The Old And The New

With 2 more days ahead of me here, my bags are pretty much packed. I'm bringing back more things, as I know I'm going to be in Sydney for a bit longer now. I am expanding my wardrobe with clothes that I can now fit back into, including a couple of new skirts that I've bought couple of years back and immediately decided that they were too tight and never saw the light of day. I'm finishing up the rounds of lunch and dinner with friends (only the very special ones had encore meals with me, other people had to be satisfied with just one meal, requests for repeat meetings were met with nods and smiles and fobbed off with "I'll call you").

Well-meaning friends here, having not seen me for 4 months and horrified at the physical damage stress had inflicted on my face, have plied me with face creams, face masks, stress relief serum which I've faithfully packed into my suitcase to be checked in, being very careful not to have excess liquids in my carry-on bag which will subject me to severe customs regulations. Friends in Sydney have been emailing with weather updates, warning me about the severely cold winter they are experiencing, preparing me and my body for the shock after equatorial Singapore and the humidity I've had to endure the last 2 weeks.

I'll be discarding a pair of leather mules which have been well-loved but had died a sudden death on this trip, I'll leave my clogs here too. And I'll be bringing back 2 pairs of brand-new leather shoes and a pair of old red suede shoes.

New and old, all intertwined. In more ways than one. Old clothes, new clothes. Old shoes, new shoes. Old friends, new friends. Old memories, new memories. Old life, new life. Out with the old, in with the new? I'm still keeping my old things, bringing in new ones, letting them conmingle and co-exist, complementing one another and making the other better.