Found a place to live!

The rent is more than I thought I would go for. I am surprised I went with something this high. The price may be high but I think the value is higher. I'm excited.

Here's the original advert:

Hey all,

My flatmate's moving out mid-November, so I'll need a new flatmate!

Location: Jurong West, Blk 9xx. 10 minute walk to Nanyang Technological University, and roughly an hour's commute to the city.

Room type: Master bedroom, air-conditioned, with a ceiling fan, furnished with a queen-sized bed and a wardrobe.

About my awesome place:

1. You're only sharing it with one person. Me =)

2. The landlord's completely unproblematic. He stays out of our lives and appears only when repairs need to be done.

3. Full usage of kitchen - I have pots, pans, a mini toaster, a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a blender, an electric kettle and a fridge. We also have a washing machine.

4. Large flatscreen TV inherited from my ex-flatmate. We have Starhub cable TV and a Sony Playstation 3.

5. We live on the 9th floor, it's quiet and airy and there are no windows facing the corridor. Only four units per floor so no long elevator waits.

6. The place is pretty comfortable, nicely renovated and clean.

7. Living room is huge. I've hosted 3 CSers at one go comfortably.

8. We also have a storage room where we stow boxes and luggages and dead bodies.

9. Bus stop's just downstairs. Buses running are 241 and 99 (and the night bus, if I'm not mistaken).

10. 3 minute walk to a 24-hour supermarket and tons of amenities like a few food courts, clinics, a wet market and a whole array of random little shops.

Flatmate that I'd prefer:

1. Friendly, respectful of personal space. You can expect the same of me.

2. I've been hosting CSers and it's been great - so preferably someone who's open to the idea of hosting.

The only down side to my place that I can think of is that it's rather far from the city (Pioneer MRT, green line, and a bus ride), but if you're working/studying in NTU as I am, it's very convenient. The bright side is I always get seats on the MRT =)

So if you're interested, or if you have any friends who may be, do message me. The moving-in time is negotiable if you need to move in earlier than mid November.

Crashing!

Watch the second white obstacle. I didn't know how to turn yet, so I considered just trying to take on the obstacle. At the last moment I remembered the board was not to be used on the ramps, so I just rammed right into it.

Birds are popular among some Chinese in Singapore

It's a hobby. They like to sit and talk together with their birds singing. They were not friendly in revealing this information to me. I had to ask a local Indian guy what was going on. The Chinese guys were very protective of their fowl.

Tarheel in Singapore

Lots of Boats,.... and Tai Chi

They slap their legs in Tai Chi.

Wonder about all those boats you see?

"

Currently the world's busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also tranships a fifth[1]of the world's shipping containers as the world's busiest container port, half of the world's annual supply of crude oil, and is the world's busiest transshipment port.

"

East Coast Park: Tai Chi

Lots of Tai Chi, tents, runners, all along the East Coast. This seems to be the only 'beach' in Singapore. They love their Tai Chi here.

You couldn't see it, but roller-blading is also a big past time.

cable-ski in Singapore near east coast

Singapore's First Cable-Ski Park. Went wake boarding for the first time.

A crash video and aftermath are forthcoming...

learning... slowly.

Learning my first few words of Chinese today. Ate lunch with the Chairman of World Scientific Publishing again and others and they spoke Chinese throughout....

Not a grave

These small stelae are common on the NTU campus. They seem to be city water or electrical markers. I kept thinking 'what's with all the random tombstones??' .

Motorcycle? Car?

Singapore gasoline is currently about SG$2.00 per litre, which equates to about US$6.06 per gallon.

If I want my motorcycle I'd have to pay nearly 2k just for the certificate of entitlement.

*******

Singapore, being a small and densely populated city-state, cannot really accommodate a large fleet of autos traveling on its roads and filling its car parks, so it has adopted policies to encourage use of public transportation, and discourage private auto ownership. A quota system controls the number of autos in the city. It also makes a nice revenue stream for the government. The discouragement part of the strategy is apparently not working.

In order to purchase a vehicle, you must acquire a COE. This entitles you the privilege to buy and own a vehicle. A quota is established each year for the number of COEs to be issued, and it is necessary to pay the bid for one. A COE is good for 10 years, after which you must must export (sell) or scrap the vehicle, or purchase a new COE for the auto. With a limited supply, and an ever increasing demand (ask any taxi driver-- the roads are "getting worse", even with the controlled increase in autos) the COE prices continue to rise. The most recent prices were published in the news today (shown above). Note that this is the price for the COE-- in addition you would still need to purchase the automobile, and license it.

******

Once I ask a few people how they got there and what they paid, perhaps I can find one. It takes too long to travel to the center of the city on the MRT for my taste.

World Scientific Publishing

Ate dinner at Phua's house Saturday night, Professor K K Phua is Chairman of the IAS and Chief Editor of World Scientific Publishing. It was a nice place, and the cooking was amazing.

4 ounces versus 30 ounces

The iPhone 4 is about 5 ounces.

My new cell (Samsung Galaxy s2) is 4 ounces.

Merlion

A symbol of Singapore. The blasted thing is everywhere. It's cool, but also wholly ridiculous.

The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

Lions probably never lived in Singapore; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama, founder of ancient Singapore, who gave the city its name, was most likely a tiger.

Apparently, Singaporeans often substitute the term "Merlion" in lieu of vomiting, in reference of the constant gushing of water from the Merlion's mouth. Apparently this use is now appropriated by Singaporean medical staff as slang for a patient who has intractable vomiting.

A first

Today I saw not a wild cat, or a wild dog, or a wild rabbit or wild fox, but yes, a wild monkey. That's the fellow right there. I followed him for about 400 meters till he climbed a tree to about 4 meters high and then bared his teeth, somewhat calmly at me. That was enough to keep me away.

Singapore Flight, 31 year old dude, choked, had heart problems

Wow. I think I'll be eating very carefully next time I get on that plane.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033546/Man-chokes-death-flight-meal.html

The Great American Teddy Bear

At the zoo yesterday. Walked past the bears and a sign telling about 'teddy bears' came about. One Singaporean girl looked at it briefly and told her friend "Just another story about how Americans are soo great..."

I looked at her and she smiled.

Legacy of Watch Making at Singapore National Museum (for Dad)

http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/treasures-of-vacheron-constantin-singapore/

Snails

There are many many snails here. Big ones too. I don't think I'd like the sound of it crunching under my shoe.

Art in the Bank: Overseas China Banking Corp (OCBC)

Lots of He-Man, Starwars, etc. Quite the mix.

Typical Awnings (like Hawaii)

It works.

Most don't drink while eating...

This image is typical of about 80% of people during their meal:

Notice she has no drink. I made a big fuss with about three employees at the canteen trying to get a cup of water for my meal because, well, I LIKE TO HAVE A DRINK WHILE I EAT.

It turns out that as children, most people in Singapore are told that drinking while eating is bad for digestion because it dilutes the stomach acid.

Diet or Light?

Tray Return

I wonder what this is all about?

Fish head is #1 on the menu

They ran out of just fish heads. They did however serve me the fish head + body.

roots

ymca, eyeball at art museum, boat lights

scribbles, my cube, the physics building

New Office

Court Yard of the Physics Building: NTU

Damn.

I walked around there today. Lots of doors are locked with a special computerized key card security, however I could find ways to poke around.

Also, I bought a large Indian meal at the "Canteen" nearby for SG$3.50. That's about $3.15. I was impressed.