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
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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
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
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