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?