Second work trip

I suspect I'm allergic to a) SQ blanket, b) cabin air, c) my lip balm, or d) all of the above! I was overcome during the flight into NY. Slept through lunch so I felt good enough to get to the mission to recce the event room, test the equipment etc. Grabbed some food on the way back to hotel, ate and promptly fell asleep, skipping an arranged dinner with colleagues and missing the super good weather, sighs..

Kimberly Hotel was fantastic! But I remember only the bed :p Somehow I was given a twin room for myself (and perhaps my evil twin? But that's a separate story - will come to that..) so the room was quite roomy. There were six pillows on each bed, SIX! Slept only on one side of the bed, on two pillows so soft I just sunk right in, oooh.. I think I'll want a pillow for my room next time :)

Felt much better the next day, when I woke at 5am to catch the 8am domestic flight to Boston, took all of 40min in this small plane of 39-person capacity. Thought it ridiculous that there were no clear signs for checking in. Record for future read: we were shuffled here and there by staff until we just decided to use the self-service machine in front of us to check in. We waited to be called by name to the counter in front to tag our baggage. Then we moved to another counter to deposit our bags. What a hassle! That was LaGuardia Airport. Took us 15min and $25 to get there from midtown, cheaper compared to the (flat) $45 from JFK to Manhattan the previous day, tolls and tips excluded.

Left the hotel which was very near the Common, and went walking around town. Bought a working skirt with a really good fit before meeting some undergraduates for lunch at Top of the Hub, Prudential. That was cool, both the meeting and the place. Quite a different bunch from the Londoners. And most importantly, I wasn't bored at all! :p The restaurant was at the 52nd floor, could see most of Boston, super clear day, very happy.

But just as I thought this time was different from spring 2003 when MS, YS and I were there cos it was so sunny and lovely, I was sadly proved wrong towards the end of our guided tour of Boston University by one of the students - rain clouds descended upon us without warning and within minutes, it freaking rained! Gaaar! No wonder it's New England..

And the rained didn't stopped until 7pm or so, though that didn't stop us from shopping! Bought a cute tee that cost almost as much as my skirt but it was cute! .. It was! *defiant* Day ended with a trip to the supermarket to get some bagel and yoghurt, which I divided between dinner and breakfast the next day.

First item on the itinerary for Sunday was - guess what? - service at an evangelical church!! You know me personally, or through earlier posts: I'm simply not the religious type! But this guy invited us, so ok la, I went with my colleague, a Catholic. Couldn't sing the songs at all but I was lucky the pastor was interesting and his sermon wasn't difficult to understand, on Jesus and the samaritan woman at the well.

Went on to Chinatown for chit-chat over dim sum brunch - trolley dim sum! Had a nice time talking, this time with postgraduate students from Cambridge (MA, USA). Had the same food for lunch when we met an elderly couple who worked in Rhode Island. Liked them, thought they were really passionate people who hosted foreign students, largely SEA and Singaporean, in the Boston region for some 15 years.

Went on to meet with the postgrads again, with some additions. Saw a familiar face - met her at Cambridge (UK) when I went for Kel's convocation. Short chat before a totally meaningless trip to Harvard, led by one of the postgrads. Not too keen cos I was there before but well, I was at work, right? Just couldn't understand why we went all the way up only to chat as we walked around aimlessly on the streets and through the campus without so much as looking around at the place! In a super foul mood by then.

Luckily, it was soon time for dinner. Joined some of the postgrads we met earlier for dinner at this seafood grill place. Yummy corn cake :p My colleague and the Harvard tour guide carried on their conversation while I finally struck up a much more interesting thread with the others.

Went back to NYC on Monday to prepare for the Tues event. Was feeling quite tired but had to go for a dinner with some people. It was raining - oh, told them NYC was rainy the last time I was here and they attributed the crap weather to me! - and yellow cabs were hard to come by so we hailed a limo from the hotel to get to dinner place. But it was the cabbie's side-job so he dumped us unceremoniously five blocks away from the hotel when he received an official job via radio! Took us a while before a cab came by, so cold! Freaking rain..

Dinner was a wayang session at Old Homestead Steakhouse. First the food: very good! But I couldn't finish my petit fillet mignon; the rest who had non-petit cuts fared worse than me.. Now the company: honestly, I was quite bored and was glad when it finally ended and the dessert place the hosts recommended was already closed :p

Was supposed to go for the morning meeting but we decided that someone had to see to big boss's arrival - heh, less one wayang meeting for me :p "Highlight" was checking the internet connection in his room; had problem logging on and after 40min on the line with the technician, we realised that the light switch powered the modem as well and I didn't switch on the lights cos it was still bright in the room! Argh!

Went to the mission on my own to set up the registration and information tables, grabbed a Jamba Juice along the way for lunch, yummy :) Back to the hotel to rest a bit before heading out to the mission for the event with the rest. Event was attended by some 100 people - good. Refused to shadow the big boss this time! Instead, I talked a little with colleagues, and spent a long time talking with Clare Yeo's mother about their settling-in into NYC.

Didn't have a bite but the same folks from the steakhouse took us out to dinner at Barolo. Had a risotto, very happy cos the last time I had one was in Oxford!! I know how to cook it but it's difficult with one freaking hob and a mother who doesn't want to change the stove..

Internet access was complimentary at the Omni Parker House, but it cost $10 per 24-hour session at Swissotel. By the time I got back, my 24hours were up. Didn't want to pay again so I went to bed. But guess what? They told me they waived my charges when I was checking out - should have logged on! Campus Inn in Ann Arbor did not allow me to run my secure tunnel thing for my work email, and here at the mission, just didn't feel like logging on for work - feel so unconnected to work.. Did some work on paper earlier but my head hurt.. Better to blog :p

Event at Michigan was great fun, cos attendees were all students - I find it easier to get myself to talk to them. We were chased out as the auditorium had to be locked up. So got in by 10+ to rest my poor feet - were on them the whole day.. So when I got back to NYC today, I bought a pair of socks to pamper them :)

Had been hanging around in the mission since then. Freaking tired! It's one thing going overseas for leisure or for longer-term stay, and quite another running everywhere for work! Arrived in NYC last Fri, off to Boston on Sat, back to NYC on Mon, next was Ann Arbor on Wed, and now Thurs, I'm about to catch the direct from Newark to SG! I'm so dead this weekend man..