I failed to mention something fairly important in my earlier entry. I'm (temporarily) dropping out of graduate school, to take it up again in July. More accurately, I'm abandoning international studies for international relations.

See, when I applied to the local university last year, I was actually shopping around for an IR program. Alas, they didn't have one and international studies was the closest thing I could do to it. So I signed up, took a rocking foundation course in IR, and had a really shiny A- to show for it after the exam (the exam was probably what pulled my A down to an A-). Then I discover that the local university has started a Masters in IR program after all.

Several e-mails later, I'm told that I can withdraw from the international studies program and apply for the international relations one, except that I don't have to re-submit any documentation or references for the latter. They'll take me with "special consideration" for the July term (for which the deadline for application has officially closed anyway) since I passed the "stringent requirements" needed to enrol in the international studies course.

Personally, I don't think admission to the international studies program was terribly competitive in the first place, but I'll just smile and nod and thank them, so I can do my IR degree instead. It's more thesis-oriented rather than coursework: I only have to take two classes, then I write a thesis, and I have a total of three years to do it. Woo. And I don't have classes till July.

So as compared to last year's frantic pace --- when I had two classes a week, plus tuition engagements on two other weeknights --- the next six months will be quite leisurely, even with the new job to account for.

I went shopping today, ostensibly for suits. When we were at Suntec for dinner on Friday, I checked out the offerings at one of the stores and went back there today. Actually, in total, I went to six stores today: Mango, Export Fashion, Iora, Southhaven, GG5 and Dano. If you throw in the shoe stores I was browsing in, that adds another three to the list (though I didn't buy anything). Clothes I did buy: a suit for work, a generic black jacket for work (because the one I have dates back several years, has a tacky gold button --- why did I buy it? --- and hangs on me several sizes too large, proving again that I have lost weight since I moved back to Singapore, probably because it's being leached out of me by the tropical weather), a blue shirt and a funky skirt. I've realized over the past two weeks that while my teaching wardrobe wasn't altogether casual, most of my T-shirt tops aren't really going to cut it at this new job, unless I throw a jacket over them. Hence the need for sleeved button-down shirts.

Don't ask me about my credit card bill.

In the evening, Terz and I went to Parkway Parade for dinner and errands: I had to make a new pair of glasses and get shoes to match the new suit (since I'd had no luck at Suntec), and he had to check on something at the mobile phone store for his mom. Oh damn. I just realized I didn't talk about why I need new glasses (because the old ones snapped, but are temporarily mended, but oh damn, it's a much longer story than this). I guess I'll recap it tomorrow.

I got brown shoes. They're two-toned. Terz disapproves and says he'll never walk next to me when I wear them. But I love them! We'll have to see how this plays out. He's never actually disapproved of my shoes before.

And now, it's past eleven pm and I'm going to bed. Oh, here's another story I forgot to mention: our airconditioning in the bedroom is broken too. More about that tomorrow.

Goodnight!