Running out of time.

Today was a busy day for me. The day started at 0830hrs where I took about an hour plus to wash the car. It has been two weeks since the last cleanup so I am feeling a bit guilty about leaving it dirty all the time. Read the paper, had a bite, rested for a bit and then it was off to the office. I wasn't there long, just stayed for about an hour or so to finish up some unfinished business. 


To be honest, I didn't go back just for work, there was this Tangs warehouse sale that starts today so I thought since its on the way, I'll just drop by the office. Anyway, I bought a sort of rattan box and some socks and that was it, which was strange, considering I was there for close to 2 hours. The clothes were so cheap that if I had bought all of what I wanted to buy, it would have ended up costing me quite a bit. I think I'll probably pop by again tomorrow or the day after. I've got this nagging feeling that there are stuff I just have to buy.


Anyway, came back home and found myself in the mood for some nostalgic cinema. And I decided that 暗戰2 was just the ticket to satisfy my craving.

 I've always liked this show although I can't remember when was the last time I watched it. I liked how Ekin portrayed the protagonist. Always so suave and full of debonair. Confidence oozing out of every pore. Good sense of style in the show too. And after 9 years, his getup still doesn't look dated. But then again, I could be biased, seeing that he's in a suit all the time and I do have a thing for bespoke garments. Anyway I like the show for two reasons;  the inspector's tenacity as well as the plot. You see, unlike the first film, the motivation for the thief is not exactly laid clear. All that elaborate hooha and he doesn't benefit one bit from it. Now that's a movie theme you don't see a lot.


Anyway, now that the show is over, I've got to deal with a harsher reality. Back to work tomorrow.

Another one down.

The paper today wasn't too tough. What a load off my mind. I guess our lecturer realized that he didn't go through as much material with us as we would have liked, so he gave us a case study that we had sort of went through before. As a matter of fact, ALL the questions were somewhat familiar. In spite of this, I still took close to the allocated 2 hours to complete the paper. I'm not looking to ace the paper, just hopping I'll pull through.

By the way, I met one of my colleagues at the examination grounds. She was surprised to see me but then again, I guess the feeling is mutual. Talked to her for a bit and she's taking a different course than me, so it was quite a coincidence to bump into her. In any case, I do hope she does well in her paper too. Anyway, now with the books out of the way, its time to focus on the trip! I've still not started any preparations but I have half a mind to finish everything up by tomorrow or latest midweek. I think the most important aspect now isn't actually the packing, but more on the itinerary. Aside from a lunch and a Mt Royal trip my sister has planned, I still have about 5 more days that I have got to decide what to do, where to visit.

The hardest part is New York. I do want to go there, but I'm not sure if I can make the journey worthwhile. Its a 7 hour bus ride down from Montreal and another 7 hours back, so travelling alone takes up half a day. I'm not sure how much ground I can cover if I'm there for only a day or too. But then again ,if I don't go, 9 days seemed like an awfully long time to just spend in Montreal. Argh. Decisions, decisions.

Show me the money!

This week was bonus week. There had been rumors floating around the office as to when was the exact date, and as we got closer to the date, the more apparent it became. Everyone had expectant faces on the actual day, but I guess we all had managed expectations, thanks in no part, to a recent townhall which downplayed the firm's performance in light of an impending lawsuit. In any case, I did receive an increment and a bonus and I was somewhat satisfied with what I got; until I did some CSI work on what some of the colleagues I support are getting. That's when I can't help but feel a bit moody, even indignant, if you can call it that.

Sure, I know the difference, I'm in IT, not exactly a revenue generating area, but its human nature to always compare and want more. Somehow, there is this part of me that wonders would I have fared any better if my area of expertise lies elsewhere. Today amplifies this particular feeling. It was a horrible day at work. Too many things happening at the same time. Too many people breathing down my neck. I didn't even had time to go for lunch. And furthermore, in spite of all my work today, I don't feel good with myself at all. My job in short, is to help people, but today, I really wondered if those people I have helped, really do want my help at all. Its hard to put in writing,but it suffices to say I had negative marginal utility the whole day. 

To top it off, I still have an exam tomorrow, and I must say, I have never been more ill-prepared for a paper in my life. I have NO IDEA what to prepare, and I have NO IDEA what exactly to expect. The lecturer didn't exactly give us a lot to fall back on, but I must admit, that I did not spend as much time with the text as I would have liked. I guess my only consolation is that since its an open book paper, there's nothing to memorize.

Anyway, on to something less depressing. With only about more than a week to go, I'm coming close to my Canada trip, and my packing progress is exactly zero. I was thinking maybe I'll spend the whole of Sunday planning my itinerary, as well as getting started on the packing. I won't have as much time the next week, when my lessons start again. I've really got to manage my time more efficiently. Looks like things are going to get pretty tight, with work getting in the way and all.

Lets Party!

Last Friday was our company's year end party. It does appear strange that the firm always holds its year-end parties at the beginning of the year, but I guess its a technically correct thing to do, seeing our financial year normally ends in February. Anyway, its at this establishment called "WaveHouse" where the highlight is a manmade surfing machine. Its kinda small but I can see why the crowds were all taken with it.

Very apt name.

There were more than a few volunteers among the crowd raring to try out their surfing skills. One of my friends made it all the way to the finals of the "tournament" in a spectacular battle of the hunks. Anyway, this year's event was a bit better organized than last year's, although that meant there weren't any extended dance floor mania like its predecessor. The place was a little bit smaller as well, so almost everyone was just standing around most of the time.

Here's an unintended profile shot of Philip, one of my colleagues. Looking cool as ever among the sea of human bodies.

No lack of standing. We're giving out standing for free. Everyone can stand as much as they want to!

I brought along a camera with the intention of taking as many pictures with friends as possible but the lighting conditions were not as flattering as I would have hoped. Pictures taken with the flash were too bright, and those without, appear too dark. I spy a few enthusiast colleagues lugging around major dslr gear. They probably got more luck with their shots than me. In any case, here are some pics I've taken with various colleagues that I am closer with.

I have no idea what I was trying to do.

I've been told I've got this Bugs Bunny look most of the time.

No idea whatsoever what I am so gleeful about. I guess alcohol does things to me.

We joined together. Still here.

Its probably me they're happy to see.

Notice the goofy eyewear? That was the point.

Another dear colleague who I unfortunately seldom get to see. She was literally spinning the whole night.

Next few pictures are with some of the colleagues I joined with. Around 25 of us joined the firm as part of its graduate recruitment programme. Sadly, quite a few of us have since left the firm, but on the flip side, they've all gone on to better things. These pictures are unfortunately a bit on the dark side, since they were actually the first few pictures I took that evening without utilizing the flash.

No idea why everyone's standing so far apart though.

Still no clue.

Here is about the only picture I took of some of the colleagues in my team. They were very elusive the whole evening. Only time I was with them was when it was time for the buffet and the free drinks. All of them split soon after that. I guess they probably spent more time getting here than staying at the actual event.

Anyway, I left the premises at around 3am or so. I could have stayed later but the alcohol was getting to me and I had Belinda's wedding to attend at noon the next day. In any case, it was an "ok" night out, I didn't get to talk to as much people as I would have hoped, but it wasn't too bad. Only gripe I had was with the standing. Considering the nature of my daily work, thats something I could really do less of. I much rather prefer the staff party we had last month though, which was a more intimate and "stylish" affair.

Here's to more parties in the new year ahead!

Trip!

It has been more than a week since the last post. The monotonous SSDD wore me out tremendously, so much so that I did not even felt like making any entries. The last week has been quite the unfortunate turn of events, the most evident of which is the 3 parking fines I've gotten. For some reason, the parking wardens had the most impeccable timing these days. I got served within a few hours of my coupon expiration. Life on the work front wasn't a bed of roses as well. 3 of my colleagues tendered their resignation on the same week; and those were people that I liked. To be honest, I'm not sure what they were thinking, being so close to the bonus period and all, but I guess they've probably thought it through, they don't look like the type to make capricious decisions on issues such as this. Well, I wish them the best, wherever they're at now.

Anyway, I've been a bit of an ebay nut this past week as well. Ordered a mobilephone, and a bunch of camera stuff for the impending trip. I'll get to that in a bit. Anyway, all these time, I've always been some sort of a phone person, always wanted the newest and the nicest, got all sorts of phones, from the ubiquitous touchscreen, to sliders to candybar. I've decided, after all these experimentation, that I really work better with clamshell phones. The problem with the market now, no thanks to the iPhone, is that there aren't any decent flip phones around that is worthy of mention. Its all touchscreen out there. I'm using the LG Ice Cream, and thats about the only flip out on the market now that I'll spend my money on. Enter the LG Lollipop. 

Its essentially a slimmer 3G version of the Ice Cream. On all counts, I find it better than the Ice Cream, only beef was with the cute themes in-built on the phone. There is a ridiculously cute theme, and a cute theme, and thats it. Suffice to say I have no choice but to go with "just" the cute one, which is not exactly befitting of someone like me. I do wish there could be more customization with the LEDs on the phone though, getting the colours to cascade or change would have been a welcomed touch. Right now you can only stick with one colour. Here's how the phone looks like in the dark.

In any case, the purchase is tending towards more of an impulse one, seeing that this phone will probably get released in Singapore in a few weeks anyway. Seeing as the expected launch price is a bit more than what I paid, I guess its not such a bad buy, since I get to use it way ahead of everyone else.

Oh yeah, about the trip. I'll be going to Canada next month on a leisure trip. My sister is currently on an attachment program there so I guess lodging shouldn't be much of an issue. Now all I need to do is to find out what can I do there. There is still about close to 3 weeks before the trip, so there's plenty of time for me to research. I'm planning to stopover in New York for a few days, but thats still on the cards as of now. I am feeling a bit excited and nervous when I think about it. After all, I've never set foot outside of Asia in my life. This is the first time I'll be on a plane for more than 6 hours. I just hope I'll enjoy this as much as I'm visualizing I am.

In any case, this impending trip has sapped quite a bit out of me financially. The plane ticket is about 2 grand, and there's still the day to day expenses as well. All in all, I estimated I might blow about 4000 or so on this trip.>_<. I hope I can stay below that figure though. I don't make nearly enough to offset that!

Peace and Quiet

The first day of the new year ended without much fanfare. Since the whole family is currently in Canada, this is by far the quietest new year's day I've had in a long while. I've got the whole house to myself. Quite a good feeling, really. I rather enjoy the serenity of having no one around. Anyway, precisely due to this arrangement, I didn't really feel like leaving the house today. There is this realization that once they come back, I'm going to miss this peace and quiet, so I had better soak in as much of it as I can, while I can.

In any case, the first day of the year also happens to be a Friday, and once again, I'm stuck at home on a Friday night, watching some documentary commenting on traditional Suzhou architecture instead of painting the town red, black and blue. Its times like these when I really do wish I have a top notch sound system at home. Turning the volume on high playing some nice jazzy tunes while appreciating some whiskey or cointreau would be divine. Oh well, I guess I've got to make do with PC speakers.

Anyway, its is regrettable that my lull season is coming to an end soon. I foresee at most another week's worth of peace and quiet before the whole office starts coming back from their ski trips and whatnots. I would have thought I've gotten used to this after 3 years, but I guess not. But then again, busy might not always be a bad thing. Sometimes, work can be a good anaesthetic, takes your mind off more troubling stuff. It is just too bad that like any drug, there's no avoiding the side-effects that comes after the effect wears off.