Racing, Red, Christmas, and thrilllessness

The Races:

Way way back, during the weekend of November 30-December 1st, (also known as American Thanksgiving), two friends and I flew from our cozy set up in Singapore to the beauteous Siem Reap, Cambodia to run in my third, and their first half marathon.
Can you think of a better way to run 21Km than to do it around the most historical and beautiful temples around?  Stone work starting from the 10th and 11th centuries, elephants, beautiful children lining the roads to get a high five from the likes of us? 
Unbelievable.

During this trip, we also did a fish spa where we were serenaded by a young entrepreneur who wanted to go to University to become a businessman.  He played us the 3 songs that he knew while little fishes nibbled dry skin off of our feet.

We went back to markets and bought more things (many that we didn't need at all).  I stopped at all of the fair trade locations and bought gifts.  Fair trade is my thing... especially when it comes to Cambodia.

The first day we were there, we also woke up at 4 in the morning (which was really 3... our clocks were off), and meandered via tuk tuk through the near empty streets all the way to the temples to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat.  Amazing.  Breathtaking. 
We were early enough to get a fantastic seat and watch the whole thing.  Peaceful moments like these are what make teaching bearable I think.

As for the race, I did not do as well as my first as far as time, but I did do FAR better than my second.  I felt it was a great way to retire from long distance running, as my poor knees just can't hack it.  I think I'll stick to shorter races and sprints, but I have to say that running around Angkor Wat and giving high fives to children who are so blissfully happy and enthusiastic despite owning only a pair of pajama bottoms for personal cover... it's a memorable way to end.  I feel I'm quitting while I'm ahead on this one.

After we got back from Angkor Wat and immediately signed up for a second race.  But it wasn't a race I thought it would be. 
It was a 5Km obstacle race.  How hard could 5 K be?

So, I usually run a 5 K in about a half hour, maybe a bit over.  BUT, this race took me over 1.5 hrs!  There was a tire to be carried, some poorly labeled "deep water" that I literally fell into and almost caught dengue fever when I cut my hand in the swamp water, a climbing wall, a mud crawl, a forest full of mud puddles... and the worst of the worst: an ice plunge... which was basically a big shipping crate full of ice cubes.  Not ice water... full on full to my chest with Ice Cubes.  I could barely crawl out.  I wanted to die.  In the ten seconds it took me to speedily cross the container, I already thought  my legs would get frostbite and burn off.  For one who fled Canada because of the cold, you can imagine that this was torture.  But, I finished!  Mud and all.  And because my pals and I were doing it just for fun, we waited and crossed the finish line together.  I have quite a few pictures of the event, but they're all on Facebook as they were taken on Sharon's phone, not mine.  The one picture that I have is horrible... but here it is anyway:

So, Post races, I also performed in a Christmas Pantomime which kept me busy throughout the fall.  I played Little Red Riding hood and we performed for the fancy international expat clubs in the city.  It was interactive, but audiences were quite small so it was a different experience than my last Panto in Hong Kong.

I made some good connections and friends, though I am not sure that I will do many more shows with them, at least until I have a scooter.  Transport out was really far and rehearsals went late, so I was tired a lot.  However, it's good to network, and I always enjoy performing.  I wish there were more places to perform here.  There really isn't a lot of theatre at all.  It was a bit of a surprise for me!

December went by quickly, what with only two weeks of school, a visit from an old friend, and a 25 hour journey home.   There was a staff Christmas Party in there too I think!

Reagan and her BF Max came the weekend before I left and we did some really chill exploring of Singapore.  We ate some good food and had an adventure just outside a mall of all places.  Most importantly, we introduced Max to Dairy Queen!  There are a few here in Singers, and Rea and I are positive we did the right thing by showing him the magic of a blizzard.

I made and decorated some GF sugar cookies and I feel that as my only Christmassy effort in Singapore this year, it was a good one to commit to.

I was lucky enough to fly home for this holiday.  It was great to see everyone around a Christmas tree and eat festive meals with family.  I generally miss out on festivities and we have to pretend that the summers are festive.  This was a pleasant change, and though I will not do it often, I will do it again.  I adore my family and I am looking forward to more holiday baking, building of snowmen, and ridiculous sales on summer clothing!

One highlight of the trip, besides the amazing family time, was hanging out with Beth and her husband Carmen in Banff.  I feel a road trip to the mountains is a must in every trip, and having come in the winter made for some absolutely amazing scenery's to take in.

Otherwise, baking with my sister in law, recording some pieces for my Dad's blues album, and family time with all my fav's were notable favourite moments.

That brings us to January.

January has to be the fastest month!  I only worked for 3 or 4 weeks but I am exhausted.  Happy that Chinese New Year is here!
I don't think I did anything to note in all of January.  I celebrated Australia Day with a school friend, I started a detox and Juice Fast, and I started doing Yoga.
It makes me sound really lame to discuss January.  Let's hold on and wait for a better update in February?

Catch you later peeps.

Out.

Livin' for the weekend

So, since my last escapade with the racist couch man, my month has settled quite a bit.  I have not been very productive in my "home" life due to school and this play that I'm in, BUT, I always seem to have a really lovely time on the weekends (still not getting any homemaker type work done).

Last weekend I was given tickets to see "Bjorn Again" which is a long standing Abba cover band.  My friends and I had a fabulous time rocking out to "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" among many others.  The concert was held in the prestigious Marina Bay Sands hotel, which is far more than just a hotel.  I had no idea it was even there but now that I've been, I'm fascinated.

There is a functioning Casino, Skating Rink, Museum, Concert Theatre, mall (with all the big names that I can only afford in my dreams), and a little moat where boats can travel.  It reminded me a lot of the Venetian hotel in Macau.  I did not see anyone dressed in festive constumes, but the concept was the same.  They even had a Kraze burger which is a Korean hamburger chain of epic proportions.

This weekend, my friend Sharon and I took a small ferry to Pulau Ubin Island.  It is a small island just to the East of Singapore.  I would say it reminds me of Lamma island in HK, but few, if any, people live on the island except those who work there.  For the most part, people ferry in, rent a bicycle, and enjoy trails and view points in all different areas.  There are wild boar, hornbills, and monitor lizards galore and some of the most peaceful and beautiful scenery that Singapore has to offer.  It is certainly something that I'd love to take all my guests to go see, assuming they can ride a bike!  There isn't much to do if you cannot.

The island does support camp sites though which is something I'm interested in looking into.  Singapore camping!

There really is something to be said about the weekends.  When you live away, each Saturday can become an entirely new adventure!

Likely, I will take some more time before I do my next show.  Having Sunday rehearsals and rehearsals during that week that don't get me home until 11:30 has been a challenge and not a positive one.  I think I'm going to take some of my ambitions and tuck them away for a while so I can have the time and energy for more exploring of my new city!

In other news, I am still not ready for my half marathon, and the race is in 14 days.  Plus, I have a show next weekend and consequently rehearsals all this week... I do not know if I'll be ready.  But, I'm going to have a blast trying!  I will be running around Cambodia's most celebrated historical temples after all!

Ah, God has blessed me with an incredible set of adventures.  I am grateful.

Chivalry?

This story is just ASKING to be told.  The adventures of getting furniture!  Not really a big deal generally, though I'm highly excited about y furniture now, however, the process is where this story is really going to come to light.

For the purposes of this story, I shall name the central characters as 1. The delivery man and 2. The couch man.

So here it goes.

Once upon a time in Singapore,

I phoned a lady about a divan (bed base) so that I could replace my, then current, massive bed for a smaller one.  The lady was very charming and of course granted me the sale of her divan.

Once that was settled I needed to phone a delivery man (enter character #1).  A kind Chinese man with a business of using his moving van to transport furniture goods for a competitive rate.  This is a very common practice for moving items and a decision that I felt no worries about in the least.

With that settled, I decided to further my furniture spree and contacted another seller in a different area of town about his couch. Enter character #2.  He, after several minutes of interrogation to decipher whether I was indeed a "serious buyer", eventually did agree to the sale.

I mentioned to this couch man that I would be sending a delivery van service to collect the pieces and then proceeded to actually confirm this with the delivery man.

The couch man phoned me back and enthusiastically asked me to reconsider hiring this delivery man, in the hopes that he and his friend might help me out with all of the services for a better price.  He asked me to collect a quote from the delivery man and then report back to him what it was so he could beat it.

I then contact the delivery man in the hopes that he would also be able to help me dispose of my, then current, unwanted couch and bed.  He of course agreed and then offered me a quote for both collections and the removals.  I found his quote to be more than fair, especially considering the economy here in Singapore and the price of most things, I actually felt I was getting a deal.

Also, having told this man that I would be working with him, I felt a small pang of rudeness if I were to pull out of the deal at that point, so I agreed to the price and we went ahead with the plans for pick ups.

Once that had been confirmed, I phoned couch man again to give him the collection time, and also thank him for his kind offer, but that I would not be needing his delivery services that day.  I did also tack on (just because I'm nice like that), that I would save his number for a future date when I might need some help moving something and I would be sure to give him some business then.  However, he was not satisfied with my decision and spent the next 5 minutes telling me why I made a poor business choice and that I should have listened to him because he would have only made me pay ___ etc...  I thanked him very much for his lecture and off I went about my day. 

I did have a funny image run through my head of a poor Asian guy getting beat up at couch man's house.  But I thought nothing of it and pushed it aside.  Upon reflection, perhaps that was the time in my story when I should have popped in a prayer of goodwill for the delivery man.

So, delivery man and I had decided that he would collect the goods and be at my house for delivery and removal around 5pm.
It was about 4:45pm when I received another phone call from couch man.  He was frantic.  He was livid.  He was ranting.  (The following dialogue is a close representation of our conversation, however not a direct quote).
"Did you know that you have sent gangsters into my house?" he asks

"Gangsters?  I am sorry?"

"Yes gangsters" he repeated, "They are wearing rough clothes, and are staring at me and my family like they are going to hurt us.  They don't even speak English!  They are CHINESE!"

"I am sorry to hear they are making you uncomfortable"... I respond - but he is not really listening to me, he is intent on continuing his speech.

"Isn't it true that when someone comes to your door they must wait to be invited in?"

"Yes, of course, that's polite" I agreed.

"Well these guys, I told my helper to have them wait outside while I finished my shower and I came into the living room and they were standing in my living room!  Then I asked them to leave and go to the hallway and they started shouting at me all kinds of crude words in Chinese!"
(Funny, he doesn't speak Chinese, and if I know anything from my years in Hong Kong it's that Chinese can sound abrupt to anyone who doesn't understand. But I digress...)

"I am sorry to hear that, perhaps they misunderstood?"

"NO!  They are so rude!  I have no time for silly business like this.  I have no time for foolery.  WE are educated people.  We should not put up with this.  I am going to have to call the police.  I am sorry if you get involved."

At this time, I am still trying to sort through what reality might be vs. what his interpretation of the situation is, however, what I do know is that his reaction is completely unnecessary, and I am completely irritated by his tone.  He is consistently looking for validation in his words and I, of course, do my best to validate him as I don't want to anger him any more... however I am doing this is the same tone I use when calming an explosively angry 4 year old boy who did not get to play with the blocks he had hoped for and starts a tantrum.

After I get off the phone with couch man, I immediately phone the delivery man as he is only the boss and contractor.  I let him know that the couch man is irate and phoning the police as he was offended by the rude actions of his drivers.

I don't hear back from either for a while and then...

"I have phoned the police" Says couch man, after hearing my cheerful greeting on the phone.
"They have come and they are talking to the guys.  Isn't it true that we must be respectful of others.  They they just came into my house I cannot believe.  How do YOU deal with people like this I have no idea".

"I actually found the manager to be very professional on the phone", I replied in a kind and non threatening manner.

"Well that is maybe the boss, but not these guys. They are gangsters.  WE are educated people.  These guys do not even speak ENGLISH!  I do not understand how you deal with them.  I am a Singaporian and we have higher ways of dealing with people.  We have rules to follow.  Rules about being polite.   If I see a man who has a doctorate degree but he is being rude I will tell him, 'It is as if you threw your education down the drain'!"

"I see.  I understand your points, and I feel that they are valid.  How are things going with the police?" I inquire.

"They left.  But I did not give them the house.  I do not want them here any longer.  I will find another way to get the couch to you tomorrow morning and I will also collect your other items for removal because you should not have people like this in your home."

"Thankyou for the update, I will see what service they have for me and let you know about your offer.  As for the couch, yes please I do still want it". (This is all very frustrating to me as this couch man has just added an extra delivery charge to my bill...)

Moments later, I receive another phone call from the delivery man who has been forced to go to the couch man's house and speak with the police on behalf of his workers as well.  He phones me and, in a most apologetic tone admits that he does not have the couch but could he please explain the situation to me in a little while?

I of course told him to leave and get out of there as fast as they could, as I suspected the couch man now of being absolutely intolerant and racist.

About 20 minutes later, delivery man phones me yet again to explain and tells me that my suspicions were correct.  The police had written off the case as a racism complaint, and the men had done nothing wrong, short of misunderstanding a request.

Later, the gentleman who were the "workers" in this story showed up at my house to drop off the previously stated divan and collect my removals (yes, I gave them the business naturally).  They were the absolutely sweetest men.  They were indeed from mainland China and did not dress in business suits but I would hardly call a t-shirt and jeans "gangster wear".  They did not stare at me, nor did they shout or curse in Chinese.  They simply, and graciously did the task required of them and then I paid them.  No hassle at all, and exactly the type of service I had been expecting from the beginning.

I wrote the delivery man and told him that his workers were indeed very kind and I would be using their services in the future.  I thanked him for putting up with this whole ordeal and I paid a little extra for their trouble.
The delivery man was absolutely blown away by my kindness which tells me that this is not an uncommon occurrence for him at all.  A sad truth.

The next morning the couch man did end up bringing the couch.  I met him in person and he asked right away how the "gangsters" had acted in my presence and if they had taken my removal furniture.  I happily explained that they had removed my furniture and that I had found them to be quite pleasant, polite, and professional.

"Must have been after the police spoke to them".  he scoffed.

Anyway, I ended up paying him the same amount I would have for a delivery fee had it been a separate job which cost me a few tens more than I was hoping, however, it's all over now and in the past.  I shall keep delivery man's number, and I shall burn the number of the racist couch man.



The end.


  The old

The NEW!