Working at a start up has been a sobering experience. VS at the adolescent stage of a great company, not quite a start up in its infancy, but not a well-oiled machine either. There are lots of menial things to be done, which of course fall onto the laps of those lowest in the food chain. Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I hold on to the hope that after all the photocopying, faxing, data-entry, there will be more exciting stuff to come. (Which is why I'm anxious to finish up the current work properly, because if I can't even handle simple data entry work, who's gonna trust me with more complicated things eh.)

Otherwise I'm just gonna bug people till I get to do more interesting stuff. :)

The culture in the office has two main modes: relaxed and ultra-relaxed, the latter kicks in on Friday afternoons after the main bosses take off for the weekend. Initially, (ok, even now), I was unsure of how to communicate with my colleagues. I guess there is really no other way to describe them other than sweet angmoh bengs. Amid all the bodily noises they emit during office hours, everyone busts their butts for the company, and they reward themselves with a pint or two after the week's targets have been fulfilled and Bootcakes scrawls a big red tick on the whiteboard beside the wii machine. P and I discussed baking cookies for the office people to celebrate Labour Day, and we're even thinking of caving in and use red, white and blue icing. -.-''

One of our bosses, let's call him M - he resembles a character straight out of the Sopranos. "I don't ever have a filter over my mouth," he tells me on our first meeting, and in that sense, he reminds me a bit of my own Dad. Fast-talking, educated inthe school of hard knocks, intensely loyal and extremely dismissive of crap. (I overheard him say in an even tone to someone over the phone "I only listen to the facts, so call me back when you get them straight.")

On my first day at work, my supervisor (let's call him "B") had some instructions for me, and I grabbed the first notepad lying on the desk. Turns out that the entire notepad had headers that were lovingly printed in elegant, cursive pennmanship, the words "Dear ****face". Truamatised. B didn't seem to notice, or at least he pretended not to, I'm not entirely sure what that says about VS culture.

In any case, to a great year ahead, farts, warts and all. :)

Work doesn't officially start till next Monday, so I've been pottering about the house being all housewifey and heading out to wander, somewhat aimlessly, but very enjoyably so.

Headed to school for a behavioral experiment, then went off to the bookstore to worm myself in a corner. I guess passing the hours like this can seem extremely agreeable, but I can sense restlessness creeping up on me. Obviously there are tons of stuff I could occupy myself with, but I suppose I should really use this week as a recharger before all the hectic-ness starts.

Waiting for the housemates to come home so we can set off to the frat house for the party preparations later. In all seriousness, I think that particular frat house is pretty gross, just cos there's so much random trash lying around. Thought about clearing away all the empty cans from the common room, but then I saw a roach scurrying past the kitchen door and freaked out a bit. (yeah, I know it's senseless, but I hate cockroaches. HATE. Ok, more like fear.)

So I got J to shoo the offending creature away before we all continued to marinate the meat. Seriously, I think my house in India was cleaner. :p

Random sightings:

On my way home from the bookstore, I walked past the cathedral next to our house and saw this homeless man in a tuxedo suit, sitting crossed legged on the steps and facing the large wooden doors of the church hall, snorting a cig furiously. His head was bobbing up and down and he seemed pretty out of it. So that's a whole new spin on taking it higher for the Lord.

The MMIS Competition is taking up waaay too much of my time. But there's Manitoba the fishing and whaling village to look forward to at the end of all this :)
(Is whaling even legal anymore?!?)

Anyway, been feeling bouts of blueness this last couple of days - a feeling I haven't had in a longlong time. But you know, one can't always be bursting at the seams with joy. Such is life, deal with it constructively and move on.

In happier news, have been fantasizing about the Philly holiday us three girls are going to embark on next year. My mom and sister are coming along with me for 2 weeks before term starts to help me "settle down". Whee! Which means Mummy gets to go on a long-deserved holiday!!! The woman needs to take a break and go off to see the world. I'm going to stuff her in walking shoes and we're gonna roam New York City - the Bronx, Flushing (American style Hainanese Chicken Rice! Mummy says smart people in America sell chicken rice), Brooklyn, Greenwich (Gay art! Haha, will get S to compare with her fav Victorian style:p). (I also suggested to stuff the both of them in YMCA to save on hotel fees so we can splurge on food, but we'll see about that) Note to self: Must plan itinerary such that sister will not have spare time to shop, since we all know how uncontrollable she gets upon catching a whiff of whatever silly brand she's into. Personally, I much prefer to spend moolah on good food rather than some bag which will go out of season the moment the temperature changes.

In slightly related news, I discovered that I will be spending a very lonely 21st birthday in Philly, away from everyone at home :( 21 is a lonely number indeed. This time round, will make sure I successfully contact the Philly church before I go so that I won't be so lost when I'm eventually there. :S

The work is really starting to flood in, and this week is the craziest yet, if my organizer provides any reliable forecast of my week's activities, my day will officially end at 9 pm on 2 days, and 11 pm on 3 days. :(

Ok, time to get back to those essays!

Just received the confirmation that I'll be spending my third year in Wharton - so that's going to be exciting. But as of now, it seems something very far away. More immediate are the mid terms and various term paper deadlines. Anyway, one of the first things I did after receiving the news was to google for the Philadelphia Church of Christ, but I was seriously traumatized when the first 5 sites returned were all sites labeling the church as a banned cult. Was obviously uncomfortable with that, but as of now, I think I'll leave that for later thinking.

In other news, Prof Lau has assigned me to the Manitoba team, so it turns out that I'll be going away to Winnipeg, Canada in January. I actually wanted to be on the Washington team, but owell, there's still Philly to look forward to. Will also be potentially facing the prospect of spending New Year's Eve alone in Manitoba. :( Ok, must make use of interim time to get to know the other 3 team members(All guys - why do I always get myself into situations where I'm the lone female?!?!)so my New Year's Eve won't be so pathetic.

Ok, back to the books! Sheares Library is kinda comfortable :)