The Answer

Quite a bit has changed in my life since my last post. Most importantly, I just got a haircut. Of course, I'm just kidding. The biggest change is that Amanda and I are now engaged to be married! It's been something I've been thinking of for years, and now it's a reality!

Cowboys Comeback

Coming back to Dallas for the second time since moving was really wonderful. Before Amanda arrived, I went with Evan and David to see the Cowboys. I absolutely loved it. I had wanted us to do something special while in town, and this was it! It was the first time in years that the three of us had been able to do something as just us. Of course, this is completely understandable. We live three separate lives. However, on this day, it was fun to be together doing something we all enjoy. Plus, since the Cowboys were playing so terribly leading up to it, there was no pressure of them winning or losing hahaha.

Most Important Question of my Life

That brings me to the big story of coming home. Pretty much since July, I had known the timing was starting to feel right. Ultimately, Thanksgiving seemed to be the best option so we could celebrate with the family. However, I knew Amanda wanted it to be special, so I had to trick her a bit to keep it a surprise.

"Erev Thanksgiving" as the Rabbi put it, we went to a park near her family's house. For weeks, I had been saying we'd go on a "Dallas Date Night." My brilliant plan was to then have her think it would be a three part date.

Part one was a picnic in the park. Man, was I nervous. I just kept eating so she wouldn't see how shaky I was. As we finished wrapping up the picnic blanket, I told her there was no part two. That's when I went down on one knee!

It was very quiet, the atmosphere was wonderful with the sun setting, just the two of us. The ring is her grandmother's, so it has very special meaning. To be honest, I don't remember hearing the word yes, but judging by her hug and kiss shortly following, I figured the answer was what I had been looking for.

It's so funny how technology has changed the way family news is spread now.
Of course, we immediately let our families know. However, it's tough wanting to make sure you tell everyone and not have someone see it on facebook! So, we asked everyone to wait on the social media congratulations until we had told everyone.

As soon as we put up our first message, things totally changed.

Here are some of my favorite responses we got.

From Zach Sagett - "Good to hear your finally getting wifed up! Congrats buddy"

From Charlie Hannema (also engaged) - HOUSE! That a baby! Welcome to the cool kids club.

From Sam Korotkin - "Your officially the first of any friends of mine to get married! so this is really the first time ever I've congratulated someone for getting married so I'm really not sure how it works. I guess I just say congrats?!?!

From Andrea Horowitz - "is it possible to me more excited than you?"

From Nicki Marder - "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! omg im shaking like mad! Congrats over and over and over! I love you both!"

From Scott Schaefer - "That's something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!!"

From Steve Chaitman - "ahhhhh! i feel this compulsive need to watch how i met your mother in the early seasons! MAZAL TOV!"

From Max Hyman - "Things (I think) I'm thankful for: The Jets barely squeaking out of 3 games in a row, hopefully another 10 win Mizzou football season (though it's a disappointment, let's remember people), Mizzou's new basketball uniforms, and Michael Rosenhouse and Amanda Paige Rude getting engaged!"

Thanksgiving

The rest of our trip was very nice. We had excellent holiday meals with both families. Food was a key factor in the trip hahaha. We had birthdays to celebrate, the first night of Hannukah, lots of wonderful things.

Since we've been back it's been mostly work for the two of us. Amanda is still settling in to her new job. It seems like she's starting to get the handle of it now. Hannukah was really nice, we lit the candles pretty much every night. Work wise, I was helping produce our SC Year in Review show for the last two weeks. I'm happy with the show, but also realize there are parts that could have been better. It's all a good learning process.

We haven't been able to do much wedding planning, but we think we have a date in mind. Socially, we had a good time at our friends' company launch party. Alex and Shavit have created a discount company called CityNomads. It's a online coupon company that is based off group buying. All the best to them!

We've just planned a new year's trip to Ho Chi Minh City. I'm excited to go back and hope Amanda will enjoy it as well.

Enjoy the holiday season!
Michael

Bangkok Bound

Going to Bangkok was very interesting. There were things I've never seen before, and it's probably safe to say, I'd rather not see again. Here are the highlights.

Friday Night

After settling into the hotel, we decided to go out and explore the area we were staying in. Bangkok is a very big city, with a feel on par of any of America's big cities. Big highways, train system, etc. Well, apparently we were staying near the business district. We quickly learned there was another business going on the streets near where we stayed. Let's just say there were plenty of women hanging around the corners, eager to meet the tourist.

Canal Tour

The hotel offered a free tour for staying in the hotel, so we picked a long tail boat tour. We had a really great guide who spoke excellent English. The boat takes you along the water, showing off many of the amazing buildings there. The temples are simply unbelievable.There are 400 of them in the city, and they are all so intricately done. They take you take an area of the water where you get to feed tons of catfish. Very cool to see all the fish. People can't fish in this one section as it's deemed a holy area.

The houses along the water were all very different. They ranged from some rundown buildings, to some beautiful two story houses. A lot of them had very cool Thai designs as well.

One thing that really stuck out at me was watching these kids play in the water. They couldn't have had a care in the world. They were just splish splashing and looked so happy.

Weekend Market

After our tour, we went to an awesome market. I've been to three or four markets now in SE Asia and this was different than all of them. It was massive. The coolest part was the little shops inside. It wasn't just a bunch of stands selling knockoff watches or bags. They were all like a bunch of cool vintage clothing shops, arts type stuff, food stalls and more. Lots of tourists there, but that's to be expected as it apparently is only open on weekends.

Long Table + Gulliver's Tavern

For dinner, we took a suggestion from a friend and went to the Long Table. It's a cool bar on the 25th floor of a hotel. The food was just okay. The setting was very nice though. After, we went to this cool Western bar we found called Gulliver's Tavern. We were watching all the English football matches, and I just loved being in a true sports bar atmosphere again. I'm going to have to find something similar in Singapore.

Sports thanks to twitter

Last weekend was a huge sports one for me. Unfortunately, my tv options were limited, but luckily I had Internet and was able to check twitter often for updates. Watching the updates unfold for the Texas playoff game was so nerve wrecking. Absolutely incredible seeing all the tweets at the end about A-Rod striking out looking to finish it.

On top of that, Mizzou was having a huge football weekend. Missouri was hosting number one Oklahoma, and ESPN sent it's Gameday crew to Columbia for the first time. Pretty much the whole week leading up to it, I'd been missing Mizzou a lot. It's mostly about missing my friends there. Especially because some of my best friendships at school developed from watching our Tigers together. All that being said, it was an amazing feeling to see the positive messages about the game. When it was over, I could tell I'd have a great day.


Grand Palace

After going for the requisite vacation massage (when they're 15 dollars, why the heck not), we visited the Grand Palace. It is massive. It's not a typical palace like I would normally expect. It's more a collection of temples and shrines. The mixture of architecture really struck me. There was colonial styled buildings and more tradition Thai ones as well. Some were a mix. The only downside, it was very, very, very, very hot.

Sirocco

So, this may be one of my favorite stories. We went to this restaurant thinking it would be a nice type of dinner,

but we never expected it to be like this. On the 63rd floor of this beautiful hotel sits a very nice restaurant. After a quick glance at the menu, it was very clear we were in way over our heads. Let's just say we decided to only have dessert there (and a $13 can of coke hahahaha-never expected to write that line). The view of the sunset from there was really incredible though. Unlike anything I've been able to experience before.

Funny Taxi

As we headed back to the airport, we ended up with a taxi driver that spoke almost no English (we are in Thailand, it's not to be unexpected). More importantly, we noticed he was driving with the gasoline tank on empty. We just had to hope and pray the car didn't stop in the middle of the freeway. Luckily, there was no issue.

A good weekend. There is a ton of culture there. As you may have noticed, I didn't talk about food as much this time. That's because everything was just okay. We ate Pad Thai three times, only once did I really think it was good. The best was a cashew nut chicken we had.

That's a bit about Bangkok.

Michael

Let's Go!

Quite a bit has happened since August here in good ole Singapura. So, let's go!

High Holidays

Had my first set of high holidays here and they were very nice. The difference isn't as much being in Singapore, it's more about becoming an adult and deciding what the holidays mean to me. We had a lovely Rosh Hashanah. For first night, we went to a young adults dinner our friends organized. It was a great atmosphere with an excellent community feel. Second night, we went to the synagogue for dinner. Smaller group than I expected, but still okay. The highlight was that there was an Ashkenazi minyan for prayers, so I felt more at home. The next day, we went over to our friends Jonathan and Margaret's for lunch. They are so nice to let me come over for holiday meals - great friends.

Yom Kippur wasn't as smooth sailing. I took off on Saturday, but it was smack in the middle of my three day, three in the morning, work weekend. Add to it, I came down with a cold on Friday. So, I wasn't feeling real well coming into it. It put me in the position of having to decide if fasting really made sense. To be honest, I had never really understood the reasons for doing the fast. Well, on Friday night, I found out the reasons we fast, don't wear leather, stand a lot, etc. I decided to fast as long as I could, but if I really felt like having to eat, go for it. I was able to hold off, and we had a lovely breakfast at our friends Matt and Mel's (they just had a baby this week, a huge mazel tov to them!).

As far as the rest, we had one meal in the sukkah and were able to go for a little bit of Simchat Torah. I've been working the mornings this month, which means having to go home earlier to get some sleep.

Singapore Grand Prix & Sports Report

Formula 1 racing came to Singapore late in September. To me, this was really awesome. They create a street track downtown by the Marina for a night race. It's so impressive - it not like going out to the Texas Motor Speedway. Literally, it sits downtown.

On the Friday before the race, I got to go cover a press conference for Lotus Racing. Had a good time meeting their drivers. It's always fun to be out in the field a bit.

As far as other sports go, the baseball season is wrapping up. The Rangers are doing very well. Hopefully it stays that way! Some of my work friends seem to have really gotten into it this season which is great. I mean, when things like Roy Halladay throwing only the second ever postseason no-hitter, it's kind of hard not to like it!

We had a NFL workshop the other day. I was just trying to show everyone why it's the most popular sport in the states right now.

Basketball is on the brink of a new season. No one is talking about the Mavs, because let's face it, until they really do something, it's kind of the same 50 win, early playoff exit expectation for this season. I do think that underdog feeling could help. This season, I will say Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh seemingly a thousand times (may be a bit low with that prediction). Still, really excited to see it start up again.

Social Stylings

The coming and going of friends continues here. It's all to be expected though if you're mostly friends with the expat community. I mean, Amanda and I will leave at some point. It's just part of living here. However, that has all come with some fun events. We went to a Glee themed going away party, a burrito night, a great poolside welcome back barbeque and a housewarming party. As with everything in life, it's all fluid.

Travel Bug

One of my biggest reasons for moving here was the opportunity to travel the globe. Amanda and I took September off, but that made me really want to go somewhere. Luckily, things are falling into place. We're heading to Bangkok for a weekend at the end of the month. I expect it will be hugely different from our Krabi, Thailand experience. After that, some of our Mizzou friends studying in Australia are coming to visit.

Then, it's off to Dallas for Thanksgiving - really excited to see everyone! This will be Amanda's first trip back home, and I'm sure she'll love it.

As for 2011, I'm hoping to really explore. This week, my friend told me about a great fare from Singapore to New Zealand. So, after some website surfing, we booked a trip to Auckland in May! I'm super excited. We'll try to travel around a bit, but we only have 8 days, so we'll have to make 'em worth it. This doesn't mean I don't still want to go to Australia, we'll just have to go another time.

I really am trying to take advantage of living in this part of the world. Singapore is such a great springboard to travel to other places. Speaking of, still on my list of places to visit, Hong Kong, Bali, Australia and Seoul. South Korea is the main focus as I want to go while Jordan is still teaching there. Of course, all this is work days and budget permitting.

So, hard to believe it's already been ten months here in the little red dot! I still love being here, and it's great having Amanda with me.

Last note, we found a really delicious pizza place. It would totally pass my cousin Zack's test!

Toodles,
Michael

M&M Go Global

Parenting is a continual process, or so I'm told. And yet, so is being a son or daughter. For me, having my parents come in town was another chapter in this book.

My lovely parents came in town for two and a half weeks, and it was very cool to show them the life Amanda and I have here.

Bintan

Right after M&M got here, we headed to Bintan, Indonesia. This island an hour ferry ride from Singapore is really a resort destination. Unfortunately, it rained quite a bit, which put a dent in my plans to be beach bums. However, we were still able to make it to the beach at times. The hotel we stayed in was pretty nice. The food at the restaurants was good. All in all, it was a good mini trip, but not the cultural trip my parents may have been expecting.

Seeing Singapore

As stupid as this may sound, I was proud that my parents went and saw Singapore for themselves while Amanda and I were working. At times, I was able to go to lunch with them, and then send them on their way as I went to work. They saw Little India, Chinatown (home to my mom's new favorite hairdresser), Arab Street, Dhoby Ghaut area (going almost exclusively by bus), Orchard, etc all on their own. Of course they're adults and are able to do this stuff on their own, but it was still a pleasant surprise to me.

The highlight for me was going to the Singapore Flyer with them. I had purposely waited to go on the large observation wheel until they were in town. It was a really nice time- went at night and saw the city in bright lights

Cruise

My parents being the cruise loving people they are, went on a five day exploration of SE Asia aboard the Star Virgo. Luckily, I was able to join for most of the trip. The ship was supremely average in my opinion, but I enjoyed all of the ports. We went to Penang, Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand. I'd been to Penang, but this was a completely different experience. We saw things I hadn't been able to visit on my last trip. Phuket was nice. Saw some more cool Buddhist temples, plus went to the beach after. Yet again, I love Thailand and I'm ready to go back.

Showtime

While they were here, we went to two live theater shows, "Boeing! Boeing!" and "Fried Rice Paradise." Amanda and I had a bit of an advantage as we have more of an ear for Singlish. Some of the jokes we were able to catch that my parents couldn't. Then again, there were jokes in Chinese that none of us understood. Still, we enjoyed both performances. It was a good change to see live productions again.

It was great having them in town. Our guest room was put to good use (wink wink - come visit, we have a room set up). It did make me realize a bit more of the life I'm not having at home, but this still feels like where I'm supposed to be.

Those are the brief highlights of a great two and a half weeks.

Michael

Michael-Jordan Take On Saigon

Knowing my good buddy Jordan, I figure my two days in Ho Chi Minh City would be action packed.

Tuesday night

I got in and Jordan was still finishng up his day's tour, so I hung out in the hotel room and watched ESPN Star Sports of course! It was cool watching SportsCenter and knowing the video and script I worked on earlier was being broadcasted in this country.

Once he got back, we headed out to Pho 2000-the restaurant President Clinton ate at on his trip to Saigon in 2000. It was really tasty and to my surprise the beef was completely legitimate (again making me wonder why it's so different in Singapore).

Anyways, the next stop was the night market. It seems like once you've been to one night market, you've been to all of them. Really nothing special to note-although their fake northfaces looked pretty good.

Wednesday

Tunnels tour

Of course a big part of coming to Vietnam was to look at some of the war stuff. Something that interested the two of us were the Cu Chi tunnels. These are the tunnels the Vietcong had in certain areas - helped move without being seen. Really, the system is very smart, but I just couldn't believe how small these tunnels were. Apparently, they've been doubled in size and I was still really uncomfortable. You kind of "duck walk" through the tunnels and my knees just were not having it. I only went part of the way and then took the early exit - my legs can still feel it.

In general, the war stuff made me quite uncomfortable, but more on that in a bit.

Nam Phan Restaurant

After the tour, we got dropped off near the war remnants museum. But before more "feel good" memories, we wanted to have lunch. Luckily, we stumbled upon one of the nicest looking restaurants I've ever been in! This place was a rennovated mansion and boy was it awesome. We both felt completely under dressed - but it turns out our stomachs were ready for the occasion. The food was sooooo good. We both got an appetizer, a main dish and a Pepsi for a total of 26 USD. It was easily a sixty dollar meal in the states at least. It really just shocked me.

War Remnants Museum

After stuffing ourselves, it was time to get back to more knowledge. The museum is completely one sided. I mean being in a communist country it was understandable, and essentially the North eventually won out in the war. The photos, captions, displays, all made it very clear - the people wanted communism, the Americans wanted destruction.

Look, I wasn't alive then and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been in favor of the war, but it was really pretty crushing. Whether it was right or wrong for the US to go to Vietnam can always be debated, but to me it seems like it was the war between communism and individualism, and the battleground ended up being Vietnam.

I do think if I was alive and an 18 year old kid, I would have been really unhappy to have to go there. Then again, I admit, I haven't done all the research necessary on the war.

Afternoon Snack

Feeling extra good about ourselves, we decided to walk back to the hotel (probably a two mile walk). It was really nice as we saw a lot of the real city, not just tourist spots. Again, we stumbled into a great garden cafe and decided to have a snack. So, we picked the healthiest option of course - creme broulet. The atmosphere was really as nice as the food. Yet again, a lovely decision.

We finally got back to the hotel to recharge before our night out.

Barbeque Garden

Jordan is a big fan of Korean Barbeque. In Seoul (where he works as an English teacher) he goes about once a week. Which meant he was quite eager to try Vietnamese BBQ. It was an easy sell for me, meat + fire = good. The place we went to had a great garden set up, pretty much right in the city.

It's pretty simple, they bring platters of meat, you sit and cook it, then eat it. Again, what made it great was that we had a ton of food (meat, kebabs, corn, onion rings, drinks) all for 10 US each. In a way, I'm glad the food in Singapore isn't as cheap or it'd be dangerous.

A Whole New World

Our next stop was to find dessert. I know it looks like all I do on vacation is eat, but, okay maybe that's kind of true, no excuses, it's what I love to do.

Right across from where we were staying was the New World Hotel. We scampered in, hoping for some decent and not expensive dessert. Winner, winner cheesecake dinner! Jordan got strawberry cheesecake, I got "Mississippi mudcake" (which kind of resembled a durian). It didn't taste like durian though! Sheer heaven and the ice cream was even better. Homemade and silky smooth. That wraps up Wednesday.

Thursday

Most Manly Activity

We woke up ready to get our massages. Right near the hotel was a nice looking spa, and it was cheaper than the one at the hotel. It was an experience for sure. Let's just say I didn't go for a certain added option, but it was still a nice time.

Beef Bonanza

Maybe it's the stupidest idea, but I love eating beef, and it's a more rare experience in Singapore. While we had set out loooking for a pizza place, we ended up finding a great place called the Black Cat. Luckily, we didn't pass it up (superstition joke, hahahaha, it's funny if I point it our right?). This couple next to us were eating this Texas sized burger - 500 grams of meat. Seriously, this was like one of those you eat it all, you get it free types. We did not try to take down the "Big Cat," but we each really liked our food. I got a hamburger that beats any I've had in the little red dot so far.

Fleury of French Findings

France had colonized Vietnam for more than a hundred years (which ended in the 1940s). Well, as you'd guessed, there are plenty of French influenced buildings. As I had an hour before needing to go to the airport, we tried to pack in as many sights as possible. We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, a beautiful train station and many other relics. We tried to find the city hall, but just missed it.

Speaking of just missing - I got to the airport in plenty of time for my 5:30 flight. Unfortunately, my plane wouldn't be joining me. My flight was cancelled, but I got rescheduled for the 9:30 PM flight.

So, I wrote the majority of this blog on my iPhone while sitting in the Saigon airport.

Anyways, it was great to see my pledge brother and catch up over sights, food, food, drinks, food and food.

I wonder where we'll meet up next!

Michael

A Krabi Birthday Weekend

I've been fortunate to have had very wonderful birthday celebrations in the past, but I have to admit, going to Krabi, Thailand for my 23rd birthday might take the cake.

On Thursday night, I got pretty nervous as the weather reports called for bad weather all weekend, including "torrential rain." I guess this is to be expected as it is apparently rainy season there at the moment (yeah, I hadn't looked that up before booking the trip).

So as Friday rolls around, I'm fully expecting a miserable weather weekend in what's supposed to be a gorgeous place. Luckily, when we got there on Friday, it was cloudy, but not really raining. I was amazed when we got to the hotel. For the amount we paid, there is NO way we could have stayed somewhere like that in the US.

We scampered out of the hotel and into a tuk tuk (motorbike taxis where the passenger seating is next to the bike and driver). To walk to the town is about fifteen minutes, by tuk tuk, it's two minutes and a dollar per person - so, well worth it. The Ao Nang beach town is relatively small, but perfect for what we wanted. Lots of restaurants, easy access to look at the water and plenty of tour companies to help out. After a nice late lunch of pineapple fried rice and spring rolls, we set out to book a trip for the next day.

After talking to our fifth tour company, we picked our Saturday activity - a full day boat trip to the Phi Phi Islands! I had heard how beautiful they were and the tour package made a lot of sense. The only thing to worry about was of course the weather.

Friday night, we had an awesome dinner at this place called Jeanette's. We had a pad thai (have to in Thailand right?) and chicken wrapped in banana leaves. The food was so goooood! Plus, it was white meat chicken-this may not seem like too much of a big deal, but the majority of chicken served in Singapore is all dark meat. So, this was a really pleasant surprise. The whole restaurant was great, beautiful atmosphere, nice staff and it was really inexpensive.

So, we woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to go on our day trip. The clouds were out, but I held out hope. As we start heading out toward the first island (about 40 minutes away), our tour guide tells us 28 passengers that it's high tide and the water would be very choppy. Boy was it! We were bouncing up and down, water splashing into the boat. I thought for sure Miss Amanda wouldn't be able to handle it, but she did really well. As we head further from Krabi, the weather got better and better. By the time we were at Bamboo island, it was all sunshine! The first island was pretty nice, but nothing spectacular, still the water was very nice.

The second stop was more of just something to see - the Viking Cave. I wasn't really paying attention to what the tour guide was saying, but it was still cool to look at.

The third stop was breathtaking and easily my favorite. After passing beautiful rock formations, the boat stops in the middle of a lagoon, surrounded by these gorgeous rocks. The water was as teal as it could possibly be. I took my birthday leap into the lagoon and the water was simply perfect. It was really paradise. The Lagoon was probably the highlight of the trip for me - it's just so beautiful and to be there with Amanda was exactly what I wanted for my birthday.

We tried to make it over to Maya Bay, the site where Leo Dicaprio's "The Beach" was filmed, but the water was waaaaaaaay to choppy. To be very honest, I was a little nervous the boat would tip over. After abandoning that plan, we headed for Phi Phi Don. The main tourist island of the Phi Phi Islands. There the tour group had lunch over looking the water. After, we explored the town a bit. Lots of shops, food stands, etc. After not really knowing what to do, we made it to the main beach. It really was very pretty, but really busy. It's hard to imagine what it would be like in the peak season.

The tour made one more stop to go snorkeling. The water was really clear and pretty. Saw a little bit of coral and some yellow and blue fish. That wrapped up a lovely tour day and then it was back to the hotel.

Saturday night, Amanda and I shared a pizza for dinner. The coolest part was that we were sat at table number 23 - how perfect was that? We didn't even realize it until halfway through the meal. For dessert we got fried banana with ice cream, not quite as good, but still nice.

Sunday was a bit tough to plan for. With a flight at four and not sure what it would be like at the airport, we decided not to do any more tours. We did have a very nice lunch in food heaven though. I mean seriously, all the food was so good, service was great and we never spent more than $15 US for any meal for the both of us.

To close out the trip, we went to this massage place where you put your feet into the water with a bunch of small fish. They bite at your feet to clean them off. It tickled so bad! I just could not stop laughing for about two minutes. After that though, it was kind of like having bubbles around your feet.

So, that's my Krabi weekend in paradise. I had a blast and can't wait to go back to Thailand soon!

Michael

My New Roommate

It's hard to believe Amanda has been here for almost three weeks already! At the risk of sounding completely cliche, it's like a new chapter of my Singapore adventure has opened up.

Seeing Singapore Part 2

With Amanda in town, I feel like it's my job to show her the city. So, in a way, I get to see all of my favorite parts all over again! Its been interesting to see how Amanda reacts to Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, our neighborhood, etc. I definitely haven't seen all this city has to offer, so for me, it's another chance to explore. She seems to be dealing with the culture shock in her own way. I think it's funny what she notices versus what I had.

I have to admit, she already exceeded my expectations by landing a job in the first week she was here! It's crazy impressive, plus her office is right smack dab in the middle of the Central Business District - think downtown, big city. Unfortunately, our off days wont always match up, but that's the danger of working in tv.

NBA Cares Event

I got my first reporting event here late in June. Five NBA players came to Singapore for a Basketball Without Borders camp, and I loved covering it. As much as I love producing, sometimes I miss getting out of the office and trying to make a story. Well, this event gave me the opportunity. The players visited a children's home and also hosted a skills camp for high school aged kids. With all the talk about LeBron, Dwyane Wade and the other huge free agents and the big money out there, it was nice to see these NBA players taking time out to visit kids and help extend the game across the world.

4th of July

I had no idea what to expect for my first 4th here in the little red dot, but I was pleasantly surprised. On the 3rd, Amanda and I went to a big American Association event. We got there just in time for fireworks, then had dinner (burgers, beer, classic Americana). It was really nice. The next day we celebrated America's independence in classic fashion - visiting the Singapore National History Museum and then eating Mexican food at the taco bar nearby ;)

End of World Cup

So for the last month, I've been completely consumed by the World Cup, and I've loved every second of it. I watched in 2006, but this was very different. I know a lot of the players now, the background stories, the histories, all of that stuff that makes it more enjoyable. Plus, it's great at work considering that without it, we'd just have the dead of summer. The highlight for me has to be watching the USA's last game in group stage against Algeria while at work. With the Americans on the verge of elimination, Landon Donovan scored in extra time in a last gasp effort. I immediately got out of my seat and ran through the office as if I'd scored. I was so happy-it's easily one of the best sports moments of my life. I feel like it's something that will be in my memory bank forever.

To wrap up the WC, I went with two of my co-workers to Singapore's Dutch Club. I mean, it was the perfect place to watch Holland vs Spain. The only issue is that after working a 12 hour shift, staying up for a 2:30 AM kickoff is quite difficult. I ended up almost falling asleep at the end of the first half. So, I rushed home and got in front of my tv. While I hate to admit this, I ended up falling asleep around the 80th minute, only to wake up at the very end as the Spanish were celebrating. Still, I loved the WC and am now sorely disappointed that it will be 4 years till the next one. In 2006, I was in Columbia working at Hillel to try and get in state residency. I wonder how my life will be different in 4 years-we shall see.

Coolest Work Moment

Over the weekend, I had the coolest jaw dropping moment of any tv related thing. Friday night, they asked me to be on SC Week in Review to talk about the LeBron James signing, WC, tennis, etc. Two days later I get this post from a girl I went to elementary school with :

"Hey there old friend! Did I just see you on ESPN sport center talking about world cup awards?!?! I'm in Bangladesh right now and have no idea which country's espn gets broadcasted here, but I'm positive it was you that I saw. I'm glad to see you are doing so well after all these years!"

How crazy is that?!?!?! I really couldn't believe it. You all know how happy I am with this job and this just reaffirmed my appreciation for it. I mean, I didn't even realize the show went out there! Plus, this friend moved away before middle school. I don't think we'd talked for maybe 10 years. Plus, it's surprising she was able to recognize me after all this time. It really put a huge smile on my face.

Well, we're off to Thailand this weekend for my birthday! This will be my second big trip and I've been looking forward to it for quite some time. A full blog will follow.

Y'all come back now ya here!

Michael

Catching Up

It's been more than a month since my last post, so now is as good of a time as any to catch up on the blog.

I've now been in Singapore for almost seven months! But let's stay with the last one for now.

Golf

My buddy Ari and I went golfing at this amazing course in Indonesia called Ria Bintan. The place was stellar. The weather turned out to be perfect and all in all, it was a great day.
I'm stil not so good at the whole get the small white ball into the hole, but it was well worth it. The course is stunning, with holes right along the beach. Majestic is the word that comes to mind.

Grouping Up

My good friend Tamar came back to Singapore for a visit early in June. Having her back was great, as the crew was together again. Shabbat dinner that week was really something with everyone there.

SportsCenter

Two weeks ago, I got my first on camera time here by helping out with our SportsCenter Week In Review program. For me, this is a dream come true. The show is a round table format where we talk about, as you might guess, the week that was in sports. As much fun as I had on the show, I had an even better time the next day. A group of friends came over to watch the show. We had pizza, chips and guacamole, fruit and it was topped off by champagne that Alex brought. The past two Fridays I've gotten to do the show, mostly talking about baseball and basketball, but I chip in on the other sports as well. I'm getting more and more comfortable with the show. Hopefully, they'll keep asking me to be a guest.

Setting Sail

My friend Angela had an amazing birthday party at the New Asia Bar...this club at the top of a huge skyscraper. It was boat themed and I had a really great time, met some new people, and all in all just had a blast.

The Month in Sports

Sports wise, this has been an amazing month. Baseball has been amazing - the "Imperfect Game," Ken Griffey Jr. retiring and Stephen Strasburg's debut. The NBA Finals were as good as they get. The classic Boston-LA rivalry went seven games and ended with a real classic to finish them. It was great.

However, I've easily been most excited about the World Cup. Felix and I ordered the viewing package here and it's been awesome. The Americans are giving me quite a scare, but hopefully they'll pull it out and advance to the knockout stages.

Last night, a group of us went to watch the games at a big touristy area called Sentosa. We had dinner at this Irish pub and then after, my friend Natalie got us VIP seats at this massive viewing party. It was so cool, plus, after the game they had a spot on Michael Jackson impersonator. It was really crazy how much he looked and moved like him. After we went to this big bar for Yosel's (one of the Chabad boys) 21st birthday. It was really a blast!

Well, that's about it for a great month. I haven't been eating much in the way of new foods, but I'm trying to eat healthier at home - lots of salad, fruit juice, all that good stuff.

Amanda is coming here on Thursday! The days can't come fast enough.

Alrighty, that's all for now, hopefully it wont be another month before my next post.

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Michael

A Year in the Life

Somehow, I still can't fathom that only a year ago, I was getting ready for graduation. I had zero idea what was next, and yet, I've had one of the most important years of my life. In 12 months, I've worked at three different television stations, lived in three different cities and made one giant decision. Honestly, I can say I wouldn't change any of it.

After graduating last year, I had an incredible summer in Columbia. My friend Kevin likes to call it our summer of fun-employment and that's exactly what it was. About four of my best friends and I just bro-ed out all summer. We played lots and lots of tennis, some golf here and there, watched tennis, golf, USA soccer and the NBA playoffs - of course all this while also working at KOMU and sending off job applications. That summer in Columbia will be one of those things I'm think about when I'm 45 and talking about the good ole days. One of the best highlights of that summer was of finishing a night of tennis and learning I had a niece! I drove home the next day.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to wrap up that summer - a cruise to Mexico with Amanda's family. It's so funny to think now that I almost didn't go on the cruise. What was I thinking?

Right after getting back from the vacation, like magic, I started getting some bites on job stuff. After a month or so of looking and a couple of interviews later, I started working as a freelance sports reporter and news producer for KTEN. While I only worked in Texoma for about two months, I think it really developed my understanding of local tv news. Not only did I make some good friends, but I was lucky enough to cover the first college football game at Cowboys Stadium and also the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl (both dreams of mine).

Then came the big break. A year ago, I never could have imagined this is where I would be. I mean, how could I? All my life, I've said reporting sports is what I'd love to do, and here it was, the chance of a lifetime. Saying all this now, doesn't quite tell the whole story though.
Of all the interviews, I was easily the most nervous during my one with ESS. Funny enough, I thought the opportunity was gone. Then, I got the phone call from Sharon and was ecstatic. Still, moving to the other side of the world? It wasn't the easiest decision, but it's been one of the best I've ever made.

Pretty much since day one here, I've had a hard time believing that this is actually my life. I'm getting to live my dream each and everyday, and I'm looking forward to it only getting better and better.

It's been a fairytale year from me, and I know none of it would be possible without the support I get from Amanda, my family and friends. Everyday, I think about the fortunate things that have happened for me, but also the kindness people have shown to make those things happen. Thank you to all of you for your love and support.

There's a year in the life, here's looking forward to the next one.

Michael

Busing Penang Bro-Style

FRIDAY MORNING (48 minutes before the flight)

6:12 AM - I call Alex, no answer. I'm pretty nervous.

6:13 AM - Alex calls, "Man, I'm so sorry, my alarm didn't go off. I'm getting ready right now, I'll be there."

6:18 AM - (Me)"It's okay, I've checked you in. You just have to be here by 6:45 latest.)

6:35 AM - Alex walks through terminal doors. It's time to book it to our plane. Oh boy, we get there right in time. Talk about starting a vacation on the clock haha.

Going to Penang, Malaysia with my buddy Alex was fantastic! He's traveled quite a bit, and it helped me quite a bit to go with him, seeing as this was my first real trip in SE Asia.

DAY 1

After our exciting start, the rest of the day was just about going with the flow. We started by hanging out on the beach. After, we went down to Georgetown, the more colonial section of Penang. There were lots of beautiful temples down here and cool colonial buildings as well. After a nice lunch in Little India, we hung out in a very cool shop house full of beautiful glass work. For dinner, we ate at a Lebanese restaurant with excellent hummus. We then walked around the night market for a bit. We wrapped up the night by getting massages (I'd never gone for anything like that).

DAY 2

Our first day was pretty tiring (5 AM wakeup, didn't go to bed til 1 AM), so we took it easy in the morning. Despite waking up pretty late, this was my favorite day. That's because we saw the one thing on top of my list, Kek Lok Si. This Buddhist temple in Penang is the biggest in southeast Asia. It was stunning. There's no other way to put it. I couldn't believe how much detail was in every structure, every piece of art. Plus, the temple is situated high on a hill, so that allowed for beautiful views of Penang. The Kuan Yin statue may have been the highlight for me. It was massive, but not only that, the columns around it were stellar. Each had such fine artistry on it.

After our trip to Kek Lok Si, we hopped on a bus and just decided to pick something out. We ended up going into a mall to look for something, and stayed there to eat dinner at a Chinese place in the mall. We then saw "Iron Man 2" for a whopping $3 US! I couldn't believe how cheap it was to see it. I know, it seems weird to go all the way to another country and then watch a movie, but Alex's point was correct - we're on holiday, if you want to do something, do it. I really enjoyed the movie and it was a great way to wrap up the day.

DAY 3

Well, with only one more day in Penang, we wanted to get in our three remaining sites - the Tropical Spice Garden, the Snake Temple and the Penang Bridge. We went three for three.

The spice garden was beautiful. Lots of beautiful flowers and nice paths, however, I didn't really smell too many spices. I guess I just thought it'd be easier to get the smell of the ginger, basil, etc.

The Snake Temple was the only disappointment for the trip. After a long bus ride (made worse by the fact that we missed our stop and had to walk all the way back on a heavy trafficked road) we finally got to the temple. I am very scared of snakes, have been since I was a kid. Turns out, there was nothing to be afraid of here though. The only snakes they had inside the temple were in this little tree basket thing, and they looked fake! The signs said they were real, but none of them moved. On the bright side, on the way there we drove by the Penang Bridge (very impressive).

So, again we took the bus, not really knowing where we were headed. As we were passing Georgetown, I saw a restaurant someone had suggested to us called QE-II, and what a suggestion it was! This was the best place to really just relax. As you might know, I fashion myself as a pizza aficionado.
I love to try pizza wherever I go. On the way in, we saw them making a pizza in a wood-fire grill and it looked so good. Decision made. We first ordered a pizza with buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes-a bit more fancy pants than normal for me, but well worth it. I loved it more and more with each delicious bite. It was definitely the best pizza I've had in SE Asia (to be fair though, haven't had too many in Singapore). After mauling the first one, we got a second, but this time we ordered the four cheese one. I think I liked the first one a bit more, but Alex preferred the second. It really doesn't matter, both were great.

To top it all off though, Alex ordered a dessert called profiteroles. All I can say is that after the first bite, I literally almost fell off the chair. I've never had anything like that! It was easily one of the best desserts I've ever had.

We finished the night off by going to the night market once again. I picked up two soccer jerseys that I thought were cool (World Cup is almost here!). The next morning, we headed back to Singapore.

It was truly a great bro-cation. The only problem, I'm already wondering, what's next?

Michael

Back Where I Come From

I’m going to try and pack a lot of great stuff in this blog. Hopefully, it’ll all make sense.

Flights to the US

Coming back to the US was such a different experience. I decided to stay up the night before I left, in hopes that would switch my schedule. (In fact the weekend before could have been a whole blog in itself- great nights out, wakeboarding and finding the only place in Singapore to get gum stuck on your shoe-those will have to be for another time though).

Well, it seemed to work. I had a bit of reverse culture shock when I got into Chicago’s airport though. It was weird hearing so many American accents, plus realizing I had no US money in my pocket, and on top of that, I was no longer the distinct minority. It felt so odd-I’d never even thought of culture shock on the return. Side note- the hallway at the Chicago Airport is so cool (made me feel like Kevin in the Home Alone movie).

Missouri

Getting to see Amanda made the loads of traveling worth it. Even though we only had roughly four days together, it was really great.

Highlights: Great nature walk on Tuesday with Amanda through a trail by her apartment, spending some great time with my buddy Max and his girlfriend Kelley, my friend Lauren coming in for St. Louis, catching up with everyone from AEPi, my trips to KOMU and of course the FOOD (American diet at its finest- Shakespeare’s Pizza , chokes ‘n cheese, beer and pretzel at Flatbranch, breakfast at Ernie’s with the shooter, two home cooked meals by Amanda, massive Chipotle burrito, man was it all awesome).

On a whole different level, was Thursday night in Columbia. Amanda and I met up with a whole group of friends at Harpo’s (my favorite college bar). Let’s just say the night reminded me of a traditional college night. After plenty of fun, Max, Kelley, our buddy Zach, Amanda and I all headed to “The Diner.” The food was perfect for that time of night- I got something called a flat top- hash browns, scrambled eggs, veggies and cheese with a side of wheat toast-sooooooo good. The night was just a perfect end to the Columbia trip. I saw so many old friends, but more importantly, spent quality time with the girfie.




Dallas

Coming back home was phenomenal. I really tried to make the most of my week there. Easily crammed two weeks worth of visiting into a week.

Highlights: Being home for Friday night dinner, spending lots of time with my adorable niece and nephew, watching “4 Christmases” with David and Melissa ;), my two rounds of golf (of course counting the Sunday brunch in there), all the great conversations with my grandparents, having the “best pizza in Dallas” with Zack (it was very good, a bit too fancy for me, but still really good), big family fajita dinner, again all the food (not even going to start to detail how much I ate), seeing my friend Jordan’s one man play, catching up with Frances and Tracy, but most of all, just seeing all of my family and spending time with everyone as much as I could.

Best Quote : My nephew Aaron saying, “I want you to sing to me on da computer” (nowadays he’s used to seeing me on skype haha)

Best Story: My buddy Mike came in from Austin for a day and we did quite a bit- casino, Bone Daddy’s, golf and Pei Wei. The highlight (or down point depending on how you see it haha) was going to the Choctaw Casino on Monday night. They’ve opened up a brand new hotel equipped with a whole extra casino floor. After quite a trip to find the blackjack tables, we sat down for what can only be described as a pure beating. I’m not a great gamble. I admit my moves are never very good, but this was just a bad night. I don’t know how many hands we played, but in total I got three 20s, and won only once. I must have been dealt a hand of 12-15 at least 10 times (all seemingly very close together). I mean, I tried to be smart, sat out a couple hands after continuously losing, didn’t over bet- well, none of it worked. We’ll just say I made a nice contribution to the casino’s new amenities.

The best part of our time at the table, and maybe what made it all worth it was this guy that sat down with us. I could say lots of mean things about his appearance, but let’s just say he looked a bit disheveled. After a few hands, he just starts ripping on their 50 cent ante system. Mike seeing an opportunity, enjoyed pushing this guy’s buttons, and the man was happy to oblige. At one point, the guy started telling us how he hated the casino, everyone in it and he’s only here because of his girlfriend (if that’s true, why was he betting so much?). This is not even close to the highlight though. After a bit more prodding from Mike, the guy just goes on a rant (loosely quoted), “I hate this casino and everyone who works here (at which point a worker kind of defends herself, he doesn’t buy in, basically tells her he hates her). I mean honestly, I’d love to burn this place down. Just wait til Rick Perry’s gone and we’ll have a casino and Texas and this’ll be a ghost town. I mean that ante, really? I wish I could burn this place down.” It was so funny, Mike kept laughing, I’m just sitting there, stunned at this guy. Boy oh boy, I forgot how much I missed America’s finest.


All in all, I had a fantastic trip home. I had about 11 days to work with, and I was busy from sun up until sun down. I could easily have written about all of the awesome food (the pictures will have to do), or expanded on all the adventures, however, the point seems to get across. As much as I enjoyed home, it also gave me even more confidence I made the right decision by coming to Singapore. I feel very fortunate to be doing a job I love, plus having the opportunity to see a different side of the world.

Still, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a great trip home,

Michael

Is that Charoset or Honey?

It's official-I survived Passover in Singapore. This was a completely new experience for me, but a good one.

For Seders, I went both nights to the synagogue, where they put on big community Seders each night. The reading of the Haggadah was definitely different, especially the part where on of the Chabad boys came out in a bright green from speed skating like suit. It was a lot of fun and the food was very nice. I will say though, Sefardi charoset to me seems like honey with tiny little bits of apple.

Now to the food, of course the most important part, I decided to eat rice this year. They served it at the synagogue, so I figured, if the big guy upstairs is okay with these religious people eating it, I bet he's okay with me eating it.

I also didn't keep super strict restrictions this year as the Kosher options here are limited. My big goal was not too eat bread. It's harder than you think even though most Asian foods don't have bready items. The problem is that I often make peanut butter sandwiches for lunch or dinner-not an option for that week.

I did make myself matzah pizza pretty often, and I really enjoyed it. Cooking wise, I tried my hand at Matzah brie. My first attempt was not so good, far too much egg. The next try was much better as my matzah to egg proportion was much better. The other thing I realized this Pesach - I love chocolate milk. I drank at least a glass or two everyday.

All in all, Passover was very good. However, this was also one of the hardest I've ever had. For the first time in my life, I was away from family for Seders. I wrote a big long sappy email to my parents about that- let's just sum it up by saying I missed my family, the amazing food they'd be having and simply, how easy it's been for me to keep Passover thanks to my mishpachah. Being on my own is good though. It's a chance to grow and figure out what the holiday means to me. In the end, I figured out that the Pesach is a combination of two things for me. First, it's a test for me to show my commitment to my beliefs. Second, Passover is about who you are surrounded with. Hopefully, the answer is people you love and/or those you want to share memories with.

Pesach 2010 is in the books, with a check mark.

Sports wise- this is one of the best times of year. The Masters is getting underway, we had an AMAZING finish to the college basketball season, soccer is wonderful at the moment (Champions league {Lionel Messi is absolutely magical}, BPL title race), NBA is getting closer to the playoffs and we also had baseball opening day. I love it all.

Next week, I'll be in Missouri! I'm very excited to see the girfie (I know how much she loves that nickname), plus lots of other friends. Then, it's off to Texas to visit all the family.

I think for the moment, Dayenu!

Michael

In 5, 4, 3....

2, 1...Cue Blog- I start out this week with the countdown because we've started doing our ESPNews bulletins live in a voice over booth the last week. I absolutely love doing the shows live, and feel lucky that I get to be one of the voices on my team. Doing the live shows just boosts my energy level, the adrenaline is wonderful and it's so much fun. I've listened back to some of the shows and it still sounds like I need a bit more energy. However, I like getting back into the flow of reading things in one take instead of stopping and starting.

Barbeques

I love that people throw barbeques so much here, and I mean, it makes sense with the warm weather. Well, two weekends ago, I went to a couple of barbeques and absolutely had a blast. One night, I met a couple from Mexico, Missouri and I'm pretty sure they were surprised someone in Singapore knew where that was. The next night, my roommate and I went to a friends bbq and really enjoyed it. These get togethers are easily my favorite way of meeting people. Everyone is so relaxed, the food is great and most of the time the weather is nice as well. Of course, my infamous falling in the bushes moment happened at a barbeque as well!

Travel Plans

I'm less than a month away from my states trip! When I came to S'pore, I didn't think I would want to come back home so soon. I know I could have gone a longer stretch, but what it all comes down to is that the trip feels right. Getting to see Amanda, all my friends in Missouri, my parents, grandparents, brother, sister-in law, niece, nephew, cousins and friends in Dallas will really recharge my batteries. Plus, I can't wait to see Schnitzel and Ricky-I hope they remember me haha.

I booked my flight to go to Penang, Malaysia today! My friend Alex and I are going there for a three day weekend in May. It should be a great trip-apparently there's pretty good food there, accessibility to a beach and all sorts of stuff. Plus, the flight there was nice and cheap!

I can already start to feel the travel bug creeping in. I have a three day weekend before my states trip, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm sure something will work out. In addition, I already have my eye toward July 17th. If I'm correct with my scheduling, I should have my birthday weekend off. I've started looking for flights, hopefully something comes together.

Sports News

The wide world of sports is becoming much smaller as I feel like my knowledge base is growing each day. I love watching Champions League football-the biggest clubs in the world face off to become Europe's champions. Tennis and golf have both been entertaining lately, and this guy with an animal nickname is coming back to golf...hmmm how do you pronounce his name? We ran the interview he did with Tom Rinaldi and the best question was simply, why did you get married? Tiger said it's because he loved Elin with all his heart. I just think these superstars are setting themselves up for failure by getting married, the temptations are there non stop. Kind of related note, I recently watched an interview of Gene Simmons on a 1987 Oprah episode. It was fascinating.

All of this is wonderful, but the big sporting thrill for me is still the NCAA tournament. I haven't been able to watch a ton, but what I've seen has been magnificent. The first day I watched, I saw two overtime games. Plus, Mizzou won it's first round game (I know they lost today, but I love the fact that the Tigers at least got the opening round win). Of course, the cherry on top is kansas losing in the second round to Northern Iowa. Hearing that they lost made me sooooo happy-like getting the birthday present you always wanted.

That's all for now, the next couple of weeks should be interesting with Passover and all. It will be quite the challenge this year, but I'll do my best.

Go Tigers!
Michael

Party Post

Let's start by saying I've been really lucky since I've come to Singapore to meet wonderful people, and I'm fortunate enough to start making great friends.


Jews of Singapore Wine Tasting

A couple of weeks ago, my buddy Alex hosted a wine tasting for the yuppie Jews of Singapore and it was a great success. The wine was finished, the hummus was annihilated and everyone seemed to have a great time. I met more people, and I can proudly say, I'm starting to tell the difference between a New Zealand and Australian accent.


Purim Party

A couple of days later was Purim! This was a little bit of a bittersweet night for me. It started by going to a fantastic restaurant called The Coriander Leaf for Tamar's going away dinner (She's off to Australia and New Zealand for 3 months, sounds awful right?). After dinner, we all went to the synagogue's Purim party which was super impressive. I wasn't able to stay long because I had to be at work in the morning, but still I had a great time. It was wild, wild, west themed, complete with great costumes, a mechanical bull and hay stacks. It really reminded me of the ranch I have in my back yard at home ;) I went as a Chabad boy-the costume didn't play as well as I thought it would, but hey, I gave it a shot.



Bollywood Birthday Bash

Last Saturday, three of my friends decided to pull together and have one big birthday party and picked a Bollywood theme. Let's just say I had an awesome time and that sangria can be a dangerous drink. The costumes were great and everyone really went all out with the outfits. To be fair, Singapore is an easy place to get an Indian themed get-up. All I did was go to Little India and get a shirt from the Mustafa Center. I tried pulling off the jeans, fancy shirt look, hopefully it worked.


Comfort Cooking

Well, Sunday I didn't feel so well- a combination of having a cold and the above paragraph. Thankfully, I've got a good friend in Alex. I went to the grocery earlier in the day and bought some cold medicines, nasal spray-ooh yeah, the good stuff. Anyways, Alex called me and said, hey, I'll come make you dinner. You know I wasn't going to turn down that offer. He came over, taught me how to use knives properly (will have to practice, carefully of course), and showed me how to make his mother's famous meatballs. These weren't normal meatballs though, they were mixed with parsley, garlic, spices, seared first, then cooked. I mean we're talking high class. It was so nice of him, and that night was made even better when Kiersten ran over to join us (and I mean actually ran, five miles plus).


Work's been really good lately. The last week and a half, I've started working on organizing one news bulletin a day (we produce three, 20 minute shows each shift). It's good for me to get back in the mindset of thinking what the viewer is looking for in a show. What sticks out? What will grab the viewer and keep them watching through the show? I love thinking about this stuff. Plus, I get to play my sport, beating the clock. Unfortunately, the clock has gotten the best of me a couple of times, but I'll get faster.

That wraps up a great couple of weeks. I'm excited for whatever is next.

Michael

Time for Another Post

I know it's been a while, so it's time for another blog. Hopefully, I can keep 2 and a half weeks into just highlights.


Chinese New Years

I had to work on CNY, but I still got to see plenty of fun. The rumor was that Singapore shuts down during the three and a half days (holiday over the weekend, plus public days). Luckily, there were plenty of places still open, like the fantastic Nepali restaurant we go to. Back to the point, the coolest thing the happened occurred while watching How I Met Your Mother. Alex and I were watching and all of a sudden we hear the really loud drumming. Outside my apartment, this group comes with the dancing dragon. It was awesome! This dragon crew comes and gets rid of the bad spirits at people's apartments-so cool.

CNY Barbeque

My friend Kanchuya hosted a really nice CNY barbeque. It was really relaxed and had great food, highlighted by the guacamole. I got to meet some more really nice people. The pool was nice as well. All in all, a great time and another one of those lucky to be in my position moments.


Bintan

Well, Tamar and I finally made it to Bintan and had a great time. We took a day trip to the Indonesian island, which maybe would have been better if we spent more time. Still, though it was such a relaxing day. First, we took the ferry over, about an hour ride in total. The waves were really choppy, which meant quite a few people were sea sick around us. We got to the island and took a shuttle to the beach resort. You give them twenty bucks and they let you use their section of the beach and give you a towel and extras. We couldn't do any of the waters sports because it's monsoon season. So, instead we just decided to have a super relaxing day on the beach. We both brought books and I had some cards in my backpack. It was a nice time. The resort had a nice breakfast buffet as well-mmmm omelettes! The best part without a doubt though, was the water and the waves. The water was warmer than any ocean/sea I've ever been in. It was fantastic and the waves were big, but not too big. We had a good time just sitting and chatting in the water, bouncing off the waves. The day was very well spent and I came back with quite a nice sun burn. That cloudy day is kind of tricky (which I've always known).


Arab Quarter

On Tuesday, my friends and I met up for dinner on Arab Street. I hadn't been down there yet and it's really awesome. It's yet another part of Singapore where you have to stop and think, man am I'm in the same country? We went to this great restaurant with beautiful atmosphere, great couches and very nice food. After, Alex and I met some friends at a bar nearby. It was really chill and turned into a great night.

Winter Olympics

At work, I get to watch and cut lots of Winter Olympics. To be honest, the WO has never really been my thing except for hockey and figure skating (manly, I know). The sports are really interesting. For example, how about biathlons where part of the event is skiing and the other part is rifle shooting-what? I'd never even heard of this. The ski events are awesome and there's so many different types. Plus, the US beat Canada in hockey! It wasn't the finals, so we'll still have to wait and see. Still though, I'm trying to remember the last time it seemed so many people were interested in a hockey game. The names are definitely not the easiest to pronounce overall, but still, it's exciting to find the story lines and explain the sports a bit. Southeast Asia is definitely not a winter games hot spot, so it gives me a little more leeway with my writing.

So, those are the highlights. I've been to lots of great food places. At work, for breakfast all my co-workers laugh at me because I eat rice with soy sauce and noodles for breakfast haha. They say it's not adventurous enough, but I hold my own :) I like it and that's what counts.