Funny Kitties

The two cats that we are hanging with until August (Cyrus and Seiku) are pretty funny. We introduced them to the magic red pom pom balls, and they love them. They play with one together for minutes at a time.

We went in to clean their room today, and we saw one of those red balls in their water dish. I thought that was pretty funny. Then I saw that they put another red ball in their other water dish. How do they think of these things? A third was under their water dish. Those were the only three red balls. Apparently they associate them with water.

Seiku keeps jumping up on the counter to play with all of the red balls that are in a bowl we keep up there. He never saw them before last week, but now he can't get enough. Matt had to put the bowl in a cupboard. He was obsessed.

In other news, there is a third Hildebrandt in Asia. Dan is currently in Tokyo (I believe - at least I know he's in Japan...) with his band. Pretty cool stuff! I wish we could have gone to see him. That would have been unbelievable. Though it seems like Japan and Singapore should be close, since they're both in Asia (and it seems like most people in my life believe Singapore is in China anyways...), it's about 8 hours.

Employment

So we all go to business school to get employed afterwards. We're all looking for more responsibilities, higher salary, bigger companies...

I came to business school because Matt made me. I mean, I came to business school to get the business perspective and learn the basics. I have always had the intention to ultimately return to the non-profit world, and I wanted to do it well. I have had multiple (wonderful) bosses who had excellent vision, but they had no idea how to implement. I wanted to get the tools, the contacts, get a corporate job, get that private sector experience, and finally, I wanted to move back to the non-profit sector as a super successful non-profit executive director. This was even in my entrance essay for INSEAD. I swear. It's not even just a story.

Well, as you can imagine, since I only have four more weeks, I'm starting to explore options for after graduation. I do have a verbal offer for a position that I definitely want, but I will not share or get excited until I have the written offer. I am looking at opportunities in the social/non-profit/international sphere in Singapore as well as anything that comes up in CSR, diversity, or something that does good within companies.

It's definitely the talk around town at school - what's after graduation? The 2009 situation is that most of us just don't know yet, and we might not know for a while.

Advertising in Asia

This would never fly (ha) in America. This would make people not eat at this restaurant. In Asia, it's great advertising. In my global strategy class we're talking about adapting our products/marketing to the local markets...like advertising a chicken with its head still on...on your plate. Yummy.

Class Today

Two funny things. My strategy prof has a rule that if your hand phone rings, he gets to use it to call his mom. In India. Right then. Arnon's phone rang, and he did try to call her, but she wasn't there. He said she must have gone out to get some vegetables. Lucky Arnon.

"You're competing against Smirnoff? you're a piece of shit. Let me give you something to compete against." This is a direct quote from my pricing prof when he was explaining Smirnoff's reaction to someone invading their turf. They ended up raising the price of Smirnoff and introducing a cheaper brand to compete against the new entrant. I just thought the quote was funny.

I hate the heat in Singapore. This morning I sweat through my shirt and my pants. That's just totally nasty. And I wanted to wear the same suit (and top) tomorrow. Oops.

My Family

Falling in Love Again

Our lease is up at the end of May. We got it extended until sometime in August when our landlord closes the deal with the people he sold our apartment to...then they said they won't be moving in until maybe September. So, we're not moving NOW, but we're moving sometime in the next few months.

There are a few things I like about our apartment (not too many...), but I absolutely love our location...other than the fact that it's about an hour to get to anywhere else in Singapore. We are a seven minute walk from the beach, we are a 15 minute walk to the MRT stop and to Bedok Centre, where there is my crazy grocery store and just about everything else you would want. We're a 10 to 15 minute walk from all of the amazing restaurants in Siglap - including our favorite Thai, Indian, Italian, and our favorite Japanese restaurant lost its standing when we went on Friday night and they super skimped on the fish.

The best part for me, you might remember, is the market.

I just went to the market and spent S$45, which is about US$30. This is what I got (in this order):

• a green old navy t-shirt (obviously)
  
• 8 apples
• 3 carrots
• a container of sweet peas
• 1/5th of a huge pumpkin
• 3 sweet potatoes
• 2 huge cucumbers
• 2 tomatoes
• 6 onions (I asked for 2, and he charged me S$.5 and threw a ton in, so I gave some to the ladies around me)
• 3 beets
• 1 lemon
• 1 pineapple
• 6 bananas
  
• 2 mangoes
• 3 little organic (Singaporean!) cucumbers
  
• 4 yellow peppers
• 20 rolls of toilet paper
• 8 rolls of paper towel
  
• 10 eggs (two were sacrificed on the way home)
• 1 ice coffee "not so sweet"

I love my market. Love my market.

In other news, yesterday I went with a bunch of INSEAD friends to the Tippling Club - it's a molecular gastronomy restaurant in Singapore. They have a special (reasonable) lunch menu, and it was amazing. I loved the food, and I got two superb drinks. Jer - look at the Floradora on this menu. You will love it. I sort of want to go for the whole menu (they have one with five courses for $125, or you can do the whole shabang for $420...), but Matt won't do it. He would rather eat fishball noodles for $2.

Best Promotion Ever?

At INSEAD a "class" - like the group of people who all enter the school and then graduate the school together - is called a "promotion." I'm not sure why. Probably from French or some other European language. Because people switch campuses all the time, your promotion includes 450 people - 300 of which started in Fonty and the other 150 who started in Singapore.

One of our core course teachers (I can't remember right now which one) told us that our work was the best he had ever seen. I remember hearing that our grades on exams were higher than ever before (though, for those courses we're graded on a curve, so it really just makes it worse for everyone else...). My friend who grades our papers (for a class that will remain nameless) said that our class had better papers than previous promotions and the current promotion. My strategy professor yesterday told us that we were over-delivering on our assignments. We have seven write ups to do about cases in the class, and we have completed three. He has never told a class that before (who tells a class they're doing too much?). I just got an email that our class raised more money for the "Robinhood Campaign" that gives scholarship money for someone to go to INSEAD, and we also had higher participation than all other promotions. In Singapore 100% of us gave money. Overall, it was over 87%.

So...over and over again people are saying we're awesome. I'm wondering if it's just what they tell everyone or if there's really something special.

Business Models in Bali

Thursday night Matt and I went to a friend's house. She was hosting an artist who sells some of her work, and others' work. The profits get donated to an organization that helps a community in Bali. The woman told the story of how she got involved, and how all the ladies wanted was a cow. Now they have 50 cows, and their farm is growing. The art pieces and jewelry were really beautiful. I got a rat for my cousin Judy. Obviously.

The story was compelling, but the model of sustainable entrepreneurship interested me.

Afterwards we headed (with Tamara and Jason) to Ashira's. She (her family really) hosted a sort of dinner party where she basically invited all the young Jews in Singapore. It was so damn nice. The people were outstanding, the food was superb, and we had a great time. I think half the people were INSEAD (okay, 1/3), and some of them I hadn't met before. It was really really nice of them.

Today (after getting stood up for a lunch meeting/date that took me 45 minutes each way to get to...), I heard a woman, Somaly Mam, speak about her experiences with sex trafficking in Cambodia. She was a sex worker (though she doesn't like that term), and now she helps women get out. Though she did not share her personal story with us, it was a moving evening. I am definitely inspired to do something. I will definitely read her book - and maybe I can take a couple of weeks and volunteer at her shelter to learn more and figure out what ELSE I could do. Anyone want to do it with me?

Day of "Service"

On Saturday I joined Yale alumni for the Yale Day of Service. The plan was for Yale alumni to gather in groups with local entrepreneurs and to give them some advice. I was very skeptical. Simply because these people went to Yale and graduated in who-knows-what, they have something to offer the entrepreneurs? In three hours? I wanted to go meet people, but I really didn't think it would make such a difference...I also think I didn't understand it properly.

Ultimately about 50 or so people gathered at Brewerkz (great burgers and beer, owned by a Yalie alum) - people who were affiliated with this market that sells local artists' goods, with Yale, or with the Social Innovation Park. There were about 15 or 20 people associated with Yale. The groups were pre-arranged, and after introducing ourselves, we did a case study together. We all talked about the issues related to bringing a specific new product to market in Singapore. We talked about it in a marketing framework, and it was a pretty good discussion.

This discussion introduced all of the people to each other, and people became more comfortable. Afterwards, each of the artists brought over a good that they have made. We had a matching necklace and earrings set, a key chain, a cell phone bag (they have those here) and charm, a car made out of recycled coke cans, and maybe one more thing. Each artist told a bit about their product - including where they sell it, how they promote it, and what the price is. They then asked the group a question they wanted help with - for example where else to sell it, or if another price would be more appropriate. The group all counseled each other, and it was outstanding. I feel like people gave really good advice, and the artists were so receptive.

One example of a productive conversation was this woman who said that her jewelry isn't selling. She was selling the necklace and earrings set for S$38. Other people in the group said that was a bit expensive...until she explained that the stones came from all of these neat places, and each has a special value - like bringing calmness, or health. The final suggestion was to market that aspect of the product so that people know that they're buying more than a necklace. They're buying luck and health, and precious stones from India and China. She was really happy.

We also learned the Yale fight song in sign language. It was super neat. The weird part is that their fight song starts of as "Bulldogs bulldogs bow wow wow." Really? Bow wow wow?

Ultimately - it was a really great experience, and I think all of us got a lot out of it. I really enjoyed it, and I'm very lucky I was included (since I really have nothing to do with Yale...other than a friend or two).

In other weekend news...Matt and I had a stunning victory in euchre over Jeff and Tenley. It was a close competition (10 to 9), and the first time we had taught them to play (and the last time we played) they beat us. This was important for our egos. Jeff had an intense win in Ticket to Ride, and Tenley ran away with Settlers. Fun night (but I was sad I didn't win more, obviously).

I got to see Departures on Saturday night. If you haven't seen it yet - do. It's a beautiful story and beautiful movie.

Roommates

This is our Kitty's recent specialty. Rug hiding.

These are the cats that are staying with us.

Yesterday afternoon, while I was doing some work, these guys were cuddling with each other, and our Kitty was on top of a pillow pile - three pillows high. She's a princess. Luckily there was no pea. She would have felt it.

The INSEAD Feeling

For me, the "INSEAD feeling" is feeling pulled in a million opposing directions. All the time.

A lot of it has to do with time.
*I want to spend more time on this assignment to actually make it quality.
*I have absolutely no extra time, so this assignment isn't going to be the best it can be.

*I want to spend time with my husband and my "regular" Singapore friends.
*I want to spend time with INSEAD friends and get to know new people.

*I want to go away for the weekend by myself to just think about what I want to do for the rest of my life (and other exciting things like that).
*I want to go on one of these weekends with a million INSEAD people to some private island or some SE Asian city - just to see what they're like and what everyone's always talking about on Monday.


Some of it (though less now) has to do with grades.
*I want to work hard to get a good grade.
*I realize that my grades don't seem to be correlated (at all!) to my knowledge of a subject or the amount of time or energy I spend on it.

*I want that good grade.
*We have non-grade-disclosure, so no one will ever know!!


And a lot of it has to do with money.
*I want to eat at the hawker stall and take the MRT home (at 10pm...even though it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes...) because I haven't worked in 8 months, and even when I did work, I barely made any money. I feel like I'm sucking my husband's well-being out of him on a daily basis.
*I want to try to go to one of these INSEAD dinners where people order whatever they want and drink a lot. Or - I want to just go out with INSEAD folks after I have already come home for the night, which would most likely include two taxis and a drink, which quickly adds up to more than $50...rather than staying home or taking that long bus or MRT ride.


I feel these opposing feelings, and some of them make me quite stressed out...but I very consistently make the same decisions. But all the while, I'm feeling that feeling.

Mothers Day Reflections

Four reflections for Mothers Day:

1 - It is so weird that so many of my friends are mothers - Facebook is covered with my friends all saying "happy mothers day" to each other. I think in previous years I didn't really know when Mothers Day was (we don't really do so much in our family - which isn't so nice, but it's how it's been). I guess that is what happens when you're "in your 30s."

2 - My friend Deeksha found a baby bird on the ground. People had pruned (sp?) the trees, and the bird fell out. She has nursed it for a week - feeding it - taking it to work with her, giving it a lot of love (and her husband does too). We met the bird on Saturday night. S/he still needs to be fed in his/her beak, but Deeksha was trying to help him/her learn to eat off the ground. Sunday I saw that she had taken it outside, and it had flown away into a tree. She thought this was good and maybe the end of the bird in their house. Then she came back from somewhere, and he flew right into her. She is the birdie's mommy.

3 - "Baby Boom as Mums Replace Lost Children" is one of the headlines in today's paper. It's talking about what's going on in China one year after the quake. I don't think that's how it works. Ask a mom who has lost a child...or even just anyone who has a child. You don't "replace" them.

4 - I got such a sad email this morning telling me that Becca's mom has died. She has been fighting breast cancer for 17 years. She fought it off so many times, but this time this was not the case. I got to meet her when she came to stay in Israel when I was studying at Pardes with Becca, and I loved her. She was so independent and strong, and when she was in Israel, she was one of the girls - not someone's old mom. I'm happy for her that she raised such amazing children and that she got to do such wonderful things in her life. I'm so sad for her that her life ended so early. I'm also so sad that I can't be with Becca at all right now.

Out of Our League

Last night our friends had us over for dinner, and it was so nice. Wonderful people, great food - just a lovely evening. I believe it was six couples in all with a few kids thrown in for fun.

One couple was talking about how they are looking to move, and they said rents really haven't come down. Matt and I jumped in, because our lease is up at the end of this month, and we have found that rents have come down 30-50% (we are staying in our place until August at 60% of our previous rent!). We said, "we have seen places that were previously $4,000 or $5,000 now in the reasonable range of $2,800 or $3,000 (these are Sing dollars - so 2/3 of US dollars). We said, "we are paying $2,000 for our rent that was $3,000 for the last two years.

Then came the explanation from the other end of the table - apparently the $10,000-$15,000 range of apartments hasn't dropped so much, because the people at the $15,000 and higher end have been sent home or are watching their costs, so demand has gone up for the $10,000- $15,000 PER MONTH rentals in Singapore. That's more rent in one year than I probably will ever make as salary. We were just out of our league.

Mas Selamat Captured!!

At the end of February, 2008, a guy named Mas Selamat (wikipedia page hasn't been updated about his capture when I saw it) apparently walked out of jail in Singapore. This is what I wrote about it. It was a HUGE deal in Singapore. There were signs up everywhere with his picture. People were freaking out. How does a guy walk out of prison? Not only a guy, but THE guy who has super orchestrated terrorist events and is a big leader in Jemaah Islamiya.

There were a lot of theories floating around. I'm not saying what I believe, because I want to keep my legal status in Singapore, but many people thought that maybe he had been accidentally tortured to death, but the gov't had to cover up the death. Maybe an escaped convict is better than one that they tortured (for the public image)? There were many ideas floating around, but nearly no one I spoke with believed that he legitimately escaped out of jail. No one.

That was nearly 15 months ago. We don't really think about him anymore. The signs with his picture have been removed. I spoke with a friend from INSEAD who is Singaporean, and I just met him at Wharton, and I asked him what he thought...but other than that, I don't think I have talked about this for 9 months or more.

Then...this morning I go to look at the paper while I'm cerealing. I expect to find more anti-gay stuff...but that has been forgotten for today. MAS SELAMAT CAPTURED!! Apparently the Malaysian government was tipped off, and they captured him in Johor, which is the area of Malaysia that is just across the border from Singapore. Nevermind that it took them six weeks to release the information (he was captured 1 April). I'm totally shocked. Totally shocked.

Today's Paper

"[Ministry of Education]'s framework for sexuality education reflects mainstream views and values of Singapore society, where the social norm consists of the married heterosexual family unit." - press secretary to Education Minister

They have canceled AWARE's sexuality education program due to its "promoting" homosexuality and alternative lifestyles.

Front page story.
Straits Times
Thursday, 7 May

AWARE

"Being liberal is one thing; but teaching young people that anal sex and homosexuality are normal, healthy and acceptable is just not acceptable to most parents...That homosexual acts remain illegal in Singapore should be sufficient grounds for the Ministry of Education, let alone Aware, not to proceed with such course content."

- Straits Times op/ed 6 May, 2009

Whoa. Where do I live?

If you recall, when we first moved here I worked for AWARE, a non-profit that works for women in Singapore. Though I had a hard time working there, I loved the organization and the experience.

March 28th, AWARE held their annual general meeting, and basically there was a take-over. A whole bunch of people became members in the month before the meeting, and they all voted each other in as the new executive committee. Over the next couple of weeks it came out that these women all went to the same church (for the most part), and it's a super right wing church. They are actively against homosexuality, and finally it came out that they were against AWARE's comprehensive sexual education program, which they implement in schools - basic sex ed. It has been ALL over the news here for the last month - including front page for most days. Saturday they had an extraordinary meeting, and there was a vote of no confidence, and the new exco resigned. "Old" people were elected to positions of the exco, and it seems like the event is over. There are still multiple page spreads in the newspaper. The quote above is by an active non-profit leader in Singapore about the happenings with AWARE.

Starting P5

Yesterday I started my last period at INSEAD.

Random Thoughts:
Schedules are so confusing at this school. I have almost no class in May, and June is PACKED with class and assignments due everyday.

Including Business Foundations, I will have had 29 classes. I will have had two professors twice. I will have had ONE WOMAN professor. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I don't want to piss people off, so I won't write them here.

Now is the time I need to find a job...Do you think there are any jobs? I hope so.

Singapore is 12 hours time difference from Philly, but I haven't had jet lag. I only slept 5 hours on the 29 hour journey, which was on purpose. I crashed two nights ago, stayed up all day yesterday, and I slept through the night. The only problem is that Matt wakes up at 5:45 to leave for work. I just can't go to sleep after that, but I think that's because I'm nervous about finding a job...not jet lag.

Kitty ignored me when I first came in, and she did not roll on the floor, but once we went to bed, she attached herself to my legs, and she did not leave until Matt woke up...and then she came back. We're besties again. Thank goodness. Matt's jealous, again, though.

The other two kitties who are living with us are funny. One is super friendly, and the other wants nothing to do with me so far. He is getting curious, though.

Dana is apparently having a baby tonight (Monday night in the US). Good luck, Dana! Can't wait to meet the new cousin!

Leaving Philadelphia

In the end, I really liked Philly. It's a great city with good food, totally walkable, liveable...it's just good. Last week was spent finishing up all of my papers (three group and one on my own) and visiting New York for one last time. I got to spend some quality time with Erin, a bit with Joe, Eli, Jon, and Ellen as well. It was a short one.

Mom and Dad came to Philly on Thursday. We basically walked the entire city. According to my dad's wrist GPS system (which you are VERY aware of him having, when you're with him), we walked eight miles. Yup - my mom just had surgery a few months ago. She's crazy. We drank great coffee, walked all the way down South Street, had a tuna burger lunch, visited Old City, Independence Hall, etc., and we went to a great pizza/beer place in W. Philly. That made my dad nervous. It was a really nice two days with them in Philly. I think they even ended up liking the city. It's not that any of us DISliked it before - we just never really thought about it.

My parents decided to splurge, and we stayed at the Ritz. When we were getting directions to catch the trolley to W. Philly, the concierge was saying we should just take a taxi (shouldn't be more than $15 plus tip - UM THAT'S A LOT!). He said, "remember, you are in an urban environment" with a bit of city-disdain. I wanted to say, "yes. Thank you. We're not really the Ritz crowd. We'll be fine on the trolley." We were.

Saturday morning I left the hotel at 7, and 29.5 hours later...12:30 late on Sunday night...I arrived at home. Philly to Chicago to Hong Kong (15.5 hour flight!) to Singapore. I am really excited to be reunited with Matt and the Kitty...but I forgot how hot it is in this country!!! URGH!