Clearly You've Never Been to Singapore

[SilverfromOZ]

Yep, that's going to be the quote I will use to death now that I'm actually here. For those of you who don't know , I've been shipped over to Singapore for work and will be here for the next couple of months. I have replied to some people via email and figured I'd replicate some of the entires here as a kind of ongoing log. If anyone is interested in reading about my shenanigans and (mis)adventures you're more than welcome. So we now come to entry one:

Silver's Log: Stardate January 21, 2008

"Yeah the flight was ok and I managed to get 3 hours of flitful sleep next to a friendly marketing guy and a fat man who kept tossing and turning. I pretty much breezed through every checkpoint and was expecting guns, shouting and threats (having been to the USA you see) but got everyone all smiling and happy. Everyone here speaks english (or at the very least engrish) and all the signs are written in english with Chinese in smaller text underneath. The room is quite nice and I feel I can get reeeeal comfy here during my stay with a big double bed, aircon I can leave on till all hours, a widescreen plasma tv, a gym, and a shower the never gets hot when I want it to (but waits until I'm naked and in front of it before the scalding gushes out and much flailing ensues). This morning I got in around 4ish, settled things in (fought with the lock on my bags and nearly had a heart attack when I thought I had the wrong key, turns out it was just a little stuck), laid out my room and lay down for a quick hour's power nap (breakfast is at 6:30am). Woke up and sauntered down to the breakkie hall and met up with the two John's. I told them what I'd been doing and they said for me to go back to my room and sleep. So I did. 11:30am rocked around and I got a phone call from the foyer (to recap a bit, I rocked up to the hotel and it turned out there was no booking for me. I was in the buggerit state so I put my credit card details down and asked for a reciept to reclaim from Colby), this was a good thing because it informed me that the situation had been sorted and the room was completely booked for me till 13th Feb and the later period of 18th - 14th(ish) of March. Following that I figured this would be one of the few opportunities I would have to roam, so I got up, had one of my cold/slightly warmer/scalding/colder showers and moseyed into a taxi. The taxi took me to the wonderful world on Orchard Road which is a shopaholics (especially a fashionable shopaholic's) dream. Some money spent and I had Armani Jeans and T-shirt, new trainers and training clothes, Resident Evil Extinction (which I can finally bloody well see), Warhammer Squad Command for my PSP, some new Police sunnies, and two transformers (Scropinok and Bonecrusher, yes dad, still collecting .

After returning, I called John Najeem and he was coming back from work so we decided to head down to the gym. I hit the tradmill for 45mins and got some weights in, but the good thing is that we are both set on the fitness thing at the moment. Then we went out for Indian food (probably not helping in the fitness field, but an engineer's gotta eat), caught up with one of the sparkies from work, got lost looking for a place John was dead set on going and settled on a very nice indian place. 10:30 and we made it back and now I sit here typing this letter. All in all, not too shabby a start to things here in Singapore."

[Jagna]

Singapore? I had no idea! cool for you, Silver, it's nice to see you posting again! *tackle-glomp-hug*

isn't it convenient tht they all spoke english? what luck, eh? XD

well, i hope all goes well for you. enjoy the use of the quote!....while you can

See you round, Silver! Adios! (right?)

[SilverfromOZ]

OFFFF #gets wind knocked out by Jag's glomp# Thanks there bub

Yes, the whole english thing is a real life saver (I'd like to be like Daniel Jackson and know every language including ancient, however I have other pressing matters )

Cheers for the well wishes and you can be sure that I'll be throwing on the ol Jack Sparrow shenanigans when the Colby boys go out for a party night I've got the same initials so I guess that counts for something

So, continuing on the thread:

Silver's log: January 22nd 2008

I began the day wondering why my log counts the date in a different format every day.....

"Hi again,

well, just got back from our Tai dinner with was spicy but yummy (I'm trying to work on the eating of the hot foods thing). Now that I have actually completed an actual day of work, I have some idea as to how the rest of the month will play itself out and it looks promising if crazy.

This morning I headed down to breakfast around 6:30am, had some muslei, a muffin and lots of orange pieces. Met up with both Johns and Mark (who was staying in another hotel nearby) there and we discussed the coming day. I threw my stuff together and ran down to meet Mark as we were catching a taxi to site (the hire car we had could only hold four people and there were four already booked). As I got down to the taxi, I realised I'd forgotten my passport and ran back up to grab it, along with the big box of cables I had left for the next day. We get the taxi in and discuss strategy all the way as my sleep-addled mind kept trying to kick start itself. Upon arrival to site, I got a visitor's pass which I'd hold onto until I completed my induction (what I was supposed to do yesterday but the flight dselays and so on). The safety section was done by this thing singaporean guy who had a HUGE mole on his cheek, but that wasn't the worst part, he mole was HAIRY! LONG WHITE HAIRS! About an inch or two's worth. I kept looking at him and wanting to go "MOOOOOOLE!" like Austin Powers, but thankfully I restrained (although I did have a really strange smirk of my face all the way through, though thankfully the guy thought I was laughing at his jokes so I cruised by). So after nearly falling asleep seventeen times, Stuart and I were inducted and given our passes. Mark took me around the site and it is super huge and there is alot done, but still alot more to go. After lunch, I started going through things with John and really got stuck into it (after a largeish coffee). Once I got started things really got going and I'm looking forward to continuing the good work tomorrow. We got back and the two Johns and I headed to the gym where we made some "astute observations" of some of the clientelle of the pool facilities and generally had a good workout before going out for tai food at a local supermarket. Now its 10:38pm and I really should get some sleep so I'll leave it at that."

[Sinead]

Wow. Singapore? *snickers* And of course, I have a friend who is named Elizabeth here at college/uni/whatever you wanna call it, and so I always say a la Captain Jack, "Elizabeth! *turns to any other friends who are around* Hide the rum!"

*chuckles* Pirates of the Caribbean is applicable to all parts of life. "Why is the rum always gone?"

XD

So I'm very glad that you're getting along well over there, and I hope that things really work out nicely as far as your job goes.

(>.> ) ( <.<)

o(^.^o) (o^.^)o o(^.^o) (o^.^)o *dances*

Have fun while you're there!

[Silverclaw]

Yep, I've clearly never been there...

Well, it's a really different experience in your life. Continue keeping in touch and good luck there, Silver. Your log's are very cool! As Captain Sao Feng said, "Welcome to Singapore".

[Wistwin]

Ooh!!!! My family's heading to Singapore for our summer vacation!!! We could meet up and talk about Beast Wars till the sun explodes....or at least till we leave.

Nice to know you're getting on well over there.

[SilverfromOZ]

....or at least till we leave.

Which may in fact be when the sun explodes

Yeah Wistwin, let me know dates and the roughish area you'll be in and I'll see if I can organise some time from my engineering shenanigans. Its always cool to meet up with BWinters in person (as anyone from Botcon can profess). Let me know and we'll work something out.

Cheers SilverC, glad you're enjoying the updates (unfortunately I was hit by a terrible affliction yesterday which left me unable to rant, but I'll try and make up for it tonight). Thanks very much for the well wishes

Brilliant.... I so need to find a friend called Elizabeth so every time I leave I can go "I'm sorry Elizabeth, it would never have worked between us." Nice use of the "hide the rum" quote although I may be tempted to use the "I assure you I have absolutely no dress in my cabin" Thanks for blessings and dancing, always appreciated

[Lady Ocelot]

Singapore? Wow, that's pretty neat I've clearly never been there either but apparently in one of those huge shopping malls there's a sign next to the lift that says "Get There", and then next to that are stairs with a sign saying "Get There With A Tighter Butt". Work off some of that pirate rum!

Anyways, it sounds like you're having a ball and not letting work get in the way of a great time. Keep up the logging and, whatever you do, don't swim in tropical rivers

[SilverfromOZ]

Thanks Lady O Unfortunately, I didn't need to do any tropical river swimming to bring on misadventure, but more of that in the log. I'll be sure to try and leave here with the tighter butt by maintaining a strict training regiment (is that how you spell it?)

Anyhoo,

Silver's log (last three days, they tend to blur now)
Events Covering from 23rd - 25th Jan

"Well as you know, I've been on radio silence over the last two days and here's the brief recap.

Tuesday night, I went out for dinner at a local supermarket with John, Stuart and Mark (who had just popped in for the day). We went to a Thai restaurant and I had some really nice coconutty/chilly soup thingy and some marble pork (which I still really don't get what makes it "marble"). The soup was good cause it had some peppers in it and I would mix a piece in with some chicken and soup and chomp down. Snorting and teary eyed, I'd grab the beer (we had one round dad so don't worry and wash the burning sensation down quickly. So I'm slowly building up a tolerance for chillis. Unfortunately, my tolerance for wierd nutty things is bad which bring me to the point. After dinner, I wandered down to the supermarket and wanted to pick up some kind of protein bar to have for lunch instead of getting fatty foods every day. I stumbled across the organic section and found these "chocolate chip health bars" and they looked ok so I picked up a bunch. Nothing on the label suggested they had nuts in them. So, wednesday rolls around and I dive head first into the job. Wiring, climbing, getting messy and having a whole bunch of fun ensues and then we roll back for lunch. I eat the banana I stole from the breakfast table and then I unwrap this new bar thing and start eating. I get a quarter of the way through and that all-too familiar horrible burning sensation starts in the back of my throat. I drop the bar and start drinking as much water as I can to wash it past. Ultimately, the tummy had other ideas and before I know it, I'm head first in the toilet. The problem with this was that the flecks of nuts where thrown up and it hit my uvula (I learnt that was the name of the little boxing bag thing at the back of the throat) which caused it to inflame. I could still breathe but swallowing was a whole bunch of pain. I lurched around the office for a while, not wanting to stray too far from the bathroom, until a couple of the guys started asking questions and Amar called me a taxi to take me back to the hotel. Broken sleep took me all the way back, I paid for the cab and stumbled up to the hotel room where I slept through the night. John called me twice to make sure I was ok and to see if I wanted something for dinner, but food was an impossibility. The fortunate thing about it all is that although I couldn't go to the gym, I couldn't eat anything, so there wasn't any real fat gain.

So, Thursday. Slept through the night and woke up with a throat which was still a little tender, but it felt like heaven compared to the following day. Ate my breakfast without a hitch and glowered at those bars in my room. From now on in, its Bananas for lunch. We all piled into the car and John P and Stuart were coughing and spluttering a bit so it seems like this was the week for casualties. I got in to work and plowed straight on through. By the afternoon, by stomach was back on track and ready to get back in the game and it craved one thing. Italian food. We got back, and I jumped on the treadmill (7.8km/h for 45mins = 6.3km run), did some weights and after a shower, we rallied in the foyer. John P had stayed in his room because he wanted to rest it out and John N was going to take us to an Italian restaurant but we mulled about and ultimately decided on trying the buffet at the hotel. Oh.. my... god! Brilliant. There wasn't a great deal to choose from but there was this young singaporean guy who made the BEST.... I repeat BEST carbonara sauce I have ever tasted. So creamy, just enough mushrooms, a pinch of onion and it melted in your mouth. Sweet chilli baby octopus which was not sickly sweet as most sweet chilli things are and freshly squeezed line juice. Needless to say, I made up for not eating the previous night. Then John and I went out for ice cream when I had apricot and yam gelato and found a haven of Lego. This little shop had EVERYTHING! Sorely tempted to spend lots of money there, but thanks to time and some willpower I am managing to resist.

And here I am on my coffee break Friday morning, doing my little catch up thing. I had really intense dreams last night (probably because of the really full tummy) but they were fun and strange but not nightmares. Kind of like really hammy, soap opera stuff. If I can remember it I'll send you a transcript mum

Well, I gotta head back into the grind, hope things are going well there."

[Blazemane]

Sorry about the eating dude. Allergies are nuts.

*Is growled at for the horrible joke.*

Sounds like you're having fun. 6.3 km? Nice run.

[SilverfromOZ]

Thanks Blaze. not to worry. Its not an interesting story if there's no problems and shenanigans encountered

P.S. bad jokes always deserve and suitable pun-ishment

Cheers on the run comment. I'm slowly cranking up the speed by .2km/h every day to hopefully get going really fast for the full 45min at the end of my stint here

[Blazemane]

P.S. bad jokes always deserve and suitable pun-ishment

Hee hee hee. Grins.

[SilverfromOZ]

Wow. What a week. Its just flown by and I'm sure the next couple of months will do the same. Always the way when Silver's a busy little bee.

Well, here's the latest extract from home communiques:

Silver's log:
from the last time till 27th January, 2008

" Yep, today I've got my first day off and managed to get a considerable sleep in before a little bit of roaming. We went out briefly last night, but returned to the hotel by 11pm and pretty much fell asleep. I intend to make up for lost partying time next week. So training and stuff is going well, I've managed to get up to 8.4km/h for the full 45min and I'm feeling a lot better getting up in the mornings. I've been sutre to steer clear of anything that may have sat next to, looked at or even remotely smelled a nut so that I don't go through that previous ordeal again. Hopefully, my vigilance will serve me well.

I managed to roam out to a place call Slim Lim square which is the techno-whiz bang centre of Singapore. The first to floors are haggle central and I go my fair share of practice. The bottom line is to remember that you never owe anyone anything, so after dragging the price right down for a full 45min, feel free to leave the store without purchasing anything without a guilty conscience. I was sorely tempted by a Playstation 3 Deal, however I'll see what the prices do when I get John in (who is apparently a master bargain hunter) before I make a decision."

" Anyhoo, we are going out tonight to check out Chinatown which is apparently a 5min walk from the hotel which should be nice. Chinese New Year is rolling around soon, which will have lots of fireworks and displays and so on. Overall, I'd say things are very busy, but in a manageable way. Hope things are going well there and I'll talk again soon."

[Sinead]

Phew. Silver, you take care of yourself over there! Remember that nothing in Singapore is what it seems!

Heck. That applies to the USA, too, now don't it? *huddles under desk with nerf guns*

[SilverfromOZ]

Are you saying....

youre gonna love this......

you're gonna hate yourself for loving this......

its really bad.....

that there's MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE! AH HA HA HA!!!!

#people in the office stare at Silver as he sits in front of the computer cackling maniacally#

"Uhhhh.... should we tell him that the computer isn't even switched on?"

"No... let him go. He knows what he's doing."

Cheers Sinead, I'll be sre to be alot more vigilant from herein