krisalis

It’s weird, this getting settled in to a new town/country/culture thing.

We’re doing OK, so far, I think. Well, even.

But it’s weird.

I think I’m finding it particularly weird because, in theory, I am American. I was born here. I did pre-school and kindergarten and first grade here. I have the passport and everything.

There are so many things that we don’t know how to do. So many basics that we’ve had to figure out or are figuring out, or have yet to figure out.

I catch myself doing Asian/Singaporean things. Like, I keep presenting my business card with two hands, Asian style, when I meet a new colleague or customer. I keep calling my mobile phone my ‘handphone’. Little things.

It’s good to be here though, overall.

We’ve even found a decent noodle place downtown, just off the drag, near UT. It’s nowhere near Noodle Man’s standard (or price!), but it’s not half bad.

We’re adjusting. It just takes time.

This is what happens when you spend an extended period of time looking at cars on the internet:

It’s sorta nice that Mini cares for our well-being.

17 Apr: Run, 28min 18 Apr: Run, 20min 19 Apr: Swim, ~30min, 1.1km 20 Apr: Bike, 35min 21 Apr: Run, ~40min 23 Apr: Bike, 50min 24 Apr: Run, 40min 26 Apr: Swim, ~30min, 1.2km

I haven’t managed to get out on a real bike yet – all training has so far been done on a stationary bike which is much more accesible, especially in bad weather, but really really really boooooooring.

Swimming in outdoor pools in Austin in April is a little chilly, but otherwise OK. What is with all the weird length pools though? So far, I’ve swum at a 20m pool, a 33 1/3m pool and a 33 1/3 yard pool. What is with all the thirds? And yards? Sheesh. Talk about confusing.

Running here is a pleasure. The temperature and climate are just perfect for jogging at the moment. Oh, and I have new shoes. )

Tiny labrador pups, just 2 days old. Would you blame me if I said I was getting broody?

Click the small thumbnails to see larger photos.

Silly CD meme thing…

1. Go to your CD rack/shelf/room.
2. Select the 13th CD from the end of your collection
3. What’s the 5th track?
4. List it on your blog, with a story of why you purchased this CD.
5. Link back to me – if you wish.

Belle and Sebastian – ‘Tigermilk’.

The 5th track is ‘Electronic Renaissance’.

Why? I listened to a crackly well-worn tape of this album on a regular basis in 1997. At that point in time, the album was in scarce supply and no longer available in musicshops. ‘Tigermilk’ was re-released in 1999, and I stumbled across a copy at the HMV in Singapore sometime in 2000. Of course, I had to buy it. I don’t listen to it so much anymore, but when I do, it always reminds me of living in that scruffy studentesque flat in Glasgow with Keith and Eric, and driving to and from Greenock for work in the freezing cold, with a battery powered ghetto blaster blaring from the back seat.

[via six different ways]

Heh. Look – a banana guard – just what you’ve always wanted. Right?

So now I’m wondering: is the curvature seen on bananas throughout the world relatively uniform? What happens if a banana isn’t quite so curved? Don’t those straight bananas need protection just as much as the bent ones? What about the supersized bananas? The fat ones? The tall skinny ones? Or those little itty bitty ones? I wonder if banana guard will cater for all those poor defenceless bananas, otherwise destined to be bruised and squashed on their perilous path from the safety of the fruit bowl to the hungry stomachs of the mobile fruit muncher.

Oh well, at least the Guards come in a variety of colours, if not sizes, widths or curvatures. However, the concept of eating a blue banana does not seem appealing to me. Better make mine a yellow one.

• Sifted through boxes of our worldly belongings, trying to create some semblance of order now that the shipment has finally arrived from Singapore.
• Made pilgrimage to the mecca of home organisation that is The Container Store. That place is amazing. They should expand operations to Singapore – it’d give Ikea some competition!
• Went out for dinner with Mark and my Nan to Chili’s, where we ate a mountain of fajitas and seemed to bemuse the waitstaff with our odd accents. “Water” has a ‘t’ in it, it should not therefore be a surprise when we choose to pronounce it!*
• Watched “Bruce Almighty” on DVD. I liked it.
• Jogged Town Lake and had brunch at Magnolia Cafe. Mmm.
• Bought running shorts at Tylers.
• Acquired a heart rate monitor, which in theory is supposed to help me to train more efficiently for this triathlon malarkey, but which in pratice is bloody hard to use, and will most likely be returned (or stomped on).
• Talked a lot about getting a car, but did not actually make it out to a dealership to look at anything. We’re going to try to go mid-week when hopefully things won’t be so busy.
• Packed for my upcoming work trip to Phoenix.
• Went to church.
• Had Sunday dinner at home with the family. My mum makes good shrimp curry.
• Watched the video Mark made of Andrew and Keeley’s wedding. Awww, so sweet.

*In other accent related amusements – I think it’s funny that Mark keeps running into trouble when he introduces himself, whereas for just about the first time in my whole life, no one bats an eyelid at my name. With his accent (and mine too), his name come out sounding like “Maahk”, with a long ‘a’ sound and little or no emphasis on the ‘r’. Texans (or perhaps Americans in general?) seem to hear this as “Mak”or “Mok”. ‘Kristen’ on the other hand, poses no problems at all. My whole life people have butchered my name as either ‘Kirsten’ or ‘Kristine’, so I’m finding it refreshing that people here get it right first time.

…from our round the world trip:

China: 251 photos from Shanghai, Xiamen and Beijing. Includes photos of Mark and I with Andrea, Neil and the Great Wall of China, though not all at the same time.

Scotland: 59 photos from Motherwell, Thorntonhall and Crieff. Includes photos from Glyn and Jo’s wedding, plus pictures of Damon in a kilt.

France: 87 photos from Chamonix. Mostly pictures of pretty mountains, snow and people skiing, snowboarding, eating or drinking. All the important things in life.

England: 15 photos from the England v Wales match at Twickenham, and some pictures from my Nan’s house and out in London with friends.

Australia (again): 29 photos from Canberra. Andrew and Keeley’s wedding and some photos from a Brumbies match.

[Ofoto account required to access all of these.]

In a fit of what, in retrospect, can only be described as insanity, I went for a swim in the lake this morning. Mark accompanied me on a kayak.

As part of my triathlonon plans, I am considering doing the Cap2k swim next month….or at least I was, until my Mum told me that she sometimes sees snakes in the water around the Town Lake running path! Snakes! Shudder

I’m currently reading the second half of a book that I originally borrowed from Andrea and Neil whilst in Xiamen. I finally got around to buying my own copy a few days ago, now that I’m finally settled in one place and don’t need to haul everything around with me wherever I go.

I realised today that Andrea and Neil’s copy of the book was titled: 1421: The Year China Discovered The World”.

However, the copy of the book that I bought here in the USA is titled: “1421: The Year China Discovered America”.

America vs The World. The World vs. America. Interesting. And, yes, the books have the same content.