sauna on a monday, lighter and a crowded carousel

a quick 2-week had passed... and it had been a very busy period, with strange activities on some days.

the japan trip was crazy, with the meetings and all. the follow-up work promises to sap more energy from me, so I'd better get some help soon.

the recent week in china was more interesting. after a meeting on monday, we had a lunch session with 2 different customers (they are close friends), and we had "yellow alcohol", which was served hot. while it was supposedly only about 30+% in alcoholic content, the shock did hit hard. perhaps it was also the consumption of the rice wine afterwards that gave me a really hard time. anyhow, i was not in the best shape after that afternoon drinking session. before we left, they distributed some lighters, with a light function at the other end to project various images that would cause most people i know to blush.

thinking that it was the end to that day of "work", i was a little relaxed, until i realized they were heading for a sauna. so i was feeling giddy, sleepy and with a headache, and had to take a warm bath, and get a massage. now, not wanting to be rude, i just went ahead... but once in the room, with the massage therapist, i told her that i just want a drink , and at most a head massage. sleep was the main thing on my mind... which wasn't working too well at that point of time.

so sleep i did, and even after they sent me back to the hotel (around 6pm), i collapsed into the bed for 2-3 hours. ended up not having dinner, but worked a little into the night. i wonder if my stomach cramps are caused by the drinking.

--- --- --- --- ---

now, fast-forward to only 3 hours ago - at the carousel in Changi airport, i was irritated by the situation at the carousel. Multiple choice time - If you were to pick up your check-in luggage/s from the carousel, would you (multiple answers acceptable):

(A) Stand real close to the belt, and close to where the luggages would first appear, so that you can grab your luggage/s as soon as it/they appear

(B) Stand about 2 meters away from the belt, at somewhere between the carousel and the exit gate, knowing that people need to be able to see their luggages and need some space to actually collect them

(C) Step in front of those people dumb enough to stand 2 meters away from the belt, so that you can have quick access to your luggage/s when you see it/them. Hell, best if you have the trolley that can provide extra barrier to those morons who are courteous enough to give space.

Felt like snapping the heads of those people who are (C)-choosers... ooo...

choices on a weekend in Changzhou

Back in Changzhou again, almost 1 year since I first came to this town-city. With the crazy barrage of meetings over the past week, as well as the work piled up due to the "army vacation" and the chinese new year leaves, I am more stressed than ever.

Having arrived on Friday night, I knew that I had at least a day of "free" time, where I could rest and recover, and catch up on work. In such a situation, what would you choose as the activity to relax?
(A) Sleep
(B) Go to town and shop around a bit
(C) Go to the gym or the pool
(D) Go online and watch online shows and listen to music
Guess which I did not do.

Had my good friend call me last night, to catch up a little, and talked about her trip back to Singapore (and hope I can catch her by returning home earlier than planned), her upcoming wedding, etc. She revealed that her new and current job is like mine, where she would be flying around in a haphazard schedule. And all she would want to do when she returned home was to do nothing. Just like moi, as she rightly pointed out.

Lotsa work left to do, and my preference was to watch Kyle XY (caught at least 5 episodes this weekend), listen to 达尔文, swim. But what was more disturbing than the tonnes of work was the process of thinking about the Appraisal, Goal Setting and Individual Development elements of my job. "Disturbing"? How do you plan for your distant future in career when you seriously doubt that this would be the source of your happiness?

another night in Tokyo

Japan. Sounds fun?

busy day it had been. it is already past midnight here, and i'm still working on tomorrow's presentation. not even complete with some of the work for monday. and there's still lots to rush.

Night scene of the Tokyo Station from the room

It sure was cold, for a tropical boy. It took all my clothes + blazer + winter jac to keep me warm. Probably bad due to the winds in the open, but imagine what I will be experiencing during the later part of this week... China with many sub-zero days.

While I had been confined to the hotel, offices, and travelling between these places, I must admit that there are some pretty good-looking people here in Tokyo. But I probably haven't seen it all, and may not be in the mood anyhow. Let's hope my work load lightens a little for the next few days... (as if that is even possible)

a simple gesture ... 1+1 ... expectations ...

sometimes, a simple gesture of asking "how do you do?", "do you need any help?" can do wonders... sincerely, though, these words must be spoken. are people around you in need of support? are your concerns always the most pressing?

1+1 =? sometimes, it is amazing how people do not understand the simplest of things. do you (A) get angry at them quietly, or (B) point out to them politely?

expectations. with it, there is always a chance of disappointment. without (much of) it, it shouldn't be surprising when things don't go very well.

2 more days ...

Rat ... CNY ... 3rd day

3rd day of the Chinese New Year. Supposedly a time of great fun, of family gathering, of friends getting together... was pretty quiet though.

Had a nice 2nd day at my maternal grandma's side, playing a little with the children of my aunts and uncles. It is like the "change of tides", since about a decade ago, the paternal grandma's side was more happening. People do grow older and families grow apart when they start nuclear families of their own... and then the things that we share and want to talk about reduce with time. Facts of life? Or just the lack of will to maintain close relationships?

Remembered that I had told myself last year, that I would try to skip out of the relative visiting this year, so as to avoid 2 things: (1) the specific question that would make me grimace ... and (2) receiving of angbaos. But of course, without a valid reason to siam, the least I can do as a form of respect to my parents was to turn up. I was proud that I did not repeat my low-EQ outburst of "关你什么事" to some of those pesky relatives. And this year, against tradition, I decided to dispense angbaos to some of the kids! That was actually kinda fun.

A "home-rest" over the past 2 months is finally becoming tiring for me, despite my saying that I do not look forward to the upcoming trips. Perhaps the work trips are a perfect way to remind me of what I like here at home. Some say that while work trips can be a real bitch, it can also be addictive... and a perfect way to escape the mundaneness of everyday life at home. Well, the crazy life is going to start again for 2008!

a hurt back ... and a forgotten face of the past

It was like a relapse, with great pains felt at the lower back, making it difficult for me to move around. It was almost like the back sprain experience a couple of years ago, though not as bad. Anyhow, it decimated any plans for a more active weekend, and relegated me to staying at home to have "complete" rest.

Instead of just rotting at home, or even doing some work (yes, there is some work to be done), I decided to go through some of my old photos and scan them into the computer, as I had promised that I would do for the longest time. Should do the loose photos that are not already sorted into albums... and I had left a lot of photos in the original envelopes, or as loose pieces... It was fun to see the old photos, to see how young everyone looked then, and to realize that I was so very skinny in the past. Uni photos, photos from various trips, and army photos...

And that was when I saw a couple of envelopes. The names on the envelope are people whom I was supposed to pass the photos to, before I left the army about 10 years ago. However, due to the timing of the last overseas trip (where the photos were taken) and my ORD, I did not have the opportunity to pass these photos... and I let it slide. The names of all these people are familiar, with the exception of this "Saw Yong Kee".

Apparently, we might have been quite close, at least during the trip. We had a photo taken together, with one shot of him having breakfast (must be during the R&R?) and another at a temple. The wierdest thing is that... I do not recall knowing him at all. None of the scenes in these photos were even familiar to me!!! He could not have been with the battalion, as far as I can remember. So where did he come from? And why was he there? The mystery is bugging me ... ...

いちご と マスカポネ

Took a day of leave on wednesday, and did the necessary shopping for an attempt to bake something new, out of a recipe book given by a friend. Fun. Strawberry mascarpone cake... how hard can it be?

I was taken by surprise when I saw the price of mascarpone cheese at Cold Storage, even though this was not the first time I had bought it. But it just came back as a rude shock... wow... it is probably cheaper to just buy ready-made tiramisu, etc...


Anyhow, the fun of baking is in the process, as much as in the results, and it was fun to do some of the steps and come to realize that there are plenty of things that could have been done better. Like using a better gauge for measuring out 70 grams of sugar (think I put too little), using more mascarpone (but I was too cheap to buy more anyway) and not using so much strawberries that the whole cake looked strange (oops).

Well, the end-state was quite presentable, and tasted okay. Not the kinda dessert that you may crave for after a taste, so I wouldn't call this a success... yet. Now, the only thing left is to bring this cake to some unsuspecting friends... hee hee...