I like to eat and O likes to cook. That is what you call a win-win situation. He's been really good lately with making really healthy dinners. Here's a typical week.....

Sunday

Monday- fish and scallops!

Tuesday- fish tacos!!!

Wednesday

Thursday

Uh oh.... this was just pre-dinner.

I'm packing my bags for.....

So O started the day off with sending one of his students down to my room with a letter. "E" and a poem "Here is an E, what more could it be? There's more on the way, have a happy birthday!" Later I receive a U from some of my former students. At this point, I've realized he is spelling out where we are going, but in a scrambled order. I had lunch with Jamie and we came up with some suggestions. She thought maybe it's Phuket, Thailand because that's where she is going this weekend. How odd, we could be on the same flight.... Hmm.... maybe. But then I see my good friend, Anthony, in the hallway and he says, "Are you excited about Phuket this weekend?" HAHA!! Busted. He was/is pretty embarrassed about ruining the surprise. His wife, Cara, finds out what he's done and yells at him calling him ''special needs''. Love it. Personally, I love how he just totally ruined the surprise so casually. Basically everyone I know has been told where we are going and has done such a great job of keeping it a secret. O finds out through the grapevine and is upset and refuses to send me the rest of the letters. Instead he sends down one student at a time to give me the name of the place we are staying. So HERE is a link to where we are staying and look how amazing it looks!!!

diet starts today. motivation: low.

Thanks EK for this little gem.

I've been asked why I've been blogging so much lately..... and the truth is that I really don't like or understand the new Facebook so instead of wasting time on there, I've been doing A LOT of online shopping and blogging.

it's a mystery....

My birthday is coming up next weekend and this year for my bday gift from O, he's decided to surprise me with a weekend away. The thing is- I don't know where we are going. I only get 3 questions and I've used 2.

Do I need to pack a bathing suit?

Yes. That was a dumb question. Basically everywhere in the region could have a beach or a pool.

Can we get duty-free at the airport when we come back to Singapore?

Yes. So that means we aren't going anywhere in Malaysia.

I can't come up with a 3rd question that will give me good clues. I could ask if I need a passport, but obviously if we are leaving Singapore then I need a passport. I think it's some island we haven't been to in either Thailand or Indonesia. I'm pretty excited to find out where!

One thing I love about Singapore is that everyone is always up for doing stuff. Instead of just sitting around and eating/drinking, everyone likes to swim, play tennis, etc. Last night I went to my friend's place, she booked the tennis court, squash court and she has a lap pool. Then we had drinks/snacks by the pool and walked to dinner. I ended up playing with my other friend's baby/toddler in the pool. He's super cute and his mama only speaks Spanish to him so I got to brush up on my Spanish. It's funny because his dad only speaks French to him, mom speaks Spanish, he obviously hears us speaking English, and his pre-school is Mandarin only. So we're all waiting to see what language he'll start speaking first. Social experiments with babies are always fun. I would love for my kid to be bilingual, but multi-lingual- wow.

I love a good promotion. Oh, you want me to spend money on things I don't need or want and you'll give me more things I don't need/want for free...?? Yes, I'll take them all.

lost in translation

Yesterday in class:

Cute little Norwegian kid looks at a fat russian girl and says: "You're fat."

Russian girl just looks at him and smiles. Clearly, she doesn't understand.

I say, "Hey! Why would you say that? She's not fat."

Cute little Norwegian kid looks at her, looks at me, and says "Yes, she is."

Me: " That's not nice! What should you say to her?"

Cute little Norwegian kid looks at the fat russian girl, and then looks at me, then to her and says "Why you so fat?"

That's not quite what I was looking for. The fat little russian girl just smiles and has no idea what is happening. I was trying really hard not to laugh at their honesty/miscommunication.

waka waka

Shakira was amazing. She is such a rockstar and amazing dancer. What a great concert. I discovered a few new favorite songs: Gypsy, Loca, Addicted to you, Islands and Sale el Sol. Love her. If you have the opportunity to go see her, do it. About 30 seconds before the concert, my camera died so I only have a few pics from my phone. We were soo close too!

awesomeness.

THIS website is hilarious. Thanks, Rebs for this gem. To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of people posting every single moment of their child's life on facebook. I mean, what the hell? Just because your kid can eat oatmeal and you find this extremely entertaining doesn't mean that I will enjoy it. No one will ever think your kid is at cute/smart/awesome as you do. This doesn't mean I mind seeing pics of your cute kids, maybe just not excessive videos of them spitting up because you think it's really cute. It's not. If I have kids and I start posting stuff like that, please stop me. Anyways, I love this blog and how the mom writes the stories and then draws crappy pictures. Entertainment at its finest. Scroll down to the mermaid story.

Project: Get in Shape

So it's time to lose that Egypt weight. No, not for the wedding but you do start to think about that fact that you're going to wear a white dress that will be in pictures that you will have for the rest of your life. It's actually hard to lose weight when you really try to. I decided a few weeks ago that it was time to lose the 15 lbs I gained in Egypt. I weigh myself every Saturday morning at the same time on the Wii. Let's see how I've done.

Week 1 - I lost 3.5 lbs. I know what you're thinking : How? What secret diet is this? Tell me everything. Well, here it is: I didn't change any of my eating habits and went for a run twice that week. However, it was a very busy week at school. Our school is ridiculously huge. 4 stories and no elevators. So when I say I was running around all over the school that week, you can imagine how many flights of stairs I went up and down.

Week 2- I gained 2 lbs. And I was actually really trying to watch what I ate and exercised more. However, because of this- I think I drank more. :(

Week 3- I lost 2.6 lbs. I ran once this week and had a salad 3 times for lunch. It's progress I guess.

Next week- who knows? I just discovered something better than Thin Mint Cookies at the supermarket- seriously might be the highlight of the year. I would say I'm mildly motivated to stay focused on losing weight. If you have any tips that don't involve changing my favorite foods and/or alcohol intake- please share.

summer reads.

First of all, I have to say that I love my kindle. It's so easy when traveling to carry all the books you could possibly need with you. I think I've downloaded about 20 books already. It's awesome how you just hear about a book from someone and then 30 seconds later you have that book with you. Love it. I actually didn't read that many books in Africa considering how much time we had. I guess not being able to read when in a car doesn't help. Anyways, here are the books I read and my cents.

This was really good- as the title suggests. The author is from South Carolina, I think, and so uses many Southern phrases and situations. I love how she just sums up living in the South so well. Also, she's hilarious.

Well, if there's a sequel, you gotta read it, right ? It might have been better than the first one, not really sure. Just chick lit with no real meaning.

This is one of those books about Africa that you are supposed to read. I was really disappointed with this one. So many people have recommended it. I thought it just had too happy of a story for Africa- and the story is certainly not happy. Apparently, it's one of those books that white South Africans love. I just thought it fell short on all the rave reviews. Read it for yourself- I'd like to know what you think about it.

Ha, I just had to.

This was incredibly insightful. It's only an essay, not an entire book. I love Jon Krakauer's style of writing as almost an investigative reporter. He looks into the guy who wrote 3 Cups of Tea- which I loved- and how corrupt his company is (and how he can't be trusted). Krakauer was a friend of Greg Mortensen so it seems to come from a very personal feud but backed with many details and facts. If you have read 3 cups of Tea, and have thought about supporting them financially, you should really read this first. Definitely changed my views on it.

Currently reading this. It's about a girl who travels the world. She's surprisingly uninteresting and writes about dumb things like which guys she hooks up with and how traveling is exciting. (No shit, Sherlock.) However, I really liked to read the part where she lived in Egypt. She has a perfect perspective that I think every Westerner woman has while living in Egypt. Every woman goes through the same situations, thoughts, feelings, emotions as she writes. Also, I like travel books just because traveling is exciting and addicting.

Size Really Matters or It's An American Thing

If he liked it then he should have put a ring on it. Since I've been engaged, the number one question has been "Can I see the ring?" Oh, what, you can't see it from where you're standing ? You know where it is. The next question is "Where did he propose?" followed by "When's the big day?" It shocks me how much everyone just wants to see the ring. Is it the style or the size you want to see? Don't answer that. I already know the answer. I've found with living overseas that it's a very American thing to have a large engagement ring. Nowhere else in the world expects it or even wants it. My ring is actually bigger than some of my friends' rings here, but compared to my American friends - it's miniature. When O went ring shopping, he thought about it for awhile. He really contemplated what to get. What style would I like- what size- quality- etc. I don't really know that much about diamond rings, and he even knows less. So he went to a well known jeweler- Lee Hwa- and found one he liked. Then after he proposed, he gave me the option to upgrade the ring. We went into the jeweler to see what they have. Apparently, my ring has a number, is conflict-free, and is the absolute highest quality in clarity, colour and what are the last Cs ? Can't remember. Owen's words were "I thought you would pick quality over size." Ummm... no, I'm an American girls from the South. I want a big ole ring. After looking at the prices of the same quality ring that I currently have, but just in a bigger size- it's shocking. There is no way I can handle responsibility for something that expensive. So while my ring is small for the American standard- really it's not small and it's gorgeous. People really do comment on how pretty it twinkles and I can live with myself if I lost it- well, I'd feel pretty bad, but not like- damn, that was the down payment on a house , but like- oh, that was 3 months rent- oh well. You have to look at what can you do with all that money?What really matters? Spend it on a ring or spend it on life experiences that really matter. I also like the idea of being able to upgrade but choosing not to. It makes me feel less shallow than I really am.

one of my favorite things...

Once a month, the guys have a golf night. We have night golf here which everyone loves. The guys go off after work, the girls get together for a few drinks, then I go home and enjoy my favorite combo: bubble bath, candles, good music, red wine. Later on, I watch a chick flick and fall asleep eating chocolate. (It's every fat girl's dream)

*I just realized that the bathroom kinda looks like a hotel.

fooooood

If you know me, then you know I like to eat. Why have I not blogged more about food?? One of my favorite breakfasts is avocado on toast. Simple, but deelish! For some strange reason, the best bread in town is found at the Petrol Station next door so I use 2 slices of that and 1/2 an avocado. Add a little sea salt and fresh pepper on top and you will start your day the right way. I have this about 3 times a week.

* Please note, I do not endorse the nutritional aspect of this meal- it could be healthy, but it just tastes too good for that.

Where to?

What do you do when you have 10 straight weeks of work? You daydream about places you want to visit.... This will be the longest stretch of work this year. After this, we have a break every 3 weeks. (the way it should be) There are so many places I want to go see! Can't wait for Myanmar in 4 weeks!

"Sorry, can't talk- I'm in a 3 way"

Soooo we have Parent-teacher-student conferences at my school. And I'm basically the only person ever who gets the giggles when we talk about our 3 way conferences. "So how did your 3-way go?" It's actually really great. I get annoyed with my students, but they are really good kids. Their parents are very supportive and just want their kids to be happy. So while it's a long 2 days meeting with parents/students- but no teaching!- it's really not that bad. However, I am ready for a nice glass of wine at the end of the day!

so many activities.

One thing I just love about Singapore is that there's always something new to do. O and I have agreed to try a new place each weekend since we've been back in Singapore. Yesterday I had High Tea at the Fullerton Hotel- very posh for a Baby Shower. While I did that, O went to a wine festival and came back with mucho vino. Last night we went to a standup comedy show at the Dutch Club which across the street from us which was surprisingly funny. The comedians were Aussies and Brits and were good. There's so much to do here, I can't imagine ever getting bored.

This article has a list of top 10 things to do here.

1. Botanic Gardens- totally agree! I'm a little biased since I live about 10 minutes from the gardens, but they are so beautiful.

2. Art work at the Ritz- haven't been yet

3. Chinatown heritage center- haven't been yet

4. plastic surgery- what?? really??

5. electronics for cheap- no, not as cheap as thailand or korea

6. Haji Lane- haven't been yet

7. Singapore Flyer- haven't been yet

8. The White Rabbit- haven't been yet

9. Geylang- haven't been yet

10. Zouk- not my scene

I would say one the of top things to do would be the Zoo which is awesome and the Bird Park and MacRitchie Nature Reserve. Lots to do outside. Also, I really want to go to Universal Studios at some point. Next weekend, we have tickets to the F1 race downtown and concert tickets for Shaggy, Boy George and Shakira- can't wait!

Pinterest.....what the what?

Thank you Ms K, for another way to waste my time. I was having a really hard time trying to explain what Pinterest is to O. So you like stuff that other people also like. So everyone likes the same stuff. And you do this because...... ?? The thing that really bothers me about this is that I can't actually buy anything. So I like the stuff... but then what? Am I supposed to go make it?? I'm definitely no Martha Stewart. The clothing pics just make me want to know where they are from! It's driving me crazy! And the food pictures just make me so hungry. All in all, it's a terrible idea for someone like me who will sit on the ipad and pin stuff for hours at a time. As if the internet were not already a source of time wasting. But I love it.

Things I like.

My friend, Jamie, said to save pictures of things you like on the internet and make it into a collage to so you can see what everything would look like altogether. These are words of wisdom. So apparently there IS a group of colors I like, I just didn't realize it.

I like how guys wear khaki pants and a tie- no jacket. What do YOU think???? Any good ideas?? Would it be weird to have bridesmaids dresses in that color AND have the guys in khaki? I just don't like crazy colored bridesmaid dresses that are so obviously bridesmaid dresses. I'm thinking definitely ivory for my dress. Not sure if I should have it made here? One shoulder?

HELP! Opinions needed.

So I changed the pictures- I just took a screenshot of what I had saved.

DIY, my ass

The wedding planning has begun seeing how we'll be having guests from literally around the world. The biggest hurdle is finding a place which is not as easy as it sounds. We've looked into hiring a wedding planner, but the ones we found don't really find places for you. They just help you out once you already have all your ideas. Well, I don't really have any ideas because I haven't been secretly been planning my wedding since I was 12. I have no idea what colors I like or what kind of dress or invitations or any of that. There's a lot of stuff I know I DON'T like. So I'll start there.

Things I DON'T like about weddings:

-wedding cakes

-veils

-unity candles or unity sand or unity anything. vomit.

-DJs who try to be funny

-ministers who try to be funny

-inviting people just because they are family, but you haven't spoken to them in about 15 years

-bridal portrait sessions- why? what do you do with these pictures??

-wedding dresses- if I see one more strapless dress....

-tuxedos

-garters

-weddings that all look the exact same

Things I do like:

-having fun

-drinking good wine

-good food

-casual attire

-cupcakes

-sparklers

-outdoor weddings

-creative photography

When you start to look for nontraditional wedding stuff, you are sent in a hippy-Iloveplanetearth-chaitea- buddhist ceremonies. I kinda want something casual, fun, and easy. Which is apparently not how you describe the typical wedding. Everything looks complicated, fancy, and expensive.

On a positive note, here are a few places we've been in contact with.

Garden Valley Petaluma

Gloria Ferrer Winery

Shambhala Ranch

The Engagement Story

So... I guess I should blog about getting engaged because it's kind of a big deal and all. I feel like I've told this story so many times, it's kinda boring now. After traveling for 25 days with a group of annoying interesting people, we were ready to be on our own. It was so great to see Steph, Helen, Sara and Em! And it was sad to see them go, but there were some people I'd rather not see again. I'll write about that story later.

After saying goodbye to everyone, we rented a car in Nelspruit- sight of several Word Cup games and drove with a random traveller to Swaziland. We found an amazing B&B on this family's lake with a little white gazebo outside. July 20- We drove to a Game Park and rented bikes to ride around and see the animals super close-up. Was it kinda scary?- umm yes! The water buffalo were just a little too close. Later that day, we decided to cook tacos in our chalet and before dinner, Owen wanted to walk around the lake. So we walked around the lake and the farm dogs walked with us. The dogs were clearly racist and only liked white people. Or at least this is what I decided on our walk. When we got to the gazebo our conversation went like this:

me: It's really NOT okay with me that these dogs are racist. I think we should go tell the Fosters that their dogs are racist.

o: Ok, but first can I do something?

Yeah, so he was super nervous and it was so weird having a ring. It's still weird, in fact, I'm not sure where that thing is... ok found it. For some reason, several people have asked if it was a blood diamond from Africa, an idiotic question that I quickly respond with "Yes, it even had extra blood on it." No, he got it from a legit jeweler in Singapore and it is clearly a conflict-free diamond. It took about 4 days to talk to our families and friends to give them the news since we were in freakin'-no-where-africa.

The best part of the story that everyone likes is what happened before we even left for our trip. Owen had decided to talk to my dad before he proposed. I don't believe in a guy asking for a girl's hand in marriage- that just reminds me too much of women being property and having lived in Egypt where this is what I felt like there, it's a sensitive subject. BUT, Owen liked the idea of talking to my dad about it before. So he waits until the last possible minute to talk to my dad- at the airport on our way to Africa. We love the singapore airport so much that we get there really early just to hang out. He calls my dad but he doesn't answer. So he sends him a text that says:

"Hey, it's Owen, just wanted to ask you something. When would be a good time to call?"

It's pretty obvious what this is about. It's not like Owen and my dad just talk on a regular basis.

The text back was this:

"No"

Owen pretty much shat himself because here we are at the airport. He's bought the ring- it's in his checked baggage (idiot) and he doesn't know what to do now... I'm completely clueless about the whole thing and sitting on a comfy couch enjoying my coffee and a good book whilst Owen is freaking out. A few minutes later, Owen receives another text:

"Hey, sorry that was supposed to say Now. My finger slipped."

They had a good laugh. My dad gave him advice and said that he couldn't guarantee that I'd say yes- thanks, Dad.

On August 20, 2008 we met in Cairo. We both remember that day because it was our first day in Egypt. So many crazy adventures later, here we are. 33 countries together and who knows how many planes, trains, rickshaws, cabs, ferries, bicycles, etc.

Here's a video of some of the last 3 years.... we decided 3 things when looking through old pics: 1. owen has some obvious favorite shirts. 2. we've been to some freakin' amazing places 3. we have the greatest friends ever!

Summer Reads

If I could write like this, there would be no need to ever bring a camera on a trip. The author does an amazing job of describing each place he visits as he travels along the ancient Silk Road from China to Turkey after 9-11. It's very wordy, but very eloquent at the same time. I really enjoyed this book. He offers a lot of insight with what the people are thinking in each place. He speaks Russian and Mandarin fluently. It's very interesting how the religions differ and also intertwine in each region. Highly recommend this. Not a light read though.

It's summer time so I just need some Chick Lit. I really like this author. Her first book is Bitter is the New Black which you should read first. This is the second memoir and I plan on reading her other 3 books. Very funny. Very entertaining. Makes me feel like I'm a much nicer person than her. This is a good beach book.

Kinda trashy. Not such a big fan of this. There's a new movie out. It's weird- the nerdy girl has an affair with the beautiful girl's fiance. Oh, and they are also best friends. It's just kinda weird. I guess it's supposed to make you feel like you are on the side of the nerdy girl, but I dunno. The next book is Something Blue and is from the perspective of the beautiful/perfect girl and I kinda wanna read it to get her perspective on it. Yes, I know it's fiction. Doesn't take a lot of intellect to get through this one.

I've read the other book by this author, Chicago, which follows the lives of Egyptians. This book is set in an actual building in Cairo and allegedly the characters are based on real people who lived in the building. Very scandalous for an Egyptian writer. Lots of sex, references to homosexuality and police brutality. All of which is probably true for the pre-Revolution Egypt. Very interesting. I liked this book, just because it shows how corrupt Egypt really was/is. If you want to know more about the corruptness and secrets of what really goes on in Egypt, then read this.

Perhentian Islands

Had a great start to the summer in the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia. Got my scuba license which was fun/scary. Breathing underwater is very surreal. Especially when you go down about 18 meters. We saw a sea turtle and blue-spotted stingrays and dozens of fish. The clown fish is definitely my favorite. The island is virtually empty as there are only about 100 people on the entire island. No roads, so no cars or bikes or anything. Just walking from one beach to the next. It was a perfect place to learn to scuba as there were hardly any waves and very clear water. You could do shore dives or boat dives, but the boat dives were only about 5 minutes away so you weren't stuck on a boat all day. It's Malaysia so there isn't beer everywhere. There was a guy who sold beer in his cooler on the beach. Turns out he was not only the beer guy, but also the boat guy who drove us to our dive spots each day.

I loved this monkey. Yes, he was on a leash.

After 3 days of scuba diving, this is the way to relax.

Summer 2011

There are 2 weeks left of school, but with report cards and portfolios done, it's time to check out. I've already packed my bags for Africa and the countdown has begun. The reason I'm already packed is because I'm really nervous about being in cold weather and not having enough warm clothing. With the temperature in SE Asia never dropping below 80, I'm not sure how I'm going to handle 50 degree weather. When we were in northern Vietnam, it was about that cold and I was miserable. However, I'm also excited about being in cold weather. I bought a few new sweaters and fleece pants from Gap. I'm excited to wear socks and need a jacket. Can't wait for a bowl of soup! Oh, and I'm excited to see the animals. I'm taking a photography class for the next 2 days to learn all of the tricks to using a DSLR. Pretty excited to learn how to use my camera... and getting a new lens in a few days.

I'm forgetting about one important thing. The week before we leave for Africa, we go lay on a beach on a tiny island in Malaysia. I haven't even thought about packing for this as it feels like just going to Florida for the weekend. I'm really excited about this trip too, but Africa just sounds so much more exciting. I've signed up for a Scuba Diving instruction course where I will officially get my scuba license.

Oh, and we're stopping in Dubai for 2 days on the way back from CapeTown.

So it's like this:

Summer 2011

Singapore

Malaysia

South Africa

Namibia

Botswana

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Swaziland

Dubai

Jen posted this article. It's about living as an expat. Most of these are so true. Here is the list with my 2 cents added...

1. You get cravings for silly things like Heinz ketchup and Hershey bars. - Did you know that America is the ONLY place on earth that makes REAL ketchup!? Also, you know those packs of pre-made cookie dough- yeah, you're not going to find them anywhere but the States.

2. You get grumpy about the very same things that initially drew you to your adopted home. Things irritate you like, why doesn't anyone understand me?? Why can't I find pre-made cookie dough?? Why do they laugh and tell me that it doesn't exist?

3. You often feel torn between two identities. I don't really know about this. But I do know that everyone I have met had a completely different childhood than me. Sometimes it's hard to explain things like why I put marshmellows on sweet potatoes and say y'all when referring to 1 person.

4. You’re friends with expats, but only those who arrived around the same time as you. I'm friends with many expats, but the closest are usually the ones you meet when you first arrived. You go through the same things at the same time so it bonds you.

5. You find newbies irritating. It's true, for some reason it's annoying to think I was that annoying.

6. You sometimes dream in a foreign language. Ummm, no. Considering I only learned enough 'survival Arabic' and English is spoken in Singapore...

7. You’ve attended weddings, birthday parties and baby showers….. on Skpye! We kinda had Christmas on skype and I showed my sisters their presents on skype.

8. Your old life seems gray. How did l live such a BO-RING life?

9. After many iterations, you’ve finally perfected the The Ultimate Guest Tour. Still working on this one... but with 11 guests in Singapore... it's almost perfect.

10. You pity those still stuck in corporate life. I feel bad for teachers back in the States who have to put up with so much crap and get such little pay.

11. Your friends have become your family. This is soooo true. Friendships are so much deeper and stronger than back in the States. You depend on them more.

12. You’ve eaten things you never dreamed you would. Stingray and monkey brain. Just kidding about monkey brain.

13. You get strangely defensive when someone (who doesn’t live there) criticizes your adopted home. This might have happened in Egypt. No one seems to criticize Singapore.

14. You wouldn’t be seen dead in the ‘expat bars’. Ummm no, I go there. I wouldn't be seen in a 'tourist' bar.

15. You’re a lot more adventurous than you used to be. I didn't think I would ever go camping in Africa for 6 weeks or try scuba diving.

16. When you fly back, nothing ever seems to change. It's true. Except there's a new president.

17. You never get bored of gloating about your new life. Well, do you think I'd be living in a $1.4 million apartment on a teacher's salary in the States??

18. You plan less and do more. SO true. You also care less about what other people think. You aren't concerned with the latest trends and can't be bothered to redecorate your place to keep up with the Jones'.

19. You turn up late but are often early. No one is ever on time.

20. You’ve attended countless leaving parties for friends who ‘went back’. Next weekend, there are 4 parties.

21. Your family have stopped asking you when you’re coming home. Thank goodness.

22. Home is where you are now. :)

America, what has happened to you?

Maybe it's because I've been living out of the country for 3 years now, but I just don't get it. I saw this video today. That is the worst thing I've ever seen. Everyone has been hating on that Friday song, but that girl is WAY better than Kesha. I guess she's trying to be 'sexy' but is just painful to watch. Horrible.

We don't get very many shows here from the states- but Bridalplasty? Really? This is happening? There are shows where women are judged and the prize is to get plastic surgery?! How are people not appalled by this? This is what they must show in Taliban training camps to get them to hate America. Bridalplasty, Real Housewives of whatever town, and the all those other terrible reality tv shows. People from around the world see this crap and make judgements about America. It is beyond embarrassing.

I'm not at all conservative in any of my political views, but something should done about values in America. Maybe the message should be less about fighting gay marriage and more about fighting materialism and obsession with celebrities.

All right, off my soap box. Just had to get that out.

Loved this one. It's written by a surgeon so he gives so many details about certain hospital things that happen, but not in a disgusting, gross-me-out kind of way. It's set in Ethiopia and really made me want to go visit there after reading this. The story is about a nun who gives birth to twins and dies. No, I'm not ruining the plot, this is what it says on the back. And how these kids are raised by other doctors- well, I don't really want to spoil the book. It's really good. There were lots of really good quotes and aha moments that makes this sure to be on Oprah's reading list. Loved it, now go read it.

This is a book of essays which won the Pulitzer Prize or at least that's what the cover says. It was good. I'm not a big fan of essays, but this one was good and made me think after reading it. It's mostly about characters who are Indian descent living in the US. Don't go run out and buy it , but if you see it in a pile of free books, you should take it.

This was my second audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by Tina Fey which really makes this worth listening to. I love the show 30 Rock and SNL and she talks a lot about those 2 things so it's a winner for me. I've also been compared to her character Liz Lemon many times, which is not necessarily a compliment. I didn't realize Tina Fey was such a feminist until I read, er, listened to this book. But then I didn't realize that I was such a feminist too. This was an awesome book.

I really liked Poison wood Bible which is by the same author. This one was really different. It's set in Mexico during the 30s and follows a young man's journey through his life. What was weird about this book is that I had no idea where the plot was going. I would have never predicted the ending which was good. Frida Khalo and Diego Riveria are both characters in the book who the main character knows. I love reading about Frida's life, I think she was just completely fascinating. The book had several good quotes which didn't always sound original, but I liked how they were used in the book. For example:

"That man has more money than God."

"So he must have the sunrise in his pocket and mercy in his shoes."

and

"The most important thing about a person is what you don't know."

This was the theme of the book. It's what you don't know about someone, not what you assume to know about them that is the most important thing. It was a little slow in parts, but overall I liked it.

How to Get Your Way or What I Learned From My Mom

I guess for Mother's Day everyone has been posting things they have learned from their mom. What have I learned from my mom? To get what you want done. In fact, as I was telling Owen this story, his response was "You are your mother."

I order stuff from the States all the time. I ordered some pants for the upcoming trip to South Africa (because I don't own warm pants) from Zappos. Occasionally, I use my US credit card and sometimes my Singapore card. For this order, I used my Singapore credit card. So I received an email from them a few days ago saying that they are having trouble with my account and if I could give them a US credit card that would solve the problem. I sent them the information. The next day I get another email saying they have already processed my Singapore account and that they need my address in Singapore. So I wrote back and gave that to them. Then I get another email saying they are having problems with my account, could I send the billing address for the US credit card. I send that to them. Then they send me an email today saying I need to CALL them because they are still having a problem with my account and that they haven't heard back from me. Each time they sign their emails with The Zappos Customer Loyalty Team.

This is where I lose my mind. When I lost my mind, I wrote this:

Dear Zappos aka worst Loyalty Team ever,

I have already responded to your last email. Here is a copy of the email I have already sent you. (attached a screen shot of the email) What more information could you possibly want from me. I have sent you ever bit of information I have about myself. No, I'm not going to call you because that would be expensive and ridiculous. Obviously, I don't live in the US, nor do I want to be on hold with your 1-800 number. I order stuff all the time from the USA and never have any problems. I am very disappointed in your handling of this simple order and will be writing a negative customer service review as soon as I can find that on your website. Please respond immediately to this email and let me know what you don't understand about all of the information I have sent you.

P.S. Yes, Singapore is a CITY and a COUNTRY. A simple Google search would have cleared that up for you.

The email I received about 30 seconds later was this.

Thank you for shopping with Zappos. Your order #292342372 was processed and should arrive in 4-5 days.

Thank you,

The Zappos Loyalty Team

Not that my mom would have sent an email as rude as that one. (I had a long day.) But I learned from her that it doesn't hurt to make a few threats (poor customer service review) and explain clearly what you want done. I feel like it's like a Jedi quality to tell people what they are going to do. My mom is not as much of a smart-ass as I am, but she would get do what she could to 'take care of business'. She would also want to know what the problem is and how to solve it. I'm not sure if I learned this or just inherited it. At this point, all similarities between us ends. She is much kinder than I am and more patient with customer service people.

Oops!

So I completely erased the template to my blog because I'm an idiot. So then I just started from scratch and made this one. Blah.

I guess I should actually write a post now. We went to Penang last weekend for a 3 day weekend. (May Day is a Labor Day-type of holiday here) Pulau Penang is a little island in Malaysia about an hour flight from Singapore. It's known for a few things....

Georgetown- shop houses from the colonial days. We have these in Singapore, but I still like taking pictures of them. I like the colors and the "oldness". Even with all the new buildings and skyscrapers, there are rows and rows of little shop houses from another era.

Nice beach.

The Butterfly Farm and National Park where we hiked.

We stumbled upon a bridal photo session. The photographers started throwing out seeds and bread to get a massive amount of pigeons, then the bride would pose, and someone would start running at the pigeons to get them to fly away. The photo would be a picture of her with pigeons flying all around her with a temple in the background. It looked pretty cool, except that there were pigeons in the picture. Gross. Maybe doves or something less disgusting would have been a better idea.

The temples, churches and mosques. We have all of this in Singapore, but it's still nice to see new temples. This dragon had a sign next to him that said "Foreigners are not allowed to roll the balls in the dragon's mouth." I swear that's what it said. If you look closer, there are baseball size cement balls in his mouth. Maybe you're supposed to roll the balls for good luck or something?

It was a nice 3 day weekend. After a 4th day there, I might have gotten a little bored. There are so many new places that are just an hour flight from Singapore and perfect for long weekends. i think we've got 4 or 5 long weekends next year so I'm sure we'll explore those new places.