Round the world we go

I am back at Chapel Hill after two short days in Singapore,. I returned via United Airlines by way of Narita (Tokyo) and Dulles (Washington DC). One of the more remarkable things about this trip is the route that I took – I went to Singapore by crossing the Atlantic and returned via the Pacific – making this literally a trip around the world.

Pictured above is an eating place (I believe these are called "hawker stands") at the corner of Circular Road and South Bridge Road where I had a dish of wonton noodle and a dish of fishball for S$3 on Friday. When I visit foreign countries, I often see things that I wish I can bring back. But I am also frequently reminded of how great of a country we have in the United States of America. The one thing I will remember most about Singapore is a random conversation I had with someone on Thursday morning. I was walking in the area around my hotel in Clark Quay when an Indian man asked me for directions. He pulled out an Indian passport with a business card bookmarked within and asked if I knew where a particular address was. I told him I myself had just landed hours ago. He asked if I was from Japan and when I told him I was from the United States he said “you’re a very lucky man.”

Singaporean morning

Singapore Local Time Friday 6:42 am

 

Good morning from the Republic of Singapore. I landed on this island-nation yesterday at around 6am after spending 18 hours on a Singapore Airline A340 that flew over the Atlantic Ocean, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and entered India south of Mumbai before landing at Singapore Changi Airport.

 

Below is some footage I took of the MRT (subway) ride from the airport to the hotel. This was during morning rush hour and some of the buildings along the route are the HDB (public housing) buildings that more than 85% of Singaporeans live in.

 

  

 

I read a newspaper article saying that Singapore has the 9th highest rent (as measured by three bedroom apartments) of any city in the world. The article states that a three bedroom apartment the area near Orchard Road where a lot of expatriates live costs around $4460 USD. The survey ranks Hong Kong as having the most expensive rent in the world and New York as third.

Strapping in for the bumpy ride ahead

I apologize for not having blogged but a couple of things have transpired since my last posting that have taken up much of my time and mental energy. I do not wish to share them with you at this time, except that I have accepted the job offer with the insurance company and will start on Monday.

Meanwhile, I am flying out to Singapore for a last minute trip this week. The 18 hour flight with Singapore Airlines is the longest daily scheduled flight in the world and easily surpasses the one I took in November to go to Hong Kong.

Hopefully I will be able to upload some pictures once I get there.

Exclusive: U.S. unemployment rate set to decline

The first item on the radio news yesterday morning was about the latest rise in unemployment statistics. I, however, have inside information that unemployment is about to go down – yesterday I received a job offer for the Senior Business Analyst position with a local insurance company. I have until Thursday to decide but I am leaning toward taking it.

 

I will blog more on this later but if the old economist joke is correct – that a recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose yours – then the logic follows that since I am no longer unemployed, we must be headed for a recovery.

Buckyhoo joins the cast of 24

April 1 – Hollywood, CA – Fox Broadcasting announced that Chapel Hill celebrity and blogosphere sensation Buckyhoo will join the cast of 24 during Season 7, playing a spy from the People’s Republic of China.

“Over the years, I have enjoyed corresponding with Buckyhoo and reading his blog postings. Since he has a good grasp of how the show works, I decided to capitalize on his current unemployment and bring him on board for cheap,” said show producer Joel Surnow who first met Buckyhoo at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

It is unclear whether Buckyhoo’s character will work with or against Jack Bauer. “At some point I may get to strangle Janeane Garofalo’s character and if her character is anything as annoying as her persona is on Air America radio, that can be the highlight of the entire season,” said Buckyhoo.

This is the latest in a series of stints that have raised Buckyhoo’s public profile over the years, including hosting a short lived show on CNN’s mobile network and running for the Republican presidential nomination. But not everyone has positive things to say about this latest development. One of his former business school professors, Mary Smith, the Franklin Koury Moorehead Professor of ethical strategic entrepreneurial management communications at the Kenan-Flagler Business School commented, “the ultimate test as to how good of an actor he is will be whether his character manages to stay awake for more than two hours.”