Meltdown sikit

OK We're finally in July. I'm finally in the battle zone that I've been looking at afar from June, speculating about the craziness but never actually registering that with every passing day, the dates come closer. I am at the point where I finally see, that I am going to be the person carrying out my haphazardly engineered back-to-back schedule for the following three months - and it is not going to be pretty.

Right now you're looking at a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming truck named Self-Inflicted Stress.

There's so many thoughts in my head, all not related to each other, some research, some travel, some homelessness, a fair bit of homelessness actually, and all the hell that is spawned from these sources. OK to put it in perspective:

July
7/7
Leave Singapore for KL after putting my whole room into boxes. Which is something that I should do from right now.
8/7 - 11/7
In KL. Running errands (India visa, ISIC card, shopping for formal wear, somehow fix my hair), multiple gatherings (Asa, LL, XiaoCi, my NZ Aunt).
12/7
Return to Singapore with my World's Greatest Parents and move everything to Jia Ling's place.
13/7 - 17/7
Some graduate forum. Whole-day affairs. I'm presenting a paper. Which means that I need to prepare for my paper as well.
17/7 - 25/7
India. Haven't got CSers for Bangalore yet. I am nervous. Also I think India's going to be really intense, and at this point it looks intimidating. Thanks to my mum who was collecting horror stories in attempt to dissuade me from going. We'll be covering Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai and Pondicherry.
27/7 - 31/7
Some course for graduate students. Also whole-day affairs. Right after India. Have to adjust my mind straight after I come back.

August
1/8 - 3/8
Prep for US
4/8
Flight to Boston. Reach Boston at 10:30pm.
5/8 - 8/8
Conference. Presenting paper on the 6th. Need to prepare some kind of poster session. Have no idea how it's going to be like.
9/8 - 13/8
Bus to New York from Boston. Bunk at Kingston's, meet up with XC and Jian Hui. Probably the only relaxed part of my trip to the US.
13/8 - 20/8
Research week at San Francisco where I try to talk to people. I haven't planned it yet. My theoretical framework, my interview questions, my EVERYTHING. Kill me now please.
21/8 - 30/8
Camping Part 1 - Going with the Green Tortoise for its Canyons of the West trip, covering Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon NP.

September
1/9 - 7/9
Camping Part 2 - Burning Man. Also going with Green Tortoise. Intense desert camping, but at least I'll have someone to take care of my food and water and transport. Highlight of my trip. And I am still bloody scared.
9/9
Arrive in Singapore. Back. Finally. Start to look for a new room. Move house from Jia Ling's, as soon as possible. This will take me at least 2 weeks. At least. But can't mooch off Jia Ling's hospitality too much.

OK Siao onot. Two months, four countries. (And check all that KL-Singapore-India-Singapore action.) The panic has kicked in, and according to past experience, action will kick in soon after, but I'm at that paralyzed stage where I need extra push from panic to get away from the inertia, and then the two months will fly by. The details of the plans still have to be executed, and I have to come up with some extensive to-do list, extensive packing list, extensive people-to-bother list.

I like lists. I now have a list of lists. This should be heaven for me. AAAARrrrggggh the truck's gonna hit me!!!!

Adrenaline rush, danger danger danger. Then after moving have to get my confirmation report ready, as my goal is to complete it by the end of this year. October, November, December. 2009 will then be gone, we'll be one decade into the 2000's, and climate change effects are going to happen even more frequently, and we're all going to die!!!!!!!

Shhhhh. Everything's going to be ok. Shhhhhh.

Indiaaaaaaaaa

So I'm superbly excited about our trip to India. Tentatively it will be from 18th July till 25th July, sandwiched between two time slots that I have to be in Singapore, but that's the best time for Asa and I, so a week it is. We are planning to take Tiger Airways to Chennai, get a train to Bangalore and fly back from Bangalore. Tentative plan lah.

Result of travel fueled adrenaline - 1:30am already still wide awake o_O I was lepaking half of yesterday and whole of today as well, totally not caring about my Tuesday test, nyehh... Tuesday still far away... anyway, ended up just reading up information about Chennai and Bangalore in the office, pestering good ol' Asa who was supposed to be working, with train schedules and random tidbits of Chennai and Bangalore.

For instance, did you know that the cheapest theatre in India is in Bangalore, where you can watch plays and stuff for RM3-RM7? WTFFF cheaaaappppp for live performance! And did you know that Bangalore was called The Town of Boiled Beans (Benda Kaale Uru in Kannada), boiled beans! hahahaha (OK no offense to Indians out there anywhere, I'm just so hyper happy now that I will just laugh at anything, even at German jokes hahahaha)

Chennai also has so many interesting things bursting with culture, such as Auroville (which seems to be like a commune of sorts), Cholamandal Artists Village, a thriving Tamil film industry which is known as Kollywood! Wahahahahaha! I am so tickled about it I'm not even sure why (apart from being hyper happy).

And finally I shall be able to go buy some Indian wear, I like the salwar which is something like a long tunic/skirt worn with pants, I've been seeing my Indian colleagues wearing them, they seem very comfortable and pretty! Though with my totally Chinese face I might look weird in them... but don't care lah XD

Trying to slot everything in, with more than 2 months to prepare and to do extensive research (exhausting all my Indian contacts and will be establishing new ones through CS). Asa was mentioning that I have many Indian contacts. As in, Indian Indian (as opposed to Malaysian Indian or Singaporean Indian etc.). Let me see, from the top of my head -

1. Nandakishor-you're-always-late, old Greenpeace pal
2. Kiran The Martial Arts Champion, also another Greenpeace pal
3. Kokil, one of the research students whom I went out once with
4. Blooma, another research student whom I asked about the salwar (research students have office space btw, and they're all my office neighbours)
5. Tejas - this CS guy who randomly contacted me through CS asking about traveling in Malaysia - and I just found out by chance through forum discussions that he is right now in Chennai! Must force him to return the favour, and CS rocks!!!
   
6. This Other Indian Girl - a project officer on my floor who's from Chennai as well. Can't remember her name.
   
7. Sidhu, from Mumbai whom I met quite randomly while asking for directions on the road to the Singaporean train station
   
8. Nandan my future housemate
9. Nandan's wife my future housemate #2
10. My future housemate #3 who's also from India (all housemates count because by July I'd have known them already)
    
11. Suruchi, one of the Master's students who co-wrote my Homosexuality and Films paper.
12. Namrata, another Master's student. We're going out to party after Tuesday's paper.
    
13. Hyacinths, another Master's student whom I worked with recently as a receptionist in one of the events that our school was hosting... my versatile PhD skills include smiling brilliantly at foreign diplomats and pointing them to the direction of the event.
    

Can't think of more now. Still damn happy. 2am already =_= I love planning trips, I love putting all the things together to form a seamless plan, no right answer, just the most optimal answer. And I love trawling through wikis and CS forums to find interesting things to do, getting maps of the place, figuring transport connections, highlighting quirky stuff to see, things that we must eat...

Damn. Tired already. Zzz.