I woke up early this morning to go on a hike to Bukit Timah Hill with Sarah, my outdoors-loving-buddy. We hiked to the summit of the tallest hill in Singapore in less than an hour and agreed that it felt rather anti-climatic. After resting at the shelter until a mild shower of rain passed us, we hiked back down and started all over again. The second trip proved to be more interesting than the first. We tried an alternative route that was not too popular with the other hikers to discover it led to a dead end. However, beyond the boundary markers was a steep drop into an abandoned quarry which was now a deep bluish mini-lake. We also spotted a good number of ants, butterflies, birds, squirrels and monkeys on the way back.
I spotted a freakishly huge specimen of a Giant Forest Ant (Camponotus gigas) with killer pinchers (my giant feet have been captured here for a size comparison)
We compensated for the massive loss of calories earlier in the day by stuffing ourselves with naan and two paneer dishes, until all we could think of was falling horizontal and falling asleep. The serving staff came to serve us with four plates, judging by how much we ordered. Even the two of us being somewhat big eaters could not finish all the food. An interesting concept I discovered in Singapore (considered faux pas back home, when I left the place) was that in restaurants, people can opt to pack their leftovers. It follows logic that ones pays for the food and is therefore entitled to all of it regardless of it being a dine-in or a take-away. So that's what we did, and I didn't have to worry about dinner that day!
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Not many years ago, I had a rather ill-informed view on gaming and gamers in general. I associated them with words like "addictive", "childish", "anti-social", "violent", "unstable", "irresponsible" and "unproductive". But with exposure to a few different types of games, getting to know a few gamers personally, countless debates (most of which I lost!) and under the patient mentorship of Ryuu, I've had to tweak my previously held opinions on the topic.
While I maintain that most violent games out there are unfitting for impressionable young minds, I have discovered that to generalise all games is terribly unfair. Games come in various forms; they can bring much enjoyment to the senses and most require a considerable amount of brainwork and skill. Game graphics keep improving with time and the X-box Kinect has taken entertainment to a whole new level with its motion-sensing features (very exciting indeed). I don't see myself turning out to be a hardcore gamer, however, I can see myself picking up and enjoying the occasional game (not something I would have envisioned for myself five years ago).
Flower is a delightful game I am trying out these days. So far, it's basically running wild in a huge green grassy field picking colourful (musical) flowers that add on to a growing tail of petals that trail along - and I'm the Wind! It's so Zen-like, I love it.
My boss is back after five weeks on holiday and I am much more productive at work (with him sitting behind me, facing my computer screen). The office is also more fun these days listening to his wise sayings, funny stories and the creative swear words flying about within the "all-male-except-one" team. It really does take all kinds of people to make the world more interesting.
Four months later, it vaguely feels like the team has grown to accept my ways just as I have gotten more comfortable around them.
