Instant Noodles

In high school I was introduced to this food called Instant Noodles. Sometimes it came in a bowl, a cup, or wrapped in plastic. On occasion it came with freeze-dried vegetables and a packet of "seasoning." By the time college came around, this food was a staple in my diet, even though I was told it was bad for you. After so many years of boiling the water, adding the noodles and then, if necessary, stirring in the "seasoning," I found out that I've been cooking it wrong. Yes, according to Singaporeans, the instructions on the packaging is WRONG!
My grandmother is the cook of the house and sometimes she makes really elaborate dishes with foods I've never heard of. Most of the time it's best not to ask what it is and just try it. My grandmother also is very aware of what I like and don't like. For the first couple of days in Singapore she bought me tomatoes! (It's one of my favorite foods that I showed her several years ago.) Now I buy my own. She also cooked me  instant noodles with pork, veggies and a fried egg, another favorite of mine. One day my grandmother was too tired to cook for me so I said I would cook it myself. Watching me cook my food she was shocked to see how much water I was trying to boil. Then she noticed that I put in the packet of "seasoning" and said "No no! Not nice!" She ended up moving me out of the way and finished cooking my dish. She threw in a bunch of little things here and there. I tried to follow her way of cooking but was soon lost in a series of pinches of this and drops of that. What she salvaged from my pot of noodles turned into something not great, but not bad either.
Instant noodles is a staple to the Singaporean menu of good eats, but it's enhanced from the way Americans have come to eat it. There's even a show dedicated to the origin of all things Instant Noodles. Singaporeans love food and you see that immediately in the Hawker Centers and the Malls. All kinds of food is readily available to Singaporeans. However, I will warn you that the food that is deemed "Chinese food" in America is very different than the cultural Chinese food that is here.

Instant noodle cooking wasn't the only thing that shocked my world. Small house chores like laundry or cleaning the dishes are done differently here in Singapore. Laundry should be washed almost twice a week to avoid mold and there is only a washer for the laundry, no dryer. The clothes must be air-dried and only when the sun is out or you might get rained on clothes. Dish washing must be done by hand with the least amount of water, so you need to wash or wipe off excess food, soap all the dishes (top and bottom of every cup, plate, and pot), and then water it down. Exchanging money and contacting relatives are also in need of adjustment. When giving someone money, since money is very valuable, you should give it with two hands to the receiver. Also, in traditional families, which is practically the majority of the Singaporean natives, you should know the order of each grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. so you can call them by the appropriate title. An example, my baby cousin will call me Biao Jie (meaning older girl cousin) since I am older than him and I will call him Biao Di (meaning young boy cousin). Another quark to all things Singaporean is saying "lah" at the end of almost every other sentence, even if it's in English. You know the person is from Singapore  when they say "lah" just about the same way that you know a person is Canadian when they say "eh." All of these little things are fascinating to me, however oh so frustrating! Coming from a culture that doesn't practice any of these habits you begin to think "why?" and even after you get a good explanation you're still scratching your head saying "that's odd." But it's not really that odd, at least to a Singaporean. It's their way of life.
So you see, I'm still going through the adjustment phase of my trip. I was warned about the changes and yet I still dove into a world where I am quite an outsider. Coming back home will also be a challenge because I'll want to bring the practices that I've learned overseas back home with me. But how much will you bet that I can make a successful food truck out of Singaporean Instant Noodles? Just thoughts, lah.

A.R.K.

Have you seen that movie "Evan Almighty"? It's a little on the religious side but it sends a great message with a lot of well known actors, like Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. In the movie, Steve Carell as Congressman Evan Baxter, is supposed to build this grand ark like the biblical story of Noah. He goes through major criticisms and abandonment, probably what Noah went through, but in the end, God (played by the playful Morgan Freeman) makes a grand point. Evan saves about a hundred lives with his ark and then God shows Evan that it was an Act of Random Kindness.

Today I did a little ARK of my own. I signed up with a Singaporean volunteer service called SG Cares. I wanted to do something meaningful during my stay in Singapore and my friend told me about SG Cares. SG Cares is an organization that helps match volunteers to non-profit groups who need help. I volunteered today at a rehabilitation center in Ang Mo Kio. My job was to wheel patients to and from their rooms to see a movie and keep them company in the process. The patients at the center are both young and old, but most of them are elderly. My biggest reservation about volunteering at the center was the language barrier. I thought that if I didn't know how to communicate with them they would become frustrated with me. So when one of the patients called me over to help them, I freaked out and asked one of the volunteers to help me. It turned out that the patient knew English but she had a bit of a slur so I thought she was speaking a different language. After I had wheeled her around a bit (we got lost while trying to find her bed) we talked about the movie and the director's other movies. She was very sweet and was understanding of my language barrier. She didn't get frustrated when I kept saying "what?" I'm glad I met the kind auntie (in Singapore "auntie" and "uncle" is used for almost any woman or man that you meet). When I went to leave her bed side she squeezed my hand in thanks and I told her, with complete sincerity, that I would be back. So I'm going to volunteer at the center again. If there's more patients like the kind auntie then I shouldn't worry about communicating. I should focus on being a friendly face and a person willing to help. Volunteering can be scary in a different country, but you learn the culture faster and pick up some of the language while your at it.

Turn on the Positivity

A couple of days ago I had written a beautiful post about the Gardens at the Bay and sustainable energy. Unfortunately it became lost in cyber space due to my Nexus mobile app acting up. According to my app its still publishing, which I doubt.

I'm not going to rewrite the post because that would be a waste of time. Instead I'm just going to tell you it was a pleasant trip and I enjoyed learning about how the whole amusement park was able to sustain itself on rain water and sunlight. Singapore really is a leading country in sustainable energy.

What I'm going to write about today is positive psychology. I recently started looking into the idea of going back to school and dove into a subject I know nothing about: psychology. Surprisingly I am fascinated with the study of human behavior. Unsurprisingly, I have noticed that I have been unofficially studying human behavior my whole life. I have gone to the local library (where I found out that I can't get a library card unless I pay $50) to look at psychology textbooks. I have read article after article about human interactions and ways to better oneself though positive thinking (this is how I get past the misconception that I am a worthless, unskilled, graduate with no career path in sight). Then today I came across a video of a short lecture called "TED: The happy secret to better work," presented by Shawn Achor. The lecturer explained that the way people think these days has been warped into a depressing, negative search for happiness. If you think that success is the only way to happiness, you'll just keep moving that "goal post" further and further away because it will always be "I'll be happy after this happens..." and "When I get this done, then I'll be happy." The correct, more efficient way of thinking is to be happy now and success will come more easily.

Remember when your mother would tell you "cherish the little things"? Positive psychology backs that. There are so many ways to keep yourself happy in a world of depressing and negative thoughts. An example is of today for me, I barely got any of my work done because... technology was not working in my favor and I was babysitting a crying baby. The positive side: found Shawn Achor's lecture. He's quite funny and I admire those who can make me laugh.

If you can't be a positive thinker on your own try one of these attitude adjusters, every day, for 21 days (3 weeks):
- tell yourself 3 gratitudes 
-  journal
- exercise
- meditate
- do an act of random kindness

If that doesn't work, I guess I do need to go back to school for psychology. :-P

Art and Leisure

Dated: 18 Feb 2013

Right now I'm at the National Museum of Singapore. I paid $11 to see all of the exhibits because I have the time to spend the whole day here and learning about a different culture is important. However the payment of admission is about the cost of two small meals or one Western style meal. (Can you tell that I'm hungry?)

So the first exhibit I looked into was about this famous Singaporean theater director named Kuo Pao Kun. He's a large contributor to Singapore's modern theater movement. He directed some of his own pieces based off of Singapore's changing culture (i.e. language diversity, growth of the city) and he translated foreign works so that Singaporeans could build on other contemporary theater. The most fascinating thing to me about Kuo's works was the reoccurring topic of language. In the US, most theater can survive on just English but in Singapore a large obstacle (or process - its how you look at it) is translating. I didn't know when I came to Singapore that so many Singaporeans know at least three languages, English and Chinese and then their family's language. English is the working language, Chinese is the cultural/traditional language, and then the family language, Tamil or Hokkien or Hindi or something else, that is used at home. However, as people get older, I've noticed that everyone starts to use one language as the dominant language. Nine time out of ten its English (yippy!). But you still have to be aware that just because they speak English doesn't mean that they are Westernized.

The second exhibit was more simple but yet very poetic about the separation of modern Singaporean families. You can't deny that the world is getting smaller and smaller as we are able to travel long distances at ease (if you have the funds) and, with social medias, news can travel around the world in seconds. Even snail mail can get to your front door faster than it did two decades ago. This exhibit, by John Clang, is made up of Skype family portraits and some of his own personal struggles with being a family member across seas. As a small little island, the country and its people are known at all corners of the globe. Its rare if I have to explain where Singapore is located these days. More and more Singaporeans, like my mom, have moved far away  from their home and family, but yet they are still able stay in the loop of home life. The portraits are situated very similar to old family portraits (the black and white kind), and project family members who are overseas through Skype video on a wall. The end result is that you see everyone, in real-time, sitting or standing to take the family portrait. To me, these pictures seem like more than just a thousand words - its more like millions.

I saw more exhibits about Singaporean women's clothing in the 1960 and watched part of black and white movies of the young Lion city. When I got to my fifth exhibit my stomach finally yelled at me to go eat something. I ate a simple, yet delicious meal at a near by university and then headed to the local library in Toa Payoh. I spent a good two hours reading about psychology, my new-found love affair, and then I went home. It was a pretty relaxed day that I spent all on my own and I'm accomplishing my goal of being a self-starter.

A Sunday Service

Dated: 17 Feb 2013

I haven't been writing a lot and I apologize. I have been going through the adjustment phase of culture shock which can usually include bitterness and resentment towards a new environment. I wouldn't want to include those experiences in my blog because its not... me. Interesting enough, I came across an idea while I was visiting the New Creation Church today: Do the things or people that surround you effect the goals you wish to accomplish?

Today I visited my uncle and aunt's church. The church is called the New Creation Church which is lead by a pastor named Joseph Prince. The church is known internationally as a non-denominational Christian church that is broadcasted in several countries, including the US. The hymns are performed to pop-like music and communion is distributed in a small jello-like cup (grape juice in the cup sealed with a cracker on top). The multiple services are packed every Sunday and, up til recently, the seats would need to be reserved online (now you just need to get there early and queue in line if you're late). Pastor Prince was playful with his sermon talking about interacting with those who are believers and non-believers. My favorite quote of his sermon went something like "If you believe that wearing a cross immediately makes you a Christian, then does wearing a cowbell make you a cow?" I couldn't understand everything he said though because of his quick-speaking  "Singlish." Singaporean are surprisingly quick at speaking English I've noticed, but then they sneak in some words like "kiesu" and then I get confused for a bit. ("Kiesu" is a term used for a person who is obsessed with one-uping people.) By the end of the sermon I had taken a lot of nice notes, but I was getting hungry.

My aunt and uncle took me to several places after church. We got food, went shopping, hit a coffee place, browsed through more fun things, grabbed a cup of coconut ice cream and a Singaporean-style burger and then home. Once we got back to their apartment it was only 3pm. My aunt showed me some clothes I could borrow and my uncle and I got into a discussion about Singaporean politics. It was very interesting hearing about the political situation in Singapore because most Singaporeans avoid politics. For the longest time the country had been run by one political party (the People's Action Party) but in recent years a new party has emerged (the Worker's Party) to create a much needed variety in the government. However, the government is struggling with scandals and protests at the moment. On protest that I'm particularly following is the Singaporean concern of population control. The country is already crowded as it is, but the government recently announced that they intend for the country to reach 6.9 million in 2030. The country is only at about 3 million right now, and judging by the way most young Singaporeans hardly reproduce these days, how do you ask they reach 6.9 million? People like me - foreigners. So, in terms of me finding a job, is that a good thing or bad thing? It makes you come back to my earlier question then - will my environment effect my goals?

Along the Road

On life's journey you meet people who change and alter who you are. You remember these people because you remember how you feel from what they have said or done. Sometimes these people are significant pieces of your life but you don't know until something monumental happens...
In college I had a boyfriend name Joel. He was different from the men I had dated in the past and those after Joel and I had broken up. He was still one of the sweetest boyfriends I had ever dated. He had done many things to keep me happy, even at his expense. If we hadn't broken up I would expect that we would have had a solid life together, but we didn't. We grew apart and I barely heard anything from him until yesterday. In the morning I saw a picture of him on Facebook and then the information about his death flooded my news feed. He had passed away from a car accident that wasn't his fault.

I understand that as humans we are fragile and the life we live can be so short and insignificant to the billions of people around us. However, no life is left completely unaccountable to another. Joel did not stay in my life very long but he has reminded me that we all have a purpose for being here... And that is significant.

Rest in Peace Joel

Eve of the Year of the Snake

Dated: 9 Feb 2013

This morning my grandmother and I left the house early, so early that the sun's rays hadn't touched the ground. We boarded the bus to Marina Bay and got off just inside of the business district area. (You can tell its the business district by the electronic gateways that tolls each vehicle that goes through.) Mama took me into a mall that looked like it was still closed. It was 7:30am on a Saturday so I was hesitant to go in. We want up an escalator that was not on and then she realized that the store she was looking for was closed. I followed Mama back outside and started looking for a different venue.
I didn't know where we were until we turned a corner. Earlier in the week we had gone to two temples go pray to the Goddess of Mercy to thank her for my safe journey, and around the corner was the two temples! So Mama was her to buy spiritual things for new years. We found a open stall that had apples with Chinese symbols and some other fruit. We bought some, but Mama needed more. She found another fruit stall that had a lot more fruits that she needed. We bought more fruits and some cakes that are specifically used for shrines. Then we stopped at a bakery that was barely open. Mama bought several cakes, buns, tarts, etc. all for the house shrine. I got a whiff of the morning's batch of pork buns and it made my mouth water. I hadn't had breakfast yet so I was hungry, but I wanted to make sure we got all the goods back home first.
Mama wanted to go into another shop to buy papers to burn for our ancestors, but it was also closed. So we went home and she had to buy the papers from a local vendor. I got a good workout carrying the bags of fruits and baked goods back home while she shopped for the papers.
When I got back to the apartment I was going to go off and get a quick breakfast at a nearby hawker center, but Mama appeared and put me to work. She wanted all the fruits wrapped in a special red paper that stains your hands and clothes. When I was finished wrapping Mama put all the fruits and baked goods together on plates and put it up on the shrine dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and my grandfather's parents. When my grandmother was done arranging things she left to do more new years things and I was free to eat food!

I felt that it was time to go off on my own to a hawker center (a Singaporean food hub/cafeteria). My grandfather was hesitant to let me go off alone since it would be my first time ever, so he suggested a noodle shop that was close by, as in across the street so he could see me walk over there. I said I was good to go and started my solo journey in search of food. When I got to the noodle shop the woman there told me that they were out of food. That was odd because it was 10am on a Saturday and all the other shops were closed or closing too. This did not give me a red flag, but off I went again looking for a bowl of noodles. I went by a McDonalds, and I was so close to giving in and eating Western/American food, but I told myself that I need to be more bold. So I kept going. I went down the market that usually was packed and then it hit me - it is New Year's Eve! Who wants to work on New Year's Eve? No one. So now it made sense why I was having trouble finding a simple noodle shop. I did finally find one, but I was so scared I was going to order something wrong. The woman taking orders spoke English to me only and Chinese to everyone else. It was helpful, but I still ordered the simplest thing on the menu: fishball noodle soup. I quickly took my food and got a table without getting any condiments for my soup, but I was nervous and didn't want to get up again. A drink seller asked me what I wanted to drink and I asked for water. When she brought me the water I had to pay her $1.20 but I only had a $10 on me. She chuckled as if to say that's OK. She gave me back change and I went back to eating my very simple meal.
Thinking back on my life, I have rarely done things on my own. People probably feel that they are helping me by guiding me through every little task, but now that I am a woman, it frightens me when I have to be on my own for something new. My aunt has given me a quote about this though - "the scariest moment is always just before you start."
Maybe the next time I go on my own I'll order something more interesting.

In preparation of CNY

I had written a great post earlier and some how it got deleted, so I'm sorry that this might be spotty.

Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year; CNY) is a huge holiday in Singapore much like Christmas is in the US. Everyone goes shopping because there are lunar new year sales. People get small gifts on the day of the new year. Family members meet up to celebrate the holiday in Chinese tradition. People also decorate the whole house in the lucky color - red. The house also needs to be cleaned up for not only for practical reasons, but spiritual reasons as well. When I was young, I was taught that in Chinese tradition you must clean up your home before the first day of the Lunar New Year. The reason for this is because spirits will "dust" the home with good luck for the whole year, if you clean up after the new year you will be sweeping away the luck.
My grandmother has been very diligent in her CNY preparations. On the morning of the 6th my grandmother decided that we were going to clean up the living room. We moved out all the furniture into the leftover spaces we have in the small apartment. Moving to couch was a bit of a hassle because I was the only one who could lift things. Then Mama scrubbed the marble floors with all-purpose cleaner and a broom. When it was time to mop up the suds, Gonggong (my grandfather) and I thought that Mama wanted a bucket of water to mop. Instead she grabbed the hose from Gonggong's hands and watered down the floors! There was water everywhere! In the kitchen, in our rooms... We had to hurry to push the water out through the front door. My job was to make sure the family shrine did not get wet. My biggest worry was that the water would seep into the apartment below, but my grandmother didn't seem worried. I guess the apartments in Singapore, being made of solid concrete and marble, does not have problems of seepage. Needless to say, we got the floors cleaned and dried before noon.
Yesterday was the day that my grandmother took me to the largest temple I have ever seen for new years blessings. Our trip was to thank the gods for the blessings this year and then humbly ask for blessings in the new year. When going to the temple you must be clean as you can be (women on their "time of the month" shouldn't go), and you should also bring items to donate so that the temple can keep running (i.e. Jossticks - prayer sticks, candy - to give to visitors, money - you know why). So on our way to the temple Mama and I bought some candy to donate. The candy was donated to the first shrine we encountered and then we started our journey of praying to several different shrines. Mama showed me how to thank and to ask for blessings at five different shrines. By the end of it I still wasn't sure I was praying correctly. Some shrines were large, some were in air-conditioning, some you had to walk around to thank every god. It was a long trip and I got some minor blisters but I guess you need to go through some pain to obtain true blessings.

The picture is of this year's prediction for those born in the year of the Rabbit. Good luck to my fellow Rabbits!

This is Singapore?

Dated: 5 Feb 2013

My aunt wanted to do some errands on Orchard Road, Singapore's largest shopping area. She invited me to go window shopping but I didn't understand why JUST window shopping.
I took the MRT (Singapore's subway system) and when I got out of the station you were in the basement of two malls. The first store I went into was something I was familiar with: Forever 21. However I soon became overwhelmed as I walked through it looking for a Chinese New Year outfit. It just kept going! I thought that the next "room" was just a mirror image, but NO its more clothes and accessories! A bunch of young students walked around the store and many of them were Caucasian with slight tans. (I got a little jealous. I'm still Ms. Whitie McWhiterson.) When I couldn't find anything I tried to move on to another store, hoping that my shock would subside. I found gorgeous outfits that I couldn't afford and saw women who all looked like models or housewives out of Hollywood. I thought I had dressed up, but they made me look like I was going to a wet market.
My aunt asked me to meet her at a mall called Ion. I stood next to the largest Sephora I had ever seen. I think I even saw a chandelier in there! I wanted to buy some cosmetics but I quickly got too scared to ask for help. Yes, I was scared! Just standing in the lobby of the mall felt like you were in Monaco or Paris. I had come to the conclusion that I need a tour guide for the malls more than I needed one for a safari.
I'm not a person who buys things from Louis Vuitton or Hans Cole or Valentino. Even if I had the money to use in places like these, I think I would want to buy something unique or something that benefited others. All these brands are the leaders in fashion but to the un-bias eye everything looks pretty much the same across the world. Where's the culture in a place like this?
When my aunt and I were doing errands I asked her if the world thought that this, the concrete shopping jungle, is what Singapore is. Since most foreigners live and work close to here, I have to wonder if foreigners visiting really portray the hidden character of the  Singapore I have known most of my life. Most traveling people see the "shinny" parts of a country, where things are familiar and you don't have to put too much effort into adapting. But is that really traveling?
I'll probably go back to Orchard Road another day to attempt exploring again, taking with me my metaphorical shot gun and canteen, but I think my happiness lies elsewhere on this diverse island.

American Football

Dated: 4 Feb 2013

I woke up early in the morning in part because I had gone to sleep at 3pm the day before, and also the Super Bowl was on at 7am (Singapore time). I may sound really American when I say this, but I NEVER miss the Super Bowl! So I got a huge wave of home sickness as I read Facebook feeds of people going off to bars and hackling each other about who's going to win this year. I admit, I cried a little. When I let my mother know about my home sickness she looked up this bar in the business district. The bar was called Dallas (ugh, why couldn't it be called Washington... But I digress...). So I gathered my courage, took a shower, and asked my grandfather to help me hail a cab. My grandfather thought it was funny that I was going to a bar at 7:30am, but you gotta do what you gotta do to keep yourself from completely losing yourself to home sickness.
The cab ride was around $15 for a 20 minute ride because of three factors: hailed it off the street ($3 fee), took it during rush hour (~$3), and the route the cab driver took was through the business district toll area (~$5). Add it on to the regular fare and it came out to be an expensive ride. But I didn't mind, this was the Super Bowl we're talking about. $15 is chump change compared to the $1,000 tickets people paid to sit in the stadium's parking lot.
I found the bar easily because it was the only one open and with so many Caucasians staring at the three TVs available. I sat at the bar because I didn't reserve a table, and later found out that I was lucky to even find sitting space. Apparently all the other American bars and clubs were packed. I had missed about 10 minutes into the game. I ordered myself a drink ($16 - Singapore is crazy expensive at bars) and plugged myself into the game.
I felt good to be there cause I was in my element. One of my first real jobs was at an Irish pub and they had a great saying: strangers are only friends you hadn't met yet. Soon I was talking to everyone around me. We discussed the game, politics, business, and, of course, life in Singapore. Everyone was older and were already established with a job so I looked like the bright-eyed youngster who's taking a backpacking trip. I worked in that I was looking for a job, but did not gain any good networks protaining to my career field. However, I was quite satisfied - not about the game, cause I was rooting for the 49ers, or about my job search - but because I was able to be on my own, in a different place, with different people, and still manage to enjoy myself. I was worried that I was going to be closed up and shy, but it turns out that all you need to do is baby steps. I took one baby step out of the comfort of my grandparents house and took on a new part of the world.

Cats... Ugh!

This morning I got up early. It was warm in my room and I had to turn on the air con unit that I was hoping I would avoid using. I'm trying my best to adjust to the heat without being a spoiled American. However the common practice here is to turn on the AC when you go to sleep, so when in Rome...

After I played on my tablet for a good hour, I go to the kitchen to be greeted with "let's go to the market." (My Mama isn't the type of person who would greet you with "Hello" or "Good Morning." Its usually "Have you eaten?" (Typical Chinese saying) or a direct order to do something for her). So I wash my face, brush my teeth and get dressed to go to the wet market. In anticipation for Chinese New Year every stall has something to help celebrate the lunar new year. Mama tries to show me what she wants to do with the decorations but doesn't want to go over board. We eat, I hit the ATM, and then we're off again looking for CNY stuff.
The paths in Singapore can be quite nice because the government has most of the residential paths covered, in anticipation of rain and sunlight. Most residents walk everywhere and even the elderly. No more that a couple of yards from the apartment I notice that I almost step in cat poo... Pleasant, right? Singapore has had a major stray cat problem for years now. Most people are dog people because of that. I don't know how the cats got here, but I'm thankful that they don't mess up my allergies (I'm highly allergic to cats). So big note for the handbook:
Watch out for cat poo when your in Singapore.

Other than that, I'm doing alright so far exploring the area on foot. Might need a foot massage later though. Gosh!

Deodorant

Dated: 2 Feb 2013

Mama (my Singaporean grandmother) is getting me lunch right now while I sit at a table waiting for her. We're at a small hawker center (Singaporean outdoor cafeteria) near her apartment. I remember being here 7+ years ago and its nice to see that things still look familiar.
While I'm waiting I get an awesome cool breeze which is very much wanted because I'm sweating on my arms, legs, and forehead even in the shade. A man walks around the tables asking each person who sits down if they want a drink. I do want one but I don't have Singaporean dollars to pay him. I'll have to stop by an ATM soon.
I must say that I have missed this - the plastic dishes, the stools at the tables, the birds walking between the eating patrons. Its been very well missed.
As I prop my head up with my arm on the table I get a whiff of myself. I had forgotten an important thing here in Singapore: deodorant. Womp womp. Another thing to get used to.

The Pedestrian has gone international

I was hoping to change the blog title because my previous posts sound bitter, like an old lady with nothing to do. But since I cannot change it on my tablet, I'll just have to make do.

According to several sources, the word "pedestrian" can mean "walking person" (noun), or "dull" (adj.). I did not realize that when I first started this blog. So I'm going to create my own definition:
Pedestrian - a person getting from one place to the other without the use of a personal vehicle
With that definition in mind I give you my new blog on being a pedestrian in Singapore...