Assorted Ravings of the Slightly-Weird

The Suaku Singaporean Reports: #8

The Suaku Singaporean is back after 3 weeks, 2 of which were spent on work and the last on play, 22000 miles in the air, 3 rolls of film, a 17-hour nonstop flight and A LOT of shopping.

Let me first say that the nonstop flight by SIA is fantastic. With a 2-3-2 configuration in Executive Economy class, the seats are roomy enough for me to actually lie on my side and sleep. And the generous recline and footrest makes it really comfortable. If you find it tedious to be stuck in a seat for 17 hours there's a section in the back with snacks and drinks laid out where you can walk about and stretch your legs. And then there's the movie selection, which enabled me to catch all the movies that I've missed. On the flight out I watched 3 movies (In Good Company and 2 others); coming back I watched 4 (Hitch, Spanglish, The Pacifier and Closer).

While on vaction, I drove about 1500 miles over 8 days in California and covered much of the coastline in my trusty rental Ford Focus. The scenery in Northern California and Southern California is very much different; NorCal is greener and more rugged, SoCal is browner with rolling hills. Amongst the cities that I visited, I'd rank SF first, SD second and LA a distant third. I just don't like how LA sprawls across the region and the freeways are just a mess.

It's been a fun-filled time for me. A lot of alone time spent travelling on the freeways and when I got to my various destinations it was great to catch up with friends, some of whom I hadn't met in ages. I also managed to make some new ones while I was there. Best of all I got to meet up with my college roommate. It's strange how we were only roommates for about 3 months, but we're still quite close despite that the fact that she lives in LA and I live here. She was such a hospitable host when I was in LA, so I look forward to returning the favour if she makes the trip down to SG.

Most of all though, I think this trip has served to reinforce my desire to get out of SG and go to the US. I'm sad to think that I'd have to leave my job (which I have to admit is cushy, plus I do like my team members) but I just have this fear that one day I will realise that I am 35/40/(insert age here) and have done nothing with my life. And while I have the flexibility to move around, I should do so before circumstances force me to be otherwise. Plus, I do miss living in the US and while I realise that grad school/working life will be vastly different from the very sheltered undergrad life that I experienced, I'd like to know that I can make it in a new city without a social support structure. I already know I can travel on my own; now it's time to find out if I can live on my own.

So if things go well, I'll be out of here by mid 06. Stay tuned...

Posted by scrabbyfoo at June 6, 2005 04:41 PM