Bonjour

Hi all - sorry for dropping off for a bit! Things have been nuts lately. I promise that normal blogging will resume soon!

Two days in and two days out

Hello friends! I've spent the last two days at home in Tampa, and now I'm waiting for my (delayed) flight to go spend two days in Nashville! So far, my time back in America has been really enjoyable. Usually, I have breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner, and drinks dates all over town since I try to see as many people and hit up as many favorite spots as possible, but this time is a bit different! I had only arranged one lunch date in advance of this trip, and I have to say - I've really enjoyed having less of a schedule and just taking time to get things done!

Some things that I noticed after this first week of no longer living in Asia:

1.  I might be a bad tipper? I went to lunch with two girlfriends, and we all paid separately. But I left the smallest tip!! This is particularly hilarious/embarrassing for me since I was a server for such a long time!

2.  I crave super simple foods. My first meal back in America was at Panera Bread lol.  For some reason, an easy salad and sandwich sounded perfect to me. 

3.  Radio stations are boring. I listened to the same 10 songs over and over in my rental car. 

4.  Online shopping can really be hit or miss.  Per usual, I ordered a ton of stuff online and was really excited to get home and try it all on! Unfortunately, tons of it just didn't look great once I put it in, and I would guess that I ended up returning about 70 percent of what I had ordered. 

5.  I hate buying suits. I think they are ugly, and they are expensive! Lose-lose. 

6.  I am still gravitating towards summer clothes. After two years of basically never wearing pants or anything with long sleeves, it's a hard habit to break!

7.  I still love Tampa. In my first hour back in town, I randomly ran into an old friend from high school in the grocery store parking lot. 

8.  I still should not be allowed to have cable TV. Real Housewives and Teen Mom update shows are distracting me from the copies of Fortune, The New Yorker, and The Economist that I bought lol. 

One other random note - I'm looking for navy blue heels for work.  Either pumps or wedges, closed toe, and not sky high. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know!!

The Happiness Project: August

Hi all - two posts in two days!  Training ended a bit early today, so I've got some free time before heading to the airport.  I'm meeting my mom and cousins in Seattle for the weekend - super exciting!!

The end of July went by in an absolute fury, and to be honest, August 1st came and went, and I realized that I hadn't even read the next chapter of the book!  So, things are a bit scattered this month.  Sorry.  Anyway, let's check in with how I did on my July goals:

Go to bed on time:  Absolute fail.  In my last month in Singapore, I was trying to maximize all of my time there, so I was rarely able to go to bed on time.

Get out of bed on time:  Unsurprisingly, this was also a fail.  I did a better job of getting up on time than I did at going to bed at time, but this was still not a good success.  I did a TON of sleeping in during July.

Exercise at least three times a week:  I did okay at this one.  For most of the month, I think I exercised at least three times a week, but there was definitely one week of the month where I didn't exercise at all.  Oops.

Eat vegetables every day:  Success!  I didn't keep track of this very well, but I would be surprised if there was a day where I didn't eat vegetables.  Since I was trying to eat tons of Asian food during my last weeks in Singapore, I think I was probably extra mindful of eating veggies since most of my favorite Asian foods are a bit deficient in nutrition and a bit indulgent on salt, oil, and MSG.

Spend ten minutes a day straightening up at home:  Fail.  I had blocked out a long three day weekend for packing, and because of this, I completely ignored all cleaning, organizing, or any other "straightening up" until then.

Alright.  On to August.  The focus for the month of August was to contemplate the heavens. Many of you may already know that I grew up going to church, but the book's focus on eternity is a bit less spiritual than the title may lead you to assume. 

Gretchen offers the following points of focus for the month:
1.  Read memoirs of catastrophe
2.  Keep a gratitude notebook
3.  Imitate a spiritual master

The narrative that goes with these actions seems pretty relatable.  But seeing as how it is already August 8th, I guess I'd better get cracking.  I haven't done (or really even thought much about) any of these items yet.  Maybe I'll give it some thought on the plane tonight?  (Or maybe I will just think about what new Seahawks gear I will be looking for in Seattle!)

Talk to you guys soon :)

Exit strategy

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the sporadic blogging lately - I've been busy!  Last weekend, I went from Asia to Florida to California (so efficient), and I've spent this week attending a work training in San Diego.  I'll try to write a bit more later about my first week back in America, but for now, here is a look at my last few days in Singapore in pictures.

High tea at the Fullerton Bay

Frog leg porridge for dinner

Roti prata

Chinatown

Ladies night at the Lantern Bar

Fishball noodles and sugarcane juice

Murtabak

Banh mi

Din Tai Fung

Cramped quarters on moving day

All packed up!

Shophouses

Satay street

Singapore!

Korean for lunch

Chirashi at my local spot

Drinks!

Beautiful last meal in Singapore

Coming home!

 

Moving day

Hello all! I'm currently sitting in my apartment as all of my things are packed away in boxes. It's moving day!  Well, for my shipment at least. 

My laptop is on the fritz, so there are no pictures to share right now, but I enjoyed my last full weekend in Singapore with a good mix of relaxation and productivity. It's hard to believe that this experience is coming to an end! I may not get to post again before I leave, so the next time I blog may very well be from America!!

Have a good week everyone!

Farewell tour

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks.. in addition to trying to manage all the things that go with a big move, I've been trying to wrap up some things at work and enjoy my last few weeks in Singapore.

It's been a lot of fun.   I've been trying to hit up all my favorite places and spend lots of time with my favorite people.  It's definitely very bittersweet.  To be honest, I'm sad to leave Singapore, but I'm ready.  I'm excited for the next step, but I have had such a great experience in the past two years that I'm looking back with some sadness to know that it is coming to an end.  I've still got a lot of fun things to look forward to from now until the time I leave, so more good times ahead!

Chili crab

Going away party

Going away party

 

Brunch-ing

Lovely Singapore

I finally rode the cable car!! 

Bastille Day tasting dinner at Keppel Bay

Lovely Singapore

Beers with the work peeps

Spicy pork rib ramen!

A picnic in the park with Ballet Under the Stars at Fort Canning

Finally made it to Tim Ho Wan

BBQ pork bun!

Yummy

There are actually a few of us from work that all moved over around the same time, so we are all trickling out over the next few weeks.  It's a really strange feeling - there are people who have been a very constant part of my life over the last two years that I may never see again!  Although, I doubt it will be never.. but it's a strange feeling not knowing when our paths may cross next.

Luckily, I think one of the outcomes of this experience is it changes your mindset about travel and what is a feasible distance.  So although some of us may be living continents apart, I'm hopeful that it won't feel quite as far away as it may seem.  Technology helps too obviously!

My last day of work is the 31st, and then I fly out of Singapore early in the morning on August 2nd.  Less than two weeks to go!  I know it will fly by very quickly, so I'm off to go enjoy some more Singapore while I can!!

Last holiday

Hello friends.  How goes it?  I am pretty tired today since I was woken up around 2:30am by some German neighbors who were getting pumped for the game (which started at 4am here in Singapore).  Nevertheless, a blog post must be published!

It's been a while since I did a regular post I suppose, so first let me share with you some random photos from my life last week.

Early morning run in Singapore

Will miss this view!

So lovely

I love this bridge!

Leaves for lunch one day

A dead fish for lunch another day.. womp

Ribs and wings for dinner!  I finally made it to Smokey's!

This past weekend, I took my last holiday in Asia (for now at least).  We went to Bali to ring in the Fourth of July!

We stayed at the Sheraton in Kuta (the lowest points necessary).  I found the area to be super touristy, but the waves along the beach were huge!  I can definitely see why it is so popular with surfers!

Stephanie brought some USA gear for us, and it actually was quite the icebreaker!  We met several Americans (including some Marines, whom we thanked for their fine service to our country) over the course of the weekend.  Hooray America!

These peeps have been such a great adventure crew to spend the past two years with.  This is the last time the three of us will have vacationed together for a long time!  So sad - it is the end of an era!

Beautiful Bali sunset to close out a super fun weekend.