Singapore Day 1 ish (July 22-23) - The Long Road

Why hello there, it's been a long time. Just over 4 years to be more specific. I think it's as good a time as any to start again, because I might actually have interesting things to say for the next few weeks.

As some of you may know, I recently started a great new career with TradeGecko. As part of this new adventure, I need to spend 2 weeks training and learning the ins and outs at the HQ in Singapore. This was a scary and exciting proposition for me. With a young family and never having been anywhere remotely like this, I gave it some thought and decided to jump in feet first. My lovely wife gave me the great idea to write down as much as I could, because it's hard to remember all of the great things you see. So here we are and I'll try to keep with it most days. Thanks my dear.

So day 1 is a bit deceiving, as it involved a lot of flying and waiting and really spreads over a few calendar days. I left Friday at 1:45am and took a nice short 15 hour flight to Taiwan. You can see flight path takes you as far north as Alaska and way across the Pacific Ocean.

This was an experience because I don't sleep on planes generally (slept for about 2 hours), and the way this timing works meant that we were in the dark for about 90% of the flight. I did have time to watch four movies (Zootopia, The Jungle Book, London Has Fallen and Batman vs Superman) and read some of my book (End of Watch by Stephen King).

Once that long haul was done I only had a much more manageable 4 hour and 23 min flight to Singapore. I knocked out one more movie (Money Monsters) and read more, so not all bad. Once I finally got to Singapore at 12pm local time on Saturday, I have been awake for roughly 36 hours, minus the little cat nap and was very excited to take on this new life experience.

So that's a long way of saying that, the long journey is done for a few weeks and now it's time to start learning and seeing things.

Day 1 Learnings:

• Alcohol is really expensive here, food is pretty cheap and yummy. 
• They drive on the left like GB, didn't realize that
• Chinatown here is pretty cool, but not overly different than the one in Toronto (I know, Chinatown in Singapore is kind of funny to some of you)
• Customs officials have a hard time with your passport here if you have a shaved head in life but not in your picture...
• I watched two cops chase down someone who stole something, tackle him,handcuff him and nobody drew a weapon. Was glad to see that. 
• I'm Big here. Not famous, just physically big. 

Thanks for reading, sorry day one wasn't too wild. I'm sure they will get more exciting and my writing will continue to improve. 

The JLS
Track My Photos Throughout Online. 

A Cold July...

OK, so maybe the title should be a cold in July, but I thought it sounded more suspenseful the other way. I am one of the lucky few who gets to have the dreaded summer cold and I don't like it one damn bit. That is part of the joy of working in an office where they stack you up like gerbils at a pet store. But it could be worse I guess...I could be a soccer fan or have a lady friend who watches the Bachelorette, so it's not all bad. (don't be alarmed by the stupid highliting, the editor tool won't allow me to change it for no good reason)

So because I am blaming office mates for said cold, I might as well talk about the joys of an office job. A friend texted me that her mom used to say a summer cold meant that you had been kissing too many boys, I can assure you with an 87% level of certainty that I did not acquire the cold in this manner. So I'm sticking with the office. 

So I work in an office and by all standards it's a very nice office. Compared to others I have worked in, it's basically a damn palace. Nice location, nice decor, lots of glass walls to make you feel like you are in a fishbowl during meetings, everything a person in the corporate world could ask for really. But alas, what kind of world would we live in if I couldn't make fun of some aspects of the rat race...

First off people bring their germs and vileness to the office with them, which I guess I did today as well. I did this out of spite for those who did it to me and thus the circle continues, so someone less spiteful than me needs to break this circle or it will just be a cesspool of filth. 

Secondly you don't get to pick who you sit beside. You know the saying that you can't choose your family, well that goes at work as well. Sometimes life, or in this case management, gives you rotten lemons so you can't even make lemonade. Why can't I always sit by the smart, good looking person with all of the right answers. I mean my neighbours get to. 

Third (not really office, more commute), why can't parking be free so I don't have to take public transit? I mean, if you ever feel inadequate as a human being, just go to the county fair or take public transit for 10 min. I've seen people eat stuff off the floor, yell at other riders for no good reason, heard a teenage girl conversation (nothing is more mind numbing) and seen seats that have been recently urinated on. I feel as if my IQ drops at least 10 points per ride and I don't have enough points to spare as it is. I do however feel pretty amazing as a person after these rides, knowing that I refrained from doing any and all of those things. 

So what grinds you about the rat race? Let me know. 

JLS aka The Lazy-assed Mercenary(that's my Wu Tang Name) 

The world is your oyster...

I actually tried these for the first time this week, interesting...

Where have ou been for the last 6 and a half months? I have been waiting for you to miss me and it just didn't happen so I decided to come back anyways. It's July 31 and it's one of the most beautiful days of 2011 so far, and we have had our fair share of them. 

It's been a long time since I shared my useless thoughts with the world, at least in writing format. I generally share useless thoughts with people on a daily basis, but this is a different medium. I said boldly that this was going to be an epic year and 7 months into this 2011, I don't think I will be wrong.  don't want to count the chickens before they hatch, but it's been a stupendous year to this point. 

Here is an update in 1000 words or less...new job is rolling at full steam, better money, been reunited with friends as colleagues, VEGAS dirty 30 baby, good friends, great family and an even better relationship...had my twin sibling tumor removed, beer, sun, great books, great sports and many other things that make even me smile. I'd say that's a damn good start anyways. I still have 5 months left and I have some pretty sweet tricks up my sleeve that have yet to be unveiled. Stay tuned. 

...

I recently visited the home base of NB and I learned a lot of things. That is after all the essence of life, to be continually learning (Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  ~Henry Ford). So what could I possibly learn there you say...well I learned that I am from NB but I am now a person who hails from Toronto (say what you want, but you can't judge if you haven't lived here). I am also a person who learn much of what I know in NB, and that made me a better person. I am much like Blade (the odd vampire trilogy) as I am a Hybrid a day-walker. Being in NB taught me that NB is great but it's not for me, and that I also would not do as well as I am doing in Toronto if I hadn't learned what I did in NB. 

We can't just say we are this or we are that, because we are what we are and what we are is a concoction of everything we have seen and learned. If you choose to shut out a complete part of your life then you aren't what you should be and that's sad. 

Hybrids forever...

The JLS aka the feel good story of the summer

Welcome to the HOF Roberto Alomar and Deion Sanders

One of my childhood favorites and an amazing flare for second base.

A two sport star truly deserving of the Hall

"look good play good , play good pay good , pay good live good , live good eat good, eat good die good" Deion Sanders

Year 29 was good, Year 30 will be EPIC

Alcatraz: Seeing this will keep you within the law

Well, well, well, three months and I haven't written anything. I've been busy ok. It's been an eventful time and I'm not going to sit here and justify myself to you readers. (I say that that there actually are some :) If you didn't forget about me and you were wondering when I would write again, well then I'm glad you are you.

2010 has come and gone and it was a pretty damn good year really. Why was it so good you ask? Well let's see...went to Cuba with 5 great people, started a great new job, played some great sports, my niece celebrated her 1st birthday, my better (much better) half kept me around for another year, I got to go to California for the first time and saw many cool things like Alcatraz and a San Francisco 49ers game.

That's just a snapshot of the highlights and there are many more things I could add, but don't need to bore you with that. So looking at that list tells me that I definitely have things rolling in the right direction.

Speaking of going in the right direction, here we are in 2011. Now if you are a believer in the ridiculousness that is the 2012 theory, then you better made this tear very EPIC!! I am not a believer in the 2012 BS but I still plan to make it epic. I don't make New Years Resolutions, because I believe they are for weak people who ned a crutch to make a change in their lives, but I do set goals, and here are some of my 2011 goals:

1. Make this the best year I can with my family and friends. You may not get to choose your family, but you don't get to buy news ones either, so make the most of the time you have with them.

2. Be successful in my new career and work my butt off to make sure it happens. Work Smart and Hard.

3. Survive my 30th birthday party in Las Vegas, Nevada. That will be the definition of Epic folks.

4. Be fiscally responsible and pay some debt so we can buy a better place to live.

I know many of you may not care about my goals for the year, so I will say this. The point is that we have to set goals that make us work and make us value what we see as important to us. Don't make resolutions, make changes when they need made and take care of those around you. We all have to share this planet, so let's Smile and Wave.

As Dewey Cox said, "Make a little music everyday until you die."

JLS aka the czar of making it happen.