Dearest Goddaughter

She has turned out all right, yes, and I am a proud aunt.  I'll call her Katy.

My day began at 07.40, when I woke up with a jolt and realized I wouldn't have time for breakfast because I preferred to use the time preparing for the rest of the day.  Mimi phoned my hotel room and we agreed that she return at 08.30 to help me call for a GRAB car.

By 08.45, the car arrived and we drove to Blue Ridge to meet an old university batchmate, Genna, who wanted a copy of my book.  The GRAB driver calculated an hour, and promptly at 09.45, I was at her gate.  We hadn't seen each other for 12 years but she is so young-looking still.  She did university much later in life so her son was Jay's classmate in primary school.  Her son is now a surgeon, while Jay is ... well, still the way he was then.  We chatted and caught up with news for about 1.5 hours, then it was her turn to call a GRAB car for me to take me to my next appointment, which was at Katy's house for lunch.

Katy made sure they had everything in the house that she thought I would like to eat, including the ubiquitous ube cake.  I had brought along the heavy handcarry bag full of books for her -- management, economics, project management, all inherited from work -- as well as a 1500-piece puzzle and some T-shirts.  I also gave her the hard copy of the notes I'd made when I was busy with the cardiovascular MOOC as she has been warned by her GP to watch out with her diet, as well as the digital copy of said notes, together with three India slide-shows.

We took the time until around 14.30, when we left together for our 15.00 appointment with the Viking at the bank where he had made an appointment with the manager about my opening an account.  I had brought along all the documentation they asked for, and Katy did the same.  It was easier for her as she already has an account with the same bank, but at another branch.  The Viking explained to the manager why I needed to open an account.  It has been opened with me as the principal account holder and Katy as second-in-command.  In short, one of my main objectives in connection with the circumstances has been achieved.  The second objective also, which was to make sure I had a safety net.  By helping me out, Katy has more than repaid all the help I've given her through the years.

After that, we drove Katy to her son's school so that she could pick him up.  They live in the same neighbourhood as the Viking.  After she left, I stayed in the van because my next appointment was with the Viking's wife, Bong, a secondary-school batchmate.  Of course, I got to know the Viking through her, to start with.  Bong had arranged a small secondary-school reunion in the evening for me and three more 'old gehls' who live abroad and were here for a visit (Ft. Lauderdale, San Francisco, and Phoenix; I am the only European) -- the last 'appointment' for today.  We had a riotous evening, as usual, and good food, but I was talking too much to feel hungry ... haha!  During the dinner, I managed to sell five of my books -- extra pocket money for this trip.  After the dinner, Bong brought me back to my hotel.

It will be a much quieter day tomorrow.  I look forward to that!