Asian Adventure: Day 1

So you know how I told you The BF moved to Singapore?  Well, he did. He’s still there. And now I’m going to visit! I’ve been planning this visit pretty much since before he left, so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. We’ve planned side trips to Indonesia (awesome little beach resort on an Indonesian island) and Cambodia (touring around Siem Reap and the temple ruins at Angkor Wat) and Malaysia (Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. KL has some REALLY tall buildings. Like the hotel double tower thing that used to be the tallest building in the world until they built the Burj Dubai…or whatever they’re calling it these days.  But yeah, that’s pretty much why I want to go there. I like tall things. Eiffel Tower, Space Needle, window seats on airplanes: I like looking down on things from up high. It’s fun!)

I’m literally en route, writing this from the Tokyo Airport (which is lovely).  With the time difference, it’s just about midnight in Seattle, so as a first post of my Asian adventure, I’ll start by giving you the highlights of today. To make it easier, I’ll break it up into things I did and things I didn’t do.

Things I did today:

• -          Got up at 5am to finish packing and getting my apartment ready to leave.
• -          Washed some dishes that have been sitting in my sink/on my counter for LITERALLY weeks, waiting to be washed. (Go ahead, judge away. I judge myself for that.)
• -          Went to The BF’s storage unit to get his flip flops and bathing suits (for said island beach resort trip). Somehow, despite talking about it several times –and visiting the storage unit several times (ahem, tent) I managed to not remember to do that until TODAY.
• -          Got a tetanus shot. Technically, I got the full DTAP booster, for tetanus and diphtheria and pertussis. Been meaning to do that for a while. Figure I should really make it happen before leaving the country.
• -          Took a shower. (This may sound unworthy of mention, but when looking at the rest of these lists, I think you’ll understand the feat this was.)
• -          Packed a ridiculous amount of stuff into 2 suitcases and a carry-on tote. Managed to keep one of the suitcases under the 50 lb weight limit. Speaking of, when did they change the international baggage weight limit to 50 lbs?!
• -          Watched the cab I called to go to the airport drive off without me. I was wrestling the aforementioned heavy suitcases out my apartment door and the cab driver apparently got tired of waiting and drove away. I watched him drive away.
• -          Talked to my mom, The BF, Queenie and texted with Julie Vegas, Fritha and KJ.
• -          Drove to my office and picked up two large boxes of Christmas china. Took them home.
• -          Interacted with co-workers assisting me in this endeavor without earrings, make-up or combed hair. I also had not showered or brushed my teeth. They helped me anyway.
• -          Bought vitamins. Fit them into the aforementioned suitcases.
• -          Attended a conference call for work.
• -          Met a Gamecocks fan in the Tokyo airport. He’s from SC and his brother is a linebacker on the football team at Carolina. He was impressed to meet an alumni from SC in the Tokyo airport. Or maybe he was just scared cuz I’m so old. Either way.
• -          Read a whole book.
• -          Watched The Avengers. It was good….kinda wish I’d seen it in the theater though.
• -          Watched The Hunger Games. Twice. Even though I have seen it. In the theater. At IMAX.
• Made it onto my 1pm PT flight, with bags checked and carry-on stowed and even had time to get an iced coffee at the airport SBUX.

Things I didn’t do today:

• -          Watch tv or use the internet. Cuz I canceled cable while I’m gone and it shut off at midnight.
• -     Remember that I had no tv or internet. Until I tried several times to access both of those things , including Netflix via XBOX 360, several times.
• -          Brush my teeth. I know. Gross. I felt gross all day. I was basically naked when my cab driver called to tell me he’d arrived, so in the rush to throw clothes on and wrestle my suitcases out the door, tooth-brushing didn’t happen. Of course, if I had known that my cab driver was leaving me and I’d have to wait 10 mins for another one, I could have brushed my teeth. And put on face cream. And maybe even make-up. Because those are things I also did not do.
• -          Sleep on my first flight like I’d planned.
• -          Work out. (ha!)
• -          Wash my hair. I meant to do that, but….well……you know.
• -          Remember to put deodorant on BEFORE I packed it. Fortunately I was able to quickly pull out some deodorant from my travel toiletries bag and did wear deodorant today.

So that’s the first day of my Asian adventure. More to come. 

Sing a song of Singapore

So, the BF moved to Singapore. He got offered a job as a full-time professor and department chair at video game college. Yep, that's right. There is such a thing as video game college (with programs for teaching computer science and graphical arts with an eye toward game design professions), it's a real, accredited school and they offered him a job. So....that's a no-brainer. For a gamer dude nerd like the BF, it's CLEARLY an AMAZING opportunity.

So, the BF moved to Singapore.

The good news is I've gotten very good at calculating the 15-hour time difference, using Skype and I'm planning my very first trip to Southeast Asia.

I'm going to visit in a few weeks (weeks!!) and will get to explore Singapore. Delicious street food, bustling night life, interesting mix of cultures...it's such an exciting place to visit. And because once you've traveled 8000 miles, what's another 800? So we're looking at other places in the area to visit. Currently up for consideration: Malaysia (including Kuala Lumpur and those REALLY big buildings), Indonesia (one of the islands west of Bali) and Cambodia (to see the ruins at Angkor Wat).

Now to figure out all the vacation details.....