Being in Singapore is like being in a bubble. You’re so far removed from the happenings in the outside world. You tend to forget that things are not as hunky dory as it seems. I say this because I was not aware that there was a strong earthquake back home and only when my twins messaged me this morning did I get to learn about the calamity. The newsfeeds on social media are not as loud as whenever I am back home.

The conference today is half-day only but I was able to have meaningful connections today. Longer conversations with people since we are not that hurried.

My colleague and I went to our new office at Raffles Place so I can work. I initially didn’t plan on working there, but changed my mind since my hotel room is not conducive for working. Well good thing I did because I was more productive today than I thought I would be.

Our new office is a lot bigger than our old one because this also includes the other divisions of our parent company. The setup now here is that we no longer have our own “cubicles” or permanent working spaces. Here, we hot-desk since most of us anyway are always out on interviews or client calls/are transients (like me), or are not coming to the office regularly due to the pandemic. Another colleague told me that people at the financial district usually work from home on Fridays that’s why it’s going to be just me here on Friday.

What I like about this new setup is that logging into our system is not as painful as before. You just scan the QR code of the terminals you will use, plug in your laptop, then you’re already connected to the system/internet. Plus all stations are equipped with dual monitors. Just bring your laptop, external keyboard, and mouse.

We have a bigger and better stocked pantry.

I doubt if the lounge area is used since most of the people here are knee-deep in work. It was hard taking a nap in our old sofa since it was near our entrance. I was told today we have a room in our new office where I can station myself when I check out from the hotel on Tuesday.

I got out of our office at 8:55 pm I did overtime because I had to finish two stories tonight and some edits. I should come back here on Friday to finish emailing people whom I have met in the past three days during our series of conferences. I need to email them or else I would forget them and they will forget me, too.

Good thing there was a Kopitiam near the hotel where I am staying because I’m already tired and I’m not in a mood to have GrabFood.

I need to sleep now since tomorrow is my big day. It’s my own conference.