Hello, My name is Mi, and I´m an Introvert.

I´ve always thought that I was an extrovert-----that was, of course, until I understood what introvert really meant. Contrary to what most people think about introversion, it has little to do about shyness. I won't make an attempt to define introversion/extroversion. But (oh, heck ill do it anyway! =P), in essence, I guess you  could say that its the extent you feel energized by being around people, or whether that drains your energy.

I remember the many times my sister would come into my room after school when we were kids..it was soo annoying! But, I didn´t know why I found it annoying. I just really believed that my sister was being annoying---of course, she would often come in all happy, asking me how my day was, and what I was up to...and I would give her short answers- wanting her to go away, and at some point, when there were too many questions, I would just snap..lol. Sorry, Kethup! You know I love you! =)

When we got a bit older, and I learned communicate a bit better, we both found out that I often need to be alone...and she has the need to be around people...(all- the - time!) ...I mean, she doesn´t even need people talking to her- as long as someone is around her. But, still---I didn´t know why I had this need to be alone. I mean, Im an extrovert after all..right?..Im social, I don´t have problems talking to strangers, or making new friends..I can honestly say that I´ve had good conversations with every single cab drivers both in Dublin, and in Singapore...Im not shy.

Anyhow..the further away I´ve been from family and friends, I guess you could say - and this is gonna sound a bit lame, i know!- that I´ve learned more about myself. I´ve learned that I´m an introvert.....the more I think about it, the more sense it makes,,and its sucha relief! Why do I not wanna come with you to this huge event, with many people, and "it´s gonna be sooo much fun"? Cause it takes so much of my energy, that´s why. If there are too many people, the conversations become less personal..if it´s less personal, then it´s just trivial matters being discussed, and shallow small talk..and, so..I can´t be bothered to go. I prefer small groups--If I know them- maximum 4 people...sometimes I´ll stretch to 5...if I really like everyone..=P I never feel like Im missing out on anything when I turn down on something that supposedly is a "huge event".

I remember some of the Swedish guys from my team asking me "so what do you do, when you´re just at home? Isn´t it boring?",,,,No, its not...its AweSome!..No sarcastic undertone here! It´s soo nice..ahh,,,I wish I could explain it in words,,,you can hear your own thoughts. Think about it..how often - while with others- do you manage to thoroughly digest your own thoughts, think things through properly (discuss pros and cons with yourself, lol)..you always have to push your thoughts away in order to follow the conversation you´re having with the other person.---by the way, if I ever ask you to repeat something, I can tell you right now that it´s not because I didnt hear you, but because I was drifting away with my own thoughts, haha. - true story=P

My parents always told me that I was egoistic. That I never spent time with them (aka watched TV with them in the living room), and that I was always locking myself in my room, and not socializing. I, of course, always felt guilty about it, but couldnt help myself...and it wasnt just my teenage years, when we all kinda lock ourselves in our bedrooms to get privacy...it´s always been like that. It was especially bad since my older sister was, and still is, completely the opposite - so, in comparison, I was really a black sheep in the family when it came to socializing.

Now that I´ve learned that we´re just wired differently, and that I´m not really an extrovert after all, everything just makes sense. Don´t get me wrong..it´s not that I mind being around people, or that  I don´t like socializing.,,it´s just that, after socializing, I need a couple of days to be alone to recharge before I can socialize in big groups again=P  - This is the case regardless of how much I like you. 
..just so you know =)

<3

Playing while Im working...

My days in Pictures

Spent my night by the pool on Sunday

SCOOORE!!! I´ve pretty much gone to China town every weekend to get my fix of fruit, and Durian in specific. Durian is soo smelly, that it´s not even allowed on the MRT..so everytime Ive bought Durian, I had to take a cab home..I mean, I really dont wanna meet that old lady again and have her record the conversation where she tells me that Durian is illegal on the MRT station AND train..

This is an updated picture of what I have in the fridge,,,this is- honestly- all the food I have at home...haha. Two boxes of Durian, a piece of dark Toblerone chocolate (I totally bought that,....HAH! no I didnt,,got it from the office...lol!),,and a bottle of water...also "sponsored" by Google =P I fill it up, though, cause the water from the sink is purified, and it actually taste good! Much better than tapped water in Dublin,,that was horrible!

The Vivo City mall has a national Geographic store....anyone want a fossil? Anyone??sure?...Its on Sale for 9800 S$,-..? Dont want it?....=P

Say hello to my new pen!...HELllOoo...a PEN that looks like an old-school PENCIL?..I HAD to get it...it was kinda pricey. But, sooo worth it...look at it! isnt the coolest thing ever? hehe

Clarke Quay...

I was told the the office buildings are positioned in a very specific way: Feng Shui.. Making sure that banks here dont encounter what the states did...too bad the Architects in NEw York didnt think of Feng Shui-ing their buildings, huh? maybe it wouldve saved them from the economic turmoil..=P

Office view

Monday morning, 0930....queuing to get on the escalator?...screw that,,,Im taking the stairs!

It's a Small World After all...

In 2007, I was in France for a year during my studies. After the year passed, I was pretty sure that it was unlikely that  Id meet any of the friends Id made ever again..of course, when saying our goodbyes, we all said that we should keep in touch,,and that we would meet each other again...but, for most people..thats just the social norm..thats  just what you say because its appropriate. Never did I think that I´d meet them again. Turns out that our roads would actually cross at one point anyway..=)


In 2009, a fellow classmate from the year in France made the decision to move to Norway to be with his girlfriend, who happened to be the girl I wrote the bachelor thesis with. He ended up going to the same school as I did - taking his masters--and, since he´s from the states, and education is expensive over there, I was told that his parents were sad to see him move so far, but thrilled that the tuition fee was so low. BI Norwegian School of Management (I think theyve changed their name to something else now) is actually one of the few private schools in Norway, as all other educational institutions are generally free. Anyhow, he is now enganged to her,,=) Best wishes, McKenzie and Kristine! =)

My cousin, who lives in the states, got married in 2010..there, I met up with a friend from my high-school exchange year (2003-2004). Hopey you´re still dancing your way through life, Phil ;-)...literally!


That same year, I stopped in New York for a couple of days, and another friend- who I´d gotten to know while in France - made the trip into NYC to meet up with me =) Thanks Jenny!

Late November 2010, I got an mail via LinkedIn from Google. I thought it was spam. I reached out to a friend - who Id also gotten to know while in France- as he´d recently quit his job at google to continue his studies. He confirmed that he knew the recruiter, and gave me tips for the interview. Thanks, Espen =) We ended up meeting each other again at an event that Google held for media agencies

2011..the first couple of weeks at Google was all about training, and getting to know fellow Nooglers. There, I met someone who actually looks like McKenzie. I knew that he actually had a cousin who works for Google. Turns out, his cousin was on a rotation in Dublin...so, I met McKenzie´s cousin in Dublin..small world, eh?

I become friends with a fellow Noogler (Ivana), and we add each other on Facebook (cause Google+ wasn't out yet =P). And there it was...one friend in common. A guy I had gotten to know from my year in France, and she had gotten to know from a year in Sweden (I think?

Fast forward to 2012. I get a new role at work, move to Singapore and meet up with two of the girls Id gotten to know from my year in France...the odds of meeting them, I thought, was very very miniscule.

In a couple of days, I´ll meet up with another girl who (also from my year in France). She´s from the States, but now lives in Japan and will be traveling to Singapore for business. Who would´ve thought that our roads would cross.. again.....=)

Let´s keep in touch....

over and out-

Spreading a great P&G commercial... =)

random pictures and random days in Singapore

Sunday's lunch date with Tria

The Marina Bay Sands

I love things that make me feel like there's some structure and control in my life...even though the things that run through my head is often a mess (the contents in my notebooks is a proof of this)...so, I love things like : boxes, containers, notebooks, pens...etc.

Went to Muji on Sunday and spent quite some time in there looking for the perfect containers for my stuff....ahh..the satisfaction of putting things into containers/boxes. Not ANY containers/boxes, of course, but something that are esthetically pleasing to look at - I love.

The food is a bit different here than in Dublin, I can tell you that much. (Some of the things served for lunch at work today)

Saturday: lunchin' with ma'self.. =)

While construction work seems to have stopped completely in Dublin, Singapore is tearing down "old" buildings - old as in 1970/1980 - and building new condos.

 Went to Prada last week to ask one of the workers there how much weight my bag could handle. When I bought it in Dublin, the sales rep said that I could fit a laptop in there...so, what have I been doing? well, Ive been putting my laptop in there, of course!.. The sales guy asks me to hand him the bag..he puts it on his arm and says: " this is enough"....

Me: What?!

I had the following in my bag: a wallet, a purse filled with 3 lipbalms/glosses, 3 pens, my passport, my cellphone, keys...and thats it...The bag fits a macbook Pro, but cant handle the weight of a wallet and some pens??! What in the world!

Then the guy adds: "this is not for everyday..only occasionally.."

I told him that I used it everyday, and that that's why I bought it,,,anyhow - long story short. Ill be sending the bag to have it repaired next weekend cause the stitches on one side of the bag is loose. I use the shoulder straps, cause I dont like carrying it on my arm (totally defeats the purpose of having a bag, if it inconveniently has to be placed on an arm...yeah yeah, fashion bloggers may tell you different..but this is not a fashion blog...this is a random-rant-blog =)

Fixing this baby will apparently take up to 2-3 months..

NOTEBOOKS!...=)

You know why the MRT (subway) is so clean in Singapore? Cause theres no food or drinks allowed in the station, nor the train, and you cannot eat or drink in the station..or the train. I learned this the second day in Singapore. Some old lady - whose job is to make sure that people follow the rules - came up to me while I innocently was standing there enoying my milk tea:

"HellO! how long you been here?"

Me: *embarassed while people are staring at me as this woman yells at me*...."Uhm, One day.....(?)" - I said, and purposely made my American accent as strong as it could be, to prove that I was a foreigner....also,,if people were gonna think I was stupid for violating the rules in the mrt station, they might as well hate on an American, right? They're often, and stereotypically known for being loud, arrogant and rule defiant..lol=P (Relax, y'all,,,I like Americans..but that IS what americans are -among other things -unfamously known for...unfortunetaly)

Woman: "See this?? This is a recoda (recorder)...i am recoding this convosation..this is a warning..ok? You cannot eat or drink insy (inside)...see? see? there are no trash cans insy..thas because it is not allow to eat or drink insy.....put in you bag"

And there I was...with my milk tea...forced to place it in my Prada bag...lol...lesson learned guys..every single rule you see on a sign here is strictly followed.

I had to take a picture of this. A colleague of mine is a bit superstitious,,she says that one should not put ones bag on the floor, cause that means that you'll lose money..or something like that.,,so she bought this little hanger for her bag =)

Remember the elevators I was talking about in one of my last posts?  WEll,,,I counted them...there are 16 elevators...Can you see me running from one to the other to find out which Im supposed to take? lol.....

i THINK...I DONt know, guys,,but I THINK eye contact is dangerous over here. It must be, right? cause why would they otherwise be glued to their phones like this every morning ? :P. This is about 0920am..so, imagine the peak hours (20 minutes earlier)...multiply the amount of people by about 5, and then imagine how surreal it is,,,,its like walking among robots...we all march to our destination..one station to the other...the pace is kinda slow, cause there are so many people...and addition to walking slow, people are multi-tasking by walking and texting/emailing.

The funny thing over here is that people bring their Ipads to the mrt to entertain themselves...if they were checking FB or email, it would feel more,,,i dunno normal, or appropriate. But, Ive often seen men in suits - around 40-50 yrs old - with their fancy PC bag, and an ipad on their lap..playing bejewled...No shame...Bejewled, guys...thats how they roll...lol!

The entrance to my apartment building.

I stood in the store for about 10 minutes trying to decide on the perfect insect killer...Gotta be honest, Ive never had sucha wide variety of insect killers in front of me before. My apartment is squeeky clean, and there are no cracks, or holes I could imagine insects coming from...but....juuuuust to be on the safe side, Im buying a bottle of this..  

I walk pass "the Chinese association" everyday...and often wonder what goes on inside...a shady building, and in front - some shiny cars...

Some pics of the Google office over here

Makeup for ....your boyfriend?:-/

Stuff like this baffles me...went in to a Japanese makeup store, and there were only pics of these guys..no girls. Im confused..who's the target market here? And why are the guys wearing girls' accessories?...

Ive always considered the Swedish guys a bit metro sexual..but kudos to them for knowing the line between ' taking well care of their appearance' and becoming feminine.