POA

The next few weeks are going to be crazy with lots of traveling! :)  I had to change my flight due to an overnight layover which would have forced me to get a transit visa.  It was all more trouble than it was worth for a 14 hour layover.  So I called the wonderful customer service at Orbitz.  Kudos to Orbitz for changing my flight with minimal charges!  (I think I'm suppose to say something like---this is merely the opinion of the blogger and I'm not endorsed by Orbitz in anyway, blah, blah, ha).  Seriously though they were awesome.  They got the airline to wave the $150 change fee and found me a flight that was within of a day of my old flight and only a tiny bit more.  My flight is day later now which means I had to push back all of my original plans.  The key in life is flexibility!  So my new POA (plan of action):

Weds 5th Oct-Arrive in New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of! ("Empire State of Mind" plays in the background) Let the interviews, reunions, and fun begin! :)
Saturday 9th Oct-Bus from NYC to Cle!  It's an overnight bus ride that will arrive early Sunday morning in Cle...More reunions!
Monday 11th Oct-Drive to Va....Even more interviews and reunions!

That's as far as I can go.  The rest is "go with the flow", "one day at a time", and any other cliche phrase you can dream up! :-P

Going through a myriad of emotions this week with it being my last week!  3 more days of work, 7 more days with my Singapore besties and wonderful Asia, 8 more days until I hit US soil and see the first bff, 12 more days until I see my family (including my baby Grem!)  Let the very short countdown begin! 

F1

This weekend was the biggest event of the year for Singapore.  The Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.  I had never heard of F1 because we don't have it in the US.  Formula 1 is the big car racing event everywhere in the world but the US.  We have Nascar instead. 

I had the pleasure of watching them set-up for the race all week from the view of my office window.  Pretty cool actually.  Singapore and Monaco are the only two F1 events that hold their race on the actual streets.  They block off part of the actual roads in Singapore and set up a race course.  I went to the Sky Bar on Wednesday and could see the whole track lit up from the top of the building. 

My boss ended up with two free tickets for Saturday's event and offered me one. :)  Car racing doesn't excite me too much (at least on tv) but I wasn't going to pass up the chance to attend the biggest event of the year in Singapore.  I was most excited about the concerts on Saturday---Shakira and Shaggy!  I have to admit car racing live is a million times more exciting than on tv.  I still got bored after about 5 laps (out of 61).  The first few laps were most exciting and then the last few laps at the end were also the most exciting part for me.  Shakira was great in concert---she is an awesome dancer.  Shaggy was a ton of fun in concert and brought me back to my childhood with songs like, "Mr Boombastic", "It wasn't me", and one I had forgotten about---"Girl you're my angel" (not sure if that's the name).  I also was able to get in the VIP section in the front so I was one row of people right behind the stage.  During the Shakira concert, two girls standing by us couldn't use their Sunday tickets, so they sold theirs to us at a discounted price. 

So I ended up at the race all afternoon/evening on Sunday too. :)  My friend bought my boss' ticket and we had a fun afternoon checking out the race, eating mexican, drinking corona, cotton candy for dessert, and of course my favorite part---the music.  Earlier on, there was a nice mellow band playing soft rock cover songs.  Then there was a show called "Forbidden Broadway", which makes fun of popular broadway shows by using the music to the show's songs and changing the lyrics.  I LOVE broadway musicals so this was very entertaining for me.  After the final race was over, Linkin Park put on a show.  They are also fantastic in concert. 

What a great way to spend my second to last weekend in Singapore! :)

Have you ever been to Nascar or F1 races?  What's your favorite concert you've been to? 

Let the Good Times Roll

I want to make the most of my last few weekends here in Singapore by spending time with friends and doing some last things that I haven't done here.  This weekend was a great start.  Friday, four of us girls went out for chinese dumplings.  Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we over-ordered but it was so delicious. :)  Then we headed to THE bridge.  In Singapore, there are no open container laws.  So on Friday and Saturday nights, the hot spot to hang out is this bridge in the middle of Clarke Quay area (the hot nightclub and restaurant area).  The walls of the bridge are very wide and perfect for lounging on with a beer or spiked 7-up.  It's an awesome place for people watching, bullshittin' with you friends, and making new friends which is also exactly what we did.

The people watching--fascinating!  Because central Singapore is filled with the most diverse mix of cultures, the couples you come across are interesting.  This was our favorite---watching the couples walk by and making up theories about them.  Some of them....well let's just say our theory included an attraction to the passport, if you know what I mean.  No judgements, just theories. :)  We made friends with the group of Germans next to us.  They were finishing up their internship and celebrating their last weekend in Singapore before traveling some of SE Asia and going back home.  They were a blast to hang out with.

Sunday my friend and I ventured out to do the tree top walk at a place called MacRitchie Reservoir.  It's a 7 kilometer hike total to and from the treetop walk.  The treetop walk itself was very short but nonetheless pretty awesome.  The 7K hike was a great workout on some rough trails through the reservoir.  We saw many monkeys including moms with their baby monkeys.  (I have a picture of me standing next to a monkey but it wouldn't upload..sorry!)  We wanted to take one home. :)  It was very peaceful and calming walking through the reservoir, being inside nature listening to the sounds of the small jungle.  The smell of the tropics and then of the fresh rain that showered us halfway though our trek.  As much the city girl that I am, I love being in nature as well.  Got to have that balance!


Do you prefer the city or nature, or do you also like balance? :) 

   

Books

I love to read.  I always have.  When I was 9 years old, I would check out at least five or six books at a time.  I remember the librarian making a comment to me once, impressed with how much I read.  Oh those were the days of The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High series.  My love for reading has only continued to grow as I've gotten older.  Nowadays my favorites are chick lit and self-growth & inspirational types.  I've even ventured into the occasional biography and historical fiction book which was surprisingly fascinating.  Recent reads:

-Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert: She is the author of Eat, Pray, Love, which I absolutely LOVED.  Her writing style really appeals to me.  Her story in Eat, Pray, Love was relateable for me on so many different levels.  I was excited for her book following Eat, Pray, Love---Committed.  I never got around to purchasing it and eventually I heard people say it wasn't as good as Eat, Pray, Love.  Since I loved that one so much, I was hesitant on reading Committed at all, for fear of being disappointed.  A few weeks ago after browsing the bookstore forever and not finding anything that looked interesting enough (and not finding an Audrey bio :( hint to mom for xmas ;-) ), I decided to just cave in and buy it.  I was captivated from page 1 and on, finishing it in less than a week.  I completely understand why people didn't like it as much as E,P,L.  E,P,L is more of a story and Committed is more informational. 

Committed is about marriage.  Elizabeth has to marry her Brazilian bf for him to be able to stay in the US with her.  They originally had taken vows to never get married, as they had both gone through horrible divorces.  To find peace with marriage, Elizabeth takes a journey learning about the history of marriage, marriage across different cultures, and present day marriage.  Being a 28 year old single gal, you could imagine I may or may not have thought about the topic once or twice at this point in my life. :-P  Needless to say, I was engrossed. 

-Think Big and Kick Ass by Donald Trump and Bill Zanker:  Two chapters in and I'm inspired and motivated to kick some ass on my next venture! :)  Some great lessons from the first couple chapters:

• Dream Big.
• One very important quality common among the hundreds of super successful people that Bill Zanker has observed--persistance.  Never quitting and never taking no for an answer.
• Learn to trust your gut (Woohoo, I do this often! :-P)
• You have to love what you do or you are never going to be successful.  Passion is more important than brains or talent.  Some of the smartest people fail because lack of passion.
• Another key to success is how well you deal with pressure.
• If you want to be successful, you can never, ever give up.
• You have to get out of your comfort zone to achieve greater and greater accomplishments.
• After you discover what you love doing, you have to take action.  Get involved with what you love doing at whatever level you can.

What good book have you read lately?

 

Slightly AWOL

I've been kind of AWOL since I booked my flight.  There's so much swirling around in my head, along with preparations for leaving, and exploring possible career possibilities.  I don't want to say where or with whom the possibilities are (I'm superstitious), but I will say there are 2-3 shoo-ins...How did I get this lucky?  The two skype interviews I was least vested in and which I didn't really think would be a good fit for me before the fact ended up being the shoo-ins, and the ones that after the interview I found the most intriguing.  The two I was most vested in and thought I wanted, are just so-so.  Funny how that happens.  It seems when you have the least expectations is when you gain the most.  If one of them works out, they want me to start Oct 15th!  This means I am going to have a week to visit with people and then I'm gone again.  The first few weeks of October are going to be a whirlwind.  

 

But I have to say it's amazing how beautifully everything is working out as I finish up here in Singapore.  My boss offered me to leave earlier so I could get back, found a great deal on a flight to NYC so I can visit a friend, we have filed what we need to so I can leave the country---I actually thought I could just hop on a plane and go. :-P  I had a freak out moment yesterday when I heard we had to do this and this.  But everything should be done within 7 days.  My one suitcase is broken so I bought a new one today for 49 SGD!  Score. :) You can get amazing deals on luggage in Singapore.  I've already cleaned out my closet and gotten rid of a lot of clothes and some shoes, which will leave room for the clothes/shoes I've gained here.  Also cleaned out my drawers and thrown away stuff.  I want to make everything as easy as possible so that the last weekend I can have fun, pack up and go!  My goal is to fit everything in one suitcase....Any bets if I can do it?? :-P     

Flight is Booked

Holy sh*t, I booked my flight...Is this all really happening?  A little bit of buyer's remorse kicks in right after I buy my plane ticket.  Am I making the right choice???  But there really is no right or wrong choice.  It is what it is and it is what you make it.  :)  Life is one grand adventure.  I will be ready for whatever comes next when this initial state of shock is over.  

I will arrive in NYC Tuesday Oct 4th to visit a friend and hopefully check out a job prospect or two!  Then it will be easy and cheap to take a bus down to DC area for the next job prospect (or two; weip?).  Then back to O-H-I-O for some reunions and more job prospects.  How does it get even better? :)  

Countdown Time

I knew that once I made a decision on the date that everything would start to happen really fast.  It all started this weekend.  I had a couple skype interviews at the end of the week and they both would like to proceed with an in person interview.  I'm also in contact with two other doctors who I've been in contact with in the past about potential opportunities.  Once I had those two skype sessions, I knew that it was time to get a plan into action for heading back.  Unfortunately, I don't think any of those docs will hire me right off of skype like the doc did here.  After some discussion with my boss, it has been decided that I'm done at the end of September.  Eighteen days away.... I'll book a flight in the next few days, and then most likely be taking two road trips the first week I'm back for in person interviews.  It's all going to be quite hectic I imagine.

Right now I'm sort of having that out of body type experience.  Like this crazy whirlwind of changes is going on and it's happening so fast and I have no idea what's going on, and I'm just kind of watching it from the outside.  I am in a state of disbelief, utter excitement, sadness, happiness, anxiousness all at the same time. :-P

Have you ever had an out of body type experience before?  Tell me about it. :)     

     

Time is Relative

Now that I'm going home, it doesn't feel like I'm going home.  By the time I go home, I will have been here half a year and it feels like I've barely been here at all.  I find myself saying 'see you in 30-60 days!' at the end of emails not really believing that's true.  My friend told me the new season of Glee starts in 2 weeks---I was wondering why the season was starting so early??  But wait...it's almost mid-September.  Because the weather never changes here, in my head it's still the middle of August (and forever it will stay).  Since the weather won't be getting cooler, college football won't be playing on tv, and the trees outside won't be changing colors, it will forever be summer to me.  The hot and humid part of the year where I come from.  It really goes to show that time really is relative. 

I suppose this is because I have no idea what date I'm coming home and where my next career move is going to be.  There are three potential prospects in three different places.  This shouldn't be a surprise coming from me :-P  I won't talk about where they are or with who because I don't want to jinx anything.  All I ask is that you think many positive thoughts for me this weekend as I go through some Skype interviews.  Everlasting gratitude to you!

  

The Race

This half marathon was by far the easiest half marathon I have ever done.  By easy, I mean it was easy on my body and I barely hurt or struggled throughout the whole race.  How does this happen when one trains so little and when running in Singapore humidity??  Well I will say this---when the day of a race comes, you never can predict how it's going to go.  You don't know how your legs are going to behave, if your digestive system is going to cooperate, or if your mental attitude will carry you throughout the 21 Kilometers.  There are several factors that may or may not have contributed to this:

-It started at 5:15am in the morning, so I got up at 3:30am so that I could get a cab at 4:25, pick up my friend and get there by 4:45am.  Since it was so early, I was half asleep and had no time to think or freak out.  It was dark for the first hour and a half (at least) of the race, with very little lighting, so it was almost like you were running in a dream. (kind of)  Many of the trails were not lit very well.  But I rather liked running in the dark with tons of people around me.  It's like no one was watching you, yet everyone is running alongside providing a kind of silent support to help carry you through.

-I took advantage of every water/100 Plus (the Singapore gatorade equivalent) station along the route because I did not want Singapore humidity to kick my butt!  I also used those 10-20 second water breaks to walk as I drank the water, whereas in the past I've always tried to drink it while still running.

-The course was in kilometers instead of miles.  Kilometers are much shorter than miles.  So even though there were more of them, they came much faster than each everlasting mile during the previous half marathons.  Running is more mental than anything in the first place, this only added to it in a positive way.

-I saw the Glee concert movie the night before.  It made me exceedingly happy to watch my favorite characters singing to me in 3D.  I was smiling from ear to ear the whole movie. :-D  It put me in an amazingly positive mood before the big race.  I mean how could you not do anything but smile at this kid who was in the movie.  This little kid performs the songs that the Warblers do on the show and does the exact same dance moves---it is beyond adorable.  For those who are not fellow Gleeks, I apologize for this little stint.  Moving on...

-During the times that I felt I needed to go a little slower to reserve my energy, I picked someone who was running at a slow, steady pace and followed them for awhile.  Thank you to my pacers who have no idea of the huge weight they carried on their shoulders for that 1 kilometer. :)

-Support always helps.  Two of my very dear friends dragged themselves out of bed, one to go to the race at 4:30am to hold my bag and see my off, and the other at 7:30 to see me cross the finish line.  Now that's a true friend.


My wonderful support group!

Overall it was a very calm race and quiet race with small groups playing music every few kilometers.  The 70,000 participants consisted of all the army members (Singapore males are required to serve two years in the service), tens of thousands of the fittest Asians, and a few random fit expats scattered throughout the crowd.  In the previous 3 big races I've done, there have been every age, shape, and size running the half or full marathon.  This crowd was pretty uniform which was interesting to me as an American.

Sweat soaked but happy that I'm not hurting this time!

Results:
Time: 2:37:38
6145th place out of 13221, 46% of runners finished ahead of me
828th place out of 1708 women, 48% of women finished ahead of me
I was ahead of 54% of male runners (that's right fellas, watch out!)
In the final 3K, I passed 133 runners and 53 passed me  
It was the slowest race but I felt the best.  I'll take it! :)
       

Half Marathon

My half marathon is on Sunday!  I've trained the least I've ever trained for a half but I'm still excited :)  The race goes through the downtown Marina area so it will be a very scenic route.  It starts very early at 5:15am because if it starts any later, it would be too humid to run for that long.  On the plus side, that means I will finish earlier too. :)  This race draws about 70,000 people so the atmosphere should be very motivating and awe-inspiring!  I'll let you know how it goes. :)