Next stop: Chicago

What a frantic few weeks it's been. Just when I was finally pulling myself together to start on that paper for the Tasmania conference, they informed me that the grant was not approved, and instead, I would go Chicago.

What followed was a mad scramble to make bookings for the trip and to rush out all the work needed for Chicago (and apparently, I still need to write that paper for Tasmania, even if I'm not going!). No, wait--first, I had to convince myself to go. When it became clear I would possibly be staying there and taking the flight by myself, I hesitated. It's all very new to me: my first trip to the US, first overseas conference, and first working trip. I know, I know, I was just waxing lyrical about getting lost in a foreign place in the last entry, but pontification is pontification; gettting lost in transit is quite another thing!

My work neighbour "counselled" me and told me to step out of my comfort zone and just go! He said no matter what happens, it'll turn out OK. The persistent optimist. :) I agreed with him; it would be a good experience, or at the least, edifying. I've got to learn to be more independent, and this would be a start.

I spent an entire day in the office calling 1 agency after another, chasing after some very scarce air tickets and accommodation. My office mates, seeing how frantic I was, helped out by passing me agency numbers, websites etc.

Anyway, the frenzy hasn't ended--I have papers to write, work meetings to prepare and other details to settle. That means lots of overtime for the past week and the next. I'm starting to feel the onset of sickness already. And although I still feel some apprehension, I'm looking forward to exploring the city and its tapestry of art and architecture. I just hope the jet lag won't be too bad. :)

Get lost!

I had taken 2 days off after CNY in an attempt to at least clear some of the "backlog" of leave I've accumulated. (17.5 days! To clear by May!! Don't you wish you were in the same pickle as me? :D ) I was fretting to a colleague about how the leave days are still precious nonetheless and I've had nothing planned for the short break. In exasperation, I said that I'll just hop onto the 1st bus that comes and then just sit back and "get lost".

"But it's so hard to get lost in Sin8apore," I grumbled. My colleague looked at me for awhile, blinked and said carefully: "Err....I think you could get very lost."

Actually I've done this sort of thing before; when I was still in secondary school, in a fit of boredom I boarded a bus, tuned in to my transistor radio, people-watch and take in the scenery along its 1 hr+ route and just let it take me to its final stop. There was nothing exciting there, just another ulu, quiet neighbourhood. I had a short walk around the place, bought a packet drink, and boarded the bus again to go home.

So it wasn't a very successful attempt. But sometimes, I still have an urge to alight at a different stop from where I intended to go, be it on a SBS bus, or the public train in Perth. Actually, especially when I'm overseas, because all places are equally unfamiliar and promising, and I know that I may never come by that way again.

When you know nothing about the place, you won't have any expectations, and thus you are less likely to be disappointed. Maybe that's why those trips taken when I was a kid seemed more memorable, even if it was just a car trip to Desaru. We stayed at a cheap motel (I think we would have howled at that thought now) but it was novel then. I remember that when the lights went out, it was total darkness, unlike in Singapore where the orange glow of streetlights outside always seeps in through even the smallest gap. My sister and me were totally enthralled by the fact that we couldn't even see the hands we were frantically waving in each other's faces.

You know how as you become older, travelling becomes in a way demystified, because even before you step off the plane onto the foreign soil, you've researched the place to death, examined its most gorgeous scenery via photos, planned your itinerary down to the last minute, and mapped out all the places you want to go so that that you won't end up "nowhere".

Anyway, I did go nowhere for my short break; I got so bored that I cancelled part of my leave and went back to the office. I'm due for another extended weekend this week. Maybe I'll take up my colleague's suggestion to walk around Tion8 Bahru, with all the good food places. Anyone wanna join in? :)