Wet market

I just have to write this...I'm just back from our local wet market, which is where you buy your fresh meat, poultry and fish, but they also have some potted plants, flowers. Everything looks really fresh and smells great! This is where we bought our orchids before and this time I couldn't resist buying a lime tree and a basil. They're sitting on top of our air-con unit right now, but the plan is for that ledge to become a small garden, next addition will be a potted Plumeria (see previous post) which is like 1 meter high. That will make the entire flat smell great, I'm really looking forward to that, I'll keep you posted on the garden project!

Paradise

So, finally everything is in order. It all moved fast once it started rolling. A couple of week's back I started talking to Electrolux, I had interviews with different people in different positions and last week I signed the contract. I will be working as Senior Industrial Designer and so for the time being it looks like more kitchen appliances for me, and working for Electrolux will definitely be a nice experience. My first working day will be on a flight to Sydney for a four day briefing with the design team there and then for a four day briefing with the design team in Shanghai, hit the ground running kind of thing, which is nice too.

We've also moved out off Heidi and Manu's guest bedroom and into our own place. The building is 12 years old and doesn't score high on architecture, but our flat is a very nicely renovated 2 room flat in Swedish terms, a one bedroom in English terms and a studio in Singlish (which makes no sense at all). It's in a condo, Central Green just opposite the Tiong Bahru MRT station, literally across the road, and it's got all the goodies, a pool, 2 tennis courts, squash court, jacuzzi, ping pong tables, gym, sauna, steam room, BBQ pits. I have to admit that right now it feels ALOT like being on vacation. Right around the corner we have food places, we had an amazing Chicken Brijani and Chicken Murtabak yesterday, and this place is 24 hours...yum! Across the road we have all the basic shopping, including all the nice diet killers, McD, BK, KFC and a Doughnut Factory...wou wou! We also have a huge cinema across the road...the list goes on and on...and so does the rent, we try not to convert it into Swedish kronor to spare our selves the horror...THE HORRROR of the actual amount! So far we're getting the necessities from IKEA but we plan to buy some nice furniture with a more genuine feel to them, and we also have the pieces we bought in China arriving with Tobias and Sue-Li's when the move here next year.

Last weekend we joined ”The Pink Ribbon Walk” an awareness/fund-raiser for breast cancer. It turned out to be less of a walk and more of a stroll, but at the end of the day; having thousands of pink shirted people walking through Clark Quay at beer-a-clock on a Saturday is kind of cool.
We felt really good and proud afterwards but in hindsight we regret not going on the yacht with Malcolm and Fiona, but we're Swedes we like doing good (but this is the last time, promise).

AND here we go, the first food experience!
Food experience: Asam curry fish head. Part of interest: The eye. This is one of those pieces of the fish people in Asia usually fight over, and the oldest have the first picking, and that was me at this particular table, although none of the other diners made any claim to the eye. Taste: None. Texture: A slimy first impression that quickly disappears leaving behind the actual eye core, which has a thick texture to it, very dry, still tasteless. The center of the core is hard and I never finished that part, it's probably the back of the eye, but I guess the Chinese swallow this as well. Summary: Not a big deal, the psychological resistance is the only challenge here, ultimately it's just a matter of popping it into your mouth :)

We did a tree-top walk this weekend, it's an elevated walk along the different park areas in Singapore, it starts around Mount Farer, which is just around the corner and goes on for a mile or so. It's really nice since you literally get to walk among the tree-tops and it passes some of the most amazing houses. Along the way they've built some cool bridges, just take a look at the pictures, it's all very nice.

So that's it for now, as everything is slowly coming together (last boxes from China arriving soon) a big thank you to all of those who've supported us with tips, housing, logistics and so on, a BIG hug and thanks again.