Get Paid for Being Flexible

You heard me right!  There is now a company that will actually pay you for being flexible, so loosen up those muscles and get stretching!

Ok, ok I apologize for the poor attempt at humor in my above statement.  But in all honesty it is true that being flexible can get you $$ to use towards your next vacation.

Let’s back up to last year when I was on my way home from Singapore for a work seminar.  My original flight path was Singapore > Tokyo > Washington, DC > Boston.  I still cringe thinking about the length of that trip.  So, when I landed in Tokyo and was patiently waiting in line to get off the plane, a flight attendant called my name over the speaker asking me to visit the customer service desk. 

The Positive Power of Saying Hello

Back in November I was spending another weekend day laying by the pool enjoying the warm sunshine.  To my surprise, a woman stopped and said hello.  About 30 minutes later we had covered what brought us each to Singapore as well as some stories of our experiences here.  Katherine then went on to invite me to dinner that evening with her husband and two children.  And while life got ahead of us after our first dinner together, I was happy to reconnect this past weekend with just enough time to have another wonderful dinner with her family and some friends. 

Katherine’s gracious hospitality made me think about how powerful a simple hello can be.  Had she not stopped by and asked if I was new to the complex that day in November I would have never made such lovely friends and had a delicious and cheerful time on one of my last nights in Singapore. 

Last weekend in Singapore (for now)

The final weekend in Singapore has come and gone.  My emotions are a mixed bucket.  One second I’m feeling like the end of this trip is SO close and I start feeling all sentimental.  And then the next second it feels like I’ll just keep going on with life here in Singapore.  But this isn’t my final Singapore post so I’ll keep the sappy I’m leaving Asia and am so happy for the adventure and am ready to plan my next trip back but am also so excited to be reunited with my boyfriend, family, and friends post for tomorrow.

Let’s recap the weekend to take our minds off of the fact that its Monday and there’s over 3 feet (3 meters for you metric folk) of snow outside your windows!

Food Friday 16 - Food Feast

After much discussion surrounding my lack of Food Friday posts I figured I had to do one for my last Friday in Singapore.  Well then I got home from a fun night out on the town and fell asleep before posting it and so now this Food Friday post is coming to you all on Saturday but let's just play along alright?

Luckily I have saved a bunch of pictures from various feasts I’ve had and decided the best thing to do would be to overload you all with tons of food pictures!  It’ll be a Food Friday feast of sorts.  The best part is this feast won’t cause you any weight gain (but it might make you hungry and then decide to eat the closest thing to you). 

Here goes! 

The Adventures of Emily and Laura: the Asia Finale

We had two full days left of Emily’s visit and I wanted to be sure we took advantage of the work days without all the crowds of people.  When I had asked Emily before she came to Singapore if there was anything specific she wanted to do she said, “the Botanic Gardens!!”  So off to the Botanic Gardens we went! 

All pictures are credit of Emily's fabulous photography...including this one: 

These are our excited faces

1 Week To Go

It’s been 26 weeks since I touched down in Singapore for the first time and 1 week from today I will be boarding a plane headed back home.  Where does the time go?  I mean seriously how is it that at the start of a 6 month journey the final date seems like ages away yet now looking back it’s like I blinked and my time here is over. 

I figured in this final week my emotions would be high and my thoughts would be consumed in making sure I’ve checked everything off my list of things I wanted to do as well as making sure I brought home the best souvenirs to clutter my future homes with.  Yet, as the countdown gets closer and closer I’ve been having more reassurance in the “success” of my trip and am finding myself ready to say goodbye to Asia (for now) and start the next journey back home.

The Adventures of Emily and Laura Continue...

Saturday was a nice, slow morning followed by a trip over to Aladdin’s palace, otherwise known as Arab St.  We walked through the beautiful shops, admiring all the lush fabrics just waiting to be made into dresses for some lucky girls.  We each took turns pointing out our favorite blends of colors on display.  Though neither of us mentioned it, I think it’s safe to assume that we were both wishing to walk in and let a dress maker create an extraordinary dress for us and then go off to some snazzy event looking like a million bucks. 

Once we had our share of fabrics, we settled down at my favorite restaurant Beirut Grill for some hummus and kebabs.  And thankfully my recommendation for our meal was spot on!  (I guess that means I’m a Singaporean foodie).  New to me this time around was fresh lime juice.  It was the perfect complement to our meal and would also be a great companion with tequila if I might add.  Once we had filled up, we walked some more around the shops before heading back to soak up some afternoon sunshine by the pool.

The Adventures of Emily and Laura

Well where have I been?  Obviously not blogging, unfortunately not on the beautiful beaches of Koh Lanta, BUT EVEN BETTER!  I just enjoyed a wonderful visit from one of my very best friends, Emily!

Last Thursday I sat impatiently at work waiting for 7pm to come.  Finally it was time and I greeted my friend at the airport and brought her back to my place.  I think it’s safe to say that we were laughing our heads off in the first 10 minutes of being reunited.

An Authentic Singapore Evening

You all have probably seen Glenn on the blog throughout my time here.  (He's the one on the right in the picture above).  Glenn is a Singaporean who befriended the girl in my program in Singapore last year and has since been passed down to each new set of us coming to Singapore.  He is very nice to take on the task of answering our questions about Singapore, showing us around, and making good recommendations on traveling in the area too. 

Food Friday 15 – Not your Maurchan Ramen, Red Bean Fish Ice Cream, and Food Court Finds

A good Sunday night dinner seemed like the perfect way to ease into the work week so Ethan and I headed to Chijmes in search of a good restaurant.  Yes, that’s Chijmes with a “j”, it seems silly but let me explain.  It is a former Catholic convent that was known as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ).  The building has gone through renovations throughout its 100+ years of existence and all the while housed orphans, school girls, and acted as a refuge for women.  It’s last religious service was held in 1983 and has since been deconsecrated and the convent was closed.  Since then it has become a plaza with restaurants, retail outlets and courtyards.  It is also an event space that holds weddings too. 

Have I bored you with the history lesson?  Basically it used to be a Catholic Church/Convent/School and is now a place to go for great restaurants.  (And you architecture junkies can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the once church while you're there too).  And so the whole thing with the j in Chijmes is because it used to be the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and so when they called it Chijmes they kept the j in there for historical reference. 

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve started with a half day of work that was crazy busy due to the year end closing (life of a finance person).  While it was nice having so much to do that made the 5 hours in the office fly by, I probably could have used the other half of the day to really get some things done.  But in the end, I gladly welcomed the extra time to chill out in the afternoon before the nights festivities.

Christmas lights, War Memorial, and 3,000 page views

Let’s start with the latter, I've reached 3,000 page views on my blog!  Cool!!  Thanks for reading everyone!  I never thought my readers would consist of people outside of my parents, Niles, and my close friends so I am truly shocked at how many of you have stopped by.  Keep reading and I’ll keep posting my silly adventures.

This past weekend Ethan and I decided to head to Orchard Rd to view the Christmas lights.  Everyone has been talking about this being the spot in Singapore with the best decorations and I have to agree.  We hopped off the MRT at the Somerset stop, grabbed a quick bite to eat at Acid Bar, then walked up the street to take in the lights. 

Food Friday 14 - Hot Pot, Night Market Dinner, and Brunch

Happy Sunday!  This past week hasn't been too eventful on my end, hence the lack of posts.  I also knew that Ethan and I had some good eats on the ticket for this weekend so I figured I'd jazz up the food Friday post by waiting until Sunday to fill you all in.

This past week would usually be filled with Christmas cookies at work, last minute shopping, drinking eggnog lattes (if your Jack), and enjoying a light snowfall.  However here in Singapore the Christmas season has been void of any goodies at work (my waistline doesn't mind).  To help me keep in the seasonal joys, I've been trying to watch a different Christmas movie every single night.  It feels like I'm watching Christmas movies in July though with the weather and I still find it hard to get myself into the holiday mood most days.  But hopefully the little holiday Ethan and I have planned will make us feel more Christmas-y.

Alright so lets get to the food!

Food Friday 13 - A little bit of Malay, a little bit of Lebanese

Usually these posts will have just a week's worth of new foods, but seeing as I haven't posted in a while you all will get a taste of some things I've eaten in the past 2 weeks.

Thanksgiving Thursday, my coworkers asked if I'd like to order delivery lunch with them and I figured it'd be a good opportunity to try something new.  Plus it would probably fill me up more than my granola bar and apple (it's not easy to grocery shop when you're homesick).  They showed me the menu to choose from and of course I had no clue what I was reading because it was all Malaysian food and none of it had descriptions!  Luckily my friend Mary helped me out and I decided to go with nasi goreng pattaya.  Yum!  This dish is fried rice, not like the stuff you get from Chinese takeout in the US, with seafood and then all wrapped up into an egg omelet and topped with chili sauce.  It was surprisingly really tasty, though I did pick out the fish cakes because those are not my most favorite.  

#TBT - Throwback Thursday - Weekend Outing on Arab St

Scrolling through my email I realized I had written a blog post in the beginning of November and never posted it!  So I figured throwback Thursday could be a great time to catch up on this fun little adventure in Singapore.  Note- I have not edited this so keep in mind that this was written before my trip back to the US.  

The theme for this weekend was to keep things pretty low key as the previous weekend I was in Vietnam as you know and I wanted to get rest for more adventures to come.

Saturday afternoon, Ethan, Glenn, and I decided to head to Arab St.  I had heard lots of good things about the area but hadn't had the chance to go yet.  Well after one trip I was sold, and I look forward to going back to explore more of the area. 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Yes you read right!  Snow in Singapore!!!

It was a brisk 29 degrees on Sunday and Ethan and I decided to venture down to the Christmas Wonderland at the Gardens by the Bay.  Ethan found the event while browsing online and it was described as having festive lights and a German market place.  When we arrived, we headed straight to the supertree grove where the marketplace was.  We were greeted with bright lights, Christmas songs, and cute little sheds with typical Singaporean restaurants and goods.

My first Singapore Dinner Dance!

First of all, thank you so much for all the kind and caring words from my last post.  Each comment was just another reminder of the great support and love I have from so many back home.  While I wish I could give you all hugs for your kind encouragement for now a shout out via the blog will have to do.  So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Backing up to Saturday morning (not long after I posted my homesick post) I decided to go for a little walk around my neighborhood.  I realized I hadn’t done this given my close proximity to the subway and other amenities I don’t really have a need to walk around the blocks.  It’s funny how an area you might pass each day in a car (or taxi to work in my case) suddenly has a different feeling when you walk around.  As I made my way around a couple different streets, I spent time taking in the scenery and suddenly I felt much better.  Taking a moment to think about what makes this place special and different from my home helped me to find that relaxed and adventurous Laura I had lost for a moment. 

Food Friday 12 - Vietnam Edition

Thank goodness Friday is here! 

Now hopefully you all have been reading along with the Vietnam posts and have been eagerly awaiting this week’s food Friday to get a sense of what I ate on my weekend trip (and of course this past week).  Well, thanks for waiting and without further ado, let’s get to it!

Food Friday 11 - Lunch

Happy Food Friday!

This week I was on a bit of a tight budget which meant not a lot of room for going out to eat.  So I decided the best way to fulfill my food Friday blog post for my avid readers was to give you all a glimpse of what work lunch looks like!  Lately I have just been bringing leftovers for lunch as, to put it nicely, my body doesn’t respond to the canteen food as beautifully as I would like.  But this past week I decided that it would be cheaper for me to get lunch at the canteen (café) for about $2.00 – 2.50 a day. 

So my lunch idea for food Friday actually hit me on Wednesday and so my recount starts there.  Let me first explain that Wednesday was a rough day for me…ok really this whole week was rough.  Without getting too much into it, I’ve been a bit frustrated at work, people were coming to work on my apartment which meant I had to sleep in the hot un-airconed 2^nd bedroom, and knowing that my trip back to the US is only a couple weeks away now made me just yearn to get back.  The truth is, as great as Singapore is, there are times that I just wish I could walk out my door and wish I was home.  Most days I’m not down about missing home but I just get little bits of oh if only I could grab a dunks on my way to work or CAN I JUST GET A PIZZA!  So this past Wednesday my morning started out tough and I went to the canteen with my fingers crossed that there would be just ONE thing I could look at and know what it was.  Oh boy was I in for a treat!!!  Chicken nuggets without bones!!!!  I wish I were joking about how exciting this was for me.  No joke-la!!  Being able to have chicken without bones is such a rare find here and to have it be chicken nuggets, well let’s just say I was about as happy as when Mom would let us get the Kids Cuisine dinners when the babysitter came. 

Egg, chicken nuggets, and random green veggie

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Last Wednesday was Deepavali or Divali which meant we had a public holiday in Singapore (aka no work)!

I woke up to a cloudy day and had a quick chat with Niles, boy do I miss him.  Then the cloudy day quickly turned into a rainy day but that didn’t stop our group (Ethan, friend Tracey, Tracey's dad, and me) from heading to Chinatown to walk around.  We did the usual walk through all the different shops, managing to stay under the tarps overhead so we didn’t get completely soaked.  But to our surprise the rain still hadn’t let up yet.  Usually rain storms in Singapore will last for an hour or so then quit, but we’ve had a couple of these mostly rainy days which I guess means that it’s starting to turn to rainy season for us.