Snippets

We're not that far into the year but it's been pretty eventful so far -- how often do we clear two new years in a month? And also, I've roughly just completed my first month in the workforce! Haha, how time flies. At least there isn't that feeling of slipping and sliding from one month to the next, but maybe that's yet to come and before I know it 2018's gonna come knocking. But I'll take things as they come, and in the mean time try to keep up some diligent documentation!

First, CNY fortune! My fortune slip from the office CNY celebration told that I'm destined to own a cat. Definitely looking forward to that hahaha. But generally, the animal of the year always seems to get a bad lot. "Respiratory illness" is predicted to befall roosters this year, but since I'd already spent the first 2 weeks of the year with lungs on fire I hope I've filled my quota.

Legit.

There's nth much else to mention about CNY coz it's usually quiet for my family. We don't do chain visits -- just one mass visit to the grandma's and then come home for a nice long afternoon nap. Very efficient.

Oh, must mention the office celebration. We played 老鹰抓小鸡... and it was the most violent game I've ever witnessed. Never knew office workers could be so zealous when it comes to games haha, kids need to learn to play harder. Like, eagle just go ahead and tackle the mother hen otw to mass murder of the chicks.

Work thankfully hasn't been that murderous (thus far). Currently still finding my way out of the fog and bumping into things along the way. And things are ramping up, set to rocket very soon. In retrospect, it's prob a good thing that the final stages of uni weren't as chill as we'd have liked -- not much time for us to grow sluggish before getting thrown into the workforce. I must say though, that it's a blessing to land in an office where everyone is so nice and helpful, taxed as they may be. Never in my life have I felt like I don't know so much, but people here are very kind :')

Aside from work-work, there's a whole host of other things to get used to. Firstly, I swear work has doubled my appetite. Lunch for me used to be a low-priority meal and snacks were never really part of my diet. Then enter office hours, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner seem to be 12 hours apart and I need biscuits or whatever other "emergency sugar" to tide me through in the meantime. I dunno man, how is it I feel so hungry just by sitting and typing? How many calories worth of brain juice is exerted in one day?

Maxwell is the most convenient cure for midday starvation, coz it's practically downstairs. But sometimes I go exploring. My first trip and back to Amoy food centre made for one such adventure. There is a shortcut through a carpark and another building, taking a few flights of stairs/a lift along the way. As I'd never been there before, my colleague offered to show me the way... only she's relatively new too. So on the way there we climbed a few flights and walked a few loops more than necessary, and although I'd tried my best to remember... we did the same on the way back. *Insert sweatdrop emoji* Hahaha I got asked how I survived one year overseas with such dismal navigational sense. The thing is, I can navigate well when necessary (I did go on a 10-day solo trip and clearly survived), just that I can't seem to keep my nav-sense switched on when there's other people around. Call me reliant, but I prefer to frame it as trusting ;) Here's to overshooting a floor by one up and one down and chuckling all the way back to office.

Unlike uni life, work life doesn't seem to deal compulsory sleep deprivation (at least for now, when there's minimal homework). Just sleep at 10:15pm lor -- like a well-behaved pri sch kid. Tried and tested, I need a full 8 hours minimum, esp since 2 hour naps are no longer possible during work days D: I do have a choice of getting up later because of flexi-hours (start anytime between 7-10am). But then, the later one starts, the later one ends. Hence, even while temptation runs high on mornings that follow the late nights after climbing, I refuse to pay for today's enjoyment with tomorrow's time. So far.

Nothing new on the climbing front, except I should've written "stay injury-free, please" on the 天灯 we set off in Cambodia. Left wrist hates slopers. Now right wrist hates slopers AND pinches, oh joy. Maybe I should be thankful my wrists are rarely injured at the same time... but let's not jinx anything. I have intentions of keeping up twice a week as long as the body doesn't complain. Still need that active lifestyle and the friends that are a part of it.

Speaking of active lifestyle. On Fridays I get to wear the most comfy attire of the entire work week (yayyy sneakers); perfect for taking walks after work ends. It's the day to skip the crowd-jostling in good ol' Tanjong Pagar, and head somewhere else. I usually decide on an end point in the office, but I don't always end up where I plan. Inaugural walking tour was to City Hall mrt (30 mins), inclusive of discovering that there is an actual bridge between North and South Bridge roads. [Suaku I know, haha that's why trying to get to know central-south SG better] Latest journey took me all the way to Promenade (~1h). I'd been aiming for Marina Bay, with the intention of scouting an alternative way to get to the climbing gyms, but along the way I got distracted by the 海边风 coming from the bay. Weather was nice and for once I wasn't that hungry: good conditions to take the scenic route all the way down the boardwalk and across the helix bridge towards Promenade. There, I was like one person crossing in the direction against the huge flood heading to Chingay. Future plans? There is still Chinatown and the like around the area. Also, it is technically possible to walk to Climb Central from my workplace... maybe one day soon when I've got more emergency sugar on hand haha.

The usual view was pretty dusty that day, and I'd never noticed these "box pavilions" lining the board walk.

And speaking of friends. Props to Cow and family for organising the R2 (bonus one R5) CNY steamboat session! It's interesting and different to see everyone standing around after dinner and just talking. Haha, almost like real grown ups meeting again after a long time. Alright it hasn't been that long; our final finals only ended about 2 months ago now that I think about it. But still, the people I used to see everyday in school have been replaced by a new set of people. So it really felt like REunion :) While I cannot comfortably partake in gambling, I was pretty happy with watching others/watching things like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KuwVAq8-lY on the smart TV [Go and check out the original of that song. It'll make the cover the best thing you've heard all day.] So much entertainment going on inside while the gambling den outside was exploding with noise. At the end of the day, we had the prettiest yu sheng ever. Now we know to use pink pomelo if we ever need to beautify the dish. I had to miss my family lohei for that night... but I guess while family ranks v highly, it pays to be flexible in life! Won't get to see these people all that often, but I hope everyone gets all the good things requested with blessing of the lohei (bonus and GPA 5.0 especially ;)). We'll catch up again, let's not let work eat us alive!

For the rest of the year ahead, huat ah!