Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy Chinese New Year!)

How could I have lived my last 24 years without celebrating CNY? There is something really magical about everyone's gladittude approaching the Lunar New Year...I woke up on Chinese New Year's Eve and skipped down the street (literally) and hugged the first person who told me "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" 

Out with the year of the Dragon (my year) and in with the year of the Snake. When it's your year, it is supposed to be the hardest on you as much is expected from you so hel-lo year of the snake! 

Here's a little peak into some of the festivities-

The Lion dancers at the temple next door:

Different lion dancing groups came throughout the day and played drums coming down the street (starting at 8am...) so I had my shoes ready and when I heard them drop the beat, I would run over!

Welcoming the New Year in Chinatown with firecrackers/fireworks:

The static-y noise you hear are millions of firecrackers (imagine mega-sized Black Cats from Wacky Waynes) lit on the ground

Pictures of CNY in Singapore (click here) 

Here's a guide for how to "fit in" at your next Chinese New Year (haha who are we kidding, "fitting in" might be a reach, at least for me): 

1. Red envelopes ("angbaus"): Basically when all your married friends give you money (in a red envelope) for being single. wooooo wooooo! Fist bump, high five, cue the Taylor Swift song. Red envelopes are given the first time you see the intended recipient after it has turned the New Year. There are some rules to keep in mind: The amount of money inside should always be an even number, and should never include a "4" in the digits of the amount (because the pronunciation of "4" resembles death...)

 1b. So, as a counter offer, you need some Mandarin Oranges: This is the return gift for someone giving you an angbau. They also must be given in even numbers (again, never giving 4 or anything with 4 in the amount). Also, don't try to get fancy and spring for a pear-that will be extra insulting as that would mean you wishing separation for that person and his/her loved ones. Irre-PEAR-able faux pas. 

2. No sweeping, no problem: You don't have to tell me twice...It is traditional to do Spring cleaning on the days leading up to the Chinese New Year b/c after it reaches midnight on the beginning of the New Year, you should not sweep your house for at least the next 2 days. Otherwise, you will be sweeping all the blessings and good luck out. If you're feeling a bit resentful to someone, you could take a very crumbly dish when visiting family and friends because it would be bad luck for them to sweep after.

3. Lo Hei: A Singaporean tradition of tossing a salad symbolizing all prosperous things for the new year, because Who doesn't like a good group toss?

The higher you toss the salad, the more prosperous you will be for the next year.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR, welcome the year of the water snake. So far, I've had some very lucky and unlucky occurrences (e.g. I found $10 in my jeans pocket but also there is a monkey in MacRitchie now wearing my Raybans so the verdict is still out on what kind of year the snake has brought)

But one thing I do know, the promise of a new year brings the hope for something great! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

I'm SINGing: "This is the New Year" -Glee cast

The Return of the Crow Culler...

And so the crow culling saga continues. 

After waking up to 4 gun shots (and you know, almost having a heart attack), I realized it was just the servanthood of our dear, devoted neighborhood crow culler right outside my window. Shew. I have yet to see one crow (except for the dead one falling from the tree I was walking under in crow culler meeting 1) but I have in fact seen more crow cullers than anyone else I know in Singapore. I guess that means they are good at their jobs and that I'm a natural culler magnet? Well keep on fighting the good fight, but maybe next time, let's aim for post 9am cullings.

Feels like (a new) Home!

I'm going back in time a bit (not yet having wifi at home certainly validates the need for a flux capacitor on my shelf to catch up on everything going on on The Interwebs these days...thanks Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o for putting me way behind the times) 

So, a week after getting back to Sing, I moved to a new HDB (When in Rome, right?) in the 3rd most expensive city in Asia with 2 flatmates I had never met but instantly loved. YC is from Malaysia and Tiffany grew up here in Singapore, and we now share a 3-bedroom flat in Bishan.

YC (left) and Tiffany (right) after our day of
shopping at Ikea and  our hot pot date!

Want to see my neighborhood? click here (I'm the building behind the community club to the right)

It's right across from the MRT and a bit closer to work from where I was living before but it of course has big shoes to fill! When my cousins so lovingly helped me pack up their car and move my stuff to B-Shack, I of course shed some tears to leave a home that has loved me so well (Anne, the apple doesn't fall far, huh?) so Kathryn and I went to Din Tai Fung (our favorite restaurant now located across from my new place btw) topped off with a Snickers bar and then onto my new home on Bishan Street 13. 

Some small adjustments living in Asian real estate for this American girl:

No AC in the living room BUT big beautiful windows that catch more of a breeze than I ever thought!

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<

Combined shower/toilet. The bonus: when washing your face, you can get crazy- no need to keep it to the confines of the sink. I have waited for this all my life. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

No dryers for laundry/no ovens. Well, that I am still adjusting to but we do have a pretty big kitchen for Sing!

No such thing as closets really but instead these Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobes. I dig them, except you have to put these dehumidifiers in each side so your clothes won't sweat in your closet...truly (note a few jackets in the left side, just to ease the separation anxiety)                         <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nothing will stick to the walls because it gets pretty humid during the day/concrete walls so the lean-to is new avant-garde in our place!

So here's a little peek into the rest of my digs:

↑ The view out of my windows, right above my bed :) ↓

What I have dubbed Taylor Swift bridge. Most mornings, there are kids playing in this courtyard to the tune of "EENY MEENY MINY MO" at the top of their lungs.

The montage of the places I have
 lived and loved (Singapore flag
has since been added)

   ↑ My carefully assembled desk (David Comer, I sure was missing you!)

  

 So all in all, the 12th time I have moved since moving to college has been a good one! I have this awesome Chinese grocery across the street and some local hawkers but also a full-fledged mall and movie theatre! There is also the Bishan Community Club next door which is my next stop in martial arts training. Bishan, I believe this is the start to a beautiful relationship. 

 Home sweet different home. 

I'm singing: "House You're Building" -Audrey Assad   

About that 13 hour time difference...

What I feel like when I get home from work circa 7pm:

But then what my mind does at 4:30am:

Who said me becoming a morning person was impossible? [me] Thanks time-change for making dreams (temporarily) come true #gladittude

Singing: "Shut Your Eyes" -Snow Patrol

WARM Christmas Wishes from the Equator

Singapore is like Clark Griswold for Christmas (click here)...and I love it! Sing, I wholeheartedly appreciate your enthusiasm for holidays! Double-confirm. 

Orchard Road (at the heart of the city) is famous for its Christmas lights and this year is no exception. Some of these pictures are mine and some I borrowed but please know, these are only a few snapshots, the Christmas mega-decoration goes further beyond your wildest Christmas decorated dreams. 

I.LOVE.CHRISTMAS!...and better yet, I will be hugging on some Comers this Christmas! Making the trip home to South Carolina TOMORROW to a shocking below 80 degree climate. (yesssss!) My hair is already singing the hallelujah chorus. 

But before I go, here are some highlights:

The Singapore Flyer (officially the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world) converted into the tallest Christmas tree. Genius.

Orchard Road                           

Lights over Orchard Road

Tangs department store front on Orchard

                                    

Raffles Hotel

Ion Mall on Orchard Road 

Just couldn't get enough Christmas lights?? (Can never have enough Christmas lights, right?) 

See more here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UnSC4e_lsQ

Singing: "I'll be Home for Christmas" -She & Him

The National University of Singapore

On my way in to work today, I was reminded how BEAUTIFUL my campus is! Want to have a look around? I'll take you through my normal commute into campus from my MRT stop:

Click here: NUS Campus 

 These are pretty common on campus and are HUGE covers for walkways. There are two reasons I love this. As a Ging, it takes T-minus 10 minutes for me to get a "summer glow" so now with these bad boys in place, I can prance around campus with abandon. #win. Also, we have just entered monsoon season (see picture below) so thank you NUS for fighting the elements on our behalf!

 Speaking of common, it rains pretty frequently...as in I can't remember a day where it didn't rain a little bit at some point. I kind of like it! :) It makes everything look so green and lush but it does get a bit confusing when everything is so green during Christmastime! 

This is right underneath where my office is and is probably one of my favorite views on campus. There are bazarres (markets) here sometimes and the campus "co-op" (aka bookstore) is out of the picture to the left. Seems like there is always something going on!

Palm trees everywhere! This is on my way to my office and you can always tell when it is about to rain from this view!

 This is from the 3rd floor of our department's main building. It's a jungle out there...literally. This also sort of reminds me of Dharmaville #LostLivesOn

Then, my commute to work ends at this door, the CARE lab! It's sort of like the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when you go through this door, you enter a whole new world haha with so many different cultures that make up our team! #magical

The National University of Singapore

http://www.nus.edu.sg/

CARE

http://www.care-cca.com/

Dept. of Communication and New Media

http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cnm/

And finally, this is my desk in the CARE lab. I wish you could see but out the window in the harbor area on the West Coast.  

Singing: "Lost in My Mind" -The Head and the Heart

The Best of You

Singing: "The Best of You" -Foo Fighters