The Temples of Little India

Above and below are Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, devoted to the worship of Vishnu.
Below are pictures of Sri Veeramakaliamman, which is for worship of the goddess Kali, the consort of Shiva the Destroyer.
You can see that Sri Veeramakaliamman promotes a "healthy" body image, which for them includes manboobs and stomachs ready for some good eatin'.

Healthcare Surprises

This place can help you with all your needs - perhaps a little weight gain today?

Teeny Tiny Fruits

The fruits of the week are weenanas and limettes. The former has a different name, which was explained to me by the fruit market man, and forgotten by me moments later. Only so much I can learn in a week!

Laura in Bangkok

Here are some people I saw in Bangkok last weekend. See if you can tell which one is Adrian, my Canadian visitor.

Orchids Galore

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming with some pictures of Singapore's Botanical (orchid) gardens.

Laura & Barry: Your Questions Answered

Since there is some confusion, here are answers to your questions:

Q: This man has Asian features, is he a local?
A: Nope, I ordered Barry from the Internet. I'm like a Monet, people prefer me from a distance.

Q: When did this happen? Barry is in Singapore?
A: No, Barry came here in November. I had no idea that people thought the blog was up-to-the minute!

Q: Barry, you dawg.
A: Duly noted.

Q: Are you going to take up triathlons, Laura?
A: Are you crazy? I'm not a masochist!

Q: So Barry spent $2000 to fly there for your first date?
A: Did you think I was a cheap date?

Q: Do other visitors get similar treatment?
A: I can't believe I keep getting this question! While I want to encourage you to visit, please get a grip.

Trans-Pacific Romance

Sometimes, oceans are not as big as you think. I have a new boyfriend who makes me very happy, please click for pictures.

Happy New Year!

Laura and a couple of icons would like to wish you Happy New Year and all the best for 2008!

Laura in Bali

Over the holidays, I went to Bali, which was filled with rain, temples, clouds, sculptures, and greenery. There are more pictures here than average, but you're on holiday, try to strengthen your attention span.

Happy Holidays

Laura in Singapore wishes you all the best for the holidays!

Fruit of the Week

The fruit of the week is the pomelo. Since I'm studying marketing, I've come up with some slogans for the pomelo. Do you see a career for me in citrus marketing?

1) Pomelo, a great big fruit experience.
2) Pomelo. Super-size it.

3) Pomelo. Compensating for something?

4) Pomelo, a freak of natural goodness.

5) Pomelo, kicking the ass of smaller citrus.

6) There's a little Pomelo in all of us.

7) Pomelo, making lil' citrus weep.

The vegetable of the week is shown below. While I believe it is some sort of turnip, googling its Chinese (Pinyin) name yields only, um, nudity-oriented sites. Stay tuned.

Exam Strategies

Right now, I am studying for exams. To help with our grades, my group and I have come up with the following strategies for achieving high exam grades:

1) For all questions, regardless of what is asked, calculate what you know. Then elaborate on said calculation. If no data is available for this, make something up.

2) Once you do that, randomly multiply and divide different numbers available. That will look good and hopefully get partial credit.

3) Do calculations very neatly so as to appear confident and in control. Use a ruler to draw lines places, signifying subtotal, cost, etc. Avoid erasing incorrect calculations. Instead, just demonstrate your subject mastery by re-starting the question via an "alternative approach".

4) Use verbose explanations in between calculations to explain what you're doing. Try not to relate these to actual calculations in order to break up the flow a little. Use words like paradigm and streamline.

5) Carry all incorrect calculations to at least 4 decimal places to prove that you're diligent and accurate in your ignorance.

6) Draw at least one whale diagram, even if the question does not ask about customer profitability. Such diagrams are pretty, and help the marker with his self esteem. Conversely, do not draw the death spiral, no one wants to see that.

7) Liberally use the acronyms and terms between the numbers, that will confuse the professor into thinking that you really know something.

8) Ensure that all 16 pages of the booklet are full of numbers and acronyms for a high quality exam.

Boat Quay

Here are some pictures of Boat Quay by day and night.

Boat Quay is a row of bars and restaurants along the river, at the Elgin Bridge, Singapore's first river crossing. While Clarke Quay has taken some of Boat Quay's allure, Boat Quay is much more romantic.

Monkeys in Singapore

Since I love long-tailed macaques, I went to see them at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, which is a rainforest park in central Singapore. There was more to see in Bukit Timah than the monkeys. This is the view from the highest point in Singapore, whose hills have mostly been removed to reclaim land from the sea.

Surpsingly, the first thing I saw at the park was this sign, which I've used before for our office rules (do not feed the Darryl) so I knew it was serious business. More monkeys here.

Little Baggies

Singapore makes good use of little baggies. You put your umbrella in a little baggy when you come in from the rain, but don't forget to take it out later!

Takeout, including coffee and drinks (yummy lime juice shown here) is also served in little baggies.

The Merlion

Here I am with Singapore's official tourism icon, the Merlion. While I have seen the Merlion several times from afar, I foolishly failed to realize that the Merlion was indeed half fish. It is confusing enough, I suppose, to understand that the Lion city is so known because it once had tigers. More pictures.

Patriotism in Singapore

This week, we Canadians bid for Canada week (a week at school dedicated to Canada, involving many fun events, see Korean week below). In order to gain votes and seal the deal, we promoted our country based on free Canadian club...

...and demonstrating our support for same-sex marriage. (Oh, the things I do for my country.)

Obviously, we won our week. (The Americans, sadly, did not.)

Me and Stam

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingly Raffles and me. Old and new settlers in Singapore.

Stylin'

Do you think North America is ready for Vietnamese fashion?

Culture Shock Delirium

The other day, I had a taxi driver who frightened me because he looked so much like Shawn Mc. Is Shawn, shown here, perhaps part Asian? Or am I, in my attempted integration into Singaporean culture, losing my mind?

Bonus Features of the Help

For various reasons, I pay four times the rent I did in Ottawa for a lovely condominium with maid service twice weekly. Normally, though I make few messes, I find it pleasing to never do dishes. This, however, is the traumatic story of how I had to do my own dishes yesterday.

I came home late in the afternoon to see shoes at my front door, well after when the usual maid should have gone. I entered, and a maid I hadn't seen before was there, music, fan and air conditioning were blaring. Not only that, but she wasn't wearing any pants. So there was a stranger in my house wearing nothing but a long shirt. I saw cellulite. What exactly is a girl to do? I tried to mind my own business, but then there was a knock at the door, to further disturb my privacy. Naturally, I had to answer it as I was the one wearing clothes. (Furthermore, the maid is Malay and cannot be seen without her hijab on). Anyway, it was a man at the door wanting to give the maid a key. I believe he is the boss of all maids, known as the maid pimp. Embarrassingly, I had to explain that my maid was "changing", which likely made him suspect we were having some kind of affair, though she wasn't really my type. He left, and my maid took off her pants again. I do not believe this is normal in Singapore. After flinging the mop around for a while, she got dressed then asked me if there was anything else she could do for me. Naturally, I decided that it was worth doing my own dishes in order to regain my privacy and sanity.

Happy Divali!

Why is Laura always at festivals? Well, Singapore celebrates the traditions of its people, who come from the world's two most populous nations. This week was the very important Divali (Deepavali), the Hindu festival of lights. To mark this occasion, we ate preposterous amounts of yummy Indian food for about $5. The picture below shows my surprise at learning that this is how big my belly will be after eating. More non-festival pictures of little India coming soon. Pics click.

After School

School's done for the day, where should I drive?

(Yes, contrast with previous post is intentional.)

People in Vietnam

This album is dedicated to Tony, who always wants pictures of the locals. Somehow, this is easier to accomplish in a developing country.

Laura in Vietnam

From the chaos of Hanoi, we travelled to Halong bay, where we spent the night on a Junk boat.Then, we travelled via bus, boat and cable car to the Perfume Pagoda. The pictures here are set two of three for Vietnam, stay tuned.