Mudslides?

No, not the adult beverage but some awesome kiddie fun!  I went to the second weekend of Concert in the Gardens a while back and had to get a picture or two. Here's a picture of the front of the stage this time :).

It was another nice Sunday evening, but Saturday it down-poured during the afternoon and then we got some more rain Sunday morning.  Luckily a real thinker in our group (not me) brought a tarp and some extra garbage bags so our blankets didn't get all soggy.  It wasn't a mud hole, but the ground was saturated and my pants were flecked with mud from the walk over.

Warm Up Midwest!

In Singapore, I have lost all reality as it relates to the four seasons of the year.  I see everyone's facebook posts about the weather getting colder.  I forgot it was that time of year already.  I mean it's almost Halloween!?  What's up with that?  I still have sunny skies and 90+ degree afternoons.  Here is the thermometer from my kitchen - pretty much looks like this every day.  There is no air conditioning in my kitchen, but I leave the door open, so it receives some of the air con from the rest of the apartment.  Although it also has a door to the outside area where my washer/dryer are with a huge crack at the bottom.

I've also forgotten about humidity.  Notice the level in my kitchen - imagine what it feels like outside.  Yes, a hot August day in Illinois with no breeze.  But even after it rains, the humidity is still there.  It was not until about a month ago that I realized I was acclimating so well to my new surroundings.  I travelled for work, stepped out of the hotel in the morning and had a nice, fresh, cool breeze hit my face.  What is that ?!  There was no humidity.  It was so refreshing and I realized then and there that I had actually forgotten what no humidity feels like. 

I'll try not to rub it in 3 weeks into January when everyone is sick and tired of the snow and cold. :)

Randoms

Here is the thermometer in my kitchen.  It pretty much always looks like this, sometimes a little less humid.  I do have air and the rest of the apartment is cooler - the kitchen is kinda blocked off and there's a huge gap under the door to the outdoor utility area.  I have acclimated.  It helps that I don't really spend time in the kitchen.

Crazy talons waiting with me at the bus. You should really click on the photo to get the enlarged, full effect.  It boggles my mind.

Fogging at a condo.  The first time I saw this I thought there was some huge fire.  No leaf burning here. For mosquitoes I assume.  

Poll Results

Which season do you enjoy most?!?

Nobody likes Hot & Steamy Summer
Nobody likes Cold & Snowy Winter
2 people enjoy Rainy & Green Spring
6 people enjoy Cool & Golden Autumn
...and 1 person enjoys the even temperatures year-round
Lately it's been storming here big time.  Huge rolls of thunder.  Some lightning and dark skies during the day.  It's kinda like spring storms back home but without the gusty winds and threats of tornados.  I truly hate tornado season.  My mom has instilled in me a fear of them :) - head to the basement!!  I also have a fear of drowning in water.  I would guess my siblings have similar fears.

Anyway - I'm packing my umbrella.  You never know when you'll need it!

Fun fact: A lot of people in Singapore carry umbrellas, if not for the rain then for protection from the sun.  But when it is raining and you enter a building, they have plastic wrappers (think skinny plastic grocery bag) for your umbrellas so you don't get the floors all wet.  Maybe this is common in other big cities, but it was new to me.

Poll Results

Do you like to gamble?  It seems that I'm with the majority and realize it can be fun but don't expect to win a lot. 

Breakdown of the results:
No way, I have a hard enough time saving my money. Don't need to risk it. 1 (11%)
Every once in a while, but it's a sunk cost - I know I'm going to lose it. 4 (44%)
It's good for a big weekend out and I've come out a couple hundred ahead. 2 (22%)
Love it! The local dealers know me and I have my favorite Vegas routine mapped out. 2 (22%)

For the next question, I understand that it's starting to thaw back home.  It is basically a consistent summer for me over here (apparently it was up to 102 today).  But I would say my kitchen is always kept between 75-80 and that's with the aircon.  It was completely weird not having fall and winter, but I don't notice it as much now.  It's funny though how when it is always hot, you can definitely tell when there's a shift of only a few degrees. 

So how is everyone enjoying spring time??

Poll Results

I felt the Sumatra earthquake in Singapore. What forces of nature have you experienced? (of any magnitude)


The results shake out as follows (no pun intended) based on 5 voters:
4 Tornados
4 Floods
3 Earthquakes
2 Hurricanes
1 Drought
1 Volcano eruption
1 Other
0 Fires
0 Sand storms
 
So I have two questions:
1) Who/what is the other?? (Times like these I WISH there were fill in the blanks)
2) Who was in the volcano eruption?? When/Where??  All I could think of was the big island of Hawaii or Mt. St. Helen's.
 
Well for all of those reading from the chilly midwest, the weather is still on average 85 degrees here, ranging from very humid to raining.  :)  I'm getting use to sweating everyday and don't know if I'll ever be able to handle the cold weather again! (just kidding, I bet within a year I'm wishing for it).  However, it is nice that I don't require a heater in the bathroom and I can get out of the shower w/o freezing my butt off.
 
Have a great rest of your week!

Thunderstorms....BOOM!

I awoke this morning to thunderstorms, but to peek out my window it didn't really look that bad outside.  But the thunder kept booming.  Shortly therafter the rain started and I fell back to sleep. I woke back up a bit later.  Rain stopped, not too cloudy but not bright and sunny.  Then after I've been up for about an hour, without much change it the view out my window, the big thunder booms start back up.  I'm thinking the storms must be behind me.  It is weird though to be having such big thunder booms and not cloaked in black clouds like we would be at home.