1. Sari - (Our visiting villager from NYC, who you might remember from Week 19's post) came back to see us on Monday afternoon, this week. Zoe had just got back from school, so she and Sari played together and bid each other their final farewells, since Sari was flying out the next day. The afternoon was fun - as the three of us, Sari, Zoe and I alternated between fooling around with each other and watching the Oscar's on TV. It was my first time ever watching the Oscar's while drinking coffee and eating oatmeal. It just didn't feel right. For the last decade the Oscar's have always been seen with a drink and some appetizers in hand, either at home or at a Oscar-viewing party somewhere. Before that decade, they were watched at home in Mumbai, very early in the mornings. This breakfast-date with the Award's show was certainly off!
Sari and I, left a napping Zoe at home, to grab some lunch downstairs. Our conversation over lunch hovered around the 'tipping' strategies all over the world, which had been a lurking topic in my head all along for my weekly columns on The Metrognome. Sari, with her experiences and titbits on the issue, got me all excited to go write about it right away. Thus, my post for this week's column evolved through a fun lunch discussion and was inspired by my visitor friend. Now if only she could keep coming back or sending more of the others, so I could get a good warm-up session for each week's post.
2. Talking about writing; It's almost what I do full-time these days and yes, it can get really hard. Even though writing comes easily to me, when one starts pursuing one's passion with a deadline, things don't seem as easy suddenly. For starters, I can't afford a Writer's Block anymore. And certainly not on Tuesday afternoons, since my weekly deadline is Tuesday evenings. While a context such as 'Outside In' can be wide enough to write a post about each week, it can get challenging at times trying to stay within it's realm. One cannot afford a lack of inspiration or have one of those days, when words don't just come to you.
The other thing about writing for so many hours in a week is - it largely alienates you from the world, yet ironically it is them you're really writing about. Sort of like a voyeur who sits by himself/ herself and observes.
In my case, I write best when I am sitting in a crowded place. Naturally cafes with free Wi-Fi are my haunts. Yet those work only until a point, after which one starts feeling odd - about having occupied a table and yet not ordered anything more than a tea or a muffin. Not that anyone comes trying to drive you away or anything. But I've realized a cafe can, at best hold me for only up to 4-5 hours in a day.
My own mini-office setup though, in my building's business centre works better. This area operates like one of those rent-a-desk spaces, except it's free and open 9 am to 10 pm everyday. I come and park myself here in the mornings, get some work/ reading done, leave my laptop/ bag etc here to go to lunch/ run errands during the day (maybe even take a dip in the pool outside if my brain goes blank at some point) and then back in the afternoons until late evenings to write before packing up for the day. All the concierges are friends by now which is super (they adjust the air-conditioning as soon as they see me walking over), the work environment is liberal with other neighbors working out of here as well and exchanging notes on their expat-isms and travels. There is a small library attached to this space and a printer-fax setup too, plus if I really want, I can come here in my pj's, so this is going well as you can tell!
3. Hubster left for India mid-week on work. His original plan was to go to Delhi to ensure the team he's managing is doing well there. The night before flying out he tells me he's off to Hyderabad instead. On asking he shamelessly replied - "I feel like eating Hyderabadi Biryani over Dilli ki chaat." I rolled my eyes and left the room, imagining the deliciousness of both.
4. Zoe and I went over to Little Varnika's place on Wednesday morning for a play date (This was probably my 2nd time ever play-dating around with Zoe). Khyati (Varnika's Mum) and I made friends at a local play-area where both our girls were playing. Naturally we hit it off the moment we learnt, that both our daughters were born in New York City. Since then, we've been in touch and hang out whenever possible.
The play-date was as much fun for the kids as it was for us mommies. Khyati being a gracious hostess brought out yummy treats and toys for the kids. Z and I left in a few hours, making sure we'd meet for a lunch date next week, without the little ones. Looking forward to that!
5. I finally succumbed to the system and got myself a Dependent Pass (DP). As is clear by it's name, it is the pass for the spouse/ family of a person who works here on an Employment Pass (EP). Having a two year long tourist visa, didn't really need me to get a DP, especially as I was in and out of the country every few weeks. But, the Malaysian consulate wouldn't let me apply for a multiple entry tourist visa for Malaysia, without being on a Singaporean visa first. So the DP had to be got!
On a tourist visa, an Indian is only allowed to stay in Singapore for 30 days from the date of arrival. Since we've officially crossed over that time limit this month, I would have to bite the bullet and get the DP. Funnily enough I learnt of this, only three days before I'd have to leave the country and re-enter.
Hubster's company, got all the paperwork done in good time. Singapore MOM (Ministry of Manpower) which is super-efficient in all visa processes, issued my visa and sent over a letter, requesting me to come collect the DP in person from their office, this week.
Only in Singapore perhaps, can a government system be this well-automated and quick! My appointment time was 2 :00 pm. I walked into the MOM office at 1:55 pm and took my token from a machine. I thought I would need to go in and wait until it was my turn to walk over to an officer's booth. At 1:56 pm as I walked into the office, token in hand, my name was already flashing across the bulletin board. At 1:58 pm I was finger-printed, photographed and all done, ready to leave the office. Never before have I ever had such a smooth, effortless experience with a government office and I don't really think I ever will, anywhere else in the world either.
6. Thursday night was the rare night when Hubster came home early - at 8:00 pm, from work. To celebrate his early arrival, Zoe and I decided to take him out to dinner, to a Mediterranean restaurant - Medz, close to home. The food-court-like set up of the restaurant was interesting - It had stalls from Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Greece among others, thus offering a great variety of cuisines under the same roof. A quaint wine-bar on the side looked promising for another time, when we would re-visit without the little one. We figured Thursday could be family eat-out night here on - the one night we could take Zoe with us too. We do miss taking her everywhere like we used to in NY!
7. An impromptu girls night plan on Saturday saw us few chicks, eating our hearts out at Piedra Negra in the Arab Street area of Singapore. (Sorry for that link, but restaurants in Singapore don't always have websites, as those in NYC). Conversation flowed from careless Chinese cab-drivers to careers to children. Wow, unknowingly that became quite the alliteration there!
Post-dinner, Hubster joined us to go watch "Me, Myself aur Main" - a ridiculous Hindi movie, that only seemed enjoyable on account of the audience's smart passes made throughout. As I always say, it's important to watch bad movies once in a while too, just to refresh your head for the next good release.
8. Sunday afternoon, we took Zoe to try out a new indoor play gym called Royce Kids. Khyati aka Varnika's mommy has been nice enough to share with me her own compilation of kiddie play areas around town and Royce was one of them. Hubster and I are by now infamous for always forgetting at least one thing, when we take Zoe out with us. In the past it's been her diapers, milk, food, blanket, car seat, change of clothes while going swimming...everything possible that an infant/ baby needs has been forgotten by us at some point. A friend once even jokingly asked if we had ever forgotten Zoe somewhere. That, fortunately for us, has never happened YET!
We had a great time at the indoor gym, although honestly after a point, Hubster and I were seen, conveniently pushing the responsibility of keeping an eye on her, on each other. The good thing about indoor gyms is that they are comprehensive and elaborately laid out in their planning. The bad thing about them is that they are indoors. I have yet to find a great outdoor kid's area here in Singapore, where Zoe can go every day, as she did while growing up in Newport. More than her, I miss that park, that so beautifully took over our lives, in the first year of her life - Newport Green.
That's it for Week 20. We've entered March already. This year has flown us by so quickly, while I've been busy typing away endlessly. And to think, I am still not done yet!
Thanks for reading. It's great to see the readership numbers go up and new countries emerge on my Blog's 'Audience Stats' section, with each week's post.
Love,
Shweyta
Sari and I, left a napping Zoe at home, to grab some lunch downstairs. Our conversation over lunch hovered around the 'tipping' strategies all over the world, which had been a lurking topic in my head all along for my weekly columns on The Metrognome. Sari, with her experiences and titbits on the issue, got me all excited to go write about it right away. Thus, my post for this week's column evolved through a fun lunch discussion and was inspired by my visitor friend. Now if only she could keep coming back or sending more of the others, so I could get a good warm-up session for each week's post.
2. Talking about writing; It's almost what I do full-time these days and yes, it can get really hard. Even though writing comes easily to me, when one starts pursuing one's passion with a deadline, things don't seem as easy suddenly. For starters, I can't afford a Writer's Block anymore. And certainly not on Tuesday afternoons, since my weekly deadline is Tuesday evenings. While a context such as 'Outside In' can be wide enough to write a post about each week, it can get challenging at times trying to stay within it's realm. One cannot afford a lack of inspiration or have one of those days, when words don't just come to you.
The other thing about writing for so many hours in a week is - it largely alienates you from the world, yet ironically it is them you're really writing about. Sort of like a voyeur who sits by himself/ herself and observes.
In my case, I write best when I am sitting in a crowded place. Naturally cafes with free Wi-Fi are my haunts. Yet those work only until a point, after which one starts feeling odd - about having occupied a table and yet not ordered anything more than a tea or a muffin. Not that anyone comes trying to drive you away or anything. But I've realized a cafe can, at best hold me for only up to 4-5 hours in a day.
My own mini-office setup though, in my building's business centre works better. This area operates like one of those rent-a-desk spaces, except it's free and open 9 am to 10 pm everyday. I come and park myself here in the mornings, get some work/ reading done, leave my laptop/ bag etc here to go to lunch/ run errands during the day (maybe even take a dip in the pool outside if my brain goes blank at some point) and then back in the afternoons until late evenings to write before packing up for the day. All the concierges are friends by now which is super (they adjust the air-conditioning as soon as they see me walking over), the work environment is liberal with other neighbors working out of here as well and exchanging notes on their expat-isms and travels. There is a small library attached to this space and a printer-fax setup too, plus if I really want, I can come here in my pj's, so this is going well as you can tell!
3. Hubster left for India mid-week on work. His original plan was to go to Delhi to ensure the team he's managing is doing well there. The night before flying out he tells me he's off to Hyderabad instead. On asking he shamelessly replied - "I feel like eating Hyderabadi Biryani over Dilli ki chaat." I rolled my eyes and left the room, imagining the deliciousness of both.
4. Zoe and I went over to Little Varnika's place on Wednesday morning for a play date (This was probably my 2nd time ever play-dating around with Zoe). Khyati (Varnika's Mum) and I made friends at a local play-area where both our girls were playing. Naturally we hit it off the moment we learnt, that both our daughters were born in New York City. Since then, we've been in touch and hang out whenever possible.
The play-date was as much fun for the kids as it was for us mommies. Khyati being a gracious hostess brought out yummy treats and toys for the kids. Z and I left in a few hours, making sure we'd meet for a lunch date next week, without the little ones. Looking forward to that!
5. I finally succumbed to the system and got myself a Dependent Pass (DP). As is clear by it's name, it is the pass for the spouse/ family of a person who works here on an Employment Pass (EP). Having a two year long tourist visa, didn't really need me to get a DP, especially as I was in and out of the country every few weeks. But, the Malaysian consulate wouldn't let me apply for a multiple entry tourist visa for Malaysia, without being on a Singaporean visa first. So the DP had to be got!
On a tourist visa, an Indian is only allowed to stay in Singapore for 30 days from the date of arrival. Since we've officially crossed over that time limit this month, I would have to bite the bullet and get the DP. Funnily enough I learnt of this, only three days before I'd have to leave the country and re-enter.
Hubster's company, got all the paperwork done in good time. Singapore MOM (Ministry of Manpower) which is super-efficient in all visa processes, issued my visa and sent over a letter, requesting me to come collect the DP in person from their office, this week.
Only in Singapore perhaps, can a government system be this well-automated and quick! My appointment time was 2 :00 pm. I walked into the MOM office at 1:55 pm and took my token from a machine. I thought I would need to go in and wait until it was my turn to walk over to an officer's booth. At 1:56 pm as I walked into the office, token in hand, my name was already flashing across the bulletin board. At 1:58 pm I was finger-printed, photographed and all done, ready to leave the office. Never before have I ever had such a smooth, effortless experience with a government office and I don't really think I ever will, anywhere else in the world either.
6. Thursday night was the rare night when Hubster came home early - at 8:00 pm, from work. To celebrate his early arrival, Zoe and I decided to take him out to dinner, to a Mediterranean restaurant - Medz, close to home. The food-court-like set up of the restaurant was interesting - It had stalls from Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Greece among others, thus offering a great variety of cuisines under the same roof. A quaint wine-bar on the side looked promising for another time, when we would re-visit without the little one. We figured Thursday could be family eat-out night here on - the one night we could take Zoe with us too. We do miss taking her everywhere like we used to in NY!
7. An impromptu girls night plan on Saturday saw us few chicks, eating our hearts out at Piedra Negra in the Arab Street area of Singapore. (Sorry for that link, but restaurants in Singapore don't always have websites, as those in NYC). Conversation flowed from careless Chinese cab-drivers to careers to children. Wow, unknowingly that became quite the alliteration there!
Post-dinner, Hubster joined us to go watch "Me, Myself aur Main" - a ridiculous Hindi movie, that only seemed enjoyable on account of the audience's smart passes made throughout. As I always say, it's important to watch bad movies once in a while too, just to refresh your head for the next good release.
8. Sunday afternoon, we took Zoe to try out a new indoor play gym called Royce Kids. Khyati aka Varnika's mommy has been nice enough to share with me her own compilation of kiddie play areas around town and Royce was one of them. Hubster and I are by now infamous for always forgetting at least one thing, when we take Zoe out with us. In the past it's been her diapers, milk, food, blanket, car seat, change of clothes while going swimming...everything possible that an infant/ baby needs has been forgotten by us at some point. A friend once even jokingly asked if we had ever forgotten Zoe somewhere. That, fortunately for us, has never happened YET!
We had a great time at the indoor gym, although honestly after a point, Hubster and I were seen, conveniently pushing the responsibility of keeping an eye on her, on each other. The good thing about indoor gyms is that they are comprehensive and elaborately laid out in their planning. The bad thing about them is that they are indoors. I have yet to find a great outdoor kid's area here in Singapore, where Zoe can go every day, as she did while growing up in Newport. More than her, I miss that park, that so beautifully took over our lives, in the first year of her life - Newport Green.
That's it for Week 20. We've entered March already. This year has flown us by so quickly, while I've been busy typing away endlessly. And to think, I am still not done yet!
Thanks for reading. It's great to see the readership numbers go up and new countries emerge on my Blog's 'Audience Stats' section, with each week's post.
Love,
Shweyta
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