Singapore Windsurfing

The North-East Monsoon is here ... well, sort of. It has been a wet December and January, the winds are ok but not that consistent. Although I did get caught out in a classic NE wind 3 weeks ago in my full Formula rig (ie. 10 sqm sail, 1 metre wide board, 70 cm fin). I felt like the veins in my neck were going to burst at any moment, as I hung on for dear life. Not pleasant, but always cool when reflecting on the sailing heroics back on land.

Today was a nice windsurfing day. I was initially on the Formula, but quickly made a u-turn back the the club to down-size to my slalom rig. I think the wind was around 12 - 14 knots, but the gusts were too strong. I was all set to race in the Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship today, but did not manage to because of a missing sail and a bruised/fractured rib cage. So I had a leisurely sail instead, whilst observing the race.

Blood Donation Drive

In conjunction with the Singapore Red Cross Society, we organised a blood donation drive as part of NetApp's corporate social responsibility initiative. Our goal was 50 blood units for the day.

The event started at 11 am and ended around 6 pm. Out of the 92 potential donors that came and registered, the Red Cross managed to collect 58 blood units. I was quite surprised at the high rejection rate - low iron count, medication and travels to the UK (mad cow disease).

Just to be sure, I popped in an iron tablet before the rigorous screening tests and passed! The iron analyser indicated my iron count at "14" (minimum was 12.5).

My colleagues Aileen, Jennifer, Joanne, Karina and Shu Rong organised the drive flawlessly, especially impressive given that this was our first time organising an event of this nature.

The blood donation drive was a unique opportunity to give something back to the community, and at the same time socialize with colleagues, business partners, customers and friends. Feels good.