volarenovels – Grow with me

Today is my last full day in Singapore! I had to check out by noon. Several days ago, Rozen told me there was a delicious dim sum place close to where he lived, and he asked me if I would like to try it. He said it had a Michelin Star!! I said yes, but because I will have my luggage with me, I told him it would be quite inconvenient.

Hence, Rozen told me he was going to order and then bring it over so we could eat it together before I checked out. He was so considerate!!

I think he knew it would be way too difficult for me to travel to his area to have dim sum. We were going to go to the Artscience Museum afterwards, so it would have been probably an hour of commute there and back.

Anyhow, Rozen arrived and we ate before I checked out! It was so yummy! He said he knew I would like it because it was Cantonese dim sum. He was aware of my shellfish allergy and ordered items I really liked! I thought it was so much extra work for him to come all the way, and I was very grateful he didn’t mind.

Rozen told me it was better I picked up my luggage at the end of the night, but I told him that I had to rush to the airport right after karaoke since I wanted to take the subway there, and I think the last train would be at eleven something (Karaoke was from 8-11pm). I didn’t want to pay for an Uber.

He said that we could pick up the luggage before I head to the dinner meet-up then. So, I asked the counter if I could drop off my luggage and return to get it around 5-5:30pm.

They said it was fine, but I realized my SIM card was no longer working without wifi. Fallen had gotten me one on the 9^th, but it only lasted 7 days since that was the only option unless I wanted to pay for a 30-day one. So now, another problem had occurred. People who were meeting up with me would have a hard time getting a response from me since I no longer had data.

Rozen told me that he would be with me, so I didn’t have to worry, but he wasn’t coming for dinner or karaoke, so I told everyone who was meeting me that night to message Cosy if they needed anything. Thank you for all your help, Cosy!

Anyway, we took the subway down to the Artscience Museum. When we got there, we decided on the mental health exhibition because Rozen was going to go to the main exhibit with his online date another time. Because Rozen signed up for some membership thing, it was a lot cheaper for both of us.

I was actually so impressed by the exhibit. It was one of the most touching exhibits I have ever been to. It really made me feel a lot of emotions.

If you are currently living in Singapore, I would highly recommend you check it out before they take it down.

A lot of it helps you understand what a person with mental health issues is going through.

Here are some pictures since it is very difficult to put into words:

The pill one really made me want to cry. The description was, “What do you use to cushion your mind?”

I also thought the pink expanding balloon was very powerful. I was actually getting anxious as it kept expanding. I wasn’t sure if it was going to explode or not, and the uncertainty put me on edge.

There was also another part of the exhibit where you could write notes to strangers to cheer them on. I really liked that. Visitors could take the notes home if they found some that would help them in any way.

When we walked further in, there was a telephone where you could pick up and talk to someone, and they would respond to you. I think it was AI though. It was still a very cool experience.

I feel like this type of museum is much more of a “feeling” museum than a “knowledge” museum. You really get to experience what it feels like to be in another person’s shoes. The exhibit is until February 26th, 2023, so do check it out if you’re in Singapore. Here’s a link for more info.

I think those who have mental health issues would feel like they were being heard or understood.

After we were done at the museum, I wanted to check out the Singapore Flyer, but it was so expensive that it wasn’t worth it. It was like $50/person or something ridiculous like that. Rozen said it was a tourist trap, and we decided to head elsewhere.

Rozen then said when I come to Singapore again, he would take me to places that the Singapore government didn’t want me/tourists to see. We passed by areas that were not so nice, and he said that some people still litter even though it was against the law. But he also said that some of the not so nice areas have the most delicious food, and there are many hidden gems.

At this time, I told him I wanted to try that buttermilk chicken from McDonalds, and I asked if he was willing to split half with me since I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing since the dinner event was in a few hours. Rozen didn’t mind, so we went to McDonalds.

It was a pretty delicious sandwich, and something that we don’t have in Canada. Fallen and Choufleur had told me previously that McSpicy was the best burger, but I have a very low spice tolerance, so I chose the buttermilk chicken sandwich instead.

After we were done eating, it was probably 3:30pm or so, and I still had 2 hours before I had to head to dinner. Rozen and I decided to go to a temple that was somewhat nearby! (I think it was a 15-20 minute walk)

Because I was wearing a dress, I had to cover up before entering. The monk said that the knees must not be shown, and I was given a brown apron-like thing to cover myself.

You basically tied it around the waist. A lot of women had to use it since most women wore shorts or skirts due to the Singapore heat.

I was very fascinated by the interior design, and thought it was so cool. They also had a museum upstairs, and it was nice to check out all the different types of Buddha and learn more about the history.

We went to another floor that required visitors to take off their shoes to go in, and no pictures were allowed. I told Rozen I was just going to wait for him, since I didn’t want to take off my shoes, and the people working there said that they were closing in five minutes (at 5). So Rozen dashed in and prayed, and then we left and went back to my hotel to pick up my luggage.

We picked up my luggage, and I read and answered some of the discord messages with the hotel wifi. At this time, I was so sweaty because it was SO HOT. I think Rozen was also sweating like crazy. We stayed for about ten minutes to cool down and then headed out to wait for the bus to go to Somerset.

Rozen told me that he would stay with me until the first person arrived. He said he had to go home to prepare something for work the next day. I tried to convince him to stay, but he had already spent the whole day with me, so I must not be too greedy.

Anyhow, we arrived at Somerset, and there were still almost 45 minutes before 6:30pm.

Rozen asked me if I was going to buy anything for my parents, and I told him that they were just going to say everything is a waste of money. He asked me whether I was going to buy souvenirs for myself, and I said that I had already bought three clothing items a few days ago.

He asked me what Singapore has that Canada doesn’t. I told him I liked milo, and we don’t have it in Canada (it turned out we do, but it’s not a common drink here, so you would never hear anyone say or order milo).

We were looking around in a supermarket trying to find milo, but it was almost 6:30pm. So, I told Rozen that we should go. After all, I didn’t want to be late as the organizer, and I didn’t know what half the people attending looked like.

I arrived at Marche and didn’t see anyone outside that seemed like they knew me (I told them I had a purple carry-on luggage, and was wearing a turquoise dress). So, I went downstairs to the seating area and asked if I could get a table for around 10-14 people. I wasn’t sure if there would be people who’d cancel last minute.

The waitress said it was first come first serve, so I was free to take whichever seats were available.

I went to combine five tables together and used their free wifi to read my messages. Starve had said he had arrived already, but I had never met Starve, so I wasn’t sure what he looked like.

However, I had often joked with Starve, and made a lot of starving jokes on discord. I think Starve realized who I was and made a 3 second eye-contact with me. I hesitantly asked, “Starve?”

Starve replied, “That’s me!” (lol I am really bad at remembering people’s real names since I have been using their discord names for the past few years)

I was very excited to see Starve because he is a SUPER pro and experienced translator. You could probably google Starvecleric and find out more about him if you’re curious. At this time, Rozen said he was going to leave since Starve had arrived and I was no longer alone. So, I gave him a farewell hug and thanked him for taking the time to meet me and doing so much.

Then, I told Starve that his name was a lie. I told him he should have named himself “Buff” instead! HAHAHAHAHA. I think Starve didn’t know how to react since it was a compliment, but a very strange one. Starve probably exercises a lot. Or maybe he lifts lots of heavy weights. His chest and arms looked so nice. Good job, Starve!

Anyway, shortly after, Cosy, J.Andie and Chai arrived! And then Limit came too! Then, it was Yeow, except I had never met Yeow, so when he asked, “Is this the Wuxiaworld gathering?” “I was like, yeah! Who are you?” LOL

I was really happy Yeow came though! I wasn’t sure if he would actually show up since he was close to three other translators, and two of them, OMA and Thy, had cancalled the day before.

Yeow seemed like the quiet, shy type. Shortly after, Wei arrived! I didn’t know what Wei looked like, but Yeow recognized him and Wei said, “Hi, I’m Wei” so I knew. HAHA.

Both Yeow and Wei have been translating on Wuxiaworld way before I started working there, but I manage their current projects.

Now that most people had arrived, I brought up my fair price joke again, and Cosy was so fed up since she had heard it for the past few days. BUT IT IS A DIFFERENT GROUP, OK? She facepalmed.

Eventually, Hilda and Iris showed up too!! They were a bit late since they were coming from work. I was very touched that they came since I’ve worked with these ladies when I had become the manager on volare probably in 2019.

They had finished their projects several years ago, and we don’t really talk much. Hilda translated Split Zone 13, and she also helped finish Their Love Stories. As for Iris, she translated Adorable Creature Attacks and had helped out on Bone Painting Coroner.

I had told them that I would be coming to Singapore, but I wasn’t sure if they would be willing to come out since our relationship wasn’t that deep. However, the day before the karaoke event, they both said they would come out! Yay!!

Iris and Hilda didn’t know each other prior to the event either. I think they found each other since they both seemed confused and figured out they were attending the same event.

Oh! I forgot to mention, Marche is a place where you get a temporary card, and the restaurant is designed like a marketplace with all sorts of different booths. If you find something you’d like to eat, you just line up and order, and scan the card. There is someone cooking/standing in every booth. At the very end of the night, you would check out after tapping your temporary card and paying the final balance. Continue reading “Day 7: Sept 15th (last day)”

Please read Day 1 before reading this. Today, I met up with Limit for lunch! He said he was going to pick me up from my hotel. I didn’t realize he was actually going to pick me up with a car. Haha. After all, it is extremely expensive to drive in Singapore. I was told that in order to get a car, you would need a piece of paper to bid, and that paper alone would cost nearly six figures already. The car itself is probably another $50k. To make matters worse, you would only get the car for 10 years (I forget what happens afterwards). Oh, and gas is super expensive too.

So, unless your family is rich (or you are), you probably wouldn’t be driving. Singapore has a super amazing subway system anyway, so you don’t even need to drive. It’s AMAZING. To prove my point, here’s a picture:

Hence, when people tell me that they will pick me up, I would automatically assume that they’re coming over via public transportation and then walking to where I am.

So, I was very stunned when Limit actually drove over. Now, before you think I’m insane for going inside a stranger’s car, Cosy has met Limit before, and Cosy’s brother is Limit’s classmate (or schoolmate? I forget).

Anyhow, it was nice to meet Limit! Limit is one of the twenty translators I had hired back in the summer of 2019 for Wuxiaworld. At the time, I had chosen the top 20 applicants out of the 300+ we had received. Successful applicants had to pass both the novel test as well as the manhua (comic) test. I had chosen ten for novels, and ten for manhua. Limit was one of the people I had chosen for manhua.

I had only briefly worked with Limit because I wasn’t in charge of managing the manhua translators at the time. So, there were probably two years or so that we didn’t chat. It wasn’t until last year that he started editing a Korean novel for us that we talked from time to time.

I recalled he seemed quite chill and friendly, and I figured we should meet up in Singapore since he was a Singaporean! I wanted to go to a 2D café and also an escape room, and invited him to join me, Coca, Corliss, and Blip.

Limit wanted to have lunch first though, so I said, “Sure, let’s go eat somewhere! But could we meet near Bugis because that’s where we’re going to meet the others later?”

Limit was fine with it, and said he’d come to get me at my hotel and we could go together. I thought we were going to take the subway, but it was nice to get a ride.

When we were in the car, we asked for each other’s age. I asked him to guess mine, and he said, “Twenty five.” But for some reason, “twenty” sounded like “thirty” to me in the Singaporean accent, and I nearly shrieked. “YOU THINK I AM 35? DO I LOOK THAT OLD?”

And Limit quickly clarified and exclaimed, “I said 25! 25!” LOLOL

I was like, “Oh. Ok!” I smiled and calmly replied, “I’m actually 34…” And then I was super sad about how old I was. Sigh.

I think he was a bit surprised, but Limit was focusing on driving, so he wasn’t looking at me. Then, he told me he was 26 or 27. I was like, “Ohhhh.”

Honestly, it’s quite hard to tell with Asians. We don’t look too different in our 20s-30s, so it could be a wide range.

Limit mentioned he usually doesn’t drive during the weekdays, because parking would cost $50-$60 downtown if he were to drive to his office and stay there all day. I don’t remember how much parking was during the weekend, but it was cheaper.

But I guess, if you have a car, you might as well use it. If you’re not going to drive it, it’d be a waste of money!! However, I do feel that if guys/girls were going on a date, they should be careful and probably not drive too soon; just in case the person is after their money instead.

Anyway, we arrived to Bugis, and Limit asked me what I wanted to eat. I muttered, “I just want somewhere with A/C.” It was SO HOT!!!

We parked underground in a mall, and then went upstairs and walked outside and quickly found a restaurant. It was a Japanese restaurant where you grill your own meat. I do not remember the name (Sorry, I’m really bad at remembering the names of food or places).

I checked the time, and it was around 12:15pm. I was a bit worried we wouldn’t have enough time to eat because I had booked the escape room for 1pm. Luckily, the food arrived by 12:26pm!

By the way, Limit is EXTREMELY tall. I think he said he was 187cm. I giggled, “Limit, your name is Limit because your height has no limit!”

Limit just stared at me. “…” Hahaha. I guess he didn’t think I was funny.

Me and Limit chatted about his work, and how he was going to quit and vacation in Japan before starting his new job. He seemed to enjoy travelling a lot, and so do I. I felt like he’s been to a lot more places than I have though. I think he likes Japan the most. I have never been, but I’d like to go one day!

I also told him to come out on Sept 15^th, since that’s the night where I had invited a bunch of WW translators + volare people to go karaoke. I got Cosy to help me book a party room that could fit 30!

Limit said he would be coming right after work, and would be dressed in his work clothes. I replied, “It’s fine. No one is going to judge you based on what you’re wearing!!” (Actually, I was judged when I had arrived at the airport but that’s beside the point) Continue reading “Day 2: Sept 10th”