Permanent Housing Here We Come

After a weekend in Penang, we’re back in Singapore and dying to move into our new place tomorrow morning. Spent the night packing up our temporary apartment with the sounds of Singapore’s first F1 race roaring in the streets below us. Maybe it’s all part of some government initiative to lure expats into their country, but Singapore’s already feeling like home and we haven’t really moved in yet.

Business Trips Sure To Make US Immigration Raise An Eyebrow

Just got back from Jakarta for the 3rd time in three weeks and I’m exhausted. That said, I have a really good feeling about Indonesia. I think it just might turn out to be my favorite country in the region, even if my frequent day trips into a muslim country are sure to make going home to the US a bit of a hassle.

A weekend in Bintan with my new work crew left me feeling more excited about having joined these guys. They’re some of the nicest people I’ve worked with in years. Much work to do over the next few months though. Have decided the key to making this work lies in making everyone across the business as good as they can possibly be at what I do, even before I start hiring more people like me to actually do it.

Found a flat that was near perfect and the negotiated rent justified a little renovation which made the place just right. Getting the keys on Monday after a weekend in Penang with our friend Nici this weekend. A bit of a last minute plan. With F1 in Singapore this weekend and a huge muslim holiday next week airfares were obscene.  Thus, Penang was a “take what you get” destination. Still, looking forward to spending time with an old friend in what sounds like an interesting place.

Maybe A Cheap Trick, But McCain’s Back In The Saddle

My initial reaction to McCain’s choice of running mate was that he’d decided to commit political suicide in a moment where senile decision making overshadowed all good sense.  But then something happened: the dialogue in the media shifted.  All of a sudden, the story at the center of the election was about Sarah Palin the anomaly rather than Obama the golden boy.  She may not be a great choice, but she’s made the McCain camp newsworthy and that’s a bigger deal than you might think.

According to CNN’s poll, support for McCain jumped a whole 5 percentage points to overtake Obama after Palin was announced.  Meanwhile, there was actually a jump in people who were no longer sure who they wanted to vote for (see grey line at the bottom).  The Palin announcement actually made people second guess who they’d support in an election for president of America.

And I just want to point out that the 5 percentage point gain to overtake Obama didn’t happen as gradually as the CNN chart suggests – they’re just connecting two data points.  The jump in chatter on Facebook measured on a daily basis paints a clearer picture of what happened at the moment of announcement.  It’s all pseudoscientific (I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near charts), but it backs up my friend’s hunch that what looks like a stupid decision may win the war hero an election.

Citibank Runs Hawker Stand In Bugis MRT Station

Originally uploaded by Sybariter

“This account very good for you sir!” The new accounts henchman at the bank was already pulling out an afternoon’s worth of forms. The look on his face was that of a hungry man sharpening knives.
“Right. I’d really just love to know what my options are?”
“Other options no good.”
“Can I see them.”
“This best account for you sir.” Another sales officer had now come to his rescue against the audacious foreigner who was asking too many questions about services that didn’t deliver the comission they were after. This was the same person who earlier had tried to pad our credit card application with two additional cards and a loan (!). Horror and fear fought for control of C’s facial expressions. We tried to leave politely. They blocked our way. We ran. They chased. As much as I’d looked forward to it, there will be no banking with Citibank while in Singapore.

McCain More Obsessed With Obama Than Obama

One look at this analysis of candidate language from the Boston Globe and you can’t help but think McCain has been running a reactive campaign. It might explain his latest “I’ll meet your ‘Ambiguously Ethnic and Inexperienced Democrat’ with one ‘Young Inexperienced FEMALE Republican’” strategy. Not sure “reactive” is a good place to be at a time when America seems to want someone to fix things. A bit disappointed by the whole McCain thing as I once thought of him as the voice of reason (and occasionally dissent) from the Republican party. How did he end up a partisan puppet?