People to be grateful for. Part 6

Paulaner Bräuhaus' Weissbier Tiramisu
Photo credit: Carcar.

I dedicate this very post to one of my dear friends, Mystic. I had probably introduced myself to her by making an origami paper crane for her when we first met years ago.

I am very thankful to find a friend in her. I thank her for being open to go along with my suggestions to get her to visit museums with me. I do not need a company to visit the museums. I am independent enough to visit museums on my own. Yet it will be meaningful to me if I could at least share with a good friend of mine how visiting the museums have enriched my life and have fascinated me.

I thank Mystic for being so generous with her time and being open-minded to visit the museums with me on several occasions. Together, we have visited the Singapore History Gallery (before it was closed for major renovation into today's National Museum of Singapore) and many exhibitions at Singapore Art Museums, for example, Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Fascination with Nature : Finger Paintings by Wu Tsai Yen, Ju Ming 2004 Singapore • Beijing • Shanghai *Blockbuster!, Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition. When the National Museum of Singapore reopened after a major refurbishment, she went along with my suggestions to watch Hydromania, by Avanti Dislay even though it meant that she had to put up with sitting on grass. We also visited the National Museum of Singapore on another occasion simply because I had wanted to check it out. My words of appreciation to Mystic. She may not fully appreciate how much it has meant to me to share my fascination with the museums with close friends, so I shall state it here. Thanks Mystic.

I thank her for being kind and honest with me. I greatly appreciate her kindness and honesty. She has been constantly giving me honest feedback about myself so that I can grow better as a person from these feedback. The kind thing is that she does realise that I sometimes cannot assimilate good and honest feedback immediately, so she often makes her feedback to me more palatable by "sugar-coating" each of them. That way, I can mull over them, gradually working on areas that I can improve upon. At the very least, thanks to Mystic, for the past few years, my parents have not received unsolicited downright criticisms of their cooking from me, unless they were to ask me for any.

She has been most patient with me too. I think she was one of those few friends of mine who practise extreme patience when I was in extreme need for a sense of closure. It can be a task yet to be done or a proposed meeting that has yet been realised. My thanks to her for having put up with me on those. Recently, when I learnt from reading Looking at Type: The Fundamentals by Charles R. Martin that people with my personality type has a drive of closure, I do hope that over time, with that awareness, I can laugh and not take myself too seriously when I feel a strong need for closure over petty issues. That shall be good news for many, I hope?

My thanks to Mystic too for finding ways to encourage me to put my analytical skills to use. I don't know if she is aware that I have a love to intellectualise things, theorise and simply to analyse anything complex. Whatever it is, I am glad that she has given me plenty of chances to put my favourite skills to use. Thanks Mystic.

During the times when I had felt confused, down, lost and/or anxious, I am grateful that Mystic had make time to be there for me. Even if it had meant that she, on one occasion, had to meet me early in the morning, on her birthday and when she was down with a flu. That meeting was an important for me for I was in need to sort through my thoughts and feelings after realising I had failed for a music practical exams which I had practised and prepared conscientiously for. I appreciate the deep level of sincerity and care that she lends to her friends and family members. For that, she has been a constant inspiration to me when it comes to relating to friends and family members. In many ways, I have learnt from her how to be a good friend. Thank her please, if I have been a better friend now than I had used to be.

Last but not the least, I thank Mystic for her friendship, and for her accepting me despite my flaws. I am glad that I have found a friend in her.

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This post is the sixth of this series "People to be grateful for".