Home Two Weeks

A lot of people have asked me what it's like to be home again. It's been two weeks since I returned from Singapore and I'm already back into many of my routines: long walks along the marina, big salads for (or at least along with) dinner, and countless errands that keep me on my toes. Obviously it's wonderful to be home with Brian.

Brian was extremely supportive of my Asian adventure and he was good at keeping things running around here...for the most part. I couldn't help but laugh when I got home, though. First of all, he lost almost 15 pounds while I was gone. At first this made me feel guilty, as if maybe my cooking isn't as healthy as I think it is! But when I got home, I realized that he had eaten literally everything except the condiments and a few cans of soup. He also kicked the cereal habit that fueled many late mornings and late nights alike. I guess you lose weight when you don't eat!

I also got home to two duffel bags full of mail. With the exception of rent and one other bill, all of our bills are paid electronically, so that wasn't a concern. And Brian said he sorted through it and pulled out "anything important." What he left for me to sort through were the pounds of credit card offers (16 from Southwest alone), stacks of 3-month-old catalogues, and thank you notes for gifts sent weeks before I left. He says he didn't want me to miss anything. Mm hmm.

What else is going on around here? I spent most of this week in New York for work, and it was great to see many remote members of my team as well as Sarah Fight. Unfortunately I came home to a smelly kitchen. Our fridge started going out earlier in the week and despite the fact that the building manager was here on Monday, it didn't get replaced until today (luckily the freezer was ok). I itemized all the food that spoiled in that time for reimbursement - which is exactly what I wanted to do after a 6-hour flight and a 4-day work trip - and somehow they found yet another "mini" fridge that fits just perfectly in our tiny wall cut-out.

The good news is that my Thanksgiving box arrived today. My mom always sends me the nicest gifts every holiday. The highlight of my Thanksgiving box was this adorable little trivet, though truth be told there were also some cute Christmas goodies (not to mention puppy chow/muddy buddies/sweet nothings/"crack").

If the weather's nice tomorrow, Brian and I may make a trip out to Mount Tamalpais in Marin County and do some hiking. I'll try to keep up the blog a little better moving forward - certainly not everyday or even every other day like in Singapore - but more than twice a month.

Finally, here are a few "grand finale" photos from Asia. Maybe someday I'll do a highlights post, but for now...

Singing karaoke at the KTV for Whitney's birthday with Ali and so many others not pictured here.

At my going away Winesday. What a fun night. I miss my friends already!

The Porter Novelli Singapore crew: Ed, Ranjeet, Terng Shing, Juley, Ahjay, Sam, Christina, Min, me, Fion and Anu.

In the Batu Caves just outside Kuala Lumpur with Jen. Completely amazing. Several Hindu Temples inside these limestone caves 272 stairs up. Amazing, just like so much of the rest of the trip.