Notice anything?

This is a (terrible) picture of the Starbucks near my office that I frequent most often.

Notice anything?

I've been coming to this Starbucks for about 18 months now, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but earlier this week, I noticed something for the first time.  I was walking up to one of the doors and a man in a wheelchair was coming out.  The door I was going towards has a step outside of it, so I paused for a minute as this guy "hopped" the step in his wheelchair and went along.  Then I realized - all the doors only have steps.. there are no ramps.  It has no wheelchair accessibility.

Singapore obviously has a reputation for being incredibly rules-driven, and in many ways that is absolutely a well-deserved sentiment.  But in other ways - no OSHA, HIPAA, or ADA - it is surprising how many things are unregulated!

Something else that is different at Starbucks?  They don't have canisters of milk laid out for people to help themselves to.  When you order coffee, if you want milk, you tell the cashier.  They will always ask "hot milk or cold milk?" which also seems odd to me.

One more note about Starbucks - I have a Starbucks card in three territories (US, Singapore, and Malaysia) but none of them are linked together because the global business model is not really a global business model.  Anyway, that is all fine by me, except that my gold status at Starbucks in the US has expired, and even after I wrote to customer service, they declined my request to keep it active!!!  

A fun weekend

Hello everyone!  Hope you have all had a great weekend.  Mine was a good mixture of relaxation and fun, but I definitely wish I was feeling a bit more recharged today - Mondays are always tough, but this one seemed to be really tough!  The next couple of weeks are a bit of a nice lull at work - things will pick back up in the first week of March.  But I think that sometimes, when you get a little room to breathe, it feels like it's harder to get things done?  Like, without a lot of pressure, it is harder to focus.  At least for me, I suppose.

Anyway - the weekend... Friday night, I went to a new (to me) place called The Black Swan.  They had a really nice happy hour, and I thought it was pretty reasonable!  

Funny story - when we walked in around 5:30, most of the tables had name cards on them for reservations.  We went to the hostess to ask for a table, and let her know we were just there for drinks.  She checked her clipboard, looked around the restaurant, and saw a table that would seat our group.  She looked at us nervously and said "I can give you that table, but you must give up the table by 9pm".  Apparently, they set the reservation cards out at the beginning of the night, no matter what time your reservation is?  Seems inefficient to this former hostess, but maybe things have changed haha :)

Anyway, Saturday I went to a brunch to celebrate a friend's birthday.  We went to the Fullerton Bay hotel, which is one of my absolute favorite places in Singapore!  The brunch was really nice, and for Singapore prices, it was quite reasonable at about S$100!

Do you see me?

Saturday night, a friend invited some of us to the Singapore Cricket Club, which is where his rugby club is.  Obviously, I had never been to a rugby club or a cricket club, but from what I gather, it is like a country club?  But with rugby instead of golf?  And lots of bros.. but British bros.. so a bit different.. more posh.. but also more brash in a way?  Hard to explain.. but apparently, the rugby club appetizer of choice is a cube of cheddar cheese, a bit of raw red onion, and a slice of raw jalapeno, strung together on a toothpick.  Try it!

Sunday was pretty laid back, and then I had dinner with Stephanie to hear about her trip to the Olympics!! Team USA!  Woohoo!!

Now it is Monday evening, and I'm hoping this week goes by really quickly!!!  I will leave you all with some funny (and not so appetizing) photos I've seen lately.

I think this is the Asian version of the mashed potato bowl that KFC started a few years ago..

Ughhhhhh

Apparently, this girl works in my office.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think it should still be Valentine's Day for most of you back in the US, so I wanted to pop in and wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  I'm grateful for all of you, and I wish you lots of love and chocolate!!

An e-book recommendation

Hi all - wanted to share something with you all.  I have been reading Molly Wizenberg's lovely blog, Orangette, for years.  I think it is actually the very first blog I started reading after having discovered it via a Food Network commercial (naturally).

Anyway, Molly's first book, A Homemade Life, is featured on Amazon this month, so it is only $1.99!!  It is part cookbook of recipes and part memoir.  Molly's writing style is incredibly beautiful, and her recipes are always simple and delicious.  She has a zillion other recipes on her blog, my favorite being this incredibly easy chickpea salad.  I would definitely recommend grabbing a copy of her book while it is on sale - whether you are a cook or not, it is a wonderful read.

It was a busy week

Hey all - sorry I went MIA for a bit.  The past week was a little hectic.  The big news of the week, of course, is that the Seahawks won the Super Bowl!!!  I went into work a few hours late last Monday morning so that I could watch the smackdown at my favorite neighborhood restaurant that shows American football.

It was actually pretty crowded!

I am obviously ecstatic, and I've already ordered my Super Bowl Champs shirt.  I can't wait to wear it!  It was great fun to watch the game with a group of friends, and although most people probably wish that the game was a bit more competitive, I was beyond thrilled :)

I had a big week at work, but I was happy the week started on such a high note.  The other bright spot during the week was a visit from some friends!!  Joan and David were passing through Singapore, and we got a chance to catch up over dinner at Long Beach! 

This was my first time at Long Beach, and actually, this was my first time having black pepper crab, which was absolutely delicious!  I think I still prefer the chili crab at Jumbo, but the black pepper crab is my new favorite.  So glad I got to spend time with these precious people.

Chili crab in the back.  Black pepper crab in the front.

The weekend was pretty good.  Short, but simple.  Yoga, running, and time with friends.  My day is coming to a close, but wishing everyone at home a happy Monday!

A Chinese New Year Cleanse

Hi friends and happy Chinese New Year!  This year, the Lunar New Year was a bit earlier than last year, and incidentally, it falls right before a big work deadline.  So instead of going away to Phuket, I rang in the Year of the Horse here in Singapore.

Since most of my friends took advantage of the long weekend to travel, I decided that the three day weekend would be perfect for a three day juice cleanse.  I reasoned that with many of my friends away, it would be a good chance to have a low-key weekend of detox.  What I didn't think about was that, as part of preparing your body for the cleanse, you are meant to give up things like sugar, caffeine, and alcohol in the days leading up to the cleanse.  No coffee during January?!!  ... Not the most well thought out plan ...

Anyway, my juices arrived at my apartment on Thursday evening, so I've had nothing but juice and water since then.  Each day I get six juices - four vegetable juices, one lighter juice like coconut water or spicy lemonade, and one cashew nut milk.  I haven't really been hungry, but I have definitely missed eating food.  I know that a lot of my food habits and cravings are mental, so it's nice to sometimes be reminded that I won't die if I don't have exactly what I want haha.  Today is the last day of my cleanse, and I'm feeling good, but with a bit less energy.

Every morning starts out with this green one

Obviously, the carrot one was my favorite

Not being able to eat or drink anything basically restricted me to being a hermit for the weekend, although a friend and I did go and check out a museum earlier today.  Other than that, this weekend has been a lot of administrative stuff - work, laundry, scheduling appointments, etc, and a lot of Netflix and reading.  Not a terrible way to spend the weekend, but I'm ready to get back to normal life.

The other thing I'm ready for?  The Super Bowl!!!  GO SEAHAWKS!!!