Goodbye Grad School Girl, Hello Working Woman

I am having withdrawal symptoms from leaving my lovely Vista Park home. Goodbye to lovely Kent Ridge Park, goodbye to my cozy bedroom, goodbye to my little piece of heaven in Singapore. Hay! This will be my second move in a one-year period. Relocating is definitely stressful specially if, like me, you have the tendency to accumulate stuff. First was the shift from Gillman to South Buona Vista which was definitely an exciting move as I was dying to get out of Gillman. I totally fell in love with my Vista Park flat the first time I saw it. This time round am moving to the suburbs. My new place is nice enough. It's a 3-bedroom maisonette in an HDB block in Simei. It is not love at first sight but I must admit that it's very practical and convenient. It's a five-minute walk from a mall and MRT station which makes it ideal for work. It'll be a 20-minute train ride to City Hall and a 10-minute walk to Suntec. But, it is an HDB and for someone who's always been used to a lot of greenery, privacy, and open spaces, it will definitely require some adjustment. Am glad to be moving with a very good friend though. Life with N will never be boring! I love the fact though that our new flat has a second floor so it doesn't feel like an HDB. My bedroom window overlooks an open area with lots of trees. I really should not complain but aaargh, this shift just comes at such a bad time as I've just started work and do not have the luxury of time.

There are many things to look forward though: new neighbours, new territory to explore with my running shoes, new mall to conquer. And I actually like the vibe of the East.

And now the work front. Honeymoon lasted all of five hours. After lunch, the assignments started pouring in. Thank God for my previous law firm training. It was easy to get into the work groove and, social magnet that I am, I've already formed my lunch bunch: Azmul, Coco and Meera. Having a blast exploring all the lunch spots in Suntec and neighboring Millenia Walk and hunting down all the Osim showcases so that we can score free massages with the Osim chairs and handheld massagers. I have mastered the fine art of acting like a serious buyer and have even managed to keep one of the Osim guys so entertained that he gave me a whole body massage! Ha ha ha! Also tons of socials at the office. We've done a fitness run by the river (of course I ended up at the tail end of the run/walk/crawl) which was followed by a deadly dinner at the Esplanade and even a girl's night out with loads of wine and an absolutely lovely dinner.

Well the theme of this entry really is goodbye and hello. I am saying goodbye to spontaneous Pasir Panjang alcohol binges (including the discovery of half-hidden night spots), mid-week clubbing and crazy late nights and hello to new lunch mates, coffee breaks, tea breaks, dinners, office socials. Goodbye to old friends and hello to new ones. Heck I shouldn't complain! I was starting to get bored with my student lifestyle and now I'm moving on to newer things. Goodbye to rinky dinky dives that we had to put up with because of our student budgets (Tiki Bar, anyone?) and hello (again) to wining, dining, salsa, hiphop dancing and shopping. Hello to volunteer opportunities at the Bayanihan Centre and for Project Rainbow.

But there are things that will not change. Biblia continues to sustain my spirit. I continue to be open to meeting new people and new challenges. What is funny is that what will not change is the fact that things have been changing radically in my universe. Ahh, well. The Chinese have a saying, "May you live in interesting times." I cannot complain. Life continues to hit me with all sorts of surprises. All I can say is hello to more adventures!