1. Hubster left for Hyderabad on Monday for the entire week, which means I am on 'Single Mom' duty all week long. This is when staff at home comes handy the most. I still get to have a life and keep my plans, whether or not Hubster is in town, if I choose to - something that would need prior planning in The States. Going by just the number of times I bring up this aspect of life here in Asia, you probably already know by now, how much I appreciate it, right?
It is indeed an issue of great importance for many young parents, as I've realized through the many discussions I've had with various friends/ acquaintances here. Among them are some couples who choose to continue living here only for these lifestyle conveniences; something they know for sure they won't find, in most other parts of the world, where they have been offered other job opportunities. It's amazing how one's thought process changes in a matter of a few months - I, for example, was highly skeptical of hiring someone to live with us full-time and take her up, as our complete responsibility. It is probably just a wee bit short of adopting someone to make them family, except of course in this case, they are already grown-up adults with established characters and personalities. If you're lucky enough to find someone super, this is the ideal set-up, as we've found out over the course of the past 6 months of having Janet live with us, as Zoe's nanny!
We consider ourselves lucky to have found someone like her who is well-educated, sincere, smart and simple - who has easily assimilated with us to become an integral part of our family. In fact, we like her so much, we are hoping to take her with us wherever we go, here on! While that sounds ideal on paper, it might not work out easily when it comes to immigration laws etc. Yet, the thought has crossed our minds and we are willing to go the distance we possibly can, to make it happen! Let's see how that goes...
2. 'Breather Weeks' like this one - are meant to take care of basic formalities that involve our present day globally-mobile lifestyles - bills that need to be paid here and in the previous/ future homes, swapping of currencies, filing expenses, bank formalities and most importantly newer visas that need to be sought. A life lived simultaneously across countries, does not come without it's own paperwork and maintenance, that needs to be looked after on a regular basis. Perhaps in that sense, it is much tougher than a life lived in one country when you don't have many permanent ties with another country. When you can easily say I've moved out of there and now live here! In our case, it's more like we live 'there' really, are temporarily based 'here' and on to moving to another country for the next few months or so! A lot of flux exists which is exciting nonetheless but is accompanied by a lot of planning and paperwork, to say the very least!
Traveling to different countries almost always requires Visas out of Hubster and I (Thanks to our Indian passports) and a lot of research on hotels, things-to-do, modes of transport to and fro and in between, airplane/ train/ bus tickets etc. Breather weeks hence, are full of tremendous amount of research and time-planning for the short-term, in addition to the usual long-term rigmarole of moving house/ schools for the little one in the near future! A transient phenomenon this one, of our current state of affairs - hence to be treasured and appreciated while it lasts! I know I'll miss having these 'Breather Weeks' when we return to our previous lives - what we now consider 'conventional living' - i.e living in only one country at a time - a phase that happily seems to be lurking far away from now!
3. Hubster got back a day earlier from India, (too early on a Thursday morning) - to surprise us. And surprise us he did - not on account of his early timing as much as, on account of the faint trace of a moustache growing on his face!!! What the ....?
He defended it saying, he was trying on a new look! I suggested he get rid of it almost immediately! His colleagues from work on the other hand, encouraged him to keep it, while their negotiations were ongoing, with a certain company, for the next few days! Now, with a successful round 1 of negotiations behind them, the team has come to believe that Hubster's mouche brought them all the luck they needed! Really???
While Hubster obliged my requests and shaved off the mouche the next morning, he made it clear that he intends to grow it right back the next month, for Negotiation Round 2 at work! It's a lost cause, so I've given up for now! Will probably just disown him for those few days!
4. The weekend came and saw us dining and wining at some more new places in the city. With the same entourage as last weekend, we decided to check out a Tapas Bar that we had been eyeing in Singapore's swanky Duxton Hill neighbourhood for quite some time now. The restaurant called Sabio has some mean Tapas and Sangria's to offer along with a live music band on weekends. With a long weekend in sight in a few days, conversation ranged from more travel planning to start-up ventures talk.
(It's a given in Singapore - that when you meet people socially, there will almost always be talk of new start-up ventures and travel itineraries! A marked difference from the social conversations one has in NYC for example - where everyone always talked of their jobs and/ or hobbies or activities that they indulged in outside of work. Most travel plans were to the usual destinations - Europe/Mexico/Canada/ India/ South America at the most, that too usually on 'long weekends' or in summer or over Xmas/ New Years. And of course there was a lot of 'culture-centric' talk - like the latest exhibits at The MOMA or other art events, Off-Broadway shows, movies and film festivals.....none of which are topics of social discussion here in Singapore, simply because not a lot of that 'culture stuff' happens here!
In NYC, with most people working 'jobs in companies' the work-related discussions were at a different level. In Singapore, with everyone interested in setting up their own shop, the social talk scene is full of heads brimming with ideas and animated exchanges of 'business plans'. Singapore welcomes small-businesses, simplifying it to start-up something here relatively easily, so naturally many people decide to try their hand at their own venture while being based here. Besides, with it's proximity to India, this is yet another opportunity for Indians to start new operations that can be based in both countries.)
Since we were already in the area, we thought we'd take the party from Sabio to another Modern Mexican Taqueria and Garden bar (straight out of NYC, this one) called Lucha Loco! The fish tacos here is like none other we've ever had before, as recommended by our friends who took us here. Another must-revisit kinda place that has a great mix of good drinks, good food and excellent ambience with the right mix of people (Read: eye candy for men and women alike)!
Post-dinner drinks were at a Singaporean speakeasy (Yes, that prohibition phenomena is now a trend in Asia as well) called The Library! One needs to walk into the store next door and ask for the password, which gets one into the bar! Since we got there post 11 pm, the store was closed. But other guests leaving the speakeasy happily blurted the password out when we asked them for it. A somewhat pretentious phenomena this one - which in NYC probably still makes sense as it sticks to the relevant historical context. In Asia, it is a ridiculous plug-in - this 'make-believe' aura of suspense and mystique for a bar, which could really have just been there by itself, welcome for whoever to walk into. When you go to a speakeasy in NYC, such as PDT or The Back Room for instance, there is that discreet aura that surrounds you, making you feel like you've traversed a secret and are now in a space with others who've done the same, adding a 'clique-ish' charm to the whole act. In Singapore, all it makes you think is - "What really? I did all that 'password-digging-rubbish' for this?".
I don't know, I am not against plugging-in Western concepts if they work well, in the non-Western world, but when you 'faux-contextualize' things and then don't even offer an 'authentic experience' out of it in the end, is when I start having a problem! The plan for the next few weekends is to go exploring some more speakeasy's in town. Let's hope at least some of them know what they are talking about!
On that note, Breather Week was done! The next one is action-packed with more house-guests and travel!
Until then, take care and Thanks for reading!
Love,
Shweyta
It is indeed an issue of great importance for many young parents, as I've realized through the many discussions I've had with various friends/ acquaintances here. Among them are some couples who choose to continue living here only for these lifestyle conveniences; something they know for sure they won't find, in most other parts of the world, where they have been offered other job opportunities. It's amazing how one's thought process changes in a matter of a few months - I, for example, was highly skeptical of hiring someone to live with us full-time and take her up, as our complete responsibility. It is probably just a wee bit short of adopting someone to make them family, except of course in this case, they are already grown-up adults with established characters and personalities. If you're lucky enough to find someone super, this is the ideal set-up, as we've found out over the course of the past 6 months of having Janet live with us, as Zoe's nanny!
We consider ourselves lucky to have found someone like her who is well-educated, sincere, smart and simple - who has easily assimilated with us to become an integral part of our family. In fact, we like her so much, we are hoping to take her with us wherever we go, here on! While that sounds ideal on paper, it might not work out easily when it comes to immigration laws etc. Yet, the thought has crossed our minds and we are willing to go the distance we possibly can, to make it happen! Let's see how that goes...
2. 'Breather Weeks' like this one - are meant to take care of basic formalities that involve our present day globally-mobile lifestyles - bills that need to be paid here and in the previous/ future homes, swapping of currencies, filing expenses, bank formalities and most importantly newer visas that need to be sought. A life lived simultaneously across countries, does not come without it's own paperwork and maintenance, that needs to be looked after on a regular basis. Perhaps in that sense, it is much tougher than a life lived in one country when you don't have many permanent ties with another country. When you can easily say I've moved out of there and now live here! In our case, it's more like we live 'there' really, are temporarily based 'here' and on to moving to another country for the next few months or so! A lot of flux exists which is exciting nonetheless but is accompanied by a lot of planning and paperwork, to say the very least!
Traveling to different countries almost always requires Visas out of Hubster and I (Thanks to our Indian passports) and a lot of research on hotels, things-to-do, modes of transport to and fro and in between, airplane/ train/ bus tickets etc. Breather weeks hence, are full of tremendous amount of research and time-planning for the short-term, in addition to the usual long-term rigmarole of moving house/ schools for the little one in the near future! A transient phenomenon this one, of our current state of affairs - hence to be treasured and appreciated while it lasts! I know I'll miss having these 'Breather Weeks' when we return to our previous lives - what we now consider 'conventional living' - i.e living in only one country at a time - a phase that happily seems to be lurking far away from now!
3. Hubster got back a day earlier from India, (too early on a Thursday morning) - to surprise us. And surprise us he did - not on account of his early timing as much as, on account of the faint trace of a moustache growing on his face!!! What the ....?
He defended it saying, he was trying on a new look! I suggested he get rid of it almost immediately! His colleagues from work on the other hand, encouraged him to keep it, while their negotiations were ongoing, with a certain company, for the next few days! Now, with a successful round 1 of negotiations behind them, the team has come to believe that Hubster's mouche brought them all the luck they needed! Really???
While Hubster obliged my requests and shaved off the mouche the next morning, he made it clear that he intends to grow it right back the next month, for Negotiation Round 2 at work! It's a lost cause, so I've given up for now! Will probably just disown him for those few days!
4. The weekend came and saw us dining and wining at some more new places in the city. With the same entourage as last weekend, we decided to check out a Tapas Bar that we had been eyeing in Singapore's swanky Duxton Hill neighbourhood for quite some time now. The restaurant called Sabio has some mean Tapas and Sangria's to offer along with a live music band on weekends. With a long weekend in sight in a few days, conversation ranged from more travel planning to start-up ventures talk.
(It's a given in Singapore - that when you meet people socially, there will almost always be talk of new start-up ventures and travel itineraries! A marked difference from the social conversations one has in NYC for example - where everyone always talked of their jobs and/ or hobbies or activities that they indulged in outside of work. Most travel plans were to the usual destinations - Europe/Mexico/Canada/ India/ South America at the most, that too usually on 'long weekends' or in summer or over Xmas/ New Years. And of course there was a lot of 'culture-centric' talk - like the latest exhibits at The MOMA or other art events, Off-Broadway shows, movies and film festivals.....none of which are topics of social discussion here in Singapore, simply because not a lot of that 'culture stuff' happens here!
In NYC, with most people working 'jobs in companies' the work-related discussions were at a different level. In Singapore, with everyone interested in setting up their own shop, the social talk scene is full of heads brimming with ideas and animated exchanges of 'business plans'. Singapore welcomes small-businesses, simplifying it to start-up something here relatively easily, so naturally many people decide to try their hand at their own venture while being based here. Besides, with it's proximity to India, this is yet another opportunity for Indians to start new operations that can be based in both countries.)
Since we were already in the area, we thought we'd take the party from Sabio to another Modern Mexican Taqueria and Garden bar (straight out of NYC, this one) called Lucha Loco! The fish tacos here is like none other we've ever had before, as recommended by our friends who took us here. Another must-revisit kinda place that has a great mix of good drinks, good food and excellent ambience with the right mix of people (Read: eye candy for men and women alike)!
Post-dinner drinks were at a Singaporean speakeasy (Yes, that prohibition phenomena is now a trend in Asia as well) called The Library! One needs to walk into the store next door and ask for the password, which gets one into the bar! Since we got there post 11 pm, the store was closed. But other guests leaving the speakeasy happily blurted the password out when we asked them for it. A somewhat pretentious phenomena this one - which in NYC probably still makes sense as it sticks to the relevant historical context. In Asia, it is a ridiculous plug-in - this 'make-believe' aura of suspense and mystique for a bar, which could really have just been there by itself, welcome for whoever to walk into. When you go to a speakeasy in NYC, such as PDT or The Back Room for instance, there is that discreet aura that surrounds you, making you feel like you've traversed a secret and are now in a space with others who've done the same, adding a 'clique-ish' charm to the whole act. In Singapore, all it makes you think is - "What really? I did all that 'password-digging-rubbish' for this?".
I don't know, I am not against plugging-in Western concepts if they work well, in the non-Western world, but when you 'faux-contextualize' things and then don't even offer an 'authentic experience' out of it in the end, is when I start having a problem! The plan for the next few weekends is to go exploring some more speakeasy's in town. Let's hope at least some of them know what they are talking about!
On that note, Breather Week was done! The next one is action-packed with more house-guests and travel!
Until then, take care and Thanks for reading!
Love,
Shweyta
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