Geeky Tai-Tai's Great Road Trip Oh-Eight, La Troisième Partie

Where was I?  Oh, let's see, yeah, da boyz and I were headed to Carlinville.  We arrived there around 5:30 (Central) Saturday.  We were greeted by by Buckner, Skip and Beth's dog (a Great Pyrenees).  None of the dogs really knew how to react to the other.  Hunter and Clyde mostly tried to hide behind me.

We drank a few beers, watched the dogs play, and then decided to head uptown to Angus Bailey's for some dinner.  I forget now what I had, but I can assure you it was teh yummeh!  I love that place because they have such a varied menu, and the portions on huge.

Buckner, Beth, and Hunter

We spent Sunday getting the garage ready for the big Thanksgiving feast.  Skip vacuumed the big rug (which terrified Hunter for the longest time), set up the tables, and then he and I had the best time decorating the "Thanksgiving" tree.  It turned out really cool.

In the afternoon, Skip took da boyz and me to visit my mother-in-law, Gloria, at the nursing home.  She's had Alzheimer's for years now, but the illness has progressed very quickly of late, and it's heartbreaking.

When we arrived, Skip said, "Hi, Mom, do you know who I am?" and she very politely replied, "No, I don't believe I do."

Skip led us down the hall so that I could see her room and we could get her jacket.  Skip and Beth have seen to it that she has all of her special things -- photos, her favorite chair, things like that.  She told me that everyone there is very nice and she likes it there. 

After we'd retrieved her jacket, we went back down the hallway to head outside when I discovered a "deposit" on the sparkling floor left by one of mah boyz!  One of the aides cleaned it up for me since I didn't have any of my plastic bags with me.  Doh!

We went outside to sit on the bench she likes to sit on.  We didn't have a conversation really, but it was nice to sit with her and she seemed to enjoy petting Hunter.  He loved it!  After about 15 minutes, Gloria was ready to go back inside.  A young lady was there doing manicures.  Skip helped Gloria select a new color besides the bright pink she'd had on. 

While Skip went to back to set Glo's TV to FOX so that she could watch football later that afternoon, I stayed in the commons area with Clyde and Hunter.  They were perfectly behaved!  One resident in particular, really loved petting them. I was so proud of mah boyz, and it made me feel good that they brightened the day for so many people.  This is what I hope we can do on a regular basis in the future.

My niece, Jessica, came over later in the afternoon along with her puppy, Reilly.  Take a look...

We had the best time just watching those three little fellas!

Sunday evening, I took the boys out to potty around 10:30 and had a smoke. It was so cold and Hunter is still scared of the stairs. I got he and Clyde up on the deck and decided I couldn't put that cig out on the deck because it would leave 

a nasty black spot. I spied the planter nearby and thought, "Aw, well, I can just put it out in there and then head upstairs with the boys."

Around 3:30 a.m. I heard commotion downstairs -- Beth calling very loudly for Skip. I went back to sleep, but wondered why she was getting up so early for work. We woke up around 8:30, I threw on some clothes so that I could take the pups out to potty.  Skip came in and said, "Good morning", but not in his usual jovial tone.

"Well, good morning, Skip, how are you today?"

He had an odd look on his face, and he hesitated before speaking.

"Skip, are you OK? Is something wrong?" I'm getting scared now because he's a pretty laid back guy most of the time.

Skip finally said, "Uh, yes mostly, but we've had a bit of a problem." He put his arm around me, helped me with getting the leashes on the pups, and led me out onto the deck. What I saw -- well, it just sent me into a state of shock. It took a few seconds for the sight to sink in before I realized that I HAD SET THEIR HOUSE ON FIRE! OMG! I started bawling!

He was kind enough to let me cry on his shoulder, held me, and then he said, 

"We need some coffee. I can't figure out how to work that new coffee maker, so I'm going to take Buckner in the truck to get us some."

Hunter was so upset about me crying and being upset, he couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't stop shaking and eventually felt like I was going to be very ill. The damage is rather minimal when I think what it could've been, but that's when I get nauseous -- again! I am so grateful that Beth decided to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom at 3:30 a.m.  I still can't believe that it happened. GAH

Buckner letting me know that I'm an idiot!

To be continued... at my NEW blog:  The Real Life of a Geeky Tai-Tai

Geeky Tai-Tai's Great Road Trip Oh-Eight, La Deuxième Partie

After breakfast with Laci_Loo and Sodapoplv at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville, we took off for Carlinville on I-64.  There is hardly ever any traffic on that interstate, and very few gas stations.  We were getting close to 1/4 tank of gas and rather than risk running empty, I decided to stop at a little gas station that looked like it was right out of Mayberry, NC.  There was only one pump with one type of gasoline.  (Later I would realize that it was not the good kind!)

Shortly after I filled up, I got back on the highway and was getting ready to set the cruise-control to 79 mph when I noticed a vehicle pull up right next to me, then I saw the flashing lights.  I turned to see an Indiana State Trooper motioning for me to follow him, and then he pulled over a truck that was ahead of me.  OOPS!

Once to the side of the road behind the trooper's car (it should be noted here that this was one HOT-looking Indiana State Trooper) the Hot State Trooper walked back and asked, "Where are you from?"

Me:  "Uh, uh, I'm from Alpharetta, Georgia."

Hot State Trooper:  "Where are you headed?"

Me:  "Uh-uh, C-C-Carlinville, Illinois."

Hot State Trooper:  "Why are you going there?"

Me:  "I-I-I've got family there."

Hot State Trooper:  "OK, I need your drivers license and registration please."

"Oh, yes sir, just a moment."  All the while I'm smiling like a doofus I lean over to attempt to open the glove compartment.  My front seat was full of plastic bags (to pick up puppy poo), my handbag (that is literally a black hole), and a cooler with water for us sitting on the floorboard.  I could see that Hot State Trooper was checking out my very well-behaved boys buckled up safely in their little car seats.  

I finally got the glove compartment open to discover that it was full of all of the "new car" books, but I couldn't find the registration.  I pulled everything out and rummaged through the mess in a nervous frenzy.  I finally found the little piece of paper that was the registration.  I went through "The Black Hole" and managed to get my license.  I handed them to him (still smiling like an idiot).

Hot State Trooper then said, "Now, Miss, I want you to very carefully pull ahead of the truck so that people can see the lights on my car."

I did as instructed, then proceeded to Twitter about being pulled over, and took a picture for my Twittering friends.

 

When he came back, Hot State Trooper said, "You were going 81 mph, 11 mph above the speed limit. The registration that you gave me was expired. I checked it and saw that it was renewed and good until September of 2009.  The truck in front of you was going even faster. I'm just going to give you a warning, but I want you to slow down when driving through our state." 

I was nodding, still smiling like a doofus, "Yes sir, yes sir, thank you very much!"  I watched him walk back to the speeding-truck-dude in my rear-view mirror, then slowly drove off to continue our journey to Carlinville without further incident.  WHEW!

Clearly I Won't Be Invited...

to Hollywood, Cannes or Oslo for awards, but I feel compelled to share this with you, my loyal blog-readers...



Or you can view the video here.

I said in the video that I would continue filming the next day, but the stump grinder dude showed up at the same time the mover dudes brought our stuff from storage. The stump grinder was a remote-controlled SP7015TRX. He was finished with the job in about an hour. Yes, yes, I know you're disappointed you can't see video of it in action, especially of the cute guy operating it. I'm disappointed too!

Back in the USA Part 2

Even more compelling video for your viewing pleasure...

Back in the USA

This video is unedited, and NSFW. That means "not safe for work"OR Mom, young nephews, and anyone else easily offended by stupidity.

Happy birthday America!

High Anxiety

I started this post last Thursday. I think I might need some Xanax!

I woke up too early this morning... 4:30. I laid in bed for 30 minutes, and decided to get up. No sense lying there with lists running through my head. Lists, lists, lists! You want lists? I'll give you a list of the lists:

1. List from Big Corporation
2. List from Moving Company
3. List from the housing agent
4. List from the landlord's agent

Then, of course, there are the lists that I make for myself -- several times a day. Just so that I don't get confused. Now, I must say that I'm not as particular about my lists as SJ or KG. They are the Primadonnas of the Listmakers in the Blogiverse! My lists are sloppy, but they work for me, sort of, unless I get distracted by:

1. My new Macbook that is just so cool and has lots of cool free apps I can download
2. Google Reader with about 350 blogs that I follow
3. Jester's BlogTalk radio show (I used to listen to Mr. Fab live, but can't because of the stupid time change), or Hilly's show.
4. The ever-present Twitter... so much fun to chat with my blog friends.
5. Crackbook's Scrabulous and Staries games... um, yeah, I'm addicted.
   

Today's list:

1. Finish photos and inventory of our possessions
2. Utilities refund spreadsheet
3. Start moving us to the service apartment
4. Wire $$$ to U.S.
5. Cancel our club membership
6. Cancel newspaper (again -- he forgot and delivered one today)
7. Cancel phones
8. Cancel utilities
9. Find my glasses! I've looked everywhere, but I can't find them. Sheesh!
10. Take my husband to dinner at his favorite restaurant for black-pepper crab and celebrate our 30th anniversary.
    

I'm worn out just looking at that list. My desk is an absolute mess. I straighten things out every evening, but then in the morning it gets completely out of control. No, I need to clarify that -- I am completely out of control!

MacRitchie Reservoir and a Monkey Death March

MacRitchie Reservoir

So, let's see... where'd I leave off? Oh yeah, the ever so sultry sounds of a Geeky's saxy serenade?


Let's move on... shall we?


I suggested that we go to MacRitchie Reservoir since I still hadn't been there after living here 3 years. I promised the guys that Mom, Dad, and Mary had seen LOTS of monkeys on their trek around the reservoir. I made certain that we had plenty of cold water and our cellphones to call for a taxi just in case we couldn't hail one.

The reservoir is beautiful, and jungle-y after the entrance. I was really excited about the prospect of seeing monkeys in the wild. Especially, since I had the WHH and the WH-BIL (Way-Hot Husband and Way-Hot Brother-in-Law) to protect me from the gangs of notoriously bad monkeys -- made bad by very stupid people who feed them!

The government has raised the fine from $250 to $500, yet STUPID people continue to feed the monkeys.


When we first entered the park, we saw people resting on the park benches. A couple asked us about the Presidential election and our feelings about GWB. We said, essentially, that he's an ass, and they most heartily agreed. Then, I think WH-BIL asked about the monkeys, and they replied, "Oh, well, you're too late. They only come out at feeding times in the mornings and evenings."

Oops! I got "the look", but I remained optimistic. We were going to see monkeys and we were going to have fun, dammit! (Didn't your parents say that to you on family outings?)

We walked along the water's edge for an interminable amount of time. I had to stop to wipe the perspiration from my eyes -- they burned! We all had some water to drink and we enjoyed the breeze wafting off the water. It was about then, that I thought to check to see what my pedometer reading was (you know, for my Virtual Walk), and it only showed 1.25km -- this most definitely did not sync with the signs posted! That's when I realized that my pedometer was a POS and I've been cheated for the last 3 weeks -- whatever.

We started back on our trek, and the guys were coming up with a new game-plan to get the hell out of the park. There weren't any damn monkeys, and they'd had enough exercise for the day. It was time for some cold beer.

Suddenly Skip noticed movement and turned back to tell us to be still...

Click to enlarge and be sure to look closely as monkeys are very good at camouflage

Did you see the monkeys?

I'm a Show-Off Workin'- Out Fat Face

Bwahhahaha!!




Don't hate! Thanks, Miss Ann!

Shelli and Fantastagirl have started a virtual walk from Minneapolis to Malibu. Initially, I thought it would be cool to join them on their walk, but as I was working out today, I thought maybe I need to do my own map. Since, really, I'm headed in the opposite direction of them. A couple of days ago I started logging the strides and calories burned. You would think that there would be a button for me to press to get the miles equivalence, but I sure couldn't find one. I went to the Precor website and found the FAQ's for my Cross-trainer, and they're making me do math! Gah! I decided right there and then I was going to do a spreadsheet to calculate that shit! Maybe I've missed something, but it just doesn't seem right that the display doesn't show me how many miles/kilometers I've walked.

I tried plotting a path to the U.S. just to see if it would send me into the ocean, but Google couldn't calculate it. I'm going to try to plot my mileage on Saturdays just for a bit of friendly competition. Anything to keep me interested in exercising. Thank you, Shelli, it's a fun idea!

A new clothing shop opened this week at Tanglin Mall, FatFace. I don't know who the hell thought that was a good name for a store. Honestly, it is insulting -- to me anyway. However, the clothes will fit Caucasians up to UK size 18. The clothing line is very casual, but not inexpensive. When I was there today, mostly winter clothing was on the racks (stores need to carry winter stuff for expats heading home during the winter months). The salespeople were very helpful and friendly. One salesperson told me today that they'll be stocking the warm-weather clothing by the end of next week. I just read online that the FatFace franchise is owned by Robinson's (who also own the Marks & Spencer and John Little franchises). I did buy a pair of shorts, a top, and a sundress. I am so tired of my other clothes! Never in my life, have I been so tired of my wardrobe. So, I'm hoping that if I can continue working out consistently, I'll lose my fat face.

Don't Feed the Monkeys!

Monkeys have been in the news a lot lately, mostly because foolish people continue to flout the law against feeding them. Just last week a pregnant woman was attacked by monkeys at a nature reserve. Monkeys have also started to invade housing estates bordering the nature reserves looking for food. The other interesting news is that male macaque monkeys "pay" for sex. I guess prostitution really is the oldest profession.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been tagged by MetalMom and here are the rules:

Link to the person that tagged you: MetalMom

Post the rules on your blog.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Alrighty then, here we go...

1. My mom says that rather than crying after I was born, I sneezed.

2. I sucked my left index finger (curled up) until I was 12. I also had a moggie (blanket) that had very soft silky binding. I liked the silky and rubbed it against my thumbnail while sucking my finger. I had my moggie until its demise when I was around 5 years old. I was playing "gypsy" and had placed it over a small lamp in my room (I liked the way it gave the room an eerie look). It didn't take long before my moggie was in flames and I was screaming. My mom came to the rescue and tried to save my moggie, but I didn't like it anymore because it was all crispy.

3. I have to wear a specially-made plastic blob at night so that I don't grind my teeth to bits. I also snore.

4. In 4th grade, we were introduced to the song-flute in music class. My parents bought me a red one (which is my favorite color in case you didn't know) and I would wake up bright and early and start playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I did the same thing with my clarinet. Mom had to have a chat with me.

5. I have dyscalculia, tinnitus, and auditory processing disorder (APD). This means that I do not do math, have a constant ringing in both ears, and I don't like low-talkers although I'm pretty good at lip-reading.

6. An art teacher submitted a batik and a drawing that I did to a couple of art contests. I didn't win anything, but it was cool that she submitted them.

7. When we move back to the U.S., I want to get a red MINI Cooper convertible.

Now, I'm tagging... NYC Watchdog, Kentucky Girl, T-Shirt, Hilly, SJ, Karl, and Roy

A "Screw" is Loose, but it isn't mine for a change!

This is really more of an update on my last post The Times They Are A-changin', but I wanted to give you an idea as to why we have some trouble sleeping. I've been saying I'm going to bed for the last 2 hours. No can do. Still, it's kind of funny, even though the jack-hammer dudes will be at work promptly at 9 a.m. this morning.

The Shangri-La Hotel is very good about keeping their neighbors happy. Just as I typed the previous paragraph, I realized that the noise is gone. They must've gotten the part they needed. Thank you Shangri-La Hotel! I can get some sleep now; as long as I don't go Facebooking and Scrabulizing. Those would be completely different issues.

The direct link is here

I'm in a Mood... but not the right kind!

I should probably be bullet'n, but I just don't feel like getting out my Geeky gun and shootin' the shit. So, please, just hang in there for a very disjointed post.

I just discovered two comments that had not been published from last week's Another Blonde Moment post! I'm very sorry Cristina and Curiosity Killer. WTH? Google is supposed to send me an email when I have comments! I don't understand how this could've happened. Maybe Google's gettin' too big for their britches (again)?

SJ invited me to join the "This Is Today" group on Flickr. I did ok for... what??? three days? Such is life, but then again, my life has been the picture below for the last couple of weeks!

As much as I love living in Singapore, I also HATE these dreary, rainy days. The mold is starting to make me sick (sinusitis), just the same as I would have bad allergy attacks in the early fall in TN, NY, and GA. When we lived in SoCal, the only time the boys and I ever got sick was during the Santa Ana winds. I'd put the boys down for a nap, and Jimbo would wake up 2 hours later with his eyes swollen shut! This isn't that bad, but I can feel some nastiness coming on.

So, tonight, I was out in the "maid's room" (no, I don't have one, but most people do) reading and smoking (no commentary is needed on that bad habit, kthnx!). So, anyway, I'm out there and then I hear this stupid horn beeping "beep----beep-beep-beep-----beep----beep-beep-beep!" This was happening every 15 minutes. I wanted to shout out my "window" (there is no actual glass) like the guy in "Network", "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!!" Actually, I wanted to shout much worse obscenities, but I refrained because, uh, you know, I'm 50 and all. I'm supposed to be a nice lady. Anyway, this went on for what seemed like forfu&*ingever (see, I'm being ladylikekinda?), then it stopped.

That's when I heard...

The Singapore mice in the rubbish bin!!!!

I couldn't believe that I could hear them over the usual outdoor noises that go with living in this area. The Shangri-La has humongous aircons directly across from our building that run continuously in addition to the beeping buses and the garbage trucks.

Before this building sold en-bloc, the rubbish chute was washed weekly, and the water tank was cleaned regularly. The new management may still be doing those things, but maybe the mice needed to relocate?

OK, that's part of city living, and country living too. The problem is that these mice here are big, scary, and loud! Same as the gecko who lives in the crack of our bedroom window. He's getting bigger and fatter. I only know that because of his regular "deposits" on the window ledge.

Geeky's Shootin' Real Bullet'ns -- Again!

• Did you notice the new widget at the top of my sidebar? It seems to make the page load slowly, but I wanna' show off a little bit! My "Chez Patrick" photo in Brussels was included in the newly released fourth edition of the Schmap Brussels Guide. No, I don't win any prizes or money, but that's OK. I get to put the widget on my blog and you get to go over there and click until you see my photo. heh!

• This pool is on the property next to our building (that's going to be jack-hammered to death very soon). The green nastiness just got me to thinking that jillions of mosquitoes could be breeding in there. I saw a sign on a bus with the Dengue Hotline phone number (1800-333-7777) and decided to report it. Dengue is a big problem here, and the government is very serious about minimizing the risks. A really nice guy answered my phone call and said that someone would call me to follow-up. One man called me and I couldn't understand a word he said. I asked him to please repeat himself more slowly, and still I couldn't understand him. Finally, I understood the words "how long symptoms, lah?" I started to tell him, "I'm not sick. I just wanted to rep..or.." and CLICK. He hung up on me! Later though, another man called me from the Ministry of Environment to tell me that they had checked out the pool, and confirmed that there is insecticide in the water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there. He also asked if I'd seen any in this area (I haven't). I feel better now.

• We had a wing-ding to attend this evening, and whilst we were preparing, the WHH put on the "Best of U2". He had that BOSE-a-blastin', I'm tellin' ya. It's always good to get the dust off the speakers. So, we're all cleaned up. He calls a cab, and he tells him where we need to go. As we're riding along, my WHH says, "Hey, there's going to be a U2 tribute band playing at Molly Malone's in Boat Quay next week." I said, "Hey, that's cool. Maybe we should go check them out." Silence... except for the cab driver's radio and then... Bono's wail, "In the name of love. In the name of lo--o---ove". That's just really strange, don't you think?
  

• Just an FYI... we saw U2 at the 2002 Super Bowl in New Orleans at the SuperDome along with Paul McCartney who performed that suck-ass song that I wish someone would've had the balls to tell him that it actually sucked. (Whew! Sorry for the run-on sentence, but not really). Honestly, I've loved The Beatles since I was a little girl. Paul was "cute", but really, George was my favorite, Ringo was cool, but John was the best singer/songwriter, IMO. My Mom bought their first album and I kissed George's picture so much that his face ended up being just a smudgy mess on the back of the album cover. Still, I was excited to actually be in the same arena as a Beatle, but OMG, that song was just awful! Whaddya' gonna do, uh?

• Now a question, is the SuperDome all cleaned up now? What about the rest of New Orleans? Just wondering. Please leave a comment, just not something hateful because I'll delete it... because I can. Thank you!

• I'm likin' these bullet-thingies.
  

Shopping (again)

I've had to do some shopping over the last couple of weeks. It is not one of my favorite activities, but if there's no getting out of it, by gawd, I take on my mission with a zeal and spend the $$$!

My first stop was my favorite department store here, Takashimaya (you all know how I feel about Isetan's lack-o-customer service). However, there are a few things that I wonder about every time I go to the department stores here (as far as I can tell, they're all set-up this way):

• I go to the department to select the goods I would like to purchase.
• Once I've selected the item I want, the sales clerk peels-off a sticker and plasters it onto a form, handwrites some stuff on the form, and then points me in the direction of the cashier.
• The sales clerk keeps the item at that counter.
• The other day, I wandered around to several counters before finding one that didn't have 20 people in the queue.
• I pay for the item at said cashier counter.
• After I pay, the cashier gives me 2 receipts. I do not understand why every merchant in Singapore must give a customer 2 paper receipts. I spend more time shredding those suckers and it just seems like a huge waste! Why do we need 2 receipts?

Anyway, on with the process of buying something at a department store in Singapore...

• I am then required to walk back to the department where the coveted item awaits.
• I hand over the receipts to the salesperson.
• Salesperson carefully wraps my purchase and makes it look all pretty. I'm not joking here. Singaporeans are amazing gift-wrappers! I always enjoy standing in the gift-wrap queue at Christmas-time in Takashimaya. It's a "watch and learn" kind of thing, except I never have learned. Anyway, your gift is wrapped in a few short minutes and it will be beautiful! It's all about the measuring, folding, and double-stick tape. They even do pleats!

Maybe somebody can answer my questions. These are still "issues" for me after all of this time living here. Why is a customer inconvenienced so much? I would think that a department store would want to get the customer to buy something as quickly as possible before they have a chance to change their mind. I mean, I might have decided that I didn't really need to buy those frames while wandering the store looking for a short queue.

On to other news... I broke my elliptical. It started last year, when it became rather "wonky" while I was trying to exercise. The WHH did his best to adjust it... because he's good at adjustments with his "diddle-stick" (hey, that's what he's always told me it was called!).
(EDIT 11/10/2007: I forgot to link to SJ when I wrote this last night. Hmm... could it be that the wine I was drinking affected my thought-process???)

He ordered a new part for my machine because the original was rusted out (mold, mildew, and rust are big problems in a tropical climate). Problem was, when he tried to install the new part, the old one wouldn't come out. He did some more adjusting (gawd, he's good at that) and I was able to use it until last week, as I was doing my best to finish "Lawrence of Arabia" (I'm telling you, those desert scenes wore my ass out!). Suddenly, I heard a strange whirring sound, and then I was thrust forward! Holy shi...! I didn't hurt myself, but the Pro-Form 880S was pronounced DOA by the WHH who was sick and tired of "adjusting" it for me.

This meant yet another shopping trip for a new elliptical. I found one, and it will be delivered tomorrow. They even promised to remove and dispose of my good ol' Pro-Form. Honestly, I've had that for almost 4 years now, and I've used it consistently. For $800 it was well worth the money. The only reason this one crapped out is because of the humidity here. The apartments here have a separate aircon for each room. The only time I turn the aircon on in that room is when I'm exercising. Hence, lots of moisture in the air.

I am excited about my new cross-trainer. I even bought some new movies today (because I only mailed back the others from Hollywood Clicks today). I haven't worked out all week and I'm feeling bloopy. The WHH is in the U.S. this week, so I figure I might as well watch some movies and work out on my new machine. Yipee! I'm such an interesting person. Maybe I'll take a picture of myself tomorrow. (heh)

That just reminds me, I'm also getting my highlights done tomorrow by a new person. My regular guy, Casey, is booked up for 2 weeks. I think that my hair will start looking rather awful by then, so I agreed to have one of his underlings who has worked with him for 15+ years do my hair. I made that appointment yesterday only a few hours before I read this entry by Miss Britt.

Jet-lag and Other Stuff

When we first arrived in Iasi, Romania last week, I started a post, but I was too jet-lagged to finish it. Then, of course, we got busy visiting our friends and sight-seeing, and I was too tired. Now, we're back home, but I'm too tired and sleepy to try to back-track our holiday happenings.
I did, however, manage to buy groceries and replenish the beer supply with many flavors. I made us a pot roast, potatoes, and salad tonight, and it was while dining on this fine meal (hehe) that we talked... about all kinds of things because I have the attention-span of a... well, I can't think of it because I have a short attention-span.

ME: How's the meat? Is it tough? Because I cooked it slowly. Is it OK?

WHH: Yeah, it's good.

ME: Yeah? But you ate your salad faster than you ate the meat. That's a bad sign. Are you sure it's ok?

WHH: [Chuckle] Yes, it's good. It just tastes different.

ME: Oh, then it's the cut of the meat. It's not like it's a rib-roast. What did you eat for lunch today, something with green in it? At least your getting green veggies tonight.

WHH: I had chicken with mushroom soup, tuna sandwich, and some chips.

ME: Don't you get tired of eating the same thing every day?

WHH: They change the soups, so I get something different every day, and the ladies always fix me a special bag of chips.

ME: Oh, well, OK, so long as you get some veggies. So, I finally emailed myself the pictures that I took at the Goethe-diner in Frankfurt.

WHH: Hmmm.... hey, I heard a new Riahanna song today.

ME: Really? Girl-crush, girl-crush! Whoever the artistic director was of her "Umbrella" video should get an award.

WHH: [Smile] So, did you notice the guy with the Bad Monkey t-shirt when we were in the Frankfurt airport?

ME: Bad Monkey!!! and you didn't tell me? Was it Dave's Bad Monkey?

WHH: I don't know.

ME: Whaddya' mean you don't know! (I get my Bad Monkey t-shirt from the closet for him to double-check). Well, was it a Dave Bad Monkey?

WHH: Aw, hell, if you hadn't been ogling and secret-squirreling pictures of the waiter-dude you thought was so hot, this wouldn't be an issue.

ME: Uh, yeah, I guess you're right.

Here are the pictures of the hot waiter-dude at the Goethe-diner in Frankfurt Airport for your viewing pleasure...


PEE-ESS: Our sleep and poop-cycles are OFF, and that "cut" of beef is going through the WHH like "Grant took Richmond". Shit! Shit! Shit! (My grandmother's favorite expression, and mine too).

The Great Geeky Tai-Tai Meet-Up

All the cool bloggers have been doing it, and dadjimit (that's East Tennessee-speak fer y'all not in "the club"), it was about damn time I did it too! Just to list a few of the cool bloggers who've done it in alphabetical order, ya' know because I worked in a library and all (no, I do not call it a li-BARE-y as is customary in East Tennessee)... Asia, Avi, Dave2, Hilly, Jenny, Kevin, Karl, Mr. Fab, Mrs. RW, Neil, RW, and Sizzle.

What is "it", you ask? "It" would be a blogger meet-up (Tequilacon, Davecago, etc.). We didn't have cool lanyards, buttons, and stickers because, to be honest, I was the only blogger there. I guess if I lived in Hawaii or something, maybe I could make it to one or two of them. This morning I found out that I'm going to miss Avi's big Halloween bash! Hell, he's invited the entire internets. That's going to be a wild party and I'm going to miss it!

Alright, I think I've got the *whine* out of my system so I'll tell you about the Great Geeky Tai-Tai's Meet-Up! Back in August after I posted the Lumpy Breasts and Vagina Power post. I got an email from a guy, (whom I'll call "S") who'd searched "Americans in Singapore" and clicked on the link to my blog. We exchanged a bit of information, and he explained that he would be moving here for work. I didn't hear from him for a while after that, but I thought it was cool that somebody actually liked my blog besides Mom and my sisters! heh

S moved here two weeks ago and the WHH and I invited him for burgers and beer at The American Club. We only spent a couple of hours together, but it was a lot of fun meeting him. I introduced him to my buds, Thamo, Henry, Mugilan, and Michael in the Union Bar.

S is one brave guy -- moving here alone to start up a sales operation. A very different experience from ours having an MNC sponsor us. S is well-traveled, but had never visited Singapore. He spent quite a bit of time just trying to get a cell-phone (it's called a handphone here). Not only do they want your FIN number, but I think it's even more involved than when we got ours. DNA testing perhaps?

After dinner we headed out to the taxi stand. We were there for a few minutes, when the WHH said, "Hey, I've got one more thing I want to show you." We walked down the street to Orchard Towers (aka Four Floors of Whores).

As we were walking down past Jason's Deli and around the corner, WHH said, "See that taxi stand?"

S, "Yeah."

WHH, "You'll never have trouble getting a taxi there. On Friday and Saturday nights, they're lined up to Claymore Hill Road. Even if you have to wait a while, it's always fun to people-watch. Just watch out for the he/shes!"

S walked down to the MRT and we walked home from there.

The next day I got an SMS from S, "Our little walk down to 'four floors of whores' turned into a bit of prophecy - I was approached by five girls just walking down to the MRT. What a crazy place!"

Me, "They especially like the handsome Caucasian men."

S, "But they chose me instead! hehe"

Funny guy that S!

How To Make a Geeky Tai-Tai

How to make a Geeky Tai-Tai

Ingredients: 3 parts success 5 parts arrogance 5 parts beauty

Method: Blend at a low speed for 30 seconds. Add a little curiosity if desired! ;0) heh!

Username:

h/t: Dirk Mancuso

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

A WAY-Hot Husband's Birthday

Friday was my Way-Hot Husband's 54th birthday. I'd asked him earlier in the week what he'd like for dinner knowing full well what he'd want. For those not in the know, he LIVES for black-pepper crab from River Quay Seafood in Boat Quay.

We met at Penny Black's to have a beer and to meet our friends, Dirk and Jarek, then walked "the gauntlet" to River Quay Seafood. I've posted more pictures on Flickr. We enjoyed black-pepper crab, cheese lobster, lemon chicken, bok choy, and seafood fried rice. Of course there was a generous flow of wine and beer with our meal, lots of toasts, and fun conversation.

I think that WHH must've said something that made me laugh (he does that to me a lot) just as I had taken a bite of the rice. I proceeded to inhale said bite of seafood fried rice! I managed to rid my lung of a green pea, but it still felt like there was something in my lung... a grain of rice or squid leg??? I partied on because I'm really cool that way.

It was a wonderful evening, but the next morning sucked. I was gasping and wheezing because, really, you're not supposed to actually inhale food. Fortunately, Dr. T's office is open Saturday mornings so I walked over there to get checked out. He gave me a breathing treatment and sent me home with two antibiotics, an inhaler, and kick-ass cough medicine. I think I'm slowly getting better.

Another Meme That I Copied From "The Inimitable Avitable"!

As I post this meme that I've copied, again, from the Inimitable Avitable, whom my nephew, "E", should check out because he has a few things in common with Avi. Oh wait, I only mean about the cartoon collectibles, not about Avi's other "collectibles". GAH!

BTW, there are some big-ass earthquakes happening in Indonesia that are also being felt here in Singapore. So far, we haven't felt a thing, but whaddo we know?

So, the meme is... feature your home using Google Maps. Our place is below -- the brown building labeled "Geeky Tai-Tai's Place". :D

Before we had to move to the "Floor of Death" (4th floor), we were fortunate enough to live on the 24th floor of this same building where I witnessed all sorts of "goofiness". Namely, "Mr. Masturbator" on the 6th Floor of the Shangri-La Valley Wing "entertaining" himself. He "entertained" two Sundays in a row. I watched with partially covered eyes, all the while yelling, "WHH, you've gotta check this guy out! Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Yeah, I guess I'm pervy too in that I even noticed him from my kitchen window?

Living here has been an eye-opening experience for us. It's too bad they're going to raze the building next year.

Can I Reformat My Colon Too?

Since the WHH returned home early Sunday morning, he volunteered to hit the enter button to reformat my hard drive. As it was deleting everything, I remembered that when he bought this laptop for me it had Windows 98 on it. I went through hell upgrading to Windows XP. I started to panic.

Fortunately, reformatting didn't effect the OS. Hallelujah! I'm still reinstalling my favorite programs and configuring them the way I want them. Can I uninstall Internet Explorer? I hate it, and Norton 360 is only monitoring it, rather than Firefox which is my default browser. I downloaded the IE Tab as SJ suggested, but haven't had time to figure it out yet.

I've looked through all of the settings for Norton 360, and still can't figure out how to get it to monitor Firefox. The other thing that's pissing me off about Norton is that I had all of my bookmarks backed-up, I tried to restore them. It says it did, but I sure as hell don't see them anywhere. Now I'm forced to Google everything and trying to remember to bookmark the pages.

By Sunday evening I was tired of working on the computer. We ate dinner and then went to bed around 10. At 3 am, I was awakened by the most horrendous abdominal pain. I didn't want to risk a shart in bed, so I quietly made haste to the toilet. Nothing happened, just severe pain. I went into "Lamaze-mode" taking deep breaths and massaging my abdomen. It only helped a little. The pain was so bad that I was trembling and dripping sweat. I got up and walked around a bit, got a cool washcloth to wipe my face, and then the pain would begin again. The next 9 hours hurt like the pain of a thousand swords, seriously.

Around noon, I started to feel human again and made my way to the pharmacy to buy more Immodium. It's only S$3.60 for 6 pills. Why is it so much more expensive in the U.S.? Anyway, the pharmacist told me that I should also take a charcoal tablet to absorb the toxins. Hmmm...? I'd never heard of that before, but it makes sense. I bought them and took one two hours after the Immodium. It really seemed to help, but I was warned that my poop's going to be black. Since my poop-cycle is completely off, I'm not sure when the next *ahem* movement will be, but I am much better today.

Maybe the stress of having my computer reformatted caused the IBS to flare up suddenly? I hate IBS and I want to STAB.IT.TO.DEATH!

All of this crap made me miss calling Dad for his 72nd birthday. I hope you had a very happy birthday, Dad, and I'm sorry to have missed talking to you. I love you!

I Cannot Compute

My computer started acting weird last week, just after I told Kentucky Girl that I hadn't had a bit of trouble with this thing for almost 3 years! The first thing was that it no longer "saw" the DVD/CD-RW drive. I rebooted... not there. I attempted to do a "System Restore", nope.

Last night, I was chatting with my sister on Stickam, when things started getting even stranger. The computer is no longer seeing the USB that I use for my extra keyboard. I rebooted, it's still not there. Then, I noticed this morning that Norton 360 didn't start up. I have always used a virus scanner, and I never open spam emails or suspicious attachments, but I think my laptop has been hit by a virus or worm. I don't know. I just ran a complete scan for viruses, but nothing turned up.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just going to have to reformat the hard drive. I hate reformatting hard drives. I'll be MIA for a while, just thought you should know. That is all. Thanks.