Almost the last day of work...Although I am suppose to work until next week there is just to much going on and I am too stressed to be working. Today at work there was a ton going on and I was trying to help the lady I was working with out with a last minute test. I had planned to go in early so that I could get off early enough to go home, change and finish up the cake that I had made...that of course didn't happen! The test was a disaster!!! Not because it was complicated it was just too many little things that happened and caused everything to go slower than it should have. I was planning to do the test coordination and finish up some documentation but I was only able to help with the test. Me and Orla were running around all day and still couldn't get through it. The worst part about it was that Orla had to leave early and the guy who was doing the work on the computers was so SLOW and it seemed like he didn't want the test to go good so he didn't have much motivation. At the end, I ended up staying until 7pm and had to do the final summary of the day so that when Orla got in the next morning she would know what was going on. I had to race to the train station and get home change and get the cake together then race back to the train station...all in 40min! I made it too!!! I was impressed with myself but upset because I missed drinks with Ha Eun which I was looking forward to...next time. So I had my night out with the Aspira group which was a lot of fun. We went to Goldbergs for drinks and nibbles...it is my favorite place. It was suppose to be relaxed but I knew that I would be wasted the next day...I tried to get out of going to work but my boss wasn't having it. Anyway, the night went on and one...to much fun! We closed down Goldbergs and headed to Crane Lane for late night drinks...that was so interesting! As soon as I got there and went to get a drink some crazy man started talking to me. At first it seemed innocent enough and he was asking the normal quesitons that friendly old Cork people ask...it can seem intrusive but normally they are just asking out of curiosity. I feel like I have been here long enough to know the difference and this was a little more than just friendly curiosity he was really interested in me!!! I think I must have talked to him for about 20-30min before I was finally able to escape. Once he got to detailed, asking me about where I lived 'exactly' and where I worked and where that office was and if he could contact me again so that we could talk more because I was a good person to talk to I knew I had to go. I got way but not without first leaving him with a challenge that I would not have done if I didn't already know I was going to be leaving Cork very soon. He was serious about talking to me more and I told him if he could find me I would talk to him...he said it was a deal!! Freaky!!! Once I joined the group they were all laughing at me because I was talking to him for so long...I had to let them know that it was not a good thing to let a lady talk to some strange guy for so long without rescuing her from him immediately!!! They still thought it was funny and after only 20min or so the guy came back and asked me if I worked for Laya!!! Which doesn't sound very interesting other than our office is very close to them and we contract out people to Laya all the time. Scary! And to add insult to injury I told him initially that I lived in Glounthaune which I only know of me being the only Black American female living there! Please lord do not let him find me! All-in-all a great night out...I must have had at least 15 gin and tonics and I wasn't too bad off! I made it all the way home and then my memory was gone! I made it to work the next day...a little late but still there and was able to pull it together for about 1hr 45min and that was it! I was dying!!!! So I wrapped up and left...work complete!!!
Shaun got invited to a small birthday party for Rainen who was leaving the next day so I went there to join the fun. It was a cute little party and the kids were so sweet...we are going to miss Kai and the gang. I am especially going to miss them taking care of me while hung over! Chase came to the party too...what a nice surprise...kids loved it. Good job Ha Eun!
Kai and the boys left the next day for California! They will be missed...she had to make the long journey on her own but it was time for her to go. Until we meet again Kai...love ya like another sister form another Korean mother!
The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to get pictures of the cars so that we could sell them. I posted pictures up on Done Deal for our 1st car to sell!!!! Lets see if we get any bites! I am not hopeful but we have to try. The problem is that the car is to old and it is hard/more expensive to insure the older cars. We knew this when we got it but we didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a car that we knew we wouldn't have for longer than 1.5yrs. I guess it is a risk that you take...lets see how it pays off.December 2nd-5th
So much to do!!! Since Mike is still gone there is a lot of stuff for me to do. After carting the boys around to Rugby on Saturday morning...we went all the way up to Fermoy for a match for Lino! We ended up going into the city for lunch and coffee and the boys seemed to really enjoy that. It was a really nice time with them. This age is so complicated to me...they don't need a lot of help or attention but when they do need/want attention they want a lot of it!!! For today it wasn't a lot that they needed but they were happy that they got to pick where we had lunch and that we were staying in the city for coffee. I think it made them feel like they had a say, which they did, and it made a world of difference. I know that I need to let them have more choices and I usually do but sometimes it is hard. They are so smart and truly good kids I don't give them much credit. 
I also had to do a bunch of cooking in preparation for being gone next week...I wanted to make sure there was food in the fridge for the family so that my mom wouldn't have to cook when she was here. I did manage to get all the stuff I wanted to get done...I was impressed!
Sunday was church and then to Mikes kids Christmas party! I was a little nervous to go because Mike isn't working there any more but he said it was ok. The boys absolutely love the party so I didn't want to miss it if possible. They were so excited when we went and talked about it for the past few days. Apparently we got there earlier than we were suppose to...there is a baby party first and then the bigger kids party. Mike told me 2-4 but the real time was 3-5. So we ended up being there from 2-5:30!!!! I could not convince them to leave. They were bouncing and having a great time. Shaun was as always the lift of the party and was in the middle of the dance floor dancing and singing and participating in the different competitions...he even was singing some some on the microphone and won a prize! Lino of course was a little jealous because Shaun got a prize and he didn't...so he went out and tried to win the dancing competition. He had some serious moves but didn't get the final prize at the end. That boy is so competitive it isn't funny. I guess kids are at that age but he does put his whole heart into it and if he doesn't win he completely gives up. We will have to keep working on it I guess. I tried to tell him that even though he didn't win that he was still really good and that just didn't fly with him. So there was a little fighting between him and Shaun because now Shaun and 2 toys and Lino only had 1...unbelievable. So while we were there of course I ran into a few of Mikes work colleagues that I knew and the joke was that I was trying to hide because I was. I didn't feel right being there without Mike and knowing he wasn't working there anymore too. It was nice to be able to chat with the other people but really I just wanted to go!
Eventually I convinced the boys to go and we went to get a few things from the store then went to KC's for dinner. I was just going to take it home but they wanted to eat in the mall so we did. Lino tried my sandwich which is the one the Mike normally gets (King Creole) and he said it was so good...he actually said it was the best tasting ever. That means a lot! When we got home I started to make cookies in anticipation of a cookie exchange. The boys helped me of course which means they got to do the taste testing. I feel very organized but I am sure I am not...only time will tell.
On Monday after dropping the boys off to school and having a very strong conversation with Lino about behaving in class I had my very last coffee morning with Cuidiu...it was bitter sweet. This group has been very important to me and has really helped shape our lives while we have been here. It was really nice of them to come for one last cupa and cake! I know most of them will follow me on the blog so that will be nice to know. Also with Facebook it is so easy to keep in touch. After coffee I headed over to the car was guy to see if he was interested in buying the car. He had told me that he wasn't interested because the other car was to old and the red car wasn't what he was looking for but I said I would try and see again anyway. We talked for a while about it and I couldn't tell if he was trying to haggle me down to nothing or if he was being honest about the worth of the car. He basically wanted 1000 less than what we were selling it for which was 1/2 of what we paid for only 8 months ago! I am not enjoying this part of the move. When we left Texas we had a while to figure out what we were going to do and we had a pretty new van so it was easy enough to sell back...here is a totally different story. I know that if we had more time we would probably be able to get then sold but the thing we do not have is time...and I do not have much patience so it makes it a double whammy when it comes to this. He said he would think about it and I didn't have time to wait so I told Mike but he didn't want to loose so much money either. So for now we will leave it...tomorrow I have to take it get the bumper fixed anyway so hopefully that will help with the sell...it won't pass NCT without it anyway.
Oh and the guy came back to survey the house. We went through all the things we wanted to try and bring to Singapore. He was trying to be helpful but he wasn't very helpful at all...he just wanted to talk alot and I didn't have a lot of time. I was a little short with him but it ended up being a useful exercise anyway. We got different colored tags that we can now use to label stuff so when they come to pack up it will be much easier. Before he left I called Mike so that we could discuss all the things we talked about and Mike was not impressed with him at all either. The guy seems to be over estimating our stuff...at least compared to what we had coming over we have a little less than that now but he seems to think we have more. It isn't that important but it is because we are trying to split the sea shipment...one for Singapore and one to Texas. He isn't actually in charge of deciding if we can have 2 sea shipments but the numbers that he provides to Pepsi make a big difference. The thing that we are so upset about is that we don't get the same options that we would have if we were still in Texas...Mike thinks it is like a punishment which I can see but it is probably more of an oversight in the policy...either way it doesn't help us. Luckily Mike is really fighting the battle with this one so that helps.
On Tuesday I dropped the car off at the body shop and did more running around. I had to go into the Aspira office to turn in my stuff and talk to the lady who was replacing me. I spent 2 hrs there trying to do a hand over and trying to figure out if I was going to be able to do any more work for Aspira while in Singapore. The good news is that Pat is always interested in expanding so he was keen on entertaining the idea of me doing some contract work while there. That was great for me too...no pressure but an easy job possibility even before we arrive!! After that it was on to my prep work for moms arrival...Mom is flying into Ireland on Thursday to help out while I am with Mike in Singapore looking for a place. To make things more complicated she doesn't actually arrive until Thursday and I leave on Wednesday so it is so complicated!!! I have been trying to work out the schedule and plan for pick-ups and everything else my mind is in a twist. I have conveyed my plans to several people and it seems logical enough...now for Mom to actually follow through on her end. After picking up Lino and Shaun from school I got to go and see Shaun at his swimming lesson. I was pretty excited because I haven't seen him swim all school year. He is such a little messer...he only partially listens to the instructor and the rest of the time he is in his own world. He is getting better but until he can focus it will be a while until he is more comfortable in the pool...very different from Lino. They definitely have different strengths and weaknesses. After getting back home I started to pack...I was getting nervous about our shipment allotment so I decided to start packing some of the boys clothes to take over with me. I ended up packing 2 big bags of clothes and shoes. I am not sure if it is needed and I am stressed just thinking about doing it but if I don't do it and we don't get much of a shipment I will be upset. Mike told me that a month ago but I just couldn't wrap my head around it...now that it is so close I don't have a choice but to deal with it.
Wednesday was a mess!!!! I just had to much going on and no time! I always over extend myself and I have not learned in all my years to do less...I do more and just rush! So the day started off good...got the boys to school went to see Michelle at her last Chemo session...whooppie!!! So excited and proud of her for making it through with such strength. I told her while I was there with her that she made it look so easy that it was very easy to forget that she had cancer. Such a strong woman. After seeing her I was suppose to go by my office to pick up the charger that I had forgot for my laptop but it was raining and crowded and I was already late seeing Michelle due to the traffic so I decided to do it on the way to the airport. Instead I went to pick up Shaun then got Cesar so that we could pick up the red car from the body shop. I had asked the guy if he could put a rush on getting it fixed so that we could take it back to the NCT for re-inspection. He as nice enough to make sure it was done before I left. The bad news was that he got the wrong light for the reflectors in the back and he said it wouldn't be in until the next day...ugh!!! What a pain!!! Well there isn't much I can do about that. So we went home and it at least saved me a little time so I thought I was doing good. I was able to finish up at home and go over all the stuff with Cesar. I was leaving my phone at the house so that mom could have it while she was in Ireland so it was important that everything was in order because I was pretty much going to be unreachable for the next week. All was good and then it wasn't...we were about to leave and Shaun had diarrhea!!! It was everywhere!!! What a mess!!! So we had to clean that up and then I had to race to take a quick shower (saved that until the last minute) and we ran out! There was no time to go by my office so we just went straight to the airport. All seemed good and we were actually on time so I was happy...then I realized that I had forgot my passport!! AGAIN!!!!! I didn't have my phone so I couldn't call Cesar so I dropped my bags and ran outside to see if he was still there but he was gone!!!! FUCK!!!!!! Thankfully I had planned to bring my old US phone from 2012 and I had that so I tired to FaceTime Mike to tell him to call Cesar but I couldn't get FaceTime to work. Double FUCK!!! So I had to text him back and forth. He was on the case so I tried to see if I could check in anyway because i figured that Mike would get Cesar and he would get my passport in time...but they didn't let me check in because I needed my passport of course! So back on the horn with Mike, I had figured out my password for FT and we were still trying to get in touch with Cesar with no luck. I had sent a message to Martha asking her to pick up Lino for me because there was an emergency...no time to explain. So I knew that if Cesar did get the message we didn't have to worry about Lino being stuck at school. So since we didn't have any answer from Cesar the only option was for me to take a taxi home an d back and hope I made it back in time! Triple FUCK! So that is what I did. The taxi driver kept telling me that there wasn't a lot of time and that I should have put my passport in my bag the night before so that I didn't have to think about it on the day of and I couldn't even talk to him. I had no wifi so no way to communicate with Mike and I had no way to contact Cesar...I was just praying that we made it there and Cesar didn't have my passport and was on his way to the airport. OMG!!!!!! What seemed like forever...we finally make it to the house and Cesar has my passport ready for me at the door!!! Thank GOD! I had also forgot to leave some other stuff for my mom so it was good that I went back...although she would have survived if I didn't leave it for her...it was just an extra bonus. So we raced back to the airport but I was pretty sure I had time to make it so I was able to chat with the guy on the way back. I did make it and the guy at check in told me that I was technically late but he knew that I was coming so he made an exception for me...man was I lucky!!!! How in the hell do I keep forgetting my passport I have no idea. I blame it on Mike because he always takes care of those things but the reality is that I just try to do to much and I am always focused on the wrong thing. I hope to learn this lesson sooner than later but for now I have to deal with the stress of being so completely stupid!!! Anyway I made it and even had time to get food!
The flight over was fine but I realized when I got to London that I had kept the key for the boat! I mean I couldn't have messed up that day much more than I did...why did I still have the key in my pocket I have no idea. So I texted Mike so that he could let Cesar know...I didn't know if we had a spare key or not but if we didn't then we wouldn't be able to get the car back to the body shop to get the light or to get the NCT. What a complete mess of a day! Thankfully the plane didn't crash and I made it to Singapore!
December 7th -14th
SINGAPORE!!!!!!!
Well we have a few things to do these next few days in Singapore but it is nice to have a little mini break from the boys too. The weather is nice compared to Ireland this time of year. Although it is rain season it is still warm rain compared to ice cold rain...I'll take it! So when I arrived in Singapore I had to wait for over 1hr for my bags. We had already planned for me to go to the salon to try out this guy that Lisa told me to go to but I was going to be super late. I couldn't get onto the wifi so I couldn't even tell Mike that I was there and that the bags were delayed. I tried looking for him but couldn't find him...eventually I found him and we made it to the salon...very late! On the cab ride there we were trying to coordinate with mom to make sure that she was ok. It seemed like she was but it was still tricky. Apparently I had my arrival times off so Mike updated Michelle because she was picking her up for the aircoach stop in the city. At the salon the guy, Don, was from Malasia and he did a pretty good job on my hair. It was hard to understand him but for the most part I got what he was talking about. I asked him if he did a lot of ethnic hair and he said no...I asked if he liked do ethnic hair and he said no! OMG...I could have died laughing! He was honest and I couldn't blame him for it...our hair is not easy. His reasoning was very logical as well...to do someones hair like mine would take him 2hrs or so and to someone with less curly hair would only take 45min and he would charge the same but he would be loosing money because of the time he is spending. It was very true and I couldn't deny it...i was just happy that he didn't double charge us because of the time it took to do our hair. Anyway he was pretty good and I will be back for sure...stylist check!!! The rest of the evening we spent eating and drinking. We had dinner at Mike's favorite Indian restaurant and it was really good...they knew him too! Not by name but close...he goes there a lot apparently! During dinner we finally get in touch with mom to find out that she made the bus and was in Cork but didn't see Michelle. So were were back and forth with her and Michelle and finally find out that mom was at the bus station and Michelle was at the aircoach stop...so frustrating! Poor Michelle and Freya sat there for 2hrs waiting for mom...mom had Michelle's number but didn't want to bother her so she didn't call her. They were only 5min walk away from each other for over 2hrs...unbelievable. I felt so bad for Michelle. Somehow in the mix of all of this she saw Cesar after his exam and he was able to get mom and take her home. What a disaster...it all probably was residual bad ju-ju on my end but man why did it have to be so hard. It worked out and Michelle is super nice so she didn't completely disown me then and there so I can't complain to much. To add to it I found out that Lino had got in trouble at school and was going to have to sit out of recess for 10 min each recess because of it. I didn't know the full story but I just couldn't believe it...I hope that this isn't him acting out because of the move but I think it has something to do with it. I have to remind myself to be patient with him...there is a lot going on.
Singapore is crazy for celebrating!!! They celebrate everything there it seems...now its Christmas time and the premier of Star Wars film so the streets are decked out for both. This one was just to awesome to ignore...the boys are going to love coming downtown seeing all of this stuff. I even saw on some ad posters where you can vote on the best decorated building or design for Christmas!!! And some of them are very impressive...I can't believe its only temporary. I can't wait to see what it will be like for the Chinese New Years!!!! So excited about that!
Friday was house hunting...I was jet lagged and kept Mike up all night so we were tired the next morning but excited to see places. It is such a difference to find a place in Singapore verses Ireland. We knew we would be in an apartment but it is still hard to wrap my mind around the idea. Anyway, we saw about 8 places and we did like a few. By the end of the day we were trying to put a ranking on the places which isn't easy for us but it has to be done. After the first few everything starts to mix together but Mike & I like options (even though we end up killing ourselves because we have to many options) so that is what we got. At the last place for the day we saw a really nice place. We both liked it because it was new and modern and bigger than most of the other new condos. We were pretty sure this one was top of the list and then we found out that there was already a bid on the place! The lady we were working with said that if we really liked it that we could put in a counter offer as well and it was possible for the owners to pick up...possible. So we went back for another look and agreed that we should make an offer! We were shocked that we were making an offer only after the first day of seeing places! When we looked for places in Ireland we spend 5 solid days looking and only on the last day did we decide to go for a place! Things happen way to fast here. So the relocation lady talked to the realtor and found out the the other offer on the condo was asking for a lot of changes and updates and we liked the place as it is so we said to have no request...which would possibly make our offer a little more appealing. The other problem was that the other people were offering more money than us. We liked the place but didn't really want to spend to much more so we made an offer that we were happy with and had no request with it...lets see if the owner bites! After that Mike got dropped off so that he could go into work for a bit and I headed to Chinatown to meet up with Gernot and his work colleagues. It was nice to meet up with a few people who lived there and to have a few drinks before Gernot headed back to Ireland. Mike met up with us later and we basically had beer for dinner! What a night.
Saturday was only a 1/2 day of house hunting which was good because we were so exhausted from the night before that we slept until noon! We got an update on the place we had bidded on and found out that the owner countered us. It seemed to be a big jump in price but after talking it out we found out that she also countered the other offer too. It was something to think about but we felt like we were under pressure to make a decision. We are not that quick to decide but we have to move quick here if we are going to make it here. So we saw 5 more places, one was a suggestion by Gernot to see a cluster house which we did like. It was like a small community feel. We liked it but the place is split between 4 levels so it is hard to see how much space you actually have. There was no furniture there so we would have to bring all of our stuff but the question was if our bed would fit into the master which was questionable. We also saw a place that we very close to the boys school and close to Mikes work which was what we wanted but it wasn't the nicest place. The issue with the school and office is that they are both on the west side which is out of the way for the city and a lot of the activities within town. It is on the metro line which makes it easy but still out of the way. We moved this property up on the list but still were not happy. I think we didn't like it because there were guards on all the windows which I thought was a plus because I was nervous about the boys falling out of them otherwise but Mike said it made him feel like we were in prison! I guess it isn't the winner...for now. So the last pace that we saw we both liked and we were still in negotiation with the other location so we decided to put in an offer as a back-up. Well we didn't actually put in an offer but we took down a bunch of notes for all the things that we wanted to fix so that we could put down an offer if need be. At the end we saw a lot of different places, new and old, penthouse and bottom floor. So much to consider because with the condos the tenants are responsible for the maintenance for the place so if you have an old place there could be more to fix. Newer places are usually smaller but might have better/bigger facilities. All the places have pools and a small gym so it really comes down to closeness to metro and preference.
Next we went to a Christmas party! Lisa, the lady that I met at the Marriott the last time got me connected with a group of Black/African ladies called SIS. One of the ladies had contacted me and got me in contact with a few other moms who had kids of similar ages. I was able to ask them questions about where to live and schools over the past 3 weeks so it was really helpful. So it just so happened that the group was having a Christmas party the weekend that we were there so I was invited. It was a little scary to go to a Christmas party for a group that I wasn't even in yet and only knew people from facebook but we had to do it. It was a great opportunity to make connections...and it was a good choice! We were a little shy to start but we were able to meet a few people which was good. We even met a few people who had kids at the Canadian school and who lived at the place we put in an offer at. That was a really good match up because they confirmed our decision to send the boys to the Canadian school over the other one which was great. They seemed to have the same feeling about the American school that we did so I felt good about that...school check!!! Next it was discussions about the condos and the 2 people who lived there loved it and one even had their kid in the Canadian school too! So even though we were worried about it being out of the way it didn't seem to be an issue...more factors to consider...it would be nice to be in a place that we kind of know people too! The night was very productive, I don't like to think of meeting friends/contacts as productive but it was. I think making a move to a new place its like starting a new job. One of couples that we met we talked to pretty much the whole night and we ended up connecting with them on FaceBook so now I know that I have someone to talk to when I get there...friends CHECK!!! Meanwhile the boys are with mom and they have made it to practice but not without drama...apparently a light was left on in the car and now it is dead. Mike had to get Dave to come over to give her a jump so they didn't make it to Lino's rugby. It was a little stressful for a while because mom made it seem like the car died but it was just dead which is a little different. Anyway, they got it sorted (after mom called everyone of my friends to look for help)...there is always a little drama with us. After their morning of craziness they went to the Cuidiu Christmas party and had a ball apparently. I heard stories from some of the committee about the boys...apparently they were the first to see Santa! Skipped the que and everything with no concern at all about protocol! Those are our boys.
Sunday was a free day and after an even of drinks and hanging out it was nice to have an easy morning. We did get up and do a few things but not to much. Then we went to brunch at the recommendation of Ha Eun & Gernot...man was it worth it! Such a selection of food and drinks it was incredible. Seafood bar, hot dishes from all over and all kinds of deserts and cocktails and champagne! We were there for 2.5hrs and totally got our moneys worth! It was great...it wasn't cheap but for all that you get it was worth it. We tried to discuss the housing and furniture situation but it was a little stressful so we didn't get far. There is just so much to consider...and we didn't want to spoil the afternoon. After champagne brunch we headed over to Sentosa to the Super Tree...the weather wasn't good and the tree wasn't open so we went back to our hotel to recover a bit! Then we spent the night enjoying Singapore! There is so much to see and do and even at night the city doesn't sleep. I think we went to 3 places that evening which was only a very very small portion of the options. We went to the top of the boat bar to have a drink which was so cool...the view is amazing. We were down in boat quay for drinks as well which has a great atmosphere then somewhere else...all good! 
Monday we went to open a bank account then went to Ikea to check out furniture. It is to expensive to get super nice stuff there so we wanted to get an idea who much it would cost us if we had to furnish a full house from there. The thought of having to furnish a full house just makes me want to throw up because I am so not into decorating...that is a job for one of my friends and now I have to do it on my own with Mike's help which isn't much help seeing as though he is color blind and completely lacking of taste! So needless to say it was a painful exercise...after 2hrs of roaming the halls of Ikea we had enough. The rest of the afternoon we got a tour around Singapore. I can't even begin to explain all the different areas...just think of about 100 different mini cities all together within a 30 min car ride...that is basically what it is. There is a Chinatown where of course you can find a lot of the things you would get from China. Also near there is a very popular bar area that we went to with Gernot. Very cool area. Then we went by Little India where you find all your Indian needs and apparently that is also the place to go to get your specialty cuts of meat. There is a market there that people travel form all over Singapore to get fresh meat from. The thing is if you do not go early, like 6am early you will not have the selection that you want and they may be out of the good stuff by 10am. I will have to explore this place some time soon when we get there to see what it is all about. They also have a 24 hour shopping center that is pretty big! It is like 2 city blocks and has a ton of stuff...it was so crowded when we drove by and we are told that it stays busy all day. Another interesting fact is that apparently the most amount of perfumes are sold in all of Singapore is sold in that mall. Crazy...and it its not like a little more then the other areas its a huge amount!!!! That appears to be the place to go if you want cheap selection...but you don't know how long it has been there because that mall has a bad reputation for stock rotation...I guess you have to decide what is more important to you? Good quality or low price...can't always have both. Then we went by the central business district which was booming with people all over. What every you want you can get there. It is incredible how many people are in the area around lunch time, they were telling us that some people will que in line for food for about 1hr then take it back to the office to eat. Lunch breaks are about 1hr but if you go at the prime time you have to que...and Singaporean's don't seem to mind to que. Its funny when they told us that it reminded me of the place we saw in the the first day I arrived. There was a new food stall that had opened and they sell roasted sweet potatoes...the que for 1 sweet potato (because you could only get 1 sweet potato per person) was about 45min!!! That is for a simple sweet potato!!!!! And they only make a few dozen at a time so if you are in the que at the wrong spot and get to the counter when they run out you have to wait another hour for them to roast the next lot of them! I couldn't believe it...wait for 1hr for a freaking roasted sweet potato???? Never in a million years would I do that. But it is not uncommon...actually it is very traditional. It must be some combination of wanting the newest coolest most exotic thing....the novelty of it that draws the crowd. It is just reality...that new food stall opened early in December and people are still queing up for hours to get 1 sweet potato! Oh, I did find out later that those were special sweet potatoes from Japan which must mean something special that I have no idea about...maybe better quality or higher nutritional value...something...so it wasn't JUST any old sweet potato. Either way I will wait for the novelty to wear off before I try it myself...that might never happen so it might be a while before we see what all the hype is about. Anyway, those are some of the things that we will have to get use to when we move there. The culture is very different. Oh yeah...they did the same thing for the new iPhone 10!!!! Apparently people qued for a full day to get a new phone...I guess that would have been true for a lot of different places across the world but the Apple store in the main downtown area is HUGE!!! Like a whole city block long and I think 2 stories high! The amount of people who would have had to be in line to fill that store is incredible. To add to that we saw this incredible Lamborghini in front of our hotel that was just...I don't know...I don't have words for it. Incredible!!!! This is so common here it is unbelievable. I heard of it being like that in Dubai but didn't know it was like that here...I even heard of a car made out of all hot wheels that was completely decked out! And it was for a teenager! The amount of money spent is crazy. I digress.... so more city sightseeing and trying to take it all in and get an idea where to go, when and when not. The rest of the evening was just taking in all the information and trying to make a decision about the condo. We decided that it was really coming down to preference and not really so much which one was practical so we were going to test out the travel time required to get from the 1st option to the Canadian school then see how it would be to get from the Canadian school to the 2nd option. It is probably a useless exercise but when you are not use to your main source of transportation being metro you kind of have to test it out on your own to really know what they mean when they say 10min...it can be very different for different people.Tuesday morning we were up a little later than we should have been but Mike had to do some stuff for work so we eventually made it to the option 1 place and to our surprise/delight there were a ton of little kids lined up to get onto a school bus....all the kids were going to the Canadian school!!! It was like a sign or something...we both immediately got a little more inclined to go with this place. So we also thought it would be a good test to see if we could beat or match the bus in travel time to the school...it was a test. So we headed off with our timers set and we got lost immediately!!!! Just leaving the condo we went the wrong way and it just was one wrong turn after another! It was one of those funny not funny type of things. I mean now, after the fact, we are laughing about it but during the travel we were not laughing very much. It the end, it took us about 1hr to get to the school which meant that if we had the boys they would have been 30min late (at least). I think we could have shaved off about 15-20min if we went directly there and didn't have all the missteps but still dragging 2 boys to a bus and train and a 14min walk to the school would have resulted in its own delays. So once we got to the school we decided to get more information about this bus...it might be a more relevant option for us after all. Then we took the metro back to the 2nd place and it was a little quicker but we still got lost...but it would definitely be about 15min less travel time verses the other place. Even after we realized it was more convenient (only a metro ride and walk) we still were not inclined to immediately pick that place. We should have just went with our gut but that isn't how we do things. So back to the hotel to shower (it was a humid sweaty walk) and to call the realtor because the owners wanted an answer....we finally decided to go with the 1st option. And that meant that we had to get on the ball right away...we were lucky that the owner waited for us to even think about it because I am sure they could have gone with the other people no problem. But we just had to be sure of ourselves and not feel like we were being pushed into it. But that also meant that a lot of things had to happen in a very short time. Mike had to start transferring money over to our new account because the owners wanted money right away and he also had to get with Pepsi to try and get the agreement from them. So many moving pieces...but we were very lucky because the lady we were working with is GOOD!! I mean really good!!!! I told her one day during our house hunting that she was a no nonsense kind of lady...I liked that! She just laughed but I think she agreed big time. So finally we have decided on a place but we need about 6 things to happen before it is final. We need all these things to happen within 24hrs!!! It was nerve racking but kind of out of our hands. Mike did his transfers and we just had to wait for the rest.
Now that we have a place picked out and the ball is rolling we had time to check out some different furniture places because we just knew it wouldn't be practical to do it all from Ikea. So we took a long ride to the airport to check out a big shop there. When we got there we found out the the owners had countered our offer again but this time it was in our favor and they were going to put a few items in the condo which was great! So we didn't have to buy a whole bunch of new stuff. That was awesome...but what that meant was that we would be leasing stuff instead. Its a whole different way of doing things there but that is the normal way it seems. You get furniture on lease for a few years then they toss it! There are so many expats coming and going that there is a steady flow of goods and no one keeps stuff very long. Anyway, it was part of what the owner wanted which was good for us and we could pick out the stuff too! Which was an even added bonus. Of course the place to rent the furniture was all the way on the other side of town and we had only been at this furniture shop for less than 30min...off we go again. This rental place was in the most odd mall I have ever seen but the actual furniture store was nicely set up. We had a walk around and got a feel for prices and quality. It was a little overwhelming but it was also a necessity. After a couple hours there it was time to go and relax our minds a little...that means its time for drinks!!! Well before drinks we had to do more stuff for the condo and it was becoming very clear that we were going to have a problem with the money because the money transfer was taking longer than expected. I guess if we would have known a few days before that it was possible for us to need cash so quickly we would have opened the account sooner and had money waiting...you live and learn. Anyway, we were not completely dead in the water but it was getting close for sure.
Now time to head back to Ireland!
Oh but before we leave Singapore mom took care of getting the light for the red car and our computer died!!!! I told her and Cesar to put some pressure on the guy because it was over 5 days waiting for the freaking reflector to come in so that is what mom did...she handled it...I only found out later that she basically told the man she wanted her money back so that she could go somewhere else and get the reflector...he said it was only e11 and she said she didn't care and he gave her the money and she found someone to fix the light. My mom drives me bat shit crazy all the time but she will always be our mamma bear and will fight the cause for us no matter how small the issue. And she got the car NCT'ed no problem!!! Incredible...that is where I get my strength from for sure...who wants to buy a car!!!!!! 
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