been working harder than i had bargained for over the past weeks.
can't wait for CNY to come to finally take a long overdue breather.

on a brighter (and more adventurous) note, took my first motorcycle ride here on Wednesday when line 2 broke down during the morning peak and people swarmed out of the train station. just when i was about to despair that i wasn't going to get to work after all, motor tout arrived and held out a helmet invitingly. hmm...

it wasn't so bad after all. ok, so it costs me as much as a normal cab ride and i nearly froze in the winter breeze. still, i managed to hold on to my laptop and weave our way in and out of the heavy morning traffic without much ado. i only wish he would stop yakking nonstop about how wise i am to take his bike and not wait for the evasive cab. he kept turning around to try to have a conversation. i yelled my way through the helmet for him to keep his eyes on the road. arrived in office within 15mins. cool!

the client is upset. my boss is upset that client is upset.
i'm upset my boss is upset that client is upset.

i can't be upset at my people because they have worked their butts off on this.
plus i still need to keep them motivated to finish this off.

what do i do with my upset? offload to someone or digest it somehow?

poor monster was here and got the bulk of it.
but i'm glad he was here. a fren in need is a fren indeed.
element fresh benefited once again.
but this time, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

the festive weeks came and were gone in flash.
seemed to bring with them a big bag of emotions.
yes, there is the usual bouts of home-sickness, guilt and general sense of resignation but also gratitude, satisfaction and even genuine surprise.

work front has been pretty intense. the chinese clients apparently do not accept Xmas and New Year as a valid reason for work to slow. was shuffling between the phone and the laptop on my birthday. it was tiring but not sad. i thought of all those who had to go back to office and work on that weekend to try to finish the project. could we have done things better? hmm...

the CN team dropped a brand new nokia phone into my Xmas stocking, which the SG team has couriered over earlier (along with a handmade banner and Xmas goodies). bless their souls.
makes me wonder again all those birthdays that i missed without showing any appreciation of the person and how they have in their own ways, helped made life easier for me. hmm...