After 20 years...


Last July, I found an old friend. We met when we were teenagers and lived not too far from each other in my hometown. We met through our fathers. Her father was my Dad's former boss in the Ministry of Youth & Sports. For some reason, I never remembered my Dad's bosses but Lin's father stood out. He was a strict but fair supervisor and my Dad always spoke very highly of him. After Lin moved back to West Malaysia, we did keep in touch for a while but didn't do so for many years after.

Now, back to July 2007. I was waiting for my father-in-law near the check-in counter at Newark Liberty Airport when a young lady walked by me several times. She looked familiar but for some foolish reason I thought, "No! It can't be her. Can it be her?" She still has that same youthful look of 15 years ago." Then, I told myself, "Serene, if you don't ask her, you'll regret it forever. You would have missed this one good opportunity to reconnect with an old friend!"

Holding that thought, I walked up to her and asked, "Are you Lin? Lin Idrus?!" The moment she said "Yes", it was like a dream come true. What are the odds of meeting again after all these years?! And, of all places - the airport, where thousands of people poured in and out of its gates on a daily basis. It seemed like "somebody-up-there" had arranged for us to bump into each other again. Thank you!

Unfortunately, Lin had to check-in soon. She was on the same flight as my father-in-law. We quickly exchanged e-mail addresses and I learned that she was in the final year of her doctorate program at Harvard. Lin is one of the smartest person I know and it's no surprise that she studied in three Ivy League Colleges in the eastern seaboard, with the exception of Princeton. Yes, I'm dropping a major hint here for you, Lin. I'm expecting you back in New Jersey after a couple of years in NUS.

So, we kept in touch - on and off. I'm kinda bad at it but vowed never to allow one score minus five to pass before meeting again. When Lin e-mailed about a month ago, telling me that her parents will be making a short trip to NJ/NYC, I jumped at the chance to get together.

We FINALLY met last week. It was like the years never went by. We picked up where we left-off immediately. I supposed true friendship is an eternal enigma that withstands time and distance. We brought Lin, Uncle Idrus & Auntie Asmah to Spanish Tavern for dinner. Indeed, there was some major catching-up to do. The night went by so quickly and I didn't want it to end. Adrian had never met them before and yet they hit it off so well!

From left to right: Uncle Idrus, Auntie Asmah, Lin, me & Adrian

We shared two Paella dishes between the four of us. The portion - huge! Thank goodness our waiter suggested that we share.

Auntie Asmah's trout in pignoli sauce. Good choice!

Psst!!!
Uncle Idrus is also a blogger. In blogspot.com, he is simply known as Pak Blogger Idrus and keeps an interesting account of his daily life in Malaysia and also, of his travels and other socio-political issues. I've added his blog in passing - malaysian to my daily reads.

Perhaps our next reunion will be in Ampang, Kuching or here in NJ? Who knows but it was really, really good to see you all again.