Messy March

March has been pretty much the same except for some eventful happenings at home.  Work has been very tough too as usual, with it's own share of dramas.  One major story we worked on had some features rolled back even after UAT as the local users thought the feature could possibly spam the customers.  Well...  just give them what they want.  

Early Friday Meeting - Galaxy Note 9

I also had an issue with Klook regarding my tax filing.  They had overdeclared my income during my tenure with them.  I had to contact them to get this matter resolved, otherwise I would end up paying $700 more.  That's totally uncalled for.  And to complicate things, IRAS is taking their own sweet time to process this as well.  I'm still waiting for them to get back to me with the result of their review.

The only thing I was looking forward to in March was my 3 days break during the kids' school holiday.  I spent the 1st day of that break just tidying up things at home and paid Creamier a visit again. 

Sitting Near The Backyard - Galaxy Note 9

Cute Artwok in Creamier - Galaxy Note 9

As I sat in Creamier sipping my root beer float, I realised I haven't felt so relaxed till then; my chest felt lighter and I could feel the air I breathed.  It was a temporary moment of lucidity that I had missed for quite some time.

Then in the evening I worked on upgrading my PC to windows 11 which was met with great success.  It wasn't easy, I had to do several steps: 

1. Convert the boot disk from Master Boot Record (MBR) to GUID Partition Table (GPT)

2. Create a temporary recovery partition 

3. Changed the boot type in BIOS to UEFI

4. Ran PC Health Check to confirm that the system is now ready for Windows 11

5. Refreshed Windows Update cache to force download Windows 11 update 

6. Install Windows 11

And I'm so glad I now have a Windows 11 PC at home. 

Windows 11 Upgrade In-progress - Galaxy Note 9

When I checked my work calendar while waiting for my computer to update, I noticed that the 2nd day of my leave was packed with meetings, some of which clashed.  It was such a hectic day which I was more than happy to escape from.

Crazy Day - Galaxy Note 9

Well, moving on to the 2nd day of my break, we visited Eggslut, which in my opinion was severely overrated.  Overpriced average tasting food, dirty tables and cramped seating - that's how I found my Eggslut experience.  To summarise it, it's just McDonald's breakfast in dry brioche bread and half cooked eggs.  Definitely not coming back.  

This Cost $97.5, with drinks; Unbelieveable - Galaxy Note 9

After that Egglsut brunch we went to Far East Plaza to pick up some of my shirts that were sent to the tailor.

Totally Absurd Patek Phillipe Prices - Galaxy Note 9

In the evening the missus and I left for Batam.  The moment we arrived we went for dinner in Grand Batam Mall and then it was off to Thai Best for massage.  Thai Best is better than Reborn for sure, but it was still a mediocre massage in my opinion; Sports Massage is still the best in town.  

Inside Thai Best - Galaxy Note 9

When it was finally to sleep I was so tired and was nursing a sore throat.  In the middle of the night I woke up to a very bad pain in my throat.  I knew right away that I got it from Lindsay because she had been nursing a sore throat, cough, runny nose and fever before we left for Batam.  The doctor had advised us to test Lindsay for COVID which I didn't heed to since I thought she was being overly cautious.  But when I caught it too, that was when alarm bells started ringing in my head. 

The following days in Batam were unberable as the sore throat was followed by a fever.  It was Panadol that kept me cool and the headaches at bay, I also took some sore throat lozenges and kept on using the Betadine gargle.  

One of My Favourite Paintings in Batam Harbour Hotel - Galaxy Note 9

On the last day in Batam, I just wanted to go home quickly.  Prior to leaving we visited a different Padang restaurant from the usual, somewhere near Nagoya Hill mall called Arai Pinang.

A Very Humble Exterior - Galaxy Note 9

A Classic Sight From When I Was Just a Kid - Galaxy Note 9

It's a very authentic, old school Padang restaurant that could be better than Sederhana.  When we arrived the lunch crowd was just building up and it was not so hectic yet, although service was still quite slow with people cutting queues (as usual). 

Not Hectic Yet, But Surely Busy - Galaxy Note 9

After that short trip, we returned to the hotel, packed up and left for the ferry terminal.  I just wanted to go home already.  

The moment we reached home I immediately took the ART test and I was really shocked to find that I had contracted COVID, although it was not unexpected.  I tested myself 3 times and all results showed the same.

After More Than 2 Years, COVID Finally Caught Me - Galaxy Note 9

I tested Lindsay next and confirmed that she indeed had COVID too.  So I had apparently caught it from her...  Naturally we isolated ourselves in her bedroom, although the helper eventually caught it too.  So now 3 out 5 in the household had caught COVID, only Linc and the missus are still safe, for now.

On the coming Monday I went to a clinic to get my medical certificate, for which I was given 5 days.  However I only took 4 as I didn't want to use up my sick leave entitlement.  And out of those 4 days, I actually worked from home for 3 days.  It was such a distressing experience.  Having to work while having COVID was really difficult, the emails & messages just wouldn't stop coming in.  

Today's the 10th day and I still test positive while Lindsay already cleared hers.  Tomorrow I'll be working full time again and on Tuesday I have to return to office.  It really is tough... 

Anyway, so much for March.  Here's a closing shot for this month's entry: 

Blue Tiong Bahru - Galaxy Note 9

~ Photos Taken With Samsung Galaxy Note 9~