On Monday night we spontaneously went to the Singapore vs. Brazil soccer game at the national stadium. It was actually really fun - we hadn't yet been in the stadium, and it was my first soccer game ever.
The stadium had its last match about a year ago, and they were supposed to tear it down right away. For some reason they still use it.
Brazil is supposed to be one of the best teams in the world (Singapore is not...), so most of the game was on only one side of the field.
Also - the weirdest thing - when Brazil did well, or scored, the crowd went NUTS. I was very confused, since we were IN Singapore...but when Singapore did well, the crowd also went nuts. I think they're just generally happy for everyone.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
When Public Transportation Doesn't Work
Singapore has something called ERP - some people say it stands for "everyday rob people." It's this thing you drive under, and it steals your money. It could potentially cost you $8-$10 to get home - by ERP charges alone. This is to cut down on people driving their cars to the CBD and congested areas.
Taxis are TOO expensive during peak hours. There are CBD charges for getting picked up in the middle of the city, there are peak hour set charges as well as a faster meter during these hours. You pay ERP in the taxi...it's REALLY expensive.
So...people are meant to take buses and the MRT. Well, the MRT doesn't go everywhere, and sometimes your only option is the bus. Last night, Nicole, Paul and I were looking to take the bus to get some laksa in Katong, and it was around 7. Two buses that we needed didn't even stop at my stop, because they were already full. We waited for a full half hour. There were no bus options, the MRT doesn't go there...we couldn't walk, so we took at taxi - $18 to go just a few kilometers. It was more than $10 before we even started driving.
There have been other times at night when the MRT and buses aren't running anymore (they stop just before midnight), and we have to take a taxi, but we call and taxi and no one picks up...and it takes forever to find a taxi home. I know that stuff like this happens all over the place in the rest of Asia, but since nearly everything works so well in Singapore, I think I get really frustrated when it doesn't work so smoothly.
On a related note - in my Spanish class this evening, we learned the phrase "suffering pushes." That cracked me up. It's like when you're in a big crowd, and people are pushing you. You suffer pushes.
Taxis are TOO expensive during peak hours. There are CBD charges for getting picked up in the middle of the city, there are peak hour set charges as well as a faster meter during these hours. You pay ERP in the taxi...it's REALLY expensive.
So...people are meant to take buses and the MRT. Well, the MRT doesn't go everywhere, and sometimes your only option is the bus. Last night, Nicole, Paul and I were looking to take the bus to get some laksa in Katong, and it was around 7. Two buses that we needed didn't even stop at my stop, because they were already full. We waited for a full half hour. There were no bus options, the MRT doesn't go there...we couldn't walk, so we took at taxi - $18 to go just a few kilometers. It was more than $10 before we even started driving.
There have been other times at night when the MRT and buses aren't running anymore (they stop just before midnight), and we have to take a taxi, but we call and taxi and no one picks up...and it takes forever to find a taxi home. I know that stuff like this happens all over the place in the rest of Asia, but since nearly everything works so well in Singapore, I think I get really frustrated when it doesn't work so smoothly.
On a related note - in my Spanish class this evening, we learned the phrase "suffering pushes." That cracked me up. It's like when you're in a big crowd, and people are pushing you. You suffer pushes.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Size Inflation
Our weekend was excellent and totally normal - drinks and dinner with a friend on Friday, running around, marketing (which IS a word here), doctoring (which ISN'T a word here), relaxing, tutoring, dinnering, settlering, having guests for a few days, hanging out with my friend who is moving out of Singapore, our other friends who have the cutest baby in the world, out other friends whom we love...pretty normal (and wonderful). Oh - and a pretty ok movie.
This posting has nothing to do with ex-pat life in Singapore. Nothing to do with a cool place in Asia or a cool food (or good book). If this doesn't interest you, please wait for the next posting.
A few thoughts about size inflation - expansion on the points below.
1) Jer and I went shopping last year in Detroit, and there was one store in the whole Somerset (HUGE) mall that had pants his size (28).
2) I grew up and have always worn a size 8. I have not gotten smaller. Now I'm a size 4.
3) All of the clothes I got in America in the spring were made in S.E. Asia. Literally.
EXPANSION:
1) Jer has always found clothes for himself somewhere. Last year, all of the stores that should have something his size started at 30 or 32. This is clearly not an example of size inflation - which I think is because he's a male, and this might not exist in the male world. The only store that had clothes his size was Banana Republic (and the pants looked really good on him). That is just really weird - aren't there other skinny people in the world? Apparently not - I think it's not just the statistics that say that Detroit is getting fatter.
2) I have always worn a size 8 (sometimes a 10). When I was living in NYC, sometimes I wore a six. Most of my size 8 clothes still fit perfectly, so I know I have not gotten smaller, yet my size kept decreasing. This time, when we went to America, I got a lot of work clothes (the clothes in Singapore TOTALLY don't fit me). Nearly everything I got was size 4, and a few were size 6. Again - I have not gotten smaller (dafka - most likely bigger!), and most of my 8s still fit me. What is wrong with this? Is the clothing market trying to make people feel good? It's just confusing me, and it's making me spend more time trying clothes on, because I always have to go get the smaller size!
3) Literally everything I got in the US was made in S.E. Asia. I think that's pretty hilarious - to travel all around the world to get clothes that have also been flown around the world. And then fly back around the world with them. There are a few stores in Singapore where they sell the "left-overs" from gap, esprit, etc., but for the most part you just don't have the same clothes that you have in the States...even if they're all made out here!
This posting has nothing to do with ex-pat life in Singapore. Nothing to do with a cool place in Asia or a cool food (or good book). If this doesn't interest you, please wait for the next posting.
A few thoughts about size inflation - expansion on the points below.
1) Jer and I went shopping last year in Detroit, and there was one store in the whole Somerset (HUGE) mall that had pants his size (28).
2) I grew up and have always worn a size 8. I have not gotten smaller. Now I'm a size 4.
3) All of the clothes I got in America in the spring were made in S.E. Asia. Literally.
EXPANSION:
1) Jer has always found clothes for himself somewhere. Last year, all of the stores that should have something his size started at 30 or 32. This is clearly not an example of size inflation - which I think is because he's a male, and this might not exist in the male world. The only store that had clothes his size was Banana Republic (and the pants looked really good on him). That is just really weird - aren't there other skinny people in the world? Apparently not - I think it's not just the statistics that say that Detroit is getting fatter.
2) I have always worn a size 8 (sometimes a 10). When I was living in NYC, sometimes I wore a six. Most of my size 8 clothes still fit perfectly, so I know I have not gotten smaller, yet my size kept decreasing. This time, when we went to America, I got a lot of work clothes (the clothes in Singapore TOTALLY don't fit me). Nearly everything I got was size 4, and a few were size 6. Again - I have not gotten smaller (dafka - most likely bigger!), and most of my 8s still fit me. What is wrong with this? Is the clothing market trying to make people feel good? It's just confusing me, and it's making me spend more time trying clothes on, because I always have to go get the smaller size!
3) Literally everything I got in the US was made in S.E. Asia. I think that's pretty hilarious - to travel all around the world to get clothes that have also been flown around the world. And then fly back around the world with them. There are a few stores in Singapore where they sell the "left-overs" from gap, esprit, etc., but for the most part you just don't have the same clothes that you have in the States...even if they're all made out here!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Shantaram
I just finished a totally amazing book: Shantaram. Basically, it's the story of this Australian guy who broke out of a maximum security prison and somehow arrived in India. He ends up living in the slums, getting involved in the mafia, fighting in Afghanistan...and it's just the most amazing story.
The MOST amazing part, though, is that the story is true, but the characters are not true. The characters are what I fell in love with in the book. He must be a serious genius because these characters are all so amazing, and the dialog that they have is brilliant. When I thought it was real, I was impressed that he was able to remember it so well - since it's so creative, but now that I know he made it up, it's really unreal.
Apparently there is a movie being made of this book, but please don't wait until then to learn the story and meet Prabakar. READ THE BOOK!!!
I'm not sure what I should say about the fact that I have read TONS of books since I moved to Singapore, and my two favorites have been about life in India (and the one about gay guys in Sri Lanka came in a close third). A Fine Balance was the other. (and Funny Boys was the Sri Lanka one).
The MOST amazing part, though, is that the story is true, but the characters are not true. The characters are what I fell in love with in the book. He must be a serious genius because these characters are all so amazing, and the dialog that they have is brilliant. When I thought it was real, I was impressed that he was able to remember it so well - since it's so creative, but now that I know he made it up, it's really unreal.
Apparently there is a movie being made of this book, but please don't wait until then to learn the story and meet Prabakar. READ THE BOOK!!!
I'm not sure what I should say about the fact that I have read TONS of books since I moved to Singapore, and my two favorites have been about life in India (and the one about gay guys in Sri Lanka came in a close third). A Fine Balance was the other. (and Funny Boys was the Sri Lanka one).
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Kitty's Kitties
So when the kitty had her three baby abortion, apparently they forgot six kitties in her. Last night the kitty went into labor and she was having a hard time getting the babies out. Mustache man (pictured) to the rescue. He's a cat we're really close to, and he helped deliver the kitties. One didn't move when she came out, but then she was okay. All six were healthy.
Then Jill and Ben came to visit, and Jill had to work, but for some reason Ben didn't have to, so he cooked for us, cared for the kitties and he even fixed the floor when it broke. It was great to see them, and we were so thankful to have Ben's help during such a crazy time.
Okay - that was my dream. I can't even begin to interpret it. I know I'm thinking a lot about having babies, but I didn't realize that I pushed that to my kitty too!!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
To Judge a Book by its Cover
Today I judged hundreds, maybe thousands, of books by their covers. After staying up late because I watched a cheezy chick flick, and then having my air con service guy come in the morning, and a nice work out - I went to meet my friend, Gal, at the Singapore library's annual book sale. They put TONS of books in an expo hall. They are separated first by language (Chinese/English/Malay) and then by fiction/non-fiction, but that's IT. Biographies are next to "Winetasting for dummies."
In the fiction, I only recognized two authors, and one was Garrison Keillor, and th book was in such horrible condition, it wasn't even an option.
Luckily I found a superstar in the non-fiction. I found a book on the social history of toilets.
In the fiction, I only recognized two authors, and one was Garrison Keillor, and th book was in such horrible condition, it wasn't even an option.
Luckily I found a superstar in the non-fiction. I found a book on the social history of toilets.
NSmen
Since Matt's in Israel, I figured I would post about something that I have been thinking about for a while...that has to do with Israel.
In Israel the military is mandatory - as most people know. Men serve something like three years, and women serve a bit less, but they also serve. When you're in Israel, you're well aware of this fact. You see soldiers (with guns...which is a bit alarming when you see it for the first time) EVERYWHERE. They're sitting/sleeping next to you on the bus, they're walking around town, they're out with you on the weekends. At least while I was living there (and younger than I am now...) it seemed like EVERYONE was in the army, and it also seemed like they were mostly all hot.
In Israel, it really appears to me that nearly every 18-21 year old guy is hot. Maybe that's gross to say now that I'm 30, but when I was living in Israel and 20 and then 22, it was amazing! They look older, buffer, tanner, more confident than American men. They had great bodies, and they fricken fought for their country!!
In Singapore, military service is also required, but for men only. I feel horrible writing this, because they're also doing a great deed for their country, but here goes...they're totally not hot in uniform. They look like skinny little boys wearing a costume of fatigues. A couple of points: Asian men look younger than Israeli and American men, so they look young to me no matter what. Singapore isn't in immediate danger like Israeli is (though some people think they are in immediate danger from Malaysia - or at least could be at the drop of a hat). For some reason they're not as visible as the Israeli soldiers, so I only see about five per week, so maybe the buff, hot ones are walking around somewhere else.
In other news, I have so many friends having babies!
in November: Cristine
in December: Lauren, Laura, Lee Fong, Liba and Sara
I think there are more, but I'm just forgetting for the minute.
Also - do you think there is something about having your name start with "L" and getting pregnant sometime around Feb/March?
In Israel the military is mandatory - as most people know. Men serve something like three years, and women serve a bit less, but they also serve. When you're in Israel, you're well aware of this fact. You see soldiers (with guns...which is a bit alarming when you see it for the first time) EVERYWHERE. They're sitting/sleeping next to you on the bus, they're walking around town, they're out with you on the weekends. At least while I was living there (and younger than I am now...) it seemed like EVERYONE was in the army, and it also seemed like they were mostly all hot.
In Israel, it really appears to me that nearly every 18-21 year old guy is hot. Maybe that's gross to say now that I'm 30, but when I was living in Israel and 20 and then 22, it was amazing! They look older, buffer, tanner, more confident than American men. They had great bodies, and they fricken fought for their country!!
In Singapore, military service is also required, but for men only. I feel horrible writing this, because they're also doing a great deed for their country, but here goes...they're totally not hot in uniform. They look like skinny little boys wearing a costume of fatigues. A couple of points: Asian men look younger than Israeli and American men, so they look young to me no matter what. Singapore isn't in immediate danger like Israeli is (though some people think they are in immediate danger from Malaysia - or at least could be at the drop of a hat). For some reason they're not as visible as the Israeli soldiers, so I only see about five per week, so maybe the buff, hot ones are walking around somewhere else.
In other news, I have so many friends having babies!
in November: Cristine
in December: Lauren, Laura, Lee Fong, Liba and Sara
I think there are more, but I'm just forgetting for the minute.
Also - do you think there is something about having your name start with "L" and getting pregnant sometime around Feb/March?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Kitty Behavio(u)r
Kitty has been behaving very weirdly. I don't know if it's because we left her alone for about 30 hours, or if it's because Matt's not here, or if it's because I'm paying more attention, and she's not really acting weird, but to me - it's weird.
Here are a few pictures, and in addition:
She pushed a coin around our house for about an hour, and then it ended up under the couch, where she couldn't reach it.
You know when you have a spiral notebook, and you tear off a page, and it leaves this little string of paper attached to the notebook? She played with one of those for a while, and then she liberated it from the notebook and pushed it around the house for a long time.
There were three tampons on the dining room table (Matt's not home to tell me to tell me to clean it up). She pushed one to the edge of the table, and then pushed it off. She then pushed the second to the edge of the table and then pushed it off, and finally she did it with the third.
She has also been
a velcro cat when I am home. She doesn't leave me alone - when I go to the bathroom, she takes a shower. When I read in bed, she goes to bed on my feet. When I'm sitting on the couch, she lays on the rug. It's pretty funny.
Pictures include:
Her being a nutty clean cat. When she poos, she won't stand in the litter box to cover her poo. She has to stand on the very thin EDGE of the litter box and reach down to cover it up. It's pretty funny, since she's small, and the box is big!
She played with the gross grapes that were left over in the bottom of the bowl. That was at least 20 minutes of rolling grapes entertainment.
She has this new thing that I haven't seen her do since we first took her home (when we had her spayed). She has been literally climbing the wall. She climbs up the grate on our sliding door - TO THE CEILING!!!
Here are a few pictures, and in addition:
She pushed a coin around our house for about an hour, and then it ended up under the couch, where she couldn't reach it.
You know when you have a spiral notebook, and you tear off a page, and it leaves this little string of paper attached to the notebook? She played with one of those for a while, and then she liberated it from the notebook and pushed it around the house for a long time.
There were three tampons on the dining room table (Matt's not home to tell me to tell me to clean it up). She pushed one to the edge of the table, and then pushed it off. She then pushed the second to the edge of the table and then pushed it off, and finally she did it with the third.
She has also been
a velcro cat when I am home. She doesn't leave me alone - when I go to the bathroom, she takes a shower. When I read in bed, she goes to bed on my feet. When I'm sitting on the couch, she lays on the rug. It's pretty funny.Pictures include:
Her being a nutty clean cat. When she poos, she won't stand in the litter box to cover her poo. She has to stand on the very thin EDGE of the litter box and reach down to cover it up. It's pretty funny, since she's small, and the box is big!
She played with the gross grapes that were left over in the bottom of the bowl. That was at least 20 minutes of rolling grapes entertainment.
She has this new thing that I haven't seen her do since we first took her home (when we had her spayed). She has been literally climbing the wall. She climbs up the grate on our sliding door - TO THE CEILING!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Reeses
My coworker, Tom's family came to visit. They brought the office a couple of bags of little peanut butter cups. In the States, these would be gone within the day. Who can resist the peanut butter cup? Is there anything better in the world (other than sour punch straws?)???
In our office, I think I was the only one eating them. I ate three yesterday, and I had a whopping six today (I know - that's WAY too many, but no one else was, so I had to compensate!). Finally, I said to another American how crazy I thought it was that they were lasting so long. We still had more than a bag and a half after a full day and a half of potential eating!! Well, that got people interested, and all of the Singaporeans and one Korean came into the pantry (that's what they call the kitchen at work), and they all tried their first peanut butter cups. Unfortunately they liked them, so we're only left with one bag for tomorrow.
In our office, I think I was the only one eating them. I ate three yesterday, and I had a whopping six today (I know - that's WAY too many, but no one else was, so I had to compensate!). Finally, I said to another American how crazy I thought it was that they were lasting so long. We still had more than a bag and a half after a full day and a half of potential eating!! Well, that got people interested, and all of the Singaporeans and one Korean came into the pantry (that's what they call the kitchen at work), and they all tried their first peanut butter cups. Unfortunately they liked them, so we're only left with one bag for tomorrow.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Pulau Tioman
This past weekend I went diving to Tioman with Tenley. The weekend started as usual - meet at the dive shop after work on Friday, drive, cross the border, drive more, wait for the tide at the port of Mersing, get on a boat, sleep on the boat (freak out a little - because I'm a bit scared of dark, night, and boats), get to the island, sleep, then dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, sleep, eat, dive, eat, dive, get on the boat back to the port, get on the bus, cross the border, drive more, get back to the dive shop, hop in a taxi him.The only differences were:
1) I didn't like Tioman as much as Dayang at all
2) There was way less eating than there should have been
3) My dive master was extremely mean and not at all enjoyable to be around
4) I actually felt unsafe a few times this weekend (which I never had with this shop)
5) The diving was alright
6) Because of 1-5, I didn't come back freaking out about how much I love diving
Great things:
1) I saw the bumphead
parrotfish that I'm obsessed with2) A HILARIOUS clown fish attacked Tenley's finger and then my camera - a few times! It is super hard to laugh underwater - when you smile your mask lets water in!! (Note the photo - the clownfish is the Nemo like orange one)
3) I loved the weekend with Tenley. She rocks.
4) I only felt super nauseous for about 20 minutes - and there was a lot of time on rocky boats
5) Great people on the trip
If you're interested in diving (or learning about it), please read a few of my experiences. If diving bores you, skip to the pictures, and I'll see you here real soon.
Experience one:
Diving is all about buoy
ancy. If you put enough weights on yourself (which you wear on a belt when you dive), you will sink and get to the bottom. If you don't put enough weights on, you will not be able to get below the surface. Also, you wear a buoyancy control device (BCD) that you can put air in to make you float more or less. As you go down, the air in the BCD decompresses and becomes less, so sometimes when you go down far you might have to put more air in, and when you're coming up, sometimes you have to let some out so you don't shoot up to the surface. That's the educational background.Anyways, when we were getting into the water, it was super choppy, and we were jumping and and holding onto a buoy (so the waves didn't sweep us away) and descending together. I jumped in, and I tried to put more air in my bcd so I would stay on the surface (remember - I'm wearing weights which send you straight down), and every time I put air in, the air came out. One of the Malaysian boat guys on a nearby boat showed me that my dump valve at the top of my bcd was stuck under the strap, but I couldn't get it out and tread water and not go under and try to hold the buoy. Essentially, I was scared, and I was going under (but I had a whole tank of air on me, so it wouldn't have been so bad if I just went down...). I wasn't panicking, but I was a bit worried and scared. My dive guy yelled at me to calm down and talked to me like I was an idiot. He also jumped in and fixed my valve - so I'll give credit where credit is due, but I felt like a piece of shit afterwards.
Experience two:
On that same dive my ear started hurting and not being able to pop. Dive lesson #2...When you go underwater, the air in your cavities condenses, and you need to put more in, so you can blow air from your nose into your head and pop your ears (you know - hold your nose and blow), and the mask tightens, so that's why divers have their nose in their mask - you blow out of your nose to get air in that space. It's also important to keep breathing so that nothing weird happens to your lungs when the compression happens there. So...sometimes it happens that I blow and blow, and my ear won't pop. It usually happens one dive per dive trip, and I just swim above everyone, and eventually it goes away and I go back down. No problem. Usually my dive masters say (underwater with hand motions), "you stay there. Don't come down until your ear is fine. We'll be down here." And then they check on me every so often. No problem.
Dive lesson #3...remember, diving is all about buoyancy, so you need to stay horizontal at the bottom, or if you face down and kick, you will go down, and if you face up and kick, you will go up. Usually I use light plastic/rubbery fins, and I have no problem staying horizontal. This time the dive shop packed fins that were too small, so I borrowed someone's "jet fins" that are super heavy. Because they're heavier, they made my feet go lower, which made my head higher, which made me go up every time I kicked. It's just a different way of diving - you sort of have to bend at the waist to stay level if you kick with heavy fins. I didn't get the hang of it real fast, so I was going up and down a bit. So...back to my story...my ear was hurting, so I went up a bit until I didn't feel pressure, and I was going to swim up there until it got better. The dive master pointed aggressively at me and then pointed down, meaning "You- GET DOWN HERE!" I pointed to my ear and did the "it's not so good" sign. And he took that opportunity to show me that I was going up and down and making my ear hurt, then he kept telling me to come down. There is no way at all I should go down when I can't equalize my ear. I kept trying, and something popped, and I got super dizzy for a minute, and then it went away, but I felt scared and unhappy and like a piece of shit again.
I had one dive master that was just about to enter the water and then realized that he hadn't turned on his air. He also said that he's too lazy to put up the "sausage" that is the bright orange air filled thing that says "divers below" when we come up. It's so boats don't hit us. They also started driving away from the port the last morning without counting everyone. They also ran out of water and told us to buy our own water for the rest of the trip. The mean one also publicly embarrassed me a few times this weekend. All in all I was thoroughly unimpressed, and pretty turned off. I even thought that I might not like diving anymore after the second, third, and fourth dives. I wasn't sure I would dive the next day. That's totally not me. My confidence was shaken - and not for any good reason - just for a jerk.
Sorry this is so negative - I guess I needed to vent, and Matt's in Israel having the time of his life with so many p
eople I love!!! Enjoy the pictures. Click here for most of the good ones. There are some goodies...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Break Glass in Case of Emergency
I had an unbelievable experience today.
I work in a building with 38 floors. This is the tallest building I have worked in.
For some reason, the building decided that we would be the ones who break the glass and set off the fire alarm for a fire drill. They gave us notice for weeks that the drill was happening. Most people left for the afternoon so they didn't have to walk down the 23 flights of stairs. Not me.
At 3:10, the fire warden, the fire dudes, and more fire dudes knocked on our door, and they told me it was time. They had put some dry ice in the hallway, and they said, "there's the fire." I said, "Oh - I better break the glass." They gave me a pliers and I broke the glass and the fire alarm went off for the whole building!! They even took pictures, but I don't think I can get my hands on those.
Other than that, we had dinner with Rachel, Matt's ex, and a great girl that I saw off and on growing up. We went to our favorite Indian restaurant in our 'hood, and we had a great time. She was flying through town on her way from Aceh, Indonesia (doing conflict resolution work) back to the States. I guess it's been 6.5 years since that fateful wedding...
I work in a building with 38 floors. This is the tallest building I have worked in.
For some reason, the building decided that we would be the ones who break the glass and set off the fire alarm for a fire drill. They gave us notice for weeks that the drill was happening. Most people left for the afternoon so they didn't have to walk down the 23 flights of stairs. Not me.
At 3:10, the fire warden, the fire dudes, and more fire dudes knocked on our door, and they told me it was time. They had put some dry ice in the hallway, and they said, "there's the fire." I said, "Oh - I better break the glass." They gave me a pliers and I broke the glass and the fire alarm went off for the whole building!! They even took pictures, but I don't think I can get my hands on those.
Other than that, we had dinner with Rachel, Matt's ex, and a great girl that I saw off and on growing up. We went to our favorite Indian restaurant in our 'hood, and we had a great time. She was flying through town on her way from Aceh, Indonesia (doing conflict resolution work) back to the States. I guess it's been 6.5 years since that fateful wedding...
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Happiest Dance
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Apparently Desperate for Golden Grahams
I had no idea, but apparently I am desperate for Golden Grahams.
I got them on Saturday at the Navy commissary, and I was so excited to have some for breakfast yesterday. The box is bigger than the other boxes that I usually buy, so the internal bag didn't fit in an air tight container that I use for cereal - to not let the ants enjoy my food.
I put it in a mostly antless place, and I thought, "I'm sure the ants won't get to this in one day, and tomorrow it will fit in the container."
I was wrong. This morning I pulled out the bag, and I saw a couple of ants.
There were about three or four in the top of the bag, so I immediately cut that out. I saw a couple of others near the bottom, but I couldn't spot others. I decided the Golden Grahams had to be saved. I went to work with a couple of bowls and an air tight container.
First I poured a bit of cereal into a bowl, looked for ants with my hands, then poured it into the container. I went through the entire box doing this, and the truth is that I only saw ants at the end - and only four. I killed them all (suckers), and put the cereal in the refrigerators. I figured the cold would kill any ants that I had missed.
There were no ants in my bowl of cereal this morning. I looked carefully before each bite.
Would I ever do this in the States? I think not. I would have screamed like a little kid and thrown it out. I guess I have changed. I guess I'm just desperate for Golden Grahams.
I got them on Saturday at the Navy commissary, and I was so excited to have some for breakfast yesterday. The box is bigger than the other boxes that I usually buy, so the internal bag didn't fit in an air tight container that I use for cereal - to not let the ants enjoy my food.
I put it in a mostly antless place, and I thought, "I'm sure the ants won't get to this in one day, and tomorrow it will fit in the container."
I was wrong. This morning I pulled out the bag, and I saw a couple of ants.
There were about three or four in the top of the bag, so I immediately cut that out. I saw a couple of others near the bottom, but I couldn't spot others. I decided the Golden Grahams had to be saved. I went to work with a couple of bowls and an air tight container.
First I poured a bit of cereal into a bowl, looked for ants with my hands, then poured it into the container. I went through the entire box doing this, and the truth is that I only saw ants at the end - and only four. I killed them all (suckers), and put the cereal in the refrigerators. I figured the cold would kill any ants that I had missed.
There were no ants in my bowl of cereal this morning. I looked carefully before each bite.
Would I ever do this in the States? I think not. I would have screamed like a little kid and thrown it out. I guess I have changed. I guess I'm just desperate for Golden Grahams.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The 5th of July
This year we celebrated the fourth on the fifth. The American Association of Singapore had a big celebration up in Sembawang (where our friends Jeff and Tenley live). J & T also invited us to tour a the USNS Mercy with them. It is a ship goes around the world responding to disasters and performing standard hospital care in places that are in need. The ship was cool, but the tour stank. First picture is our walk in their neighborhood to get to the bus to get to the ship. It was raining. Second picture is a ship that was turned into an oil refinery. It is huge. It looks like it's getting some repairs at the shipyard. Third picture is inside the ship.
After the ship, we got to visit the US Navy commissary at the shipyard. They have tons of American food and things, and they're super cheap! I got sour patch kids, batteries and golden grams. Yum!
After that we dropped off our yummy purchases, and then we went to the AA celebration at the Terror Club up there. Why it is called a Terror Club? Apparently after a British ship. I think they could come up with a better name.
Anyways - we ran into a bunch of people we know, we ate burgers, ben and jerry's, heard some old guy cover band that played American music including the Stones and the Dead (and were really good!), saw a lady with a flag through her head, and generally enjoyed ourselves for a bit.
THEN, we went back to their house. Please note the picture of the mangoes organized on J & T's lawn. They have mangoes falling from the sky. That house in the background is their's. Pretty cool, eh? We played puerto rico. We like that game. Jason said it ranks #1 board game in the world on some games website. THEN, we went to a park next to their house to watch the fireworks. They were really good! The puppies were scared. Please see the picture of the hiding puppies.
FINALLY, we went back to their house and learned Seafarers of Catan. It's an addition to Settlers of Catan, and it was wonderful! It was like learning a whole new
dimension of this thing that we already loved. You get to build ships and 
have a totally different board, and there are new challenges and additions. We loved it.During Seafarers, we got a puppy bath and had some sleeping puppies on our laps.
We also turned on the TV to watch Williams vs.
Williams championship point. Pretty exciting.It was an excellent day. Felt like vacation.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Mock Ups
I finally figured out how to describe what Singapore looks like.
You know when people are trying to sell apartments, before they start building a building, and they come up with a picture of what it will look like? The grass is really green, the people are all smiling, it's always sunny...do you know what I'm talking about. Here are two examples one two. They're not the best examples, but they'll help explain what I'm talking about. I'm sure you have seen them before.
In the States, when they build the building, it doesn't quite look like that. In Singapore it does! I was looking out the window of my office yesterday (we're on the 23rd floor of a sky scraper in the central business district), and I realized that it looked fake - people walking where they should be, no garbage on the streets, GREEN grass that no one walks on, so it looks perfect, sun almost always.
I had used the words "fake" and "contrived," but both of those are too negative - it's just perfect looking - like the mock ups.
You know when people are trying to sell apartments, before they start building a building, and they come up with a picture of what it will look like? The grass is really green, the people are all smiling, it's always sunny...do you know what I'm talking about. Here are two examples one two. They're not the best examples, but they'll help explain what I'm talking about. I'm sure you have seen them before.
In the States, when they build the building, it doesn't quite look like that. In Singapore it does! I was looking out the window of my office yesterday (we're on the 23rd floor of a sky scraper in the central business district), and I realized that it looked fake - people walking where they should be, no garbage on the streets, GREEN grass that no one walks on, so it looks perfect, sun almost always.
I had used the words "fake" and "contrived," but both of those are too negative - it's just perfect looking - like the mock ups.
Friday, July 4, 2008
>780 Showers
When I lived in the US I was usually a one shower a day kind of girl. If I happened to be particularly dirty, I would throw another one in for kicks. In Singapore there is no choice. As an environmentalist and a person who finds it a pain in the ass to get naked, I am still required to take at least two showers per day. Even if we sleep with the air con on, I still wake up sticky and gross, so the morning shower is obvious. Spending a day in this humid heat also leads you to take a shower before bed. The thought of getting in bed without taking a shower after doing anything grosses me out.
I have calculated that I have taken at least 780 showers since I moved to Asia. 366 (2008 was a leap year) x 2 plus 25 x 2 (I have been here for a year and 25 days). This equals 782. This is because while sometimes I have taken THREE showers in one day, there have also been a few Saturdays where I go to the market dirty. In addition each place we have traveled to also required two showers - except the biking trip in Thailand where there were not two showers available to us (and we got so disgusting within five minutes of biking, the morning shower wasn't worth it).
That's a lot of showers.
I have calculated that I have taken at least 780 showers since I moved to Asia. 366 (2008 was a leap year) x 2 plus 25 x 2 (I have been here for a year and 25 days). This equals 782. This is because while sometimes I have taken THREE showers in one day, there have also been a few Saturdays where I go to the market dirty. In addition each place we have traveled to also required two showers - except the biking trip in Thailand where there were not two showers available to us (and we got so disgusting within five minutes of biking, the morning shower wasn't worth it).
That's a lot of showers.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Out of the Professional Closet
I finally came out at work.
I am coming out on this blog as well.
I am going to business school in five weeks. I have been accepted to INSEAD, a French school that has its other campus in Singapore. It is a 10 month program (meaning I will have an MBA in ONE year from now!). I feel so fortunate that I get to go to this program. Since I learned about it and visited it, I have fallen in love with it, and I cannot wait to get started.
It feels so much better to get that off my chest!!
After I took the GMAT, I did significantly better than I had hoped for, and I realized that INSEAD was really an option, so I stopped writing about it on the blog - and I have been living in a professional closet since this posting in June 2007!
I am coming out on this blog as well.
I am going to business school in five weeks. I have been accepted to INSEAD, a French school that has its other campus in Singapore. It is a 10 month program (meaning I will have an MBA in ONE year from now!). I feel so fortunate that I get to go to this program. Since I learned about it and visited it, I have fallen in love with it, and I cannot wait to get started.
It feels so much better to get that off my chest!!
After I took the GMAT, I did significantly better than I had hoped for, and I realized that INSEAD was really an option, so I stopped writing about it on the blog - and I have been living in a professional closet since this posting in June 2007!
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