Sounders Storm

The Seattle Sounders FC soccer club is back! This year's MLS season opener was in Seattle at QWest Field and played in the worst outdoor weather for a sporting event in Seattle in recent memory... we got DRENCHED!

Good news: the Sounders won 2-0 on two goals scored right in front of our seats before half.
Bad news: I couldn't take it anymore and Jesse & I left soon after halftime.

I look forward to the season! And to dry(er) games altogether!

Doggy Day Care!

My little girl is growing up: I dropped her off at Daycare today!

Because Copper has become "stubborn" about chillaxing in her crate at home during the work day, I decided it was time I broke down and enrolled her in school. She needs and loves socialization.

The good news is that there's a great doggie day care not three blocks from my office, so we scheduled a temperament check this morning and she is getting a full-day workout with what looks to be 15-20 other big dogs at The Barking Lounge, named Seattle's #1 Doggie Daycare!

And, as the website says, "Feeling some separation anxiety from your canine companion? Just visit this page to see what your pooch is up to!", I bring you The Barking Lounge's webcam such that you can check in on Copper every now and again also -- you know I am!!

International Celebrity Look-Alike and other Final Thoughts from SEAsia...

Call me tan and I am a happy man.
White teeth? I am OVER the moon.
Today, however, I think I may have gotten the cream of the crop compliment... "Oh My God! You're Tom Ford! No seriously, you look like Tom Ford!"

Yes, I will say we both have short first & last names (and if you say them real fast, you could confuse one for the other -- and I do get "Tom Oar" a lot). I will also say that I am a bit scruffy this week. However, I will NOT say I have as much hair as nor even an ounce of the fame of the real deal. But Avid Reader... I'm takin' it!! WOO HOO!

In the category of events & adventures, I was able to have a couple of mini UW MBA reunions this week -- the first of which included drinks with my good friend Rob Taylor at orgo, a roof-top bar over-looking Marina Bay. A brilliant night altogether, we got to share our crazy adventures in business and to reconnect. Inasmuchas the Tom Ford compliment may have taken the proverbial cake, hanging out with Rob was a darn-near second (yes, that awesome).

Of course, the second mini UW MBA reunion was getting to be on a conference call this morning with several classmates as we start to plan our 10-year reunion this fall. Amazing how time flies and how valued I still hold the amazing people I met during my two years of Business School. I'm excited for fall.

And speaking of being excited, I'm excited to be home. It's near 7PM on Wednesday in Singapore as I type. My flight departs at 5:45AM! Eleven hour countdown!

GUILTY!

Guess who successfully managed The Great Escape in Seattle?!


I got this update from my friends John & Amy this morning. Copper is SO busted!

Singapore Zoo!

Today was a STELLAR Sunday. I got up early to beat the heat and, with the Dolans, headed to the world-famous Singapore Zoo! I could literally put a list -- with adjoining photos -- together of the world of animals I got to see up close today. I will tell you that I took 350+ photos today of some 53 different animals... and this is me either deleting those that did not turn out or refusing to take shots altogether (sorry snakes). I will, however, share some of my favorites...

Polar Bear -- my first viewing ever of one of these amazing animals. I could have watched the biggie swim forever.

White Bengal Tigers -- another first: white tigers! I always have a soft spot for tigers as they were my first high school mascot (and an important one for my family). White ones, though? Super awesome.

Super Cute -- if this were an award, otters will most always win. However, some honorable mentions must go out to the pygmy hippos, orangutan babies, and penguins (even thought they smelled of the devil).

The Fave -- the sentry meerkat never disappoints. I was never really a "fan" per se, until I met The Sloucher in Sydney. Now, they're a fave.

Holy Pre-Historic BatMan! -- there are times when I'm simply blown away by creation and it nearly always relates to reptiles. This go was no expection as I couldn't grasp the sheer size of the giant turtles and the beastly crocodile. In addition, rhinos simply blow my mind and these white rhinos did not disappoint (hello dinosaurs!). I also got up close & personal with many random lizards who call the zoo their home, but who don't live in a cage...

The Last Place I Want to Be -- this goes out to the baboon exhibit. Not only would I never want to be dropped into this baboon pen in a hundred thousand million years, but I wouldn't wish it on my biggest enemy either! Can you say "Planet of the Apes"?!

Monkey Central -- not only were there tons of baboons, there were hordes of monkeys in general! This must be the world's most robust monkey collection with orangutans, chimps, drills and more!

Big Cats -- in addition to the white tigers, I got to be up close & personal (literally, a mere sheet of glass separated me!) with cheetahs, leopards and lions. It was amazing to me how powerful these cats look and how much I wanted one walking around my townhouse being BFF with Copper.

The Standards -- I call them standards which may imply they are simply not impressive. Not so! I've come to realize that giraffes and zebras *are* the zoo to me. No giraffe? No zebra? You ain't no zoo! That's crazy talk!

The X-rateds -- And for those keeping parental control on their internet, you won't want to check out the photos of the caught-in-the-act dirty bird Proboscis Monkey nor the Mongoose/mongeese (content not suitable for our younger Avid Readers). Say it ain't so!

All in all, it was an amazing day at the zoo, even if I was a sweaty puddle throughout! Kudos to Singapore for pioneering the open habitat concept and for all of their conservation efforts. I realize just how small I am, but how large of an impact I have on our environment whenever I have the chance to see so many amazing creatures. So, treat the earth well, Avid Reader. And become a hero of your hometown zoo!

Live from Singapore... it's Saturday Night!

Alas, I have no pictures to post Avid Reader, but wanted to give you quick update on an awesome Singapore Saturday night in quick form...

1. Met up with friends Jodie, Kai and Michelle.
2. Headed East to check out some of Singapore's beaches and to enjoy dinner at yet another (delicious!) hawker market. And yes, it was delicious!
3. Manned up and went to Orchard Towers. Please only click that link if you are in an office-friendly environment. And stories can only be shared over adult beverages. But know that we found an amazing vantage from behind a one-way mirror (Thank You DownUnder Bar!).

And that was my Saturday night! WOO HOO!

TGIF - Singapore Style

I can't tell you how excited I was that yesterday was Friday. It had been a long week altogether and after the 4hr training I led from 2-6PM yesterday in the Singapore office, I literally felt my body shutting down. (Nothing an ice cold beer with friends didn't fix though! Just sayin'.)

After work, Michelle & I met friends Jodie & Kai Huang for a stroll along the downtown waterfront to the Singapore Merlion as well as to a local for large adult beverages and snacks. Many photos ensued (of course) and we had a great time catching up.

Our Happy Hour continued into dinner at a Hawker Market nearby to our hotel. We met Stephen Dolan, walked (read: sweated our way) to the market, then enjoyed being accosted to sit in this section or that by the local proprietors. The stars must have aligned as we settled on a stall who's owner was dressed to please my dear friend Jesse Paulson.

We enjoyed four hulking prawns, a hulking crab (white pepper style) and many hulking adult beverages, and lots of laughs and conversation. Stephen & I vascillate between love & hate, so Michelle got to referee when she wasn't waving to locals and playing with her food (she was drunken and/or just extrememly happy; I'll let her have a combination of both this time...).

20 minutes

Twenty minutes. That's the amount of time that separated Michelle & I from a 6.4 earthquake in Taiwan this morning. Here's how the rundown of our discovery went...

Normal morning; depart Taipei @ 10AM.
Arrive Hong Kong ~noon. Complete tasks (check directory, hit Mujo To Go, find lunch & adult beverage).
Turn on phone.
Text from Jesse Paulson: "Friend, just heard about the quake over there. Are you ok and safe? Not sure if you are where it hit, so please let me know."
Michelle hyperventilates.
I shell up.

We quickly get online to try to get a sense for what has happened -- and where -- and a thousand thoughts go through my mind, as you can imagine. We learn that the earthquake hit Taiwan, that it was big, and that we left the island a mere 20 minutes before it struck.

More research tells us that it didn't hit the city of Taipei itself (~150 miles south), but perspective says that A) it's as close as Vancouver, WA, is to Seattle, and B) we literally lifted off a whopping twenty minutes earlier. Needless to say, what was just another lunch of shu mai and pan-friend dumplings was also served with a pretty big slice of humble pie.

36 hours in Taipei

I’m sitting in the Taipei airport awaiting the next leg of this trip to Singapore. What I’m realizing is that this whole thing has been a whirlwind already… 24 hours of travel, ~40 hours in Hong Kong, and now just having enjoyed ~36 hours in Taiwan. I’ll be settling into Singapore soon… but not until after a 2hr flight, 2hr layover in Hong Kong, and four more hours in the air. The good news is that I’ll have seven nights in Singapore – enough to get to unpack my suitcase!

Although brief, my time in Taiwan was wonderful. The folks at the Microsoft office as well as any we encountered – from baristas to cab drivers to people on the street – were incredibly kind and welcoming. Point being, it wasn’t just the temperature that was warm.

Taipei was a short flight from Hong Kong – and Michelle & I were able to get on an earlier flight. Our hotel was in the heart of the downtown area, literally a block from Taipei 101 – the second largest skyscraper in the world (2nd to the Burj in Dubai as of 4-Jan-2010; I literally missed being in the world's tallest building by under 50 days! COOL!). My colleague TeQ & I quickly dropped off our suitcases and backpacks, tucked sleepy Michelle in for the night, then wandered around the neighborhood to enjoy the Lantern Festival. Avid Reader, the Year of the Tiger is in full force in Taipei; I’ve never seen more tigers in my life! We roamed paths of lanterns, caught a 10PM concert in the park, watched the City Hall light show, wrote our 2010 wishes for all to see, and enjoyed "flora" from around the world as part of the Flora Festival. Taipei was truly a city of lights. It seemed more like Christmas in New York than March in China.

After a productive work day – more than five hours of meetings and a group lunch – Michelle & I opted to scale Taipei 101 and catch the sights of the city. More than that, however, we knew we were in store for another adventure and also proceeded to make our own! Armed with cameras and a spirit of adventure, we enjoyed own our photo shoots, being a part of others (literally, three groups of tourists asked to take photos with us!), making friends, and creating the shot of a lifetime!

Our wonderful Microsoft colleagues Grace and Daniel then escorted us to the Shilin Night Market such that we could experience the sights, sounds and tastes of one of Taipei’s most famous local markets. The market was a throbbing world of food stalls, gift shops, clothing & accessories carts, and more. We enjoyed fresh dumplings, some crazy and DELICIOUS spicy chicken patty, and a humbow(?)-like bun stuffed with meat & scallions. One could call it complete mayhem, but there was a normal-ness to the market that is comforting, if not at least settling as if this is how things should be.

Relative to how things should be, these trips should be filled with hard work and hard play. So far, it has certainly been filled with both with more to come!

Long time, no see, Hong Kong!

Greetings, Avid Reader, from Greater Asia Pacific! Indeed, I am on the road again, and therefore have APAC adventures to share!

The wonderful news is that I'm getting to travel with Michelle Minier on this trip -- not three weeks after having gotten to vacation with her on Canuoan Island. Needless to say, it's fun to have travel adventures with a friend and this one is no exception!

After a quick layover (and adult beverage opportunity) in Japan, we landed in Hong Kong after nearly 24 hours of travel. Exhausted, but undeterred, we worked a full day then had a complete evening of adventure, including taking in Victoria Harbor from Kowloon, watching the Harbor's light show from AQUA, enjoying the water ferry, riding the escalator, exploring the streets of HK, downing adult beverages, then both nearly crashing out in the cab on our way back to the hotel. Just what an evening should be!

Sadly, our time in Hong Kong was short -- as will our time be at our next destination... Taipei! I'm so thankful to get to see another amazing city and experience a new country altogether! More to come from Taiwan!