So what am I doing up at 5:30am writing this blog, you might wonder? MAJOR JETLAG. Seriously, I have never had jetlag this badly before. I usually sleep whenever possible, and now I have a really hard time adjusting. I go to bed around 11am my time, which is around 2am in Singapore. Screw me...
The flight back was OK, everyone in Hong Kong was wearing face-masks as part of the swine flu paranoia. I managed to talk with friends on Skype even at the HK airport, yay for free internet again. And when we reached SFO in the afternoon, we flew right over downtown SF with no fog cover, so I saw the Golden Gate, the Bay Bridge, and the city... what a way to be reminded of home.
But bits and pieces of Singapore are definitely still with me. Dad got me some coconut juice, not as good as at home, but definitely good for nostalgia's sake. Holy mango, did I just say "not as good as at home"? I absolutely did not mean to say that... Singapore has grown on me too much. And I brought tons of snack foods and spice mixes with me as well. Food in the US tastes pretty bland after Singapore, must admit. I also told my parents that it felt cold and windy, and they looked out the window to look for the "wind" I was talking about, and then laughed at me like I was crazy. It's actually a heatwave for the Bay Area right now, in the 80s. It actually is very pleasant weather here, I'm just not used to it yet. I'll get out of my long-sleeved shirts and coats once I'm a bit more re-acclimated...
Daren Lam also came to see me the same day I flew back in, he was in the Bay Area for a few days before continuing on to Yellowstone for a few weeks of camping and hiking. He set up his camping hammock in my own backyard in the redwood grove to try it out... it almost felt like I hadn't even left Singapore for a moment with a friend seeing me at home. Plus that hammock is meant for jungles I think, a tent would have done fine here haha. I got to show him my solar panels too, since he was in my Solar Photovoltaics course with me, taught by the one and only Prof. Oruganti.
Another difference that Daren made me realize is how quiet it is here... you go outside and you don't hear so much traffic, people, music, etc. But I think that's just a difference of living in suburbs vs. the city. But still, when I go to sleep, I hear a ringing in my ears because it's so quiet. I'm used to listening to the air-con, a fan, buses, ships, people, etc. As Daren said, he can't fall asleep out here until there's some cars driving by or something to make some noise. Maybe that's another reason I have such a hard time going to sleep.
Ugh... and my summer job is also starting to bear down on me too. I have less than 2 weeks left in California before I head back to Houston to work. I got called the day I cam back, they wanted me to learn Java before I show up for work... oh boy, Java. I have my big book around here somewhere, but hopefully I can just learn online and get Quincy to teach me some. I have this somewhat badly-timed family vacation to Monterey this coming Memorial Day weekend though that I have to do, so hopefully I can see all my friends at home and still learn Java at the same time. Then next next Thursday I drive with Dad all the way to Houston, giving 2 to 3 days for the journey. And once there, I will not even have my own car, since it got crashed a few weeks ago when my aunt was driving it. So I guess I'm walking/metro-ing to work everyday for a while...
Moral of the story, life never slows down. But you're in trouble when it does, I guess. Like I said a long time ago, the jungle's worst enemy: boredom.
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