The Happiness Project: February

Remember when I started my own happiness project for the year?  Well, tomorrow marks the last day of January, so let's see how I did!

Go to bed on time - I actually did pretty good with this one.  I've been using my Sleep Cycle app for most of the month in order to keep me honest about my sleep habits, and for the most part, I've done really well with this one!  I am usually in bed between 10 and 11pm each night.  Of course, there were definitely some nights where I was in bed a lot later than that, but overall I'm pretty pleased with how I've done on this goal.

Get out of bed on time - This is a different story.  I started out the month doing pretty well at not snoozing, but I really don't have a good grasp on this.  What usually happens is that my Sleep Cycle alarm will go off, and I'll turn that one off so that I get good sleep data, but then I usually just set another alarm on my phone and snooze for a bit longer.  Not good!!  When I was getting up on time, I definitely did notice that I felt better and more awake, but for some reason, I just can't get myself to get up and get out of bed!  This is one thing I will continue to work on next month.

Exercise three times a week - I did well with this one also!  I don't know if I blogged about this at all before, but a while ago, I read this post on the lululemon blog.  Inspired, I've decided that I'm going to run 100 days in 2014.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot - after all, there are 365 days in a year, and running is a pretty easy daily habit, but for me, I think this is a realistic goal.  I get very very very hot and cold with running, but I would really like to be much more consistent.  So far, I've run 10 times in January, so I'm definitely on track!  In addition, I've kept up with my yoga and swimming, though I'm not doing either of those activities as much as I would like.  So while I would like to amp up both of these workouts, I want to keep it simple and focus on my short term goal of three workouts a week and my longer term goal of 100 days of running this year.

Eat vegetables every day - I did pretty well with this one also! I've been using the MyFitnessPal app most days to track what I've been eating, but honestly, it really isn't too hard to get me to eat vegetables - I love them!  I think there was really only one day that I didn't have vegetables - the food options at Laneway Fest were a bit slim, so I was happy to just have some kebabs :)

Spend ten minutes a day straightening up - This was an epic fail.  I think I did this once.  Sigh.

In the book, the chapter for February is focused on marriage.  Obviously, I'm not married or otherwise partnered up, but I've thought about the title of the chapter, "Remember Love", and tried to think about how some of the topics within the book could be applicable to my life.  I think that I'd just like to put more love and good vibes out into the world.  I mean, I think it's logical to think that if I'm putting good stuff out there, then good stuff will come to me??  So here are the things I'm trying to be mindful of for February:

1.  No dumping - the author talks about how she dumps a lot of her baggage on her husband.  I definitely have a terrible habit of complaining - it is really something that I want to scale back!  My number one focus in February is to stop complaining so much and stop vocalizing so much negativity.  We'll see how this goes - old habits die hard I'm sure, but hopefully I can be more mindful of what I'm going to say before I say it and stop dumping all of my troubles on those around me.

2.  Don't expect praise or appreciation - sometimes I feel like some of the things I do go unnoticed.  And by unnoticed, I really mean unacknowledged.  And sometimes that makes me feel frustrated or resentful.  But it shouldn't.  And I know that.  So I want to practice being more mindful of just doing what I do because I do it and stop expecting people to praise me for it.  I should be doing the things I do because they are the right things to do - not because someone needs to pat me on the back.

3.  Give proofs of love - there are a lot of people in my life that I am very very grateful to have.  I think I don't always show it.  I'd like to try to make a more conscious effort in February.  I don't expect that this will be a wholesale change that will change my behavior in the long run, but I do think it will be nice to just be more outwardly appreciative towards others for the month.

That's it.  Only three things, but I think that they are a pretty heavy three.  Unfortunately, these will probably be much harder to measure - no fancy apps to help me track my complaining - but hopefully I will be able to notice a difference?

Long week and lo hei

Well guys, it's only Wednesday, but it definitely feels like it should be Friday already.  This week has just felt really, really long.

In a way, it is sort of almost my Friday - tomorrow, the office closes after lunchtime tomorrow for the Chinese New Year holiday, which officially starts on Friday.  Unfortunately, I have plenty of work to do, so I will still be working instead of going on holiday like I did last year.

In celebration of the upcoming holiday, today at work, we did something a bit traditional - yu sheng!  Yu sheng is also known as lo hei, and it is meant to bring prosperity for the new year.  It is basically a big salad of shredded vegetables topped with raw salmon.  Some spices and a plum sauce is added, and then diners take their chopsticks and toss all the ingredients together.. and that brings good luck to everyone I guess?

Before the toppings are added

For some reason, I had always previously thought that lo hei had noodles in it, but I was wrong!  Our lo hei had shredded carrots, green radishes, white radishes, some other vegetables that I didn't know, salmon, a ton of peanuts, some crispy things on top, pepper, cinnamon, and sauce.  I was a bit nervous as one of my co-workers was setting everything up - I mean, salmon and cinnamon and peanuts??
 

Before the toss!

Sadly, I didn't take a picture post-toss, but it was pretty tasty!  It did taste mostly like a shredded vegetabel salad with an oriental dressing, but I didn't really care for the crispy bits that were on top.  Other than that - pretty good!  This was a new-to-me tradition, as I think this is a Chinese New Year tradition that is more common in Singapore and Malaysia, rather than in Taiwan?  Hopefully the year of the horse will be a lucky one for me!!

Laneway Festival 2014

Hello everyone and happy Gasparilla weekend!  Even though I haven't been to a Gasparilla in AGES, but it is still fun to see everyone's pirate pictures on various social media, and I love that it is one of the truly unique things about Tampa.

I spent my Saturday at the Laneway Festival with friends.  It was a really great lineup this year, and I knew more of the bands then when I went last year.  Logistically, there were more food and drink stations, and most importantly, the weather was SO great.  This January has been really mild, so it was great to spend the day outdoors without roasting!

We spent the afternoon all hanging out on the lawn and listening to the bands.  Some of them were really great, and some of them were just okay, but once the sun went down, we moved in closer for some of the headliners!  Daughter, HAIM, and Chvrches came on back to back, and they did not disappoint at all!!!

Chvrches was absolutely amazing

 

Crowd shot!

It was a really great day, and I was happy to be able to take a bit of a break from work for the day!  Hope you are all having a great weekend and staying warm back home!!

#GoHawks

Hi all - as you might imagine, I am so incredibly excited for this year's Super Bowl!!  This past weekend, I worked on Saturday and Sunday so that I could take a few hours off on Monday morning.  I woke up at 4am to watch the conference championships, and I am SO glad that I did!

It was super fun to be able to watch the game, and I love technology so much for it.  I also love that many of you guys messaged me to pass along your cheers for the Seahawks!

I'm sitting in the airport lounge right now waiting for my flight to India.  I'll be there until Friday evening, when I take the overnight flight back to Singapore... sucks to lose a Friday night to travel, but oh well, at least I get to stay at the Marriott now!

Go Hawks!

Vocabulary

Good morning friends!  It is Saturday morning, and I've just finished up a run before logging on to work for the day.  The weather has been really mild this week, so it is such a nice change to not be drenched in sweat one minute into a run.  There was even a bit of a breeze today, so it was exceptionally nice!

Boat Quay is so quiet on a Saturday morning

Totally empty

I bought these Lock Laces for Christmas and I LOVE them!  #GoHawks

As you may know, January is usually a pretty busy time at work for me.  I've been trying to use this January to also work on a little bit of my Mandarin since I spend most of my day with my local co-workers.

One of the first things people would usually ask when I said that I was moving to Singapore was.. what language do they speak over there?  Officially, there are four national languages - English, Mandarin, Malay, and Timil, but English is the primary language, so that was always a point of comfort for me.  But here is something that I never thought much about.. "English" can take on a lot of different forms in terms of vocabulary.  So while, yes, everyone here speaks English, it is often a different type of English.

The first time I really became aware of this was when I visited back in March 2012.  I was speaking with a co-worker about some stuff, and she was explaining how a few things work.  I could tell by our conversation that she was telling me to coordinate with all these different people, but she definitely wasn't saying the word "coordinate".  I knew what she was communicating, but I had no clue what actual word she was using.  Turns out, she was saying "you need to liase with so and so".  But "liase" is not something that Americans typically use in their vocabulary, so I was having a hard time figuring out what she was saying.  As a former British colony, a lot of the speech patterns are dictated by that style of English, but the Singaporeans also mix in some Mandarin habits and/or words, to form a style of speech called "Singlish".

So I've gotten used to hearing "lah" tacked onto the end of absolutely everything.  I've also gotten used to hearing "nice" instead of "good" (as in, the food there is quite nice).  Here are some other things that I've learned to translate:

lift = elevator
Should we take the stairs or the lift?

toilet = bathroom
Where's the toilet?

MC = sick day
Mari Jane took an MC today.

can-lah = ok
Want to go to the movies tomorrow?  Can-lah!

arrow = assign
Someone needs to order lunch - I arrow you.

booking = reservation
I made a booking for dinner at 7pm.

queue = line
If we don't get there before noon, there will be a long queue.

hand phone = cell phone
I'm not in the office so please call my hand phone.

hand luggage = carry on luggage
Please make sure your hand luggage is stowed away.

SMS = text
Just SMS me if you want to meet up.

1 for 1 = 2 for 1
Drinks are 1 for 1 from 6pm - 8pm. 

set meal = combo
Do you want just the sandwich or the set meal?

top up = add value or upsize
I'd like to top up $20 on my Starbucks card.
I'd like to top up to the large fries.

Some of these phrases I have actually incorporated into my language (set meal, 1 for 1, lift), and some of these I still absolutely refuse to say (SMS, lah!).  Now if only I could become more adept with my Mandarin...

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  An awesome NFL conference championship weekend is lined up, and I couldn't be more pleased with the match ups.  I hope everyone spends some time on Sunday watching the four best teams in the league battle for a trip to the Super Bowl!!  Go Seahawks!!!!!

The Happiness Project: January

Hello friends!  How is 2014 shaping up so far??

I have been trying to get back into the swing of things here in Singapore.  January is my busiest time of year at work, so that isn't the most exciting, but hopefully it will go by quickly and painlessly!  Fingers crossed, though I'm not sure how much good that will do...

I recently started reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin at the recommendation of a friend.  It's a good time to start it because the book chronicles a calendar year of happiness efforts.  (I love reading about happiness.. one of my favorite books ever is The Geography of Bliss.. I highly recommend it!!  It really got me way more interested in living outside the US and learning more about everyday life, rather than the history of other cultures.)  So far, some of the book is a bit hokey, but some of it resonates with me quite well.  And hey - who doesn't want to be happier?

The month of January is focused on energy - both physical and mental.  It's pretty intuitive, but the book mentions that when we lack energy, whether physical or mental, it makes things tough.  I've probably mentioned this before, but I seem to get run down much more often in Singapore than I did in the US.  I also feel like I have a much higher stress level than I did in the US.  I've been trying to troubleshoot these problems for a while, but I figured it would be good to put pen to paper, so to speak, to try and focus on some concrete steps to have more energy.  Here are the things I'm trying to be mindful of this month:

1.  Go to bed on time
2.  Get out of bed on time (I am a chronic snoozer!)
3.  Exercise at least three times a week
4.  Eat vegetables every day
5.  Spend ten minutes a day straightening up at home to just put things in order

Maybe you guys aren't interested in know this sort of stuff about me.  I'm sure a lot of you just are primarily interested in seeing travel recaps and pictures.  But they say that telling people about your plans increases your chances of success.  And this is the best way I know how to do that.  Wish me luck!!

Go Seahawks!!!  (Side note - I woke up at 5am on a Sunday so that I could watch the game, but it was totally worth it!  Football is just the greatest.)

Happy new year!

Well, I am seven days late, but happy new year friends!  I have to say that 2013 was a very full year for me, and I'm looking forward to filling 2014 with adventure.  2013 was actually the longest year of my life.. I rang in 2013 in Bali, which is one of the first time zones to celebrate, and I rang in 2014 in Kona, Hawaii, which is one of the last time zones to celebrate!  It definitely feels like I made the most of my extra long year, and when I think about all the things that happened in 2013, it is just crazy.  I am always writing about how time seems to fly, but really.. it does.

Anyway.. I am back in Singapore after an amazing week on the Big Island Hawaii!!  Stephanie and I met up with some friends from the US (kind of the same plan as last year actually), and it was an awesome trip.  Stephanie has been to Hawaii a lot, so she basically planned our whole trip, which was fine by me!

I'm really not even sure where to start with this recap.. it was a packed week!  We went kayaking, snorkeling (including a night snorkel with manta rays!!!), zip lining, hiking, and whale watching.. here is a look at some of our days.. but honestly, there is too much to really share.. it was an absolutely epic week.

I made the long journey from Singapore to Manila to Honolulu to Kona.. it was quite the journey, but it was totally worth it.  (Even though Philippine Airlines totally sucks.  And so does the Manila airport.. all I wanted on my layover was a bottle of water, but all the shops only took cash, and I didn't have any pesos!)

I landed just in time for a quick drive to the beach

Sunset in Kona!!

After everyone had arrived, we just hung out in our condo and had a cookout!!  One of the things that I miss the most about America is a good home cooked meal.  It's funny the things we take for granted...

Our first morning in Hawaii we woke up early (jet lag!) and headed over to pick up some kayaks and snorkel gear for a day on the water!

This is where we launched our kayaks from

This was my first time kayaking in the open ocean rather than in a calm little lagoon.  It was quite the experience!  I was lucky to have Stephanie as my kayak buddy haha.  The waves were kind of big when we were going out and coming in!!  (We actually got totally taken out by a wave on the way back in.. but luckily, Rufus came to help us.. it was a huge wave!)  The water was a bit choppy, but we kayaked over towards the snorkel spot and then dove in.  The coral was really pretty, but because everything is alive down there, you're not supposed to stand on anything.. you just tread water the whole time.. I got tired pretty easily!

Hi!

The next day, we drove out to the Volcanoes National Park.  The roads were really winding, so it took us about 2.5 hours to get there.  Luckily, there was gorgeous scenery along the way.

Aloha!

I think this was my first trip ever to a National Park, and I loved it.  We went and checked out the big volcano before doing some of the shorter hikes. 

This hike was really different than most other hikes that I've done.  Rather than climbing up to a summit, we climbed down into a valley that was all lava rock.  It was really cool to see all the rocks and walk on lava.. definitely a unique experience!!

Lava lake hike

In the lava lake

Last year we hiked to the top.. this year we hiked to the bottom

Team jump shot

We also did a really short trail where we got to see some more steam pockets and the different colored sulfur gases coming out of the rocks.  I think back to the days when I took earth science as a kid, and none of this was that interesting to me.. I wonder why?

We left the park because the storm clouds were rolling in, but by the time we got away from that side of the island, the skies were blue and gorgeous, so we stopped at a black sand beach on our way home.

So beautiful

We met a turtle!!  I think this guy washed into a pool during high tide and couldn't get back out.

Day 3 was zipline day!!  The zipline tour company sent us out to a farm house to play with animals and get suited up for our adventure.

And then we were off!  We ziplined from tree to tree with our two guides.. it was really fun!

There goes Stephanie!

This was my first time ziplining, but I loved it!  Super fun and not something you get to do often.  Also, I think it was good that my first ziplining experience was in the US.. some of the other people in our group were talking about their experiences ziplining in Costa Rica and South Africa.. and that did not seem quite as safe!!

Afterward, we stopped for a shave ice!!

I came back again the very next day :)

We celebrated New Years Eve with a home cooked meal (ribs and grilled corn!!!!!), and then we headed out for some drinks and dancing.  (Side note - we made friends with TONS of Canadians during our stay.  Super fun!)  I actually didn't really see any fireworks, which was a bit anti-climactic, but it was still a fun night.

On the first day of 2014, we headed to Kona Brewery for lunch!

Of course, I had a sampler.. I love trying little bits of everything!

After lunch, we headed to the docks for our next activity!

We boarded the Body Glove boat to do some whale watching!

It was a bit windy and the water was a bit choppy

I don't really have any good pictures of whales.. but we did get to see some!  And the boat had some sort of scientist on board who was able to tell us all sorts of cool facts about whales.  But to be honest.. I just love being on boats.. I would've still thought it was a great day even if we hadn't seen any whales.  But it was really cool to see them :)

The rest of our vacation was more pool/beach time, a luau, an un-photographed night snorkel with manta rays (which are incredible!!!), and lots of Uno.  Hawaii is so gorgeous.  One last fun thing to share with you.. I discovered this place called Basik Acai that serves acai bowls.  Basically, it is acai (you know, that superfood thing?) blended up and topped with fruit and granola.  Literally, the most delicious and refreshing breakfast ever!  I had it twice in two days and savored every bite.  Apparently, acai bowls aren't really available anywhere but Hawaii and San Francisco, but I am really hoping that they catch on quickly!!!

Acai, spirulina, hemp milk, berries, banana, honey, hemp, and granola

Acai, cashew milk, berries, pineapple, coconut, and granola

Ok, this post is really long, so I'm going to wrap it up.  Basically..
Hawaii = paradise
2013 = good
2014 = exciting

Oh and ps - if you noticed that the photos in this post are way better than normal.. shout out to Lena and her fancy camera!!

Aloha friends