This whole week was dedicated to creating a new routine and continuing to explore the city of Singapore. Two important aspects of any routine are the ‘what’ and the ‘when’. I already had a great idea of what I want to do in this city and what I want to achieve. The ‘when’ was the biggest question for me. Everything that I am doing revolves around my biggest responsibility which is my internship. What made this complicated was the fact that people in my office do not work on an hourly basis. It is a work environment infused by report deadlines. As long as each employee meets their responsibilities, there are no problems. Because of this, when I asked my coworkers what their hours were I received looks of bewilderment. Eventually, I got some direction from my bosses boss who said for my case, any 8 hour stretch of time throughout the day will be acceptable in terms of hours. As the great Dolly Parton once said, I will be “workin 9 to 5”. The first week’s main purpose in the workplace was to gather a sense of timing and discover what I can add or trim from my routine in Australia. I have found that because of the efficiency and simplicity of getting around in the city, it is more than possible to sustain my routine and keep on pace to achieve personal goals given my work schedule. 

The remainder of the week was structured for space to be given to exploring the city. As a start to the long weekend, I visited Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands is the craziest building I have ever seen. The modern structure has 3 buildings as a base and then a long boat resting on top, connecting all 3 structures together. The only thing more stunning than the tower itself is the view from the observation deck. Looking out over the city of Singapore gives a similar feeling as staring at fireworks. The unique colors and sizes of the buildings of the city create a beautiful symphony called Singapore. 

(Photo Taken of Marina Bay Sands, 3/27/2025)

The next main event of the weekend is something which I am ashamed of but certainly do not regret doing. When asking my coworkers where I should go this weekend a common answer was “Sentosa island”. So on Sunday I set aside a whole day to visit the area. Immediately once we got there my jaw dropped to the floor. Looking at me like an ice cold glass of water on a dry, hot summer day was Universal Studios. Unregretfully I threw away my 22 year old pride and made my decision to enter the amusement park. Of course, the very second I enter the park, all outdoor rides get suspended due to weather conditions. Only thing was, the weather was completely fine. It was closed due to lightning concerns but there was zero lightning. In a pit of frustration I thought to myself “I did not know the world stopped when there’s a lightning storm 1000 miles away. I mean, where is this lightning? In Vietnam?”. Ending the stream of negativity I decided to go try an indoor roller coaster ride instead. As I would have not chosen “Minion Mayhem” as my first ride of the day, my hands were tied. And of course, midway through the wait, a loud beep goes off and I grimace in fear as the PA system starts crackling, “due to technical difficulties the ride has been temporarily suspended”. In economics freshman year we learned all about sunk cost and how we should not let it affect our decisions. All of that was out the door, I was getting on this minion ride if it was the last thing I did. After 45 minutes the ride was unsuspended and no more than 30 minutes later I was on the ride. As a junior male in college I will say that the ride “Minion Mayhem” is awesome and anyone who says it isn’t is lying. By the time the ride was over the mythical lightning had disappeared and we were free to go on outdoor rides again. I checked the app to see what the wait times were for rides across the park. It seemed too good to be true. The main attraction to the park had only a 5 minute wait. Finding a ride with less than a 40 minute wait here was like finding $100 just lying on the ground. Too good to be true. I walk past all the empty space that is supposed to be filled with people waiting to go on the ride. When I eventually see other people, I realize I am going to be on the next ride. My luck has finally turned around! The moment this thought crosses my mind, I hear the PA system go off again. Another lightning delay. You gotta be kidding me. I refused to change my mentality and decided I needed to stay in this line. As time went on, the line began to thin and the energy began to drop. After thirty minutes I can confidently say that I have felt greater amounts of energy in a public library than what was in that waiting line. After a quick 90 minute wait and right as I was beginning to regret my stubborn decision to wait the whole time, like music to my ears, the gears of the ride began to whirl and the ride was open for business. Once again, it was worth the wait. When I got off the ride, Universal Studios was a ghost town. The weather delay had driven everyone out of the park. For the rest of the day (literally until they told us we could not go on any more rides), I got to reap the reward of no wait time by sticking through the agony of stagnant lines. It was great to explore some of the gems of the city and I look forward to discovering more of what Singapore has to offer!

(Photo Taken From Universal Studios, 3/30/2025)