So Jess and I have been here for 5 days now, and I’m not sure why, but for some reason I figured now was a good time to post.

The flight was long, but straight forward. We flew Singapore Airlines, and I have to admit, the service was absolutely exceptional. I’ve never seen flight attendants be as polite and hardworking as the men and woman of our flight (SQ11 for those keeping track). Speaking of which, if you’re ever planning on flying to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, the direct flight is actually SQ19, not SQ11 as the website leads you to believe. We booked our flight under the illusion of “non-stop travel”, but we were informed ON THE RUNWAY that we were stopping in Tokyo. Had Jess not pointed out what the captain said over the PA, I would have deplaned and waited for my luggage in Tokyo thinking I was in Singapore. Regardless, we arrived safe and sound after a total of 19 hours in transit.

Singapore is definitely an interesting place to visit. Their official language is English, and if I’m not mistaken over 80% of the population speaks it (or so my guide book says), so it hasn’t been difficult to get around at all. It has to be one of the most “westernized” countries in Asia, so it doesn’t really feel all that different from any North American city. What IS shocking however, is the heat. Well, the heat combined with the humidity. I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before… you basically start sweating as soon as you step outside. Every mall, restaurant and taxi is well air conditioned, so you get a nice humid slap in the face whenever you walk outside, and a cool hug whenever you come back in side. A/C… ah, refreshing.

We’ve taken a lot of photos so far, and I’ve uploaded a number of them here for those who are interested. I’ve been adding to them as we go along, so check back later as I’m sure there’ll be more.

As Jess will openly admit - she wasn’t looking forward to her 27th birthday this year. Being that we don’t exactly have a vast social network out here on the west cost yet, and faced with having to spend her actual birthday on a plane to Singapore, Jess actually thought her birthday would be a rather low-key event this year.

Oh, how wrong she was.

To mark her 27th birthday this year, Jess’ family flew in to surprise her. They arrived in Orange County on Thursday and surprised her at dinner later that night. Jess and her family spent the following day in and around Laguna Beach and then we all headed to a resort just North of San Diego called Rancho Bernardo Inn for the weekend. The original plan was to spend Sunday night back in Dana Point, but Jess and I ended up having to grab a plane to Singapore that afternoon. Not exactly the best way to spend your “official” birthday, but hopefully everything else made up for that 17 hours stuck in a plane.

How odd is this? Above is a photo that Terry found online today while browsing this Ferrari forum. If you look closely, you’ll notice that I’m in the passenger seat. It was taken by someone at the show who happened to pass us on the way home.

Jeremy found out this week that Fuse had won the Singapore Airways’s business. So, he and Terry are travelling there next week for a meeting. I’m tagging along, well, because I can. It will be a fast trip but we will have 5 full days to tour the city.

Now, we better remember not to spit in public….

So I got an opportunity to take a spin in Terry’s Ferrari this morning. Wow, what a car. It’s hands down the quickest vehicle I’ve been in. His Ferrari is a limited edition 360 Challenge Stradale, 1 of 750 which were sold in North America (or so I’m told). The Stradale is basically a stock 360 Modena with all “non-essential” items removed or replaced with carbon fiber alternatives for weight reduction, and other aspects tuned and modified for increased performance. If you will - it is a bare bones, street legal, racing machine. “Fast” is an understatement.

We took the car down to what I’ll call an “regular impromptu” car show in Newport Beach. This car show takes place every Saturday morning where all of the rich car enthusiasts park their rare and exotic cars in parking lot at 7:00 am, buy a Starbucks, and walk around chatting it up with the other rich car enthusiasts. There was quite an assortment of cars, ranging from authentic Shelby Cobras to fresh-of-the-lot Ferraris. I’m told this morning was a poor showing as most of the exotics weren’t there (apparently there was a show in Monetary last week, and many of the vehicles haven’t returned yet). If this morning was a “poor showing”, I have a feeling I’ll be going back again.

It’s been cool here recently. It’s currently 64° (18°C), and has been dropping down into the low 50°s at night, which is apparently low for this time of year. It feels just like fall in Toronto, only the leaves aren’t changing colo(u)r. With this drop in temperature, I started to wonder what this so-called “winter” would be like. Would it actually get colder? Well, everyone is telling that this is it. This is winter. We’re currently experiencing a range of temperature that more common in January and February… the only difference being that it will rain a lot more during those months.

Before leaving, one of the things I said I’d miss about Toronto was the fall. I love the temperature in the fall - not too hot, but not too cold. You can wear a light jacket outside and be perfectly comfortable. When we moved out here, I just assumed we’d be without that… I guess I figured it would be flip flops and shorts year round. Needless to say, I’m pleasantly surprised to discover that we do have fall here - the only thing we don’t have is winter. Goodbye snow, hello perpetual fall.

It’s like the best of both worlds - a light jacket and flip flops.

So, I’ve started a blog… but why? Well, Jess and I just got home from a 12 day trip in Toronto. While we were there, I was surprised how often we were asked to see photos of our place in California. It honestly hadn’t dawned on me to bring photos back with us, but since there appears to be some demand, I figured I’d start blogging our adventures in California and let everyone into our world. Jess and I will be updating this blog on a relatively regular basis (well, at least I will be… it’s yet to be seen if Jess can even figure it out. I’m sure she will though). We’ll also be uploading photos for everyone to see - we’re actually on our way out to head down to Laguna to snap some photos of my office and the surrounding areas.

Ok, so here’s the first post… here we go.