In London, it took me 4 sleepless nights before I finally overcame jet lag and started to be able to sleep for a couple of hours at night. The first week of working in the London office was kinda hell - could hardly stay awake or even alert. Thankfully, I was unofficially a "guest" in the London office and everyone unconsciously decided to cut me some slack. That said, I did manage to do some good work - according to the London guys - while I was there. It was pretty interesting to see the similarities of the job scope between the London and Singapore offices and the differences in the processes that we go through. At the very least, it put some things that would otherwise annoy both parties in perspective and allowed us to put faces to names. It was also pretty encouraging to know that there were people who actually followed developments in the Singapore office and that we were not "some cast away office in a faraway land". On a personal level, the London colleagues who have been to the Singapore office made me feel rather welcome and brought me out for meals to catch-up. I look forward to hosting the next batch that comes over.
The hotel was clean and comfortable but seemed to require you to pay for everything. I paid the equivalent of $10++ for a nail clipper! Talk about a rip-off. At least the hotel allowed you to borrow an iron - a necessity since I'm there for work. I thought I handled those chores pretty well, aside from leaving a burn scar on my thigh due to a careless mistake this one time.
I spent my time after work and first weekend to do some heavy exploring. This isn't a travel blog so I'll skip the details but it was relatively easier to cover more ground and stuff as I'm alone. One evening, I thought I'll run around looking for a movie theatre, after plenty of running around, I finally ended up at one. On a whim, I decided to catch the movie Insurgent. It was decent if not for the fact that it seemed pretty rushed. After the movie, it was already dark and as I walked out of the theatre, it suddenly dawned on me. I didn't know the way back to the hotel! The freaking cold and the fact that I had to work tomorrow morning made it all the more urgent that I make it back soon. I ran around in hopes of trying to use familiar landmarks as reference points. I eventually managed to identify the London Eye and the Big Ben - in the far distance. By the time I managed to make it back, it was already midnight. I was still under the effects of jet lag so I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, but still... it was tiring. When I reached the hotel, a Whatsapp message from F came through and informed me of news from home - Lee Kuan Yew had passed away. Was unsure how I felt upon hearing the news. Couldn't describe it even if I tried. Whatever the case, I had plenty to occupy my mind through the sleepless night.
The next day, while going through all my media alerts and notifications, I was surprised to realise that LKY had such a huge presence outside Singapore, outside South-East Asia, and even outside Asia-Pacific. News from home covering his death also made me feel like I should be back home. So it was very comforting to see an email message from my boss in Singapore. The email read:
Dear Lydia,
You may be aware that Mr. Lee Kuan Yew passed on Monday. He is the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and an extremely important part of Singapore's history.
There has been a week of national mourning announced in Singapore and currently, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's body is lying in state before his State Funeral on Sunday.
At a time of national mourning and as a Singaporean, Adwin is a long way from home and I would like him to be given some time off work this week so he can attend the Singapore embassy to pay his respects and sign the condolence book.
Please let me know if this presents any issues.
Best
Angela
Needless to say, I was mighty touched by her thoughtfulness. I was allowed to go and it surprised even me that I had plenty to write in the condolence book.
My secondary school classmate, JT, whom I had not met for 10 years met me on my second week and brought me around. It was nice to have company in a foreign place but as expected, I slept on the floor. At least the hotel was kind enough to grant me extra blankets. One night, she was stressing about her assignment that was due in a couple of days - typical last minute kan chiong Singaporean. As I wanted to get some sleep since I needed to work the next day (it was past midnight), I decided to help her out. It was a research paper, something I was familiar with. I rushed out the literature review that was the culprit of much of her frustrations in an hour and thankfully got some sleep. If I wasn't so sleepy, the in-text citations and thrill of typing out your thoughts into assignments might have been a very nostalgic and even fun experience.
A new friend I made in the London office invited me over to her place for supper. Had some difficulty locating her address but eventually managed to brave the cold and arrive. It is very different to see a colleague outside work. When she answered the door, she seemed to have just come out of the shower. I swear, there is something mysteriously attractive about girls who let their hair down. She then proceeded to cook to which I simply hung around the kitchen. I offered to help but she rejected (thank God!). Despite her claims that she isn't an excellent chef, her risotto was good enough for me to get seconds. We had quite an enjoyable chat over supper. She has quite an interesting and passionate side. She reminds me of a conversation I had with SO previously where I concluded that girls are weird and troublesome, but yet so attractive. I wouldn't have been able to see such a lovely side to her when we're at work. I guess getting to know your colleagues outside work is necessary.
Towards my last few days in the London office and just when I was gearing up for my trip to Italy, I was told to dial back to the Singapore office for a conference call. Without suspecting anything, I dialled back and after the initial banter, my boss (from Singapore) made an announcement that actually made my brain shut down for a few seconds. SO has sort of tendered her resignation. Deja vu? Right, because SQ decided to leave when I was in Japan previously and now SO did the same (although to be fair, she gave much more notice than SQ did). I am never going overseas again. When SQ left, there was a sort of depressed atmosphere that hung over the analysts. Morale among us was incredibly low. It didn't help that things got busier and more mistakes got made. It was during that period that I got closer to SO. We actually made an agreement that if anyone one of us were to leave, we have to give each other at least two months notice and that we should be the first to know. So it came as a kind of a shock to hear the announcement made by my boss over the conference call. I'll admit it. I was depressed.
The next day, my boss told me to contact her privately. She then told me that she understands if I am rather "unsettled" about SO's departure. She told me that they are giving me a bonus for that month. She jokingly said that if I ever have to decide between whether or not to have an extra glass of wine to complement my meals in Italy, that amount should help me to say yes. It was a very thoughtful gesture as always, but this time, it did not provide much comfort.
Then came my last day in the office. As I was going round saying my goodbyes and giving out goodbye hugs, I received a call from the hotel. Turns out that they want me to check out that day as the booking did not extend to that night. As my flight to Italy was for the next day, I slapped my forehead and uttered: "NOT AGAIN!" Thankfully, the London office helped to sort it out, but seriously though, I could live without these exciting mishaps.
My mother and sister had nagged me to get some souvenirs back from my trip. My mum wants a Longchamp bag and my sister wants an authentic Arsenal jersey with the name of her favourite player. I could say without a hint of guilt that I did not manage to get to Arsenal's stadium, but when I was at the Airport bound for Rome, that stupid flight had to be delayed and I happened to see a Longchamp outlet in the airport. When I was in London, I took a liking to the song 天冷就回来 but somehow, I could imagine my mum saying: "没有 Longchamp 不要回来". I bought it.
My first day in London wasn't exactly welcoming with the cold and the miscommunication with the hotel booking. In Rome, it was unfortunately the same case. The flight was delayed and the shuttle bus that was supposed to run every 30 minutes was delayed. I then spent two hours lugging my luggage across Rome trying to find that B&B apartment - it was a nightmare to find the first time round. When I finally managed to check in, I was utterly exhausted and my arms and shoulders were aching. 3 weeks worth of work clothes and shoes (along with other stuff) were incredibly heavy. I had to strike off most of the to-do things on my list for the first day as the delays made it impossible to cover them and also because I was damn tired. I stationed myself near the Colosseum waiting for the Pope to lead the Good Friday procession. My accommodation was literally right next to the Colosseum. Unfortunately, I could barely get close to the Pope to even take a picture. The security troops and medical team were extremely well-trained indeed. When I was finally allowed to proceed, the plaza was surrounded by a gathering of the faithful (and curious) and there was literally nothing to see. Still tired from the ordeal of dragging my luggage around, I gave up and told myself that I'll get another chance on Easter Sunday where the Pope will lead the mass at the Vatican - which was today. After making my way to the Vatican, the skies decided to make things difficult and it started to pour. By the time I made my way to the square, it was again surrounded by the faithful (and curious) and this time, with umbrellas raised! What an elusive Pope.
Anyway, to share an interesting experience, I was as sitting at a little restaurant munching on my pizza as I scanned across the restaurant. At the end of my peripheral vision, I caught sight of a girl who then winked at me. Embarrassed, I managed a quick return smile and averted my eyes to my food. I then realised that that was no wink. It was simply a blink due to irritation of her eye. Suddenly, the al funghi mozzarella pizza I was chewing - even washed down with Coca-Cola - tasted extremely bitter.
Oh, I am typing this blog post from the corridor of the apartment as the wifi signal is unable to reach my room.
Don't get me wrong. Rome is proving to be pretty interesting but just thought it would be fun to bitch about the not-so-nice things. Also, I wonder why, but I could never get panorama shots to work. Pretty sure I'm doing it correctly.
I had wanted to write this blog post a night earlier but the wines in Italy were rather strong...
[Quotes]
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A man never knows how to say goodbye; a woman never knows when to say it." - Helen Rowland
"Blessed are the hearts that bend; they shall never be broken." - Albert Camus
"A particular beautiful woman is a source of terror. As a rule, a beautiful woman is a terrible disappointment." - Carl Jung
"While physics and mathematics may tell us how the universe began, they are not much use predicting human behaviour because there are too many equations to solve. I'm no better than anyone else at understanding what makes people tick, particularly women." - Stephen Hawking
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle
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