Setting up l'appartement

Yesterday I went crazy at the "Wal-Mart" of Singapore: Giant [superstore?]. There is another one, but I don't remember the name. I think that a Costco or Sam's Club would do really well here, honestly. I mean, who doesn't need to buy things like cereal or beer or Coke in bulk? I mean, it could be the American consumerism coming through my perspective, but because most Singaporeans are so frugal, it seems like it would do well here.

I have a studio apartment, and it's quite nice. All the appliances are new, including the bed. I just bought all the bathroom and bedroom things, totalling around $600 SGD, which is about $450 USD.

Bedroom: 2 sets of sheets, blanket, pillows (interestingly enough, no one sells the liners, just the fitted bedsheet here)

Bathroom: shampoo, conditioner, soap, loofah, tissues

Kitchen: plates, bowls, saran wrap, cutting board, kitchen knife, utensils, cups

Cleaning supplies: floor cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, air freshener

My studio is so tiny! I really think it's about 400 sq ft. But I don't need much, so I'll be OK!

iPod: Transferring Songs from iPod to PC

I know that this is not necessarily relevant, but it was useful information to me, so take note:

If you want to transfer all your music from your iPod to your music folder:

http://lifehacker.com/software/ipod/how-to-copy-songs-from-your-ipod-to-your-pc-105256.php

1. Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
2. In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
3. In the Tools menu -> Options, in the View Tab, check "Show hidden files and folders."
4. Navigate to the Music folder. On my 2nd gen 'pod, the full path is
   Portable Media Devices\GINA'S IPOD (F:)\iPod_Control\Music
5. Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.

Hope this knowledge is useful one day!

And yeah...

There was a sign in one of the ladies restrooms:

Please don't wash dishes in the toilet.

I laughed like a loon.

First Week of Work

Ferry to Batam

Fried Fish! Karaoke


Quick summary of my past week because it went by so quickly, and I had no Internet access in Batam (an island of Indonesia).



On Monday, didn't go into the office. I just went straight to Harbourfront in Singapore to get on a ferry to Indonesia (going through customs, etc.) to Waterfront City. I fell asleep so everything was good; I was so worried that I would get seasick.

FM and I went to the famous seafood restaurant there: Golden Prawn. Of course, FM ordered more than he could handle -__- blah blah silly. Hmm?? Oh yeah, we saw a RAT CRAWL UP THE WOOD POLES. We were on a platform that juts out into the sea (which is kind of neat, I guess). This, of course, was just before we received our food. Lovely. The food was not too bad, but I mean, it is the first TIME I"VE EVER SEEN A RAT. According to Singapore food service cleanliness ratings, this place would have definitely been a D. I am so glad I brought along diarrhea medicine, even though I didn't need it. FM and I would like to thank my dad for insisting for me to buy this medicine to bring along. THANK YOU DADDY!!!!



On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had a bunch of meetings to talk to some managers of some shipyards in Batam. One night we went to karaoke and the other night we just ate. The food was quite amazing. Hm...a few pictures I suppose are in order (because finally my computer is capable of downloading pictures from my camera).



So then Thursday everyone else left, leaving FM and me to swim swim around in the pool and find a secret lap pool that the general public didn't know about. We got back around 7 PM in Singapore and went through customs.



Today I woke up and went to the office. I had a meeting with a language school administrator (which was pretty cool), and I also set up my e-mail address, etc. Blabbles. I was so tired earlier, but I'm going to watch a bit more of Goong Princess Hours on veoh.com (GPH).



Ttfn!

SimLim

Ate a brunch with MamaBear and Fpoo - leftovers from last night. Then we went to SimLim (though we were waiting for an agent to call back for the longest time...she didn't even call later on - we called her around 6 even though she said she would call back around 11. stinker!) and FM and I each bought an Asus. His is nicer and more gaming computer, and mine suffices and will complete the job. plus an extra gig of ram to blah blah blah. 3 GB RAm is a bit excessive in my taste, but it was 200$ more for a much better laptop. i am now out of cash like a loon.

Hm...what else? I start work tomorrow by going to Batam in the afternoon. I just booked it over the phone. Batamfast is the company.

Then after SimLim, I went to Sims Ville to look at a condo. I got a bit of vertigo as it is the 16th floor. I was quite embarrassed that I actually got ill from looking down. But the pool is very large and nice, and there are gym facilities too. The room is not too bad, and it has a nice few. The floor is clearly old. The two people living in there are a father and son from New Zealand. Nice man. It is close to a not-so good area (Geylang) but it is very close to the MRT and the security is quite tight. MamaBear was very on top of things today. Watching her haggle was totally awesome when we were purchasing the laptops. I love when the salesman just pulled out some Indian dialect, and she was like "I understand you!" and I was all like GLORIOUS MAMA BEAR (not to her face though)! hahah! i love when I understand, and no body knows it but me...

What else? I've been talking a lot to ES lately from BJPS, and sometime, somehow - I want to make a trip to Japan and then Seoul and then back here. The trip is about 6 hours and then 1.5 hours respectively to visit friends. It would be totally awesome, but I doubt it will happen soon. Hm...what else?

While we were setting up the computer, Fpoo kept choosing all the pictures and settings that I chose. I laughed and told him he was such a loon. Actually, I told him that I was beating him (because I was further along) but really in ML-ese it definitely means that I am STRONG sauce and he is weak sauce. booyeah! ^_^

Twinkle is so cute. MamaBear isn't too fond of the cats, but she has such a soft spot for Twinkle. I asked FM what would happen if I bought his parents another cat, and he said that they would definitely cry. It was just a thought... :(

Had a longan freeze today (slushie). And I ate some vegetables and fruits! I am such a good girl. and a lot of meat. stupid black pepper sauce on crab - I sprayed myself today. I am such a neat eater, and Malay food is eaten entirely with hands. I am not so good with hands but Baba (MamaBear's mama) was impressed when she invited FM and I to eat lunch at MamaBear's sister's HDB flat. Hm.......it was delicious, of course. I'm usually such a picky eater, but the food here hasn't been too bad so far. In fact, I think the worst thing I ate was DimSum.

I also talked to CoBay today. That was very much needed. Hm...I have to go pack for Batam now.

Toodles!