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more about the soonger

oct-nov 2003

Greetings from Singapore

Thursday, Oct 9

OK -- I'm ahead of Canada by 12 hrs so technically, it's only Wednesday but it's Thursday here. Got in last night around 1:30 AM via Northwest Air. The flight wasn't bad -- turbulent from Detroit to Tokyo but not so bad from Tokyo to Singapore. Have to say the 22 hr journey did take its toll on me. Not the spry chicken I once was. I do have to be glad that I got an aisle seat to Tokyo but the whole middle row (4 seats) to Singapore. It was nice to lie down and sleep! =)

Not much going on here. I'm staying at my cousin's place today and tomorrow. She's got a nice condo -- stayed here last time on my Australia trip / Singapore stopover. Since the last time, she's upgraded to cable modem so I'm so glad she has broadband. I don't know if I can regress back to telephone modem!!! (Yes, I am spoiled) Only thing on the agenda today is go to a money changer. Have to convert some traveller's cheques to local currency. The Canadian dollar has quite a nice premium here ... definitely going to look into electronics and such while I'm over. (No Rolex this time... I'm not made of money here!)

What else is on the agenda? Taking off for Malacca tomorrow with my aunt and uncle. They've hired a taxi to drive us. I wouldn't have minded the bus but maybe my uncle would like to travel a little more luxurious. Hey -- he can afford it!

Back from holidays

Thursday, Nov 6

Who would have thought that 4 weeks would go by so quickly? I must admit, I did feel homesick in the middle but when my brother arrived for the second wedding, time went by so fast! It was so nice to go away for a long time. After a 22-hour flight, you want to maximize your time abroad. Did lots of things while I was away ... went to a couple of resorts (and went SCUBA diving at one of them), attended a couple of weddings, did lots of shopping, spent lots of time catching up with family (can you believe a lot can happen in less than a year?), and most importantly, I ate a lot of the local foods I've been craving for!!! (Pig out, baby!)

Once I get a chance, I will post my e-journal up. Since I've given myself a week to 'recover' from the long journey ;) , I will make time to do all my webpage updating (I think it's time to give this page a facelift) and change some of the content. Have yet to upload photos from the digital cameras (mine and my brother's) and have new pictures to look at!

What have I done since my return? I have done a few things productive -- banking, a little shopping, a few errands and gone to see 'the Matrix: Revolutions'. I have to say, I was quite disappointed by all the hype. The movie (part 2 & this installment) are nowhere near the quality of the first movie. Oh well ... guess when you have so much anticipation, it cannot satisfy your expectations. That's true with most things in life.

Other things to do: complete my work schedule for the rest of the year, go into work and buy stuff I need (and check my schedule there!), call up some friends who I haven't spoken to in a long time, fix up this beat-up computer and possibly, look into a new laptop (to take advantage of the wireless 'net I have installed in this house!).

Saturday, Nov 8

BRRR ... it's freezing out today! Started around -4C and the projected high is around +4C. That pales to the +35C in Kuala Lumpur I experienced one week ago! (You'll have to read my e-journal of my trip to learn more.) I did some good stuff today -- drove out to the east end to drop off the thank-you cards that my cousin, Ai Ris, asked me to deliver. Done. One less thing on my 'to do' list before I return back to work...

The weekend to come: I have some unfinished banking I must attend to today before the branch closes. A lot of money has to be transferred -- not really that important (ie can be done on Monday) but I would like for it to be done ASAP. Also have to go out and buy a couple things at the mall (something I normally avoid during the w/e -- too many people out!) with JJ. Lastly, I must diligently work on the e-journal ... have a couple days typed out but I need to work on the photos that go along with the journal. Who wants to read a lot of text without pretty pictures???

Wednesday, Nov 12

It started off as a foggy day then it became warm and sunny. By day's end, it is now very windy and cold. Tonight -- snow & freezing rain is forecast. What kind of weather is this?! I hope winter doesn't come any time soon ... I am still used to the warm weather of the tropics.

Not a bad day of work out in the east end. First day back and I was warmly welcomed by all the staff. (That was really nice) I didn't come empty-handed... gave Grant a hat (Hugo Boss) that I picked up on my travels and I gave Candy a bottle of hot sauce I lugged over in my luggage (which luckily did not break!)

Tonight, I finished work at 5:30. It was a long day of work but I got through it with little fanfare. Got JJ and we had dinner at my place. Then I got her to study ... she's got 2 tests tomorrow. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about that anymore. (haha) Also got working on my webpage in earnest. Typed out only a couple day's worth of journal entries. Played around with the format. Here's a teaser of what I have done thus far. I've got pictures uploaded (thumbnail form) but they're from my brother's camera. Will get my photos done up so it will make sense with the journal entries. Also made a quick trip to SDM to mail off some thank-you cards and get some stuff for my cousin overseas. Hope it all makes it there!