Meet the flat...

Family,

And a good evening to you from across the globe after a truly SPECTACULAR DAY in the Lion City. So I realize that I need to catch you up on 2 days of activities, starting with a GREAT way to start your week off in the tropics - a visit to the Ministry of Manpower.

So here's the deal - if you're gonna work in the town (sounds like a line from a movie, right?), then you need what's called a "Long Term Employment Pass." Now in theory this sounds simple, but prior to that you have to have:

1. An employment sponsorship (Thanks, BAML) - this is basically your original application where they want to know EVERYTHING THAT COULD EVER BE KNOWN about you. Seriously - they wanted MY HIGH SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY INFORMATION. I just wrote on there that I was a History Major, which means that a) no I'm not qualified and b) I really have no idea why I'm over here either. This apparently worked, as they moved me to the next phase.

2. In Principle Agreement - this is a 9 page letter where they say, "Thank you, donkey - we now have a way to track your moves and tax the @#$# out of you come end of year." Of course, since that beats the alternative of CANING, I was willing to comply.

3. Once you have the above, you go for your biometric appointment. That, dear friends, was the Monday activity.

So I rock up with my docs and my photo ID, to which my handler asks, "Is this photo the right size?" I replied with the honest "I've got no idea" since, well, I'd been told that she would be able to verify if the size was right (that's what she said). Sure enough, it was NOT, so I had to get in line behind about 14,000 children to get THE SMALLEST PICTURE ID KNOWN TO MAN taken of me. Seriously - this photo would fit on the head of a pin. But I digress.

I then went back in, mini-mug shot in hand, only to put my thumb on a scanner and have the lady tell me: "Your fingers aren't oily enough." She then grabs my fingers and RUBS THEM ONTO MY THUMB for about 20 seconds, after which time my thumbs feel like they've been jettisoned into cryo-space for about 20 years concealed in a vat of Vasoline. Luckily it worked - I'd have HATED to see what the "emergency protocol" would have been.

The work day was good, complete with a New Joiner lunch in Vivo City (it's a mall), and then the evening was the highlight of the day - dinner with Terri, Ruth, Carla, and Martin (my new boss) at this place in Chinatown called P.S. Cafe. It was UBER tasty, and the wine (selected by Terri - they carry it at her restaurant back in Dallas) was EXTRA AWESOME. Now's a time to make a plug for the "World Piece Cafe" should you find yourself roaming in the Lonestar state. But I digress...

Today was a good day as well, albeit CRAZY. I know it's just Day 4, but I'm really getting into the work and loving it so far. This is a role filled with new information and new challenges, and I have ZERO complaints so far.

I did get a workout in yesterday, but today my lazy ass didn't do ANYTHING. I set the alarm for 6 to do Yoga (can you imagine how I would have looked in there?), but sleep took priority. However, I WILL get up tomorrow, as need to log mileage to a) keep up race training and b) make it to the gym 5 out of my first 7 days (he says as he eats Doritos - the new "Smokin' BBQ" flavor - I can hear T-Rowe's laughter from here).

So I've had a lot of requests to see pics of the flat, and so some are below. You'll see the living room/dining room (above), the master bedroom (Asians don't really "do comfy," but the bed has honestly slept really, really good so far. Muffin - we have no sheet, and the comforter is about half an inch thick, so it's all about regulating the AC!

You can also see the bathroom (don't worry - there is a shower) and the kitchen as well. I love the place - the only thing missing is my perfect pumpkin!

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat tomorrow!

Love,

Sam and Jenny