A visit from Felix

Felix came by this afternoon to visit me at my home. I haven't seen him in years. He happened to be in town on vacation from his business school in the States, and we had made an appointment on Sunday over MSN to meet up today.

Felix was my academic senior in secondary school and junior college, and later on, we were both in the same college at university. It was during our time together in Cambridge, in our varsity Christian fellowship circle, that I got to know him really well.

It was good to see Felix again today, even though we only spoke for about one and a half hours. He doesn't seem to have aged a day, but he certainly has gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge by independently working, living and studying overseas, particularly in the US. He shared with me how he adapted to his hectic working life, and encouraged me, saying that I too would be able to adapt to the requirements of my current job, given enough time.

Felix and I also talked about some of our friends from college. But I don't think either of us had the time to catch up with most of them. We were, and are, such busy people! We talked about exercise. In the university, Felix was my source of inspiration to work out at the gym. We also talked my present obsession for running. It intrigued Felix that I run so much nowadays. Back in those varsity days, I was hardly the runner. At that time, the longest that I had ever jogged was for about 40 minutes. My usual weekly routine would be to start near the back gate of Christ's College, head down Jesus Lane, cut across Mid-Summers Common, run along the River Cam until I reached the farmhouse at Coton, before I u-turned back to the varsity campus. The weather was much drier and cooler in the UK, but to me at that time, it was still a very punishing affair to run that distance. And look at me now. I have completed a 42.195-km marathon in hot and humid Singapore! :)

Before Felix left, we took some pictures together on his digital camera, one of those slim and compact models. But the machine went dead after a few shots. I think it might be a battery problem, and I hope it's not anything more serious. But I suspect Felix was a bit disappointed that it happened, because he was due for a dinner appointment, and he probably wanted to use his camera there too.

Felix will fly back to the US after Christmas. In the meantime, I wish him a very blessed Christmas here with his family and friends in Singapore. :) Take care, bro. :)