This is the resultant verdict -

There’s no fracture in my right wrist, thank goodness for that. There might be a worn ligament / cartilage, which is causing the “discomfort” whenever I move my hand in odd positions.

At the end of the day, it’s $200 out of my pocket and a hand brace for the next month. Looks cool, but riding’s not going to be enjoyable.

At least I now have an excuse for working slower than optimal.

The flight touched down during the wee hours of Monday morning. It was a very exciting trip, with many small events all stringed together. I also got myself “baptized” while I was there too. And I have the signs to prove it too!

Also, my rather old pair of gloves eventually failed, so I had to get myself a replacement.

4 fingered gloves?

I had to cut off the digits of the index fingers as it was already tearing off on one side. The otherside had to go too in order to balance things up.

Can you spot the holes?

There’s actually one on the left middle finger, where I have a ring on, and one on the right palm. That comes with an interesting story too.

Still in mint condition

Pity there weren’t any in Red colour. It would have been awesome.

Guess the material

I may have paid double for this new pair, but at least it’s 90% leathers where it matters the most. Compared to the old pair which is made using mesh material, this should be better. The padding’s better too.

Now to sort out my photos.

And I’m off yet again. So very excited.

I am so getting sick of Indian food right now.

I think I’ll get a day off once I get back to Singapore. Good opportunity to let my body recover before the trip. Also good chance to try and make some reservations.

In a dilemma … yet again.

It’s been there for quite some time, and I don’t think many of us would have used it. I don’t usually use it too, since there are other alternatives out there, like RealVNC. It doesn’t really duplicate all the features, but at least the feature I used was there – desktop sharing.

Today was the first time I really used netmeeting extensively, and by that I mean for a duration of more than an hour. It’s supposed to be a training for a few of us, and rather than having the trainer fly over here to give the instructions, or better yet for us to fly to Germany, we did it via the web. I guess it’s also the first time for quite a number of us, evident by the hiccups along the way – background noises, overly large screen resolution, notification pop-ups galore etc.

Still, it’s quite interesting, although for us at least, what’s also important is a phone with a good speaker. Otherwise, the voice which comes out would be a little echoy, and perhaps easy to put you on a path to doze off. It doesn’t help too, since we were in a fairly large conference room, and there were so many of us. We have to make a conscious effort not to make any excessive noise, and well, those further back have to strain their ears just to be able to catch what was being said.

Still, at least we’ve got some form of training to help us in our work. Better than nothing as always.

Somehow, I managed summon enough courage to brave the expected crowd present at the Commex 2009 IT fair. As usual, unlike the counterparts overseas, the ones held locally are meant to be a market place, with pamphlets and flyers strewn all over the place. The crowds are there for only one thing – to get the best deal possible and make their purchase, unlike overseas, where such exhibitions are meant to showcase new products, or innovations.

There was a point in time, many year back where I would diligently make my way into the crowded halls, just to get a feel of the gadgets and stuff. Then I stopped going altogether, in a way due to the crowds. It’s getting too crowded, and I didn’t have anything to purchase anyway.

This time however, I went there for a purpose – to make some purchases. Not overly big purchases anyway, just some small accessories for my computers. I’ve been wanting to get a laptop for over two years already, but every time such an exhibition comes and goes, it just feels as though the time isn’t right yet. I’m still waiting … and saving.

Maybe it’s just me, or maybe I have not recuperated fully from my midnight return flight, but halfway during the mad squeeze, I started to feel lethargic. Maybe it’s the bag, or maybe it’s the crowd.

Maybe it’s the poor air quality?

Or maybe … I’m not as fit as I used to be?

Damn, it all popped out from nowhere. One minute I was doing fine, and the next, my arms and hands start feeling itchy.

Interestingly, it’s only on the palms and the inside of my forearms, from my presumably dirty jacket and gloves. Even after a nice warm shower, the rashes are still there, and making itself felt. In a big way. So, it couldn’t be the jacket, although it’s a prime suspect, since the only part of me in contact was my arms. Still, that doesn’t exactly explain it’s only the inside area of the forearms which are itchy, and not the outside area.

Maybe I’ll just take a day’s leave or something.

I need to get a new pair of gloves soon too. This one’s giving way. I can already see my left index finger. I’m pretty sure it can still last though. Only question is, for how long?

I really have not been blogging much lately. Oh well …

First off, the diving trip I went on two weeks back was fun. Granted, my underwater housing flooded … again. I guess either I’m not meant to take photos underwater, or I just have not gotten the hang of the maintenance yet. I know I’ve never been very good at such mundane stuff either. Did a total of 11 dives, which is quite a number. I didn’t manage to see any big stuff during this trip, except for that school of 12 or so Napolean Wrasse and a lone Bumphead Parrotfish. We did visit a site with some cleaner shrimps too. I tried placing my hand on top of that rock where the shrimps are. For some reason, only a shrimp or two ventured onto my hand. Only a prick later they just floated off. Maybe my hand was just too clean for them? Hmm …

Just 5 days after I returned from diving at Pulau Perhentian, I few off for another trip yet again; this time, to Delhi for business. Things do not really change at all. Yes, there have been changes in terms of infrastructure, but apart from that, everything else appeared the same to me. The traffic is as terrible as can be. It’s supposed to be the monsoon season, but through out the 5 days that I was there, I think it only rained twice. It was the second time which really wrecked havoc for me.

The thunderstorm was heavy no doubt about it, but it lasted for only half an hour or so. I didn’t think it mattered that much, but it does apparently. Many flights were delayed, the air crew were late (or so they said), people crowded around the boarding gates and aero bridges were locked. As a result, flights were delayed because a few of the outgoing flights had to be loaded via buses, mine included. In the end, it was delayed by almost two hours. It was simply chaotic.

Just today, I was considering taking my bicycle out for a spin. It’s been eons since I last did so, and I was starting to feel a little nostalgic. Just a few weeks ago, I summed up the courage to lift it off the stand and cleaned it up a little. My, after so many months of neglect, the dust can really settle. What surprised me more was the little creep which decided to make a home inside the horn. It decided to pop-out when I burped it a few times. It looked rather dead to me; I guess it got stuck on the way in. The diaphragm is probably a little rusted or so, for the only sound which came out was a high-pitched whine, not a shock-inducing blast. Hopefully it might get a little better after some real usage.

I shall not be coerced.

I will not be coerced.

I must be strong.