A little walk with a lot of sweat ...

This morning we started with a walk of the area near the Asian Civilizations Museum and ending at one of the significant monuments in Singapore. As we were walking we learned some history about the development of the area with the older building and new skyscrapers developing together. Halfway through the walk we stopped by the Merlion statues. From there you can also see the view of the construction of The Sands, the Singapore Flyer, and the Escalade. The Escalade is the theater space used for traveling shows that pass through Singapore. It's external structure is interesting resembling the spikiness of the durian fruit.


For lunch today we tried a local Singaporean dish called Hainanese Chicken Rice. It's apparently the Hainanese dish that you can't find in Hainan. This is one of the dishes created by the immigrants a while back. This simple looking dish of chicken and light sauce accompanied by a rice cooked with chicken and ginger flavors is fantastic. For having walked through the heavy humidity and being very dehydrated I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stomach any food once lunch came around. Somehow I did ... must be because of the great food. :)


After lunch we ventured to one of the Hawkers stations to sample an array of foods. We got to taste some rice cakes with oniony-garlicky flavor added, shrimp with noodles, conch noodles, and a couple of desserts. One of the desserts is topped with durian paste. This is a fruit that tastes good and is also known for it's foul stench once you open it.


We then went around different areas of Singapore and checking out the different housing developments. The way how the housing is built by the government and is acquired by home seekers is an interesting thing.

Our first industry visit was the last thing on the agenda. We checked out Sunwoo, which is a local studio out of Korea. We kind of caught them in the process of moving to a new office, but we were able to get a glimpse of work in action.

When the program was over for the day a group of us went out together for dinner. We ended up at Mulligan's, an Irish pub in Clarke Quay. Then ended the evening browsing some of the shops in the area. I was really tempted to buy a couple of things at one clothing store cause it had a really good sale going on, but I was feeling too icky from the day's activities to try on any clothes. Maybe next time I'll get something nice.

How did I get so much done and eat so much in one day?

This picture is from last night's walk back to the hotel. I can say that after only a couple of days that I am truly having a great time ... forgetting the humidity.


Today was the first day of the Experience@Singapore program. We started the day visiting Contact Singapore, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) learning about the program and how they are trying to appeal to potential employees. The office has a really nice view of the overall city. After the informational we walked to Suntec City via the mall for lunch. At the beginning of the day we were all informed of the great eating culture here. Today I got a good glimpse of what they mean. The lunch set up was at this porridge buffet. In addition to the bowl of porridge there is a giant array of sides and condiments to accompany the meal. I have had porridge before, but have never seen it set up in this way.

After lunch, we went to check out the Fountain of Wealth, which is the largest fountain in Asia. There's a story that goes with it, but Adan and I kind of missed it while we were getting pictures of each other in front of the fountain. I'll have to find the story about it later. I remember reading a bit about it before though. I'm hoping that I can come by later in the week to catch the laser light show that happens here in the evening.


We then went to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to check out the development plans for Singapore. There are a lot of great models of the city and country and seeing how everything is growing.

The next stop of the day is a visit to the Media Development Authority (MDA) and Fusionopolis. We got to learn about the development of Mediopolis and saw some interesting stuff. Their presentation was in a room full of touch screen tables (like Microsoft Surface) to show a collection of work. Fusionopolis showed an array of things too including a demo of their augmented reality set up.

The evening ended with a visit to the Marine Barrage followed by an elaborate eight course seafood meal with the main course featuring the chili crab. The barrage has a lot of interesting information and visuals. The site itself has a lot of great views of the city.

The day ends with our huge meal. I was seriously exhausted from the day as well as all the food coming to the table.

Happy New Year!

After ringing in the new year in College Station, I had a merely a few hours to sleep before having to drive out to Houston with Adan to begin the trip to Singapore. So how much sleep did I get? I was physically in bed for four hours, but I can't really recall actually having any deep sleep. Perhaps it was the excitement of the trip or my fear that I would sleep through my alarm. Either way, I'm really surprised that I was not tired at all in the drive out to IAH at 6 am.


Nothing like starting off the new year with a 24 hour travel to Singapore -- 14 hour flight from Houston to Tokyo, 3 hour layover, and then a 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore. The flight to Tokyo wasn't too bad. There was a personal monitor that kept me entertained when I wasn't sleeping. It's a pretty nice set up with a number of movies, shows, games, etc. to watch and pause in your own leisure. Just like any other plane ride it's a little cramped with little leg room and the difficulty to sleep sitting up. After this first flight I didn't know how I would be able to handle another seven hours. It was more comfortable the second time around because we got seated in an emergency row which means ample leg room. The flight went by so much faster because I slept so much better. :)

24 hours later we arrive to Singapore 14 hours in the future. It was close to 3 am when we arrived at the hotel. After a few hours of slumber we checked out of the hotel and checked into the hotel sponsored by the Singapore program. Before heading out to explore the city we ran into one of the girls that is in the program, Elyse. The three of us had lunch, walked to the Singapore National Museum, explored, and took pictures at everything in sight on the way and back from the museum. The museum was great! I want to tell much more, but I'm getting exhausted and need to get some rest. The program starts tomorrow and I'm foreseeing a long and exciting day.

the down side of snow ...

word of the wiser

http://allbetsareoff.com/2009/12/youre-not-that-talented-and-other-advice/

facebook getting creepy?

Chuck's wise words ...

If you put it off until the last minute then it will only take a minute.

Happy Sweetest Day

It's new to me today, so I went to my friend wikipedia to see what the hubbub is about. Apparently, it's a day made by the candy industry to increase candy sales. Of course their intention is to spread the love to everyone. The Valentine's of the fall perhaps?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetest_Day

Either way ... it's a good day to get candy. :)

ghost of the collegiate past

http://www.amazingsuperpowers.com/2009/10/ghost-of-collegiate-past/

I'm suddenly recalling my high school reunion where one of my friends said he didn't remember what anyone else wrote in his yearbook senior year except what I wrote ...

"Corey, good luck working at McDonald's.
-- Christine"

oldie but goody

great idea for twitter

Yesterday's amusement.

If I ever had one of these I'd post the emails too ...
http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1792362

Though I do have my shared of interesting emails as a TA too ... I should share them sometime. The two I talk about most is the "come to Jesus" email and the "I'll do anything .. anything if you pass me" email.

new iphone app?

voila ... the burrito!

mr. giggles ... teeheeheehee

Another word from another wise ...

From my pal Chuck on why I should stay in school:
"Outside what used to be hilarious becomes sexual harassment, what used to be fun becomes an alcohol problem..."

a word to the wise ...

... though I still think I'm exempt on some level because of my student status.
http://tomatonation.com/?p=838

my feeling at the moment

http://www.wetherobots.com/2008/09/12/whats-to-stop-me/

Oh no!!!

I don't know if my parents had the same reaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw

do you ever wonder ...

... if they ever check your signature on the credit card machine?

http://www.drunkrepublic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97:when-your-credit-card-signature-fun-backfires&catid=34:humor&Itemid=60?