I was excited about meeting these gals.
Not only because it was our first time, but also because I hadn't met up with a group for a fairly long time.
The introvert in me prefers small groups, or one to one, and so any group more than two, or three, is a rare time.
For the sake of great food and convenience, we decided on Thai food at a cafe near the office of one of us gals.
I didn't mind.
I'm familiar with the area.
I'm also familiar (very familiar) with the cafe.
They got there before me, so they'd ordered by the time I arrived.
There was a grilled chicken, and a whole steamed fish, so I got a plate of kangkong (no sambal, I'm afraid, because I don't eat chili) and my friend ordered a couple of light bites.
We had drinks- milk tea and lemongrass- and I had a little bit of rice.
I dont' always have vegetables or steamed fish when I have Thai food- in fact I don't think I've ever had a vegetable dish here at all- so it was good to try the garlic kangkong, and better still to have the steamed fish- picking out bones and all.
The gravy, I was told, was particularly good.
For the light bites there was chicken skin, prawn cake and bean curd.
I attempted the prawn cake and was probably the one who ate up most of the bean curd.
The prawn cake was a little bit spicy, and (surprisingly) chewy.
And the bean curd, or fried tofu, had what I think was peanuts that gave the vegetarian dish extra crunch and extra bite.
Dinner over, the natural thing to do was, of course, to head out for a walk along the river.
Which we did, mingling with the crowds all out on a Friday night, as we headed towards the back of Swissotel Merchant Court, the building I often call Jumbo Seafood and which has a popular Mexican (Spanish) eatery, and onto the bridge until we got to Clarke Quay.
Here we wandered around the clubs a little, watching people perched on stools, chairs and seats having post-dinner, pre-supper drinks.
Quite fun, actually, especially when we attempted to get to Robertson Quay but realized- without the landmark of (now demolished) Liang Court- we couldn't quite recognize the way.
Eventually we made it back to the steps of the bridge where we'd first been earlier, made a right, and headed along the route until we got to the underpass where two buskers strummed and sang along with their guitars.
One of the girls told us she came to this part of Robertson Quay often.
Apparently there were a number of good restaurants, and a number of good wine bars.
Honestly, it was refreshing being back here this part of the Quay again.
I don't come here very often.
The last time I came here was a year or two ago when I visited the Intercon.
And I didn't even enter this complex then.
I didn't want to.
It holds a bittersweet memory of seven years past.
But tonight I walked in there with the girls.
Maybe that's what made tonight's little walk extra special.
It gave me new memories.
And let the old one fade a little further away.
I'd never have believed you had you told me on that hot, bright afternoon seven years ago that one day i would walk into the very same complex on a Friday night with a close friend, and a new group of friends.
But that night, unbeknownst to everyone else, I looked up the staircase to the office on the second floor, and I quietly smiled.
We made our way back after that, crossing the bridge lit up prettily in pink lights, and walking along the river towards the old Liang Court back to the other side of Clarke Quay and Clarke Quay Central.
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I'm glad for these new friends that I made.
I'm glad we got to meet.
Because that's the charm of life, that's the charm of living, and that's one of the most wonderful things about social media.
You connect with each other.
And then you bring those connections further.