This past weekend Jamie and I didn't do to much. We explored the area around our house, visited the girls, opened a bank account, and started to get things ready for our big trip (we leave for Italy tomorrow the 28th!!!). While we haven't been brave enough to try the local food courts again, we did eat at a few restaurants that are "local chains" around here and then we topped the weekend off with Pizza Hut (felt just like home until I noticed that half of the items on the menu had "curry" in the name). We spent $150.00 eating out this weekend. Now I'm sure some of you are thinking "that's not much" but wait till you hear what we got for this.
1st meal
BBQ Brisket Sandwich with fries
Beef Pot Pie
Coke
Water
2nd meal
Buffalo Chicken wrap with fries
Cheese burger with fries
2 waters
3rd meal (Pizza Hut)
9 inch pizza - this is considered a "Regular"
equivalent of 2 bread sticks
2 cokes
When I really sat down and thought about what we had eaten I realized just how expensive eating out around here is. As an example, soft drinks are anywhere from $4-$7 average and you get no refills. We made that mistake the first weekend I was here and Jamie accepted a refill. We ended up spending $16.00 just on cokes that night! We have since learned to ask!
We will be on our vacation from the 28th - the 10th. Jamie's bringing the computer along to make use of his slingbox to watch the first Clemson game of the season, so I may have time for a quick update at some point.
The week we return will be a busy one. Our sea shipment arrives the next day and that weekend the girls come home! I'll have to spend what's left of the week getting the house ready for their arrival!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Welcome to Singapore - His Story
I made it to Singapore about two weeks before Erica and although my trip to Singapore was not as difficult it was no trip down easystreet either. I left for Singapore on a Continental flight through Tokyo. What I thought was a long 4 1/2 hour layover became not long enough as my flight from Houston was delayed by how long...that's right...4 1/2 hours. I ended up missing my connection in Tokyo by 15 minutes and found out that I was gonna be lucky... I got to spend the night in Tokyo and fly out the next day. It wouldn't have been too bad if I wasn't travelling with 125 pounds of luggage and wasn't staying in a smoking room. Usually a smoking room wouldn't be a problem for me but the combination of room size (a glorified walk in closet) and the fact that I could barely see across the room due to the amount of smoke still in the room, didn't make it comfortable.
Once I was settled in, I thought I would use the internet and then watch some TV. Unfortunately CB&I blackberry's do not work in Japan and the internet in my room did not work either...not to mention my power cord wouldn't plug in even if the internet did work. Once I settled on not using the internet, I turned to the TV. I had 10 channels and only two were in English. No problem, two channels will be fine! There was only one problem though...someone set the TV up so that a loud voice screamed in Japenese the translation from English. It took me over an hour to figure out how to shut that man up! Needless to say, I was happy to pull my luggage back to the airport and fly into Singapore.
My main assignment in Singapore was to get everything settled before Erica arrived. I definitely learned plenty in my first days and figured I would share a few things here.
1) Never wait until you are hungry to learn how to use the oven...(the simple conversion of celsius to farenheit becomes nearly impossible on an empty stomach - usually causing me to settle for Fruit Loops for dinner)
2) Just because you come from America, does not mean that you know how to speak English...(and here I thought I had mastered the English language just to find out at age 27 that I can barely speak it at all - if you have any doubt, just try to tell a cab driver in Singapore where you want to go; example, say it with me...Ardmore Park...seems easy enough, but in Singapore that is pronounced OddMa Pok. One more...Bomb Shelter...seems easy as well, but locally that is pronounced Bum Shelter. I still haven't figured out Evelyn Road which happens to be where we live!
3) Plan showers at least 30 minutes ahead as water heaters are not a given! In Singapore, there is a water heater for each room that uses water, and it must be turned on and off with each use.
4) Washing clothes or dishes is an all day affair...It takes approximately 3 hours to wash dishes and 5 hours to wash and dry clothes. Yes, that is for one cycle! Luckily they are on different water heaters, and can be run at the same time!
5) The little pictures at the bottom of the TV don't go away...If you ask around, locals actually claim that they are words...Crazy Chinese!
6) Avoid buying two prong plugs even though they are made for use in Singapore...(all plug sockets are three pronged, and lets just say that you had better be on the Arnold Schwarzenegger workout plan to plug the two pronged plugs in...luckily for me, I am!)
Although I learned plenty more in my first few weeks, I felt it important to share with everyone the things that really chapped my ass. Stay tuned for more posts...Our next will include pictures showing the interesting sites around Singapore.
Once I was settled in, I thought I would use the internet and then watch some TV. Unfortunately CB&I blackberry's do not work in Japan and the internet in my room did not work either...not to mention my power cord wouldn't plug in even if the internet did work. Once I settled on not using the internet, I turned to the TV. I had 10 channels and only two were in English. No problem, two channels will be fine! There was only one problem though...someone set the TV up so that a loud voice screamed in Japenese the translation from English. It took me over an hour to figure out how to shut that man up! Needless to say, I was happy to pull my luggage back to the airport and fly into Singapore.
My main assignment in Singapore was to get everything settled before Erica arrived. I definitely learned plenty in my first days and figured I would share a few things here.
1) Never wait until you are hungry to learn how to use the oven...(the simple conversion of celsius to farenheit becomes nearly impossible on an empty stomach - usually causing me to settle for Fruit Loops for dinner)
2) Just because you come from America, does not mean that you know how to speak English...(and here I thought I had mastered the English language just to find out at age 27 that I can barely speak it at all - if you have any doubt, just try to tell a cab driver in Singapore where you want to go; example, say it with me...Ardmore Park...seems easy enough, but in Singapore that is pronounced OddMa Pok. One more...Bomb Shelter...seems easy as well, but locally that is pronounced Bum Shelter. I still haven't figured out Evelyn Road which happens to be where we live!
3) Plan showers at least 30 minutes ahead as water heaters are not a given! In Singapore, there is a water heater for each room that uses water, and it must be turned on and off with each use.
4) Washing clothes or dishes is an all day affair...It takes approximately 3 hours to wash dishes and 5 hours to wash and dry clothes. Yes, that is for one cycle! Luckily they are on different water heaters, and can be run at the same time!
5) The little pictures at the bottom of the TV don't go away...If you ask around, locals actually claim that they are words...Crazy Chinese!
6) Avoid buying two prong plugs even though they are made for use in Singapore...(all plug sockets are three pronged, and lets just say that you had better be on the Arnold Schwarzenegger workout plan to plug the two pronged plugs in...luckily for me, I am!)
Although I learned plenty more in my first few weeks, I felt it important to share with everyone the things that really chapped my ass. Stay tuned for more posts...Our next will include pictures showing the interesting sites around Singapore.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Welcome to Singapore via Paris
As many of you know I travelled to Singapore via Paris with Air France so that my dogs could fly with me. When I first started calling around to find a flight that I could get on with my dogs, I was under the impression that both Air France and the Paris airport were pet friendly. I will not go into the long details of why I was not happy with either one, but I will tell you that I did not find either one to be "Pet Friendly".
When I arrived in Paris, 7 out of the 10 people I asked for help did not speak English. The only word they all knew was "Sorry". The three that did speak English all stated that there was no designated pet relief area in the entire airport! How can you be a pet friendly airport and not have a pet relief area with grass and benches? The solution I was told, was to take them outside any of the exits and go "potty" out there. I wanted to show those of you that have not been to Paris what the outside of the airport looks like, from all terminals. If you have been outside the Paris airport then you already know what it looks like.
(They loved going in and out of this thing! Every time we would pass one they would try to pull me over to it!)
When I arrived in Paris, 7 out of the 10 people I asked for help did not speak English. The only word they all knew was "Sorry". The three that did speak English all stated that there was no designated pet relief area in the entire airport! How can you be a pet friendly airport and not have a pet relief area with grass and benches? The solution I was told, was to take them outside any of the exits and go "potty" out there. I wanted to show those of you that have not been to Paris what the outside of the airport looks like, from all terminals. If you have been outside the Paris airport then you already know what it looks like.
Looks pet friendly, doesn't it? After I established that there was nowhere to go, I spent 8 hours walking around the airport with my girls, and a cart. Not sure if the awkward stares were for my dogs or me?
(You won't find any homeless people pushing this cart around, you can't find a cart like this at Wal-Mart. This is Paris airport quality! )
As much as they disliked the airport, they where able to find something they loved about Paris, the automatic rotating doors.
(They loved going in and out of this thing! Every time we would pass one they would try to pull me over to it!)Eventually, Punkin and Budder both decided that they were tired of walking around, and I was finally able to get them to lie down. They looked so cute I had to take pictures! This is them on a bench in the hallway outside of one of the baggage claim areas.
After 31 hours of traveling time we finally arrived in Singapore. Both flights went off without a hitch, and we are all here and doing great! Punkin and Budder are in their 5th day of quarantine and doing well. I have gone to see them 3 times, and been able to take them out twice. While they hate it when I leave, the people there seem to be really nice and the facilities are clean. They have their own room that is 8 x 7 and air conditioned (the dogs at the quarantine station have it better than my soon to be maid). They have allowed them to have their own beds and babies in the room with them, so I am sure that helps when I am gone. Only 25 days to go and counting until they come home!
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