Yay We've Got our Own House!!!

So we finally closed on our house, yay! The stress is over! It's so fun! I made a video for you all to see, or just maybe for you two people who read my blog to see (thanks Gina)...

Almost There...

We are almost closing, so I made this fun pic out of my desire to be photographically creative...

Update--Si, Soy Loca

So only a few people voted that they read my blog, but before I had plenty of people letting me know they read it!

Just wanted to update you, in case you were so worried. My brother found his car! Nothing stolen out of it, just a few dings. It was parked on a residential street and someone called it in. Hurray for Joey!! He's happy again.

And on this front of Amy going crazily insane...Si, Soy Loca means, 'Yes, I'm crazy.' Take a look at all of the crazy additions I've added to my blog over here on the right hand side. I've even added my favorite poems. So you two people who read my blog, thanks and that is for you.

Calling All Doctor Fish!!!

So at the same place where the scary Asian chicks were wandering around freaking everyone out, there was a boutique that contained tanks of tiny fish which they claimed were "doctor fish." These little fish supposedly scrape the dead skin cells off your feet and their lips leave some kind of enzyme on your skin to help regrow new cells. I had some time to kill before I caught my bus, so I gave it a try. And yes, they feel just like you would think they do, like minnows nibbling on your feet. It's freaky at first and it tickles, but then you get used to it. So I decided to record them nibbling on...yes, you guess it...my feet.

(P.S. And no, Joey has still not found his stolen truck...)

1st Video from Singapore!!

So yes, there were some scary chicks at the Night Safari, they scared the crap out of me. Here is a video of them scaring the crap out of some other kids...

Friday Night Boredom...

I'm bored and it's Friday night. Sammy has gone to bed early for he is going hunting tomorrow all day. He's happy and that means I'm happy. So I thought I'd show you pics of our new house that we're closing on in 12 days. This mortgage process has been a ride, very scary and stressful. I hate it. Last time I bought a house it was the same. Stupid houses. And now all the dumb banks let any old schmuck buy a house and people like Sam and I get SCREWED because WE have to follow all the new hard mortgage rules and regulations!!!

Anyways, yes, we have acquired a FIXED loan, meaning we don't have any danger of having our mortgage rate go up so high that we are unable to pay it. If anything, we can refinance when the rates are lower and our payments will go down. Woohoo!!!

So here's our wonderful new house, soon to be occupied by Amy and Sam....


Not too fancy but not too bad for a couple just starting out. Nah, I wasn't married before and didn't own a house before!!!

I really like this open and bright living room. I LOVE light.



And check out this fun kitchen. Just right for a couple like us, a crazy one that is. But let me tell you, I made pumpkin cake the other night and even though it overflowed all over into the oven, Judy and I were able to save it and cook it in another pan. DEEE-licious!


Hmmm, what else can I write about? Nothing much else. I've finally gotten my body back to Wisconsin time. No more waking up at 1am and not going back to sleep. Tried to work one day this week after that happened, only lasted an hour. Fun!! That actually hurt. It wasn't like just being really tired all day. My brain actually shut down and it hurt to think. I could have laid down anywhere and gone to sleep. It is a weird and different kind of tired. Nice.

Anyways, as some of you already know, Sam and I are now in need to purchase a new refridgerator and washer and dryer for our lovely new casa. I sent out e-mails asking for suggestions, and I got plenty of responses. Thanks everyone!! I'll update you later with sweet pics of our new appliances.

And, this morning on the Minnesota front, one dufus named Joey Rivera, brother to me, Amy, decided to leave his brand new Nissan Titan truck running unlocked while he ran back into the house to get the rest of his things to leave for work. And lo and behold, what happens?? Someone drives away with it!!!! They are now in search of their vehicle, and hopefully they'll get it back in one piece. I'll pray for you dufus Joey! I still love you! I stuck my tongue on an ice cold poll in the freezing wintertime once, that hurt like hell and ripped my whole tongue skin off. Could barely eat for a few days! Let's see, what other retarded things have I done like my crazy brother??? I hit a pole in Sam's work's parking lot just last month. Apparently I wasn't paying attention and drove right into the short pole that they have at the entrances to their parking lot, placed there I believe to keep dumb people like me away from the edges of the entrance. I pegged it but didn't do any damage. I might have pushed the post sideways a bit, but who's counting??!!

Ok, I'm done. I'll talk to ya'll later? So far I only have two people voting that they read my blog. Haha!

I'm Back but I'm Still on Singapore Time!!!

So it's Tuesday morning at 2:20 am. I DID go to work today but apparently I am now awake in the middle of the night. We'll see if I can get out of bed to get to work tomorrow. My mind is still on Singapore time, which means it thinks that it's 4:20pm tomorrow.

So you all were asking for some pics. Here they are. Singapore is known for its famous Merlion symbol, and my pal Osman took me to see it. Here I am:


And here I am with the baby merlion:


And me with the big momma merlion:




And I really like this pic for some reason. I was going to take a ride on these ducks but I ended up being too tired...


And here's me by a cool bridge:


And me with some naked boys jumping into the Singapore River:


This place really is pretty cool, it's a big city like Minneapolis or Chicago, although everything is also in Chinese. I took this pic in China Town...



And don't I look so busy working at the National Education Institute with my buddy Osman and Jing??


And isn't this a cool view from my hotel room? They sang songs at this mosque across the street every four or five hours. I could hear them in the middle of the night singing, and it was actually a bit comforting:

Oooh Oooh! And don't forget that I visited the Singapore Zoo and saw this cool Komodo Dragon. My brother told me to make sure to get a pic of a komodo dragon, since we tend not to have them in zoos in the U.S. The komodo dragon is the largest of the lizards besides the croc or gator, and they kill their pray with bacteria found in their saliva. This bacteria, once it enters the bloodstream, will render the muscles useless and the prey will become immobile. They can eat cows and bulls, and have been known to eat men! So if you ever run into one and it bites you, just make sure to get to high ground so you won't be eaten alive by them. They can't climb trees...

And check out these crazy fish that follow you along the water bank, they think you are going to feed them...

Oh! And I got to ride this elephant! My first elephant ride ever. I only have one pic of me riding. Since I visited the zoo by myself, I had to buy the professional one they took of us. I'll have to scan it and post it later:

Take a look at this baboon very closely, he's playing with his ding dong...

What can I say? I came all the way to Asia, might as well take a pic of a monkey playing with his ding dong.

But look, we have a friendly baby hippo. I named him..............Hippo!!!!



Yes, and as you know, I am a HUGE fan of scary Asian movies with those scary girls and their buggy eyes and long black hair. So at the night safari what do I see to my pleasant surprise on the day after Halloween?!! A scary Asian girl hanging out to give us a fright!!!


And she proceded to do what scary Asian chicks that are evil do. She tempted me to look into her baskets...and lo and behold, what did I find?? Not an ear in one...


Nor a finger in the other...


But another live scary Asian Chick who scared the crap out of me!!!.......


Here's a better more closer look at her face...


Haha. That was freakin' awesome.

So the next day I went to the Chinese Gardens with my pal Jing and her cute little six-year-old son Tsi Tsi. We fed some turtles and hung out with Confucius.



We also had lunch a one of the millions of local malls, but don't worry I didn't eat from this place, which offered wonderful appetizers such as Pig Kidney Soup and Pig Stomach Noodles...


And Jing took me to the Singapore vacation island of Sentosa, where we visited the lovely Poppa Merlion who you see here eating Jing and I....




And we visited the insect and butterfly garden, which I have to say, I am very intrigued by considering the fact that I absolutely hate cockroaches since I grew up with them in my homes and have actually touched the nasty ones that invade your cupboards. I WAS going to grab one of these butterflies but it appears they were doing it and not able to be separated...


So I got this one instead..



And all should be proud of me, for I held this scratchy stick bug all on my own. Now the bug keeper in this room also had a black scorpion about 8 inches long, present completely with the inch and a half long stinger. He tried to put it on Jing and I claiming that it was harmless (and it did seem like it didn't mind this guy carrying it around by its tail and placing it on the visitors) but Jing and I have our limits. So just take this and be proud of me...


At the end of the day we took the cable car back to the main island, a little scary but we made it...


And on my last wonderful day in Singapore, the three of us sat together and had a nice meal at Osman's sweet pad, decorated with baby and all. Osman didn't mind that I almost vomited in his car. Hey, when jet lag gets ya, you can't run. I ended up making it to the hotel lobby and only projectile vomited in the lobby garbage, freaking out Osman and Jing who swore they would take me to the doctor asap. Sorry guys! Just a little case of car sickness!!!


So take a look at the remaining pics, I'll upload them later. And for those of you who are aching for some short video, I have some of that too! But unfortunately, they're taking too long to upload and I am very impatient.

So that is it for now! Stay tuned, Sam and I have about two weeks to get ready for our new house! I'm super excited!

I'm Almost Home!!!

I'm so tired, couldn't sleep on the plane. Still on my way home. Some stupid lady sitting behind me got bitchy about me sitting down too hard in my seat, but when I turned around and gave her a look, she quickly looked down. I don't think she expected me to confront her that way! Haha!

Was on the plane when they announced who had won the presidency. The pilots casually forgot to tell us, and I learned who had become the next president by the Japanese man sitting next to me on the plane. Isn't that funny, a non-U.S. citizen telling a citizen who their next president is. Oh well.

I'll be getting home today at about 3pm or so. I'll probably be heading to sleep instantly, as I am extremely tired right now, I'm still on Singapore time and it's 2:38am in my brain. Took two sleeping pills on the plane but then I couldn't fall asleep even though I was so tired!!!

I've got many pics from my trip. Stay tuned and I'll be adding them to the blog and to my pic site. So tired, soo soo tired, my hair looks crazy for sitting on a plane for a day. 6 hours from Singapore to Tokyo, 10.5 hours from Tokyo to Minneapolis, and 1.5 hours from Minneapolis to Madison. Fun!! It's kind of weird, you sit there forever and you think it's about the same time, but then when you really think about it, you realize that you spent 17 hours on a plane and it's really the next day.

Ok, Peace out. I've gotta catch the plane home...

Go Obama...

I'm Still in Asia!!

It's been a week. I've been working with the Ministry of Education and my co-workers Osman and Jing. We've been driving around, visiting all kinds of places. I have many photos but I am just too tired to upload them all. I'll give you one for now...


Haha, I've got some Singapore facts for you. It seems everyone is thinking that I'm somewhere else other than Singapore. I've been told to have fun in the following places: Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong. Nope, sorry, Singapore is none of these places. It is it's own country on the southern coast of Malaysia. It WAS a part of Malaysia until the 60's when Malaysia kicked it out and told it to be independent on its own. It is about 273 miles squared, roughly 40 miles larger than Chicago. It has the 2nd highst populations density in the world, and is the 6th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. This would explain the THOUSANDS of malls that we pass every single day.

The main three races are Chinese, Malay and Indian, however, the majority of the citizens are of Chinese decent. Singapore has the 3rd lowest birth rate in the world, so the government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate.

The official national language is Malay, however, that is only for historical purposes and Singapore Standard English is the language of administration and business, and implemented as a first language early in the education system. This is why it is very easy to travel and conduct business in Singapore.

More fun Singapore facts:

• It is a highly competitive society. The word to describe their social attitudes is kiasu, which literally means "fear of losing." It is a culture where nobody wants to be, or perceived to be, lagging behind society as a whole.
• It is a hierarchical society. Elders are introduced first, given their preferential seating, and generally put on a pedastal.
• Singaporians are very sensitive to retaining face in all aspects of their lives.
• It is a very "Plugged-in" society. 70% of Singapore's residents are internet users. The ratio of cell phones in Singapore is 1:1. One of the most popular pastimes is blogging.
• It is an increasingly materialistic society, as one's social and economic status is reflected by the quality of goods one has.
• A minimum annual income of $30,000 is required to obtain a credit card.
  

Ok, I guess that's about it for now. It is illegal to chew gum in Singapore, and possession of drugs is punishable by death, or more like public hangings!!!

Stay tuned! It's Sunday. I'm off to a small island in the south called Sentosa. Yesterday I visited the zoo and the Night Safari...