Mega Update

We are post-promotion ceremony but still busy. At least I got to go home on time today, and could take Friday and Wednesday off last week. Happy 4th of July! I've got a huge pimple right below my left eye, which makes it look like I got in a fight and got whacked below the eye. But, as everyone knows, if I got in a fight I won't get whacked lor.

So, to go back in time... went back to work today, did some miscellaneous work that involved a little running around. Yesterday went kayaking in Sentosa (where all the cool kids go, including my sister, who was in Sentosa yesterday also, and my cousin as well) with Aaron and Say Yang. Jasper came along too, but didn't kayak with us. It was ok, but not that fun actually. Capsized twice, but didn't really get sunburnt. Wore long sleeves, a hat, gloves and sunglasses, and put on sunblock.

Not sure how we made it through canoeing for 3 or 4 days during the 21 day OBS. I guess it's not so boring when you have like 20+ people on 10+ canoes, and I guess it's an experience being out on a choppy sea, eating dried food on a rocky canoe.

That was Sunday, met Shaowei after Sentosa, he's in Singapore working for a year before he goes to do his PhD. Another one of the twists in A*Star's contract. The PSC contract also changed in my last year in USA. They took away the allowance they were going to pay us, pro-rating the final year's allowance up till the date we graduated. And this was announced a couple of months before graduation, I think. In my case they paid me only until the end of May even though commencement was held in the first week of June.

M1 is giving free IDD calls to the US today and tomorrow, but the catch is that need to use mobile phone to call. Need to check if I've got roaming. The World Health Organization is calling for ruthlessness in dealing with bird flu. Influenza viruses carry their genes in RNA, which tends to mutate more quickly than DNA.

Played tennis on Saturday morning, took a nap at home, went for dinner with Jasper, bought sunblock for Sunday. At Royal Sporting House, they were playing trance music, and there was this song that kept going "the table, the table, the table". Talk about hard sells. I bought a Wilson backpack for about $40 (2 sig. fig.) after a 15% discount. It's spacious and designed to hold tennis racquets. Can fit 1 or 2 racquets.

If I do buy another racquet, it would be something that has heft, feels solid, weighs about 300 grams (10.5 ounces), and costs less than $100. Other things I might buy even though I have already: a new computer (already got a 5 year old laptop), a new bicycle (mine quite old already, rather rusty, though it still works).

SMU's campus in the city is nice, quite big considering its location. Bus fares are up... Jasper stayed over at Aaron's place on Saturday night. Taking off again this coming Wednesday. Got medical in the morning.

Was off on Friday, played tennis with James, who learnt really fast. Then went for dinner with him, Say Yang, and Pasha. Say Yang told us about this Kelatan clinic or whatever it's called, it's for sexual diseases, how the patients are asked to show their sores or whatever but there's no sink for them to wash their hands after that, which means the door handles are crying out for a WITs suggestion.

Worked late on Thursday rushing something. Not that late, though. Played badminton and tennis on Wednesday, which makes it a total of 3 tennis sessions last week. None for this week, or at most one. Tuesday's promotion ceremony ended not as late as I thought, but later than planned.