Walked out of the office at 5:30pm today, which is the earliest i've left in a while...a few months, at least. i should be clear that this is not an expression of resentment at having to do tons of overtime or whatnot. i usually go home later voluntarily because i arrive later as well. and i'm definitely not drowning in work; a more fitting description is that i'm comfortably swimming through the work with my head well above the so-called water level. on the way back, i noticed that the sun was looking a little dimmer due to the haze. probably wasn't a good idea to forego the mask today!

applied for 3 days of leave over the next 2 weeks, 2 for the qingdao trip with scary JC friend, 1 for lunch with mentor figure and a few other friends this coming wednesday. considering i usually work from home on wednesdays, i was planning to just go and be back in time to continue working. but then i realized that i could get other errands done if i had the whole day off, such as getting my flu vaccination, seeing a TCM therapist, and visiting a judo elder in hospital. also, it makes me feel less guilty about dipping out! not like i'm short on leave, anyway - i haven't even touched my annual leave this year. so yes, this is one of those times where i have nothing to gain and everything to lose by not doing the right thing.

yesterday, gym guy asked me out for dinner with 2 of his friends, then a trip to the gay bar. one friend is singaporean, the other is taiwanese who's here to ride the train, of all things. the two of them were originally supposed to go see model trains after dinner, but decided to come with us to the gay bar instead. considering i was feeling a little tired and planned to rest/rot at home, i had a better time than i thought i would! cute bartender was there, so i also took the chance to wish him a happy (albeit belated) birthday. he still does my heart so much good. i'm realizing gym guy does too. and to be clear, i'm not falling for him. i think it's like, he's filling a role in my gay social circle. for me at least, one-on-one friendships with gay guys is infinitely better than trying to fit into a gay group, with all the associated politics and drama.

figure i better do some optimization to see how i can fit events into my day off (and other days as well). the current idea is:

tuesday (tomorrow, working from home)

- see nearby TCM therapist during lunch break

- maybe do a quick grocery run

- transformation kink guy coming over in the evening (haven't heard that name in a while, right?)

wednesday (day off)

- flu vaccination at harbourfront in the morning

- lunch with mentor figure and friends at holland village

- maybe stop by MBS to get a pen refill (not for myself)

- go to outram community hospital to visit the judo elder (or do hospital before pen refill)

thursday (in office day)

- submit 1 or 2 cases

- email HR for masters sponsorship

- gym (depending on how TCM goes)

friday (in office day)

- bug my boss for more cases if he hasn't assigned me any yet by then

- maybe submit another case?

- crochet guy maybe coming over at night

seems like a fairly normal week. even though i've hit the promotion target, i can't say that the pressure is completely off yet. but i can say that this quarter is probably going to be easier, because i need 5 points or less per month. but i'll still try to keep a comfortable pace. next year's target is going to be horrible, and i need to get myself ready for it.

-random thought of the day: Really looking forward to a break!-