7Eleven

not only sells mocha flavored kitkats but you can also pay your utility bills there. no joke, just did it. you can also pay your bills in any (what's called) AXS stations in the subways. it's amazing how life can be convenient here. then there is the 5 day "express" dry cleaning. yes, i'll get over it. i think the county is trying to tell you, not to buy dry cleaning clothes. believe it or not, i am climatizing somewhat to this weather. on rare occasions, i actually enjoy it when its cooler of course. last night was one of those rare nights, sitting outside the restaurant, enjoying a nice indian dinner and the cool evening air, and dare i say dry air??? having said that, i am VERY much looking forward to going home to LA for a week. obviously it's not enuf time, but i'll take it! i'll even catch monday night football. what else.. salads, lots of good, california, fresh produce salads! mexican food ofcourse, and... christian assembly in eagle rock! but most of all... friends and my family, can't wait to see you!

and happy early birthday buh, can't wait to celebrate it with you!

friends

meeting people in singapore, s'pore, is quite easy. first of all, they are very friendly (can't say that for many asian races - or at least not outwardly friendly), secondly, they are easy going, and lastly, they are very good about introducing you to other people. so meeting new people haven't been much of a problem, people outside of work that is. there is friend of a friend, then friend of a friend of a friend, and so on. this weekend was filled with meeting new people. friday lunch, i ate with someone that was introduced to me by a friend. friday night, a small group of us went out for chili and pepper crabs, a very popular local dish. one woman was an anchor with ESPN Asia, the other a shiatsu masseuse who just opened her own place, a relationship manager with investment bank, so on and so forth. saturday afternoon a co-worker had an art show at her place. lots of expats showed up for the event, while pleasant, it was more of a shallow social setting. sunday was my usual church day, checked out yet another church and met more people. again, a small group of us went out for lunch. everyone i met from friday through sunday were really nice, however, the more new people i met, the more i longed for my old friends. people that knew me already. people that knew my history and knew what i like to eat. people that knew my idiosyncrasies and knew how to draw out the deeper things of my heart. perhaps i'm just getting tired of introducing myself and explaining why i'm here. for those of you familiar with "sex and the city," you'll recall one of the last episodes when carrie was in paris. life was new and exciting and in the midst of meeting new people and being alone, she would long for her brunch buddies, the ones you can count on to always be there. guess i had one of those moments...

the upside is, i am meeting alot of cool people and got to venture around little india, albeit on my own. it'll be great to see my friends soon. friends that i go to skid row with, friends on the skid row, friends from work, friends from college, friends that are just friends. friends that know me. friends that do not need an explanation as to who i am and why i'm there.

the matrix

there is my world, then there is "THE world," the one that is quite sobering, raw and perhaps more real than my own. i was actually going to blog about my dinner tonight, the one in which i made myself, one that i'm quite proud of - kimchee fried rice. but as i sat here, in my posh, air conditioned apartment ready to blog away about my trivial victories, a different reality shook me as i read an email from a missionary friend of mine from kenya of her recent trip to cambodia where she visited an old brothel that was recently converted into a rehab center. it's one of many where sex trades are made of young girls, many not even past their teens. the one that she visited is the one that was shown on dateline (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038249/). the accounts that she shared of the girls that were saved from the brothels were worse than i could imagine. modern day slavery is very much alive and real today.

one child/woman in every minute is sold into slavery for 1) sex, 2) labor, and/or 3) child sacrifice (yes, still being practiced in various parts of the world today). i've heard this number translate into 5 jumbo jet loads of people a day. there is a global petition underway that will be presented at the united nations. if you want to have your voice heard, please take a few seconds to sign the petition on this website.. http://www.stopthetraffik.org/help/declaration.aspx

to learn more about other ways you can help thiseffort, check out... http://www.stopthetraffik.org/media/press061106.aspx

for more about oasis trust... http://www.oasistrust.org/

even the coffee you drink or the chocolate you eat maybe indirectly supporting illegal child labor/slavery(see what products are fairly traded).

in the movie matrix, you can take the blue pill and stay in your wonderland where espn is at your finger tips and security guard at your post (and yes, the steak that tastes real). or... you can take the red pill and have your eyes open to what morpheus calls the truth, nothing more - to the social injustices and the fact that you can enter in and make a a very real difference and live for something bigger than yourself (preachy? do forgive me).

only in singapore?

dehumidifer is quickly becoming a very important word in my vocabulary and an item in my closet and drawers that i cannot live without. in LA, i had a humidifier, it was to keep the air... well, humidified cuz it was so dang dry. hospitals use them. consequently, DE-humidifying anything was a foreign concept, but it makes total sense here where you can cut through the humidity with a knife. the problem isn't just sweating all the time, your clothes get moldy if not properly aired out, and well... dehumidified. i brought these packets from tokyo that does the trick, but of course, they have them here in boxes, called happy hippo. don't ask me why. what else about singapore... you have to turn the water heater on before taking showers. you can just leave them on all the time, but why when you can conserve energy. the problem is, when you're rushing in the morning and you forgot to turn it on, there is a waiting period involved. planning ahead becomes more important if you want to be energy conscious. safety locks are huge here, with all the electric sockets, dryers, etc. seeing as i've always been a safety girl, this works well for me. however, there are still some things i haven't been able to figure out about singapore. for example, the escalators are 1.5 times faster than the US, but the people walk slowly. this doesn't mean that you crash into people when the escalators throw you off, but it does leave you wondering what the point of the fast escalators are when people don't seem to be in a rush. on the other hand, it may be the heat and the humidity that slows people down (conserve energy if you will). i haven't caught on yet, so i still walk at my "new york" pace and arrive at my destination sweatier than everyone else (gross). another thing, their "express" cleaners take 5 days to dry clean your stuff. express in LA meant 24 hours or the same day service. perhaps the clothes are too hot to get dry as well. despite or perhaps because of these mysteries, i am growing quite fond of singapore. it may be that i'm still in a "honeymoon" phase, but it's beginning to feel more and more like home. sundays are my favorite days because i get to worship and fellowship with other believers. while i am still not settled in a "home" church and have found my community, i still look forward to my sundays, each time wondering, "could this be the one?"

btw, i finally opened a local account with citibank. it took less than 15 minutes. a follow up visit was required where i was finger printed/scanned. it's a new way of using my account called biometrics. no card required, simply scan my finger at a merchant and punch in my ID and the purchase is made. scary...

MRT

Gone are the days of cars for me. No more zipping in'n out of traffic on the 110 or racing down the 10 late nights. Shifting gears and making the most of my 5 speed subie is now replaced by the subway trains, what they call the MRTs here like the tube in London. In fact, I am blogging in the train on my way to a dinner appt. It has quickly become a big part of my life here like my car was in LA. It's quite communal, except no one speaks. Most are plugged into their ipods or nintendos. Some read, others sleep, but it's pretty clear that we are only sharing a ride, nothing more, nothing less. I am taking this green line to the very end. People get on and off, much like my own life's journey should I choose to get philosophical. I'm listening to jason mraz, wonder what other peeps are listening to. What are they thinking about? Fish head curry? That's what I had for lunch. Quite yummy. Two of my colleagues fought over the eye balls. Once they are pulled out of the sockets, they are quite large, the size of a chestnut. The fish head was exceptionally large. Perhaps a year from now, I will be fighting over the eye balls as well. : )

home sweet home...

it's good to be back in spore! and it's beginning to feel like home, even as i got off the plane, on my ride back to the apartment, it definitely had a different feel than when i landed 3 weeks ago. i made some spaghetti for myself (from one of the 5 jars of ragu sauce) and kicked it, watching one of my fave movies - "so i married an axe murderer," followed by one of my fave korean movies - "my sassy girl." the following day i slept in for the first time in a long time. thank goodness the church service was at 1 pm! went to a korean church with a local missionary. it was cool to have some fellowship, but i definitely need an english service. will be checking out many churches fer sure before i settle down. after church, went to ikea to look at some furniture to fill in the missing gaps. found nothing that i liked but managed to pick up a few things, like clothes hangers, dish dryer (is that what it's called?) and a lamp for the night stand.

my first official commute into work from my apartment was a bit of a drama. when it rains, it really pours here. so my 7 minute walk to the subway was a wet one. the rush hour traffic here is no joke - not as bad as tokyo, but you still cram into the train like a sardine. after you are pushed on and off, you are safe underground all the way into the office. but by the time you get in, you are already stressed and exhausted! all in all it was a good work day, but the 6, unpacked boxes from LA is glaring at me still. if i can just get past this final move...

p.s. did i mention how many electronic crap i fried already and fuse i blew in my apartment???

i miss God...

i have been so busy with work that i've neglected the one thing i truly need (i sound like what's his name from city slickers, but it's true). i really miss Him, and i have a feeling He misses me too. you may ask, why would the God of the universe miss me? doesn't He have better things to do than hang out with me and chat? i am convinced that the answer is a resounding no! so what am i doing talking about talking with God. see you all later!!!

night on a boat...

we celebrated in style! what appeared to be an old, japanese fishing boat turned out to be a full sushi bar, open bar and karaoke! we sailed around the tokyo harbor while eating amazing raw fish, tasty tempura, enjoying the beautiful night air and view and singing karaoke music! and what a fun crowd! there was plenty of dancing along with singing. did i happen to mention what an amazing team i have? they work hard and play hard. tokyo is a great city, quickly becoming one of my favorites. what can i say, the food ain't so bad either ; ) after working all weekend, this was an excellent way to celebrate a work well done!

in a few days i head "home" to spore. i find myself looking forward to it. i have eggs in the fridge i never got to and some frozen veggie dumplings back at the apartment. but never fear, great local eats are just a block away. everything is so expensive in tokyo, i also look forward to cheap cabs and food. but before i head back, gotta get more korean food and sushi in ; )

the upside to working weekends... oh, and i miss you!

you load up on a ton of junk food and feel most justified. between all the krispy kreme donuts and dominos pizza, it's almost as if you're back in college. one of our colleagues was nice enuf to que up in the only krispy kreme shop in tokyo for almost two hours to get us 4 dozen donuts! it just opened recently here so the novelty hasn't worn off. the next day, another colleague brought in beard papa cream puffs!! it's like i never left LA!! oh, then there is all the starbucks runs to keep you working into the late night. the other upside to working all weekend with your teammates is that you get to really bond. they see you without your makeup and walking around barefoot just to get comfortable. and of course, you just get plane silly after awhile. then there is music you get to blast while working to help keep the pace : ) jack johnson, jason mraz, jay chau, black eyed peas, u2, erasure, among other random selections. it's amazing how hard people work here, i am really blessed to work with such talented, hard working bunch! we get to celebrate tomorrow night for the successful completion of our project - that'll be blast!

maybe it's because i have been so busy, but i have not been as crazy home sick as i thought i would be. i miss people back home terribly, family and friends... but not LA itself, which is surprising. old town pas? nah... san fernando valley, NEGATIVE! downtown LA? can't say that i do. but i miss people, ALOT! to my family and friends reading this blog, I LOVE YOU!!! XOXOXO. i miss hanging out, praying, singing, biking, being silly and fun, sharing and doing life together. hope you are happy and well!!!