Our First Race In Singapore

On April 23, 2008, we ran in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge 5.6-kilometer race. This was our first race since we moved to Singapore. Deanna ran with a group of runners from her office at Yahoo! I didn't know anyone from Seagate running, so I put on a Yahoo! t-shirt and joined them.

I thought it would be fun to film the run with my handheld camera. We have an inexpensive digital camera, which is pretty much like all digital cameras today, it also has the ability to take short movies.



I did my best to follow Deanna's Yahoo! coworkers through the sold-out crowd of 12,700 runners. But it was the first time I'd met some of them, so it was hard for me to recognize them among the other runners.

I carried the camera in my right hand, filming as I ran. I also carried a water bottle in my left hand as a counter-balance to the camera. To get good shots, though, I had to hold the camera over my head while I was running as I took short movies and still shots.

I hate to make excuses, but I think running with one hand over my head may have added quite a bit of time to my run, which you can see as I cross the finish line in the video.

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Kovan Wet Market

Across the street from our condo complex is the Kovan Wet Market. Actually, there’s a lot more then that -- there’s also a hawker center, the Heartland Mall, a Kovan subway station, and the former bus interchange.

The wet market is one of the more entertaining areas near our condo. Its covered against the rain and all powerful sun, but its outdoors. And its not called a “wet” market for nothing; be careful what shoes to wear. You'd think that sanitation would be a problem, but millions of people shop from the wet markets in Singapore (and no doubt elsewhere around the world) without any ill effects. Having shopped mostly at western supermarkets, however, its quite a new experience.



As you can see from the quick video, there are dozens of different stalls selling sell fresh fruits and vegetables, together with fish, poultry, and other meat. They will butcher your meat for you on the spot. We went to get fruit, but we spent some time watching the fishmongers set up their stalls and prep and sell their fish. Being the squeamish westerners that we are, we did not buy any fish or meat.

We did have to haggle over the prices. Everything in Singapore has three prices, from highest to lowest: the tourist price, the expat price, and the local price. We can usually avoid the tourist price, but we never get the local price. We'll be walking away thinking we got a good deal, as overhear them quoting next customer about half of what we paid.

But at least we're not paying in US dollars.

Love Classes in Singapore?

Did you know that Singapore has a government match-making agency, known as the "Social Development Unit"?

TELEGRAPH
Thomas Bell, Bangkok
March 25, 2008

The Singapore Government is offering students lessons in seduction to boost the city state's flagging birthrate. Students at two polytechnics can earn two credits towards their final degree by choosing the love elective. Activities include watching romantic films, holding hands and "love song analysis".

Isabel Seet, an 18-year-old mechanical engineering student, told the Straits Times newspaper: "My teacher said if a guy looks into my eyes for more than five seconds, it could mean that he is attracted to me and I stand a chance."

Besides "love and sexuality", the curriculum also deals with the importance of family life. The "trainers" are provided by the Social Development Unit, a government match-making agency. But it is not so easy to put Singaporean youth in the mood for love. Another student who did the course, Kamal Prakash, said: "I'm not really looking for a girlfriend now as I want to concentrate on my studies."