I'm SO Excited!!

Rob has agreed to go with me to see Mark Chesnutt in October in JAPAN!! WhooHoo!! I am SO excited. For those of you that know me, you know that one of my favorite things to do is go to concerts with friends. Looks like it's time for a new ticker:

Thought I smelled something

Yesterday we were so busy here at work and had back-to-back meetings that I never got to go eat lunch. I had a bag of microwave popcorn instead. And as you can tell....I burned it. That's all I can smell this morning. I couldn't figure out why I was still smelling burnt popcorn from yesterday until I remembered I through a big fused ball of it in the garbage and our guy that empties the trash cans hasn't made it around yet. I guess I'll go find a place to dump this out. I do know how to microwave popcorn by the way...but remember our microwaves here don't have the cool "popcorn button", so I didn't cook it long enough the first try so I added 30 seconds and it was just starting to pop again when there was like 10 seconds left so I kept adding time until I over cooked it.

Need a recipe?

I'm in the process of putting my favorite recipes on another blog site (What's Cookin' Tonight). I love cookbooks and clipping recipes out of magazines to try later. In an effort to get them all in one location I am putting them on my blog. Feel free to take a look and try some out. I'm happy to share. In an effort not to infringe any one's rights I have added the source of the recipe at the bottom of each recipe if I know where it came from.

What's up with the Kleenex's?

See the box of Kleenex's in the back window of this car? No? They are hidden in the "cute" little fuzzy box shaped like a house with a duck peeking out of the front door. Now do you see them? The tissues are dispensed through the chimney. (BTW...it was a guy driving this car). It's really strange to me to see all these cars over here with at least one box of tissues in the back window or on the front dash. A lot of times you see two, one on each side. AND they must sell these decorative covers somewhere. This morning coming to work I saw a Strawberry shaped box cover, again fuzzy, sort of like a stuffed animal. (Again, another male driver) If you were in need of a Kleenex, how do you get to it if they are in the back window? Oh! Wait a minute! That helps explain the bad driving!

Pictures from Phuket

Busy 'Round Here

Well, this week has been super busy with work. So I haven't had much free time to update here. Let's see...

• At Avery's graduation she received a Presidential Excellence Award for maintaining a 3.5 GPA throughout the year. I thought that was pretty cool.


• Afterwards we went to eat at a Brazilian Churascaria called Carnivour. It was ok..but not as good ad Fogo de Chao in Houston.


• Looks like I might go back to school to get an Engineering degree so that I can move up to Project Engineer with the company I work for. Excited about that too.


• Last Saturday I went to my first all-day scrapbooking workshop. It was from 10:00AM to 11:00 PM. Believe it or not time flew by. It was a lot of fun.


• We have removed the derrick and the drill floor off the rig that we are upgrading here in Singapore. Here are some pictures of that:

End of the 8th Grade

This post is geared more towards family & friends just update y'all on Avery. She had her 8th grade dance this past Friday and today is her 8th grade gradutation. I can't believe she is going to be in High School next year. Tomorrow is their last day of school. Rather than going to school they are taking a day trip to one of the islands close by. I'm not sure how many of her friends are headed back to the states or wherever they call home for the summer. Hopefully there will be enough of them around though so she doesn't get too bored.

Signs

Why is it that I am living in a country where over 75% of the population is Chinese do you not see any street signs written in Chinese, but back in Houston, in the areas where the residents are mainly Chinese the street signs are written in Chinese and English?

Ewww!

Ok...I have come to the conclusion that Singapore women must not wear slips under their skirts and dresses. Avery has her 8th grade dance tonight. Last night we went on a search for a 1/2 slip to wear under her dress. Why did I wait until the last minute? What was I thinking? Had I known that our trip to one of the largest, newest malls on the island wouldn't have a store that carried slips I would have started looking months ago or had someone send one over to us. Not only did the stores we went in not carry them, they looked at us like we had lost our minds. And I'm sure I was giving them the same look back. The sales ladies in one store, hell I'll name names TANGS, were all standing around not doing a damn thing including offering assistance to Avery and I as we scoured the lingerie department for a slip. I asked the lady in the section to the far left of the department and she sent us all the way over to the far right end. Of course when we got there they didn't carry them. The lady looked at me like she didn't even know what I was talking about. I asked if they knew of a store where we might find one (which is something I would have offered on my own if I had been the salesperson) and of course she had no idea. At that point you know I couldn't resist making some smart a** remark about the women in Singapore not wearing slips....EWWW! .... especially since everyone was being so friendly and helpful, NOT! So, leaving the mall...slipless...I told Avery I would go look today at lunch. And again, no luck, even in a lingerie store...where that is all they sell. Where is a Kohl's or Wal-mart when you need one?

Welfare Urine Test

Thank's to my hubbie for this post topic. I like the way this guy thinks! If you can't read the photo, this is what is says:

Don't help people sit on their rears

I have a question, not only for Douglas County, but for the entire state of Oregon. Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me, I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as they see fit. In order for me to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test, which I have no problem with.

What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check, because I have to pass one to go earn it for them?

Please understand, I have nothing against helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sit on their butt. Could you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?

Leonard Wilson

Learn to Speak Chinese!

Thank you Breann for supplying me with today's post! I love it!! It's perfect for being over here. I think I'll try some of these:

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (You MUST read them aloud)


English Chinese

That's not right Sum Ting Wong

Are you harboring a fugitive? Hu Yu Hai Ding

See me ASAP Kum Hia Nao

Stupid Man Dum Dum

Small Horse Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach? Wai Yu So Tan

I bumped into a coffee table Ai Bang Mai Ni

I think you need a face lift Chin Tu Fat

It's very dark in here Wai So Dim

I thought you were on a diet Wai Yu Mun Ching

This is a tow away zone No Pah King

That hurt. Ou Chi

Staying out of sight. Lei Ying Lo

He's cleaning his automobile Wa Shing Ka

Your body odor is offensive. Yu Stin Ki Pu

Great!!!! Su Pa

My Mother's day present

While we were in Phuket we visited a huge jewelry store. Thailand is known for their mining of sapphires and rubies. Rob was wanting to get me a mother's ring with Avery's birthstone being diamonds and Blair's being rubies we were in the perfect place to look. When we first walked in I spotted the most beautiful ruby ring I have ever seen. The ruby looked like it was on fire. But the price tag, although much better than in the US, was still more than what we were looking at spending. I found another really pretty ring with channel set diamonds and rubies in two rows. We bought that one however they had to re-size it and when they cut the ring all the stones came loose. So, they had to repair it and deliver it to us the next day. Well, when the delivered it the repair was done very poorly. So we went back up the the store later that afternoon. After a lot of looking and discussion, we left a deposit on the ring we saw first. I told Rob that if our plans were to come back at a later date and hope that ring was still there (or one like it), I'd rather just put the money into that one rather than buying one now then another one later. My birthstone is also the ruby (Blair and I have the same b-day). Tell me what you think:

What Flavor Margarita are You?

In honor of it being Friday and a great day to enjoy a Margarita, here is another quiz I took at Lauri's Blog:

You Are an Orange Margarita

At first glance, you are very unique - but deep down you are still quite a traditionalist. A margarita may be "too fancy" for you, but you'll never turn a free one down.

What Flavor Margarita Are You?

Don't Squat on the Toilet Seat

If someone said something to me about squatting on the toilet seat I would assume they were talking about what I refer to as "hovering". When most gals use a public restroom we either "hover" over the seat never coming in physical contact with the toilet seat or we put t.p. on the seat before sitting down. The second option is one I reserved for my two girls when they were younger, before they were too big to "hover". So with that little bit of backgound info there you can see how I was amused by the following sign in the ladies restroom at the shipyard where we have our weekly meetings:

Look at the drawing of the toilet in the bottom left of the sign. There are two footprints on either side of the toilet seat!!!! You see here, most public restrooms have western toilets, like what we have in our homes and they also have "holes in the ground"...well that's what I call them anyway or also known as "squat toilets". To use one of these, you stand with your feet on either side of the hole and lower your pants, squat and pee. Kinda like you would if you were camping. But I would think it would be tricky to get your clothes out of the line of fire while not emptying the contents of your pockets into the toilet. You will also find some of these types of toilets come with a water spray nozzle on a hose attached to a spicket on the wall. I don't even want to get a metal image of how you clean up yourself with one of those things. So why would someone go through all of that and stand on the seat when they can just use the toilet the way it was designed to be used?

Off to Phuket

I meant to post this before I left on Friday....oh well! This is where we went. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them off the camera.

Well while the rest of you are slaving away at work on Friday we will be jetting off for a much needed break in Phuket Thailand. Phuket is an island in the Indian Ocean, 867km from Bangkok. Where we will lounge around the beach and the pool bar, drink too much, eat too much and sleep too much. I will work on my tan. I'm paler now than I have ever been and I live 1 degree north of the equator! That's SAD! It will be a short weekend trip but that is OK. It will give us a chance to check things out and plan a longer trip there in the future. I'm sure sometime during the weekend we will squeeze in a spa and some shopping. We will be staying on Karon Beach which is one of Phuket's longest beaches. There are a lot of things to do in Phuket, such as: tours to the temples there, visit their aquarium and butterfly farm or sea shell museum. They also have shows with elephants. Not sure how much of that we will be able to do as I've already listed our top priorities for this trip, but there's always next time!

Blair's Aggie Ring Day!

Blair has put in for her ring audit so now we officially start the count down:

Another word I won't replace

I thought of another word I won't replace with the Singapore version:

Trunk --> they say Boot.

The first time I went to Avery's school which requires you to go through a security gate they asked to look in my "boot". If I hadn't see the car in front of me open their trunk for the security guard I don't think I would have known what he was talking about.

Cute Car!

Isn't this just about the cutest car you've ever seen? Rob and I saw this one afternoon while we were out and had to take a picture of it. Just to mess with Avery, we told her that we'd get it for her when she learns how to drive. Rob had to stand by it so you would be able to get a good idea just how small it really is. It was acutally for sale. I can't remember what the asking price was.

Miss All My Kitchen Stuff

I have to admit I like to cook when I don't have to cook. Does that make sense? I like cooking for parties and special occasions, not so much the day to day nessecity sort of cooking. I will also admit I love Pampered Chef kitchen stuff too. It makes cooking much more enjoyable. Luckily I have a friend who keeps my addiction satisfied. She sells Pampered Chef products. The only problem is figuring out how to get it over here. Daughter no. 2's birthday was on April 23rd. She wanted to take cup cakes to school. I soon figured out I needed a cup cake pan that holds more than 6 cupcakes. I bought that with big breakfast muffins in mind, not feeding an army of 8th graders. Then, she had some girls over for a slumber party to officially celebrate her birthday. I made a huge chocolate chip cookie cake and soon realized I needed a large bar pan to contain all of the cookie dough so it doesn't run over the sides of my rectangle stone and burn in the bottom of the oven. Luckily just as the first blobs where spilling over the edges I remembered I had two of those throw-away aluminum pans so I immediately put them in the bottom of the oven to catch all the ran over the sides. Eventually the dough was set enough that it quit dripping and finished baking. It came out just right. I trimed the edges with my pizza cutter so they were nice and straight. By that time the girls where all at that house and it was time to load up and hit the mall for a movie. Hubbie stayed home and after the cookie had cooled he decorated it. It turned out really cute. If he had the Easy Accent Decorator it may have even been cuter, maybe not. I thought he did a wonderful job. ('ll try to remember to post a photo of the cookie cake once I get home)

Are you a True Texan??

Here's another quiz. Thank God for quizzes - they make great fillers when you haven't had time to think of something interesting to write about. At least this test must have had all the correct answers as you can tell by my score. That other one was messed up somewhere. Now it's your turn....and let me know how you do. There's even a hint above:

You are 100% Texan!

Great Job, you got a passing grade!!! That's just Wonderful!!! you rock my Texas Socks!!!! Once again, congrats!!!

Are you a true Texan??
See All Our Quizzes

Oh! And Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Guys and their Toys

Ok. I've been dying to show y'all these pictures but unfortunately they were taken with my cell phone and aren't that good. The guys here are strange. How many guys from Texas do you know that would cover the dashboard in their car with these toys? You would think that these cars belong to girls....little girls that still play with toys. You don't see too many cars with bumper stickers but you see a lot of cars with toys. Toys on the dash, cute little stuffed pillows on the head rest with cute matching steering wheel covers and toys in the back window (or boxes of kleenex's - but that's another story). So, now that we have are getting a digital camera for the shipyard I'll try to keep camera in hand and post better pictures of this strange phenomenon.

Come back again and see what other fun toys I can find.

How Many Kinds of Tuna does a Person Need?

I doing some looking for grocery prices I came across all these different types of tuna in a can. I knew they had some different ones but I didn't realize there were this many. Which are your favorite? Are there any that you would like to try:

• Black Pepper Tuna
• Chili Tuna
• Curry Tuna
• Deli Tuna - Hot Mayo
• Deli Tuna - Mild Mayo
• Ginger Soy Tuna
• Onion Tomato Savoury Tuna
• Spicy Lemak Tuna
• Tom Yam Tuna
• Tomato Chili Tuna
• Tuna & Onion
• Tuna 1000 Island
• Tuna Dinner Green Curry
• Tuna Dried Tomato Herbs

There were some others but they seemed to be variations of the ones I've listed here. Let me know if you need me to send you some!

The Price of Eggs in Singapore

Normally the saying is something about the price of eggs in China, but since I'm not in China we are going to look at the price of things here in S'pore. My hubbie thought it would be a neat idea for you to see how much things are here and then you can let me know what they cost where you are. So, here is my list (the approximate price in USD is in parentheses):

• Cheerios (375gm box - 13.2 oz) - S$10.90 ($6.89)
• Fresh Raspberries (170gm - 6oz) - S$8.90 ($5.63)
• Hostess Donuts (13.5 oz) - S$9.40 ($5.95)
• Pilsbury Bread Sticks - Refrigerated in a can (11oz) - S$10.30 ($6.52)
• Kellogg's Breakfast Bars (222gm-7.83oz) - S$9.40 ($5.95)
• Tiger Beer (6 pack) - S$16.50 ($10.82) --> This is the local beer so compare to your local beer in price.
• Velveeta (454gm - 160z) - S$13.60 ($8.92)
• Betty Crocker Cake Mix - S$5.40 ($3.54)
• Hunts Stewed Tomatoes (14 oz) S$2.05 (1.34)
• Flour Tortillas (10 count) - S$8.90 ($5.84)

Why Can't they Make Iced Tea?

Ok...here in Singapore there are tea shops, places that sell tea leaves and all sorts of tea kettles/pots. I know they are mainly for drinking hot tea. But darn it! it's sweltering over here...why can't I go into a restaurant and order a plain ole' Iced Tea? Instead I have to order Iced Lemon Tea which comes in a can and is sweetened already. They have the same brands we have back home like Nestle and Lipton (I think?) plus others I've never heard of. I just don't get it. How come they act like they have never heard of making regular iced tea so I can sweeten it as I like? Note to self: From now on, don't give in. If you want Iced Tea, then let them figure it out. It isn't that hard.

How Texan Are You?

Ok. I think this is the perfect quiz for our little page here. Now, I don't know what question they think I got wrong but whatever it was I have to disagree with them. Now, you go try and let me know how you did.

You are 95% Texan!

You did GREAT!!!! You are born a true Texan!!!!! AWESOME job, you don't have to go back to school to come here!!! You are good enough already!!!! You have the blood of a true Texan in you!!!! You are PERFECT Texas Material!!!!! You Rock out loud, You rock my Texas socks!!!!! :-)

How Texan are you?
Create a Quiz

Resisting the Urge to Conform

Ok...I am not going to change my way of saying things. I feel I must resist the urge to use these phrases even though it may mean that the people here won't understand me. I must stay true to myself as a Texan.

I will not say, (when I mean):

Car Park (Parking Garage/Lot)
Petrol (Gas)
Esso/Mobil (Exxon/Mobil)
Expressway (Freeway/Highway)
Take-a-way (To Go - Like when you are at a restaurant and you ask for a "to-go" container for your left-overs)
Handphone (Cellphone)
Slip Road (Feeder Road)

I know there are many others...for some reason this is all I can think of at the moment.

Can Someone Tell Me....

Can someone tell me why a person would own a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Mazerati on an island where the top speed is 90km (about 55 mph)? The stretches of highway that are 90km are few and far between....and normally congested, you are lucky to go 30km. On top of that the island is only 26 miles east to west and 14 miles north to south. So why would someone pay the not-so-small fortune it would cost to own one of these here?

Safety Rules about using the restroom

We had our Safety Induction Meeting the other day since the rig has arrived and we will be in the shipyard and on the rig quite regulary. This is from the handbook given to us from the Shipyard....notice item #5.1.6:
The scary thing is that I guess it must be an issue since they had to make a rule about it. I hope they clearly mark this designated area, not that I am going to need to know where it is as I plan on taking care of any business I need to before or after I make a trip to the rig.

It Snowed!

Well...not here in Singapore! But it snowed our last (full) day we were home. Yes, we were home for about 2 weeks. We got to see a lot of family and friends. It went by way too fast. We ate Mexican no less than 4 times. The one other food "must" on our list was Shipley's Donuts. We didn't get that until we were at the airport leaving to come home...and they weren't hot. :-( I drove all over the place from Houston to Midway, to Huntsville, to College Station, to Magnolia, to Austin, to San Antonio...the blue bonnets and other wild flowers were blooming...it was beautiful! Thank you to everyone that let us camp out with them. A BIG Thank You to my brother that cooked up some scrumptious crawfish for us. If we hadn't come back when we did I might have stayed! I think Rob was feeling that too because he called us a few times while we were at the airport to come home. I think he was just checking to see if we were actually coming home. We did A TON of shopping. There is just so much we can't get over here. I stocked up on over the counter medicines. Stuff that we took for granted back home like: pepto, sinus stuff, alka-seltzer, etc. I even brought back Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and cans of Green Enchilada sauce. And we bought clothes. Not sure when we will be able to make it back again. Hopefully it won't be too long though. It was so nice just getting in my truck and driving all over Texas.... There's No Place Like Home! (The photo was sent to me by our welding inspector on our project here. His Mother-in-law sent it to him. He thinks a friend of hers took it somewhere near Franklin, TX)

Veils or Headdress...That is the Question

Being here in Singapore there are a lot of women who where various forms of headdress. In an effort to understand more about what I see I searched the internet to see what I could find. I thought I would share in an effort to help all of y'all out there broaden your knowledge of the subject as well. The truth is...if it makes me go hmmm? or huh? Then when I find the answer it becomes my next post here on my little blog.This is what I found so far:

The burka comes in many variations, but in its most conservative form, it thoroughly covers the face of the person wearing it, leaving only a mesh-like screen to see through. This refugee is wearing the conservative burka that the Taliban regime requires women in Afghanistan to don outdoors. The burka is thought to have originated in the Arabian peninsula and can still be found there today. They are not always as conservative in form as the one shown here and often allow parts of a woman's face to show through.The word hijab refers to the variety of styles in which Muslim women use scarves and large pieces of cloth to cover their hair, neck and sometimes shoulders. As shown on this Seattle-area Muslim woman, the hijab often leaves the entire face open. In the United States, the hijab is the most common form of headcovering for Muslim women.

The chador is the full-body cloak Muslim women in Iran are expected to wear outdoors. Depending on how it is designed and on how the woman holds it, the chador may or may not cover the face. The chador was forbidden in Iran under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, who was brought to power with help from the United States and sought to modernize the country. After the shah was exiled during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the chador became required wear for all Iranian women. Many Iranians today subvert their dress-code by wearing Western-style clothing beneath the chador.Hindu women also wear a veil, a practice that highlights the fact that veiling is not exclusively Muslim. Traditional and orthodox Hindu women, such as this one, will cover their heads and at least partly obscure their faces in the company of unrelated adult males. Sometimes veiling is accomplished with a loose end of the woman's sari, and sometimes it is done with a scarf-like fabric known as the dupatta.

Many Pakistani Muslims, such as this one, wear some form of veil. This woman is wearing the nikab along with a bandana that reads, "God is great!" The veil existed before Islam existed, but it has been embraced and spread by the religion. Not all Muslim women wear a veil, but among those who do, styles vary wildly, from simple kerchiefs and elaborate head scarves to full face-and-body coverings. The nikab is the form of Muslim veiling that comes closest to what is actually meant by the English word "veil." English speakers tend to use the word veil as a catch-all term that covers all types of Muslim head and body coverings. The nikab, worn in black by this Moroccan woman, is a veil in the true sense of the word. It covers everything below the bridge of the nose and the upper cheeks, and sometimes also covers the forehead.

Now...what about their actual dress. Some dress very modestly while you see some women dressed in very bright colors where their outfit consists of a loose wraped skirt, a tight lycra top that bares the midriff with a matching scarf to cover their sholders and hangs below the waist in front and back. I wonder why the differences? That will be my next challenge.

Funny Joke

I heard a funny joke on the way to work. Now, I'm really not that good at telling jokes, but I'm not so bad at typing them. So if you don't find this funny, then you aren't good at reading jokes. Ok, here it goes...it helps if you imagine the voice of an Asian DJ doing a Scotsman's voice:

A man and his wife are out in the backyard. The husband makes a comment about how large his wife's backside is getting. He says that her bottom has gotten almost as large as the gas grill. His wife not, liking the comments moves farther way in the backyard but the husband continues with his comments. He even goes as far as to get the measuring tape out and declares that her rear end is in fact the same size as the gas grill. Well, later on that night after they have gone to bed, the husband is snuggling up next to his wife trying to get frisky. She moves away from him and he asks, "Honey, what's the matter? What's wrong?" And she says.....

"Don't get any ideas. There's no way I'll be firing up the grill for one little sausage!"

Coming Home and Crawfish

I thought it wasn't too far away for me to start counting down the days to mine & Avery's trip back home. We are really looking forward to it. I think my brother is having a crawfish boil, so we will make it to that for sure! That reminds me...if you scroll down to the picture of the things they call crayfish here...I found out these are actually spiney lobsters. See..I knew they weren't crawfish, crayfish or any other type of *fish.

To All Those....

Sweet Taters

Out there!

This was too cute to pass up. Click on the link above.

Thanks Kim for sharing.

What I Miss About Texas:

We went out this weekend with a co-worker of mine and one of the questions she asked was what I miss most about home. So here is my list of what I miss about home:

• Family & Friends
• My co-workers (which I consider friends but wanted to make sure they knew they were missed)
• Mexican Food
• Tequiza
• Shipley's Donuts
• Going to see Dwight, Tbyrd or Mark Chesnutt with my friends
• Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
• Whataburger
• Texas BBQ
• Country Music
• Mexican Food
• My pickup truck
• Bluebonnets
• Oh! and did I say Mexican Food?
  

Candy Hearts!

Got this from Lauri:

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out.Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Crawfish Time!

Well thoughts of making a trip home and making plans on how to spend our time while we were there eventually reminded me that it should be crawfish season while we are home. I sure hope someone is having a crawfish boil while I am home. We may be too early for all of the pre-OTC parties. I'm wondering what kind of crawfish season it will be. Has it been warm enough? Has there been enough rain? Now they have what they call crayfish here. They don't look anything like a crawfish to me:

This is the only photo I could find. Can someone please tell me what these things are? I've searched the internet and anything that is called a crawfish looks more like the mudbugs we boil up nice and spicey and eat until we are miserable. They have claws....I can't see claws on these that they have here. I have eaten these things pictured here. There is a restaurant (hawker center) near the shipyard that searved them as "Black Pepper Crayfish". . . and they are good but I just think they look prehistoric. I like to know what I'm eating. I think I'll have to bring back some "Swamp Fire" or "Swamp Dust" back with me so we can see how these things taste cajun style. Well "Laissez le bon temps rouler!" and let me know if you know of any crawfish boils coming up between March 26th and April 8th so I can mark my calender!

New York Ban on Talking, Walking

I heard on the radio today....way over here in Singapore....that a state senator from Brooklyn said on Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would ban people from using an MP3 player, cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device while crossing the street in either New York City or Buffalo. Apparently pedestrians are so tuned into these things they are being struck by moving vehicles. Well I'm not sure how you feel about that but let me tell you how it is over here. Here in Singapore it is a common site to come up to a cross-walk in your vehicle and have a pedestrian step out, never looking to see if anyone is coming all while either SMS-ing someone one their cell phone, talking on their cell phone or listening to music. THEY NEVER LOOK UP!! You want to know why this is? Why are they so comfortable knowing that they aren't going to get creamed by a bus? It's because over here most of the cross walks are painted with the wide black and white strips and there are black and white stripe painted light poles on either side with blinking lights at the top. They have total right-of-way. If their foot reaches the cross-walk before you do then you have to stop. Let me tell you though...imho they should bear some of the responsiblity for their own safety by looking to make sure it is safe to cross. Drivers do get distracted, especially over here! Nine times out of 10 when I look to see why the idoit driver next to me can't stay in his lane it's because he's on his/her cell phone or SMS'ing someone WHILE they are driving! They aren't supposed to be but they all do it. I can tell you I don't just blindly walk across those things! I doubt New York driver's would be easy to train to not speed up to try and beat a pedestrian to the cross walk. If people are stupid enough to walk out in the road and not look first it's their responsibility, I don't think the government should be responsible. What do you think? MSNBC Story - click here.

Cowboy central? - Opinion

Cowboy central? - Opinion

Saw this in the online version of The Battalion. Thought is was pretty humerous and got the message across too!


I also liked this photo:

Spencer Selvidge - THE BATTALION

The Texas A&M student section holds up 'Beat Texas' signs during Texas' starting lineup announcement in Reed Arena. The Aggies beat the Longhorns 100-82.

How are your New Year's Resolutions going?

Thank you Joe for today's post:

Hey!

Don't you think it's time we all became more physically active. Beginning in 2007, I (and a few friends) will be riding 5 miles every day.

If any of you would like to join our Bike Club, please let me know and we can make arrangements.

I think it would be appropriate to ride somewhere between 4:00 and 7:00pm. We can call it happy hour, if it will make you say yes.

I have enclosed a photo of my bike - see below.

I Missed the Snow

I guess y'all back home had some nasty weather last week. It's a constant humid, tropical climate here. I imagined there was a lot of this going on back home:

Save "Saw 'Em Off"

Save "Saw 'Em Off"! Click Here!

UT sues over sawed-off horns - News

One of these days..

One of these days you are going to read about me in the Singapore news. It's a good thing these people here don't drive in Houston. I had gone to pick my mom up Saturday from their apartment. I pulled into their complex and drove up and around the traffic circle that you have to go around to exit. I had just stopped and could see my mom coming when this STUPID taxi driver pulled up behind me and started honking his horn. GIVE ME A BREAK!! You can't wait 30 seconds? As my mom was getting in, I put the car in park and got out and gave the guy the (not what you were thinking) but the "What's up with you?", arms up in the "Y" position over my head and got back in the car. Making sure to take the time to buckle up and adjust my mirrors. The more you honk, the longer it's going to take me is what I was thinking. Then I SLOWLY pull on around the circle and out of the driveway. Of course the STUPID taxi driver had to give it one more honk for good measure as he turned the opposite direction. Yeah, that's right...you better be going the other way! Most of the time the Singaporeans don't get offended by someone honking at them...WELL I'm a Texan NOT a Singaporean. I guess they don't get upset because they don't carry guns here! Mom says that every once in a while you will hear about someone being caned because of an altercation on the side of the road between two drivers.

How Rude!

I'm not making this stuff up! Read for yourself. This article is from today's edition of a local paper called Today.

Nip rudeness in the bud with education
Letter from Jessica Chan

COULD we include service training in our school education curriculum? I worked in the service industry for about 20 years and noticed that teens who have worked part-time in, say, an F&B outlet, behave better than teens who have never done such work.

The former group tends not to behave obnoxiously towards service providers. If a youngster is trained from school-going age to behave respectfully towards another human being (or even a property), it will be a win-win situation for all concerned.

We are trying to improve service standards, but I keep reading about rude Singaporeans almost on a daily basis and have had close encounters with quite a few myself.

We should prevent our young from turning out to be such ugly Singaporeans by educating them while their minds are still impressionable, and not only when they have started working.
_______________________________________
It appears that these 3rd generation Singaporeans are a rude bunch. Some blame it on being raised by the family's domestic helper. If the child misbehaves or does something wrong the houskeeper gets the blame. They haven't learned any responsibilty for their own actions. They don't learn to pick up after themselves either. It's like being surrounded by a bunch of spoiled brats who always have to be first.

Singapore Slang Translator

Here is a handy little tool for you to use if you should ever make it over here:

Accuse me: excuse me
Anything can: anything is possible
Ang moh: Caucasian (literally 'red headed' in Hokkien)
Auntie: a respectful way to address an older lady
Barang Barang: stuff as in bags, clutter etc
Blur: very confused
Bo eng lah!: can't commit, not available, no time to do something
Can ah: can you or can't you?
Can leh: yes, of course
Can lor: yes, I think so
Can hah?: are you sure?
Can hor: you are sure then
Can meh: are you certain?

***Ok I have to add my 2 cents here....why do they make it so difficult to find out or answer whether or not you "can"??*****

Die die: no matter what happens
Don't play play: don't fool around
Goondu: stupid or acting stupid
Habis: finished or all used
How can: how is that possible?
Kaypoh: nosey
Kiasu: very afraid to lose out to others
Kopi: coffee
Kopi tiam: coffee shop
Lah: no translation, Lah is added for emphasis
Lose face: become very embarrassed, lose dignity
Makan: food or as a verb to 'go makan' to go to eat
No nid: no need
No stock orready: not in stock as in habis Orready already
Orso can: no problem
Out station: overseas or away from home
Over orready: none left or the event is finished
Rojak: an Indonesian Malaysian dish but used as a common word for mixture
Singlish: Singaporean English slang
So how?: and the answer is?, what is next
Teh tarik: tea
Tumpang: ask for a favour
Ulu: distant or far away (English equivalent to in the boonies)
Uncle: a respectful way to address an older man
Wah: wow, another emphasis term or word
Wah so cheap lah: wow, that's really cheap
Why Like That: why things happen this way
You know I know can already: usually meant to be a secret between

And lastly

Maid with a promotion: My brother made this one up to describe the little Filipino maids you see walking around with older Caucasian men. We got a laugh out of that one.

Finally!

Well There they are! Not sure what happened but now Blogger seems to be working.

Well, we are just settling into a routine here. Not much going on so I thought I would post a "rant" then a "rave" as not to turn this into a "complaint" page. So here it goes:

RANT: These people here have no idea what "elevator etiquette" is. If you are standing outside the elevator waiting to get on everyone around you swarms the elevator as soon as the doors open to rush inside...doesn't matter if there are people on the elevator waiting to get off. They get on anyway. Doesn't matter if you were there first..."If you aren't first, your last". That's their motto about everything it seems. And once on the elevator they are mashing the "close door" button instantly.

RAVE: Once on the elevator they are really friendly. They will always say "Bye" to you when they get off the elevator. If I'm on the elevator with Sugar they talk about her wanting to know how old she is, what's her name etc. This has been my experience on the elevator at our condo. Not quite as chatty at the malls as the elevators are always packed.

There! Now I feel better. :-p

what's the deal?

testing...testing...why didn't my last post show up? I can see it in the preview....auughhh!

Looking for bikes

Well this weekend is pretty uneventful. We went shopping at SimLim Square for some electronics Saturday after Avery got finished with gymnastics. It's a huge 6 story mall full of electronics. Everything from cameras, cell phones, computers, printers, etc.

Sunday we went shopping for bicycles. Avery got one for Christmas so Rob and I really need to get one so she has someone to ride with. We got online to see what kind of bike trails they have here. Singapore is really doing something neat. They have all these parks and they are connecting them with trails called Park Connectors. Not all of them are completed but I think there are plenty of places for us to discover.

Blair's Last Day Here

Well, today is Blair's last day here. We have to get up early in the morning to get her to the airport at 5:30AM. It sure has been great having her here. We are about to venture out for one last shopping trip down on Orchard Rd. This evening we are going over to the Botanical Gardens to take some family pictures then mom and dad are coming over for dinner.

Last night was fun. We went to a Singapore Slinger basketball game. They won!! I believe they are in the play-offs. We have tickets to next weeks game too. It was a close game. Even though the Slingers stayed ahead throughout the game there were occasions where they were only ahead by one point. It was a nail-biter! Rob took some great pictures. I'll post them here when he gets the pics off of his camera. He took it with him to work today.

Since I need to get out of here I'll fill some more space with pictures:

Monkey on our balcony one morning while we where in Batam, Indonesia.

Avery, Cristie and Blair with the Orangutans at the Singapore Zoo.

Avery practicing her pirate routine.

Blair practicing for when she gets to dunk her Aggie Ring.

It's 2007!

Well it's great having everyone FINALLY! Rob is here for good. Scott's visit was a short one, Cristie has already headed home and Blair leaves on Friday. After that it's back to the same routine...well almost. With Rob being here it should be much better. We have been really busy with everyone here. We hit the ground running as soon as Blair and Cristie arrived. We've been to the zoo, the bird park, out to eat a zillion times (nothing new for living in Singapore), China Town, Holland Village, Indonesia, shopping....shopping and more shopping! We had a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles where the drink was invented. We also spent about S$280 in 45 minutes there! I knew drinks were more expensive here and I figured that back in the US the drink would have been about $8-$10 so I thought it would be s$12-S$14 here. Was I wrong! They were S$20 each! Rob ordered a Grey Goose Martini and it was S$32!! Needless to say, anyone that wants to come visit us has to visit Duty Free for booze first. Thank you Cristie for the Captain Morgan and Baily's. We had dinner that same night at Bobby Ravino's where they have a drink called "Sex with the Captain" that I think I need to try! We just got finished taking down the tree and the rest of the Christmas decorations. Although it seems like we have ample storage space for an apartment, we don't really have room to store all the luggage it took to get us over here along with the tree and the decorations. So...Rob's brillant idea was to put the decorations inside one of the suitcases. It fit perfectly. When Blair leaves, the spare bedroom will have to be the storage room until the next guest comes. Yesterday we went and picked out some furniture for little patio. We are waiting now for it to be delivered. Should be here shortly. Now we will be able to sit on our balcony and have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy the view. Since Rob has been here he has hung up the large mirrors and paintings that we had bought. Starting to look much better now. We even looked at some oriental rugs too yesterday. We found some that we liked, but will wait to see what they offer at the auction coming up on the 19th. Well, here are a few pictures from the past three weeks. Enjoy!

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.