Thaipusam

January 30th

Before I go back in time and catch up on some of the missed adventures, I wanted to write about today's events while they are fresh in my mind. Today I met up with my friend AJ from work to check out the festival Thaipusam. It is a Hindu festival honoring the God Murugan where you ask for his blessing. Apparently his blessing doesn't come easy. Many devotees carry a "burden" which manifests in the form of pots filled with milk that are carried from one temple to another...in this case 4 kilometers. AJ himself did this at 3:00 am to avoid the crowds. Others who are more serious, pierce themselves in multiple places, usually through the cheeks, or forehead, but also in the chest and back in extreme cases. I had seen this type of thing in National Geographic, but never in real life, so I was very interested to see what it looked like. I wasn't really sure what to expect, or even if I was going to see anyone with piercings. AJ had a thin rod placed through his cheeks earlier in the day, but it was out now and the mark was not very noticeable.

When we arrived to the procession, I heard a lot of noise, and a chariot looking thing being carried by about 8 guys. While that was cool, I thought that this might get boring quick. Not too long after that, these guys came walking down with piercings through their face. It was pretty neat and looked painful. What came next I wasn't prepared for. A man was walking down the street carrying a semi circle made by strips of metal, supported by his waist. The amazing part was that he had about 50 metal bars hanging off of his front and back which were pierced through his skin. Some of the hooks in the back were so thick they looked like meat hooks. The other interesting piece was that this was all happening in a very urban setting, with malls and shops in the back-drop.

In the Indian mood, we of course went to little India for a fantastic Indian dinner with Somosas, Tandoori chicken and fish, lentils, okra, nan, prawn curry, basmati rice, a great feast to end the day.

Writer(s) are back from Strike

It's been a long time since my last blog, and I suppose I've had the chance a few times recently to post but I've been too intimidated by the backlog to do so. Here are some of the highlights that I hope to revisit over the next week or so to catch you all up on what has been going on.

> 3 day weekend in Bintan Indonesia for a golf weekend
> 3 day weekend in Bali with BSchwagg
> 2 weeks back in the US of A split between Buffalo and NYC

The Singapore list is obviously longer, but I'll get to that later.

There I did it, now I can move on

Hives make me black pepper crabby

Sunday Nov 8th

I wake up and hit the gym. I don't think I've described the gym yet, so I will now. It's a small room, with a treadmill, bike, elliptical, and one of those "all in one gyms" that you see on the infomercials late at night when you are feeling your fattest. The important thing to note about the gym is that I seemed to be the only one that ever used it. Not only because I didn't see anyone else in it, but because when you walk in, you have to turn on the air conditioning. It was always off when I walked in and was sitting at a feverish 90 degrees with no circulation. Needless to say when I hit the treadmill I was drenched in 5 minutes. Next to the gym is a small pool that looked much better from the photos then in real life. Since I was still working from my two suitcases I brought, there was no room for a swim suit so earlier I bought a new one. I wasn't sure what kind of swimwear was appropriate for Asia, the long board shorts I was used to in America or the banana hammock that you can find a lot of other places around the world. I chose something in between and just went for a shorter less baggy suit then I'm used to. I decided that I after being here for two weeks, it was time to hit the pool. After all, I was practically on the equator and it was stinking hot.

After getting off to an energetic start, I ended up hanging in my apartment for most of the day and feeling guilty about the fact that I hadn't done too much. Realizing that A,I didn't have any food in the apartment and it was diner time, B, I hadn't yet had any chili or black pepper crab that Singapore is famous for,and C, a seafood restaurant was the only restaurant within walking distance that wasn't fast food, I thought I would give it a try. It was about this time that I started feeling itchy around my chest but I didn't think anything of it. A short walk and a few minutes later I was sitting in front of 1 kilo of black pepper crab. Let me tell you that stuff is messy, and they don't give you enough napkins. Basically, there is this back oily pepper on the outside of the crab shell which you are desperately trying to get a good grip on to break apart. It isn't a good combo, but it's worth the effort when you get to the spicy crab meat inside. It's a bit on the expensive side, about 50 Sing, but it's a nice treat. When I finish my meal I realize that I had been concentrating so much on cracking shells that I didn't realize that my condition was getting worse. My armpits and elbows started to itch incessantly and to my surprise I saw visible hives on my arm. I paid the check and walked quickly and uncomfortably home. It was 10:00, right when the pharmacies close and the hospitals are the only place open for treatment. Despite my discomfort I decided to tough it out and see how I was doing in the morning. Luckily, my throat didn't close up and I survived the night and my rashes and hives were gone as quickly and mysteriously as they appeared.

Friday - November 6

TGIF, ready for a few beers and to shake off work. I call my friend Hailin and ask where people are headed to which she replies Harry's. Feeling good that I don't have to ask where that is for once (I ate there for lunch earlier that day) I head out across the street to a British influenced pub. Looking around, I don't see Hailin (It's not a huge place) She calls me and asks where I am and I tell her right in front. When she says so am I, it dawns on me that there are more than 1 Harry's and this is in fact a chain. They of course are at the other Harry's which I walk to in about 10 minutes.

Yada yada yada, a few drinks later let's get to the part where we learn something. I've been both a witness and a participant to many a beer chugging competition, however whatever the delivery vehicle be it a cup, glass, funnel, etc from what I've seen has never been a bottle given the obvious air displacement dilemma. One person that we were with offered a gem of wisdom that may have been his only solid contribution to the evening, but it was a good one. If you put a straw in the bottle and bend it down so air can still get out, you can chug that bottle like it was a mug. That was the good news, here is the bad news. I was crushed, beaten embarrassed like like a fat kid in a speedo. Luckily I didn't talk a big game like the other guy who was beat, so in comparison I still looked good.

Ready to call it, I was easily convinced to go out to a club (the same one I was at last time). It was good times, a bunch of wild dude were visiting from Hong Kong and bought us all shots. I was minding my own business when a guy asked me what I was doing here. I replied that I was working in Singapore. He asked me again what I was doing here, and I told him I just moved, but I'll be here for a while. When he asked me the third time, the weird feeling I got was confirmed by the look he was giving me. He wasn't asking me what I was doing here, he was asking me what I was doing HERE, in the club. He was very close to me and started grabbing for my wrists which I moved a bit to avoid his grasp. I started doing a quick run-down of what was about to go down. Either A) don't do anything, hope this guy backs off B) Wait too long and lose first movers advantage when he actually does something C) Use a little Krav Maga action which was perfect given the very close quarters (knee and elbow). The problem was, I didn't really know the outcome of any of these scenarios and was worried about how many friends he had with him and if they were the chess playing type or the Bruce Lee type. Not to mention, I didn't want to find myself in a Singaporian jail my second weekend here. Luckily, one of the girls I was with pulled me back into their circle and diffused the situation. The guy left immediately, and left his friends behind. I asked his friends what that was about and they said they hadn't a clue. I guess there are drunken idiots everywhere you go. His friends turned out to be pretty ok guys and I actually started talking with them for a bit. The world is a strange place.

The search for my new Home

Monday - Thursday November 2-4 2009
At this point my two biggest expenses are taxis and drinks, so I decide enough is enough, I'm going to take the bus to work. It takes the same exact route as the taxi does, only it stops 12 times before I get there. The first day I was really lucky and found a seat which was very pleasant. The next day I wasn't so lucky and had to stand in the back of the bus. This area was clearly designed for the average Singaporian, not the average American. 35 minutes with your head cocked to the side is not how you want to start your day.

I received another call from HR asking me if I want to sign a full year lease with Fortville apartments where I am currently staying. The deal was that the Bank would put me up here and then give me the option to find my own place or renew for the remaining 11 months. To set the scene a bit, the Corporate apartment I am in is nice, clean, a bit old, and is serviced once a week. The bad side is that it is in the equivalent of the suburbs, and not within walking distance of a full grocery market or restaurant other than 2 fast food joints and 1 seafood restaurant that is on the high end. Given that I'm used to being in the middle of things, I wanted to move to somewhere a bit more central. HR seemed reluctant to offer any assistance, but after asking, I got a list of a few agents that I was required to go through in order for DB to pick up the tab. The first agent ended up going on vacation at the beginning of the search and set me back a few days. I decided to engage two at once in order to double my chances of a decent agent, despite the plea of HR to use one at a time. It was a good thing I did because the first agent came back to me saying there was nothing in my price-range in the buildings I wanted. I found this interesting as I enclosed actual quotes in the email I sent her. She replied that it was a bait and switch strategy where the landlord would quote a price, say it just left the market and show me a higher priced apartment. The reality of it couldn't be more different. The second agent came back to me with two suggestions within my price range, and told me that she could probably negotiate a drop of a few hundred dollars. The first place I visited was a building in Robinson Quay (pronounced key) which is more of an expat and exciting part of town. Although this was my preferred location, the apartment was kind of dull and a downgrade from where I was coming from. The second location was a bit further out than I would have liked however Singapore is small and it was within walking distance of good places as well as situated ontop of an MRT (subway) Lavender station. The apartment blew away the other one and was two bedrooms, a big plus for visiting friends and family.
After talking over the price and location with coworkers, it seemed like a really good deal. I told the agent to go for it and get the paperwork started. Just to cover my bases I sent a "confirmation" letter to HR regarding the fact that if my apartment came under budget that I would receive the difference in my check. This was all calculated in my apartment search, making sure that I left enough for utilities. HR responded saying no, I would not be entitled to that amount, and that it would be forefitted. I could have accepted this, but decided that the amount was enough to raise a stink about which I did. After making a few phone calls, sending a few emails, I got HR to agree to my terms! I was really looking forward to getting the rest of my stuff shipped to my permanent address and to calling somewhere home.

Haloween - Twew bwood

It is interesting how your mindset shifts a bit when you move to a country where you literally don't know anyone. When I lived in NYC, there were plenty of times when a friend of mine has told me that they know someone in New York and that we should get together sometime. I don't think that I've looked up a single person like that and said hey, Joey says we should hang out, so lets grab a beer. When I arrived in Singapore, it didn't matter if it was the 6th degree of separation, I am going to meet up with you. You are a friend of a friend? Lets have a beer. You also like the color blue? Lets have a beer.

Before coming to Singapore, two co-workers sent an email to people they knew (kinda) in Singapore. They both emailed me back and said they were happy to meet up. By the end of the week, one of them invited me to a Halloween party, and I hadn't even met them yet. So, in order to avoid an awkward situation where I'm asking around for the person who invited me, we met up for a drink on Friday (Sat was Halloween). We got along pretty well and she reconfirmed my invitation and insisted that I wear a costume. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the costume idea because the last 2 years, I either froze my ass off, or sweated my ass off. I felt compelled to comply since I was a guest and didn't want to offend my first friend here.

Around 9:00 the night of the party I was in a bizarre Halloween store (I think) that had weird clothes and a few left over costumes. There was another expat squeezed in the store and said "mate, you have any idear what you are going to dress up as?" I had no idea, and this shop wasn't inspiring me at all. He settled on count Dracula when I had my creative burst. I asked for fangs and jetted out. Since I didn't want to dress up very much, I figured I could go as Eric from TrueBlood. All I needed was a badass black outfit and some fangs. 1/2 way there, I checked out some shops that were scattered around the mall looking for a cool black jacket that had a standing collar. I tried 3 stores and the situation was the same...I was too big (I tend to think their jackets were too small). Desperate, I went with the least constricting, got some hair gel and left for the party

Although they don't celebrate Halloween in Singapore, these girls certainly did. They really got the American concept of it's the one night a year that you can dress in whatever you want (or whatever you don't want). The girls house where the party was being held was spectacular. Huge outdoor patio with a wet bar, pool, tennis court, beer pong, flip cup, music...all the essentials for a good party. When I arrived, I was feeling pretty good about my outfit, and then somebody asked who I was. "Im Ewick from twew bwood" was what I could mumble with the fangs in. It was the best I could do without drooling. Popping out the fangs I repeated myself. Looking at their face I was forced to ask if they knew what True Blood was. Turns out, HBO isn't quite so popular over in the island of Singapore. Now, with the fangs out, I was just a guy with slicked back hair in a too tight jacket. To be fair, some people did know who I was and one girl even said hey your Eric from season two (got to love it).

After a few hours we headed to a club called Butter for the after party which was a good time as well. Next year, I'm going to try and get better fangs.

First weekend

My first weekend I was plagued a bit by jet-lag. Saturday I woke up early because I had to meet with SIRVA, the relocation company that DB sets their expats up with. It's actually pretty nice, they basically come pick you up, and then show you the basic things you will need to know in your new life that you previously took for granted. Where the supermarket is, where the drugstore is, how to take the bus and the metro and how to get the electronic card that lets you ride both etc. She also took me to the bank to get that set up which is important if you want to get paid (I do). How to get a mobile phone and SIM card. It turns out that Seven Eleven is the best place to make such a purchase, who knew! I was trying to see the best way to get a local phone here and for me the top up cards seem to be the way to go where you can just add on money. I'll skip ahead really quick since I'm on the topic of phones and describe my frustration when getting one. When I went to get a phone the guy told me I couldn't get one without an Employment Pass (EP). Since I didn't have mine yet I had to wait a few more days. When I got it, I came back to the store, proud as could be since I was finally legit. I showed the rep my card and said I'll take this phone. She looked at me and said I need your passport as well. I gritted through my teeth, "you mean the one I took out of my bag right before I came here because I finally got my EP? The passport that you need to GET an EP, so clearly if you have an EP it is a higher level of documentation?" She explained she needed the passport which meant I could have gotten the phone a week earlier...such is life. By the way on my third try I was successful in buying the cheapest phone in singapore, it's practically fisherprice, but it makes and receives phone calls so that's all I care about.

Sunday I went to the "gym" which is really just a small exercise room in the apartment building I'm in. Imagine all of those hotel gyms you've seen and you pretty much have it. To be fair, at this point I hadn't worked out in so long that I just needed something to remind my muscles that they were used for something other than carrying me back and forth between the office.

I then trekked off to the Singapore Museum which I thought was an appropriate start to living in Singapore. After all, you should probably know a thing or two about the country you will be living in. Quick history lesson. Singapore or Singapora which is the Malay pronunciation was a fishing and trading village until 1819 When the British East India Company led by Sir Stamford Ruffles established it as a major trading post, and later major military base for Britain. Interesting fact, Sir Stamford Ruffles established it as a trading post originally against the wishes of the BEIC who thought they already had enough trading posts. In fact, the BEIC charged Ruffles for the costs of establishing it as a post and he died in debt. It was his wife that rescued his name to be the founder and celebrated individual he is today (that juicy bit isn't on Wikipedia...see mom I did something cultural). Another major part of Singapore history is what Winston Churchill called "Britain's greatest defeat" during WWII when it was lost to Japan. I actually went down into the communication bunker which is located underground and the last British commanders were stationed when they decided to surrender. It was neat to look at but I think it could have been done much better. The Singapore National Museum is definitely worth your time. Unsurprisingly, they have a room dedicated to Singapore cuisine which is a centerpiece of their culture and pastime. I am still getting used to Chinese cuisine, much of it I can stomach but don't love. I much prefer the Indian, Thai, Japanese, and even Korean food that is also available. On the topic of food, much of it is fried meat and rice with very little raw vegetables that I have seen so far. I'm surprised the vast majority of the population is so thin given the diet. Maybe I haven't seen everything that is available or maybe it's the heat and they sweat it off, but I feel like I need a salad a multivitamin, and a treadmill.