ADVENTURES IN IKEA

First off, we got an apartment, pics coming tomorrow when we take possession. 

But with the new apartment comes new house stuff since we sold virtually everything and only moved to Singapore with seven boxes, we need new goods for our new apartment and what better place is there for basics than IKEA.

Yes Singapore has an Ikea, two in fact and if you say "eye-kee-yah" they don't know what you are saying as everyone calls it "ick-eee-yah". We were excited to see what a Singapore version of a Swedish housewares shop had to offer, unfortunately nothing new.

A few different colors and styles but really Ikea is the same the world over, the big difference here is that the $1 Hot Dogs are made of chicken rather than "mystery meat" and you can put chili sauce on them as well as ketchup & mustard, otherwise it's Malm, Billy and Kulla for everybody! We got our basics towels, cups, sheets, pillows etc. and plan to go back for a few small furniture pieces but I was hoping for some more unique pieces. I guess we truly live in a global society.  

GIO'S MOVIE ROUND-UP: MAY'09

WOLVERINE

So disappointing, this movie is all over the place and overall it's not very good. The story is haphazard, the FX atrocious in places and when it's all said and done, it feels like a bigger let down than X-MEN 3. That said, I liked Ryan Reynolds & Liev Schrieber in their roles but I was never the biggest fan of Jackman as Wolverine and here even less so. 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS DOWN

STAR TREK

Wow! This is an amazing flick, it has an amazing cast an engaging story and some kick ass FX. I've never been more entertained from a STAR TREK movie and WRATH OF KHAN has finally been knocked out of top spot to #2. The casting director should get an award as everyone perfectly paid homage to the original characters but still created new ones, no weakness anywhere. Never before has TREK been so humorous and action-packed at the same time, I sat on the edge of my seat giggling throughout the entire movie... this is a true summer popcorn blockbuster. Well done JJ Abrams.  

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS UP

ANGELS & DEMONS

Much, much better than THE DA VINCI CODE. A decent mystery and Tom Hanks' hair is better in this one but still weird.

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS UP

TERMINATOR SALVATION

I had high hopes cause the trailers kicked ass but overall it was "Amazingly Average". I thought the story was the weakest link and Christian Bale was miscast as the hero (stick to the Batman universe buddy). The visuals were good as were the FX and it was funny to see a young Arnie for a few frames but otherwise it was a disappointment for me.

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS NEUTRAL

THE SPIRIT (DVD)

As much as I admire the original comic and the man who directed this film, Frank Miller, this truly is one awful movie. It's embarrassing. To tell you how bad it is, Sam Jackson should get an Academy Award for SNAKES ON A PLANE compared to this. I actually fell asleep for five minutes, I haven't done that in eons. Avoid this one unless you want to see how not to make good Comic Book Movie, then by all means, enjoy! 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS DOWN

JCVD (DVD)

Good but not great but definitely the best Van Damme flick in eons. Van Damme plays himself, a down-on-his-luck and washed-up movie star who gets caught up in a Hostage situation in him hometown. It's cute, it's quirky, it's got some funny moments and Van Damme is great in it although if it was anyone else, it would be just another movie. 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS NEUTRAL 

WONDER WOMAN (DVD)

DC continues to impress with their animated line-up. WONDER WOMAN is a well-done animated movie featuring great voice talent (Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina & Nathan Fillion), a good origin story and some decent animation. If you liked DC'S NEW FRONTIER, you will like this one! 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS UP

QUARANTINE (DVD)

Based on the spanish flick REC, this pseudo-zombie flick is a little bit BLAIR WITCH, a little bit CLOVERFIELD and all told from the point of view of a news team following some form of "outbreak" at an LA apartment complex. It's good but would be better with more gore and stronger  acting. Still, I found it enjoyable. 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS UP

WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD (DVD)

Unless you are a fan of the original Graphic Novel or the recent movie version, there is no need to see this animated adventure and mock documentary. Although they are cool, they can be a bit... boring. 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS NEUTRAL 

THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2 (DVD)

A needless sequel to the remake from a few years ago, this one sees the inbred mutants take on a rookie group of soldiers... much bloodshed and stupidity abound! 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS DOWN

PUNISHER WAR ZONE (DVD)

Awesome! That's right, I said it, the PWZ is awesome. Ray Stevenson (Rome) makes a picture perfect Punisher and the film is filled with gore like no other comic film around. Dominic West is a bit over the top as the villain Jigsaw but it works in the context of the film. Don't believe the brutal reviews this film got, it's fun, it's gory, and it's the best Punisher film out of all three that have been made. Still no BATMAN BEGINS though.... 

GIO'S OPINION: THUMBS UP

SINGAPORE BOTANICAL GARDENS

Coming in at around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York, THE SINGAPORE BOTANICAL GARDENS is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 am to 12 midnight every single day of the year, and does not charge an admission fee (except for the National Orchid Garden portion of the park). Opened in 1859, the linear distance between the Northern and Southern end of the Gardens is around 2.5 km. It is home to 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids, a six hectares large Tropical Rainforest, the Ginger Garden, the Botany Centre and three lakes. Considered one of the major attractions of Singapore, Michelle and I decided to walk the gardens and take some snaps.

It is a beautiful place, much like a tropical Stanley Park filled to the brim with exotic plants, lots of families and even our first look at a Singapore Spider (weird looking thing) but the thing that hit us the most was the heat. Man, was it hot, even for Singaporeans it was hot as everyone in the park was sweating. We only lasted three hours there but we still managed to snap a few pics which you can see HERE. Maybe in the fall we will go back when it cools down a bit... wait a minute... there's no such thing as "fall" here and it NEVER cools down. Oh well...

Next up? The Night Safari!

OUCH!

That Singapore sun can sneak up on you quickly as Michelle is living proof of! Ouch!

A LITTLE BIT ON WORK & THE FOOD

Week one is done! My first full week of work and I love it, I really do. I know I made the right choice transplanting us across the globe for this job opportunity because it's going to be a fun, challenging and rewarding experience. The people, the projects, the management, the opportunities, they are all worth it. It was a little overwhelming (as Josh once said, "it's like drinking from a firehose") meeting all those people, sitting in a ton of meetings and talking about the future when I'm still learning about the past & present but I wouldn't have it any other way. You gotta hit the ground running!

Enough about work, let's talk about the real important stuff... the food!

The food here is amazing, nobody and I mean nobody cooks ever, everyone eats out all the time. I still want to find a place with a kitchen so I can cook once in a while but groceries are fairly pricey (except for fruit and some seafood), otherwise you can get a full meal for super cheap or super expensive there is no middle ground. 

You either eat at the local "Hawker Centers" (think food court with all homemade food, no fast food) where most meals cost between $2 to $7 which is about $5 Canadian and under. Trust me, it's awesome and you are stuffed afterwards. Or you can spend upwards of $100 for a dinner in a nice place and that's not including booze but even there the food is worth it once in a while. There are alot of local delicacies that are worth eating over and over again as well: Murtabak (fried naan with Chicken, Cheese & Onions - awesome for Hangovers or Jetlag), Chili or Black Pepper Crab (fresh whole crab in a tomato & chili gravy or with a smokey black pepper rub, Mee Goreng (fried noobles with veggies), Laksa (spicy noodle soup with your choice of meat & veggies) and Satay (meat skewers with Peanut sauce). What makes it so memorable is that this place is a melting pot of cultures so you get Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Lebanese, Korean and Western all mixing with each other... it's foodie heaven. Overall, not a bad meal yet.

Where there is trouble in paradise is with booze, it's SUPER expensive. Vodka costs about $80 a bottle, wine about $40, a six pack of beer is $25. Most restaurants offer extensive happy hours where it's 2 for 1 drinks or you pay a cover charge and drink for two hours free but overall it's pricey. We've found that the best bang for your buck is Sake, so that has now become our nemesis in this part of the world:-P

Apartment hunting continues but we are narrowing our scope, stay tuned!

DAY OF THE TIKI TEASER

Take a look! Here's the teaser trailer for the upcoming DAY OF THE TIKI Video Game and even though Johnny Johnny is the star of the game, the star of the Teaser trailer is good ol' MR. AMBASSADOR!!!

SPORE SO FAR!

Here's a look at our first few days in Singapore...

THE FLIGHT

• Despite the 2:45am take-off time, there is only one way to fly, CATHAY PACIFIC: Business Class. The Pods were awesome, the Johnny Gold on the rocks were flowing strong and I got to catch up with lots of my favorite shows, unedited: the first six episodes of CALIFORNICATION: S2, the first three episodes of TRUE BLOOD: S1 and VALKYRIE, it was great. Michelle took full advantage of the amenities using every thing that was given to us. The service was spectacular, the flight smooth and Michelle even managed to sleep for a few hours, I even slept for two hours and if you know me, I don't sleep on plane. It will be extremely difficult to travel in coach again...

WELCOME TO SINGAPORE

• WE MADE IT! 12.5 hours to Hong Kong, a 2 hour layover and then a 3.5 hour flight to Singapore. As smooth as it gets. We arrived in Singapore at 12:30pm Tuesday afternoon (9:30pm Monday for you Vancouverites) and while waiting in the immigration line-up, I realized that I forgot my sunglasses on the plane. We ran back to the gate and luckily they were still cleaning the plane so after a few minutes of looking, they found them and returned them to me unharmed. We went back in line at immigration and then a funny thing happened with our Visas... nothing. They looked at our Visa paperwork, they looked at our passports, they verified the names, they stamped everything and said "welcome to Singapore"... that's it. The one time I tried to get into the States with a Work Visa, it took six hours and at the end of it all I was denied. This time, it was a dream. We grabbed our bags and were met at the airport by some of my new co-workers Bobby & Aamir who took us on the "scenic route" to our temporary housing. I was stunned at how hot & humid it is, I was instantly soaked with sweat, it's gonna take me a long time to acclimatise.

TREETOPS

• For the next 6-8 weeks, we are staying at a lovely resort type dream called the TREETOPS EXECUTIVE RESIDENCES located at the far end of Orchard Road by Tanglin, it's astonishingly beautiful and I feel blessed that Lucasfilm put us here and this is Michelle's first taste of Sing hospitality, it's awesome. The rooms are nice, the staff friendly, the pool massive, the breakfast buffets complimentary and the gym sizable. That's right, I said gym, both Michelle and I committed to working out everyday and so far so good. This is a new chapter in our lives and that means getting in shape as well. But on this first day, all we did was sleep, that's right, as soon as Bobby & Aamir left, Michelle passed out and really didn't wake up for 17 hours, me? I stayed up a bit (as it was only around 3pm) but soon fell asleep and managed a solid 10 hours. We woke up at 8am, went downstairs for an awesome breakfast by the pool and then got ready to tackle the first official day of the rest of our lives.

ORCHARD ROAD

• Since we are so close to ORCHARD ROAD, the biggest shopping street in Singapore (think Robson Street on crack x 10), that's where we spent our first day. We picked up a "pay as you go" phone until our bank accounts are set up and I can finally get my iPhone, we ate at the Food Pavilion, Michelle bought some clothes, I picked up my official Sing Crumpler bag for work, we both bought nike shoes, we got our EZ-link Transit passes and spent the afternoon walking up and down this massive road. One thing to note, the prices were great, even with the exchange, everything was still cheaper here than back home... booya! We then returned to the hotel and sat poolside in the sun, sharing a beer and then prepped for dinner with Aamir & his wife Denise, who took us to a "local" muslim eatery for some kick ass nosh.
  

BEUNA VISTA/HOLLAND VILLAGE

• We woke up to the sounds of our first tropical rainstorm and it was raining hard. A little thunder, a little lightning and lots and lots of rain. We ate breakfast under cover but still sat poolside so we could enjoy the cooling effect of the rain (even though it was still damn hot and I was still sweaty). We then got ready and decided to check out one of the potential hoods to live it called HOLLAND VILLAGE. We jumped on the MRT (possibly the cleanest and well lit subway system in the world) and headed out of the city core. We got off at the proper MRT stop, Buena Vista, and proceeded to turn left instead of going straight. We ended up in the Singapore burbs and were really the only Caucasian people in sight. This is a different side to Singapore, tons of government housing, lots of laundry hanging out of the windows and possibly the biggest Hawker Center (think outdoor food court where a meal will cost you about $3) I've seen yet. We asked some folks, got a new course heading and walked to, hopefully, Holland Village.

• We got to a t-stop and ofcourse went left when we should have gone right, we walked for 20 more minutes and finally hailed a cab who took us to the proper destination. Holland Village is a bustling, compact collection of shops, hi-end restaurants, clubs and a big central Hawker Center. It was quite active during the day but everyone says to see it at night as that's where it truly comes alive. We ate lunch at a Pho place (awesome) then walked around to explore a bit before cabbing it back to the the city. We went to the legendary Raffles Hotel (no Singapore Slings today), explored the Raffles City shopping mall and then MRT'ed back to Orchard and walked back to the hotel. After a workout, we hooked up with Bobby and another new co-worker Wayne for dinner at this Mediterranean restaurant called ESMIRADA'S where the music is loud and they smash plates to celebrate the good times and then for Martinis at NO. 5. Full day and despite the constant heat and a couple showers, we love it.
  

SENTOSA ISLAND

• Woke up and Skyped with Victor & Gina (the puppies are doing well but we miss them terribly), worked out and had breakfast. Then we decided to hit SENTOSA ISLAND, billed as Singapore's resort island and boasting some of the best beaches around, we thought better to explore now rather than s busy weekend. Bottom line, this place rocks. We took a cab to Mount Faber and took a skytram over to island (like a skilift at whistler but this one is over the city and ocean). We were then greeted by a beautiful yet touristy place with tons to see and do but first, we were hungry and we knew exactly where we wanted to go!

• We had lunch and drinks poolside at CAFE DEL MAR, yes, that Cafe Del Mar, it was great. A couple cocktails, some lunch, tunes flowing in the background, it was a memorable way to have some lunch. After that, we walked to the UNDERWATER AQUARIUM which was amazing for three main reasons: 1) You can hand feed Manta Rays 2) They have actual live "Nautilus" crustaceans 3) They have a Dugong! After an hour or so of playing with the fish, we headed back to the giant Merlion statue and sky-trammed it back to the mainland. That night we had a lovely dinner at the BARRACKS CAFE in the HOUSE complex at DEMPSEY HILL (home of the legendary "Tiffin Punch"), it's a great area filled with artists, restaurants and shops, worthy of repeated visits for sure.

More adventures to come...

OUR "BON VOYAGE" PARTY

Our last Saturday night in Vancouver was celebrated in style with a great BON VOYAGE party at the Red Lion Bar & Grill in West Van. From 5pm onwards until the wee hours of the mornin', friends and family came by to have some fun, eat some "meatball sliders" and wish us well in our travels. There were many tears as goodbyes are always tough, especially for us but it was great to be surrounded by so much love, as it made the initial trip so much easier. 

Thanks to everyone who came and special thanks to my dad Mario and my brother Victor for hosting the event at the Lion, it couldn't have been any better (well, if the Canucks actually won the game that night, THAT would have been better!).

Here are some PICS of the evening.

CORSIWORLD HAS LANDED...

We have arrived in SINGAPORE: safe... sound... & sweaty. Man is it hot and humid here. The flights were great and we got picked up by my new co-workers Aamir & Bobby who took us on a tour. This is gonna be a hell of an adventure!!! We're gonna crash for a while, shower, unpack and then start living! Stay tuned!

THE GREED OF THE BANK

I consider us to be generally lucky people. By us, I mean Michelle and I and by lucky, I mean we lead good lives, are healthy and are surrounded by good friends and family. Now while we are "lucky people" we are not "lucky". Case in point...

As you know, we sold our house. We made a little money off of it, not much but we would walk away with cash in hand... that is until THE BANK decided to charge us a $19,000 penalty for breaking our mortgage early. Umm, what? I understand the penalty but $19,000??? Even with the money we made put into that we would still be short $7000. We are both not working, we leave in 4 days and if we don't come up with the money, the sale of the house falls through and we could be potentially sued.

You know my high blood pressure? It just got A LOT HIGHER.

This is now Wednesday afternoon when all this info comes to light and the house deal is supposed to close on Friday at noon. Let me take you on a timeline tour of the next 36 hours.

WEDNESDAY

• 4:00pm - Our lawyer who was closing the house deal (thanks Kim - you are awesome) was shocked herself at how high the penalty was and suggested that we talk to the Bank manager.

• 4:15pm - Corsiworld calls the bank, Manager is gone for the day.

THURSDAY

• 8:30am - Corsiworld meets with Lawyer to sign housing paperwork and come up with strategy on how to deal with this $7000 shortfall issue.

• 9:00am - Gio goes to bank to talk to Bank Manager (not in today) or Finance Manager (not in till noon) or any senior mortgage specialist (none in but I can talk to a junior). No thanks.

• 12:05pm - Call Finance Manager (on a call) leave message.

• 1:30pm - Finance Manager contacts Michelle, the story is told and we have a meeting today  at 4:30pm

• 4:30pm - Meet with Finance Manager, who gives us a whole song & dance about why the penalty is so high (mortgage rates so low right now, ours was 4.5% Fixed, 22 months remaining etc.). We told her about the house sale, Singapore and all that jazz and she agreed to help us out "if she could" so she tried to contact the uppity-ups who are in Toronto ofcourse and since it's now after 5 in Vancouver, they are gone for the day. Awesome. We would meet again tomorrow morning to see if we can settle this.

• 5:30pm - Meet with Lawyer to update her. She again reminds us that this has to be solved by noon tomorrow. Either with the shortfall waived or we have a cheque for $7k... awesome.

• 6:15pm - We go home with a rollercoaster of financial emotions and watch the Canucks blow it late in the third period. 

FRIDAY: D-DAY

• 8:15am - Meet with Bank. Finance Manager is going through more hoops via email and phone than a Russian Circus Freak.  I honestly feel that she has our best interests at heart but from what we are hearing on our end, the politics of getting something like this solved is near impossible as no one on the bank side wants to be the one to sign off on losing some money.

• 9:30am - Go back to the Lawyers to get some additional paperwork and return to the bank.

• 10:30am - Success! Due to some magical combination of tears, fear, info and pleading. The bank agrees to waive the $7000 difference in the penalty. So we don't walk away with anything but we don't have to pay anything out of pocket. We consider this a big win. The Finance Manager drafts up an official letter for us to hand to the lawyer, handshakes all around and we are off.

• 11:00am - Lawyer says their calculations are incorrect as they forgot to include her legal fees, we are $650 short.

• 11:05am - Gio & Michelle finally breaks down from the stress of it all and starts shaking.

• 11:10am - Lawyer calls bank to inform them of the error and they say they will look into it.

• 11:15am - In the meantime, Michelle cuts the lawyer a check to at least get the housesale closed. Losing $650 is much better than losing $7000. Lawyer agrees and says that she will rip up the check if the bank recalculates their costs and come back with a new letter.

• 11:20am - Corsiworld leaves, $650 poorer but at least we didn't have to pay $7000.

• 12:30pm - Michelle gets a call from the lawyer. The recalculated their numbers, rewrote the letter and included the legal fees. The Lawyer also ripped up Michelle's check. The house deal is closed and we walk away with nothing but at least we didn't have to pay anything either, other than stress and tears.

Moral of the story? The Banks are greedy and in these unstable financial times you will get penalized no matter what type of mortgage you have, so be wary. One thing for sure, thank god we are renting in Singapore.

SPOTTY TRANSMISSION...

Over the next week or so, updates on Corsiworld are going to be spotty since we are now officially out of "Awesometown" and as the countdown to Singapore continues, our available time gets less and less... available. Couple things though...

1. The Awesometown Yard Sale was a hit, we got rid of a lot of stuff and made a little "walking around" money for Singapore.
2. The move and clean-up of the house is complete, thanks to Victor, Lesley & Carla for helping out over the last two days and to Tom & Angela for providing a safe haven and meals for us while all hell broke loose at our place.
3. Pinchy is one piece of Corsiworld that will remain in Awesometown as he is with his new family (Steve & Galina) and seems to be doing well! Thanks to them for giving the Pinch a new and loving home.
4. Four more sleeps and then the new adventure begins... stay tuned.

APRIL: A MONTH IN REVIEW

Here's a rundown of the month that was April...

• I got a new JOB! It starts at the end of May and it involves us going to Singapore! A new adventure awaits!

• As we pack and prep for our big Singapore adventure, I've put both GIO'S ENTERTAINMENT NEWS and VANCOUVER EATS on hiatus but you can still check out my last few movie & restaurant reviews: FAST & FURIOUS, KNOWING, DB BISTRO MODERNE and DEACON'S CORNER

• Michelle & I took some ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS for our nephew LANCE and his lovely Fiance RAYELLE at Granville Island.

• Big Birthday Month! Happy Birthday MICHELLE, DAD, CHAD, ESTUART, EDITH!

• Our friends JOSH & CAITLIN moved to Seattle so we enjoyed a final night with them at a function aptly titled THE LAST SUPPER

• Remember TIKI BAR TV? Where I play the evil MR. AMBASSADOR? Well, TBTV celebrated it's fourth Anniversary in style with two parties with and for the fans. I took part and you see all the shenanigans HERE!

• Here are the rest of Aprils PICS!
  

IT'S OFFICIAL...

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!