Movies

Friday night I went to a movie with a friend.  However it wasn't just a normal movie going experience...we went Gold Class.

What is Gold Class you ask?

It is a bit like flying business class but in a movie theater.  It was sooooo cool!  It was a smaller theater with only about 6-8 rows total.  Instead of normal seats there were big, comfy chairs.  They were set in pairs so it was nice and private.

We sat down in our super comfy chairs and I realized there was a blanket sitting on my seat.  And...the chair...it was a recliner.  It fully reclined...holy cow!  Could this possibly get any more exciting?

Um...yes...

Just as I had popped my shoes off, fully reclined and got settled under my blanket a nice lady came up with a menu.  Yep...they have full meal and bar service.  We opted for wine and popcorn (they mix the salty and sweet kind).  Throughout the movie the wait staff just sort of show up when you need them and bring you anything you ask for.

Obviously the cost of the ticket was a bit more than a normal ticket would be.  But to be honest, I think it was totally worth it.  It was also nice to have food and wine delivery service right to your chair.  The prices weren't any more expensive than they would be in a normal restaurant.

Overall I give the Gold Class movie going experience two thumbs up!

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Funky font colors

p.s. I am not sure what is going on with the colors of some of the font in that last blog post.  I tried to fix it but it didn't stick. 
Do you think that the black font is getting tired of me using it?  
Did I do something to offend it?  
Do you think it is because of the guy that moved on the bus this morning?

I think I need a glass of wine...

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Was it me?

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like everybody is looking at you funny?

Today was one of those days for me.

It started on my way to work.  When I was waiting for my bus I got a funny look for letting the #14 drive by and waiting to take the one that came two minutes later.  I'll own this one...the first #14 that came by was a single-decker bus and it was slam full.  I knew that another was right behind it so opted to wait.  It made for a more comfortable ride.

I was in my usual spot upstairs reading and minding my own business.  About halfway through my ride to work the guy in front of me moved one row forward.  This is a normal occurrence if the bus is full and a row opens up...not the case this morning...the bus was maybe a third full.  I immediately thought...hmm...did he just move because of me?  I realize that the world isn't all about me but it was just one of those moments...and now here is what went through my mind next...

Did I remember to shower this morning?  my hair was still wet so...yep

Do I smell bad?  I totally did the sniff myself move and confirmed I did not 

Am I making weird noises that I am unaware of?  I sat for a moment and confirmed I was sitting quietly.

Did I remember to get dressed?  A quick visual confirmed this.

Am I wearing perfume that might be annoying him?  nope, just soap and shampoo smell

Was I kicking the back of his seat?  nope, actually, my legs were both stretched out under the seat in front of me...holy cow...I am totally slouching...I should sit up straight  **sits up straight**
 
Does somebody else smell bad?  **sniff**sniff** nope, don't smell anything or anybody

Was it because of my feet?  I knew I should have gone to get that pedicure last night...he probably moved because I am in desperate need of some fresh toenail polish

Maybe this has nothing to do with me...should I ask him?  um...no, that would be silly...if it really was because of me he probably wouldn't tell me anyway...would I tell somebody if they asked me...hmm...am not sure...here is my stop...

Yes, that is how my mind works...a little odd...but oh well.  When I got to work I even asked a friend if I smelled and she confirmed that I did not...for the record, she would totally tell me if I did.

Okay, after all of that I am finally getting to the point of this blog post.  So, if I were in the US I likely would not have had this interaction because I would have been in a car and not a bus.  I may have had a funny look in the coffee shop or when I stopped to get gas but I wouldn't have had the time to sit on the bus and stew about it for a bit.   

I should confess that I myself have moved seats on the bus.  I have moved because a row opened up, somebody near sounded completely ill, and because of bad smells.  Thankfully these things do not happen that often.

Have you ever had one of these days?

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Lingo

Living in an area where there are a lot of other languages has made me become accustomed to not always understanding what people are saying.  Most of the time it is because of their accent but sometimes it is due to the local lingo.  My latest experience with this was with two of my native English speaking friends.  One is from Liverpool, England and the other from just north of Sydney, Australia.

We were chatting at work yesterday and I did something that frustrated me and I said "dang it" aloud.  One of them looked at me with a puzzled look.  She asked if I meant to say darn it and I had to say no and repeat dang so she could hear it properly.  She then asked me what it meant.  Her response after hearing my explanation was that she though Americans only said "darn" while most English typically say "damn".  Dang/damn/darn are all such simple words...who knew they didn't use dang in England.

I'm having the same two friends over for dinner this weekend and am making sloppy joe's (which warrants an entirely different blog post sometime in the future).  I asked if they had a preference on the meat and they proceeded to talk about pork mince and beef mince and lamb mince.  That is also what it is called in the grocery store here...it isn't ground but instead is called mince.  To me, mince is more of an outcome from chopping whereas ground comes from a grinder...hence the past tense use of the word grind and end result ground.  Again, simple words that are both used properly but mean different things to different people.

We also had a conversation about the difference between burger buns and rolls and buns but I won't get into that...

Here are few other examples (not necessarily associated with the Brit & Aussie):

• lift = elevator
• boot = trunk
• lorry = truck
• holiday = vacation
• garden = lawn
• pissed = drunk
• queue = line up
• football = soccer
• jumper = sweater 

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Holy smoke!

The past couple of days have been smokey here in Singapore.  Smokey to the point where there is quite limited visibility.  It also makes the air feel very heavy and smell horrible.  I can't imagine how awful it must be for those people who have asthma or some other respiratory issue.

The smoke is blowing in from fires that are burning in Indonesia.  They may be forest fires caused by natural causes but from what the locals say they are do to land clearing for farming.  Either way I feel bad for the critters that are being displaced or worse, killed.

Here's a link to a news story that has some pictures so you can see how bad it really is:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1088052/1/.html

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Jetlag fun...

I arrived back in Singapore around midnight Friday night and by about 2am I was in bed and fast asleep.  I slept until about 10am when I woke up with a killer headache...the hangover kind of headache but minus the alcohol to make the headache worth it.  I took some meds and went back to bed to try and sleep it off...until 4pm...whoopsie!  I generally try and get right up the day I arrive to beat the jetlag.  Clearly that didn't happen yesterday.

I did finally get myself up so that I could move from my bed to the sofa and promptly took a nap for an hour...whoopsie!  Thankfully I had dinner plans that forced me to get up and get showered.  My good friend Sonya had a few of us over for a home-cooked dinner which was amazing!  Especially since I have zero food in my apartment.  Thankfully there is a 7/11 on the first floor of my building so I was able to buy a small bottle of milk for my morning coffee.

Last night I was worried I wouldn't be able to sleep after sleeping almost the entire day.  It wasn't too much of an issue and made it to bed about 11:30 pm and slept through until 5am this morning.  Instead of risking another day of sleeping too much I've been up since then.  I wish I could say that I have been super productive but other than chatting with Alan and enjoying some coffee and bad television I haven't done much.  I feel like I may have wasted the time but looking over at the clock it is only 8am so I am not too worried about finding some time to be productive throughout the rest of the day.  Thanks much jetlag...

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Down east

On Monday, Alan and I took a day trip to down east NC.  We typically head to the mountains for day trips but decided to change it up a bit and head the opposite direction.  We opted to just drive around on country roads and not really have any specific destination. 

The majority of the tobacco crops had already been harvested, however, we did see quite a few farmers out in their fields harvesting cotton.  I had no idea that cotton was grown in NC.  It is the second biggest crop behind tobacco. 

Surprisingly, I had never seen a cotton plant until Monday...

It is really pretty and reminded both Alan and I of snow...minus the cold weather and mess.  Although, there were bits of cotton all along the sides of the roads.

At lunch we decided to go from bbq and since we were near Kinston we opted for Kings.

If you are ever in Kinston and are hungry you should stop there...mmm!

After lunch we set back out on the country roads.  There were a bunch of abandoned farm buildings.  Some were pretty amazing but not close enough to take pictures and neither of us wanted to get caught trespassing.

Along one of the roads Alan spotted an old gas station sign.  I missed it so we doubled-back so I could get a picture of it.  When we pulled up we realized that the store was actually open.  Since I didn't want to just take pictures in front of an open store Alan popped inside to buy a soda.  While he was inside I took a couple of pictures.  As soon as he walked out he told me I needed to go in and take a look.  I was a little hesitant...not sure why...but decided to go in. 

Oh my goodness! 

This store was a true country store.  It was dark and dusty and musty but fully stocked with just about anything you could ever possibly want...soda, candy, toilet paper, oil...and even some things you likely do not want...homemade jars of pickles and peppers with about an inch of dust on the lids.  I think that Alan described it best by saying that walking through the door was like stepping back in time.  There were clearly some things in the store that had been there for a number of years but also things that were recently stocked. 

The absolute best was the guy sitting behind the counter.  He was old and was a little scruffy looking and had very few teeth.  He said hello when I walked in the door (Alan mentioned he was very nice to him too) but immediately got back to watching his television show.  I didn't see exactly what he was watching but both of us think it was probably a Western.  His cash register was quite possibly from the 1920s or 1930s...the old fashioned kind that you wasn't plugged in.  So cool! 

A friend of mine is doing a project on Flickr called the "stranger project".  Basically you find 100 people you don't know and talk to them and get a photo of them.  It is pretty interesting and this guy would have been a perfect person.  Neither of us really talked to him but I'm sure he had some great things to say.

Here is why we stopped in the first place:

If you are ever north of Kinston in the country and need to get a soda you should definitely stop at this place.  There is no sign but if you want to know ask Alan for the GPS coordinates...yep, he saved it!

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Community

A few days ago a friend and fellow blogger posed the following question on one of her posts:

Do most people who live on this side (of Durham) feel the community connection like I do...or does working at a place where I interact with most of the community make my frame of reference different?

Having grown-up in a small, Midwestern town I am very aware of that sense of community.  A place where you know your neighbors by name and if needed may borrow a cup of sugar from them.  A place where you see and hear children playing outside on these beautiful autumn days.  A place where people rush to hold the door open for you at the post office when your hands are full of packages.  A place where restaurant owners and shopkeepers recognize you.

I never realized how great all of those things were when I was a kid.  We tended to know lots of people and they knew us...it was a small town.   

Durham is by no means a small town but to answer the question above, I would have to say that there is definitely a sense of community here.  Almost everybody in my neighborhood will wave and smile as you drive by.  I don't know all of their names nor have I met many of them but that doesn't matter.  Earlier this week when I called the local pharmacy (not a big chain store but a true locally owned and operated place) the pharmacist knew me and genuinely asked how I was doing. 

I know these things are nothing major but there was a time where many of them didn't happen.  I also know that I am lucky to live in an area where there are a good number of locally owned and operated businesses which we frequently go to.  I am also very lucky to have a large group of friends and acquaintances that met at the local coffee shop which makes it much easier to bump into people when out and about.

I had the idea to blog about this earlier today.  I was busy doing some work when the doorbell rang.  It was my next door neighbor who is around 13 years old.  Her dad and brother just returned from Belgium and she came over to bring us some Belgian chocolates.  She also wanted to bring me a picture that she had painted for me...

Pretty awesome, eh? 

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Autumn rocks

Last year I didn't get to experience autumn. 

Okay...I know that I have lots of posts about the weather which seems a bit odd...but when you live in a place that doesn't have a change of season you really learn to appreciate them.

I saw a very teeny-tiny bit of autumn when I was in South Korea last year but not a lot.  I was getting worried with the extended summer that I wouldn't get to experience it this year either.  Mother Nature has decided to cooperate and autumn has FINALLY arrived in NC.  Can I get a woohoo???

I love autumn!  It has always been my favorite season and I appreciate it that much more this year.  Cooler temps, crisp air, apples, leaves that crunch under your feet, and most of all pumpkins...

I adore pumpkins.  They are pretty to look at, fun to carve, and incredibly tasty to eat.  I can eat just about anything pumpkin flavored.  And the smell of pumpkin and fall squash...mmm...  Earlier this week Alan baked acorn squash and the next night we had roasted sweet potatoes.  They tasted amazing but what I may have loved more was the aroma they created in the house.  Again, not something that I can get in Singapore.

This past weekend we were at the NC State Farmer's Market and they had heaps of pumpkins and mums and gourds...

What is your favorite part of autumn?  And have you opened your windows to enjoy the crisp, cool air?

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Magic window

We had a toy that was an oval piece of plastic with white and blue sand in it.  You would tip it and turn it and it would create new designs.  It always reminded me of the sky.  The clouds in NC today reminded me of it.

The toy itself was called the Magic Window.  Cool name for a cool toy.

The pictures above don't necessarily show you how cool the clouds today were but hopefully the people in NC were out and about and saw them for themselves.  Blue skies with clouds like this never occur in Singapore.  Maybe I need to find myself another one of those Magic Window toys...

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