A blog post to break the silence

I'm down to my tenth last day at this job, which means I can accept with impunity a long-distance phone call from Stellou on the office line and natter on for at least half an hour. It was only when I saw the darkened reflection of a bosslet on my monitor screen and realised she was waiting to speak to me, that I hurriedly rang off. I wonder if the bosslet heard the part where I was egging Stellou on to get a job, so that she can offer me one in turn when my scholarship bond winds up next year.

Got dragooned to New Asia Bar again last night, this time by friends of Northwestern friends who are in town for a wedding. It was less of a melting pot than the last time, more predictably the local-expat mix that you'd expect to be the clientele at a place that charges 1½ times the regular price of drinks because it's 71 stories above the city. The DJ also inexplicably spun a lot of '80s music; apparently, what people really want to dance to these days is "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

Next time, as C said, we'll pick someplace more chill, where we can, y'know, actually talk.

After weeks of assiduous experimentation, I've finally derived my magic formula for drinking enough on weeknights to be happy, while retaining moderate functionality at work the next day. The answer: 4 vodka drinks. Any less, not enough buzz; any more (unless the drinks are really watered down), and I might throw up (yes, call me a cheap date, cousin!), derailing the whole point of imbibery. 4 vodka drinks puts me nicely to sleep by the time I get home, and the alcohol wears off just in time for me to spring awake shortly after dawn, so that I can still get to work at a decent hour and function respectably.

Of course, this whole formula might have to be reworked when I'm teaching next year and I have to be awake before dawn to get to work on time...