Singapore Day 3 (July 25) - Back to Work, Work, Work, Work, Work

So all of my Toronto colleagues were very clear with one message before I came to Singapore...don't walk to the office, take the train. So day 1, I decided to walk to the office. Take that. Honestly, it was great and the weather hasn't been too hot (30 degrees, warm yes but it's normally 40 this time of year) so far, which makes the walk perfect. It's a great 15-minute walk with lots to see.

So as some of you know, I haven't been working since Mid May (which was a great time to re-group and get my mind right, not to mention just be with my girls), so day 1 back at work was a definite test when added to jet lag. Well, let me tell you, day 1 at TradeGecko was awesome. It's a young, smart, energetic and friendly team. Having worked at companies big and small I can say they made a great first impression on me, and I hope I did on them. The Office is in a great area with so much to see. I can see now why the founders made the move from New Zealand to Singapore to start the company.


Here are the 5 company values. Nothing wrong with that:

Here is what the five are and what they mean:

• CAN: Relentlessly Resourceful 
• MANA: Power, Pride and Respect (A Maori word that means power and pride) 
• BAYANIHAN: Community Spirit (In the Philippines, Bayanihan refers to the spirit of community. If someone’s home floods, the community will come together to literally lift up the house and move it) 
• GENIUS: Elegance and Simplicity 
• BEST: The Best at Getting Better, Constant Growth, and Learning

After work some colleagues and I had a couple of drinks (Bottle of beer, $15 Singapore Dollars), I told you it wasn't cheap. Paying that much, for what would get you 6 in Canada, makes you feel like you just ran the gauntlet with this guy chasing you...Not pleasant.

So next time you go out in Canada and have an 'expensive drink' just remember this. At least the food is generally less, but not always. Vices, in general, are not cheap here, so I guess there is some logic to it and likely keeps people relatively healthy.

Sorry Randy, still haven't found any 'ladies' yet for you. You will have tom come visit and we can look together.

Day 3 Learnings:

• Jetlag is delayed, but as I'm wiring this on day 4, I feel pretty good. 
• The food is still great and has not disappointed yet. 
• Asia Light, as my colleagues call it, is pretty nice, travel people, see the world. Life is short. 

Singapore Photos, keep an eye on them!

The JLS

Singapore Day 2 (July 24) - Rain, Rain, Sleep

Well folks, it was a slow day today as I actually had to do some prep for work. So it's a short day 2 post.

I did walk around between rain storms and see some of the city, but none of the main attractions as of yet. That will come. Randy also wanted some more risque material, so I'll keep an eye out for that as well.

Day 2 Learnings:

• So many food options seems good on the surface, but man it's hard to pick something. 
• Being on the opposite schedule as everyone else makes for a slow FB newsfeed. 

Make sure to keep up with the photos here: Singapore Photos

See you tomorrow. Time to get to work and see more of the city. 

The JLS

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)