I have been so bad about keeping up so I apologize. But the
bright side is that I have been keeping busy! I guess this blog can mark my 4
weeks in Singapore. I have to say I feel like I have been here a lot longer but
not in a bad way, I have just done a ton for 4 weeks.
I will not keep you in suspense any longer, I have chosen an
apartment and moved in! I went with #2 LPT in Singapore. (Lincoln Park Towers
was my beloved condo in Chicago) I am happy to say I live by myself and if
there are any empty vodka bottles rolling around it will be my own problem. J The ‘furnished’
apartment has no couch so it’s still a smidge from feeling like home but it
should be complete by Monday! I was really looking forward to getting out of
the hotel because I was feeling like Gilbert Grape’s mom sitting around on my
bed all the time, alas I still sit around on the bed. I am simply thrilled with
my choice so if anyone wants to visit there is plenty of room! Not that you
were expecting a home cooked meal but you won’t be getting one, the kitchen has
no air and it’s seriously like an oven. I can’t take the heat and therefore I will
be getting my a@* out of the kitchen. I seriously can’t even handle getting a
glass of water, my brain shuts down and I forget what I was in there for. One
of these days I will take pics, maybe when it’s all set up.
I have been keeping up with the expat group I joined, so far
I have been to a few outings including the bike tour I posted about on
Facebook. That’s an island off of Singapore, you take a very small boat for
$2.50 Sing Dollars to the Island and then you can ride around all day, have
lunch it was lot of fun and the people in this group have all been so great. So
many new people to the island it’s easy to make friends.
One of my clients is a food critic and told me I must try
this Thai place, so I went with someone from the expat group. He was slightly
thrown off when I suggested we eat at Orchard Towers. He triple checked to make
sure I really wanted to go there….well what my client left out is that Orchard
Towers is also called the Four Floors of…gasp…whores…. I guess I should have
been tipped off when the name of the restaurant was Thai Tantric. When all was
said and done the food was out of this world even if we were eating it adjacent
to a coupla working girls (or lady boys). We were so intrigued by our
surroundings we went to a bar in the towers, strange to see all the girls
dancing with their clothes on? I was thinking –you. go. guuuurls, leave it on
til the check clears! I also witnessed what I can only describe as a global
grind off. A Russian and an Asian girl going for the same guy. Unlike Ivan
Drago, this Russian crushed it! She knocked that other girl righto outta the
running! For some light reading, you should Google orchard towers…real interesting
place.
Work is going well, not too much to report on that end. The people
in the office are great! Leaving the Chicago office after setting up shop there
over 7 years ago was very tough but the Singapore office are so welcoming, it’s
been great.
I have a lot of travel coming up and I am so looking forward
to it, although getting visa’s is going to get old fast, I can’t believe how
many places you need them for. I am heading to Kualua Lumpur this weekend, KL
as the locals call it. I am accepting an award that Malaysian Airlines is giving
to Orbitz. In June I will be heading to Hong Kong to meet a one Mrs. Caroline
Dell!! We are going to hit the town and go into China for shopping in Shenzen,
which I have wanted to do for years, then we are heading back to Singapore for
a Geneva Terrance reunion (we were all roomies in Chicago On Geneva Terrace) with
Jenny before we all head to Bali!! After that I am heading to Hanoi for a night
before taking a 2 night cruise, on a very small boat through Halong Bay and
Cat-ba. So excited. Come July I should
have lots to say about all these journeys!
End Bits:
-if you go to the bank here and have to sign something you
better sign it EXACTLY the same way you did when you opened the bank account or
else…add on another half hour to your visit
-today my co-workers were telling me how the uber wealthy
people are now building their condos with a car elevator so they can bring
their cars into their living room to admire. Hey, why leave it in the garage
when you can eat dinner looking at it…might as well if it cost $1MM
- I do not feel super tall here or feel like I stick out but
yesterday I went to a very local grocery store and 2 people asked me for help
getting stuff off the higher shelves…they both giggled and we all had a laugh
over the soy sauce that was just too high to reach!
-Working at a global company has its ups and downs, like
anywhere but tonight I got to meet my co-working from Finland that is in town
on her honeymoon. It’s great to know people in all corners of the world. It was
lovely to see a familiar face
-I went to a meeting the other day and I don’t know if it’s
a culture thing but I feel like people talk very low. I can paint a picture, we
were in a lobby with a coffee machine grinding for an hour straight and this
guy was dragging chairs across a floor and I swear I could hear a dog whistle
and I kept wanting to laugh and I looked around and no one was phased but me…everyone
was going about their biz and I felt like I was at the circus. Twilight zone, I
was seriously looking around for a same wavelength pal that would give me a nod
and make me feel like I was not totally insane.
-some people have asked if I have seen Matt, Jenny and their
kids a lot? The answer is an overwhelming yes!! They are the best. I would be
lost without them and am so so so lucky they are here.
- I need to keep better end bit notes b.c. I feel like I am missing
some. That will be my assignment for the next blog…which I will try to do more
frequently
