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. 

An 80's Zebra Kind of Night...

If you’re just checking in be sure to read my first recap of the Chicago weekend here.

Alright, so when we last left off it was Saturday afternoon, we had just finished 3 deep dish pizza’s and a bunch of Goose Island beer, and had taken an afternoon rest to get ready for the evening ahead. 

First on our list for Saturday night was the architecture tour.  There are plenty of options for tours and they run most every hour throughout the day.  We chose the 6pm tour with Chicago Line Cruises which costs $42 per person (buy online in advanced) and you can add the open bar option for an extra $20.  I opted out of the open bar to ensure that I’d be on my best foot for the rest of the evening, but Emily and Lindsay went for it and both agreed that it was definitely worth the money.

I mean look at their happy faces:

A Weekend in The Windy City

For those of you who checked in on Friday you’ll remember one of my “Get Outa Town” travel tips was to scope out cheap airline tickets to cities close by.  You’d be surprised how easy it is to find cheap (like less than $200) tickets for cities that are 3 hours or less by plane. 

A few weeks ago my friend, Emily, had found $150 roundtrip flights to Chicago from Boston.  Besides the great deal, the best part was that we would be able to stay and visit with our college friend, Lindsay for the whole weekend!  Based on that, I knew that the half day of vacation I would need to use would be well spent, so off we went!

Making the most of Fall in New England

Well Fall is officially upon us here in the US.  Wednesday marked the first official day of Fall and Massachusetts is well on its way into embracing the season of pumpkin everything.  However this year, especially, it seems that most New Englanders have already started talk of winter and the fear of another snow monster season seems to be looming over everyone.

BACKKKK UP NEW ENGLANDERS!  Let’s not let a bit of cold water quell our spirits, eh? 

Let’s instead start thinking of ways to enjoy the new season upon us and how to keep us from entering into a premature hibernation for winter!

Fall in New England is absolutely beautiful and there are a number of ways to experience its splendor.

Wrapping up and starting new

Hi strangers!

When I first got back from my travels in Singapore I had every intention of keeping up with this blog.  Of course you can tell that the idea quickly fell to the wayside as things started moving at lightening speed (or so it felt like).  Well enough's enough!  I decided tonight would be the night I sit down and get back to it.

Lucky for me I opened up my blog to see a drafted post I had long forgotten!  So for the sake of being sentimental, here's a look at how I felt coming home from Singapore back in February of this year...

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.

Thailand Part Three - Adventures and Tastes

Saturday morning I was on a mission to find some baggy, comfy, elephant pants.  So after a quick breakfast with a view of the beach, we made our way to the main road.  There are plenty of little shops and restaurants lining the road that Time for Lime is off of so we walked for a while until I found what I was looking for.  Once I was satisfied with my finds, it was time to get back on the beach to cool off in the water and soak up some more sunshine. 

Thailand Part Two - Thai cooking class

Day two on the beautiful island of Koh Lanta started off soaking up the sun, swimming in the warm water, and reading. 

If you read my first post, I explained how Time for Lime is also a Thai cooking school.  Well watch out Chef Mark, your little sister knows authentic Thai!  

Thailand Part One – In the right place for not enough time

This past weekend was my final adventure outside of Singapore and my destination was Koh Lanta, Thailand.  Where do I even begin?  I cannot explain how right this place felt.  Everything about my trip kept confirming that this was a place I needed to be for much longer than I originally planned.  

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. 

Australia Part 4 - Coastal Walk and Farewell

Surfing at 630am meant that the rest of the day could be spent chillin on the beach.  Lucky for us, the rain and cloudy weather during our surf lesson passed through and we had some nice sun for the rest of the day. 

Looks just like my surf pictures...hah!

Australia Part 3 - Catching my first wave

As a beach girl at heart it didn’t take me too long to drop my bags and head out for Bondi Beach after we arrived at our Airbnb stay.  Though it was overcast and kind of chilly, I still enjoyed sitting by the ocean, listening to the waves, digging my toes into the sand, and reading a book. 

                 

Australia Part 2 - St. Marys, The Rocks, and Airbnb

Alright back to the recap of my trip to Sydney, here comes part two.

The day after Christmas was beautiful and sunny!  It was the last day we’d spend in downtown Sydney so Ethan and I decided to go for a longer walk around.  Of course no one told me that the day after Christmas in Australia is like Black Friday in the US!  As we first headed towards Martin Place, it was a quick greeting to the shopping madness going on.  There were lines for days going every which way.  Luckily we made it out of the crazy shopping area and then headed towards Hyde Park and St Mary’s Cathedral.  St Mary’s was beautiful and had a lovely manger scene outside as well.  It brought me back to the lovely cathedrals I’d seen on my trips to England and Italy. 

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.