Checking in

I'm nowhere as hardworking as the esteemed Mr Wallace, but here's what I've been doing for the last four and a half months since I posted a blog entry:

• Written a foreword and two exhibition essays for three photography exhibitions: "Points of Departure" by Juria Toramae in collaboration with Jerome Lim; "Breakfast at 8 Jungle at 9" by Ernest Goh; and another one happening later this year that I'll mention in due course.
• Written, edited, rewritten and re-edited a mountain of text for the revamped Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore (opening in a couple of months' time, hold your horses).
• Put the finishing touches on the manuscript for In Transit: Writing from Singapore about Airports and Air Travel (okay, maybe we need a pithier subtitle). We have a wonderful range of short stories, poems and non-fiction pieces by Singaporean writers --- publication details to come later this year.
• Been accepted for the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa --- following in the footsteps of amazing Singapore writers like Yeow Kai Chai, Amanda Lee Koe, Stephanie Ye, Jeremy Tiang and Alvin Pang, among others. I'm supposed to start my second novel while I'm there later this year. Don't ask me about the first one, I'm still whittling away at it.

Unrelated to work, I have also been:

• Running at the splendid Bishan Park.
• Drinking an awful lot of tasty cocktails and whiskey.
• Taking short vacations in the region (in fact, I'm off again tomorrow).
• Watching movies in the cinema (Mad Max: Fury Road on the big screen --- oh yes).
• Dealing with various personal things, as you do.

If you want more timely updates, I'm mostly on Twitter and Instagram these days. Also, I don't necessarily write in bullet points.