Pkchukiss - Reality Wine

I was reading the newspaper when I got the drunk, dizzying feeling. My whole world started to sway like a giant crib. Initially, I thought that I was drunk, and got up to fetch a glass of water to cure the hangover, and I nearly lost my balance when I remembered that I didn’t drink any alcohol the night before. Finally, when my grandmother started swaying too, I was convinced that it wasn’t just in my mind: we were shaking!

According to the National Environmental Agency, Singapore is located in a seismically stable location, though we are in geographical terms near a fault-line, so the quake must have come from a fault line near us. A quick check proved correct.

There was a 6.3 near Palembang, Western Sumatra, and the shock-waves of 2 on the Richter scale could be felt in Singapore as well as Malaysia. Not very scary for the poor people living along the fault lines, but if you consider a country that isn’t prepared for an earthquake, it was something major to see water oscillating in a cup, and walking like a drunk on the 16th storey of a 30 storey building.

What stopped me from panicking was the fact that even poorly built attap houses could withstand a quake of magnitude 3, so a building with a solid foundation should be pretty much just see-sawing without much effect. I was more worried about the resonance forces that ripped apart the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

Eventually, the shaking stopped, and life resumed as usual. Nothing fell from the shelf above my computer: as you can see, they are all perched precariously at a great height.

Procrastination stops me from sticking super-glue on the under-sides to keep them down, just in case tremors of higher magnitude ever strike. Maybe I should stick some sticky tape underneath?

[tags]earthquake, sumatra, singapore, tacoma narrows[/tags]

Scribbled under:
General

Things got a bit poignant and I nearly stayed overnight for my last day, but I guess that was just about it. The end of the road has come, and as with all good things and bad things: the time has come to leave.

There was compelling reason for me to stay on for the next month, since school doesn’t start till April; and I have not yet received the results of the posting exercise! It besides being premature, it looks a little dumb to give up on one month’s income. What’s more, I really enjoyed working with my colleagues.

My reasons are clear: it was hard for me to quit, even after I have indicated back in October. Some really bad customers ground on my nerves so badly, that prompted me to seek out alternatives to my current job scope. My colleagues were always there, supportive and helpful whenever I ran into the runt. They enabled me to soldier on in the face of the adversity. However, given that I was going back to study soon, it won’t make my resignation easier if I did it nearer to the start of school.

I kept pondering whether I would be able to take the cut and sever my job when the time came: it was a tough decision, and 2 weeks ago I made up my mind to quit come end February. It was a snap decision (that came after a lot of grey-matter burning), and I subsequently gave my notice, taking care to keep the rest of my colleagues in the dark. I knew that they would want me to stay, so I decide to let them know only on the last day.

Most of them were shocked by my sudden revelation on the 28th, but they accepted it. That day was quite emotional for me, since I had gone through quite a whole lot with the project team mates. We decided to have an impromptu party in the office pantry, since most of them worked way past my ending time.

Ms Sh. M was kind enough to come down on her off day amidst the torrential rain to accompany me and DG shopping for dinner. You would realise that Ang Mo Kio holds some of the best curry puffs, satays and fried chicken in Singapore! There was also halal chinese food that we took-away, and brought it back to the office under the rain. Too bad I forgot to take any pictures of the food, which really made our neighbours extremely hungry just taking in the strong whiff of curry, rojak and fried oyster omelette. That overtook fast food with its satisfyingly sinful contribution to our fats.

Everybody also signed a farewell card, and presented it to me before I left, along with a CD compilation of our outings - you will be amazed just how sneaky the photographers can get!

Now that I am back at home, jobless and penniless, I am going to concentrate on the writing course that I enrolled back in June last year. Yes! It was that long ago since I last submitted my assignment! For a course that stressed on doing it at my own pace, I was really stretching it! I don’t know what will my teacher write in my next assignment evaluation.

“Student is so busy that he can write in a blog, yet take 4 bloody months to submit Assignment 2.”

It is time to hit the books!

Scribbled under:
General

Eek! This looks even more anti-thesis than I thought: I recall myself as a very good procrastinator: pushing all my weekend homework till Sunday evening, and then scramble to dig out those assignments to do them. I wouldn’t be panicked while scribbling on my homework, but I feel fear.

I fear what would happen if I couldn’t finish that pile of maths homework due on the very first lesson on Monday morning. You know, when the maths representative would go around the class collecting the worksheets, along with a ballpoint and the class roll. She marks down the names of the homework-less with the same sleepy eyes as the rest whom managed to finish it on Sunday evening. Darn, we are all the same!

“Quadratic equations part 1…” she held the tiny pile at table level so that I could place mine on top.

“Nah, there you go!” I handed mine in, the ink barely dry.

(more…)

Scribbled under:
General