Make a Complete Elf of Yourself

I promise you will laugh your a** off!

Click Here!

Your Christmas Present From Me

My dear friends,
Somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below:

• How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:
• You need four maxi pads to make a pair. Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part. The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
• Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.
• Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.
• These slippers are:
• Soft and Hygienic
• Non-slip grip strips on the soles
• Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
• No more bending over to mop up spills
• Disposable and biodegradable
• Environmentally safe
• Three convenient sizes: Regular, Light and Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself.... Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you!

An Update for my Holidays

I have turned in my vacation and have figured it out to where I can split the vacation days I have left into 1/2 days here and there so that I will be off at least 1/2 a day if not the whole day each day until Blair goes back. She'll be here the longest as she goes home on the 11th or 12th of January. Nothing opens here until 11 am anyway. I hope each of you are making plans for a wonderful holiday too.

Where's the Popcorn button?

Thought you would like to see the choices on our microwave here:




What happened to the popcorn button? Isn't that really the only reason we use microwaves? I have no idea what Tom Yum Soup is. Can anyone out there tell me? Now have to actually read the popcorn package to remind myself how many minutes I'm supposed to cook it for and I have to stand there and wait and listen to it cook so I know when it stops popping so I can take it out. The nifty popcorn button on our microwaves in the USA cooked popcorn to perfection. Now I don't know the difference bewteen Tom Yum Soup and Spicy Chicken Curry but the pictures make them look similar enough that you could have combined them into one button don't ya thing? And what's with the button for cooked rice? If it's already cooked then why are you microwaving it? Just another example how American's got it right.

The Reason for the Season

Thank you mama for reminding us what Christmas is REALLY about:

As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer. It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don't know the meaning of the celebration. I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, do you want to know something? I wasn't invited. I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside, they closed the door in my face......... and I wanted to be with them and share their table. In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me. Since I was not invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a great time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, saying: "Santa Claus, Santa Claus"... as if the party were in his honor! At 12 midnight all the people began to hug each other ; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and ... do you know .... no one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me. How would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one ? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left. Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts, the parties and nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all you heart. I want to share something with you. As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party. I'm still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invitation, will be left outside. Do you know how you can answer this invitation? It is by extending it to others whom you care for... I'll be waiting for all of you to attend my party this year... See you soon .... I love you ! Jesus

Catching Up

Ok...so I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Mine & Avery's was OK. We spent it with co-workers and their family. There was lots of great food and visiting with each other separated by a brief thunderstorm. We were however not with our family which are all back in Texas now. That's okay though because now we can seriously get to counting down the days until they get here! So where have I been....nowhere actually, bust busier than a one armed paper-hanger. Avery has had dance practice after school, even on some days that she has gymnastics. Outside of not getting home until 6:30-ish each evening, I've been busy making Christmas cards, cooking for Thanksgiving, shopping, WASHING DISHES, taking Sugar outside, decorating the apartment for Christmas, going to the dentist, preparing a fruit tray for the reception after Avery's Dance performance, attending her first gymnastics meet here in Singapore, going to a gymnastics parent meeting....blah, blah, blah! All this within the hour to 1-1/2 hours I have from the time I get home until the time I have to go pick Avery up from gym, and then in the time we get back until 11:30-12:00 when I finally go to bed. I'm pooped! Glad it's the weekend. Well, I'm off to sit my butt on the couch and watch a movie with Avery. Tonight was her Dance Performance. It was really good, very entertaining. All choreographed by High School dance students with one or two by the dance teacher. I couldn't take my eyes off of her so I have no idea what the dances looked like that she was in. I ordered a DVD so it will be fun to watch again.

Well...It was bound to happen...

Sooner or later I knew it was going to happen. Those pesky Singaporean drivers just cannot stay in their lane. It's not just one or two people here and there as I'm driving to work or somewhere...it's almost like an epidemic. You wouldn't believe it was this bad unless you saw it for yourself. I remember my dad telling me once that he waits until they move over just enough and he zooms by freaking them out. It's like they can't decide which lane they want to be in. The closest thing back home would be the constant lane changer-type people. At least they can commit to a single lane, even if it is just for a second. Well...it was this non-committal to one lane that caused my accident here Saturday morning. It was about 8:30AM and I was taking Avery to her school for dance practice. We were on a four lane divided road headed towards the PIE (their version of an expressway). We were driving in the left lane which is the slow lane here and there was another car slightly ahead of us in the right lane. I notice that she having difficulties staying in her lane, but not too bad. As I approach her she is again inching into my lane so I beep my horn at her. She keeps on coming and before you know it she's hit the front right quarter panel of my car. I can remember watching her car bump into mine and rather than go back to the right she's still headed left and the next thing I know she's spun around to where she is now perpendicular to me. I thought she was going to tip over. I am now veering to the right and she spins on around and is facing the opposite direction. I stop and get out and go back to where she is parked. She was a little stunned. I make sure they are all ok. She's asking what happened!!! "I don't understand what I did?" I said, "You weren't staying in your lane and you came into my lane and hit me." There was another lady and a young girl in the car with her. Maybe they were chatting away and didn't realize they weren't the only people on the road at the time. Who knows! I inspected her car and thought that she had gotten away with only slight scratches on each corner of her front bumper. I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure the whole side of her car would have been messed up. I did keep looking and saw that her left rear quarter panel, where the initial contact was made, was damaged some. I guess because we weren't really traveling that fast the damage was minimal. Both cars were able to be driven. I guess she realized that she was in the wrong. She didn't want my name or anything. I had Avery write down the license plate number of her car. I wasn't really sure what to do at that point. An emergency vehicle, like a big wrecker, came and blocked traffic so she could turn around and I backed up closer to her. Since everyone was ok, and the cars were drivable we each went on about our business. The rental car people brought me a loaner and I should have my car back in a week or so.

Now I feel "gun-shy". I want to beep my horn every time some one now drives over the line. However, i figure that just happens way to often. I would wear out the horn on my car. Well...hope that was the one and only wreck for me while I'm here. I was trying to remember the last one I had...I must be getting old...I remember back in 1990 when I got my Miata someone hit me. Other than that I did back into someone who was stupid enough to park directly on the opposite side of the street from our driveway...I've done that twice (two different locations). But I can't remember the last moving accident other than the one in my Miata.

I Found It!

Well...not sure if you remember me mentioning it before but I've been on the hunt for a make-up mirror with lights. Kinda like this:


It is so dark everywhere. Not sure if Singapore is trying to conserve energy or cause everyone to need glasses...hmmm...now that I think of it there are a lot of locals here that wear glasses...maybe I'm on to something. My bathroom is only fitting with these two small recessed can type lights. No windows. I can't see very well at all to put on my make-up, pluck my eyebrows....look for grey hairs to yank out....etc. I have looked in so many stores that i had given up finding one. I looked in their stores that are similar to Super Wal-mart. I looked in electronic stores similar to Best (but with out the Cd's and movies)...nothing. I have looked in department stores similar to our Dillards...nothing. Any store that I went in I looked. Sometimes the store clerks would look at me like they didn't understand what I was looking for so I would check on my own too. Well the other day I was in a mall and happened to see one out of the corner of my eye at a store on the next level down. I immediately found my way to that store and had the salesperson show me the two free-standing models they had. This store sold bathroom fixtures, mirrors, sinks, shower heads, etc. (and I have looked in similar stores before). I had her plug them in so I could see how bright they were. One of them had a very unique design. The mirror face was square and concave. It looked more just like polished chrome than a mirror. The lights were recessed on either side. The second one was round with the lights around the perimeter. I was so excited.....until I found out I would have to rob a bank or sell one of my kidneys to be able to afford it. Seeing that I didn't have the desire to spend the rest of my life in a Singapore jail nor did I want to part with any of my body parts I figured I have to stick to my original plan to have Rob bring one with him when he comes over. I guess I've waited this long. One more month won't kill me...my eyebrows are probably scary though. So...do you want to know how much???? Are you sitting down??? The square one was $850 and the round one was $690. For that price the darn thing should apply my makeup for me!

To all my friends lurking in the background:

Ok...I know you are out there....I can hear you breathing! What do I need to put in here to elicit a response from you? I hate talking to myself. Is there anything about this place over here that you would like to know about? Come on, give me a challenge! I don't want to bore you with all of our day-to-day, work and school stuff. Tell me what you are interested in and I will find the answers. It's really easy...here let me show you what to do:

• See at the bottom of this post where is usually says: 0 Comments (because you are too busy lurking)? Click on that.
• That will open a new window where you can add your 2 cents worth. You will have to type some mixed up characters and pick whether you want to add your comments as an anonymous, a registered user, etc.
• Then click on the preview or publish button.

See...isn't that easy? Come on...show me how much you miss me! Leave me a comment when you stop by or on this post here let me know what you want to know about. In the meantime I will try to come up with something clever to write about.

If you want to read some really funny stuff...check out the links over here -->

Disgusting!!

I have to post a complaint here, SORRY! Hopefully I don't p*ss off a bunch of people... but here it goes: People here need to learn to eat with their mouths closed!!!! There, I said it (or typed it anyway). Avery and I went to eat Friday night and people (locals) all around us are eating with their mouths open...chewing away like a herd of cattle. The kid (teenager) facing me, sitting behind Avery, was about to make me loose my appetite. He was eating and food was hanging half-way out of mouth. I admit that noodles are hard to eat with chopsticks but that doesn't mean that once you get it in there you can't chew with your mouth closed. I can see that you are eating, I don't need to see WHAT you are eating. This is definately becoming one of my pet peeves here. Do they not think that it is gross to be sitting and having dinner with someone and having to watch them eat like that? It's not just one or two people here or there either. And to top it off, they are very noisy too. You might be able to ignore the "See Food" by just staring directly at the person you are eating with and avoiding everyone else, but you can't help but hear the symphony of chewing and smaking going on all around you...

Why I've decided not to cook

Well, I may have mentioned that I was going to stop cooking...okay Kim don't panic...I still love all my Pampered Chef stuff! I still enjoy cooking...well, here are my reasons:

• Groceries here are expensive! Here are some examples (all in Singapore dollars) - Cheerios $11.90, Yoplait Plain Vanilla Yogurt $6.90, 1 doz. eggs $7.20, small ricotta cheese $8.95, 1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls, $11.90.
• So, I think we can eat out cheaper - Chicken/Rice $2.50 Sing, that's about $1.60 USD. Tonight Avery and I took my dad for dinner for his birthday. We had Mongolian Chicken, Beef & Baby Kailan, 3 orders of steamed rice, 2 7-ups and a large Tiger beer and the total was $22 Sing or $13.90 USD.
• We don't have a dishwasher, other than me :-) Everynight I have to wash a sink full of dishes.
• Most of the places we can eat at around here are a nice walk from our apartment, so we get dinner and some exercise.
• Avery is learning to eat something other than fried rice when we go to the hawker stands.
• No longer will I have surprises in my hamburger buns!

I figure I can cook two or three nights a week....for now anyway.

I'm Counting Down The Days!

Not What I Thought I bought

...okay so I am the store Friday after work. Even though I said I was going to quit cooking (I'll tell you why later) I found myself buying all kinds of stuff. My mom had told me that if I see something I need/want I better get it then because when you go back it will be gone. So I'm at the Cold Storage (grocery store chain here) that is about 3-5 miles away. It's in an area with a lot of expats and it looked big so I thought I would stop in and see if they had what I needed for my chili and pecan pie before I drove on in to the city to try Tanglin Marketplace. They had all kinds of stuff. They had chili seasoning, and Karo syrup which I needed, but no refrigerated pie crust. I had to make the crust from scratch (thanks for the recipe mom!). I also found Stove Top stuffing which I thought I better get for Turkey Day, along with Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix, and Cool Whip! I bought some other stuff too but was surprised to get those things especially. I thought I would make hamburgers for dinner one night over the weekend so I bought hamburger meat and what I thought was hamburger buns. There was nothing else in the bread section that looked like hamburger buns except what I found. There were hotdog buns so I figured what I bought must have been hamburger buns. Well, Saturday night I fix our hamburgers and I go to slice the buns (remember, they don't come pre-sliced here) and there was this glob of stuff baked in the middle. It looked like chocolate! There was nothing on the package that lead me to believe these buns had a surprise in the middle. I read the ingredients and found that it was red bean paste. Yummy! I had to taste it to see if it totally ruined the bread. It didn't have too much of a taste, kinda sweet. Needless to say, we scrapped that out into the trash. Otherwise the hamburgers were ok. I guess nextime I'll have to read the ingredients to be sure I know what I'm buying!

Texas Chili

I went shopping on Friday (even though I said I was going to quit cooking...did I mention that yet?) ... anyway...stopped by the store on the way home to get some ingredients I needed to make chili for Avery's school. They were having a big International Food Festival on Saturday and I volunteered to cook chili for one of the booths that was having a little chili cook-off. The parents/friends/etc. that came to the event could buy a bowl and "taste" as much chili as they wanted then vote for their favorite. The chili was also used as a hot-dog topping for the same booth. Anyway...I didn't win. I got robbed!!! I think my chili was good but at the time I happened to be over there doing my own taste comparison I overheard some of the people there saying it was between mine and one of the others however mine wasn't hot (temperature hot). I had brought extra as I made two potfuls. One batch I heated up before we took it to the school and the other was in a large ziplock. Well they must have waited until one batch was gone before they added the other so it wasn't warmed up yet. What do Singaporean's know about Texas Chili anyway??? Avery and I were at the festival all morning until about 2:30 PM. They had a bazaar set up too. I bought a few Christmas presents and some other things for the apartment. Oh! I also baked a pecan pie for the 8th Grade Graduation Fundraiser bake sale. I was told that it sold as soon as I got it there. I hope it turned out good. I also made one for Avery and I for Thanksgiving and put it in the freezer. Also at the festival each of the different grades were responsible for creating these theme baskets to raffle off. They were pretty awesome! One had an iPod Nano and another had some other type of iPod. Each of those were VERY popular. They had a BBQ basket, a Movie night basket (probably had at least 15 DVD's in it), Leggo basket, etc. Most of them were at least 3 feet tall, they were huge and just full of stuff. We bought $20 worth of tickets but didn't win anything. Well...tomorrow I'll tell you what else I bought at the store.

Halloween in Singapore?

You may be wondering if they recognize Halloween here in Singapore and yes, they do. Not quite as much in the stores here as back home but you will find small displays with some costumes, scary props, make-up, etc. Not the three or four huge aisles like you see at Wal-Mart back home, with at least two of those being nothing but candy. The thing that surprised me most was that the kids were encouraged to dress up at school in their costumes. Well, at least at my daughter's school. Not all the schools are that way. One of my co-workers children go to another school and they get to dress up for Hari Rayeh or Deepavali but not Halloween. If the kids didn't wear their costume or at least orange and black they had to wear their school uniform. I remember the days before the teachers and school administrators were afraid of being sued by some parent they "offended" by having a Halloween or Christmas party. Avery went trick-or-treating in the area near her school. There are more houses there with a large percentage of Americans. Most of her friends from school live in that area. I went to pick her up that evening and while I was waiting I saw a bunch of really great costumes. I was also surprised to see a lot of older kids 10+ and not so many little ones like I see back home. Those little babies don't need all that candy anyway...you know it's mom and dad that are going to eat it all! One of my co-workers went to a Halloween party at their complex. He said they didn't really get the candy concept there. When he opened his kids treat bags they had shrimp crackers and a juice box. The only piece of candy was one tiny lollipop. He said they had games for the kids...but no prizes. Candy might have made a nice surprise for the simple kids games. At our complex you could have signed up at the office letting them know that you wanted to participate and pass out candy at Halloween. They compiled a list of the units passing out candy, gave you a sign to put on the door and handed out the lists to the kids and/or their parents that night. Since I had to go pick up Avery I didn't sign-up but I saw a bunch of kids running around...again some of them had some great costumes. I was supposed to go to a Halloween Party the Saturday night before but it didn't work out. I had a costume all ready. I guess I'll save it for next year!

Another new Singapore "Cool" thing

Now, any of you that are used to Urban living, please don't spoil my thinking that this is something "new" and really cool as I have never seen this before. Next time you have to go to the mall or airport, or somewhere where you had to park in a parking garage wouldn't it be great to know how many parking spaces are left and on what level they were located? No more wasting time circling an entire floor looking for a parking space when there isn't even one available on that floor. Avery and I went to a mall here called Plaza Singapura. When you enter the parking garage there is a digital sign that lists the levels in the parking garage and how many spaces are empty on each level. The number of spaces indicated changes as people enter a level and leave a level. I thought it was really a neat idea. Sure made parking easier. From what I can tell there are lasers that keep track of when a car passes through the beam of light. The system must know how many spaces are on each level and subtracts the available spaces when a car parks on each level. One other note too...this parking garage was so clean it looked as though the floors were moped and polished hourly.

Quiz Results

Thank y'all for taking the time to take my little quiz. I know you are all dying to know how well you did compared to everyone else, so here are the current scores.

• Robert (Hubbie) - 100%
• Avery - 90%
• Aunt Kathleen - 80%
• Byrna (mom) - 80%
• Kim - 80%
• Cristie - 80%
• Laurie - 60%
• Sharon - 50%
• Lynne - 40%

Well, Robert blew the curve for all of y'all. Maybe we should go on the "Newlywed Game" or something like that for people who aren't newlyweds. Way to go Avery - only missed my weakness when it comes to desserts which is cookies! If I make cookies, everytime I walk past them in the kitchen I have to eat one or two. Question is ... where is Blair? Daughter no. 1 didn't take my quiz. Just about everyone missed the one about desserts and my first car which was a silver VW Beetle. How could y'all forget??? I did have Firebird but that was after the bug. Lynne, good guess on the truck. Being from Texas, just about everyone has or has had a truck at some point. My middle name is Renae. I figured the spelling would have been a dead give-a-way for those that didn't know. And lastly....this is the car I want when I get back:

Isn't it beautiful?

Introducing Sugar

Let introduce the newest member of our little family: Sugar.


Those of you who know me know I love dogs. I just like having them around. Avery and I really wanted to get a dog and when we found Sugar we just knew she was perfect for our family. She will be 10 mos. old next week. She's very petite, calm and well behaved....nothing at all like Charlie the pomeranian we had back home. He was really big for a pom, very hyper (he would stand at the back door and jump up to look in the back window over and over again) and he wouldn't stay in the back yard. We loved him anyway but was afraid he would get hit by a car so a friend took him into her home so now he is a chubby happy inside dog. Anyway..back to Sugar...
So far she has been really good. We did have a run of the runs (ha!) over the weekend but she appears to be over that now. It took her a few days to get used to being with us. I don't think she moved off of her blanket the entire first day. When I take her outside to do her business she walks right along side me without a leash. So far we haven't had to venture out while it was raining but I know that day is coming. I wonder if I can train her to use a litter box? What if I planted some grass in a litter box, do you think you could get a dog to potty there? I've never had a dog while living in a condo. I'm used to being able to scoot them out the back door then let them in a short time later. Some dogs don't like to go out in the rain, I hope she's not like that. And there are some dogs that get scared when in thunders, I hope she's not like that either. Right now she's curled up in the corner behind me sleeping...she's so cute!

Took A Quick Trip

Sorry I haven't posted since last week. Avery and I took a quick trip over to Bintan in Indonesia. She had several days off from school so we headed over there for a long weekend. It was really nice and relaxing. Felt like all we did was eat & swim. Surprised my clothes still fit. The place was really nice. Very tropical with white sandy beaches and blue water. We spent our days switching back and forth from the pool to the beach. We found sea shells, small ones, built a sand castle, went snorkling (twice) and enjoyed some of the organized activities put on the the staff. They even had a trapeze there for the guests to play on so of course Avery tried that out. You have to take a ferry to get there and back. I still feel like I'm on the ferry today. It seems like I'm sitting at my desk rocking back and forth. We were really bouncing around when we docked back in Singapore last night. I'll add some pictures later today. Before we left to head home we went into the little shopping village and found a few things to bring home. I'll probably see what other resorts are available there in Bintan for the next time we get a few days off. You can even go for the day. Not much different than driving from Houston to Galveston timewise. Oh! I have to tell you one of the strangest things I think I have ever seen...this little asian kid pooped on the beach! He just dropped his drawers and went right there! His dad had to clean it up with the little shovel they were using to build a sand castle. Imagine having to follow your kid around with a pooper scooper! Another interesting thing was that everytime they made an annoucement at the resort they made it about 5 times all in different languages. Avery and I laughed saying we should walk around speaking spanish (not that we know much). That was one of the languages they DIDN'T include.

How Well Do You Know Me?

I was over checking out Laurie's blog and she had this quiz on her's. I love these quizes so let's see if you know me or if you just think you do.

Take the quiz

Is it so hazy!

Those of you who live in the southern part of Texas probably remember the summers that Mexico was burning it's fields to clear the land for use again. I remember it being slightly hazy outside for a few days every here or there. Well they have something similar going on over here. Indonesia is having it's annual burn-off to clear land for agriculture. The haze caused by smoke has been a problem for about 2 weeks now. They measure the air quality with a PSI ('Pollutant Standards" index, not Particles per Square Inch which is what I thought it was. This chart shows you the ranges:

PSI Value PSI Descriptor
0 to 50 Good
51 - 100 Moderate
101 - 200 Unhealthy
201 - 300 Very unhealthy
Above 300 Hazardous

Friday, two weeks ago when I left the office I thought there was a fire right down the road. I even called my dad to see if he had heard anything about a fire out here at the shipyards. It was just the smoke coming in from Indonesia. It actually smelled like smoke outside. That Sunday the PSI spiked to 150 then eased back down to 136 at midnight. They said that in 1997 it rose to 226. It's bad enough now, I'd hate to see it get up to that level. The haze is bad enough that it affects people with allergies and asthma related problems. You'll see people walking around outside with a face mask or bandana tied around their head. You can actually see it. It makes it appear like it is foggy outside. Take at look at the pictures below. (Pictures coming later today)

Amusing Car Names

Ok...really busy here today so this will be a short one. Here are some of the amusing car names I see as I drive around Singapore:

Nissan Sunny
Toyota Picnic
Kia Picanto
Nissan March
Nissan Sylphy
Toyota Royal Crown (I think they got the name backwards)
Hyundai Verna

I swear I saw a car today called a Cheerio! I couldn't see the name real clear but that's what it looked like to me.

Let's Talk Eggs

Ok..here is something else that seems strange to me. In the grocery stores they sell their eggs in cartons just on a regular shelf, not in the refrigerated section like we are used to. Now I wonder...it that safe? Why would our stores sell them refrigerated if they didn't need to be? The neighbor in the apartment across from ours leave their eggs out in a big bowl on the counter. It's a BIG bowl full of eggs. They have mostly brown eggs here too. Do brown eggs come from dark chickens? So, since I had no choice I had to buy eggs that were not refrigerated. I put them in the fridge as soon as we got home, of course. Maybe years ago, when people used ice boxes, before the refrigerator, we too kept eggs out on the counter. Unless you lived on a farm and you gathered them fresh everyday. Does anyone out there know? Am I risking my health, just one egg away from salmonella poisoning? For those of you who know me, you know that my oldest daughter is the perfect person to ask about this. I'll let you know what she says.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Sorry for the lapse as I am sure you were all on the edge of your seats just dying to know about the last of the holidays I am posting about. Searching the internet this is what I found about the Mid Autumn Festival celebrated by the Chinese:
The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week ofOctober.This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival , it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates , melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon. I tried a mooncake last week and was wondering what the orange thing in the middle was. I'm glad I didn't eat it. Mooncakes can be found everywhere right now...the gas stations, Starbucks, restaurants, etc. I tasted one at a Starbucks. It was pretty good however, it was just a small piece so I don't know if it had an egg yolk in it or not.

Another Singapore Holiday

Yesterday we learned about Hari Raya and today I'll find out what Deepavali is. I'm just curious to know about these holidays that are celebrated here. Avery gets several days out of school for these next month. I could have just looked these up for myself and not shared with y'all but I thought y'all would be interested as well. It also gave me three days of topics for my blog. Deepavali, which falls on the night of the new moon in October or November, is the Hindu Festival of Lights. It celebrates Lord Krishna's victory over the demon of darkness. In the past, oil lamps were used to decorate Singapore's streets and houses, but today electric lights are used. The Singapore visitors website states that Deepavali, the most important date of the Hindu calendar, occurs on one day during October, and in the ethnic quarter of Little India, the festivities last practically for the whole month of October. Deepavali is the Festival of Lights, and marks the defeat of the evil King Narakasura by the Lord Krishna. All round the world, Hindus celebrate this day as the triumph of light over darkness, and of good over evil. It marks the new beginning for Hindu devotees, and is a great time of rejoicing and renewal. During this time, Little India throbs with evening roadside stalls, booming music and strings of colourful lights. Shoppers throng the streets in search of the perfect sari to wear, or to fill their baskets with Indian foods and spices. Hindu homes are lighted with oil lamps , and offerings of sweetmeats and garlands of jasmine are placed at the family altar. The streets and temples of Little India are lit up with streamers and fairy lights lining the streets and forming arches and gateways to the night bazaars. The reference to Little India indicates a part of town. Singapore has very distinct districts such as Little India, Chinatown, Queenstown, etc.

September/October - Time for Festivals

Back home I know that now starts the all the fall carnivals and such, like the Scarecrow Festival in Chappel Hill, various church bazaars, etc. Well, it is Festival Time here in Singapore too. However these festivals are very deeply rooted in religion, faith and nationalities. Not knowing really what they were about I thought I would do a little research on the internet and share with you as well. The first one I looked up is called Hari Raya. Across the street from the office on Beach Rd. they have been constructing a huge tent and stage area for this fesitval. This isn't just an oridnary tent. It has metal truss-work and arches. It is about a football field in length. Then the stage setup was just as elaborate. The last few days you could hear the music and if you looked out the window you could see people rehearsing dances and their songs. This is what one website says about the celebration: Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidilfitri, is one of the most significant celebrations for Muslims. It marks the culmination of Ramadan, a month-long fasting period and a time for abstinence, reflection and worship. This year, the streets of Kampong Gelam and Geylang Serai will be lit from 22 September to 31 October. A great time to experience and be immersed in the essence of Malay culture, visitors are in for a treat with the colourful festive bazaars and numerous food stalls offering traditional handicraft, Malay fare and invigorating music and performances. I also found that the term Hari Raya literally means the "day of celebration". During Ramadan Muslims may not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. When Ramadan is over, Muslims celebrate with feasts and gifts. In May, Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Haji, which marks the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. So know I know...and so do you too!

Did I Hear What I Thought I Heard?

I was listening to the radio today in the car. Since there isn't a country radio station here in Singapore I was listening to their version of a rock station. A rock station that played the Macarana song earlier. Anyway...the song I was listening to at the moment of surprise was Gwen Stephani's Hollaback Girl. If you arent' familiar with the song the word Sh*t is used frequently. Back in Houston the radio stations bleeped out the word however here I was very surprised to hear them play it without the bleeps. Here everything is scensored...the news on TV, the newspapers, TV shows, etc. that's why I was so surprised. Even the dj's say somethings that have surprised me as well. Maybe things have changed since I was here 3 years ago.

A Pirate-y Thing For Ye!

Lauri got me started on this priate stuff. Take the quiz and get yer own Pirate name:

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Kidd

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

School Moms

Most of the functions dealing with getting parents of the kids together for coffees and such are scheduled during the morning or at a time when I am at work. You see it is very uncommon for the expat wives to work here. I feel like I am the only one. There may be some that teach at the school, but who knows. However last night there was an evening get together so I took advantage of the opportunity and went. Now I am not the PTA mom, let's meet for coffee and let our kids play mom or the teacher's helper-homeroom mom. Nothing against all that but I work and I love my job. So I wasn't sure if I would have anything in common with these ladies who don't work and whose kids are in school all day but they still feel the need for a live-in domestic helper. I was presently surprised. One of the ladies husband works for the same company I do. Another was from Houston and her husband works for Exxon-Mobile. There were ladies there from California and Japan too. Some had been in Singapore for 2 years and some 2 weeks. It was a nice evening and I really hated that I had to leave early. Hopefully there will be other events that I can go to and get to know some of them better. I'm sure having a network of other ladies to ask questions of and possibly answer some as well would be nice.

We Are A Part Of History

...well at least that's what the announcer said at the very first basketball game Singapore has ever had. They now have their own team called the Singapore Slingers. Looking for something fun for Avery and I to do I bought us tickets. Not just any tickets but court-side seats. No way could we have ever afforded (or least spent the amount for) those seats at a Houston Rockets game. They were about $30 each. The game was played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It's a nice place but they aren't set up with the food vendors like the Toyota Center or Reliant Stadium. They had two areas open that were run by 7-11 with hotdogs and chicken sandwiches. No beer or wine can be brought into the arena which takes a little bit of the fun out of it. The game was good. I was worried that the team would be a group of short Chinese guys but I was wrong. It was mostly Australian guys. They will be playing all season against other Australian teams. Their mascot is of course the Merlion. They even had a cheer squad. I think they were called the Slingers Girls. They actually did cheers however even sitting as close as we were we couldn't hear them. They need to put them over the PA system. Avery actually had to catch the ball at one point to keep from getting hit. I think we will try to go again. The Slingers won which was even better. I'll add some pictures when I get home.

Starting to Feel Like Home

Well we got some more of our furniture delivered Monday. They delivered the sofa set and the dining room table and chairs. At first I thought the chairs were not covered in the fabric that Rob and I selected but it's starting to grow on me. The pictures below show the red that I thought we picked out but in real-life they don't appear to be that bright. Anyway...not much else to write about so I won't bore you. Oh! I actually heard a contry song on the radio. Their Rock 98.0 station plays Rascal Flats! I can deal with that. I wonder if they take requests???

The Big 4-0!

Saturday was my hubbie's birthday...it wasn't just any old birthday ... it was the BIG 4-0! It was sad not being there to help him celebrate! However we have such great friends that they all took him out to dinner on his birthday Saturday night. Sherrie & Joe invited him, Blair and Cristie out for dinner. They all went to the Melting Pot. I've never been but I've heard about it. Rob and Blair said it was wonderful. They were there for about 2-1/2 hours. I'm glad that he went out and celebrated his birthday even though Avery and I couldn't be there too. We will do something for him when he gets back over here.

So sweetie...I hope this is a wonderful year for you...here is a year full of birthday wishes just for you!

HaPpy BiRtHdAy

And wonderful memories of your brother John on what would have been his birthday too. We miss you!

The Price of Wine

You know that bottle of Berringer White Zinfendel that you can get at HEB for about $5? Here that same bottle is S$26, or about $16.50US. Any form of alcohol...beer, white, liquor is a lot more expensive here. So when we had dinner and two glasses of wine for S$12.50 per person you know that is a good deal. Avery and I had dinner at the Brittish Club with Zoe and her two little ones (Liam & Katie) and another family they met there. Normally when you go out to eat you can expect to pay about $14 for a margarita, $10 for a beer and about $12 for a glass of wine. Granted being a member of the Brittish Club means that you have paid some form of membership fee and probably monthly dues as well so if you factor that in the price of the meal it might just be about the normal price if not more. However, we went as guests so I thought it was a good deal. The other really cool thing was there were monkeys sitting right outside were we where sitting. They were soooo cuuutttteeee! Avery took a picture with my cellphone but I can't figure out how to get the pictures off my phone to add to my post. There was even a baby one. Zoe said one time they were there the monkeys were "pinching" the pringles off the tables...translated to American English I believe she meant they were swiping the potato chips off the tables. Back to the subject of alcohol...anyone that comes to see us will have to visit the duty free shops in the airport to help us stock our bar.

Hair & Humidity

Well...I cut my hair. I didn't cut it...I went to a hair salon and had it cut. For those of you that know me you know that I had short hair a couple of years ago. I started growing it out so I wouldn't look like a guy when I wore my cowboy hat during rodeo (Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo). However, I haven't had a good hair day since I got here. It was depressing me. You know when your hair looks like crap, you feel like crap. At least I do anyway. The climate here is very tropical. I know back home in Houston we had hot weather and 100% humidity but it's just different here. So, anyway...now my hair is short again and rather than being flat, stuck to my head it has body. I was kinda nervous going to get it cut. I didn't know who to call. I'm one of those people that find a hairdresser they like then stick with them forever...well until you move to Singapore! So I searched around the internet and saw they had a Toni&Guy Salon. That was a name I recognized so I went there. I think she did a good job. I'm happy with it. Now let's see if I can remember how to style it in the morning.

What do you do with a Night Club during the day?

In Singapore you turn it into a flea market! Sunday Avery and I went to a place called Zouk's Free & Easy Flea Market. When we got there we could tell it was a night club. Looked pretty nice. It was free to get in so guess what that means? It means it was PACKED. After looking a what a few of the people there were selling it looked more like an indoor garage sale to me. I guess that is what a flea market is all about. I've been to Canton, TX and it wasn't like that. It was so crowded that you could hardly walk around..you had to squeeze your way through. I don't see how anyone sold anything. Anytime you stopped to look at something you were constantly being bumped by the other people trying to get by. Avery and I did manage to purchase a few things...we are girls so of course we had to buy something. We found a guy selling jewelry so be bought a few pairs of earrings to "share". I also found a cute necklace. After one trip around we left. We then headed over to Orchard Road. We went to this demo they were having in front of one of the malls and bought this thing you can plug into your computer and top-off your EzLink Card from home. Then we went over to Borders Books store and bought two books: one on the different Hawker stands and the different types of foods and one one SHOPPING in Singapore!

A Few Good Ideas

There are a few things that I've notcied so far that they really got right over here. I'm sure there are others but this is what I have noticed so far:

1. When you are driving down the road and you come to an area that is marked off with yellow stripes, you can't stop there if the traffic light turns red, or there is traffic and you just slow down to a creep. These areas are marked so that you don't block traffic from some parking lots, business exits and side streets from entering the road way. No more rude drivers that rather than leave enough space for you to pull out they pull right up to the bumper of the car in front of them...never mind the light is red and they aren't going anywhere anyway. I know you can relate! Think about the last time you went to leave the grocery store parking lot in an area where there is a lot of traffic...wouldn't it be nice for there to be a nice wide painted area reserved for you to pull out into when the traffic is backed up. OK...I know there are some of you here thinking...yeah, right...like a painted section of the road would keep...what would keep drivers from ignoring it and pulling to a stop right over it during heavy traffic? Well, here the penalties for breaking the law are strict, they don't mess around. Civil liberties...we don't need no stinking civil liberties.
2. On a lighter side...how many times have you gone shopping and there wasn't a shopping cart available? They were all scattered about the parking lot. Well here you have to put $1 (they don't have $1 bills they have coins) into a slot on this mechanism attached to the handle on the cart (here they are called trolleys) to release the cart. After you are done with the cart you put it back, when you latch it to the cart in front of it you get your $1 back. Now isn't this a good idea? If shoppers didn't care enough about loosing their $1 you can bet that the kids in the area would be staking out the parking lot to put the carts back to get the $1. Kinda like when we used to return glass Coke bottles for candy money when I was little. I think it's a great idea. Before I knew you got $1 back I thought it was just another way Singapore had to get money out of you.

Our stuff is on it's way

Well Rob was able to get our personal items shipped out yesterday. Not everything made it as we were over our 1000 lb. weight limit. I'm excited and looking forward to seeing what all he sent. I have some idea but there's no way to know exactly. We still have clothes in suitcases because I refuse to go spend money on clothes hangers when I knew I had 100's of them at home. I hope those are on their way. We have moved up from paper plates and now have regular dishes. However, we are still using plasticware until our shipment arrives. I had to sacrafice my golf clubs and our bikes so that he could send all of my scrap booking supplies. I needed new golf clubs anyway and bicycles can be found cheap here too, about $30.

New dishes: See that little sticker on the top of the plate? Each piece had on on it. It took me FOREVER to peel them all off.



At lunch today I walked to the post office then after that I walked over to Sim Lim Square to find a cheap Skype phone. (Sim Lim is a huge multistory mall with nothing but electronics...a geeks wonderland) I found one for about $25. It connects to the computer via USB cable. They have wireless ones and even ones that you can travel with and make calls anywhere there is a wireless connection. But Rob is sending our webcam that has a built in microphone so I wan't just the basic model. Anyway once I got home I plugged it in. About an hour later Rob calls! It's really COOL. We can talk over the internet for FREE. We talked for half an hour, clear too. I could see Rob because he has a webcam, but he couldn't see me. I got to sit there and talk to him while I watched him get ready for work. So .. if you have friends, family or co-workers and you want to talk to them for free, get yourself a microphone or webcam and download Skype. We even bought a local number so when we are all over here in Singapore, family members back in Texas without a computer can call us using a regular phone. It's free for them and next to nothing for us. Pennies! You can Skype us at weissfamilyinsingapore

Going to miss my sweetie's Birthday!

Everyone out there, please join me in wishing Robert a Happy Birthday. It's the big 40!! and I'm going to miss it!!! :-(

Sorry honey! Wish Avery and I were there with you!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm

While in some cases Singapore is very high tech. For example, they have eZLink cards that you use for the bus or to buy a Big Mac; and they have Cash Cards which allow you to park in parking garages, use the ERP lanes and shop for groceries. Both of which can have funds added at 7-11, online, or at AXS Stations. These AXS stations look like teller machines but you can pay bills at them, buy movie tickets, buy airline tickets and much more. They are all over the place. Singapore has some of the coolest cellphones I've ever seen. My daughter can do her homework online then drop it into her teachers drop-off box without ever having to sharpen a pencil. So why then can I not find something as simple as a make-up mirror with a light???? This is my mission. I have looked at every store I have been to. Remember now, shopping here isn't as easy as pulling into the parking lot at the nearest Wal-Mart or Target. No, you have to first of all select which store out of the thousands of stores that are near by, drive there, park in the parking garage (car park here) and fight your way through all the other people that have also gone shopping at the same time. Shopping is the national pastime here. I've seen some pretty interesting stuff while on my quest, but not what I'm looking for...the search goes on.

I Feel Whole Again!

Being from Texas having a car (or truck) means a lot! It gives us our independence. We are free to hop in the car and go for a drive whenever we feel like and go wherever we want to go. I'm sure people from some other states and more urban areas don't fully understand this feeling. Well yesterday I got my car. It looks just like the silver one below. I love it. I would have loved just about anything at this point as long as it had 4 wheels. Don't get me wrong, public transportation in Singapore is wonderful. They have taxis, the bus and MRT. All of which are very affordable, taxi's being the most convenient and the highest price. That's they way I've been getting around since I've been here. You just stand along the side of the road and give the "taxi wave", they stop, you get in and they take you to your next destination. Only downside...when it rains you cannot get a taxi. You can't even call and reserve one. They will tell you they are too busy and to call later. So this morning when it was raining as I left for work I was happy to be behind the wheel of my own car. Glad not to be standing on the side of the road holding my umbrella and doing the "taxi wave" while dodging the road spray as the buses drive by.

Saturday - Got a lot done

Today was pretty productive. After Avery took off to meet her friends at the mall I headed to Orchard Rd. Mission: to find dishes. We determined that our blue and off-white one's not only wouldn't match, but they would use up a lot of precious cargo weight. The ones I found are very unique looking. They are brown and the glaze on them is textured, not just a smooth glossy finish. They have an unusual shape as well. After buying the dishes and spending a small fortune on sheets I went to Mustafa's in Little India. I finally had the time to wonder all over the store by myself. The place is HUGE and they have EVERYTHING there. I should have waited to buy my sheets there. They had aisles of sheets. The sheets sets here are different. In a set you get a fitted sheet, pillow cases, a bolster cover and sometimes a duvet (quilt) cover. It wasn't until I opened a package that I knew what a bolster was. If you are unaware too, it's a long cylinder shaped pillow. Not sure what it's for? Lower back pain? To elevate your feet? Not sure. It was hard not to buy more than I could carry. I will be back.

Anyway...later that evening we went to dinner at One Rochester. VERY NICE. We were there as guests of one of the owners. We were there for 4 hours. We had a wonderful 5 course meal with a different wine with each course. Surprised I am able to type!! It had a very unique setting. The restaurant is nestled in the trees, you can't see it from the road. The seating is very informal and comfortable. You feel like you are at home away from home. We sat in the Garden area outside. Most of the seating is on sofas and chairs, but they set up a table just for us. The main building used to be accommodations for the military officers. The rooms were called: The Living Room, The Playroom, The Library, etc. Each of them felt like you were at your own hone. The seating is very intimate and personal. I love the place. The drinks were wonderful. We had all different types of wine during dinner. Afterwards we tried several types of Martinis. We had Peach, Watermelon, Chocoalte and Lychees martinis. They were all wonderful. The hospitality and the food made it one of the most memorable evenings I've had here. Here is the link to their restaurant: One Rochester.

First Night That Felt Normal

Last night I met my co-workers and their families at the Hard Rock Cafe for one of their son's birthday. It was nice to relax and visit with everyone. Having something to eat that tasted like good ol' American food was nice too. My parents happened to be having dinner right around the corner so afterwards I walked over there and had a margarita with them. I was meeting Avery at the movie theatre when she got done with gymnastics so my parents gave me a ride over to the Great World City Shopping Center. Avery met me there. We saw "Monster House". It was a good show. The movie theatres here have assigned seating. I bought our tickets online and was able to select which seats we wanted at that time. Glad I didn't pick them closer to the screen than I did as the screen was huge and we would have been way too close.

Yesterday afternoon most of our furniture that we picked out was delivered. It will be another two weeks before our new dining room table and chairs and our sofa will be delivered. They make it to order. Here is a few pics of what we have now. It still looks a little bare. I can't wait for Rob to ship our personal items over so we can decorate some.

Shelving for all our pictures and knick-knacks.

Desk in the area we are setting up like a study.

Wicker Bed in the "Guest Room".

New tables and TV cabinet in the Living Room. Still waiting on the sofa set we picked out.

Table in the entry. We have two big mirrors to hang above it.

Weekend Plans

We'll here we are at the end of the week. Looks like we should be moving our offices to the shipyard in about two weeks. Not much planned to do. I won't have a rental car until next week. Supposed to go eat with my parents and a local business owner that they know Saturday night. Avery is making plans to spend some time with a friend she has made that believe it or not is moving back to Houston. I was kinda hoping to go shop for some plants but I guess I will put that off until I get a rental car. Our furniture that we picked out is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, however I didn't hear from them today.

I guess I'm feeling the effects of a long week (and I'm watching "Lost") soI'm having trouble concentrating. So rather than you having to read my ramblings I'll end now and try to come up with something better later.

My car should look like on of these:

Things We Take For Granted

Enjoyable as it is here, being a new experience and all, there are some conveniences that we (Americans) take for granted:

1. Hot dog and Hamburger buns come pre-sliced. You should have seen us try to pry the two halves apart. They were mutilated before we figured out they weren't sliced.
2. Refrigerated eggs. Since we hear so much about bacteria and salmonella, I am VERY leary about buying eggs in the grocery store that have not been stored in the refrigerated section.
3. 100's of channels and Pay-Per-View. Over here there are about 5 different Discovery Channels and National Geographics Channels. I think "Lost" comes on here on Thursday nights. I've seen it once. I don't think they get "Desperate Housewives" here.
4. That if some idiot on a motorcycle is cutting through traffic right down the center stripe, some Texan in a big pick-up truck will probably somehow ensure that he stops. Here it is a common occurance. There are people on mopeds, scooters and motorcycles zipping through traffic along the center stripe as if it is their own personal lane, made just for them.
5. And we probably take having our own car for granted. Since I have been here I have been using taxi's to get around. It really isn't too bad. When there is traffic I just sit back and relax and the driver has to deal with it. The downside is, just like I found out last night, when it's raining they are scarce! I tried calling one to come pick Avery and I to meet my mom and dad for dinner. Two cab companies I tried calling all I got was a busy signal. The 3rd one I got to ring, but after being on hold forever was told they were too busy and to call back later. So, needless to say we stayed in.

Things You Learn

This is a list of things you learn even if you have only been here a short time:

1. Take an umbrella with you whenever you go outside.
2. You will get charged for everything. We've had to pay for everything from a napkin at lunch, to use certain roads during certain times of the day, to park ANYWHERE, etc.
3. You don't have to tip. I tried to tip a taxi driver and he didn't understand at first. Bills for meals usually include a service charge, so you don't have to leave a tip.
4. People in the elevators don't have a sense of humor.
5. Don't expect people to hold the door open for you and they don't expect you to hold it open for them either.
6. When driving, don't be curteous. They don't understand what you are trying to do and it just confuses them.
7. Most of the people here are really friendly and curteous though when you speak to them in person.
8. We have copperheads and cottonmouths and they have spitting cobras.
9. At Mexican Food restaurants, chips and salsa are not free.
10. The whole chickens sold in the grocery store still have the head on them.

Things That Are Different Here

Here are a few things that are different here:

• Bathrooms don't have any electrical outlets. Of all the apartments we looked at, the one we moved into was the only one with an outlet in the bathroom. Only the Master bath has an outlet that you can plug a hair dryer, etc. into. Strange. Where do Singaporean's dry their hair?
• The kitchen's are not airconditioned. I was told that this is becuase usually the little Phillapino maid is in there cooking and she apparently doesn't need AC. Well, I do so I leave the door open from the kitchen to the rest of the apartment.
• There are gaps under the doors to the outside. No weather stripping. This explains the gecko's that invite themselves in at night. I found one in the coffee pot one morning. Maybe he hadn't had his caffine for the day yet.
• They have strange ice cream flavors here. No Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. Nope, instead they have Sweet Corn Flavored. I wonder what that would taste like with chocolate syrup on top?
• Shopping is the number one past-time. Can't explain it, you have to see it for yourself.
• The public toilets have two options: 1) normal - sit and do your business or 2) squat over a hole in the floor to do your business. I'm sure you have all seen that email that floats around about women having to use the public toilets and having to "hover", so they are about the same either way.

On another note: Kim and Sherrie are going to see Dwight Yoakam at Verizon Wireless in Houston. I'm jealous! Y'all have fun and take lots of pictures.

Pictures of Where We Are

Here are some pictures of our apartment and the view from our balcony. I've also included a picture of the swimming pool which I haven't had a chance to try out yet but Avery and Rob did before Rob headed back to Katy. The furniture is temporary. I'll upload new pics when we get the furniture we picked out.

Today Avery is going to go to gymnastics. I'll take a taxi to go pick her up then perhaps we will take the bus back. I'll let you know how that goes!

Back In Singapore

Well, I got back and spent Saturday afternoon shopping at Carrefour. The closest thing to a Super Wal-Mart Singapore has. Starting over from scratch is expensive. I spent a ton of money and feel like I still don't have enough ingredients to cook anything. People say that you can eat cheaper here than you can cook. That may be so but Avery would probably be eating fried rice every meal. Unfortunately her and I don't like the same things or we could share a dish. Most meals are big enough to share. I like spicy and she doesn't and she likes onions and I don't. Rob and I spent a while on the phone figuring out what to ship over and what to store. It seems like every five minutes I think of something else. Hopefully it won't take too long to get everything boxed up and shipped. For now I just have to remind myself that this is only temporary and that soon it will be more like home. Avery and I sure miss Rob and Blair...and all our family and friends back home. Pleased hit the comment link below and leave us message.

It's Sunday night, I imagine Rob will be calling soon. I'm sure he will want to talk to Avery. Avery went to Malaysia with my mom and dad for the weekend. I bet that was a nice change of pace. She bought several DVD's while she was there. Now if we only had a DVD player. Tomorrow Avery should start back at gymnastics. I'm sure it will be tough. She hasn't been to gym in about 3 weeks (not counting the one day she worked out here). I'm sure she will be sore. I hope she likes it and sticks with it. I'll give her something to do when I have to start working more hours. Well, gotta go. I'll try not to bore you with the day to day stuff and concentrate on any unique things that happen. Oh! That reminds me, I've had several people comment thinking I was from Australia, even the cab driver that brought me home Saturday from the airport. There were a lot of Australians on the rig and I couldn't understand half of what they said, I don't see how anyone could think I was Australian. Maybe most Caucasian people they see are from Australia because it's so much closer than the US.

Friday - Heading Back to Land

Friday morning. I can't believe I got up all week without an alarm clock. I'm not talking 9AM, more like 5:30 - 6:00 AM. I wrapped things up Friday morning. I packed up this laptop as soon as I was done checking my email that morning. I was on the first helicopter off the rig that morning. Unfortunately it was Saturday afternoon before I get back to Singapore. I spent Friday night in Perth. It wasa b usy week. I created all the drawings that I needed to and they are in for engineering review. Any last minute changes I can do back in S'pore.

I was really curious about Barrow Island. From Perth, I had to fly to Barrow Island then take a helicopter from there to the rig. At the airport in Perth they check the bottom of your shoes for any dirt you might be bringing in from somewhere else. They even looked at the new flip-flops I bought to wear on the rig. . .they still had the tags on them. There were signs all over the place about what you couldn't bring with you. I was only allowed 10kg (about 22 lbs) of luggage. When you are carrying workboots with you that doesn't leave much else. Anyway, the island was really small, you could see the whole island from the air. The only thing there was pumping stations and huge termite mounds. There were small shrubs too. The water was beautiful. At the small airport there you couldn't leave and walk to the beach or anything, you had to stay right there. Anyway, I was wondering what was so special about this place so today I did some checking on the internet and found a couple of sites that had some information I thought I would share with y'all: Barrow Island Story 1, Barrow Island Story 2 and Barrow Island Story 3 .

Flying back from Barrow Island to Australia I sat next to the window. The ground below was a redish-brown color. The only places where plants were growing was in the valleys. From the air it looked like the valleys were blood vessels and veins. Here is a picture I found online that kinda shows what it looked like:


I would like to go back to Australia, but definately with the rest of the family on vacation. The city of Perth was nice. There were a lot of unique shops and pubs. I wish I would have had a little more time to spend there.

Recap of the past two weeks

OK.. The first post here will be to catch everyone up as to what has been happening up to this point.

Sunday, August 6, 2006: We leave Houston for Singapore. Flight was delayed and they had our seats scattered all about the plane. It took the lady at the gate counter about 1-1/2 hours but she got our seats all together. Mental note to self: Asian people are strange none of them wanted to move so we could sit together. We missed our connecting flight from Tokyo to Singapore. We were told in Houston that we would be on the Nippon flight that would arrive in S'pore at 1:20AM (Tuesday - you loose a day traveling to S'pore). So I got this message to my mom and dad who were going to meet us at the airport just to say hi! Anyway, when we got to Tokyo they put us on a JAL flight that arrived in S'pore at 12 midnight. When we got there the driver that was supposed to have our temp. apartment key and Rob's cell phone was nowhere to be found. I couldn't reach my parents so we hung around the airport so we could see them. We got a taxi van to the apartment. There wasn't anyone at the gate to let us in. It's now 2:15AM. Luckily we knew the apartment number of Neil & Zoe (Rob's co-worker and his wife) so we rang them. They let us in the gate. We camped out with them for the evening. It was 4AM before we went to bed.

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006: We get up to take Avery to her new student/parent orientation at her school. That all went well. We were really tired but felt especially bad for Avery because she had to take a placement test for math. She did fine on the test. Afterwards they served lunch in the library and we had the chance to meet some other kids and their parents.

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006: Is National Day (kinda like our Independence Day). It's a holiday in Singapore. The stores are open - they are always open in S'pore. We did some shopping. Our temp. apartment has 3 towels, 2 glasses, no washcloths, no dish towels, no cooking utensils. That evening we went to my parents for a B-B-Q. They invited some of their friends and co-workers of my dads. It was a great evening except Avery got sick and spent the evening upstairs in my parents apartment. Mom fixed brisket, chicken, corn and potato salad. We had beer, wine and margaritas...just like home.

Thursdy, August 10th, 2006: We go apartment hunting. We needed to get all of that taken care of while Rob was still in S'pore. Normally it is a long drawn out process. You have to have an Employment Pass before you can rent an apartment, get utilities, open a bank account, ect. Noble made arrangements for Jurong Shipyard to sponsor us for our apartments so we didn't have to wait on the EP. We looked at several places and decided on a unit at Maplewoods Condos. We got the paperwork started. It was very stressful as Noble did not have the funds in place so we had to turn all the paperwork in first then they released the funds. It took until the first part of the following week to get it all taken care of.

Friday, August 11th, 2006: My first day at work. Didn't do too much as my boxes of office stuff and my PC hadn't been delivered to the office yet. It did arrive after lunch but I didn't have anyway to plug it in. So I mainly visited with my two co-workers, Larry and Chris, the Project Manager and Project Administrator. After work that day Rob and Avery came by and picked me up in a cab and we went and checked out Avery's new gym. For dinner we went to Newton Circus. All hawker stands, and overpriced. The food was good though. I had Chili Crab, Avery had Shrimp Fried Rice and Rob had Broiled Prawns and then he had Grilled Stingray.

Saturday, August 12th, 2006: That morning was New Student Orientation for Avery. She got her schedule and was able to locate all her classes and meet her teachers. Afterwards we took Avery to gym then Rob and I went and looked at furniture to lease. We picked out most of what we wanted and thought we would go to Ikea and look as well. We had dinner that night with Neil and Zoe at Clarke Quay. There is a Mexican food place there called the Blue Iguana or something like that.

Sunday, August 13th, 2006: We got up that morning and went to Ikea with Avery. We picked out a bed for the guest room. Avery decided she wanted her bed from home so we will ship it with the rest of our stuff. That evening we went out to eat for my mom's birthday at a really nice restaurant. It's hidden back in the trees along with several other restaurants. You would never have known they were there. The place we ate at was Mexican food (you'll begin to see a pattern here). There was also a wine & tapas place, an Italian restaurant, and some others. I definately want to go back there.

Monday, August 14th, 2006: Avery's first day of school. I rode with her to school in a cab. The ride to the office afterwards took forever, the traffic was bad. Work was fine. I had my computer so I was actually able to get some stuff done. Rob rode in a cab and picked Avery up from school. She had a good day at school and made some new friends. After work we went and looked a one of my dad's friends apartment in the same complex as where we were looking. His rent was a lot cheaper so we wanted to make sure we weren't being ripped off. His was slightly smaller. I'm sure if we were able to work our own deal we could have gotten it slightly cheaper but we had to use this guy Noble had contacted to use. I bet someone is getting some $$ for it.

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006: Rob rode with Avery to school and I went straight to the office. At the office I spent some time getting drawings off of the server back in Houston since it was so slow to work on them over the network. Avery rode in the cab home by herself from school. After work we went shopping for items we need for the new apartment. As bad as the temp. apartment was, at least it had sheets, plates, pots, pans, etc. I hated to spend a lot of money on stuff because Rob is going to ship household items over once he gets back.
Wednesday, August 16th, 2006: Avery rode to school by herself in a cab! We are making progress. It's just much safer here than back home. The cab driver told us that kids as young as 7 or 8 ride by themselves. After work, more shopping for the new apartment. We had this stuff set up to be delivered the next day as we got the key today.
Thursday, August 17th, 2006: Avery and I went to school and work. Rob had a busy day ahead. He had to go to the new apartment at 9AM to make arrangements for the temp. furniture to be delivered. He had to go back to the temp. apartment and bring all of our stuff down from the 4th floor by stair (no elevator). Each of our suitcases weighed about 70 lbs., plus all the stuff we had bought already. He called a guy with a van to move it all over to the new apartment. Then the TV was delivered, then that evening the stuff we bought the night before was delivered. First night in the new place! Much nicer than the temp. apartment.

Friday, August 18th, 2006: Avery and I get up extra early. Rob set the alarm clock 1 hour early by mistake. So, she and I walk down to the McDonald's on the corner for breakfast. We each go to school and work. We had deliveries scheduled from Ikea today. For dinner we went out to eat Mexican food with Larry and his family, Chris and his family, Ron Davis and his daughter Hannah, my mom, Neil, Zoe and their kids. The food was good and the margaritas were even better.

Saturday, August 19th, 2006: Avery and I walk down to the shopping center/mall. We get some clothes hangers and lots of other things. Our fingers are about to fall off as we walk back. That's one thing that is different about shopping in S'pore. You can't just pull up in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart, load up your basket, pile it all in your car/truck, drive home, park in your drive way and bring it all in. You learn not to buy more than you can easily carry (I just haven't figured out how much that is yet) because getting it home always involves a taxi and stairs. Anyway we quickly learn we didn't buy enough hangers. I still have one suit case overflowing with clothes that need to be hung up. Later that evening I have to start packing for my trip to our rig the Jack Bates. That night we had dinner with my mom and dad a little hawker stand down the road and they got to see our apartment.

Sunday, August 20th, 2006: 6AM came way too soon. I had to get up and be downstairs at 7AM to catch a taxi for the airport. I had to say bye to Rob as he was leaving Monday to head back to Houston. I gave Avery a kiss and told her bye and headed downstairs. I also think I lost my new sunglasses!!! I caught a plane to Perth where I spent the night. Talked to Rob and Avery that night on the phone. Rob was getting ready to head home.

Monday, August 21st, 2006: 3AM came even earlier than 6AM the day before. I had to check out of the hotel by 4AM to get a cab to the airport to catch a 6:30 flight to Barrow Island where I caught the helicopter to the rig.
Well, the rest of the week this is where I have been. It's now Thursday evening. I get off the rig tomorrow and fly back to Singapore on Saturday. I am anxious to get back. I really hope I find my sunglasses!!! I've figured out how to use the phone on the rig and have been able to talk to Rob and Avery a few times. Well, I think I've got y'all caught up to now. I'll keep this thing updated so check back when you can and let us know what's going on with you. (Danann, this was your idea so you better be readin' :-p )