Suddenly Summit

On a whim, my CEO suggested that we should make a trip to Singapore to attend the AWS Summit there. It was actually a three-day affair with partner and networking sessions, but I didn't have time to spare for that. I registered for the last day of the summit. According to the schedule, registration started at 7:30 AM, so the coordinator suggested that I fly in the night before. I packed an overnight bag, and went straight to the airport after work. Ate my dinner at Plaza Premium Lounge, which was a bit stressful because they were operating over their capacity due to renovation works. It was a constant battle to keep my seat. While waiting for my gate to open, I spotted Peng Joon, some motivational speaker whose sponsored FB ads often pop up on my feed.

Malindo delayed my flight and by the time I landed in Changi T3, it was nearly 10 PM. Surprised that upon arrival, we were herded through some brand new 3D security scanners. Luckily that didn't take long. Immigration clearance was slower. Went to the Ground Transport Desk to get my free airport transfer to Village Bugis Hotel. While waiting for my airport transfer, I got to observe the lethargic Daisy, a flower-shaped propeller that responds to its environs. The lady at the hotel check-in noticed that it had been a long time since my last visit and bumped me up to a suite. Didn't really have much time to enjoy the suite though. Showered, ironed my shirt, and slept. Had to wake up really early the next day.



My colleague and I took a cab to Max Atria @ Expo. We joined the huge early bird queue and were rewarded with an AWS hoodie. Registration didn't take too long as they had employed many temps to get things moving, and it wasn't their first time organizing such a big event. So many young boys. Each registrant was given a NFC tag and a FM receiver for the many presentations later on. Free-flow food and drinks were provided. Grab a quick breakfast wrap and coffee before moving to the main hall for the keynote address.





Right after the keynote address, we had some time to visit the sponsor booths before moving on the various talks that were going on. Booths that were generous were freebies were swamped with people. Many interesting and innovative use cases were highlighted during the summit. Many involved IoT and deep learning.





During lunch, my CEO came. Thought he would be in a brain fog since he had just flew in from USA in the morning, but he was sharp as ever. Funny thing was, he remarked that the summit was a waste of time although he was the one who asked me to come. Big question marks. He asked me to treat it like a holiday. Ermmm. I skipped the closing keynote (probably as bad as the opening keynote) and made my way to the airport.



Used the little time I had before boarding to meet a new friend, CY, at Xin Wang, T3. Interesting guy with a sexy voice. He was surprised that I agreed to meet. I'm. Very friendly OK? Hahahaha.