Who Has Been a Bad Blogger??

Hello Hello

I write this post quickly with the remaining time I have left here in Bangkok. I have seen a lot of this city this time and have a new found appreciation for the kindness of Thai people and their hospitality. I stayed in a wonderful little place called lamphu house and fell in love with its charm. Next..tomorrow actually, I head on to Siem Reap to see the world famous temples of Angkor Wat. I really cannot wait for that. Following that a trip to Saigon and Mui Ne Vietnam for christmas. Furthermore, north to Han Oi, West to Vientienne Laos and back to Thailand for some trekking and some time in Bangkok before I head off to school again. EEEkkk

Well, my minutes are running out really fast.

I will do my best to try harder.

Michael

One Full Moon I Shant Forget

With this blank blog box in front of me, I am trying to think of where to begin this post. I clearly have been a bit absent this blog. Sorry :( I do intend to be more diligent but sometimes diligence and I are not the best of friends. That being said, here goes.

This week marks the end of my first semester here in sticky, hot Singapore. I have made a film, I have auditioned for a play that I'll be in next semester here at the school and I have learned some more Chinese language...again, so freakin' hard. I have also, as I write this, obtained food poisoning twice. To be honest, I think it is from the two times I have had western style fish and chips in both Malaysia and also in Thailand. NEVER AGAIN!!!! It is the worst feeling in the world to have food poisoning. I am sure you can all imagine the symptoms and I care not to explain. Let's just say, OUCH!!!!

Also, I went to the FULL MOON PARTY at Haad Rin on Ko Pha Ngan (a tropical Thai island in the Gulf of Thailand). This was literally the biggest pary I have ever seen in all my life. There were apparently a good 8 - 10,000 people there soaking in the night and soaking in a lot of other things as well. One thing that got soaked in my trip there was my camera. Not only soaked but dented at the zoom as well. I have bought a new one already but let's just say that I said some words my grandma wouldn't want me to post on here so I will refrain. This party was help along the entire stretch of the beach and getting there was a cheap 600 Baht return on a speed ferry. Getting away...not so easy. I was there with my beautiful friend Caitlin in all her glory and we arrived there at approximately 9:00pm. The place was nearly empty. By 11:00 pm or so, it was a very different story. By 3:00am, a much more different story yet. Now, one does not typically go for a one hour thai massage in the throngs of a party, but Caitlin and I did and it was the best idea ever. Kind of surreal to have crazy load music and people screaming and being ridiculous directly outside the window where you are twisted in some weird position feeling amazingly relaxed. Oh yeah!!!! Best idea ever!

The exit from the party

Let's just say that at 3:00am people get a little crazy and especially when they want to get home from this crazy party. I climbed down a ladder at 330am and joined the masses of other party goers. You have a certain colour ticket around your neck and the hundreds of people who are waiting crowd the boat whenever one arrives to find out if it is for pink, or blue or yellow or green tickets. Thank god the pink one was one of the first. Everyone looked like goldfish at a stream in an amusement park that people are feeding those little fish food pellets to. ONE BIG MESS!!!!! However we arrived back on Koh Samui and began the journey to find the lovely place my parents had rented and were sound asleep inside I mean, a really nice place. If I had had to return to some awful hostel I would have cried for sure.

I am safe, it was fun and I am happy I went. I would never go again though. Maybe I am getting old, maybe I don't like to party anymore, who knows. I just know that I do not need to see that beach and that party ever again.

Take Care

Michael

Finnish Disco Dancing

This is the video I watched to get some moves before the job began. SO HOT!!!

Saturday Night Fever Singapore Style...Grrrroooovy!

Now, as an actor I have done many strange gigs but the one I did yesterday definitely rivals the performing Shakespeare on a moving train. So, last month this girl, Kate, from my Praxis and Performance Theory class told me that her boss needed a white guy for a gig. Me, being always desperate for a dollar said yes. Now, as I said, I have done many a strange gig. Have I ever dressed up as John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever and walked around three different offices of Merrill Lynch calling all the local girls "Hot Stuff" while shaking my "groove thing" and "doin' the hustle?" Certainly not...until yesterday.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this tale is a tale like no other really. I mean, it's the type of thing that you may see in an ad campaign. My intention and requirements here were to walk around handing out flyers to all the staff in the office's many floors. Singapore is after all the 4th largest financial sector in the world so imagine how many floors of Merrill Lynch there really were.
The flyer was for registration into a dance contest that will be held at the office party on 1st December. Let's just say that Singaporeans could be described as shy and giggly if I am speaking in generalizations...the women specifically. Although a couple of them were wondering if I could be there partner. (tisk tisk) If I could enter I would. I think I would have a shot at the $1,500 top prize. Moooooove over HR and Training room B...here comes the Canadian. I was, after all, born in the 70's. Maybe there is still some left over grooviness in me.
Let's see what my tag lines were shall we?
"You got moves hot stuff?"
"Let it all hang out!"
"Shagadelic" (means groovy)
"Get down tonight"
To name only a few.

Needless to say, for the day I was referred to as Tony; the protagonist from Saturday Night Fever. Along with Kate, (AKA Stephanie) we wandered around with a cd player blaring ABBA and other disco sensations grooving for a cool 4 hours. Now, ordinarily I wouldn't shake a stick at some cash but...$50.00SGD?? It was a very meagre payout for an insane amount of energy spent. I did have a bit of fun though. The big black fro that I sported for some of the day really made me look handsome and the specs..so bogus!!!
Now, I will add this to the list of strange things I have done and hope that you can all imagine what I may have looked like. I have no pic as of yet..but soon!!

Keep on Keepin' On Dudes
Michael

Who's Been Bad??

Well well well,

I realize it has been quite some time since I put finger to keys..but I am doing it now. A lot has happened since my last post..post Kuala Lumpur. I recently received a school break from my exhausting three day school week. I am not about to begin to say that I am not busy though. Chinese language class alone is enough to fill me with anxiety make me want to crawl into a crib and whine for attention. SO HARD!!! Where do I begin?

Bangkok Thailand.

If you ever want to have a crazy, dirty, sleazy, sultry, strange and swindling good time...Bangkok is your destination of choice. I mean ping pong really does not mean two sweet Thai girls playing a lightning fast round of table tennis. I knew this to be true but I had never imagined what it would really be like. PATPONG. This sector of Thailand is a college jock with no morals dream come true. I will spare details for some of the readership but let's just say...WOWZA!!!

So...TOP FIVE BANGKOK EXPERIENCES:

1. Seeing all the craziness of Khao San Road filled with cheap eats, cooler treats and many, many backpackers

2. An amazing one hour Thai massage in which I was walked on and twisted and stretched and cracked all for a bargain price of $5.00CAD

3. Thai Boxing at Lumpini Stadium. This was quite cool really. 15 year old boxers who do a ritual at the top of each bout and proceed to kick and punch each other...crazy

4. The yummy yummy food. One can imagine and relate to how delicious real, Thai food is.

5. A motorcycle taxi. Being situated on the back of a motorcycle travelling 80km/h through bustling Bangkok traffic..weaving, dodging, and inhaling copious amounts of smog all at the same time....Now that's something to write home to mama about!!!

NEXT STOP - PATTAYA & COUCH SURFING!

Me and my friend Kristen from San Diego met up with Francois in Pattaya and stayed at his 19th floor, ocean front condo for...free. Thank you Couch Surfing. This service is a database of people who believe that travelling should not be expensive. Francois and the thousands of other couch surfing members open their doors to people who happen to be travelling in their areas becasue they love to meet new people and want to show people around. We saw Pattaya, were fed free booze, I was "dragged" up on stage in a local watering hole to sing with a band...FUN!!! Pattaya, much like Bangkok, is a bit sad in that the main source of tourism is the sex trade. I did not partake in this but to see it, is a combination of awe and just...well..depressing.

I could have eaten a cockroach in Pattaya but didn't. I mean, it was there, in front of me, on a grill, begging to be chewed by me, masticated by my jaws of fury...I could not bring myself to do it.

ANYWAYS
After Thailand; a trip including a badly made suit, a lot of beer, a bunch of bargaining, and a lot of smog, I headed back to Singapore and to my Best Friend Caitlin waiting for me at Changi Airport with a bag and a smile!!!

SO FUN to have a home and native lander here, in Singapore. We saw many things, had some drinks, saw little India saw the campus and we awaited the arrival of Christine..another home and native lander.

OFF WE WENT TO MALAYSIA!!!

Now, let me just say that we chose a destination that was random, cheap, low season, and so great.

Pulau Pangkor is an island on the west coast of Malaysia. There are apx. 25,000 people living there and the main source of income is fishing. The beaches were great and even greater because we were the only people on them. We saw three beaches; Coral Bay Beach 1, Coral Bay Beach 2, and the random name that I forget beach that we had to trek fifteen minutes through jungle to get to...WORTH IT!

To be the only three people on a beach with white sand and blue water and coral and intense sun.....AMAZING!


The highlight of my trip to Pangkor Island was seeing a Kampong Village. A Kampong is a house that is on stilts essentially. This village was entirely these homes, roosters and many people fishing and awaiting the day. I was enthralled with just looking and was tempted to speak to some locals about the lifestyle there. Next time I'll have to. This is the norm here. Of course to you or I it looks so poor and unkempt but this is life, this is the way it's done..my first real glimpse of an Asian town..was truly wonderful.



Well..I am now back in Singapore and have a Chinese midterm tomorrow. I anticipate a medium to okay grade. I still wish that all the local kids weren't allowed to take an intro to Chinese class but alas, they are and they will continue to. God, Chinese 2 next semester...EEEEeeeeK!!!



Since I have been here I have now:

- eaten chili crab

- had a Singapore sling at Raffle's Hotel

- gone to the Botanical Gardens

- gone to the man made Sentosa Island beach - (I'll write a post about it)

- travelled a fair bit

- had take away juice in a bag with strings...no take away cups here folks

- realized that recycling is hard to come by

- illegally chewed gum..twice

- met some great locals and other internationals



AND A LOT MORE!!!!



I did miss Thanksgiving though...so sad. I also missed the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show in my home town. I have gone every year and this was the first year in 27 that I have not...no Laur's Taffy or Tiny Tom's Doughnuts this year.



I leave you now with this thought....

Yeah, that's right...the one in your head right now.



XOX

Michael

Kuala Lumpur

This weekend, I took a road trip to KL from jolly ole Singapore. The trip was fun and cheap and filled with good times. At 10:15pm on Thursday (how I love my school Schedule with a four day weekend every week) me and a fellow exchange student, Joe, headed out to catch a train that would arrive in KL 8 hours later. I have since learned that taking a bus can take as little as 3 or 4 hours....Oops! Anyways, this train was a slow mover..a very slow mover. Every couple of hours the train would cease to move for no apparent reason whatsoever. Thankfully the babies on board chose to be quite tired allowing us to sleep for a good 5 hours or so.

Kuala Lumpur had arrived and we were ready to explore and check into the hostel. It is comforting when there are other Canadians around. After checking in I headed to the kitchen of the hostel to have some toast and a "coffee." I overheard some girls discussing Vancouver and New Brunswick. "Exciting!" I thought to myself. "We truly are everywhere." The one girl, Marina, made a suggestion that we should head to the Lake Gardens and we took this advice.

Beautiful! The orchid garden which is home to over 900 varieties of orchids was truly beautiful. This was a pleasant escape from the dirtiness of the city. It was a big transition from sterile and clean Singapore. After the garden we headed to the planetarium. Now, I had yet to feel like a real outsider in Asia until this experience. Let's just say that the kids on a school trip from a local school had more fun pointing and laughing at us two skinny Caucasians then they had learning about Black Holes in space and Virtual Reality. So much so, that one boy wanted to have his picture taken with us...of course we said yes. STARDOM!

Who knew that booze would be soooo expensive in a place where everything else is so cheap?? I mean, really, a bottle of beer was $9.00CAD. But, being pulled on stage to dance with a bunch of girls in Beyonce wigs to YMCA was something to remember. No amount of booze could help me forget that. I knew the dance from my musical revue days when I myself pulled audience members on stage to join me in my Village People Costume. PAYBACK is a BITCH!

I also had the chance to visit the Batu Caves in KL. This was great because up until this point I had never seen monkeys in the wild just doing their thang. Here they were a couple of feet away from me, eating oranges and peeing. Cute, but I guess in some ways they really are the equivalent of skunks or raccoons in Canada...knocking over trash bins, scurrying away across wires and fence posts. But, baby monkeys are really, really cute.

Malaysia had just celebrated its 50th year of independence the week prior to my visit. Now, the amount of flags there was bewildering really. I have never, ever seen such patriotism in one place...except for Singapore on National Day...WOWZA!!!! I mean, some of these flags are as tall as a house and as wide as a....well...JUST PLAIN MASSIVE!

Anyways, I came back to Singapore happy to be in a clean environment and also, happy to have seen the less clean and more chaotic, more Asian less western Kuala Lumpur. Now, to go live in a remote village in Mongolia or China.

Peace Out Ya'll,

Michael

What? Classes? Responsibility???

Here, to the right of my writing is a picture of a random spot on the National University of Singapore campus....stunning really. I still am slightly in shock sometimes that this is indeed where I live now; for a year I live here. I show this picture because it may give some insight into why I am having a hard time switching gears from holiday, craziness and perma-vacation mode into "oh my, I am here to study and learn and further myself academically" mode. Classes began and I enjoy them. I have four of them and by far, the most difficult is Chinese 1201...intro to Chinese language. NOT AN EASY LANGUAGE!!!! I know that I am not dedicating as much time to it as I could be. The hard part is that the class moves very quickly because there are a lot of students in the class who have definitely been exposed to Chinese in some form another. The majority of this is the students who speak Cantonese. Granted, I know that it is different from mandarin, but it is still clear that all of us crazy exchange kids in the class are bug eyed and feeling kinda slow. There are good websites though that I must frequent more regularly if this to become a language that I even capable of having a minor conversation in. Chinese works with a systems of tones. Tones 1 - 5 either flat, ascending, descending and ascending, just descending or neutral. So, for example, depending on how you pronounce "ma" it could mean either horse or mother. I love my mother and by no means do I want to accidentally call her a horse, so I must learn. At this point I can count pretty well and I can say me, you, day, year, and some other things too...other random vocabulary that was taught to me before I came over here. I do feel like I am treading water but my legs are getting very tired. Luckily, many people around here speak Chinese so..I am in the right place to get it right. I do have other classes though.

In Performance and Popular Culture I am learning the difference between performance and performativity. I won't go into it, but the class is very much a mixture of philosophy and sociology type things and thrown in is the context...popular culture. So, needless to say, my presentation will be on Mamma Mia and my paper could be on the Spice Girls or Friends...the sitcom.

In, Performance and Social Space, I am learning about how we perform in the cities we live in and how we react, create change and make our own spaces within those cities. This class will conclude with an essay film about a topic with which we are able to go off on tangents about and film, add music, and narrative to. Should be fun as I think it is Singapore themed.

In Praxis and Performance Theories we will be putting on a play at the half way point. This play will be based on exercises we do in class and will experimental in nature. I will enjoy this class as I am a tad tired of typical theatre these days. Audience pays for tickets, enters the theatre, sits there watches the play which either makes them feel something or not. In this case, we will break down the norms and make a play less about narrative more about an experience in a theatre...something I have been interested in awhile now. Mixing multimedia, movement, sound. Theatre - deconstructed.

So, I am in school, yup. Here I am, in Singapore being taught by a mix of local professors and a Brit. I am enjoying it a lot and I couldn't have chosen a better location to come to. Today, and every day really, it is at least 26 Celsius and more so like 41 or 42. I am approaching rainy season but, hey, you can't have everything you want in this life.

I may be doing a bit part in some sort of opening sequence for an American show. It is filming here, does not pay and it would be fun to do something creative so, I just may.

I hope all is well for all

12 Little Indian Orchards

So, before I left I was given a book. This book is titled "The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel." The book outlines many ways to see many places beyond the normal tourist attractions and expected routes. For example, "Backpacking at Home." In this activity you ask a friend to leave you at the airport in your city, make your way downtown to a backpacking hostel to check in, eat backpacker meals like pizza or take out, sight see, go online and meet with people in the city as friends..or whatever, go drink with random people who you meet and sleep at the hostel, then, find the route back to the airport as a backpacker would. (in Toronto you would take the godawful TTC and use a bus for an ungodly period of time to arrive at Pearson Intl.)

I chose to "Twelve Travel."

With this method of travel you, for example, take a train that leaves at 12:12 and get off at the 12th stop, walk or swim on the 12th line of latitude, stay in room 12 in a hotel, etc....

I, with limited budget, cannot partake in some of these activities. So, I did a budget version of this activity. Here is the breakdown of my activities:

• I left my room at Raffles hall at 12:00noon
• I selected a playlist of every 12th song on my ipod (more musical theatre on there then I thought)
• I got off at the 12th MRT station which was called Farrer Park
• wandered through the area which is Singapore's Little India
• used the Lonely Planet Singapore guide book and did the Little India walking tour
• flipped through the guide book twelve times and arrived at the Orchard Rd. section
• walked through orchard road area and counted down to the 12th mall (yes, there were actually more than 12)
• I was then quite hungry and was looking for somewhere to dine for $12.00SG and was tapped on the shoulder and handed a voucher for......$12.00.
  
  
  I chose that fateful moment to end my 12 journey because I felt as though that random, crazy occurrence was a suitable place to stop. HOW WEIRD??? $12.00, not $10.00. God was telling me that I chose the right experimental travel plan.

Since arriving in Singapore I have met some pretty awesome people too. It is amazing how being in a new place causes one to lose all inhibitions about just approaching people and having a conversation. I was also in Singapore for National Day. This was held at the Esplanade, a hug durian (Singapore's national fruit) shaped building complete with a theatre and studios and a library. There was a lot of spirit and patriotism going on, fireworks, army demonstrations, helicopters, music and many, many people cheering at random points throughout the night.

I have also begun my classes. I am taking Performance and Popular Culture, Performance and Social Space, Praxis in Performance Theories and Beginner Chinese. I will, of course, write more about what I do in each of these classes.

C'est tout pour maintenant.

I guess I should do some readings for class since the extended holiday has ended.....or has it? This place rocks my socks right off (literally because it is too hot to wear them here)

Where Am I?

Hello,

So, after my crazy adventure into Singapore I have now visited quaint yet sleazy Macau and bustling and shopping crazy Hong Kong. I must disclose first that I, at the point of my departure, felt very uneasy about going (the lost luggage actually still not showing up, the being at res for one day and sleeping with ants, the fact that my classes are still not finalized) BUT I am so glad that I went. I arrived into Macau and had, of course, another blast of heat slap me in the face and say "you're crazy you foolish Canadian, put on some shorts and get inside." Macau is beautiful and seedy all at the same time. I mean, anywhere that has gambling as its main source of entertainment is seedy and kind of sad. Also though...beautiful. There were points when I really could not tell if I was in Portugal or China.

(not a village in Portugal...Macau)

So, after playing a few slots at Wynn Casino we realized that no one was drinking..no one. Why would you not when every price you see can be divided by 7 to get the Canadian price??? The highlight of Wynn was by far the fountain and light show. A series of choreographed water jets spraying and blasting to the tune of Shirley Bassey's Remix of Goldfinger. SSSSssssssssizzling!

Next to Sands Resort and Casino! So much better. Three floors of gambling goodness, great Chinese food and a show featuring "Blue Jupiter" from the USA. I wonder if they have a website. An a capella band that was, well, lacklustre at best. I think I should market a show to Sands and be there for awhile. The day ahead brought us to the ruins of St. Paul's and the fort which was alongside it. I love feeling like I have stepped into the 16th century. Pretty crazy that the facade of the church had stood for close to 500 years. They don't build things like they used to.

Total Canadian spent gambling $100

Total Canadian lost gambling $100

NEXT STOP! HONG KONG:

So in Hong Kong it became very clear that shopping is very important for everyone. Tourists and locals alike. I guess maybe it's because they want money and lots of it. Similar to what I saw in Dubai, building and construction is massive there. I did not see one, single detached house. Every apartment was at least 30 floors tall. The MTR puts the ttc to shame even more than London's tube. So clean, quick, messages to tell you when the next train is arriving. I will murder the TTC when I move back home. The highlight of my time in Hing Kong was visiting the Big Bronze Buddha. There, was the first place I truly felt a sense of calm since leaving Toronto less than 2 weeks ago. The size of this thing was insane and remarkable. Also, the walk of wisdom which layed out, in Chinese of course, the foundation of Buddhist faith was filled with windy trails and scenic views that over looked the ocean. I was overcome to be honest. Filled with emotion, I almost cried. Yet, being there, I had the sense that all will be fine and I am over here and it is fantastic.

XO

Michael

Yes it goes on and on my friend

Well,

I just landed in Singapore a mere 3 hours ago and this has been the longest journey of my life. Allow me to share a few highlights. My flights were all relatively easy. EXCEPT for all of them involving Emirates Air. I know I know...the food..AMAZING. The leg room and entertainment console...AMAZING. The late connecting flight to Dubai and the lost luggage upon arriving in Singapore....NON AMAZING!! This journey is sooooo long. I won't go into all the details but let's just say. I had to ask what day of the week it was on more than one occasion. I'll divide the next section into three parts

Toronto:

A lot of crying, a lot of sighing. A very lacklustre meal and terrible entertainment system on the flight.

London:

Arrived in Heathrow at 630am and had a city to explore and went straight to it. I saw many tourist sights and ate what very well may be the worst breakfast I have EVER eaten. Cold eggs, runny beans, hash brown patties and lots of mushroom and tomato yuckiness. SO BAD!!! And..the price 8.50 pounds. Which is equal to about $20 CAD. Wowza! I walked a lot and my back realllllly hurt after lugging around my carry on. London really is beautiful. I love how one building is from the 17th century and next to it is one from last week. The TATE modern museum was outstanding and had an awesome exhibit about the future of the world's cities. Watch out....here comes over population. The tube...so clean and efficient. Loved it a lot. It puts the TTC to complete and utter shame. Last stop...pub..fish and chips and a pint. So good, they really know how to do it. At Heathrow time keeps slipping and my optimism about my flight leaving on time diminishes...quickly. We leave an hour and a half late and I have....1.5 hours to catch my connecting flight in Dubai..NOT GOOD!

Dubai: 9:00 pm arrival. My connecting flight departs 9:25pm

Needless to say, I was put up in a hotel in Dubai and stayed there for a night on Emirates. At this point I am beyond sleepy. I have a shower and head to Dubai City Centre to buy some new clothes to wear. I SMELL REALLY badly by this point. I get great DU-BUYS!! HAHA so funny. Great shops and a massive mall. I saw no camels but a lot of cranes building and building. This place seems to want to grow fast. It seems to be succeeding. I didn't see much of Dubai to be honest. I saw the mall and the airport and the hotel really. Next time I am there I'll have as much time as I want to spend.

FAST FORWARD to my arrival in Singapore after a nice flight on Emirates.

What?!?! I checked two bags not just one. Where is it? They have no answer. I am now put up in a hotel in Singapore Chinatown...once again on emirates.

As I write this I have now seen a lot more of Singapore. An awesome girl named Maryam took me around tonight. I went to Ikea to buy some sheets and a rug and stuff to lightly furnish my room. The room which has little red ants in abundance and a slight smell of urine. Outside the room currently are herds of 18 - 20 in a courtyard doing some sort of frosh activities. Am I rude for not joining in? I feel like..no. I am too old for frosh in any country really.

BUT....As I write this I must say that my bag? FOUND. I was half hoping it wouldn't be though. New wardrobe and speakers for my ipod and a few other things would be great.

Alas, I must to bed as I am flying out to Macau tomorrow and then to Hong Kong as well. I truly cannot wait.

I trust all is well for everyone in Canada and elsewhere and I will write more at some point soon.

When I get a telephone number I'll let people know. It should be at the end of next week.

XOXOX

Michael

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go!

Well...In officially one day, I shall be outta here. Thanks to all for making the party last night so much fun. I can't wait to have the craziness begin.

And....Scene!

xoxo

Michael

5 days till take off

So, hello all.

I haven't written anything for quite some time because I have been going slightly mad with preparing for this crazy asian adventure I am about to embark upon. I am essentially 100% physically ready to go. Mentally, I have yet to have the reality of the situation sink into my little brain. The highlight so far in leaving to Singapore is that a couple of weeks ago I had my last Starbucks shift...EVER!!!! All I can say is that it felt really amazing to be done. It has been the best of times and the worst of times and every kind of times in between. I disposed of my work pants and cut my Starbucks Partner Card #1001976 into a few pieces and locked the door. All systems go to Singapore now and I will be writing a lot in the next while.

Fast approaching is 7 countries in 12 days. Between last weekend and next I will step foot in:

Buffalo USA

Toronto CAN

London UK

Dubai UAE

Singapore

Macau

Hong Kong

My now bare-ish passport is soon to be a lot more full. EXCITING!!!

Off to my last night at the Gladstone before I head out!

Michael

"Karaoke?" "yes?" "You are truly, the Bee's Knee's"

I just wanted to write a post to pay respect to something which has been a part of my life for a long time, and will remain in my life in Singapore. YEAH!!!

I must begin by saying that my biggest, unrealistic dream heading out to Good Ole Singapore is to become really big on the Karaoke scene. From there I can make my mark in some bars. Before too long, I will have a recording contract. FAMOUS IN ASIA!!!

Anyways, singing Karaoke began for me around the age of 5 when I hogged a microphone and wouldn't let my sister or brother sing into it. There is a picture where my brother is crying in reaction to this. It then had a brief hiatus and returned in my teens when I would sing "Summer Nights" from Grease with a girl named Faith who later auditioned for Canadian Idol and made top 100. (GO FAITH!!!) Now this was in small town Simcoe, but I was destined for more when I came face to face with Karaoke at Crews/Tango on Church Street.

This was at a time that I was addicted to Sarah McLachlan, and really liked to wear Value Village clothes; some really gay clothing as well. I would try my luck with Sarah's "Possession" or "Angel" Not usually crowd pleasing. Debbie Downer in fact.

Oh I could go on but, really, let me just say that I would wait at the Gladstone for three hours for a chance to sing up there. Even if no one is left in the bar to hear me. I would make friends wait for three hours until it is my turn to sing...and have done so in the past.

Three Cheers for Karaoke

HIP

HIP

HIP.....replacement surgery I fell down and hurt myself because I was so excited about.....

KARAOKE!!!!

AND SCENE

TICKETS PLEASE!!

As you all now know, I am off to Singapore in only 2 short months. Before this can occur however, there is the process of booking an international flight….an ordeal that I have never encountered before - until now. When one decides to fly to Singapore, the normal course of action is to fly over our dearly, beloved Canada and stop over in Tokyo or Hong Kong, and then head down to Singapore. In my case (never doing anything simply or easily) I have decided to fly over Europe so I can have an extended stop over on my way home and take in some crazy European adventures as well. WHY NOT? This led me to encounter a few dilemmas and issues.

First MAJOR difference is the price. A return flight to Singapore the normal route is somewhere around $2000 after all taxes and fees. In my case…$2500 or more, depending on where, when, etc.

Secondly, my itinerary changed so many times.
#1 Toronto - Frankfurt - Dubai - Singapore
#2 Toronto - Frankfurt - Hong Kong - Singapore
#3 Toronto - Vancouver - Singapore (started to feel frugal)
#4 Toronto - New York - Singapore - Frankfurt - New York - Toronto
#5 Toronto - London - Dubai - Singapore - $2696.41

Now, who gets to go to Dubai? Me? Yes I do indeed. I am pretty excited about this stop over. I can see a lot of gold, a lot of camels, and a lot of luxury; it is in abundance. I can get within 1km of one of the world's only 7 Star hotels, the Burj Al Arab. Apparently every room has a butler or a team of butlers to assist you with all of your needs. If you need to land your helicopter on the roof there is no problem as it has the landing pad ready and waiting. I would need to pay $54.00USD in order to see it though. Ummm…maybe I'll stay in the Royal Suite for $28,000 a night. Sure.

Initially I was going to be flying on Singapore Airlines which is known to be the world's best. Now I will be flying the only airline that apparently rivals it- Emirates Air.

Something I didn't really know before booking this flight was that all airlines are connected to different alliances. There is the Star Alliance, Oneworld Alliance and the Sky Team Alliance. Basically, all I really understand about them is that when it comes to frequent flyer miles, you can only get them if the airlines you are connecting to along your journey all fall into the same alliance which, in my case, they do not. BOOO!!! Oh Well I am going to Dubai!!!

Also, because of some sort of craziness and Frankfurt being the only place that Singapore Airlines will fly to Singapore from in Europe ( I think that's what the travel agent said) Almost ALL flights out of Frankfurt are SOLD OUT as far away as August 2nd… CRAZY! Hence all of the changes and stresses.

BUT, I digress. I do know that I will have an amazing time flying in three 7 hour chunks on the way. If anyone knows what I can get up to in London with a 12 hour stopover, I am all ears. I also am excited to visit some friends in Hong Kong before the school year starts. I will go to Macau and do some gambling…very little, but some. On the way home I can stay with friends in Paris and London and also with family in various places in Germany and Holland. How traveled I will be.

Enough…DONE…LATER.

I was long winded, but I am ultra-super-crazy-magnifico exicted!!!

Shoppers Drug Mart.....DONE!

The date was sometime approximately two weeks ago. The venue was the Shopper's Drug Mart located at Queen St. east and Logan in the city's east end. It was around 11:00pm and I really needed a bottle of Pepsi..not Coke..Pepsi. As I approached the large sliding glass fridge I overheard to cashiers speaking very firmly to eachother. What was being said was

"You're doing it wrong"

"Oh just let me do it."

I noticed it but was not immediatley thrown by the discussion as I am often irritable at work see previous post. However I did not expect what came next. The layout of this Shopper's had three cashier stations all in a row. As I approached the first cash I saw a rather unpleasant looking woman who, as I sat the bottle of Pepsi on the counter, proceeded to throw her hands in a dismissive manner at my face and say "DONE!"

I relied with a "Thank you for being so honest"

Of course the next logical step is to approach the second cash station. Apparaently not becasue as I approached the first Bitchy McBitcherson said to me,

"Ummmm that's the Lotto station...keep moving."

At this point I could only laugh. What was I to say?

As I was paying the last woman who seemed nice enough at first, she sarcastically said that I was not getting my change back. I did not want sarcasm at this point....I wanted 15,000,000,000 optimum points. All I can say is that letter will be sent to Shopper's. Exaggerating the situation??? Maybe? But, I think if I am expected to provide the utmost in customer service at all times, I should, at the very least, be shown a basic level of customer service.

oh retail....

School is done for the summer and I am working more often - at Starbucks good help me. It is truly comforting to know that I will not be working there as of the end of July...AMAZING!! As I was waking up at 4am yesterday, some memories of this job came to mind. I would be lying if I said that there were NO good memories of the job, but I am going to share with you some of the most terrible and poignant flashbacks of my retail career.

- walking towards the store to open up for the day and realizing that some type of fecal matter was lying prominently in front of the door....waiting for me.

- seeing a grown man in a business suit throw a real-life temper tantrum because we had run out of banana soy muffins. Can we say...regression?

- having a sugar canister thrown at me by a crazy woman...it smashed at my feet and she proceeded to call me an assortment of gay names when I asked her to leave.

- working at the busiest store in North America and ringing through 101 customers in one half of an hour. This actually made me proud......scary!

- working during the Santa Claus Day parade and making SOOOOOO many hot chocolates that I was wearing mocha and milk...some of which I later found in my undies?!?!

- being so hung over that I showed up three hours late to open the store...OOOPS!!

- being mooned by a girl who really had to pee and I had locked the door already

- having a cockroach fall on me from the ceiling

THE LIST GOES ON REALLY

I also have concluded that all people should have to work in the retail industry at some point in their lives. That way, people would no longer lose all common sense when speaking to just another face behind yet another counter. I am human, I have an education, I am not stupid. Oh I cannot wait to be done with this job....oh the end is near.

Ode To Facebook!

Once there was ICQ

Then there was hotmail too

Then Friendster came and changed the scene

The commitment to Myspace is vulgar and mean

Enter Facebook.com:

F un

A ble to connect

C atch up with old friends

E asy and user friendly

B latantly addictive

O bviously better than Friendster

O h the joys of "poking" others

K ind to trees becasue it's online

Diagnosis:

I have a problem. I have revently found myself checking facebook all of the time. Is checking a friend database 5 times a day too many times? YES IT IS! I have decided that I need to practice self-restraint. I just need to always see what people are up to. Oh so and so added new photos..what of? Oh yeah, I wonder what Mr.______ is doing today. I know that I am not alone in this addiction. I am shocked when a day goes by that I don't hear the word "facebook" come out of someone's mouth into my ears giving me a sensation of glee and reassurance. I actually have not uploaded any picutres of myself but, there are over 40 pictures of me on the site. Okay, that sounds a little creepy but there is a funny grade 7 of me up there.

That's all I can say about it really. I am addicted and it is fun. I refuse to feel bad for checking the site and I am not going to stop checking it.

Facebook Facebook

It's our site

This site can do it

With all of its might

YEAHHHHHHH Facebook!!

What is with Semester 2??

Hello again,

This is a short post intentionally. Why is is that all assignments are left to the end of second semester? Do professors enjoy causing unnecessary stress on all of their students? I feel as though they must. It is indeed a terrible thing to do to a person. I officially need school to be done as of 5 days ago. If anyone has a time machine kicking about I will pay big money to travel to the end of July when I will be boarding a plane to Singapore. I know they are out there..those crazy time machines. PLEASE!!!!!

M.

Count On Me Singapore!

Hi,

Of course I have been doing more reading up on Sinagpore and a while ago I came across a video on Youtube that displays the many different ethnic groups that live there and make it the country that it is today. Sinigapore is a relativley new country having gained its independance from Malaysia in 1965. The four main ethnic groups that inhabit Singapore are:

Chinese- 75.2%
Malay - 13.6%
Indians - 8.8%
Other - 2.4%

From what I have read and seen, it is clear that Singaporeans are very eager to continue their sense of growth and pride in their nation. Even with all of the rules in place and a governement who pays themseleves a ludicrous sum. I think I read that the Prime Minister gives himself 3X as much as George W. I am not sure how much that is, but I am certain it is a lot. Anyways, this video shows Sinagporeans from all of these ethnic groups and it shows their message of hope and dreams of success for the future. It mildly reminds me of the song we sang in MusiCanada in elementary school all about the Rockies and the "Yukon Miner"

give it a looksee (Singlish for viewing)

Ting-apore Singlish

Welcome to Ting-Apore

I must first say that I am so happy that winter seems to be fading away slowly but surely. More importantly I must say that next year, I won't have to deal with any winter weather at all…none whatsoever!!! Yippee!! I am feeling a tad anxious today because I found out that the York Mobility Bursary for my exchange will not be released until sometime after June 1st, which is long after I will need to book a flight to my new digs. The flight is $1900 return and that is also, coincidentally, the amount the scholarship is worth. Fingers are crossed that I receive said scholarship. PLEASE!!! I am sure that everything will fall into place though. I also sent an email to a Prof. in the Theatre Studies Dept. at NUS who studied at York as well, so I am hoping to speak with her and maybe even have a chance to T.A. or something. Moving on, I have decided that I will use this blog opportunity to teach all of you some Singlish. Singlish is a hybrid language that has been developed in Singapore and is spoken among its citizens. It is every citizens second language and it is spoken by nearly all young people. Its usage in schools and in political venues is strongly discouraged however because it prevents people from learning English properly. The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating from English, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay, and Indic and Sinitic languages, while Singlish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series. In the year 2000, the Singapore government launched a "speak good english" campaign. Singapore is really trying to get rid of the language all together. It looks pretty funny on paper and I am certain it will sound even funnier and be mildly confusing upon arrival. I will no doubt end up staring blankly at many a Singaporean before too long.
There is a lot of Singlish to be learned but I will limit this lesson to some simple words and phrases
Ting- think/thought
ah beng - spiky haired, punky, loudly dresses young men
ah lian - the female version of the above
alamak! - exclamation of disbelief "oh my god"
cheena - derogatory term for old-fashioned Chinese fashion
kena - closely related to 'got' in English ex. He kena arrested
makan - a meal; to eat
Ay-Jay - pig-Latin and Singlish word for gay
On - slang for gay "Is he on?"
There is a lot more to know indeed, you can check out the dictionary at http://www.talkingcock.com/ which is Singapore's satirical website. Study up and keep tinging

Bye bye and I wish you all much heng and until next time lah?

In the Immortal words of Elizabeth Berkley as Jessica Spano "I'm So Excited!"

So, I had been waiting for oh such a long time to hear some exciting news and it arrived on Monday March 5 2007. As of sometime in late July I will be a temporary resident of the South East Asian republic of SINGAPORE! I will be studying at the National University of Singapore and it would be an understatement to say that I am eager and thrilled to have this opportunity. Now, every time I tell someone that I am going to Singapore, they say WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CHOOSE SINGAPORE? Here are the reasons I have decided to make this far away place my home.

It is located 137 kilometers north of the equator (today's Temp 32 degrees Celsius compared to Toronto's minus 10) Can we say "shorts everyday" and "Michael, you are nowhere as pasty and white as you once were."

The National University of Singapore has a surprisingly large number of theatre courses that seem very interesting to me ex. Performance and Popular Culture/ intercultural theatre

Tiger Airways offers ridiculously cheap flights to a number of South East Asian destinations ex. Phuket, one of Thailand's island paradises, return flight costs $108 CAD!!

There are thousands of hawker stands/centres offering a huge array of different cuisines including Chinese, Malay, Indian, and even western options as well. One can dine for as little as S$2.00 which is around $1.70CAD.

In short, I was looking for a completely different lifestyle and an opportunity to see a country which is located half way around the world…well here we go!!!! Allons-y!

One thing I must keep in mind is that the place is called "Fine City" for a reason. Allow me to list just a few examples of what I mean.

Chewing gum is indeed illegal
Drug trafficking is punishable by death
Homosexual acts are punishable with 10-life in jail (there are apparently undercover "gay cops" who lure men into touching them and then arrest them on site…CRAZY!)
$500 for smoking in public places
$50 for jaywalking
$1000 for littering and community service
$500 for eating or drinking on the MRT (subway)

Almost everyone: "Aren't you scared?"
Me: "Not as such."

I am obviously aware that this living experience will be very different than anything else I have experienced. I know that I will have to be careful and integrate myself into this environment one little cheaply-made-knock-off-designer step at a time.

I, as of today, still need to receive the package from NUS telling me how to apply for the $190CAD / month residence (SO CHEAP!) and then start the ball rolling with vaccines and budgetary work, flight planning, and etc. I however, am so thrilled and stoked to have this amazing chance. I hope that some of my friends will be able to come and visit while I am there. I have a lot to look forward to and I truly cannot wait!!! I anticipate slurping down a Singapore sling at Raffle's Hotel and going for a toboggan ride in "Snow City" very soon.

À bientôt mes amis.

Singapore Here I Come!

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