Sometimes things are really strange. You need to experience worse things so that you can appreciate some of the things that you have. It's the contrast. In a way, that got me thinking. I appreciate the weekends and holidays a lot more now that I have such harsh working weekdays. Things have just been so hectic for me. Thank you if you are still reading this, and I apologize for missing out on last week even though I said I would do it. Well, I am back with the usual routine. Here goes! 

Mon (16/11)

Was a generally alright day. Currently had to carry out the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for the new notifications feature that I was leading. I started out with a few bugs, but I managed to clear with the Executive Officer in a 1-to-1 presentation, so that was good. There was more scolding sessions by the boss again, but this time it wasn't directly targeted at me because I already burnt the weekend making sure all my shit works. Everything else by the rest of the team was broken though. LOL. Hey, I gotta look after myself first right? Anyway, evening was good because I had dinner with my family again. 

Tue (17/11)

So the UAT sessions continue. Honestly, quite tiring as I had to present to each team individually. The good thing that happened was that I managed to get the limited edition cat Starbucks Cup! Yay! It was hard to find and sold out in many places. Afternoon, I had lunch alone so it was hard to find tables. Luckily, a kind lady offered to share her table with me. So nice! I really appreciate these acts of kindness, and wish that it was more common. I will definitely acknowledge them here! Dinner with the family again, which is always good when I don't have to walk home by myself. Grateful for that. 

Wed (18/11)

Usually my dad is nice enough to drop me off at the train station before heading to work in the morning. However, he had to stay with my sister with her Lasik appointment today, so I was on my own. Taking the slightly later train, I was worried because it kept stopping for awhile at every other station. Luckily, I still managed to reach work early even with all the delays. Lunch time was interesting. I had to explore on my own now that I have nobody to go lunch with on this roster, sad. But hey, I managed to find a relatively secluded Mos Burger that didn't really need reserving of tables. A good cozy spot in CBD to enjoy fast food lunch. It had been a long week, but overall just happy that I survived another week of working in office. Next 5 working days will be work from home! 

Thur (19/11)

Last day of the UAT. There were some hiccups and uncooperative users and even our team members, but somehow managed to clear everyone that we needed to clear. Yay! Afternoon was a little weird because I spent time preparing for some stuff that later didn't matter. You see, the boss dropped a big bomb on us. He did a massive reshuffle and reassignment of work to everyone. To his credit, it is quite impressive how he managed to divide and conquer the work that needed to be done. He really is a very capable person, if not for his ego I'd totally respect him more. He reminds me of myself in some ways during the days where I was overbearing on my teammates for project work. Karma? Haha. That being said, I am glad with my new lighter workload and opportunities to learn to directly manage an offshore team. What's more, I managed to get a pretty decent gym session in after work. Good day.

Fri (20/11)

The thing about the reshuffle, is that it practically left me with not much work left to do at the current time. I could only really begin my work after 30th Nov. Which means that I will have nothing much to report for my daily progress, which could be an issue. Haha. I tried to offer my colleague Ikhwan some help on his work, but not sure how I can chip in also. Today was also the company celebration for November birthdays. It was fun! And I really look forward to it every month. Also happens to coincide closely with the next paycheck. Hahaha. Dinner was pretty nice. I went out with dad to buy back food for the family. We got kebab and bubble tea. Good stuff. 

Sat (21/11)

These are really the days that I work so hard for. I got to meet up with my best friend Shaun and our usual hangout gang of people. We went to eat lunch at some chicken rice place at Far East Plaza called Hainanese Delicacy. It was honestly only average in terms of taste and price. Not bad, but wouldn't necessarily go all the way there to have it again. What was more important was the time I had spent hanging out with a bunch of good friends. I really enjoy these sort of days. After that, we went to eat some more kaya toast at some overpriced place. Again, just for a place to chill. Later on in the evening,  I also had the chance to introduce them to my favorite Modanyaki stall at Takashimaya basement. I'm glad that everyone loved it. It's the best! The Taiyaki that I bought there was only average however. I had a much better one at Asakusa Japan, so can't fight. After dinner, we headed to scape to hang out and have milkshakes. Discussed on a bunch of random topics and touched on games in general. I brought up Bartle's Player Types from some of my research and got everyone to do the survey. Honestly, really interested in learning why people play games. Overall, it was a really fun day! I look forward to more of such times, and will work hard towards them!

Sun (22/11)

Today was more subdued for me. Basically just relax at home for the whole day. Gotta fully recharge and prepare for the coming week ahead. Lunch time basically had some Nespresso coffee prepared by sis and random stuff we had around the house to eat, including some pau and instant noodles. Simple stuff. Binged watched YouTube videos the whole day to wind down. Tea break, we had English earl grey tea with honey and some potato chips. For dinner, dad went out to buy food for us again, and I had a huge ass bowl of Mee Pok. It was crazy a lot of food honestly. Shouldn't have upsized. Hahaha. But hey, at least an overall happy chill and relaxed day. Just the way I like it. 

So there you have it. I am back at this in full force. But really, the theme for this week for me is: Contrast. It really makes me understand that you will really come to appreciate stuff more when you have to work so hard for it. The bitter parts are also what makes the good parts sweet. So cherish your times, both the good and the bad. Because each day we live, is another day that we have spent on this Earth. Don't fret over the bad times, recognize them and use them to savor the good times. Make the most of what you have, and be happy!