Singapore - Condo Update

Glass Staircase to Roof is Done
Dodo snapped this shot today, fresh off her return from India.  There's still scaffolding along the northern edge of the building but the glass-enclosed staircase to the roof is done.  I'm glad to see there are windows that can be opened and shut in thatstaircase - I was worried it would turn into a sauna in there.

Brooklyn - Sending Flowers Across the World

Dodo's Birthday in Mumbai
Why anyone would knowingly go to India during their birthday is a mystery to me.  Dodo is crazy like that.  As the boyfriend of a crazy girl I now had to figure out how to send birthday flowers to Mumbai.  Seemed like it would be simple.  I called the hotel, explained that my girlfriend was staying there and wanted flowers delivered to her room.  "Can you send us an email, sir?"  Email?  I'd just explained the whole thing on the phone.  Ok, no problem.  I send the email.  Next day, I get an email back requesting a xerox of the front and back of my credit card, a xerox of my passport and a form to be filled in.  Send that to India?  Are they crazy?

Brooklyn - Chinese

Starting All Over Again
Spending time in Taiwan rekindled by desire to learn Mandarin.  I went back to my Rosetta Stone and started fresh from the beginning.  This time however I've added a wrinkle that is making the learning both harder but better.  I've added software to my tablet that allows writing Mandarin using Pinyin.  This requires a bit of explanation.  Each Mandarin symbol has a sound that can be expressed using a roman alphabet.  Expressing Mandarin sounds with the roman alphabet is called "pinyin."  So, to create symbols on the screen, you begin to type the pinyin and potential matches are shown on screen.  You then select one of many matches.

Syracuse - Life's Simpler Pleasures

Hanging with the Salster
I had a great time at home waking up early for eats with the Breakfast Crew, running on the treadmill in the basement, spending time with Sal and Geppie and doing simple things like visiting Wegmans for grocery shopping.

Paris - the Winds of Change

Now All the Ass Kissers Have to Start Over
Out of the blue we got a new project manager.  He's Belgian and hails most recently from Price Waterhouse consulting and guess what?  He seems to like logic and he seems to like me.  In less than three weeks on the job he plucked me out of obscurity and handed me a major chunk of the project.  Finally, I get some respect.  Unfortunately, now I have a stressful job again.

Best of all, the ass kissers have to start anew.  All the people who treated me like an also-ran have been marginalized, humbled and silenced - their power is gone.  I'm enjoying it but strangely, I feel for them.  I won't take revenge, I won't dance on their graves.  I am giggling inside though.

Singapore - Drinking Christmas

A Slightly Fictionalized Remembrance
Before I had a chance to say no, Jean blurted out the address and hung up.  I was to meet her at a downtown bar near the river.  She and her colleagues were celebrating the end of the year over drinks.  It was a hot, swampy day and I didn’t feel like making the effort to get there - especially to have drinks.  Singaporeans cannot handle their alcohol - one, maybe two drinks in they’re bright red, sick to their stomachs and shutting it down for the evening.

I took a shower, threw on an outfit and left the house.  Luckily I got a seat on the train.  The A/C was blasting, turning my neck sweat into an icy sheen.  I got off at the wrong stop and was facing a mile walk.   It was ok - maybe they’d be done drinking by the time I arrived.  No such luck. When I finally found the place, I walked to the patio to find them huddled around their appetizers, drinks untouched.