fig and olives
i haven't been feeling well these days. groggy. tired. feverish. nonetheless, i made it for our annual dinner meeting. we have been wanting to meet up for dinner since november last year. it took us 3 months to make our plans materialise! so much for efficiency :)

it's always good to sit around the table and just catch up with each other. i've been doing lots of these things recently, with friends whom i've lost touch with or not caught up for ages.

as i look closely at the friendships i have established over time, i feel that i draw my lines quite boldly. perhaps sometimes lines become blurry, but i've chosen to reveal the 'real' gracie to people whom i've come close to. and coming closer means being more-than-friends or acquaintances.

perhaps the fear of being hurt becomes stronger as we mature over the years. we are afraid to give it all to someone, and then realise that the party on the other end isn't reciprocating. since all relationships are mutual, it just takes a little more effort, more love, more attention to notice the needs of others. yes, we sacrifice more eventually; but we grow closer too, i believe.