18.7.2026 Saturday -

 

17.7.2026 Friday - the appetite comes with the eating.

Sean and I are faced with a niggling site issue for a house project yesterday, so the best thing is to do today is to meet the builder on site. As with most of these issues, it is a matter of confirmation and reassurance - we will issue some drawings to record the missing details.

I am still feeling unwell. I had planned to return home to sleep but decided to go to the office. At the office, Fiona asked if I would join them at the hotel site - the outdoors would do me good so I join them, still coughing slightly with a itchy throat. It's always to meet the end users, and the chef helped clear up some things. I retreat earlier to have a drink to soothe my throat, the others join me for lunch. I eat my first kolo mee in more than 3 months.

230pm and yet another meeting, this time with a client who has decided not to build. He receives our bill, which I sense is a bit higher than he expected. He will recoup his investment if/when he builds. We agree to see him at his house to design a new structure for solar panels. This time, we will not charge any design fees - a bit of give and take.

4pm - 'can you send the drawings for the planter box today?'. I must have laughed because he added '.. if you can't then I'll draw it myself, but then you might complain that it's ugly'. I get on it straight away, with Sean and Melvin's help - we decide to put it straight into the ground to NOT take up space in the already small lobby. 5pm - I text the concept drawings to him. 515pm - the drawings arrive at the site team chat group with instructions to construct over the weekend.

6pm - I receive instructions to resubmit a planning application for a small apartment project, amidst our office Korean Army Stew dinner. 

And I was thinking of having a nap at midday... 

16.7.2026 Thursday - it only takes a word

I am not 100 percent; coughing and a bit tired. Muscles are a bit achey - but the prospect of a game this evening gives me something to look forward to. I decide to have a quick lunch on my own, and as I walk out young Victor was 3D printing a model. 'how is the machine working now?' - 'it is working perfectly'. Confident answer for someone who has only started to use the printer. I like that

15.7.2026 Wednesday - a good mood

Listening to Youtube videos of Billy Joel, which Michael sent to the Thomian group. He is constantly posting music videos most of which I am not interested in. But this morning, he posted an interview with Billy Joel, which I am listening to while writing this. I decided that I will give this a try from now on. 

One benefit from the Thomian group.

14.7.2026 Tuesday - backyard pickleball

At the meeting, he challenges me to a game. Before that, he asks if I think I can beat him - definitely, I reply.  So, we show up at 6pm to have a game in his backyard, surrounded by expensive cars - it is quite amazing to see. He strains a hamstring when we play singles, so I think that there will be a re-match.

13.7.2026 Monday - food watching

It seems that we have settled on a routine of playing pickleball with the office folks on Monday. After that, we go for a simple bite to eat. The past few times we have eaten at the mamak place, so that the Muslim colleagues can join us. The team 'colleagues' is used loosely as former staff and interns join as well. Jowie is surprised that we invite the corner staff - we don't. They find out because they are in Peggy Chai's lunch time chat group. There are about 30 of them in there, many of them from as far back as several years ago. It's like Hotel California. 

I'm starting to keep a simple record of what I eat each day, to try and reduce the amount of carbohydrates. I'll report back in a month to see if there are significant results. 

 

12.7.2026 Sunday -