So much for that

I guess I forgot where I worked. For a while there, I was under the impression that I'd be able to get out of the office and help with our coverage of the Southeast Asian Games. Of course, the unspoken second half of that sentence is "as long as we have enough people in the office." Given that I work in newspapers, you can imagine how infrequently that happens.

The SEA Games officially started on Friday, though soccer has been going for about a week and rowing was supposed to start on Thursday — supposed to, remember. It doesn't look like my byline will appear very often, though. I'm stuck in the office on Sunday and Monday covering for our international news guy, meaning I'll miss the start of men's and women's basketball, and I'll miss another day on Wednesday as well since one of our other chief copy editors has his day off. The last three days of the SEA Games — the 20th, 21st and 22nd — are out, too, because the other chief copy editor is taking a five-day break.

Of the 12 days of the SEA Games, I'm allowed out to cover events on five of them. It's really four since I'm apparently going to Indonesia's World Cup qualifier against Iran on Tuesday. It's a dead rubber, now that Indonesia is officially out after losing 4-0 in Doha, so the "win or be eliminated" angle isn't an option. Given the putrid attendance at the last few qualifiers and SEA Games matches — due in no small part to the ongoing Jakmania boycott — the atmosphere at Gelora Bung Karno might match its mausoleum-esque decor. (Yes, Gelora Bung Karno. They rearranged the SEA Games matches to free up the stadium, sparing Iran a trip to Papua.)

Honestly, I really shouldn't care that much. I've already told the higher-ups I won't renew my contract at its current terms, and as the odds of the company offering me a better salary are roughly equivalent to those of my getting married in the next week, it looks like my time here is at an end. My flights are already booked, and I'm going to start packing and paring down my things this weekend. You'd think I found some enjoyment in packing up my life and schlepping it long distances, given that I do it so often, but it really is a pain.

On a happier note, by this time tomorrow I should be in possession of my new laptop. The old one would've cost about $650 to fix, and since there happened to be an IT expo not too far away last weekend, I found a new one with more bells and whistles for about the same price. Plus, the new one has a 600 GB hard drive, so even after I get my old files transferred over (Bill Gates willing), it should take me at least three or four months to fill up all that space.