Affairs of State

Tennis is such a gruelling game, the men play best of 5, which is first to win 3 sets, and each set you need at least 6 games, and each game you need at least 4 points. If you total all that up and consider the points you play but lose, that's a huge amount! They play for like 4 hours, with a few minutes' rest now and then. And they do this every day for about a week? Or until they lose.

Field Hockey is a really fast, intense game, because it's 70 minutes compared to soccer's 90. And there are "rolling" (no need to stop play), unlimited substitutions allowed. I guess it's more tiring running around carrying a stick and bending down.

If anyone still uses bar soap like I do, here's a tip. When the soap gets too small to use comfortably, don't throw it away! Open a new bar and then moisten both bars, and squish the smaller soap into the new one. Then you minimize wastage.

Everyone at my granny's place thought I had my hair cut at the barber's. That day Ms Wang (or her friend) also commented about my Hawaiian dress. Replaced the insoles of my office shoes. I really need to get a new bicycle pump, this one is really quite defunct. It does not articulate well; in fact it makes a horrible load metal squeaking noise each time the piston shaft goes in and out.

Everyone in office is quite busy, except Eugene and me. I have ventured to help, so there's some MS Access coding for me to do tomorrow. Again, to do with the seating arrangement, but this time not for a dinner, but for a presentation ceremony. And I won't be in office on Wednesday and Thursday, got that IEIQC convention.

I vaguely remember rousing this morning to a swirl of delicate, poetic turns of phrase, but what do they matter. They wander through my mind, percolate past my consciousness, and disperse in the morning light. They whisper to me that all is right with the world and having fulfilled their purpose, linger no longer than necessary.

Should NSFs receive different monetary "allowances"? Should it not be a more communist system, because everyone in it does not have a choice? Rather than paying according to rank as is natural for Regulars, might not everyone get the same allowance, whether Recruit, Private, or Officer? If you pay a Regular Officer less, the person may decide to join the private sector. If you pay an NSF Officer less, is he going to grumble more and choose not to be an Officer?

Bus and MRT fares are going up, by a few cents. I think effective this July. And my allowance is going to stay the same. Of course, assuming that I spend an extra 5 cents a day, that's only $1.50 a month. And that's slightly less than 0.5% of my allowance. And that could probably feed a couple of kids in Africa for a day.

SAFRA tennis courts get booked up pretty rapidly. Tried to book for 8 to 10 am on Saturday, and it's already taken up, probably since 2 days ago even. Last night F-1 racing the race leader had just one more lap to go and then the front wheel just broke off from the car! Talk about unlucky. It's like running a marathon and then with just 100 meters to go, your foot breaks off.

If you still want something to read, Juggleress has a post with photos of her fun in the sun, including a shot of her riding regal atop a tractor, ruling over dirt.