Friends + Picnic = Guaranteed Good Time
The plan was simple. I would bring the staple for a late picnic-style breakfast. Charles volunteered beverage while the rest of the girls just bring any leftover CNY snacks from home. Zam and Charles would bring their guitar to either entertain us or lead worship. Those who have it would bring picnic mat. With one sms, Fiona gave instructions for carpool and everything was set.
It's amazing how when you're excited about something, it takes more to feel tired from all the preparation. Last night I stir fried my favourite Korean 'dong-fen' with leek, chives (a check on the internet says it's called 'chinese leek'), minced luncheon pork and 5 eggs. And of course, fish sauce. Let it in the frying pan and heat it up in the morning before packing it into a box.
Also mixed a pack of crab sticks with mayo, sesame oil and garlic oil, and black pepper and left it to chill in the fridge overnight. Set aside some leftover sausages to be packed into the ice boxes in the morning. I bought a little instant BBQ box (which wasn't very instant to start fire) and topped up on the disposal crockeries.
The bbq box was the same one I bought before and used at the impromptu bbq with Mom, Peck and kids at East Coast Park. So from experience, the so-called fire-starter paper didn't work very well. To play safe, I bought a box of fire starters. Haha...
Vivien was the first to arrive at Pasir Ris Park. I picked Zam and Bob from White Sands, Christine came with Gayle and Fiona with Charles. And then there was Ruizhen, ahem...who got lost and came last.
Initially we laid all the picnic mats we have on the grass, but the power of the sun was too awesome so we moved into a pavilion and laid the mats on the ground. It was rather cosy and the wind was blowing like nobody's business. But I was not about to complain. It worked well for me.
So we started eating whatever we brought, and after a while, Zam and Gayle started the fire successfully and we cooked about half of the bbq-able stuff. It was so funny, cos the 'pit' was too shallow and kept burning quickly whatever we put on the aluminum foil which we placed above the soot-filled mesh.
We sang songs and chatted, talked about each other. Haha...mostly random stuff. So that's what fellowship is all about. Friends talking about anything under the (hot) sun. Ok, we were under shelter lah. A few of us even attempted to fly this hopeless kite I got from a previous office gathering. But it was hilarious so we still had a good laugh from it.
If not for the passing drizzle, we might have stayed awhile longer. Those people out in the open also came into our pavilion to take shelter. It's a public place, anyway. By the time we packed up and started walking towards the car park, the rain had stopped. It was all good.
For me, it was a satisfying and fruitful time. Thankful for the weather and the company.
It's the relationship built, the things we share, the things we offer to and accept from one another, how we relate to each other when we bring up the happenings in our lives. How we are not afraid that we would be intruding into someone's space and time when we share about something that's been bothering us, even though it may sound stupid and random (perfect love casts out fear). It's the time we give to each other and choose to spend it together rather than doing anything else at any one time.
So with that at the back of my mind, I'm thankful for this bunch of people who indulged in this suggestion to have a picnic on their rest day - make all the preparations, wake up early in the morning to be at Pasir Ris Park at 9.30am, and have a good time together.
Gayle and Charles' powerful digital SLRs have all the photos. Some of them taken by those who were fascinated by how clear the photos turn up on the display screen. Put them up soon!
It's amazing how when you're excited about something, it takes more to feel tired from all the preparation. Last night I stir fried my favourite Korean 'dong-fen' with leek, chives (a check on the internet says it's called 'chinese leek'), minced luncheon pork and 5 eggs. And of course, fish sauce. Let it in the frying pan and heat it up in the morning before packing it into a box.
Also mixed a pack of crab sticks with mayo, sesame oil and garlic oil, and black pepper and left it to chill in the fridge overnight. Set aside some leftover sausages to be packed into the ice boxes in the morning. I bought a little instant BBQ box (which wasn't very instant to start fire) and topped up on the disposal crockeries.
The bbq box was the same one I bought before and used at the impromptu bbq with Mom, Peck and kids at East Coast Park. So from experience, the so-called fire-starter paper didn't work very well. To play safe, I bought a box of fire starters. Haha...
Vivien was the first to arrive at Pasir Ris Park. I picked Zam and Bob from White Sands, Christine came with Gayle and Fiona with Charles. And then there was Ruizhen, ahem...who got lost and came last.
Initially we laid all the picnic mats we have on the grass, but the power of the sun was too awesome so we moved into a pavilion and laid the mats on the ground. It was rather cosy and the wind was blowing like nobody's business. But I was not about to complain. It worked well for me.
So we started eating whatever we brought, and after a while, Zam and Gayle started the fire successfully and we cooked about half of the bbq-able stuff. It was so funny, cos the 'pit' was too shallow and kept burning quickly whatever we put on the aluminum foil which we placed above the soot-filled mesh.
We sang songs and chatted, talked about each other. Haha...mostly random stuff. So that's what fellowship is all about. Friends talking about anything under the (hot) sun. Ok, we were under shelter lah. A few of us even attempted to fly this hopeless kite I got from a previous office gathering. But it was hilarious so we still had a good laugh from it.
If not for the passing drizzle, we might have stayed awhile longer. Those people out in the open also came into our pavilion to take shelter. It's a public place, anyway. By the time we packed up and started walking towards the car park, the rain had stopped. It was all good.
For me, it was a satisfying and fruitful time. Thankful for the weather and the company.
It's the relationship built, the things we share, the things we offer to and accept from one another, how we relate to each other when we bring up the happenings in our lives. How we are not afraid that we would be intruding into someone's space and time when we share about something that's been bothering us, even though it may sound stupid and random (perfect love casts out fear). It's the time we give to each other and choose to spend it together rather than doing anything else at any one time.
So with that at the back of my mind, I'm thankful for this bunch of people who indulged in this suggestion to have a picnic on their rest day - make all the preparations, wake up early in the morning to be at Pasir Ris Park at 9.30am, and have a good time together.
Gayle and Charles' powerful digital SLRs have all the photos. Some of them taken by those who were fascinated by how clear the photos turn up on the display screen. Put them up soon!
Comments