Inquiring minds...

A week ago Saturday I went to see a bunch of rugby matches with my friends.  Yesterday I went to the Singapore Cricket Club and watched some of the England versus Sri Lanka match.  Going into both of these sporty Saturday afternoons I had very little knowledge of rugby and hardly any knowledge of cricket.  I now have a bit more...at the expense of my friends who got stuck sitting next to me while I asked about 10 million questions about both sports.  Initially I think they thought it was cute...the American who has no idea about these sports asking questions...exposing herself to truly global sports...and then the questions continued...on...and on...and on...  I suspect my mom or my brothers can empathize with these gals...but what can I say...I like to learn new things and in order to do that it requires asking lots of questions.

One conversation that we did have is that there aren't many professional sports played in the US that are played globally.  There is a small following of soccer (football here and everywhere else in the world) in the US and there is tennis but otherwise, not much.
American football is only played in America...
Basketball is played in Europe and South America but isn't played much in Asia or Australia...
Hockey is played in Europe but not anyplace that it gets really hot...
Baseball is big in Asia but isn't played in Europe that I know of...
It was just one of those things that I never really thought of until the past two weekends.

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White noise

I finished my book on the way to the office this morning.  It was a good book and I'm sort of feeling that let down feeling after reading a really good book and not having the characters to read about anymore.  But...that is not what I'm writing about...because I had finished my book this morning I didn't have anything to do on the bus ride home.  I just looked out the window and was far more aware of the goings on inside the bus.  I realized this afternoon that I no longer notice all of the different languages being spoken.  The gals in front of me were speaking French while the two behind me were speaking Mandarin and the couple across the aisle from me were speaking Tamil.  There was a time when none of this would have seemed normal...and now it is just white noise.

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Just hanging out

It's funny how when you are in your own environment you tend to not notice the little things.

Living alone in another country can be a bit lonely sometimes. 

I'm lucky that I have a good friend here who also has her entire family here.  A husband, a 20-something daughter, and a high-school age daughter.  I'm also lucky that she invites me over for dinner quite frequently.  The food is amazing...that I will not deny...however...more than the food I tend to enjoy the family banter that occurs and the fact that they allow me into their little bubble of a family.  I had dinner there tonight and we had lots of banter and lots of laughter and lots of great food and we watched a very funny and silly movie.

I hope that all of you are able to do that with your family...very soon...and if you are a great person you'll invite the local person who may not have their family around...trust me...they'll appreciate it.

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Hang up and walk...

I'm quite tempted to start a new movement for the safety of all of those people who rely on walking as their primary mode of transport...if not a movement...I'm tempted to make t-shirts that say 'hang up and walk'...although nobody would see them. 

Seriously...if you cannot walk at a normal pace whilst you are texting...step to the side...or...hang up.

If you are so focused on your texting that you can't occasionally glance up to see where you are going...hang up...

If you have to slow down because you are so involved in your phone conversation...please hang up...

The last two days on my way home I have almost been run into too many times to count...have been slowed down by texters which caused me to miss the little green man at the crosswalk...and have just been generally frustrated by everybody on the phone...seriously...there can't be that much to say.

And...this concludes your having to hear me vent about silly things...

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Blog catch-up ~ Alcatraz

I used a frequent flyer ticket to get home last month and since it was Jan/Feb I opted to avoid the northeast and all of the winter goodness it brings.  I flew through San Francisco which resulted in an overnight and day layover on my way back through.  In all of my trips there previously I had never been to Alcatraz so decided to take a tour on this trip.

I went out on the first tour of day and was actually the first person up in the prison which was pretty cool.  It was also a bit eerie.

They have a few of the cells open so you can go inside and I cannot imagine spending any amount of time inside these.  Sure, they are small and sparse but it is more that there is absolutely no privacy.  Look across the hallway...you can see everything in the 2-3 cells...everything.  I realize that this is a prison and part of the purpose is to punish people and take away their luxuries but this would only make me want to behave even better to never, ever have to be in this situation.

Or...if I do find myself in prison I may end up in solitary where at least there is a little privacy...

The other thing that was very noticeable was how cold it was inside the prison.  There was no heating and the day I was there it was only in the 40s outside so it was pretty cold in there.  Man, I can't imagine having to sleep inside someplace that cold and I do love some cold weather.

It is interesting to me that the views are so spectacular from the island.  Although, getting outside and seeing the views as a prisoner was probably not something that happened often.  I wonder if the prisoners looked on San Francisco and longed for what they didn't have any longer or if they just didn't care...

What I really loved was that in the midst of this place that was built to hold what society considered such horrible people were such beautiful buildings and scenes...

It was a fun tour and something that I'd definitely recommend if you haven't been.  It seemed a lot smaller once I got on the island and walked around.  Things always seem so much bigger in movies or on TV but that may just be me and my imagination.  The next time I go I want to do the sunset tour...it would be beautiful to see everything in a different light.

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Be thankful I check the clock first...

Otherwise some of you US peeps would be getting phone calls right about now.  There is nothing urgent going on...I just finished my work day...at 10pm and figured that since I'm still awake I'd take the opportunity to catch-up with a few friends or family from home.  I was about to pick-up the phone when I actually remembered that I'm in Chicago right now...so the time change would be a bit alarming for me to call people now.

It is funny how it took me ages to remember to think about phone calls to the US either at 7-8 am or after 8 pm at night while I'm Singapore.  Apparently I have thought about it so much that it has become second nature.  Who knew???

Good thing I noticed the time...and good thing I'm back in Singapore tomorrow.

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Photo challenge

If you happen to look at my pictures on Flickr.....over there ------------->>>>>>
you will likely have noticed a weekly posting titled 'photo challenge'.  A couple people have asked me what it is all about so I thought it'd be nice to give an explanation.

I have some amazingly talented and artistic friends.  Earlier this year I saw one of them post a photo for the first week of the photo challenge.  I commented on it and she invited me to join.  Each Sunday we receive a theme/inspirational word and we have one week to take a photo/draw/paint/create something with that theme.  Since the only thing that is remotely artistic about me is my luck in taking photos I always do that.

I have really been enjoying the challenge.  It makes you think about things and really notice your surroundings in order to try and capture your take on the theme for the week.  One week the theme was "Joie de Vive" (joy of life)....I realized that there are loads of thing in this world that bring me joy and I couldn't just choose one.  So I chose to be creative on the computer in addition to the photograph:

I am also really enjoying seeing the different ways that everybody interprets the theme for the week.  I know a handful of the people who are participating but there are also quite a few that I have never met.  Getting inspiration from all of them is a fun part of my week these days.

So...there you have it...that is the explanation...

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What are you?

Some people are chocolate people...
Some people are cake people...
Some people are cookie people...
Some people aren't into sweets and prefer salty things...

I tend to be a general sweets person.  I love bubble gum and candy corn and candy canes and Peeps.  Now that I think about it...I tend to have a favorite sweet for each season.  Unfortunately for me, most of the sweets that I love are pretty much unavailable here in Singapore. 

My latest favorite sweet treats are those caramels with the little bit of cream in the middle.  The ones I like are by Goetze candy company.  Mmm...they are close to perfection.  I brought a bag back with me from home and have been careful to ration them.  I only allow myself one per day.  However, despite this...the bag is going down quickly.  I think I'm actually enjoying them more knowing that they are in limited supply.

I'm also a mint person.  Pretty anything mint flavored...especially when paired with chocolate is at the top of my list.  I brought one box of Thin Mints with me from home.  They are unopened and I am afraid to open them...one thin mint at a time just doesn't seem like enough.

Anyway...audience participation time...what are you?  Cake...Chocolate...Cupcakes...Sweets...potato chips...

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