Author Archives: andrew

My camera has returned from the shop.  It seems to be working fine, but I’m still a terrible photographer.   That beautiful garden (well lit, though I am not) is outside the apartment house that my former housemate Scott just … Continue reading →

This video played on the train constantly when I was here last year.  Alas, the YouTube clip cuts off before the bit where the woman starts describing the culprit over the intercom.  Something about her accent still sticks in my … Continue reading →

My camera is in the shop, after only two weeks of proper functioning.  On the plus side, the service center here is happy to honor my Japanese warranty — but, on the minus side they require a ‘Warranty Card’ which … Continue reading →

The plaque at the art gallery explains that this is a statue of Chairman Mao directing morning calisthenics — apparently an important part of growing up in China for the artist.  Did the chairman really direct them himself?  Surely it’s … Continue reading →

The other guy renting a room in my apartment moved here from Japan on a whim because he heard that the economy was doing well in Singapore.  He had a full-time job three days after arriving. The population of singapore … Continue reading →

The beach here is not very crowded.  But the water — very crowded!

After wandering around Yishun a bit I rode back towards home and then jumped off the train when it rolled past a park and reservoir that looked nice. The train was going very fast, though, so I wound up being … Continue reading →

I spent a while this week thinking that I would change apartments on the 1st.  I’ve pretty much given up on that idea — I seem to’ve missed the narrow window for short-term rentals.  But, in the meantime, I’ve been … Continue reading →

There’s a really good roti prata shop between the place where I’m staying and the subway station — I’ve had breakfast there several times.  There’s a giant apartment tower going up between me and it, so it gets harder and … Continue reading →

As you can see, the built-in keyboard on my laptop has some problems.  It intermittently loses the ability to type spaces, the arrow and ‘tab’ keys occasionally shut off, and (most important for an inaccurate typer like me) the ‘delete’ … Continue reading →