The Daily Grind
POSTED AT 10:40 PM

Now that I'm juggling two jobs, things have started to grind themselves out into a boring routine. Today's May Day holiday marks the first time in quite a while that I've had the freedom to just stay put at home the whole day without having to worry about evening shifts, night classes or riding lessons. It's also the first time in a long time that I've managed to have dinner at home. Most of the time one thing or another crops up, so it's nice today to be able to catch up on all those trivial things which slowly build up undone.

I'm looking to do some travelling in the near future, probably next month. Limitations of course are financial considerations, destination choices and company. Plus my scholarship hasn't gotten back to me on what commitments I might have with them, so that might threaten to cast a cloud over everything. We shall see, I guess, how things turn out, but then again too much 'seeing' and inactivity will mean that nothing will materialise.

Things are looking a bit hazy over the next couple of months because I've got a few things planned but nothing locked in yet - that annoys me to no end. I hate this feeling of a lack of control. The jobs will probably go by the end of this month - perhaps stretch to mid or late next month if my China plans don't materialise.

I need a holiday!

Playing the Odds
POSTED AT 02:04 PM

My personal allegiance to Liverpool notwithstanding, it's great to see both Liverpool and AC Milan in the Champions' League Final, because I have money on either of them to win at at least 1:4 odds.

A casual foray into the Singapore Pools outlet at Selegie a couple of weeks back brought my attention to two value bets - Liverpool to win the UCL at 1:4, and AC Milan to win the UCL at 1:4.5. I never doubted Liverpool's ability to knock Chelsea out when the situation demanded it; I guessed that Man U's injury-ravaged defence and fixation on the Premiership would prove to be their undoing in the UCL.

It may sound rather self-indulgent to comment now, after all, as they say (who's they?), with hindsight prescience is nothing (what???), but this compound bet seemed (rightly) a good idea, the cost of the other bet translating into odds of 1:3 or 1:3.5. If this was a trading market (but it isn't), as long as either team got into the final, which was a pretty likely thing to happen, they would have odds of less than 1:2.5, and I could trade away my bet with superior odds to earn the balance. If both made the cut, I would have a sure-win bet on my hand with odds of at least 1:3.

Perhaps the rest of you don't do so much thinking when it comes to football betting, but this is how I get my kicks from betting, rather than the actual act of earning money. It's great to judge and siphon out the mathematically-sound bets, and be proven right by the laws of averages. Maybe I should stick to poker.

The Joy of Working Thursday Lunch
POSTED AT 02:04 AM

There is something quite fulfilling about spending a day like this - working a light 11 - 6 lunch shift, driving out with some friends for supper to spend the day's well-deserved tips, and finally returning home to watch the latest episode of Bleach.

Simple pleasures in life aren't hard to come by.

The Misery of Working Friday Dinner
POSTED AT 02:41 AM

There's something distinctly unfulfilling about working a tip-less, busy bee hive Friday evening shift and coming home after 2, knowing that I need to get up at 6.30 tomorrow. Not even a beer before coming back could lift my spirits.

Unfortunately, misery is pretty abundant as well.

Crippled
POSTED AT 10:58 PM

The toenail of my big toe was dislodged by accident the other day and it is as painful as it sounds. I just cut off half the toenail because it looked like it was becoming septic. My mom recommends however that I should go to the doctor to get the whole nail removed. I think she's probably right in that it would allow me to recover faster, but I don't really want to because, a) it would put me in a world of pain; b) i might be put out of action for a while (ie. no shoes and no walking) which I can't afford because of work.

So my strategy is to cut half off first to allow half to heal first, which would hopefully allow me to continue leading a normal life, and reduce the pain level when I finally get rid of the rest of the blasted thing.

Fly Away!
POSTED AT 12:37 AM

Welcome Aboard!



YOUR FLIGHT IS CONFIRMED.

We hope you enjoy your flight and look forward to seeing you on board again soon.



From Everyone at Jetstar

Vacation Time
POSTED AT 11:49 PM

June lies right smack in the peak of the travel season, which means that people like us, who have all the time in the world, shouldn't schedule our overseas trips during this period so as to avoid the crowd and inflated ticket prices. However, obviously common sense is something that we haven't got a grasp on yet, so many of my friends are going holidaying during this period. Jonny has left for Canada already; Mok and Gn are leaving for France next Wednesday; Sx is heading to Australia with the best girl in the world not too long afterward.

Of course, I'm certainly not immune to this madness, which is why I've got tickets to Hong Kong from the 7th to the 12th. I think that I really need the break after everything that I've been doing lately; I'm certainly looking forward to it immensely.

As you may know, it wasn't too long ago that I visited Hong Kong - slightly over 2 years, to be specific. So there's nothing really much that I want to see or visit. All I hope for is a chance to satisfy all those food cravings, some decent shopping and an overall enjoyable time. Not too difficult to achieve, hopefully.

It's going to cost, however, but I think my finances have been sufficiently bolstered from the recent weeks of hard work. Batam and riding have sucked up a lot of money though, which is why I'm only going to quit one job at the end of May, and hang on to the other one for a few more weeks. My aim is to leave in August with more money in my bank than I had at my ORD.

Lonely Planet
POSTED AT 01:09 AM

I take the last bus home from the MRT station after work. What usually happens is that about 2 mins before the last bus arrives, an off-duty bus of the same service number, with lights off and no, will speed by the bus-stop.

It's probably the last bus in the other direction that just completed its route, heading back to the depot from the interchange. However, I've noticed that many a fellow passenger at the bus stop have taken its appearance to mean that they've missed the last bus, and immediately give up the wait to hail a cab home.

I feel like I should share my knowledge with them, that the last bus is actually just about to arrive in a couple of minutes time. But the problem is that I only know that they've been waiting for that service number when they give up the wait to flag down a cab.

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This may sound strange, but I feel a bit like my life is ending. Lest that statement be mistaken as suicidal tendencies, let me clarify: that I'm going away in August to the US and not return for a year or so makes me feel like my life here is about to come to an end, albeit with a rebirth on the other side of the world. In planning my schedule in these last few months, it feels as if I'm trying to squeeze in all these things that I need to get done, while time is inexorably running out. Not too unlike an elderly person in the twilight years of his life, no?

After all, death can be likened to going away to a faraway place for a long time. And, depending on what you choose to believe, that is probably true as well. Except, of course, that there's no telephone or Skype or IM to keep in touch with those that are left behind.

In the same way, I hope to achieve some sense of closure with my affairs and issues that I'm going to leave here when I depart. This place will be a different one when I return.