Conrad sent me an e-mail today… apparently he’s been decorating the house. Normally our house-gargoyle (“Herman”) looks quite demure & pensive:
But apparently, even Herman is getting excited for my homecoming and is exhibiting serious signs of a Christmas make-over (or a CCIE-procrastinating, excited husband):
Just cannot wait to see him in person (Conrad too) … 3 days to go!!!
… it’s 1:30 am and I just finished necessary late-night chats with the US team. Not complaining — it’s partially my own fault it’s so late as I had temporary amnesia when I got home after the work holiday dinner and forgot to log in & do my homework. Thank goodness for that last few minutes when you lay in bed and you let your brain catch up with you and roll back over final thoughts of the day. Shot out like a cork and remembered I’m not done working. Sad part is, I wasn’t done working. I don’t know how people here for a long time cope … I’d be seriously drained having to do this for a few years… but it’s necessary.
A developer here told me an anecdote that they had sent an e-mail to the US team to sign off on something (their tone said something silly that shouldn’t have required sign-off). Only, the recipient in the US sat on the e-mail for a day. So by the time they had approval, it was 3 days later. Their response? “No wonder people in the US think Asians are either slow or pushy. If they’re not pushy, it would take Asia 3 years to accomplish what the US can do in 1.” It’s not a statement of capability — it’s a statement of proximity. Namely, the US team is closer to the decision makers, so even if negotiation or correction is required, it can all be hammered out on a much shorter runway.
So that’s a bit from the work front. Signing off (I’m beat)!
What a great weekend was had. I have been reticent not to blog-as-I-go, but here’s the little update-in-brief.
Met my palindrome friend on Saturday for a day of sunbathing and shopping. We were so stoke we were both up before 9a on a weekend. Starbucks and suntans were on by 10. Though the sun wasn’t cooperating full-force, we did have a nice couple of warm hours by the pool before lunch. A nip into the steamroom & sauna finished out the morning nicely.
We wandered over to a mall called the Funan DigitalLife Mall (near City Hall) as the first stop. It is floor-on-floor-on-floor-on-floor of techy stories where the goods are priced as marked, vs. Sim Lim mall where it’s all “special price for you” and you better know just how “special” it can be. Hannah needed some things in there — sorry Conrad, I still don’t have the gumption for IT-shopping in Singapore.
After that, it was into some little boutiques for a wake-up call about high fashion we couldn’t fit a thigh into even if we could afford it. Then went over to Chimes — an old school — for a little light lunch. The layout of Chimes is very colonial – with a courtyard in the center and shops & cafes on the inside borders. Found some nice Asian shops in there too.
Then up to the Singapore Art Museum and Gift Shop — we even got a free tour of the Big Picture Show (larger than life canvases by Asian artists). We then waited for the monsoon to subside and made our way down to the luxurious Raffles hotel for a little more boutique-peeping, and a look at what is likely the largest natural pine Christmas tree in Singapore.
Speaking of decorated trees — there are a ton of them, but 90% or more of them are fake. But the ones at the Raffle are beautiful — we spoke to the manager. Turns out they flew in this 20′ pine tree from Oregon!!
Ok, back to the story! So … fully exhausted from a tough day of shopping, we retired back to Chimes for a little facial 
Anyone who spends anytime in Singapore agrees — the heat & humidity is so tough that our skin is all … well, not very nice. So… first facial ever, some parts were painful, but most of it was quite lovely and relaxing.
Once back at my apartment, we ordered California Pizza Kitchen, spread out all the loot on the floor, and watched Kate Winslet and Jack Black somehow manage to fall in love
Sunday was great as well. How random is it that neighbor’s from my parent’s village not only have plans to stay in Singapore for a day, but are staying in the Marriott hotel which is directly opposite my apartment. We met up in the afternoon & strolled through the Botanical Gardens and Singapore — a collage of orchids in virtually every size, shape, and color… absolutely beautiful (and crazy hot). From there, it was back to Raffles for a quintessential hot-weather-drink, the overpriced and much lauded Singapore sling. After our thirst was quenched, it was off to the taxi queue and then a scenic ride eastwards to East Coast Seafood center for a lasty meal of Drunken Prawns (live shrimps drowned/suffocated in alcohol … and then steamed with rice wine … talk about a way to go) and the famous Chili Crab. Sharon had actually found a write-up in another blog, so we followed the bloggers menu and also ordered the “bean sprouts with salted fish” — something I wouldn’t have tried on my own, but it tasted much better than it sounded (I’d actually order again). Seriously, sometimes I think these people need some marketing help (see previous post re: “egg skins” … aka “crepes”)!
All in all, a great weekend…
Oh, and only 4 days till I go home! That’s probably the best part about the weekend.
… and it’s not even an easy-bake oven! I love that my little engineer also made his own templates (note: the blobby ones are snowmen I hear). Let’s hear it for the boys!! (Even the ones in their 30′s)!
As my love-mentor Kelly would say, “I love this little guy.” And in the wise, wise words of my godfatha, “And how boy, and how!”
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