NLB: Book Exchange 2011

Michi covered this in her previous post, and it's my pleasure to share with you our experience!

 
It's exactly what it sounds like: the Singapore National Library organized (and will continue to organize!) an event where you can exchange your used books for other peoples' used books. I had a bunch of books I never touched anymore sitting around at home, and Michi is an avid reader, so we decided why the heck not. For every book turned in we were issued an exchange coupon, and when April 16 rolled around we went with 9 coupons in hand. We figured since the event only started at 8:30am, getting there by 8:00am wouldn't be too bad--

...just kidding!

...yeah, that's how long the queue in front of (and halfway around) the building was when we got there by 8:10am. According to some of the volunteers at the event, the first people came to queue up as early as 6:00am in the morning! Gotta love the kiasu (afraid to lose) mentality of Singaporeans... In any case, the queue moved quickly enough and we were able to enter the exchange area by 8:45am.

The place was packed.

That's got to be at least a third of the population in there. And this was just the exchange area; there were tons of others still queuing to get in!

It was our first time attending this event and it was surprisingly well organized despite how chaotic it looked. Books were piled moderately neatly in different bins according to their categories - fiction, non-fiction, adult, children, Chinese, English - and despite the amount of people present, it wasn't too loud or pushy.

A lot of folks actually brought their own carriers, tote bags, and even trolleys! to the event. Many seemed to just grab whatever books were within their reach before sifting through their picks on the nearby stairs, and everywhere there were loaded baskets and people struggling with carrying their mounds of books to the checkout counter. And even while we were queuing in the checkout, there were yet more books being unloaded! Just boxes and stacks and cartons of them continuously being brought in. I can't even begin to imagine how many books must have gotten turned in overall.

It's like a warehouse!

We didn't honestly expect to use up all nine of our exchange coupons since we figured there might be not great selections or that the best books would get snatched up quickly, but Michi seemed pleasantly surprised when she found at least four books she'd been searching for within her first minute in. Forty minutes later and she'd gotten all the books she'd wanted, and she was pretty darn happy with her finds.

Her final selections. Well, no, she put back War of the Worlds for Arabian Nights in the end. ...It was a hard decision. Sorry, H.G Wells, we'll pick you up from the library.

I'm not much of a book person, so I'm glad my unloved old books are out there making someone else happy. We even got a free Aloe Vera drink for filling out a satisfaction survey after we turned in our coupons! We've both signed up for the NLB e-newsletter in any case, so if there're any other upcoming book events you can bet we'll be blogging about it.

That's mine! ...hush you, I liked it.

MPH Warehouse Sale

Sorry about the long delay in posts, guys! We'd been wanting to update for a while now but found ourselves pretty caught up the last few weeks. We've moved houses (alright, it's really not a big deal, our new room is about a 25 minute walk from the last one...) and been working to get everything together for our upcoming trip to Ohio from the end of this month through about halfway through May.

 (yeah, this doesn't have anything to do with the post. but look how pretty it is outside our place now!)

We finally got a bit of downtime today and took advantage of it to get down to the MPH Warehouse Sale at Expo. Unfortunately, we're a bit late to be informing anyone as it ends in about two hours. In any case, the sale ran from Friday until today and it's definitely something we'll be visiting the next time one pops up.

 

(look at the low number of people! what is this elbow room?)

We're thinking whoever was in charge of advertising didn't do such a hot job because not only did we just manage to find out about the sale in time but there was seriously hardly anyone there. For a sale in Singapore this is unheard of.

MPH isn't a name that many will recognize in America. And to be perfectly honest, with branches of Borders and Kinokuniya across Singapore, it isn't nearly the most recognizable name in book sales in Singapore either. But they do have good sales. Rather than the typical book sale fare of books no one's ever heard of, it seemed nearly all the books here were classics or popular books they simply had too many of. The prices were pretty awesome too, with hardbacks going for $8 SGD and most paperbacks for only $5 SGD. All books are brand new in excellent condition too!

Although I only grabbed a few books this round, they were well worth every cent. We made sure to sign up for the mailing list so we'll be informed for the next sale, and if you're interested you can join in too here. And if you're the type who loves getting some new books, the National Library Sale will also be coming up in the next few months (English books for $2 each!), and there's going to be a NLB Book Exchange in about a week as well. There's no info out yet about the first point, but for the exchange you can find what you need here.

(not bad for about $10 USD, eh?)

And just so I don't feel so bad for not letting anyone know about this sale until it was too late, remember to get your free Ben & Jerry's ice cream scoop this Tuesday for the Free Cone Day! Locations here.

NLB: Garden Walk

The Garden Walk is held by volunteers at the National Library twice every month, on the first and third Saturdays, respectively. It's free of charge and starts at 4pm, all you need to do is show up at the information counter on the first floor and they'll let you know where to stand to wait.

 

The building itself isn't terribly difficult to find and only a short walk from the Bugis MRT station, so location shouldn't be a problem for anyone. However, watch the sky closely before you head out. The walk isn't covered at all and umbrellas are not provided, so if it does start pouring much of the walk will essentially be canceled, the guides will only point things out from inside the building. This was the problem on our trip, as we were lucky enough to have a storm begin only about 15 minutes before we were to head out.

We're going to be pretty honest here and say if you really have nothing to do it's worth the trip just for a day out, but you probably shouldn't go out of your way to make it. The volunteers are obviously very interested in what they're doing and very helpful, but don't expect to see many actually interesting plants or flowers, as most of what you will see can be found outside any government building in the Garden City.

The walk itself takes place both in and around the library building itself, as the 10th floor has a garden space open to the public. Unfortunately, this is an outdoor garden and is also not covered.

 (eventually our party decided to brave the rain)

Though the tour guide was very knowledgeable, we ended up getting bored after only a little while and wandering around to take some photos ourselves. Many of the plants were interesting enough, but we were disappointed at the lack of flowers.

(sour orange tree)

 (banana plant, though there was only one tiny little pre-banana about an inch long)

 

(swiss cheese plant! this one was very cool, there are natural holes in the leaves!)

 (close up)

 (we're not sure what this one is called, but the dual colored leaves were quite pretty)

After we finished doing the rounds on the upper floor we spent a little while exploring the plants outside the building, but overall there weren't many as interesting as those higher up.

(except this one, which somehow looks like each section should be a different plant)

 (the prettiest plant of the whole tour was a potted orchid in the lobby)

Overall, we're glad to have made the trip to see the National Library building if nothing else, but it's probably not something we'd bother taking our friends or family to. The tours run pretty frequently so if you're at a loss for how to spend an hour and a half of your Saturday by all means go for the tour- just don't forget your umbrella.

 

(pris was pretty excited to put her photography skills to work though)

NLB: NOISE - Bearfruit Illustration Showcase

I was pleasantly surprised to come across NOISE - Bearfruit Illustration Showcase when we stopped by the National Library this weekend. Featuring works of creativity from over 20 local talents, the exhibition runs until 27 March Sunday and is worth stopping by to admire.

I've picked out a couple of my favorites from the showcase to share with you. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words, so I'll let these images speak for themselves.

Chase Your Dreams! by Albert Hardy Tanulama
"What if there's a new competition for the new Chinese Zodiac?"

The Forgotten Tea Party by Paula Pang
(Probably one of my favorites out of the entire exhibition!)

Untitled by Hazel Tan
Medium: Table and Plate

Awakening (close up) by Ang Wei Tyng

Top: Cupcakes by Ame
Bottom: Rabbits by... I forgot to take the artist's name for this, sorry

(...yup, that's a toilet seat cover. The seat itself was decorated, too. I want this for my bathroom.)

(I want this rubbish bin, too. Done by the same artist as above!)

Steampunk Tapestry by Huiying and Ashley
(Really love the detail on this one, and the washed look too. Yeah, my biasedness towards steampunk is showing.)

A view of the right wall of the exhibition, which is completely covered with doodles of all kinds.

(And last but not least, one of the artworks from mentor Mas of Wanton Doodle. The Illustration Showcase was formed out of a partnership between Noise Singapore and Bear Fruit Academy.)

Once again, this event runs until 9pm on the 27th of March 2011, Sunday. Art lovers can find this exhibition on the 7th floor (Promenade) of the National Library Building, at 100 Victoria Street (within walking distance of the Bugis MRT station). Admission is free and no registration is required. For further information, visit Noise Singapore or Bear Fruit Academy!

The Way to a Man's Heart is Through His...Foot?

Alright, I admit it. The last two posts (and this one, sorry) have been total cop outs.

In my defense, what started off as a little bug has been hanging around now for well over a month, and even being prescribed antibiotics for pneumonia and a plethora of other pills hasn't cleared it up completely, but it's definitely getting better.

We've been staying in for the most part lately to give myself a chance to recover, so there isn't much exciting news to pass along. We do have a few things planned though, and you can expect to see some awesome flowers and some origami pretty soon!

But for now, I'll take the chance to introduce you to the wonderful world of strange Singaporean health assortments.

Enter foot reflexology.

 (pure evil lurks underneath this pretty facade)

This definitely isn't something unheard of, although I can't say I've ever heard it taken seriously before I moved to Singapore. But in a place where you can be prescribed antlers and bugs as remedies for arthritis, this is pretty much just the tip of the iceberg.

You can find foot reflexology paths in nearly any park-like area. If you are planning a trip to East Coast Park you might find a few nicer ones there, but the pictures today are just from one of the local paths near our flat in Tampines.

The concept is pretty simple. It is believed that specific areas on the foot (and pretty much everywhere else on the body, for that matter) correspond with certain organs and the like inside your body. By applying pressure and certain techniques, you can supposedly correct ailments within yourself.

(we think the Tampines Town Counsel might have swiped this one from Pasir Ris, where it says it was originally meant)

Sounds pretty nice, right? Take a nice stroll over some nice pretty little path and you can fix anything from your eyes to your...duodenum to your...rectum. Alright, don't ask me, I didn't make the sign.

Unfortunately, it's not all that easy. As it turns out, the rocks are sharp. Not "I'm going to tear your feet up" sharp but definitely "You're going to feel this in the morning and regret it" sharp. 

 (and people do this willingly!)

Make sure you hold onto that handy little bar and try not to wince too much, Singapore's a crowded place and we don't want the locals laughing too much as you hop around and try not to cry.

Alright, alright, I exaggerate. But only a little. I'll reserve my final judgment for after I see if this manages to beat modern medicine in curing this cold once and for all.

(c'mon now, the post was about feet. you had to expect it sometime)