BBQ mini party @ Regent Park

My British colleague, Fiona, invited the whole department to the condo where she stays for a little BBQ party last Thursday. At first, because the party was in the evening at the end of a looong hectic work day, I thought I would be too tired to enjoy myself. It turned out to be quite relaxing and heartwarming though, especially since it also doubled up as a farewell party for our young intern and another relief teacher who'd be going on to university soon. Before heading over to the gathering at Regent Park condo, Adra and I went to Sophia's place for a while cos the 3 of us were supposed to go shop for drinks to bring to the party. And yoohoo! Look who I had eyes for only while we were at Sophia's! Yeah... who else but Xiaohua, the cutie pie!

Anyway, when we finally got to Regent Park in a cab, I was wowed by what greeted us as we walked from the security guard post to the BBQ pit. There's a majestic pool, jacuzzi, dim romantic lighting created by the lamps and the palms, and a huge lounge house that consists of function rooms, what seems to be like a mini library, and even a billiard area. Wah... this is like the nicest condo I've seen. So relaxing, the ambience!

Though there wasn't a fantastic range of food, everyone was satisfied by what was prepared. There were sotong balls, chicken wings, otahs (oh, but never buy them -- these were the ones in convenience packs... yucks), self-created salads, bread, sausages and lotsa fruit to go with choc fondue! Haha, notice the big frying pan in the pics above? I learnt how to 'BBQ' food the efficient way from Sophia! At one point, the fire was too huge and anything that went on top of it would be burnt in no time, so the ingenious Sophia did what she normally did at BBQs -- she used a pan to cook the food above the fire, then once it was more or less cooked, she simply put it on the grill for a while to give it the charcoal flavour before serving. Haha. She was the main chef that evening while I simply stood next to her and ate whatever she set aside for us to share. :p

Before the party ended, we had a little farewell speech ceremony for the 2 temps whom we would be saying goodbye to. One was Alvin, whom I taught when he was in Sec 3 the year I first joined the school (I feel really old now that he's already completed his NS and is going on to university!) and the other's Ren Ying, the intern who's attached to me for one of my classes. They each gave a really heartwarming speech and I also said a few words to wish my intern all the best. In return, I got a really touching self-designed note from her:

Just as I might have inspired Ren Ying, I think I was encouraged by her words too. Knowing that an 18-year-old looks up to me as a role model in her future career makes me feel that I should continue to strive hard, despite feeling overwhelmed and down at times when I meet with failures or didn't do as well as expected. That's why her note is now pinned at my cubicle with other motivational items that remind me to push on. :)