Bemusement beside amusement on the carousel

Am feeling kinda proud. Managed to get in my gym sessions and running this week, even if it meant gymming yesterday and today and running 13km today. H usually rolls his eyes when I say that ;)

Some interesting incidents. Got hit on by a 17 year old boy at a company function. Part of me was flattered, but the other part was bemused and glad that nothing happened. Alarm bells were going off in my head, so i quickly pulled away and made light of it. But i made the point of chatting with him later so he would know everything was ok.

At the same function, sang 3 acapella songs with some colleagues. Was good to be singing again. Tons of fun, really, even if i was really rusty. I do miss singing and it will be good to go back it again, especially now that lindy seems to be dying down. Hopefully, we can keep this going.

Also went to St. James last night with a friend. WAY TOO CROWDED, even if the music was pretty good. Haven't really gone out clubbing in a long long time, so it was an interesting experience.

Another random thought. It struck me as i was running today that political science was the perfect training ground for what i have been doing for the past few years. It's about analysis, hypothesis, deduction, decision and then execution. Political science graduate school covered all of that, except for decision and execution, which i learnt in the previous job as a GM. Kinda funny to see how your life decisions can sometimes play out, especially since political science was a subject i picked for its similarity to History, and cos i thought it was easier to get a non-teaching scholarship in that subject. (History = teaching ! Blech! - another irony since i was also administering teaching scholarships for a bit after coming back to Singapore).

Life is funny sometimes.

Ajantis is bemused and amused.

Side shots in the corner pocket

Random titbits today.

1) H and I watched The Namesake the other day. Good movie, better than the book in some ways, because I still don't think Kal Penn is all that good an actor, but the actors playing his parents were amazing, so it helped that the movie put more emphasis on his parents. I like Asian-American tales, always have, always will. So it was good to catch the movie.

2) Saw an interesting NYT article about how someone in Thailand is designing durians that don't stink! What is the world coming to?

3) Looks like i'm going to Denver instead of Columbus in June, with a short vacation with H in SF. Should be fun. Plus... i get to stay over in Hong Kong for a day. Hopefully i get some swing in. Definitely going to check out the Queer Jitterbugs group in SF. H has promised to give lindy a try (woo hoo!) although it still sounds like i'm pulling his teeth.

4) Updated my latest networth. Kinda fun!

5) Been addicted to my Playstation portable (finally, found a good game!)... ARGH!

Ok, i lied. Not so random titbit time. Oats asked me about my thoughts on the whole ministerial/civil service pay review. My take can basically be summarised as follows

1) Our public policies are far better than those of other countries. Just take a look at the health and education systems in US, and you'll know what i mean. We pay less for more, effectively.
So i agree that government should pay for performance and i personally think the pay rises are justified.

2) People who are interested in public policy or have had the chance to personally experience/learn about public policy/systems in other countries would probably hold the same point of view.

3) Most people, however, are rightly more concerned about where their next paycheck will come from, or how to afford the next tuition/car payment (for middle-class folks). These people would not have had the chance to learn/experience other countries, and would be justifiably upset. Their point of view is valid in its own way, especially with the GST hike coming in July.

So in a nutshell? I agree with the payrise, but i definitely think more could and should have been done to prepare and educate the community.

Ok, exposition done.

Ajantis is going back to his PSP...

Blogging in paradise

Going back for the 10th anniversary concert was surreal. It was great to sing with old friends again. We sang 6 songs at the concert, and sang some more. I don't think my throat has been that sore in a while. Caught up with some old friends. It was good. But i think this is the probably the last time i will go back for a Gimble concert; going back for the reunion concert also made me quite aware that Gimble is something squarely in my past. I will look back on it with great fondness and affection, but we have all moved on beyond it into the working world.

H asked me : "How do you think Gimble has impacted you?" My answer; that it helped me become more aware of my own quirks and issues, and learn how to manage them better. In turn, this made more ready and able to learn from all the stuff that was thrown at me when i worked. So yes, i am grateful for everything that i got from being in the group. H is too. He said that he picked up quite a few management skills from learning how to push and manage a group of 16 very strong willed people ;)

H and i also took the chance to get out of town and go to Saugautuck, Michigan for a couple of days. It's a nice sleepy resort town, very different from extremely urban Singapore. But i think H got it right when he turned to me at dinner and said, "i think we're both urban people... most people would be enjoying this right now, but both of us are thinking how we're going to occupy ourselves tonight and tomorrow". Which was oh so true.... cos the next day we drove 45 minutes away to visit a sculpture garden in a nearby town....

All in all, though, the whole visit was very nice, especially since i didn't have to worry about work at all. Even though the Michigan weather was being crazy as usual (from 20 degrees celsius to -4 and snowing the next day), it was good to spend time with H, with old friends, with memories and recollections. And H cooked for me on the last night ;)

In other news, H and I have set a date for him to move here. April 2009. We finally have a date! Now the real planning for his bakery begins. I am a little worried about the amount of investment needed, but we will work through the numbers and business plan first.

Back to work tomorrow. Feels like i've been away a long time. And looks like i will be travelling a lot this year :
May - KL
Jun - Whole month in Melbourne, Sydney, Chicago, Columbus
Aug - Sydney
Sep - Beijing
Oct - Manila
Nov - St. Louis, USA (for friend's wedding).

Guess i'll see how much of a traveller i really am.

Ajantis will not get air-sick....

Scoring my way to Gimble...

Today was the first day off i've had in 8 days. Spent 5 days on course and 2 days working. Was nice to just wake up a bit later, recover some sleep, spend some time catching up with ex-colleagues.

Spent several hours today learning some acapella scores for the Gimble 10th anniversary concert this Saturday in the US. Discovered a couple of things

1) My vocal range has gone lower. I can now sing a low E very easily but find it tough to sing above a middle C...

2) I can still kinda pick out my notes pretty easily, even for songs i haven't learnt before. Nice to know that those musical skills aren't too rusty

3) I still miss acapella singing. Maybe i can kinda scratch that itch through the barbershop quartet/quintent we will be forming in the office :P

Finished up The Namesake as well. First Asian-American book i've read in a while, and probably the first one i've read about the Indian-American experience. Very well written, no cliches. Definitely intend to check out the film version by Mira Nair. Who knew Kal Penn could actually act?

3 more days to flying off!

Ajantis is still memorising songs...

Last night I was dreaming...

Been meaning to blog about last weekend.

It was great! I got to spend good time with friends, got some great music and dances, and even played badminton! That was exactly how i envisioned spending my birthday (weekend). Quality time with friends is extremely precious, especially as we all continue to move on with our lives.

Was on course this past week, which was an interesting change of pace, as I got to spend time with another set of colleagues (junior managers), and also refresh my memory about some of the stuff i had learnt earlier when starting this new job.

It's interesting, really, how people all tend to remark that i come across as having spent several years in this new job already. The same people also tend to comment that i seem to definitely be enjoying this new job. And you know what? It's true. I really enjoy it. The learning, the new experiences, the fact that i'm in an organisation that tries its best to value people and whose own values are more aligned with mine... it's all great!

And to cap off a great week, I was just informally told by my boss that i've been confirmed in this position, and that the company will be speeding up my progression to the next level. More details to follow next Tuesday when we will have a more formal discussion about this. Although that also raises the question of where I will move for this next job, and whether H and I are prepared to move there.

But that's a question for another time. For now, I will just be appreciative and glad.

Ajantis is banana-rama-ing....

10 years and counting

Ten years ago, i could not have imagined how things would turn out over the next decade... i hadn't even come out yet! In these past ten years, i've come to terms with myself, met a person whom i want to spend the rest of my life with, discovered lindy hop and a whole new group of friends with it, held 4 different jobs (albeit with two employers - the funny thing is, i recall worrying when i turned 20 about whether i would be able to adjust to a workplace after having enjoyed the relatively unstructured setting/life of college) The list is endless. But i am grateful for all that has happened.

On a less mushy note, Bee tagged me so now i must respond, with my own little twist. Thought i would start off with 5 things that most of my close friends know about me

Ajantis :
1) Hates eggs and leafy vegetables
2) Loves chocolates, green tea, and sambal salted fried rice
3) Is in a long distance relationship
4) Has a hard disk for a brain
5) Is a computer/video game/dungeons and dragons addict

Here's 5 things that you might not know

Ajantis :
1) Is quite insecure about work most of the time (i usually spend at least 10-20 minutes at the end of the day in recrimination mode, involuntarily going over what could have been done better)
2) Favorite movie : Before Sunset
3) Loves getting massages
4) Has 2 half-siblings
5) Nickname in primary school : Pink Elephant (don't ask me why, really)

Ok that's enough. Time to actually get some decent sleep for the night.

Ajantis is out of facts....