Monday, January 12, 2009
First Entry of 2009
Aaaaaaaaannnnddd it only took 12 days.
What can I say? It's been a busy 12 days.
I'll try to catch up a bit.
OK, well, Stan's trip here was a good one (from my perspective, anyway, and from his too I think). We returned from Penang on December 30th and had a couple mild adventures around town that evening. Wednesday the 31st was our day to catch up on any place he wanted to go but hadn't visited yet, but unfortunately the design Museum was closed. However, we made it to the Urban Redevelopment Authority for their exhibit on the master plan for Singapore, because we are both geeks who are intrigued by city planning. While we realize that no plan ever works out exactly as written, we were just impressed that Singapore actually HAS a plan for the next 50 years, which I don't think most US cities have. The exhibit was very impressive, though we both got the sense that it was a little overly optimistic, with lots of pictures of how beautiful things are going to be, a sense of urban beauty that I haven't yet seen here. I hope they stick to it closely, this is already a pretty nice place and it would be cool if it improved even more.
Anyway, with our nerd genes satisfied, we went to the Asian Civilizations Museum, and we wished we had more time there because the 2 1/2 - 3 hours we spent there weren't enough. Very interesting, and I'll be back again. We saw flyers for a New Year's Eve party there that night hosted by a radio station, so we made plans to return after a nice dinner in Little India (Stan is a big fan). At the Little India restaurant we decided that the whole "don't tip because service charge is included" thing might not always be the best idea, as we waited 30 minutes, and asked 3 times, for our bill, and we're pretty sure someone whose income depended on the quality of their service might have made a little more effort. But we made it to the New Year's festivities, saw some very impressive fireworks, and started the year off right.
On the 1st we met up with my friend Jasen for lunch, which was very nice as I wanted him and Stan to meet. We headed to a dim sum place down the street and somehow got in past a HUGE line of people (still not sure how that worked). Stan handled himself well with the mandarin that he knows (he's primarily a Cantonese speaker) and we had a great time. We had some more wandering around to do during the day, had dinner and a nice night (including drinking from IV bags at The Clinic, yay!), and then Friday morning it was time for him to take a very long trip home.
Lots has happened since the year started that involves meeting new friends and seeing old ones who were passing through and having a weekend visitor and going to the Singapore premiere of Milk but I'm tired and it's time for bed.
What can I say? It's been a busy 12 days.
I'll try to catch up a bit.
OK, well, Stan's trip here was a good one (from my perspective, anyway, and from his too I think). We returned from Penang on December 30th and had a couple mild adventures around town that evening. Wednesday the 31st was our day to catch up on any place he wanted to go but hadn't visited yet, but unfortunately the design Museum was closed. However, we made it to the Urban Redevelopment Authority for their exhibit on the master plan for Singapore, because we are both geeks who are intrigued by city planning. While we realize that no plan ever works out exactly as written, we were just impressed that Singapore actually HAS a plan for the next 50 years, which I don't think most US cities have. The exhibit was very impressive, though we both got the sense that it was a little overly optimistic, with lots of pictures of how beautiful things are going to be, a sense of urban beauty that I haven't yet seen here. I hope they stick to it closely, this is already a pretty nice place and it would be cool if it improved even more.
Anyway, with our nerd genes satisfied, we went to the Asian Civilizations Museum, and we wished we had more time there because the 2 1/2 - 3 hours we spent there weren't enough. Very interesting, and I'll be back again. We saw flyers for a New Year's Eve party there that night hosted by a radio station, so we made plans to return after a nice dinner in Little India (Stan is a big fan). At the Little India restaurant we decided that the whole "don't tip because service charge is included" thing might not always be the best idea, as we waited 30 minutes, and asked 3 times, for our bill, and we're pretty sure someone whose income depended on the quality of their service might have made a little more effort. But we made it to the New Year's festivities, saw some very impressive fireworks, and started the year off right.
On the 1st we met up with my friend Jasen for lunch, which was very nice as I wanted him and Stan to meet. We headed to a dim sum place down the street and somehow got in past a HUGE line of people (still not sure how that worked). Stan handled himself well with the mandarin that he knows (he's primarily a Cantonese speaker) and we had a great time. We had some more wandering around to do during the day, had dinner and a nice night (including drinking from IV bags at The Clinic, yay!), and then Friday morning it was time for him to take a very long trip home.
Lots has happened since the year started that involves meeting new friends and seeing old ones who were passing through and having a weekend visitor and going to the Singapore premiere of Milk but I'm tired and it's time for bed.
Labels: Friends, Living in SG, Relationships, Travel
