the news at nine

you would have been proud of me today - i did the ramble round the coastal path through lincoln park, looking down through the dark fir trees as the choppy waters of the bay dotted with white sails caught the sunlight as it finally emerged out of the mist and cloud and the pacific waves rolled onto the beaches as surfers ran out into the breakers to ride them - then from ocean beach i walked the length of golden gate park as hundreds of dried up pine needles fell from twisted branches onto the grass and lakes and were blown up the roads and paths by the strong autumn wind - and not once did i moan about having to walk up another bloody hill or swear i was about to have a heart attack

of course, i didn't say those things because you weren't there to hear them - because that's what we do when we go walking - i enjoy moaning and you enjoy scolding me for moaning, using your strongest, campest singaporean accent - and we enjoy bickering about trivialities, saying silly things, talking nonsense, sharing our catchphrases and laughing at our own predictableness

and for the last nine years we've rubbed along together in very much the same way

now we begin to share our tenth, and if it's anything like the last nine, i won't be complaining

a decade ago i couldn't have imagined that another person could mean as much to me - that i could be consistently happy and call home the place where you are - that i would spend most of every day thinking about you, as i still do every day - that i would miss your company when you're not around and get goosebumps thinking about you

any words i could use to describe my feelings for you would be cliched and trite because words are inadequate for this purpose and would just sound like all the cheesey love songs played by mr accentuated sibilants, the 'captain of your heart' on late night class 95 fm...

so happy anniversary, twot-face - and the lyrics of that mama cass song, 'it's getting better', i emailed to you in the long ago mists of katong park towers, still apply