Thanksgiving

Last week was the Thanksgiving holidays! Finally, hubby managed to get a break from his hectic schedule. On Thanksgiving, we had dinner with our friends at S' place and there was so much food that we were all knocked out by the end of the dinner. Here's a picture to show the amount of food we had.

Dinner was real fun 'cos we cracked funny jokes, made stupid comments and even shared on the origins of Thanksgiving, albeit with a little twist to the actual story.

After dinner, some of us played Wii. It was my first time playing Wii but I must admit it is really a good work-out if anyone is thinking of slimming down. The boxing game is so tiring that I felt that I could have another round of turkey. I also realised that Wii can be addictive and dangerous too for it is easier for one to damage the TV screen if one is not careful.

Later on in the evening, some of us decided to do the crazy thing for once in our life, i.e. join the crowd in midnight shopping on Black Friday. Therefore, we drove to an outlet mall about an hour away from city. There were people who were even crazier than us 'cos many cars have arrived before us and we had to wait for another hour before we actually got into the car-park. Nevertheless, we had fun, playing games to kill time and keep our driver, E, awake while he waited to park the car.

When we finally got into the mall, it was about 2.30am and we shopped for about 2 hours after that. Perhaps it was the fatigue of waiting, or pehaps it was the fatigue of having spent many hours preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, we decided that we really could not carry on shopping anymore. When we got home, it was 5.30am and really knocked out by then.

Nevertheless, at the mall, I overheard other shoppers that they were going to check out the sales which start at 4 or 5am in other malls. I wished I had their stamina....

Singapore from another perspective

I've been really busy since I went back to Spore for a short holiday. Even after I returned to Philly, so many things have happened that I just do not have enough time to even blog about them. Perhaps, let's talk what I noticed during my short trip to Singapore.

1. Singapore is very crowded now. It is literally impossible nowadays to get a seat on public transport, such as the buses or trains. Even if it is late at night, there are always many people around. (I miss having a car when I was back...)

2. The thing that is hot now in Singapore is property. Everyone is talking about making $ from selling their houses or apartments. I even have real estate agent calling me to ask if I wanted to sell my place. Such things would seem impossible a few years back as no one wants to live in a ulu place like mine.

3. Singapore is clean! Indeed very clean, as compared to other parts of the world, especially Philly. At least, I feel happy if I were to walk on the streets wearing expensive shoes because the shoes will still be relatively clean.

4. Singapore is warm now compared to Philly which is very cold(near 0 degree). I miss the days when I can wear camisoles, short-sleeved shirts, bermudas and slippers.

5. There are now many new structures in Singapore. Well, at least, the Ferris wheel is almost ready. When I left for Philly a few months back, they were still trying to put in the cabins.

6. Many old condominiums have been torn down to make way for new condos(What a sad thing though 'cos I really like the architecture of some of the older condos.)

7. Some of my students have grown taller(indeed taller than me now)!

8. Many changes at my former workplace, ex-colleagues leaving and new staff joining the team. Sad to see some faces go but I wish them all the best.

9. My apartment in Singapore seems somewhat bigger and cozier. My bed back in Singapore apartment also seems different now that there are some changes to it. I miss my own apartment. The feeling for a rented apartment is somewhat very different from those when you have your own apartment.

10. People seldom use "Hi! How do you? Nice to meet you." in Singapore. Perhaps, it is just my own feeling. Somehow, I have met so many people in Philly that I tend to use this even when I was back in Singapore.

Crimes in Philly

I seem to be hearing more stories about crimes recently. To list a few, these are some of the recent happenings:

1. Robbery & assault at 7-11 store in centre city which is very near my apt!
(check this out: http://video.nbc10.com/player/?id=188766)
2. Shooting somewhere at 22nd & Sansom (Hubby was at a restaurant nearby 30min before the shooting!)
3. A woman who was sexually assaulted by someone who invaded her apt located at University City
4. A fatal shoot-out in a food establishment at 38th and Chestnut.
5. Taxi-drivers who worked with robbers to rob passengers

This is freaking crazy! Why are crimes so out of control here?

Thanks to all readers!

Thanks to all who have been reading my blog faithfully! I am going to take in your comments and put in some changes. Besides a note on some of my grammatical mistakes(ahem.. you know who you are), I have also received requests to put up a tagboard and more photos. For a start, I will start with the easiest task of them all, i.e. to put up some photos. Here are some photos of New York which I visited recently. My apologies if the pictures look fuzzy 'cos this was taken with hubby's cellphone camera, as the usual forgetful me has forgotten to bring the camera along on this trip.
















Times Square-heart of Manhattan













Our hotel room in the Westin Hotel-our 2nd time there and we still like the place very much.

Intellectual Stimulation

I just came back from a talk at hubby's university. The talk was given by the Indian Finance Minister, Mr Chidambaram, who came here at the invitation of the biz school. Though his speech was so-so(probably because it was drafted by a bureaucrat), the Q&A session was really interesting. The Finance Minister demonstrated great charisma, intellect and an amazing ability to memorise statistical figures. Through this session, I learnt that there were actually about 2.5 million Indians living in the US(which explains why there are so many Indian students here), and that the income tax revenue for India has increased by 33% in the first half of this year. India is also the only country which will have a working population that is large enough to support its population of retirees all the way till 2040. I can't help but be amazed at the economic might of India and the strong determination of the nation to become a world leader in future. Sad to say, there should be more non-Indian students attending such sessions because it is such an eye-opener. In fact, after the talk, we bumped into some Indian friends outside the auditorium and all of us ended up commenting on the talk by the minister. I really appreciate such opportunities at the university where I can get doses of intellectual stimulation by learning about world affairs and exchanging views with like-minded people.

Wonders of Facebook

Frankly speaking, I was not really keen on Facebook when hubby told me to sign up for it. However, as the days go by, I am enjoying every bit of it. I have managed to touch base with old friends through friends which we have in common. Can't help but feel how small the world is actually. I am just amazed at how people are somehow related to one another. I was also happy to be able to see photos of dear relatives, friends and my goddaughter thru Facebook. Btw, I just learned that Microsoft is thinking of acquiring Facebook. Whatever it may be, I just hope that there will be more functions.

New York! New York!

Just came back from a trip to NYC. I must say I love NYC for the following reasons:
1. its vibrant art scene
2. its transportation system, especially the subway(very efficient)
3. its convenience when it comes to shopping(it has so many supermarkets selling Japanese food products that hubby and I decide to visit NYC once a month in future, just to get our groceries)
4. its numerous restaurants
5. the collegiate feel of Columbia U.

We took a Peter Pan bus(which is, by the way, cleaner and provides more professional service than Greyhound) from Philly's Chinatown to NYC's Port Authority Bus Terminal. We were indeed very lucky to have gotten a good deal at Westin (which is a 5-min walk to the bus terminal) in NYC. This was our second time at NYC's Westin but we still like the hotel very much for its contemporary design and its location in Times Square.

While we were there, we also watched a musical(Hey, this is NYC!) at Broadway. Glad that we didn't watch the usual big productions like Chicago. Instead we went for a smaller one called the Spring Awakening, a 2007 Tony Award's Best Musical.Our friend, TY, who worked in an investment bank in NYC, strongly recommended this musical. The musical contains some adult themes, hence it is restricted to mature audience. There was even a part when the lead actor had to strip and show his buttocks to a live audience! This musical was adapted from a play written by Frank Wedekind, a German playwright, who first wrote the play in 1891. In fact, during those days, the play was considered scandalous and it was censored for it dealt with sensitive topics like puberty, sexual freedom and family violence. Human beings have indeed come a long way when it comes to dealing with such expressionism in the theatre. Anyway, hubby and I enjoyed the play very much and we feel that there is still a long way to go for the arts scene in Singapore. We really appreciate the efforts put in to create such a production. There were so much logistics and planning involved. Even the actors/actresses themselves had to help out on the stage. There are also so many opportunities for anyone who wants to work in the arts industry here, although the competition is also tough, given that there are really very talented people here.

We also visited Columbia U which is getting all the attention now for its decision to invite the Iranian President to give a talk at its campus. While we were at the campus, we saw some posters/flyers put up by students protesting againts this. It will also be interesting to watch the news these few days to see what the UN(which is having its General Assembly on this Tue)has to say.

Last but not least,we had a wonderful dining experience in NYC.The climax of our trip was our gourment dinner at Nobu Next Door. The black cod with miso was so heavenly that it could melt in our month. We were so overwhelmed by the creative use of different textures of food that we were trying to guess the ingredients used in the dishes. Well, we would also love to try out other Japanese restaurants in our future trip to NYC, for we've heard that the Japanese food in NYC is much better than that in Japan.

I think we will be making more trips to NYC in future given that there are so many things to do there. I hope to visit the Guggeinheim Musuem, Madam Tussaud(although it is pricey), MOMA(a place which never fails to amaze me every time I am there), and of course century 21 (It really pains me to give up on shopping there during this trip).

Classes

It's been a really busy week for me! This week, I started my yoga and French classes. The experiences at both classes varied greatly. Yoga was almost a nightmare as the instructor expected us to be superb contortionists! I am totally out of shape(probably the worst in class and after 15min, I was very tempted to give up the class. Nevertheless, I found out that I could actually take things slowly and do whatever I could do. Along the way, those of us who could not do certain stunts were smiling and giggling to each other as we struggled to stretch our very-inflexible bodies.

French was on the other hand a breeze, probably I used to do French and it was a matter of recalling what I used to know. There were only 2 of us in the class at AF, my classmate was this retiree who used to live in France. The teacher was very patient because it took us some time before we could make it out in French what the instructions in the worksheet mean and what she was trying to communicate in French. Oh yes, I have homework too! C'est difficile.

For both classes, I was glad to have the company of friends to accompany me home after the lessons. After yoga class, S walked home together with me and we had a good time talking about the lesson. After the French class, I happened to bump into L(fellow Singaporean) who was taking a more difficult class and we went out for coffee together. Later, S and R also joined us at the coffeeshop where we chatted and whiled our time away like real tai-tais.

This morning, my friend, A, is coming over to my place. We meet each other every week to brush up on my French and for her, to polish her English. Looking foward to this as we will be preparing lunch together and practicising French and English at the same time. I guess my life is really like that of a tai-tai now. : )

Watch this movie!

We watched this new movie, called "Across the Universe" today. It is a musical film that basically puts together all the Beatles songs to create a story out of it. The director of the movie is also the lady who was famous for her Lion King production. I actually got to know about this movie when I was watching the Oprah show where the director was being interviewed together with Vera Wang(who, by the way, is launching a new label which is more affordable). It is amazing that there are so many dymanic and creative women in the world.

We like the movie, not just because of the music, but also the graphics in it. The movie exploits creatively the use of colours and imagery. I love the "strawberry fields" image. I'm not going to divulge too much about the movie. Just watch it. The movie would only premiere next week but we got to watch it earlier at selected cinemas for this weekend.

Photos of Philly

Hey, guys! Here're some shots of Philly hubby and I took.

City Hall-Apparently, there was some curse and no building located to the east of the City Hall should be taller than the City Hall itself.

The Thinker by Rodin. This is a museum located outdoors so most of the sculptures are subject to the elements of weather.

The Independence Hall where the Declaration was signed. It is one of the rare man-made structures for World Heritage Sites located in the US.

Philly from the air-Can't remember where we took this photo, probably from a friend's apartment.

First Blog

Finally! I have my first blog! I must admit I have been procrastinating when it comes to setting up my own blog for the following reasons:

a) Don't know what to write.
b) Have not taken many pictures.
c) Pure laziness

But I think I should start sharing with you guys out there about the life of a Singaporean (taitai) living in Philly (a.k.a Philadelphia).

It's been about 1&1/2 month since I arrived in Philly. Met so many people, did so many things(some crazy ones like driving a truck), and tried so many new restaurants. It is so hard to list everything down, perhaps I should put up a ranking of the 3 most interesting stuff.

3 most interesting people hubby & I met so far:
1. Al(the leasing agent at our apt) --interesting and funny guy who loves Beyonce. We had so much fun talking to him. I admire him for his spirit in upgrading himself and pursuing his passion in life-psychology. It is also not easy for him to work and study at the same time.

2. Mark-an American friend of hubby who is studying for his mba and who speaks perfect Mandarin with a Beijing accent that puts us to shame

3. A.S. -a friend from India who also happens to be in hubby's learning team. Formerly VP of big investment bank in NY. Very sociable guy. He took half year off from work and travelled the whole of Asia on a tight budget, met many interesting people and visited really exotic places. Loved his travel stories.

3 most interesting places hubby & I have been to so far:
1. Manayunk-quaint little town next to Schuylkill River outside philly with lots of interesting cafes. It has more furniture shops than Philly and the furniture there are nicer too.

2. Woodbury Common outlet-place to die for if you like shopping for branded stuff at really discounted rate. There are so many shops there that you can never finish it in one day. Imagine having to queue just to get into Coach store and buy its products!

3. Reading Terminal market-basically like the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne but in a totally air-conditioned complex. The Amish people sell their produce there and you can get to see some of them in their traditional gear. They do trade afterall and their food is really yummy. We had moon pies as recommended by hubby's professor.

Top 3 restaurants:
1. Any of the yumcha restaurants in Chinatown- They served push-cart yum cha which you can hardly get in Singapore nowadays! The food is really authentic, even better than some of the restaurants back home. But the queue is long, especially on weekends when all the Asian communities seem to converge in Chinatown for yumcha. For example, we can be eating in a restaurant and running into 10 other friends who are also dining at the same place. Btw, we are going there for yumcha again this weekend with friends from Singapore.

2. La Viola-a quaint Italian restaurant that hubby and I discovered while on our way to another restaurant in South St. We never regret giving up on the restaurant which we had originally planned to go to because the food at La Viola is really good. The portions are just nice for us(similar to what they serve in Japan and back home) unlike the usual American portions. The pasta is al dente and the tiramisu is yummy.

3. The Singha House-Thai restaurant on campus(again,we did not have any plans to visit the restaurant and we happened to pass by). Really authentic Thai food with a huge crowd, mostly Penn students.

Seems like we have not listed anything American so far but according to hubby, the cheesesteak he had at Pat's is really the best so far. Anyone who intends to visit Philly must try the cheesesteak at Pat or Geno.

Top 3 crazy things we did so far:
1. Driving a truck for the first time in our lives! --We had to go to Ikea to buy furniture, to a friend's place to pick up sofa and to Target and Walmart to shop for household stuff when we moved in, so we rented a Uhaul truck to put everything in.

2. Driving back from NYC late in the night along the highway which has no street lights! It is really an experience for us 'cos we are so used to having street lights back home. Very challenging but very tiring too 'cos we have to be constantly on the lookout for signboards.

3. Venturing to West Philly in a public bus-We heard lots of horror stories (the latest being Upenn med student being shot on campus at 9am in the morning!) about West Philly but we decided to go anyway 'cos we wanted to go to Sears at 69th st and we thought we had survived our stay in a B&B in west philly during the first two weeks. I though West Philly was ok for me but a lot of friends who have been there said it was not.