Flight got delayed.

What else is new...

Trip to Melbourne was nice. Weather wasn't that nice when we first arrived, but by evening time, the clouds all cleared. And, it didn't get dark until about 9PM. So, a lot of time to walk around the city. Also, the Australian Open was going on and apparently, Marat Safin was at the same hotel where I was. Did not see him though.

But, Mauresmo was on the same flight as me coming back to Singapore. Did not get the chance to get an autograph also.

Back in Singapore, we landed on the runway where we would usually see the planes overflying the expressway. But, again, was too busy to check out the little cars below as we zoomed by.

Nonetheless, I did have the time to take a peek over the bridge as we went across the airport boulevard. So many times I have looked up at planes going across the bridge. Finally, it was the other way round. Had to be careful not to fall over though.

Will be off again on Saturday.

My long stay in Melbourne has been removed.

Not nice.

Adigal asked me to gripe about the traffic outside my window. Okay, it is nowhere close to where one of Mr Brown's students (from Mind Your Language) lives, where his whole flat shakes when the train passes above him, but it is still quite noisy. I hear trains, buses, cars and motorbikes (easily the worst) every morning starting from 7AM until past midnight. Sometimes, really gets to me. Closing the window doesn't help much. Using earplugs makes it worse. Just got to get used to it.

Having heard F-16s fly past at MacPherson, I'm really glad I don't live there.

And training resumes. And I have a really nice, long stay in Melbourne.

Nice.

Training is being delayed again.

Boring!

Went to play table tennis yesterday morning since I had a rare Saturday in Singapore. I must say that compared to the relatively intermediate-level people who were occupying the next table, my standards are pretty low. Then again, so has been my swimming, badminton, piano playing, etc etc.

Also, I found out that TheGirl has been telling her mother some pretty disturbing things about me. Rather, things that are not really helping my impression when I meet them during CNY. I mean, we are supposed to be on the same side! Going to be a tough one...

Today, PapaBear and I headed over to the west to test drive a couple of cars. It was actually quite fun. Nothing like checking out homes where the people there are more pushy. Over here, you can test drive for fun without feeling obliged to get your cheque book ready.

So conclusion is that I will wait a couple more months before I make any decisions. PapaBear, on the other hand, may be getting his soon. Looks like I have a ride back home to KL in future.

It's good to have friends who drive.

I forgot to mention that I finally decided that I will be going back to KL during CNY by bus. And this will be the last expensive bus ride I will ever take. Hopefully, by next year, I will be driving home.

Finished my sim training for this week. Going to have a week of chilling before heading into the box one more round. Then hopefully, everything would be ok and I will be back into the skies again.

Was down with a flu a few days ago. Luckily I recovered in time for the last sim session.

My Motorola V3 just went kaput for no reason!

Am back to my ever-reliable T610.

So the New Year passed with me being in Dubai. The second time in a week. I actually wanted to be up for the clock to strike 12 but I hit the sack at about 11PM since I had an early wake-up call the next day. Nonetheless, the fireworks woke me up at midnight which sounded like bombs going off outside my room. Emerged unscathed anyway.

TheGirl has moved to Punggol. Which means the bus guide is my best friend again, looking for the shortest and easiest route to and fro. Found one way which takes about the same time to travel from her old place, but not as tiring since there is less walking distance. Most of the time is spent waiting for the bus or the MRT.

And now it is time to find a way to go back for CNY. This is the most stressful time of the year where everyone is trying to find a way to get home. All the train tickets are sold out. So have most of the reputable bus companies. The remaining ones are selling tickets at almost twice the usual price. And not only that, they will change buses at the border which means that these companies are sub-contracting other bus companies to send us back to KL. Normally this means that we enjoy the great "super-VIP" buses until the border, then it's back to a normal bus. And we pay a whole lot more. Considered flying, since I have staff travel to go back at a higher price than taking the train or bus, but a much more convenient way from my place. But, TheGirl will be paying through her teeth for the same ticket. Was considering crossing the border to take a domestic flight back but it is also very expensive.

So, planes, trains and automobiles have all been covered. Time to make a decision.

And it is times like these that I really wished I had my own car.