's a long post.

Might link this up sometime haha like quick summary to mah lyf, because everyone's just dyinggggg to know (harhar).

This post is all about me so don't read unless you wanna see baby pictures of me heehee.

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I'm just going to briefly recount my history!

- EGYPT -

Pre-1990:

My parents were living in Egypt because of my dad's job. (I know people will ask cause they already ask about my mom, so anw my dad was working for General Motors) (Yes the one that just went bankrupt)

Pyramids yes. They are one of the 7 Wonders of the World but my mom manages to make them sound a lot less exciting than they're supposed to be.

1990:

My parents fly back to Singapore to have me delivered here, 25th July, at Thomson Medical Centre.

They flew back to Egypt once I'm old enough. Newborn babies are so boring. The Singaporean side of my family is extremely disappointed because they expected some blonde, blue-eyed baby. Obviously extremely unlikely. My dad has green eyes.

1991:

I spend my first year living in Egypt, where I got food poisoning from the unclean street food and developed a huge fear of fire/candles. This is my mother's fault because she decided that the easiest way to let me learn that I shouldn't play with fire was very simply to let me get burnt.

The Gulf War broke out (? happened? what's the right verb for this??) so my mom and I had to leave the country first while my dad stayed behind to sort out the company stuff.

My aunts came to visit us!

There are more pictures of me as a baby in Egypt, but somehow they all seem to revolve around me being bathed and fat -_-

The dog, an irish setter called Storm, and my half-brother Patrick. Distinct genetic predisposition to high foreheads already evident between us.

I think this was on some cruise down the River Nile.

Now THESE are blonde, blue-eyed babies.

I was a very fat baby. However I have developed a theory that when you're fat as a baby, you will grow up slim and vice versa. Anyway the doctor actually asked my mom to put me on diet. Imagine putting a baby on diet. It was that bad. But my mom couldn't be bothered and I lost all my mega fat baby fat pretty fast.

- CHINA -

Okay my memory here is a bit fuzzy. I spent a total of 6 years in China, and it's either 5 years in Shenyang and 1 year in Beijing, or 4 years in Shenyang and 2 in Beijing. Or 4.5 and 1.5 or something.

Whatever, it's all the same. Still China.

1992-1995:

I went to a Chinese kindergarten that was behind out estate. I remember being taught math really early (the same stuff they later tried to teach me in Pri 2 in France) and having naptime.

I caught lice ): from another kid during naptime, so this meant my mom and the maid had to comb through my hair with this special comb thingy, and washed my hair in vinegar to kill the lice ): not fun.

Every time our dog disappeared we were terrified cause it might get picked up and sold to be eaten. Another Chinese family tried to ensure an eventual arranged marriage between their son and me o.O and btw we were only like 4 years old at that time or something.

China was/is still pretty strict about organised religions so this meant my mom would have to host church sessions at our house! She visited the local orphanages often too, and if my dad was away on business she'd sometimes bring a few kids home (the healthy ones) to stay with us. It was really sad, because I remember her telling me that the funds at orphanages were so stretched they often had to "choose" between saving healthy kids over those that were dying anyway.

Haha at my hairstyle.

HAIII!

1996-1997:

Started Primary 1 at a French international school in Beijing. I remember there was another Sophie in class (Sophie is an extremely common French name) and she was annoying cause she was kind of like a suck-up. She and her friends ate their snacks where we're supposed to line up after recess just so that she'd be the first in the line.

And the boy I thought was cute liked her. Hmph.

At this point I was truly trilingual. I spoke Chinese to the maid/locals, English to my mom and French to my dad. Kids with minds like a sponge and etc.

We bought a dog in Beijing, whom we later flew with us to France and subsequently to Singapore. It was a white pekinese called Milou, after Tintin's dog (in the English version the dog is called Snowy).

Omg I remember this Cinderella dress! I have no idea where it is now, although I still have the gloves for this.

My dog Milou, then a small little puppy! He had a kidney problem and extremely often my mom had to bring him to the vet for shots.

My half-sister Florence! I look bored.

- FRANCE -

1998:

My dad retired, and we moved back to France. I lived a year plus in Toulouse, which is quite a major city in the south of France. We spent a while living up in the north first, near this place called Strasbourg but we eventually headed down to warmer climates.

I attended Primary 2 at this private school called Caousou. I took up 3 CCAs- jazz dance, art and roller skating.

Lunch consisted of those scenes you see in movies; where you queue up with a tray and have to take whatever is on the menu that day. I was/am a picky eater and there were hall monitors, so this meant I spent the bulk of lunchtime staring at my food refusing to eat it. (I really really hate calamari rings).

We played tag during recess and jumped into piles of autumn leaves and brought little figurines to school and pretended different sections of the huge roots of the trees were the living room, bedroom etc.

There was this boy I liked (sorry I was childish like that) but I can't even remember his name now. I think it was Antoine. My mom used to say he looked like a potato (???).

My dog Milou! Way bigger and furrier! So adorable!

Heehee so fashionista! But you can see that I started hunching way early. I was always a tall kid.

The kitchen and eating area. We had a separate dining room but no one ate there cause there was no tv (haha). Stairs on the right lead to my playroom!

Oh yes I started wearing specs early too. I always did like reading.

My dog Milou, and classmates over for my birthday.

Our house was really old, like more than a 150 years old. It had a stable, a courtyard and even this special room/tower thingy for pigeons! Cause you know how they used to use pigeons to send messages? So cool right! Courier pigeons!

My mom says the house even had a SECRET PASSAGE omgkillmenow she only told me after we moved out. So sad.

My classmates!

Okay I can see my "clique"! The girl in blue below me was my best friend and her name is Cecile. The girl diagonally behind me on the right was called Helene, and the pale girl right at the top was Muriel!

Honestly I don't even remember her name. Think it might be Caroline.

Okay this was actually after I had already moved back to Singapore, and was just visiting France. But whatever.

My parents divorced. I remember my mom came up to my room (I stayed on the 3rd floor by myself; so brave!) after I had gone to bed and sat on my bed and told me the decision. She asked me who I would want to go with (although I'm not sure there was a choice here really) and I said her. She then told me that we might not have a big house with a car anymore and I said "it's okay Mommy, we'll ride bicycles". And till today she says that's the most beautiful thing I ever said to her.

- SINGAPORE -

Don't assume that it gets boring here onwards!

1999:

I'm supposed to enter Primary 3, but I don't know Chinese nor English (besides simple spoken with my mom). No school wanted to take me in, or wanted to put me down one grade if they did.

My mom goes to MOE to ask for help and they find me a place in a neighbourhood school, which was New Town Primary School (unaffiliated to New Town Secondary School).

At this point we are living with my uncle and his family. I learn Singlish incredibly fast (further exacerbated by the fact that it was a neighbourhood school), had crazy amounts of tuition and studied a lot to catch up.

At the end of Primary 3 I'm more or less topping the class and do well enough to be accepted to CHIJ Kellock when my mom approaches them.

I have my 9th birthday at McDonald's, and begin flying alone to France to visit my dad (1 month). I cry on my first visit, but I get used to it.

2000:

I start Primary 4 at IJ Kellock, where I end up in Gymnastics cause I entered school 2 weeks late. The contrast between a neighbourhood school and a good one was huge, and this was most apparent to me where at my first exam there I totally tanked. Also, the kids there were different. They said sorry when they accidentally stepped on someone, and would ask you what book you were reading.

(I'm not saying this is applicable to all neighbourhood schools lah okay, this is just what I experienced.)

My mom and I move into our own place and flew my dog, Milou, in from France. He has to stay in quarantine for a month, and the dumbest is that you've to pay for every day of it.

This was when I was already in IJ Kellock, but brought my 2 New Town friends to my house to play dress-up. That's Jacqueline and Mohana (I think), I really wonder where they are now!

Me and my cousin Jayne, HAHAHA at how we've changed since then.

At my McDonald's birthday, HAHAHA at Jayne again.

This was with a friend from IJ Kellock, I think her name was Christina? I wasn't actually close to her so I've no idea how she ended up at my house haha. And my good natured dog Milou!

2001-2009:

Was grounded for PSLE, got 252. Went to St Margeret's Secondary School, got grounded for OLevels, got 8 points. Went to SAJC, got grounded for ALevels, got ABC.

Yeah this is where it gets boring.

- RANDOM PICTURES -

Most of these are from holidays, or are at settings I can't place in my mind. I've really been to A LOT of countries cause my parents like traveling (one of the few things they have in common), but I was far too young to remember most of it.

If you don't know where this is please shoot yourself.

If you don't know where this is, it means you can't read or are extremely oblivious, so please shoot yourself as well.

Haha btw I remember my mom said she brought us to the steps that Jesus Christ had to climb carrying the cross on his back and that she was carrying me (remember that I was fat and heavy), so she could sort of relate. Okay I know people are saying zero basis of comparison here, but it's still funny.

Disneyland, Florida! The photo says July 21st, cause we went there for my birthday! (July 25th)

Went with my mom to England for Halloween!

- COMIC RELIEF -

Random photos for laughs!

My mom when she was younger. So vain (inherited). Okay lah she was helping some photographer friend or something.

HAHAHAHA. The clothes!! Platform shoes...

Haha at my mom again.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA x1000 I cannot stop laughing at the left-hand side one. I have no idea why my mom brought me to do these; I guess she just thought it would be amusing. There are like at least 5 more outfits please hahaha I'm such a good kid, I can't believe I entertained this kind of nonsense!

2010:

Present! I'm in NUS Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences with no real direction in life but looking through my past I'm glad I've had an interesting one. To a certain extent I miss it and I wonder about all the people that have passed through my life and where they are now, and the places I've had to leave.

I can say that I've still had a pretty interesting life since coming here because I've experienced things a lot of people haven't, and never will. I guess my only real goal right now is to keep my life interesting and make the most out of what I have.

Toldja fringe partings. Annoying.

DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE SHORTS. NOT A SKIRT.

Okay this post really took a long time. I stopped to have supper in between. It makes me feel like traveling! Can't wait for holidays (:

Goodnight!