This may bore you...

Despite some meetings on Friday, this evening, and a trip to London this week, I am actually officially on vacation. I am really regretting saying yes to this London trip as it is going to eat 3+ days out of my vacation...especially since the past two days have been pretty relaxing.

I am always torn between taking a vacation someplace fun and doing lots of things during it versus the type of vacation I am on this time which involves hanging out with Alan, the cats, and friends back at home. I think that sometimes vacation, which in my mind is supposed to be relaxing, ends up taking more energy than expected so am always thankful for days off doing absolutely nothing. Don't get me wrong, I totally love vacations out exploring new places! I also just love, and with age, have come to appreciate vacations packed with absolutely nothing to do. It gives me time to decompress.

Anyway, Friday and yesterday involved lots of nothing...which was great for me but not really worthy of blog posts. Friday I had some meetings at our local office and then lunch with a friend. Friday evening I took a nap and then was up watching American television...woohoo...excitement, I know! Yesterday was even less structured...Alan returned from an all-nighter at the fire station so took a nap until about 11:30 am. We then headed out for lunch and some shopping. We were back at home by 5pm - just in time for another evening nap for me.

Last night I did learn how to make sloppy toms (sloppy joes with turkey instead of beef). Alan is teaching me how to cook some simple things since I am hopeless in the kitchen. After dinner we grabbed some frozen yogurt (something I cannot get in Singapore) and settled in to watch the Wings/Pens hockey game.

Perfection for days off!

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Ducks and geese and squirrels, oh my!

After a cafe au lait from my favorite coffee shop, Bean Traders, I started my morning with a walk. It was such a beautiful, sunny morning with very little humidity. In all honestly, compared to Singapore the 69% humidity here feels like there isn't any at all.

My walk took me around a small lake in a nearby neighborhood. I saw turtles, ducks, geese (both adults and some awkward looking teenagers), and squirrels. There is nothing too special about any of these critters, however, other than the turtles none of them exist in Singapore. It was nice to see the familiar birds and animals. It was also nice to hear the normal calls of the local birds. Almost all of the birds in Singapore have bright colors and some very loud calls. The birds here seem to blend in a bit more to the natural environment.

It'd be interesting to see if a Singaporean came here and noticed how quiet the birds are or if they think they are bland since most don't have the vibrant colors that tropical birds do. I'm sure that the ducks and geese (especially the teenagers) would look different. I guess it all comes down to what your norm is...will mine be different after two years living in Singapore? Is it already shifting a bit since I took such notice of the critters that normally just blend into the background?

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Home sweet home

Am currently sitting on a chair in the living room (I know this shouldn't be big news but remember I don't have furniture in Singers) watching Alan brush Fresnel with Fez watching. Home sweet home!

The flights today weren't too horrible. The 3:30 am wake-up was a bit on the early side but I made it to the airport in plenty of time. I had an entire center row to myself on the Singapore to Tokyo leg which allowed me a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was great. I arrived in Tokyo on time but had such a short connection that I didn't have time to wander around the airport. The 12 hour flight wasn't that bad either. I was surprised to see I was on an old 747 that didn't have in-seat entertainment which was a little frustrating. Instead of staring at the television monitor I read for a good bit of the flight. I did reach a level of boredom which caused me to watch the movie 'Hotel for Dogs'...I am not proud of this moment in my life but I have to say it wasn't all together horrible...but I was also captive on the plane and this was around hour 5... I landed in Atlanta a bit late but made it through immigration and customs quickly so made my connection to RDU with no issues. I even got upgraded to first class.

As I mentioned, am now relaxing comfortably at home for the evening. I'm hoping to get a good night of sleep tonight and not have too much of a battle with jetlag this trip.

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Pleasure vs. Business

I am pretty lucky to be able to travel around the world. Most of the time I am lucky enough to fly business class given the length of the flights. First and business class are nothing too special but the lay flat seats are a blessing. Especially when flying approximately 24 hours. And while I love the ability to sit in business class on the company dime, I am not willing to pay for it on my own dime.

Tomorrow will be my first trip of this length sitting in economy. The longest prior to this has been 10 hours. I survived the ten hour trip without much pain or misery. I'm hoping that since the trip is broken up a bit it won't be so bad.

The first leg is from Singapore to Tokyo and is about 7 hours. Not too bad, just did that from Sydney back to Singapore. I then have a 2 hour layover in Tokyo before boarding the 12 hour flight to Atlanta. This one may be a little tough...especially after having already been on a plane for 7 hours and having been up at 3:00 am to start the travel. Luckily, the final layover is about an hour and the final flight time is only about an hour as well. After leaving my house in Singapore at 4 am I should arrive home at the Durham house at around 7pm...the same day!

Wish me luck!

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Gee, I wish they had...

furniture...and by 'they', I mean me!

I have to admit, the comedy of sitting on the floor watching TV and sleeping on an air mattress has worn off. I am SO ready to have a sofa and chair in the living room and to have a dining room table to throw my stuff on when I walk in the door (instead of the kitchen counter) and to have a proper desk and chair to work at. Thankfully I'm heading home on Wednesday for two weeks so will have furniture there. I am trying to stay hopeful that my beloved furniture will arrive during those two weeks and be ready for delivery upon my return.

And BTW - I got more mail! A letter from my mom came while I was in Sydney last week. And, today I received another letter from my brother. Woohoo!

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Random reunion

This is a photo of me and my friend Chris Robertson. Chris and I grew up about 6 blocks from each other in Owosso, MI. We've known each other since kindergarten which makes him one of the people I have known the longest.

I don't think you could say that Chris and I have stayed in touch over the years. Instead, we seem to bump into each other every few years either over email or in person. Although, the last time we saw each other was about 9 years ago in Raleigh, NC. He was in town for a business trip and called me up to see if I wanted to meet him for dinner.

Through the beauty of Facebook we've been keeping up with things a little better lately. About two months ago I got a note from him telling me he was going to be in Singapore and would I like to meet up. He's here for an international MBA program sponsored by the National University of Singapore and UCLA. He's here for two weeks this year and will be back the same time next year.

We went out to dinner a week ago Friday and had a blast catching up. Yesterday afternoon we caught up again and sat down by the river enjoying some delicious cold beer and some great company. We talked a bit about people from our Owosso days but mostly we just talked about life and beer and food and random things. It was a great time and I'm very much looking forward to his visit next year. By that time I'll have furniture and he'll likely be my house guest for the two weeks instead of having to stay in a hotel.

I think both of us have had a bit of a laugh over the fact that our reunion ended up being in Singapore given that we come from such a small town in Michigan.

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Ahh...Saturday

This morning I slept in for the first time this week. I had a relaxing morning catching up on personal email, reading my favorite websites, and chatting with Alan (on the phone from the beach) and Alan (via instant message from Ann Arbor).

I met my friend Patrecia for a late lunch in an area of Singapore called Holland Village. It is a popular location for many American and Canadian expats. I haven't spent much time there so it was my first time really wandering around. The restaurant we went to was nice but a little pricey for my liking. After lunch we wandered around the village part of Holland Village. It was a nice area but nothing spectacular...not sure why it gets all of the hype it does.

Next on the agenda was some reflexology and a shoulder massage. Back home I treat myself to a massage at least once a month. I go to a great little spa near the house. It smells nice and they give you fluffy robes to change into. The place I now go to in Singapore is nothing like that. It is actually in the back of a shopping center and there are no private rooms. There is no undressing for the massages so there really is no need for the rooms. The shoulder massage is nothing fancy, I just get them because my neck and shoulders get so messed up from sitting in front of a computer all day and from flying on too many planes.

The reflexology on the other hand is wonderful! It is an hour foot massage and lower leg massage. The cool part is that all of the people who work there barely speak English...which makes communicating fun. Especially when they are doing reflexology and trying to tell you what is wrong based on what they feel in your feet. At one point in my session my gal looked at me and through a bit of English and mostly sign language told me I don't sleep much...at least that is what I think she said. Regardless of what they feel or are saying it feels wonderful so I will keep going back.

As a side note, one of the other clients who was in the same time as me fell asleep during his reflexology session. I'm not sure I could fall asleep during it because some points they hit hurt like hell. Anyway, he was so relaxed that he started snoring...loudly...for about 20 minutes... The question in my mind is if it is such a great massage that it made him fall asleep should he worry about the fact that he is paying for it and sleeping through it?

After that I stopped by the grocery store to stock up on some food - the fridge was bare having been gone for the last week. I picked up some delicious sushi for dinner and have been home relaxing ever since. I was going to do laundry but then realized I have all day tomorrow. Laziness is such a stronger argument than productivity...at least it was for me today.

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One big bird

No, I am not reliving my love of that big yellow bird from Sesame Street. I'm talking about my first trip on the Airbus 380. I just flew it on my return flight from Sydney.

A few facts about the A380:
-Seats 471 passengers (399 of which are in economy)
-Could seat up to 853 passengers if all seats were economy
-Is the worlds largest passenger aircraft
-Double-decker aircraft
-50% less cabin noise than the 747
-240 ft long
-292 ft wing span

I was seated in economy on the main deck...the lower of the two levels. I was curious to see if I could hear any noise from the 200+ passengers that were walking on the upper deck of the airplane. I actually could not hear them at all. In fact, the ceiling and overall configuration of the cabin in the main deck looks just like any other airplane. You completely forget that all of those passengers are sitting above you. The thing that kept reminding me was the pitch of the wing. I was seated about dead center of wing and looking out the wing actually pitched upwards instead of going out horizontally. And by upwards I'm talking to the point where you couldn't see past it.

It was an incredibly quiet flight...as quiet as airplane jets can be. The takeoff and landing were quite smooth as well. I figured I'd definitely feel the difference due to the sheer size of the A380 especially during takeoff. I have to honestly say that it was probably less noticeable than a 747.

Overall the cabin amenities are much nicer on it. The cabin is wider which allows for wider seats. Nothing spacious but I could tell a difference. Singapore Airlines has configured economy so that it is a 3/4/3 seating configuration. They easily could have squeezed in 3/5/3 or probably even more but they opted to allow passengers a bit more comfort. The main deck is divided into 4 sections. The front of the cabin is the business class seating and the remaining 3 sections are economy. Each section is divided by either a galley or lavatories. In addition, each section has a crew of 4 flight attendants.

Ultimately it is just another airplane. The guy that I sat next to was a complete pain in the rear...fidgeted the entire flight, stared at me while I was eating, kept looking at my TV screen, bumped my arm and leg about every 6.8 seconds...grr... The food was okay (stellar by US airline standards). There are individual TV screens for every seat and they are a nice size and there is quite a large selection of on demand movies and TV shows. Who knows...maybe I am just a bit jaded because I spend so much time on planes.

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around how a plane that size can manage to fly. It is especially amazing to see one take off. All in all I'd have to say that it was a good experience. Maybe the next time I'll be in business class and maybe at some point I'll be lucky enough to experience one of the private suites...a gal can dream...

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Sydney commute

As you've probably read, I have been staying with my friend Lindsey at her place in Annandale, NSW. Our office is in Chatswood which is a bit northwest of Sydney. Each morning this week on the commute to work we've driven past Darling Harbour, through Sydney, and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On one hand, I have to say it is pretty cool to be able to drive over such a historic and well-known bridge each morning. On the other hand, there is a ton of traffic on it so it is always a bit slow getting across.

Either way I'm still pretty amazed that my job has afforded me the opportunity to see such great places. On my first trip to Sydney I was awestruck by the Sydney Opera House and by the Harbour Bridge. Alan and I actually did the bridge climb one day so I have bragging rights that I walked across the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Who knew seven years ago that I'd be driving across it every day for a week and getting frustrated by the traffic on it?

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Gumby

This is my newest friend, Gumby the cat. He is about 4 years old and is an indoor/outdoor kitty with his own cat door so that he can come and go as he pleases. He's very handsome and really well mannered. (I must make a note here that I feel like I'm writing a personal ad for Gumby...likes long walks along the fence and tormenting birds...) This morning we slept in a bit and worked from the house for a couple of hours. Gumby was out on the patio getting dive-bombed by birds for apparently being in "their" space. It was really funny to watch.

I think having been alone in my apartment in Singapore last week and then coming to a house with a cat this week makes me realize how much companionship pets really bring. Lindsey and I have found ourselves just watching Gumby wander about or take a bath. Just the knowledge of the animal being around makes the home feel less empty...at least to me.

A question everyone keeps asking me is if I'm going to get kitties in Singapore. I would love to but there are a couple of reasons stopping me. First, I'm only going to be in Singapore for two years so I'd be completely attached to them and would have to give them up. I just don't think that is fair. Secondly, I am traveling like a crazy woman these days. My longest consecutive stay in Singapore thus far has been a whopping three weeks. Again, it just wouldn't be fair to the kitty.

So for now, I'll have to enjoy the companionship of Gumby and then my own kitties, Fez and Fresnel, when I head home next week.

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Curry and Coopers

Last night when I arrived at the Sydney airport my friend Lindsey was waiting outside customs for me. I can't tell you how much of a treat it is to arrive someplace and not have to deal with a taxi. We headed back to her house in the Sydney suburb of Annandale. Here is a link to to learn more about the area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annandale,_NSW. Her place is a cute 2 bedroom older home. It has some beautiful stained glass windows and beautiful ceilings. It is a bit of a row house with an Australian twist and is named 'Isabella' - Lindsey said it was named before she purchased it.

After she showed me around her place she made me a delicious bowl of chili and poured me a yummy glass of red wine. The Hotel Hughes is a pretty great place to stay! We were up pretty late just talking and catching up which was such a nice thing to do.

I also was introduced to Gumby, her very handsome gray and white cat. He's a four year old indoor/outdoor cat. He has his own kitty door so is able to come and go as he pleases. Apparently he is pretty shy but he came up to me within about 15 minutes of arriving and we have since made fast friends. (As soon as I am able to take a picture of him I'll post it. He is quite cute.)

Today we spent a busy day at the office. Nothing exciting...just a typical Monday.

This evening, Lindsey taught me how to make her curry chicken dish. It had a nice kick to it with the spices which I enjoyed and it was really simple so I think I could make it as well. We are now just relaxing watching 'The Daily Show' while she is sipping a glass of white wine and I'm having a cold Coopers - http://www.coopers.com.au/. It is a nice Australian beer. Such a relaxing evening...

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On the road again

I've been back in Singapore exactly one week and am back at Changi International Airport. This time I'm headed off to Sydney, Australia for the week. I'll be working from the office there having meetings with my team all week. I like our Sydney office, it is quite relaxed and the people are quite friendly.

I'm going to be staying with a friend. She felt sorry for me having to stay in hotels so much and the last time I was down she offered to have me stay in her spare bedroom. It'll be nice to be in a place with furniture and also to have the company. One of the things I'm looking very forward to is meeting her cat, Gumby. Apparently he's quite a friendly guy and we all know my love for cats.

The flight to Sydney is a mere 7.5 hours from Singapore. It should go by pretty quickly and am once again flying Singapore Airlines and their service is really great. For now, I'm just sitting in their lounge enjoying a snack, drink, and free internet access.

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Dish rack

This morning I got up and spent a good bit of the morning unpacking the items that were delivered yesterday. Most of it was clothing but I also had some essential kitchen items. Before I left NC we bought new dishes, glasses, silverware, and pots and pans. Since I knew the moving company would be packing all of the items I didn't bother washing them until today. My apartment here doesn't have a dishwasher so I need to get a dish rack.

After some lunch with a friend...off I went on a quest for a dish rack. I went to Takashimaya which is a huge department store. They have a pretty great selection of home goods so figure I'd be in luck. They had only one dish rack and it cost $36...yes...you're seeing that right...$36! It's a dish rack...it sits on the counter and you let your dishes air dry in it. Wow! Needless to say I decided it'd be worthwhile to do a little comparison shopping. No luck at the next couple of department stores so decided to go to my old standby, the $2 store.

The $2 store was insanely busy today. I don't think I've ever been bumped into that much in my life. And they do not sell dish racks...they have all sorts of other containers...an entire wall full of them but no dish rack. I did pick up some magnets (postcard is on the fridge Alan) and a couple of other items so it wasn't a wasted trip. And for those interested, the banana carrier now comes in both yellow and bright green.

The last stop on the quest was to another department store in that same shopping center. This one is a bit more like Target or Walmart versus a Hudsons or Belks. Sure enough, I was in luck, they had dish racks for sale and had a selection of 3-4. They had a double-decker version that was $38....a mid-range metal one for $24...and the cheapest was the low, low price of $19...it was bright purple.

I do not have a dish rack. I do have clean dishes, however, they are just sitting on the dish towels on the counter. I just could not bring myself to pay $20+ for a dish rack. I'm pretty sure I can get one for under $10 back home...granted I haven't purchased one in awhile...but have decided to wait until my vacation at the end of the month. I'll buy one from Target for much cheaper and ship it over in my suitcase.

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Fabulous Friday

Yep! You're looking at it...photo documentation of my first official mail that I have received in Singapore. Thanks Alan (Hogg - just to clarify and give proper credit)!!! You may be the only other person in this world who gets as excited about sending and receiving mail as I do. So it's only fitting that you are the one to send me the first one.
I think it is going to be displayed prominently on my fridge. Of course, I'm going to have to go to that fabulous $2 store to get fridge magnets. This just keeps getting better and better!

In addition to this lovely piece of mail, I received my PPS Club status with Singapore Airlines. This is the equivalent to super power status on the airlines and means I get to check-in in the the priority line, get preferred seating and meals, and can hang out in the business class club. Pretty nice after just a short period of time flying with them.

So, if the mail weren't the cats meow of my Friday...I also received delivery of my air shipment this morning. This means I now have pots, pans, dishes, silverware, and all of my clothes and shoes. I also have some pictures of family and friends and a few other things near and dear to me. One of which is the afghan that my mom made me for my high school graduation that I think I finally received upon my college graduation. Regardless, I am cozied up under it every single day and it's a part of home to me. I'm glad that I now have it with me and am going to sleep under it tonight. It came complete with some cat fur from our kitties Fez and Fresnel so I really feel like I have a piece of home with me.

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TGIF

Jet lag and I are not friends, however, we do seem to spend a lot of time together. Especially these past few months. Sometimes I feel like I am in a constant state of jet lag. Maybe I'm just really tired but I am going to contribute it to jet lag.

I've only had one other time in my life where I've experienced this. Back in 2005/2006 I traveled quite a bit for work. I actually ended up traveling to 6 of the 7 continents in a 6 month timeframe. I'm not sure how I managed that and I'm sure if you asked my family, friends, and co-workers they would tell you I was pretty cranky most of that time. I'm trying not to be cranky with the jet lag this time...but lack of sleep does weird things to you.

Enough of the complaining, right? It's Friday and I'm taking the morning off to listen to the Canes vs Bruins Game 7. The best part is that tomorrow is Saturday and I can totally sleep in...no obligations for the entire day so I can do whatever I want. I'm so excited!

It is also a nice ending to a pretty crazy week at work. I don't think it is just me either. Seems like everybody I have talked to has had a hectic week. Must be something in the air.

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Late nights

The advantage about working in a global company is the opportunity to work in another country. The disadvantage is when your global headquarters is based in a country that has a 12 hour time difference. Especially when it is 12 hours behind you. For some reason, people seem to think it is okay to schedule teleconferences at 1 pm their time and completely forget (regardless of how many times you tell them) that yes, Singapore is still 12 hours ahead and that means the teleconference is at 1 am for me. Personally, I draw the line at 11 pm. I will not take a call any later than 11 pm and most times the calls need to end at 11 pm. Partly because I personally am not a night person and I get pretty useless after about 10 pm and mostly because it is just wrong to be working at that hour of the night.

It is currently 9:30 pm and I'm listening in on a teleconference. This is the second night in the row and I have another late night tomorrow night. I am by no means complaining...this is part of the job and I've known that for many years. And I should give some props to my colleagues reading this from the US who hold late night or early morning calls themselves to accommodate those of us in different time zones. It can just be challenging to not end up working too much because I need to be in the office by 8 am for the local meetings but am on calls until late hours. As Alan would say..."All work and no play make for a dull Kate".

This week seems to be an incredibly challenging week that is stacked with early morning and late night calls every day. Next week won't be nearly so difficult from a meeting perspective. Although, next week I'm going to be in Sydney so that makes the time difference 14 hours instead of just 12. That means I actually have to use my fingers to count out the time difference to make sure I have the times correct. 12 hours is just so much easier to calculate.

Regardless, the week is half over now that it is Wednesday evening here. The early mornings and late calls combined with a smidge of jet lag mean that this weekend can't come fast enough!

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Connected!

I have internet access in my apartment! I also have cable but no television - it is being delivered Thursday. I went to Starhub, the local internet and cable provider at 4:45 pm and was back in my place with internet access by 5:30 pm. It was all taken care of remotely and they didn't even need to show up to turn it on. You gotta love the efficiency.

It's also nice to have the entertainment of the internet. I'm currently on a teleconference and multi-tasking while on it. It's one of those teleconferences where I have to listen and don't have to participate so I don't feel too bad about multi-tasking. Plus, I need to get my first post on the blog from the new access point.

The other fun thing I did today was pay my electric bill. Guess where? The post office...how fun! I could also pay it at the local 7/11 convenience store but that seems a bit sketchy to me. Plus, we all know how much fun it is for me to go to the post office so I'm totally going to go there to pay the bill each month.

Singapore isn't quite up on the internet banking and paying by credit cards like we are in the US. Well, you can, but you have to do it all through a local bank account so it is more like drawing off of a check card instead of a credit card. And almost everything here is paid for by cash. Back home I never carried cash...I used my check card or credit card so this is a huge change for me.

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To my Mom

Happy belated Mother's Day to my mom!

I had intended to post this yesterday but as I do not yet have internet access at my apartment I wasn't able to do it until today.

We all love our mom and feel like we are the luckiest kid in the world but I do believe that I may just be that lucky. I have always had a great relationship with my mom and I can honestly say that she is truly one of my best friends. I could tell you a million wonderful things about her but I'll just focus on a few.

She and my dad were always great at encouraging my brothers and I to read. We were always making trips to the book store or to the library. By reading so much I think that it opened up our eyes to the world outside of Owosso, MI. In addition, she was good at allowing us to make our choices and sometimes our own mistakes. I remember being very young and being allowed to pack my own lunch for school...this was a HUGE deal to me. I very distinctly remember her telling me "You can take 10 Twinkies if you want to but I don't want to hear about it if you get sick from them." I never did take the 10 Twinkies but I have made choices over the years that were perhaps not the best. I think that must be one of the hardest things to do as a parent...allow your children to make decisions even if you know that they are mistakes. But, if that didn't happen, how else would we learn?

I think most importantly, my mom taught me it was okay to take risks. I don't exactly how this lesson was imparted to me. I can say that I just knew it would not be comfortable to do so and you may learn that the risk was not the best thing for you but that it is better to take it and dislike it than to not take the risk at all.

I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is that without my mom I wouldn't be who I am today. She provided me with unconditional love and support...always. (What other mom would take a call from her 18 year old saying she wanted to quit Purdue mid-semester and come home? Her only questions to me were "Are you sure?" and "When do you want me to be there?") She encouraged me to take chances and grab hold of opportunities when they present themselves. Who would have ever thought that a girl that lived in Owosso, MI for her entire childhood would end up living in Singapore...away from her husband...managing 13 countries in Asia...eating new foods...and blogging about it?

Thanks Mom. You ROCK and I love you!

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A friendly Devil

I left for the RDU airport yesterday around 3pm EDT.  No problems getting checked in and heading up to Newark.  I haven't flown on a Friday afternoon in awhile and had forgotten how busy the airport can be at that time of the week.  Good for the airline industry though so no major complaints.

I landed in Newark at 6pm which was about 20 minutes early.  Unfortunately for me, the additional time wasn't really that welcome since my flight to Singapore wasn't departing until 11pm.  I wandered around the terminals for a bit doing some window shopping to kill time. Then just decided to head over to the international terminal.

The non-Continental airlines international terminal at Newark is nothing fancy.  In fact, it reminds me quite a bit of the airports in the 80s.  The boarding area is a large, round area with plenty of seating.  They've done a nice job of updating an old airport with new carpet, chairs, and nice restrooms.  The only problem is that there is only one little bar/restaurant in the terminal.  I've stopped at the bar every time on my way through.  It's usually about 9pm by the time I get there and most of the other flights have already departed so it's pretty quiet at that time.  

Friday night I walked up to the bar and was greeted by a friendly bartender, Nina.  She looked over at me and said "Hi Kate - I'm still mad at you for beating us...what'll you have to drink?"  I've only been to this bar 2-3 times but have chatted with Nina each time.  She's quite friendly and gets stiffed entirely too frequently...maybe since it's an airport bar people don't think it matters as much...this happened twice in the 3 hours I was there Friday.  Anyway, the last time I flew through I was getting quite a few text messages from Alan and Ruth because the Canes were playing.  She and I got talking about hockey and I discovered she's a huge New Jersey Devils fan.  Her anger at me is well directed because the Devils all but had the first round of the series wrapped up and the Canes scored twice in the last 80 seconds of game 7 to take it from them.

It was nice to see a friendly face in the Newark airport.  All of the other patrons thought that we were old friends because of the way were talking.  It's just another interesting part of travel...I guess if you are nice to people you'll make friends anyplace you go.  Although, I have to say I'm glad it was here conceding defeat instead of me...

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Sneaky Saturday

I think that I'm all packed and ready for the flight back to Singapore. Just have a few last minute items to through in my bag just before heading out the door. The baggage handlers are going to wonder what I'm up to when they scan my checked bags. Since the things I shipped won't be arriving for a bit I have in my checked luggage an Aerobed, pillows, towels, sheets, and a set of silverware amongst other things. This will hopefully get me by the first few weeks until things arrive. I guess it'll just look like I'm going camping and I guess in a sense I will be...just in my apartment.

I'm flying the reverse route back to Singapore. I'll be going from Durham to Newark, NJ and after a bit of a layover will get on the direct flight from Newark to Singapore. It'll be another 18 hours to catch-up on sleep and to start adjusting to the Singapore timezone. This time instead of having one really long day, I'll lose an entire day. Seems weird that I will not know May 9, 2009 but am sure all of you will do something very fun and exciting to make up for it. And would it not be just wonderful to be able to store up all of your lost days due to travel and cash them in at some point in your life? I've probably got close to two weeks stored up right now with many more to come. Hmm...who should I contact about making that happen?

For now, I'm just hanging out at home relaxing a bit. It's been a busy two weeks but am glad to have the move behind me now. Plus, I'll be home in about three weeks for vacation.

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Wonderful Wednesday

With the move done, yesterday was a bit of a quiet day. Alan took the day off to hang out together so we started the day with a yummy breakfast. I have yet to find a breakfast place in Singapore that serves American style breakfast. I'm honestly not sure what a typical Singaporean breakfast is but I do know that it's not eggs, bacon, and french toast. Maybe that will be a mission when I return...find a breakfast place...and the new lists begin...

I had a haircut in the morning from my very favorite hairdresser. I totally had to take the opportunity to have it cut while in NC. Julie has been cutting my hair for over 10 years so it was nice to have the comfort of her cutting it along with her overall excellent hair styling capabilities.

Alan and I ran a few errands and then had a nice lunch with his dad and his wife. It was a beautiful day and we had a tasty lunch out on their porch. They have some great bird feeders so we spent a lot of the lunch watching many of the native NC birds.

To cap off of a wonderful Wednesday, we went to Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference Semi-finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Boston Bruins. Before dinner we picked up my friend and fellow Canes fan Ruth and headed to our favorite Thai restaurant. For anybody in the RDU area you should totally check out Yum Yum Thai in the shopping center across from the Umstead Hotel. The waitress there used to live in Malaysia so she and I had some fun conversations about Singapore. We then headed to the game. Alan and I have season tickets to the Canes and I was able to see a handful of games due to various trips back to NC. It was an up and down season and we weren't sure they would make the playoffs but they did. They had some great games in the first round of the playoffs and are currently up 2-1 in the series against the Bruins. The game last night went into overtime and was tons of fun and we WON!

The Canes play again Friday evening so Alan and Ruth will be heading to the game but I'll be sitting in the Newark airport waiting for my flight to Singapore. They along with our seatmates will likely keep me well informed of the score via text messages. It's not ideal but it's better than not knowing.

All in all, a wonderful Wednesday.

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By land, air, and sea

All of my things have been successfully packed, loaded, and driven away.

The moving company showed up promptly at 8 am this morning. There were just two guys who were here to help but man were they efficient. One gentleman was from right here in North Carolina and the other was from the Czech Republic. It took them just under two hours to pack and load all of my things. They came in and just immediately got to work and did their job. They were very polite and cleaned up after themselves which I think is great. (As an aside, one guy was quite lean and skinny and the other was pretty buff. Of course, the guy who did most of the lifting and physical labor was the skinny guy. Why does it seem to always work out that way?)

As predicted, I have one shipment that is going via air that I should receive in about 15 days. The majority of my things were packed and placed into a sea worthy container. I didn't realize that the actual container was going to show up at the house and be loaded right here. So, for about an hour this morning I had a moving truck in the driveway and the container loaded on another truck parked on the street in front of the house.

So far I've only thought of one thing that I forgot to pack and it's easy to put in checked luggage and carry back with me. I'm sure more things will come to mind as the days go by but I actually think I'm in pretty good shape.

Overall I'm just glad to have the first part of the move completed. I spent the afternoon completing all of the necessary paperwork to clear customs in Singapore. On one hand I feel like it's a ton of paperwork because it took forever to complete. On the other hand I'm a bit surprised at how little paperwork is necessary to move this much stuff from one country to another.

Keep your fingers crossed that everything makes it to Singapore in good condition and that customs clears it quickly.

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Piles

In the past week I have learned that if you create a list, tick off the box when a task is completed, and continue to do this over and over again...the lists magically morph into piles.

The movers are coming tomorrow morning to pack up all of the items that will be shipped to Singapore. Some will be shipped in a Class D Air Container and arrive about 18 days later. The majority of the other items will be shipped via surface and will arrive in 6-8 weeks. Based on this I have now taken all of the items I've obtained because my lists told me to and have now begun organizing them into piles.

Pile #1 (see above) resides on the dining room table. These are the items that will be shipped via air. Things I need right away but are too big to travel back with on my personal flight. For example, glasses, pots, pans,cooking utensils, silverware, towels, coffeemaker, and clothes/shoes/purses.

Pile #2 (see pic to the right) resides in a couple of areas of the home. The majority of the items in these piles are the items that will be shipped via surface and arrive in Singapore 6-8 weeks later. This includes my mattress and box spring, sofa, loveseat, chair and ottoman, dining room table & chairs, coffee table, side table, and TV stand. Those are the biggies. In addition, there is a lot of little stuff. Trash cans, pictures, large tupperware containers, large glass mixing bowls, rugs, and pillows, tennis stuff, rollerblades, and ice skates. All of this is currently living in the garage.

The second location for pile #2 is our office. The items in here include my sewing machine & table, 5 large plastic tubs with fabric, a couple of tubs with knitting items, and a huge stack of books. (Have I previously mentioned that books in Singapore cost a fortune? 2-3 times as much...I just can't do it. Once I get through the stash I'm shipping I'll become a member of the National Singaporean Library.)

The final pile are the items I'll be carrying back with me when I return later this week. In addition to clothing, computer, toiletries, etc. I am having to remember an aero bed so I can have a bed, sheets for said aero bed, pillows for sleeping, towels for showering, and a single service of cutlery so I can eat.

All in all, the movers will be here between 8 - 9 am tomorrow morning. If I don't have it it's likely I won't be needing it. Let's just hope that the lists have served their purpose and I will be proud of them.

What will happen next...lists to piles to.........hmm.....

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Fun with friends

I've been enjoying my time in Durham this past week. It's been a pretty crazy time thus far between the shopping and sorting and packing. It's only two days until the movers come and I still have a lot of work to do.

Last night we had a little get together at the house. Since we updated the house 2 years ago we enjoy having people over to the house. From my selfish perspective, it's great to get my friends all together in one spot so that I get to see more of them. It's always fun to have a group of people with some delicious food (thanks to Alan), great conversation, tasty drinks, and lots and lots of laughter. Last night we ended up pulling out the wii and had some pretty intense bowling competitions going on. I think everyone who was here last night will willingly tell you how awesome my bowling game is...awesomely bad that is. Let's just say that I am talented at many things but that bowling is one of those areas where it's best that I just admit it is not one of them. Sarah on the other hand is pretty dang good. Just check out the concentration here:

We (meaning me) also had fun taking some self portraits. I thought I'd share some of these pics so you can see me having some fun with my friends. It's just such a great thing to come home and catch-up with your friends and not have to work at the relationship like you do when you're in the early stages of new friendships. Don't get me wrong, I've met a couple of great new friends in Singapore and am enjoying getting to know them. But I like the comfort of people who know you and your history. The ones you don't have to see or talk to that frequently but you get together and can just laugh and laugh and laugh...


Last night was one of those nights. Thanks to Alan, Rob, Sarah, Trey, Michael, Virginia, Paul, and Angela. I had a great time and appreciate you all heading over here to hang out. We'll have more get togethers on my future trips home so look forward to getting some more of the local friends over for some good food, conversation, laughter, and even some bad wii bowling.

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Breaking news...

I slept through the night and feel great. Take that jet lag!

I figured everybody would enjoy a break from all of the headlines about the swine flu. Wow! I enjoy the news but there isn't any local TV news in Singapore so all of my news is gained from reading the local newspaper. I had completely forgotten how sensationalized the US news can be. Wow!

A funny thing did happen one morning this week while Alan and I were watching the news. They were previewing the morning interviews and this old guy was sitting there and they were just talking about the topics they'd be discussing with him and didn't mention his name until the end of the preview. I had no idea who it was...Vice President Joe Biden. I can't believe that I don't recognize the VP of the US. Isn't that sad! I guess it just shows how little the VP is discussed outside of the US. He's not been in the news at all since it's all been about the new President...and now the swine flu...which I could sadly recognize what the strain looks like.

Back to the jet lag which has been winning most of this week...I finally slept through the night last night and woke up feeling rested this morning. The time difference between Singapore and the US is an even 12 hours. This makes the morning and evenings easy to deal with because it's just the opposite. The problem comes at about 2-3 pm. The 2-3 pm makes you want to go to sleep mid-day which may seem like a good idea but if you take the nap you end up not being able to sleep that night. I always get really tired around 5 pm and then fight through it and am wide awake at about 9 pm and can never get to sleep. Thankfully, last night I both napped and then fell asleep around 10 pm and slept until 5:30 am. This may not seem very exciting to any of you but ridding myself of that feel of total exhaustion is a pretty great thing.

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