Weekender

This next week will be the big work week, so I figured why not squeeze in another post.

Friday was really great. I woke up and had fun on skype for a bit. In the afternoon, I went to the gym and did some cardio. I couldn't find my headphones before I left, so that wasn't a good sign. I ended up only jogging for 15 minutes and walking for 15. It's not that great, but it's something. After, I watched a bunch of my shows and enjoyed them.

Friday night, I went to synagogue and it was lovely. The kosher restaurant offers a Shabbos dinner, so I went to that. It was a lot of fun. The food was very good, but really the energy in the room was the best part. One of the Chabad boys, Meir, led the prayers and also the songs. After everyone was about done with dinner, we started singing songs. I don't know most of them, but I'm able to follow along in Hebrew. Meir just has such an endless amount of energy. It's so hard to describe him. He's got the loudness of a Max Hyman (a compliment), but the non-stop motor of well, that's what makes this so hard, I've never met anyone like him. He had a rap song about the Torah portion, he was schmoozing like a pro and all of it was non-stop. It really was a lot of fun. I met some of the Israeli's that come to the synagogue as well.

Saturday, I got to synagogue just a bit late. I got there pretty much right before the end-basically, enough time to read the pamphlet. Afterwards, everyone went upstairs for lunch. A lot of the food at the synagogue is Sephardi style, which I particularly like-lots of spices and therefore lots of flavor. It was good seeing everyone and the songs were nice as well.

That afternoon, I ended up watching Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed the movie, even though I've never read any of the books. It was an enjoyable plot and Robert Downey Jr. seems perfect for the role. For my good buddy Steve's review, just click here.

Sunday, I woke up and had a great Skype call with Sheri and Jimmy. It was so nice to talk with both of them. Jimmy is my weird work hours brother haha.

Today was the day I was going to finally find the Merlion. I had tried a couple of times, but it just hadn't worked out. This time though, I got directions and followed some tourists and hello Merlion! The Merlion is well, half fish, half lion. It's the symbol of the city and I finally found it. Walking down in that area, it really hit me how lucky I am to be living here for a little while. That area is so beautiful and so big city. I mean, Dallas is a big city, but I never hang around downtown. The river just adds such a nice touch.

Afterwards, I met Paul Koch for lunch at Takashimaya. I love the food there. I just got chicken rice, but it was definitely the best I've had so far. I cleaned the plate. Absolutely delicious. Paul is home alone as Raye and her friend have all the fun in Phuket, Thailand (yeah, I'm a tad jealous). We had a nice time and I think he was a bit proud that I was using chili sauce with my dish.

From there, I headed to the techno heaven of Sim Lim Square. I was looking for an adapter for the magic jack phone. One of the phone stores hooked me up with a new charger for it (just a generic Vtech charger, but it works). Now, the only problem is that magic jack doesn't work with my Mac. Mine is from 2005, when I started school. The magic jack only works with Intel based macs...but, I've got a feeling I may need a new computer soon as mine is creaking along (performing admirably though). Who knows, but I'll figure something out with the phone so I can make my US calls.

Anyways, this next week at work looks to be fun - Australian Open, lots of good BPL, NFL playoffs and of course NBA games. I'm very lucky.

Michael

American Roots

Sadly, this blog starts on a bit of a downer, but it's still a positive thing. Sunday night, I spent the night at the Koch's, so that at 2 AM, Raye and I could wake up and watch the Cowboys' game live. The downer part is of course that Dallas got demolished. Still, we had about as good of a time as you can have watching a 34-3 thrashing in the wee hours of the morning.

After going back to sleep, I woke up and was able to call my cousin Zack for a little bit. In another, long time no talk, I had the pleasure of talking with Kevin Young and Emily Andes for about 40 minutes. They seem to be settling in very nicely down in Jackson, MS. Talking to them reassured me that everyone coming out of college goes through a new period of meeting people. It's just such a different world. In college, you build relationships that are so tight, because let's be honest, there's not that much else to worry about. In the real world, people have to go to work and collect real responsibilities. It was great to talk to them - man those college friendships are great.

The Koch's live in a great part of Singapore, right in the thick of the city. I like to think of it as the Manhattan looking part of the city-big buildings, lots of shops, really large city feel. One of the malls right by them is called Takashimaya and it's fantastic. Downstairs, they have one of the best food courts. Some of the stalls are a tad more expensive, but it's still so reasonable. I had the best food court meal so far there. It was simply a beef and noodles dish with some green veggies mixed in. I ate till I was full and there was still plenty left.

Tuesday's food story really is a culmination of a couple of different stories. I'd been craving a good hamburger for about a week at that point. The timing to go hadn't worked out until Sunday. After work, I went to try this place some people had suggested for "Real American" food. This place is called Botak Jones and their website looked legit. When I got to the restaurant, I realized it's not really a restaurant, it's a fancier stall at a hawker center. I had to try it though, in search of a good burger (it's research-come on now haha). Let's just say, it did not hit the spot. Halfway through eating this thing, I felt gross all over. The meat just didn't stay together like a hamburger should. Bottom line, my burger fill was not really met. Raye suggested a place called Brewerkz and well, she hasn't led me astray yet, so why not.


The restaurant is right along the Singapore River by Clarke Quay. Walking in was just like being at a restaurant at home. First of all, I love microbreweries, they are just some of the best places (the combo of good food and good beer is deeeelightful). I ordered a normal hamburger and it was exactly what I wanted. The taste was great-it sent me right back to Flat Branch. The beer was an added bonus. Because it was early in the day, a glass of beer was only 5 Sing dollars (~$3.50 US). I only mention the price, because that same glass of beer after 3 o'clock is 10 bucks and it gets more expensive later at night. The wheat beer was very tasty.

That night, I went out for my friends Kiersten and Meir's birthdays. We went to this swanky little rooftop bar called Loof.
The bar had a great view and I met a couple of more people. I had to work in the morning, so I couldn't stay long. It was great seeing everyone though.

Wednesday and Thursday weren't too exciting. I worked both days. Part of the reason I called this blog American Roots is because, as you can tell, this week was a lot of American stuff (Cowboys, Burger search), but this is easily the most embarrassing part. I've started watching American Idol. They advertise for it so much here, it's hard not to want to watch. It's been okay so far, I'm not addicted but it's fun to watch.

This should be a good weekend. I've got a couple of days off. The big goal-to finally see the real Merlion.

Hopefully, Sunday's post will have some more goodies.

Michael

Through the Week

This week is one of the work weeks where I work the five day, 12 hour shifts. So, there isn't as much cool Singapore sites to go over. Nonetheless, there are some stories to tell.

Monday and Tuesday I went to work, came back and just relaxed. Felix has gotten so into HIMYM that he raced through seasons 1-3 and then went out and bought season 4. I haven't seen those in some time, so I've enjoyed watching them this week.

Wednesday, I was very tired the whole day. It was my busiest social networking day though. I woke up and facebook chatted with Kevin Gehl in California. After, I called my Grandma and finally got to chat with her (I hadn't been able to reach her in the month and a half I've been here). Then, I skyped with Steve Chaitman in Chicago, hopped on to talk with Amanda for a little bit, and then called Steve back. After talking about Mark McGwire for what was really too long (just not worth it, the story was old-we all knew he used steroids, this was just the confirmation), my parents skype called me. We talked for about thirty minutes. After that is when I became super lazy. I ordered pizza for lunch and just relaxed all day. Sometimes, doing nothing, watching episode after episode of HIMYM and eating junk food is just what you need. That night, I skyped with Max Samis in Israel and then Jordan in South Korea. I never forget how awesome this is, that we have the ability to talk to and see anyone almost anywhere. It would be much more difficult to live overseas without this ability. If you ever want to skype, just let me know...on the mornings when I don't have work, it'd be great to catchup.

Thusday, Amanda and I had a great chit-chat in the morning. But, then I gave myself a real scare. I finally received the MagicJack card and portable phone my parents sent me. The MagicJack phone gives me a US telephone number and allows me to make telephone calls through the Internet. It'll be great-the call is just like any other call from a cell phone. How cool is that? What wasn't so cool was my insistence to get it working right away. Most of my US electronics have worked fine here. The phone, didn't work as well. I plugged the phone in and boom, I heard a crack and I freaked out. The phone turned off the electricity in the condo. As you might have guessed, I started going through all the worst case scenarios. I thought, oh my goodness, I broke the apartment, Felix is going to be so angry. Add to it, the refrigerator turned off. So, then I'm thinking all the food is going to spoil and that's no good. The issue was that I didn't know where the electric box was. After a good hour of crisis, Felix texted me where the power box was. Luckily, the circuit breaker flipped the necessary switch, I just had to turn it back on and presto, let there be light. It was just new apartment jitters...hopefully that won't happen again.

Later that day, I got my self a pair of swim goggles. I'm very fortunate that there's a beautiful pool at the apartment complex. It's is definitely long enough to swim laps in. One problem, I don't really know how to swim laps. I've been watching youtube videos-hopefully, that's all I'll need. I went swimming with the new goggles (which are generic prescriptions ones, so I can actually see). I did okay, I still don't have the fundamentals correct. The workout felt good though.

It was back to work on Friday. When I got home, I took a nap. That night, I went to the American Club for UHC services. It's definitely a different experience from Chabad. It's not necessarily bad, it just wasn't for me. However, it's still awesome that there are options here. Plus, the goal was to meet more people. And on that front, the night was a success. At dinner I met a handful of new people and the food was very nice (Thanks to the Koch's for setting me up for the night with the congregation). Afterwards, a group of us went downstairs to the Union Bar and I found the Mizzou flag! I had a really nice time, but I had to leave early to make sure I got some sleep before work.

Saturday after work, I was very tired. I took a long nap and woke up with a headache. Luckily, it went away pretty fast. I went out to explore the neighborhood and was pleasantly surprised. There are a couple of cool local shops around the mall and a restaurant I'd like to try.

So, now it's Sunday and I'm ready for the Cowboys game. I saw the Saints just totally dominate Arizona (that's not good for the Vikings or Cowboys). The plan is to take a nap in the afternoon and then tonight, I'll go to the Koch's and watch the Cowboys game with Raye. It should be a fun time. My friend at work told me the Vikings will win...we shall see. Side note, I caught a little bit of the Mizzou game this morning against Oklahoma-not good. They'll get there though, I hope.

Go Cowboys!

Michael

A Full Week

After Jordan went back to Seoul, life went back to the more normal routine. Although, I didn't want to waste the days either. I had two days off after he left-the first was just to recover. I did laundry, got groceries, all the usual weekly things. Tuesday though, I was determined to go see the Singapore Flyer. Unfortunately, I didn't do much research and just assumed it was at the Marina Bay MRT stop. I got off the MRT just to realize I was right smack near all the skyscrapers. It was also cool to see the beginnings of the casino they are building here. I didn't see the Flyer, not the right spot probably. There was a bus going to the Marina Barrage, so I figured why not? I went there and saw the view of the city. It was very beautiful-the Flyer, the river, all the buildings, it was really cool. After, I went up one MRT stop and just walked around. The funny thing about Singapore is that I took some turns and realized hey I'm right by my old hotel. The city is getting smaller as I keep going around.

Wednesday and Thursday were just mostly about work. Nothing too special. Thursday night though, I was set to take the Kochs out to a thank you dinner. After all the nice things they've done for me, it was high time to show them a sign of my appreciation. When I was walking on Tuesday on Boat Quay (very close to Clarke Quay the hip area) I saw a sign that said Dallas. Dallas? Why would there be a restaurant named Dallas. I looked at the menu and knew this was the only place I could take my fellow North Texans. We got a table right on the water, what an awesome setting. I got a fantastic steak sandwich-carmelized onions, great sauce and the bun was fantastic. Paul got a lamb burger which looked delicious and Raye got a pasta dish. We talked about Jordan's trip and their adventure to the Philippines for a wedding. It was a really nice dinner.

Friday, I woke up and watched the BCS Championship football game. I was a really interesting game to watch. For those of you that don't know, Texas was playing Alabama at the Rose Bowl. Texas' star quarterback Colt McCoy got knocked out of the game in the first quarter. It looked like all hope was lost in the game. In the second half though, UT battled back and made it a real game. Unfortunately, Alabama pulled through and won. I really didn't have much rooting interest, but I wanted Texas to win so a lot of my friends would be happy. Plus, as a selfish interest, if UT had won, I could have said I covered a national championship team (even if it was for only one game-the Red River Rivalry game).

The rest of the day I just relaxed, went to the pool and got ready to go to services. Friday night, there was an Ashkenazi minyan-nice to hear some more familiar tunes. After, I ended up being invited to dinner at the Rabbi's house. It was so nice, the Rabbi and his family have a beautiful apartment at the community center. The dinner was excellent (as per usual). I met a couple of more young people and we all seemed to get along pretty well.

Saturday, I skyped with Amanda for a little while in the morning. Then, I got ready and went to synagogue again. After services, I went up to the community center for lunch, of course a nice meal. I ended up sitting with my friend Miriam and her family. Miriam is here for an internship and then is going to backpack through Asia. Her brother and mom were in town as they were also getting ready to go to India for the week (bold, I don't know if I could really go there). It turns out her brother goes to Yeshiva University and knows my brother. Of course, everyone knows Evan at YU. I mean "Tex" runs that school. It's always fun when you get to play Jewish geography. It also turns out a former dean of YU lives in Singapore and guess what? He knows Tex as well. Okay, after lunch, we all walked to see the other synagogue in town. It's amazing...way back when, this guy Manasseh Meyer was such a successful business man, he was able to fun both of the synagogues. These two buildings are awesome. The one we visited doesn't get used much anymore, except for Monday morning services. This place is beautiful, really incredible.

I went back to the apartment to get ready for a farewell barbeque. Felix's old roommate is moving back to Germany (hence the reason I have a place to stay) and he was having a going away party. I had become friends with Manuel while we were both still here. The party was at a condo right near my work. They had ordered so much meat from this Australian butcher shops. Funny thing about Germans, apparently sausages are a huge deal haha. There was simply too much, although I just ate fruit and some pasta salad.

After the barbeque, I went back and changed for dinner. Earlier, some of the younger people I met from shul invited me to dinner. We ended up going to this really cool Japanese restaurant. I've never really eaten at a Japanese restaurant, but hey why not, time to try right. I tried sake and ordered two vegetable sushi dishes. I thought the food was really good. Dinner was really nice, again good company and good food. After dinner, we went to the White Rabbit bar. Funny enough, like Chijmes, it's another church turned into a bar- from holiness, to debauchery. The drinks were nice, quite expensive. The government is very smart and doesn't want its people drinking, so they make drinking expensive. The scenery was great though. I mean the weather was perfect and we sat outside. It was like being in someone's beautiful backyard. Really cool. After, we went adventuring and ended up at a great Roti Prata stand (a little Singapore pancake-they're so flipping great).

That wrapped up a really great night. I woke up this morning, went to work on my off day just to watch the Cowboys. It was well worth it as the Cowboys demolished Philly to get their first playoff win in the last 13 years. It was really good. Dallas seems to be in the zone right now. I'm a little nervous as they don't really play well with expectations. Seeing the Cowboys win and really dominate just felt nice. Now it's a matchup with the Minnesota Vikings and old man river, Brett Favre. Personally, I'm more worried about Adrian Peterson. Maybe it's just me. After, I came home, chatted with Amanda for a bit. Then, I went swimming. Yep, while it's frigid cold in the US, I went swimming in beautiful 83 degree weather. The sun was really fantastic. Now, I'm watching HIMYM with Felix. He's blazing right through the seasons. We are going to have to find season 4 here. I don't think he's able to wait until February, but who can blame him.

Before I forget, it was also great to find out Mizzou basketball beat tenth ranked Kansas State on Saturday. My favorite player, Mr. Clutch, Zaire Taylor hit a huge shot in the game (granted, I only know that from watching highlights on ESPN's website).

Okay, that's all for now-big work week ahead. Go Mizzou and GO COWBOYS!

Michael

Dirty Comes to the Clean City - Part 2

Okay, we left off right before New Year's Eve. After showering and getting ready for the night, we went down to the hawker center Matt and Mel took me to. Jordan had really wanted to try chili crab. Well, he got exactly what he wanted. Watching him eat this thing, the sweat from how spicy it was, and also the smile, because he was really enjoying it. I have absolutely no desire for that kind of stuff, but good for him. I ended up going to the same Malay place and the food was pretty good.

After dinner, we went to Chijmes and hung out at these two expat bars downstairs. We had a nice time...I especially enjoyed my dessert, brownies plus ice cream-perfect. At about 11:55, we went upstairs, where there was a stage and a band playing in the courtyard. We did the countdown and high fived at midnight. It was fun! We saw a little glimpse of the fireworks, but we weren't down by the river close enough to really see them. At work the next day, I watched Mizzou football, it wasn't too much fun of a bowl game as they lost to Navy. Yay America!

After work on Friday, we relaxed for a while and then went to the Asian Civilizations Museum. We were only there for an hour, but it was very cool. I definitely need to go again and spend more time there. From the ACM, we headed over to the synagogue for Friday night services. Afterwards, we started with a guy named Jonathan, and he very nicely invited us to Shabbos dinner at his house. We walked over with about six other people for dinner...their house was not to far from shul. Jonathan and his wife Margaret came here form Canada about three and a half, four years ago. This was my first invite to Shabbat dinner in Singapore (apart from the Koch's) from someone at Chabad. Let me just say, the food was outstanding (if you sense a trend here, it'd be that home cooked meals here have been stellar). There was fresh challah, a great coleslaw type dish, hummus, soup, but the best parts for the meats. First, I had the beef steak. The meat was so tender and had great flavor. However, I was taken away by the chicken. The meat was perfectly crisp on the outside and moist on the in. It had been baked to perfection and the flavor was awesome. I hope your mouth is watering a little bit haha. Of course, I don't want to forget about a delicious peaches and ice cream dessert (peaches can be quite tasty when they are soaked in wonderful ice cream - definitely the best pareve ice cream I've ever had). Bottom line, the food was great and I really enjoyed meeting a group of great people. A big thanks to Margaret and Jonathan as well, what a wonderful night.

Saturday, we went to Little India for lunch and then walked up toward some temples in the Arab Quarter. I'm not sure if we were in the right places, but we saw some very nice temples. The art that is put into religion is really incredible. I put pictures up in Singapore Photos 4 on Facebook. We had a nice time and I found some new sandels which I really wanted. I'm telling you, it's not easy finding anything over a size 10 here.

Saturday night, I took Jordan to the airport and he was off back to South Korea. It was great having him in town. It's just a crazy experience, because I never could have imagined us doing this. Four and half years ago when we met, we were Freshmen just trying to figure out how to get from AEPi to Middlebush Auditorium. We had some great trips together in college, going to the dirtiest,grossest city in kansas together three times, Lake of the Ozarks and of course Chicago, these were great. But, even if you had told me a year ago at the start of second semester, this is what we would be doing, I wouldn't have believed you. He's teaching in South Korea-how awesome is that? I have so much respect for him, because I really believe his culture adjustment is much tougher than mine. He has a language barrier that I rarely have to deal with. In typical Jordan fashion though, he just surprises at every corner and how he is able to tackle challenges.

Sunday, I mostly just relaxed after work. Felix is back in town from holiday and we talked for a little while. I watched the movie Adventureland-pretty good, but not awesome. I went to sleep at 9 PM and woke up at 9:30 this morning. I skyped with Amanda and then my parents and now I'm just relaxing. I will probably go workout or at least I should.

I hope everyone's New Year is starting off well. I wish everyone the best.

Michael