One Sunday, I came to MIT chapel to be ready for the 9.30 mass as usual. When I turned around (as I am always restless when sitting down), I saw this familiar face. I am sure that I'd known her before in Singapore. She seemed to recognize me, too. That's how I had my first *real* conversation with Merlin. Every Sunday since then, we sat side-by-side in mass. I just signed up for the Winter retreat. I urged her to sign up too, and she did. The retreat was on 9 to 11 February 2007.
When we were waiting for the bus that would take us to Bethel (Maine) for the retreat, Rachelle and Andres came into the room. We talked as normal-people-who-just-met talk. We found out only later that Rachelle dragged Andres to the retreat like I did Merlin. After a long and cold journey, we arrive at the bed & breakfast at night. After dinner of greasy pizza, soda, and had some briefing, we're off to our room and enjoy the cold night but in a very cosy place. I mean, very, very, very cosy place. Here's the outlook:
If you think that the place is really tranquil, peaceful, and beautiful, you are absolutely right. It is a small town where you can walk from end-to-end in one hour perhaps. The only big building is only Gould Academy; the next tallest were church towers. The town was like popping out from Christmas Card.
The next morning, we had the most wonderful breakfast ever. Wonderful, superbly delicious, sumptuous, and most importantly FRESH home-made breakfast. The homefries were paramount. The warm fresh-from-the-oven muffins with fresh blueberries, the sausages, the fluffy scrambled egg, warm bread, fruits, yoghurt, bacon... they were divine. The breakfast there were truly OVER. THE. TOP. No less. We saw them taking them out from the oven, carrying trays to us in the oozing goodness.
Anyway, some of us went to Sunday River for ski on Saturday. Guess who were in the Beginner Class? Me, Merlin, Andres, Rachelle.
After spending hours of stumbling together, falling and getting up again, laughing with each other, we were instantly bonded. On that evening, after the mass and another sumptuous meal, we walked out around town (which is not big at all) with some others. We made a snow angel. When we slept that night, we couldn't wait to get up again for another... breakfast. It was as good as before. Oh did I mention about the cripsy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside French toast? What a treat. All breakfast that I've had afterwards were pale in comparison. Then we had another walk... to the frozen, snow-covered river and creek. It was beautiful, idyllic and it makes winter so much bearable and nicer =).
So that's how the "main circle" met.
Next. I knew that there was an Austrian girl joining our program and coming on 31 January. Then I knew that she'd do her thesis under the supervision of my professor. Then I knew from my professor that she would sit right behind me.
So when I saw this pretty, brown-haired, unfamiliar face, I just asked "Are you Sonja?" She was so happy that somebody approaches her. She was new and only knew one other student in the lab that time. We went to class together (a class that we dropped since we were lost in the realms of stress and strains), then went to our department (CDO) reception. Since then, we went for lunch together whenever we happened to be in the office together (not that often though).
After Spring break, Merlin and I wanted to have lobster rolls in Quincy Market (see here). Sonja mentioned to me before that she likes Quincy and would like to visit it again one day. So I asked her along. The rest is history. A new Three Muskettresses were formed. Also since then, my friendship with Sonja started leaving the stage of "let's-have-lunch-together-since-you're-in-office-too." We started being real friends, not only (very good) school mates. How to put it, it gets more "personal," if you get what I mean.
Next. During the torture of my first PDE assignment, I worked with Anshul in Student Center's reading room. One day, suddenly a familiar face came in and joined our discussion. He is Sohan. On our second assignment, Sohan, Zhengyi, and I formed an "informal" study group. Well, in other words, to give moral supports to each other. On our third assignment, three of us are in the same "official" group with Leo and David. During that (very successful and enjoyable) assignment, we were trully bonded... especially the three of us. We celebrated everytime we finished some tricky codes/derivations/proofs.
One day, Sonja and I had lunch at Whitehead Institute cafe. Then, purely coincidental, Anshul, Sohan, and Ganesh came in and joined our table. That's how Sohan and Sonja got the first ingredient to be bonded.
In April, I signed up for Charles river cleanup. Then I found out that Merlin also signed up, too. AND I asked Sonja to sign up, while Merlin asked Andres to sign up. So the four of us were all up for cleaning Charles River as part of Environmental Week. As part of his desubicado-ness, Andres woke up late and called me only at noon. So we went to the Vietnamese restaurant in Harvard Square for lunch. It wasn't the first time Sonja and Andres met actually. In the bus, somehow we started talking about LOTS of stuffs... and they started getting bonded.
Next. One Saturday evening, Sohan, Zhengyi, and I were working together for our PDE assignment in Hayden library. Amidst the scattered papers, notes, laptop and our stress, I saw Andres who just came to the library and was looking for a seat. Since he saw me, he sat at the same long table. Then we all continued to the 24-hour reading room after the library closed. We left the reading room at the same time, around 1 or 2 am. We did it again on the following day. That's how they first met. After final was over, Sonja, Sohan, Zhengyi, Andres, and I went for dinner and watch The Namesake together. So yeah, the bond was formed.
David, Sonja, and I work for the same advisor. But somehow, Sonja and I always thought that this Jesus look-alike is too serious and smart to be fun. But David and I are in the same PDE group -- and we started talking like normal people (and he is hilarious at most of the times actually). So since Sonja was often with me, she knew David better. They stay in the same dorm. After meeting few times over laundry and printers, they got bonded too.
So that's the main skeleton of the story. And they said I am a Nokia -- connecting people. Then, our SUMMER JOYRIDE started... (squeezed between excruciating hard work). Stories later!!
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