after julian led me to his mystery hawker stall at queenstown for guotie and suanla tang, i persuade him that, instead of going to queenstown library (we were practically standing next to it) he should drive us both to jurong east library where i will introduce him to chicken tender sticks, such as i had eaten in charlottesville when i was up late writing essays.

julian was very sensible about it: a) he'd rather go to queenstown library, which was right beside us. b) he didn't know how to get from queenstown to jurong and c) he always gets lost driving.

me: (a) but queenstown is not a very good library! (b) just follow the mrt! (c) but getting lost is good! it's an adventure! indulge me!
julian: you realise this is completely ridiculous.

whereupon we get in the car and went.

me: *looking down a random street* let's turn down that way and see what happens! julian: what do you mean "see what happens", thereby reproving my english and my common sense in a stroke.

the western branch of the mrt is overhead, highly visible, and parallel to the road. once, the train line looked like it would veer off where we cannot follow, but we realised the next station was buona vista and naturally we knew how to get from RJ to clementi, and in anycase the train tracks swerved back along the main road. i check the stations off as we pass them. as we left clementi mrt behind us, i raised one jubilant paw.

me: hurrah for arm-twisting in the interest of spontaneity! we don't even know where we're going and we're almost there already!
julian: *peering* why is this lane we are in "right turn only?"

thinking: get off it! - it's too late! - make a u-turn! - there's none! - where does this go? - i don't know! and then we arrived on the pan-island expressway.

we look frantically for a suitable upcoming exit.

[SIGN] to CHANGI AIRPORT

julian: do *not* panic.
me: remember, this does not count as getting lost.

eventually we got ourselves onto upper bukit timah road. julian pulls into a parking lot so that we can reorientate ourselves.

julian: *sternly* do you know the way?
me: *emphatically* of course not!

a street directory was duly produced and julian jabbed at the stop button on his cd player: "shut up!" he said crossly to it. ten minutes later we parked across the jurong regional library.

which ought to be a lesson in reading maps carefully, only you know i do think we would have got there on with the train too. an experiment for another day.