We're changing the name of the cat

Now that we've had our cat for several months, we've realized that he's been misnamed. The SPCA called him Zorro on account of the furry black mask he has around his eyes. You can see half of it in the picture. However, the Zorro of movies and storybooks was full of daring-do and action. Although our cat catches more than his share of geckos and bugs, he's not full of the more famous Zorro's zip. In fact, he spends most of his day like he is in the picture -- napping. Even when he craves attention, he doesn't murmuringly mew something sweet that would cause a girl to swoon. Instead, he meows insistently and flops at our feet. This is why, we've decided that a much better name for him would be SLEEPY PUDDIN' or PUDDIN' for short.

New position for me in 2009

I learned at work that next year I'll be given a new job in addition to my teaching. In 2009 I'll be the Materials Developer for a pre-matriculation course for Chinese (PRC) students. It's a huge undertaking because the course has 800+ classroom hours over a year and a half. As a comparison, a standard semester course has only 48 classroom hours. Fortunately, the course has been running for a number of years already so I won't have to develop everything from scratch. I'll also have 3 rather than 4 classes to teach. The pre-matriculation course begins January 2009 but I'll no doubt be very busy in November and December so those in the US can expect to see Leo and I this summer.

I can stay in Singapore forever

I love Singapore but I was unsure if Leo and I could stay here after I finish my current contract. When I first arrived last July, rentals had begun to skyrocket. Although my work gives me a housing allowance, it only covers the cost of renting a furnished room. With the help of a real estate agent, I managed to find a nice, furnished and undervalued apartment that is affordable. Unfortunately, the apartment is far from the university so I have a 90 minute commute one-way. It was also sold to developers a few months after I moved in, which means that we would have to find a new apartment by June. I had been lucky to find the first apartment and now Leo and I had to find a new one with the same amount of money and even more expensive rentals.

A few weeks ago, I got a surprise letter from the university which increased my housing allowance by almost 75%. Such a godsend! We'll be able to pick and choose exactly what features we want. I can be near the university and Leo can have a tennis court for his work. The university will give this allowance for 9 years. By that time, we'll be able to save up enough to buy a condo.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is only 3 days away and everyone is out buying food for the reunion dinner on CNY Eve or preparing to take a bus back to their hometown where someone in their family is out buying food. Leo and I are also in the thick of preparing for our first CNY. Leo is bringing from Malaysia pistachios, pineapple tarts and bak wa, which are thin slices of pork dipped and preserved in a sweet spicy BBQ-like sauce. I spent what felt like hours in line at the shops to buy decorations, almond bread, Chinese cabbage, and keropok, which are deep-fried prawn chips. A friend gave us waxy duck sausage for fried rice. When Leo arrives on Tuesday, we are braving the crowds again to get fish, prawns, lotus root and a box of mandarin oranges.

All of this frenzied activity will be worth it after CNY starts Wednesday evening. CNY itself is full of visiting family, friends and neighbors, eating, wishing everyone a happy new year by saying "Gong Xi Fa Cai!", giving ang pow (money in a red envelope) to kids, more eating and exchanging news and mandarin oranges while eating. Leo and I will be spending CNY Eve with the neighbors. On the first day of CNY we will visit Leo's older relatives in Singapore. On the second day the older relatives will visit the younger. On the third and fourth days we will go visit friends. For all of you who I won't be able to visit this year: May you have a happy and prosperous New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

The difference between Seattle and Singapore

Seattle and Singapore are two of my favorite cities in the world. They have several similarities: both are very green and have large Asian populations among other things. This picture illustrates one major difference. And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you. These Birkenstocks have sparkly stones and feathers on them. I can't imagine any Seattle shoe store selling Birks like these.

A seemingly impossible dance performance

This is a moving video from a dance competition in China. The dancers, Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei, perform beautifully and athetically despite the fact that she has only one arm and he only has one leg. My mother sent this link to me. She got it from a friend of hers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c

Zorro the hunter

These pictures show how Zorro usually looks. He sleeps all day to store up energy for night hunting sessions. Usually these hunting sessions involve carefully watching birds far beyond reach or batting around his toy fish. Last night, however, he got a cockroach out into open, toyed with it for a half hour, pounced on it for the final time and ate it. What an attack cat! I fussed over him for another 30 minutes so he'd know killing cockroaches is a great way to get exercise between naps.