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

I think the most difficult thing about living in Singapore for us was not being able to be with our family and friends during American holidays.  Oh my, please don't misunderstand!  We have always had fun with our friends (chosen family) wherever we've lived because, really, how can one not appreciate the special people that we've been so fortunate to meet? 

Now that we're back stateside, we still struggle with the logistics of being with our families. Most of WHH's family is in Carlinville, IL, most of mine in Indianapolis, and we're in Atlanta.  Jim was busy with OTR truck-driving school and was unable to leave Indy.  Patrick is going to school and working in Atlanta.  We couldn't be with one son and not the other.  It's just not right.

The more we talked about it we realized that it would be simplest for me to take a road trip to Carlinville and Indy, and visit my friends along the way.  I love road trips!

I put Clyde and Hunter in their car seats on Friday, November 28, for the first leg of our trip to Louisville, KY.  I hadn't seen my friend, Junebug, in 4 1/2 years.

  

Junebug and Me

We spent the evening talking, laughing, drinking lots of beer, before I went to bed at 2 a.m.  I set the alarm on my phone for 8:00 a.m. because I was going to meet-up with Sodapop and LaciLoo at Lynn's Paradise Cafe for breakfast at 9:00.  Uhm, guess what... I didn't wake up until 8:40!  I jumped up, threw on some clothes, called Laci to apologize and tell her I would be on my way as soon as I could feed and walk mah boys.  

I hurriedly said my goodbyes to my friends and loaded up my things and the dogs to head over to the restaurant.

As I was driving into Louisville, Laci SMSed to say that they were seated at the very rear of the restaurant.  When I arrived, I was an hour late!  I was terribly embarrassed, but they both made me laugh when they told me that they were both jittery from drinking so much coffee!

Sodapop and Me

LaciLoo and Me

We spent the next hour and a half getting to know each other better and enjoying the delicious breakfast.  Oh, and we also talked about the awesomeness of other bloggers I've met at TequilaCon '08 and Avitable's Halloween party (Dave2, Adam, Miss Britt, Hilly, Karl).  There are more, but we didn't have that much time because I needed to get on the road to Carlinville and they were going to see Twilight.

You can bet that the next time I'm in Louisville, I will definitely meet-up with Sodapop and LaciLoo again.  These gals know how to have fun and they make me laugh!  Thank you for spending your morning with me.

To be continued...

The Times They Are A-changin'...

The WHH came to Singapore to work temporarily back in September 2004. By December, the MNC decided that he was the man for the job and offered him a 3-year contract starting January 1, 2005. To be honest, I freaked out at first. It was one thing for him to travel over here every 6 months or so, but live in Singapore? Then, there was the issue of our "stuff" and the house. There was no time to have a big garage sale and then sell the house. We gave a lot of stuff away, sold the cars to CarMax, put stuff in storage, and brought the rest with us (bad idea).

The original contract ended December 31, 2007, but it was extended until the end of 2008. The guy who'd hired him for this assignment retired earlier last year, so there was a new boss and a lot of changes. Then about a month ago, we learned that there were even more changes... BIG changes -- we will be repatriating in April (or thereabouts). He's fairly certain of his new position, but we don't know where that will be. A lot of things still need to be ironed out. Mainly the "where and when" of it all, but that will come in time.

I am ambivalent, yet again. I miss our boys and our family and friends terribly, and it'll be nice to at least be on the same continent (even though air travel in the U.S. sucks ASS and I cannot say enough bad things about it, really!).

Beyond being closer to family and friends... the only thing I'm looking forward to is the possibility of me going to TequilaCon '08! Yes kids, if Geeky Tai-Tai is going to be on U.S. soil, she is going to get herself to TequilaCon '08 come hell or high water! This year it is going to be in Philadelphia. I've never been to Philly, so this is another "learning opportunity" for me. Another cool thing? You don't even have to be a blogger to attend! So, my sisters and my BFF's can join me there for a fun-filled weekend in Philly. I have every confidence that they will do their very best to do that because they've missed their Geeky Tai-Tai so much! (heh).

A lot of other bloggers have decided that they will have a theme for the year. I've decided that I will focus more on what new American expats can expect (not that I know very much, but I have actually lived here). I've also been working on a couple of lists: the good and the bad things for Americans living in Singapore. I may wait to publish it until after I've repatriated :D

I also want to get input from my blogging friends about what to do with this blog once I've repatriated. I'm not a writer (where my blogging friends are), so the freebiness of Blogger is a good thing to me, and it's been mucho improved in the last year. I can link to my pics on Flickr; I'm not a photographer, either, although I did pay for the pro account because I wanted a second back-up for them. They are priceless memories to us.

So, "the times they are-a changin'" and I'm in a state of flux. Not that that's bad or anything.

PEE-ESS -- The Shangri-La's aircon system has lost another bearing or something. That sucker has been yelping and squealing all day long. I could tell that they tried to fix it, but the bearing probably needs to be replaced. I'll be hearing that all night long, only to wake up (if I can actually sleep) to more stupid-ass jack-hammers in the morning. Nighty-night! ;-)

Happy Twenty-Oh-Eight!

The sun has been shining in Singapore for the last few days and it has been WONDERFUL, and I'm over my pity-party. Yes, I miss my boys and my family, but I'm telling you, that sunshine does me a world of good! I just can't do 3 weeks of constant pouring down rain.

Remember Neil's, Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair? I couldn't talk about this before because I would've given away the surprise for Mom and Dad's Christmas. Anyway, I bought this painting from Kyra...



Isn't she beautiful? I just fell in love with her, and thought Mom and Dad would too since they have 6 beautiful daughters. Now, they're trying to figure the perfect spot to hang the painting and they want to get a light to highlight it. Thank you Neil and Kyra for the wonderful gift to my parents!

I got my WHH an iTouch for Christmas. He happened to have a $100 American Express gift card from last year. So, he used it to buy a bunch of tunes and of course the Umbrella video. He can't seem to get enough Rihanna (heh). He used up the money on the card and needed to register for iTunes again. Guess what? We have a Singapore address and there are no iTunes available for download here! WTH? If I'd known that, I think I would've held off buying this particular gift for him.

It's nice that he can copy our cd collection, though, so we won't have to mess with changing them all the time. Last night he connected it to our sound system in the living room and we got the dust off the speakers! Good times! I don't think we have neighbors above or below us and nobody complained that it was too loud.

We're listening to it now, and there seems to be a problem with the volume control. One song will be very loud, we turn it down, then the next song is too low. I guess I'll be calling Apple about it tomorrow.

For New Year's Eve we went to River Quay Seafood and had our usual favorites. Madam Irene is always so good to us. She gave us a bottle of Chardonnay too. How nice is that? We came home after dinner, listened to music, and I turned on the Stickam then kissed my WHH on camera at midnight and drank some champagne. What is it about champagne that seems to make me get goofier than usual? Still, it was a fun evening and a perfect start for 2008!

Happy New Year everyone!

International American Thanksgiving

WHH carving Tommy under the watchful eye of Joerg

My scarcity around here has been due to planning and preparing for our International American Thanksgiving party and my compulsive Scrabulous-playing with friends and family online: Alex, Curisoity Killer, Jeremy, Kentucky Gurl, NYC Watchdog, Patrick (who had a damn good blog going and deleted it), Shelli, and Shyanne. I love that game, even though I mostly suck at it -- especially playing against KG and Jeremy! Damn, those two never cut me any slack, and it's making my stats look really bad.

We had our International American Thanksgiving Saturday. We called it that because we had African, American, Dutch, Filipino, German, and Romanian friends with us to share some Tommy Turkey and we're in Singapore. Some of our friends had never eaten a turkey fresh from the oven (bag), and I think most everyone liked it. You just can't go wrong using an oven bag for roasting a turkey. They cook in half the time -- even over-stuffed the way I do mine.

Cristina said that my dressing was the best I've made in the last three years. I thought it was good, but that's just me. The secret is: the sausage and my MIL's recipe (mother-in-law for all of you non-geeks). I got me some fresh spicy Italian from a Brazilian (there we go with the international thing, see?) butchery in Great World City, Espirito Santo. It's a small shop, but they were so nice and very helpful. The sausage was perfect -- spicy, but not so much so that it would do any gastrointestinal damage, if you know what I mean. I will definitely go back there again.

While my MIL is not renown for her culinary skills, she is the first person to actually show me how to roast a turkey. My mom will cook some meats, but there's no way she's going to even touch a raw turkey, let alone stuff that bad boy! LOL! If you're interested in trying the stuffing, you can get a 4 x 6 recipe card here (I must have my recipes on 4 x 6 card(s) and alphabetized in my special recipe box).

Seeing as how I grew up in a family of 8 and the fact that we have two sons, I've never really learned how to cook small amounts of anything. We had a lot of left-overs and sent some home with anybody who wanted some. I gave the guards some cherry tarts and an apple pie too. We packed a cooler full of food for the family of the drowning victim. The guards told me that the husband and the adult children were spending the entire day with her in the hospital -- not coming home until very late. I know I get tired of eating out or getting take-away. It was the only thing I could think of that might be of help to them.

We had a great time with everyone, but there wasn't much time to take pictures because we were hosting the party. Alex took this one of me and the one of my WHH and Joerg above.

We are very thankful for our family and friends... who are our chosen family!

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I got a call this morning from the husband of the woman who drowned thanking me for the food. He said that a lot of people are coming and going from his place, and it really helped out. I felt good about that. Then, after a pause, he told me that she passed away Sunday, two weeks after the accident. May she rest in peace and bless her family and friends who loved her so much.

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).

You Know Me and My Maps

We're going on a holiday and we leave Friday night! You already know how much I love maps, and this time we're going to cities we've never been before because Alex and Cristina are getting married in Iasi, Romania. Iasi (sounds like "yosh" in "American") is Cristina's hometown, and from the pictures and information I've found online it looks beautiful! Alex's hometown is Bucharest, and we'll fly there from Frankfurt, Germany. We won't be there long though. Most of our time will be spent in Iasi.

Our Goddaughters, Andrea and Liliana, were both born in Romania, and we've always been curious about where they were born. I hope that I can find their Christmas gifts there this year.

Since Friday, I've been on a mission to find something suitable to wear to the ceremony and trying on the few non-summer clothes that I've brought here. One of the nicest things about living in Singapore is that you can have your clothes custom-made. They'll actually FIT and look nice. I've only had one dress made since moving here because, while it's not as expensive as in the U.S., it's still extravagant.

Friday, after going to the osteopath (my right thumb and index finger are numb most of the time because of the neck issue), I decided to stop by a dress-makers shop in the same building. They always display gorgeous gowns. I asked a few questions, and when she told me she could have a suit ready for me by this Friday, I decided to go for it.

I decided on a very simple dress and jacket with a stand-up collar in a heavy "khaki-green" silk to match my eyes.

The dressmaker started taking my measurements, and after she measured the length from my neck to my waist she said, "None of your clothes fit you, do they?" Nope, they don't! I have long arms and legs, but my torso keeps getting shorter and shorter. It's hereditary, but now it's getting to the point that even petite sizes don't fit me very well on top.

I went back for a fitting yesterday, and decided on some details. I'll go for another fitting tomorrow.

Today though, FUN FUN FUN! I went SHOPPING for my FAVORITE things in the world (besides books and computer stuff)... shoes, handbag, earrings, etc. You know, the fun stuff -- girly stuff that I love.

Beyond the suit and accessories for the ceremony, it's slim pickin's wardrobe-wise, and that would not be due to any "slimness" on my part! I'll manage though, I usually do.

I'm looking forward to meeting all of Alex and Cristina's family and friends and having the opportunity to see and learn about someplace new. This is going to be so cool!

50th Year, Day 2

My computer is still giving me fits! Why doesn't it see my CD-ROM/DVD drive all of a sudden? Last week, I "removed" a bunch of programs that I haven't used in a while after backing everything up on the 160GB external hard-drive and on Norton. Do you think I removed a driver or something? I need help!!!

I have a cordless keyboard, and it's worked perfectly until two days ago. Now, it goes in spurts. I changed the batteries last night, and still I'm dealing with it sometimes working and sometimes not. I'm a fast typist (100 wpm when the keyboard isn't being stupid) and this is slowing me down and pissing me off!

My camera is working fine now, but why was the memory card empty Sunday? Saturday evening, it showed that the memory was full, but we'd only taken a few pictures. It's an Olympus SP-350 and we've never had any trouble... until now. Stupid camera!

One of our cordless phones with the answering machine has decided it doesn't want to work anymore too. WTF? Everything decides to break during my birthday month/week/weekend? We now have two phones that work. Of course, the cordless phones won't work if I wander too far from the base because of the concrete and steel walls. I hate when that happens. Stupid phones!

So, Ludo, with the kick-ass camera sent me this picture of us (excluding him), but he's not going to send anymore via email because the files are too large. The WHH is out of the country for two weeks, so it will be a while before I can upload anything to Flickr. Trust that we had GOOD TIMES! :D

A Holiday in Langkawi

We returned from our luxurious stay at the Berjaya Resort in Langkawi, Malaysia Saturday. There were no clocks in the room, no internets, and the TV could only get one station. These were all pluses in my book, except the "no internets" part. I tried to jot notes to myself in my calendar so that I would be able to remember, but it's just not the same as blogging. Now my mind is blank and I'm out of the habit of blogging! Whaddya' gonna' do, uh?

I've become such a slacker and have hardly used the camera. I suck! So, the few pictures that we took are on Flickr

Some curious things...

There was all manner of dress at this place: burqas, maillots, bikinis, Speedos, and topless. I've got to say that the women wearing burqas have our utmost admiration! These women didn't let their clothing inhibit their holiday one bit -- they went jet-skiing! I thought that was so cool.

I wore a maillot because that's what I wear at a pool or beach. My WHH wore his usual baggy swim trunks, and Alex wore her bikinis -- she looked MAHveloous! OK, no worries -- except for the delusional men and women there. OMG! A bunch of kinda' old-ish men wore spandex shorts that showed WAY TOO MUCH "jewelry". I'm not joking, these guys were nasty. Eeeww! I thought that the women were better, but a lot of them really should've steered clear of bikini-style suits.

Then, one afternoon I was sitting at the pool bar. Where else did you think I'd be? I spied a very brown TOPLESS woman lounging poolside. Holy...!!! DAYum! This woman was a hard-body 50+ Caucasian, but tanned so much that I had to do a double-take to see if "it's" a bikini top or actual areolas (so perky that I know she's had some work done). Mmm hmm... So, then I see a couple of guys on the other side of WHH at the pool bar, and then they start yapping and gawking and ogling. It was funny because I knew what they were talking about.

Music was hard to find at this resort. OK, there was a "band" -- two women singing and two guys playing synthesizers. Mostly doing songs by ABBA. I think you get the idea. This lack o'music caused my brain to go into over-drive in the music circuit. Some songs playing in my head: "Dancing Queen" (courtesy of those two gals singing in the lounge -- shit!), "Shock the Monkey", "Barracuda", "Climb Every Mountain" (puke -- but it was from the cable car ride), "I Did A Bad, Bad Thing" (no I didn't, but that's what was playing in my head and I love Chris Isaak!), "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" (I think that had to do with the unusual amount of ugly Speedos).

It was such a treat to fall asleep with the surf pounding the rocks below our little chalet, mostly because my WHH did NOT snore the entire time we were there! Oh yeah.

Return from Blogging Hiatus

My ever-so Way Hot Husband surprised me with a big trip to the U.S. I arrived just in time to celebrate our oldest son, Jim's, 25th birthday with him. Can he really be that old? Hell, Mom's only 42 according to my sister who is 40-freakin'-six! heh!

So, anyway, I apologize for not writing all of this time. I've actually felt guilty about it because I know I'm going to forget some things that I want to remember. I'm thinking this might be an appropriate time to do some bullets...

• My 5 sisters and I gave Mom and Dad a trip out to CA to visit my sister and her family. I feel a kindred spirit with my nephew in that he loves jazz and plays saxophone. After all of that stupid hullaballoo about the students who were deprived of the diplomas they EARNED -- only because they tossed beach-balls and other harmless goofiness, I was proud to learn that my nephew accepted his diploma IN BARE FEET! YES! I love it! That young man is special, yessirree! I'm sorry (No, I'm not really-- I'm being polite), but who the hell decided a high school graduation must be a solemn occasion -- bullshit! When our sons graduated, I felt like bopping beach balls too! Idiot administrative assholes.
  

• Suzy, WHH's sister, brought his mom down to see Jimmy and me in Indy. She was beautiful as ever and we were so happy to see her. Her pretty blue eyes just glittered when she saw us and she gave us the nicest hugs. She's the best mother-in-law a woman could ever have. We watched "Stranger Than Fiction" together, and she got a big kick out of Will Ferrell's apartment being demolished. Great movie, BTW, and yes, I cried -- all three times I watched it.
  

• WHH's brother, Skip, and his wife, Beth, drove over from Carlinville to see us too. I'm so grateful. There seemed to be so little time to visit anyone.
  

• Mom and Dad returned from CA and we had a bit of time to visit. We met Donna and Doug at their fav restaurant for dinner one night. The next day, Donna called in sick with a bad case of "sistoplasmosis" and hung out with Jennifer, Mitch, and me for the day. She's damn lucky to have the office manager as her husband too.
  

• I flew down to ATL to visit Patrick whom I hadn't seen in a year and a half. He was in the midst of moving from an apartment to a house. It was perfect timing... he moved stuff and I wore myself out cleaning his place -- something only a mom would do!
  

• I did get to visit with all my friends for a few hours anyway. Rebecca took me shopping one afternoon. I desperately needed some new clothes! Patrick was my DD so that I could have some beers with our friends at Jeffrey's.

• I went on a mission to buy new underwear at Dillard's -- having only 30 minutes before I needed to head to the airport to return to Indy. I always buy the same stuff, and so was able to enlist the help of a nice saleswoman there. I'm set for the next year now.
  

• Our niece, Alex, was my travel companion back to Singapore as a graduation gift from her mom and dad. We've had a fun time so far, and tonight we leave to go to the Berjaya Resort in Langkawi, Malaysia for a few days.

• I lost the USB cable to my camera, and I'm very upset with myself over that. Why do I keep losing it? Why does Olympus have to use non-standard size cables and memory cards?

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Since my return to Singapore, I've been trying to catch up on the latest from my favorite blogs. Sadly, though, I found out through Avitable that New York City's Watchdog lost his 5-year old son, Puppy Monster, to a swimming pool accident. Amy, of Amy's Musings, created some graphics that can be purchased for $5 each through Avi's blog and 100% of the proceeds will be sent to NYCWD. The blogging community has come together in support of NYCWD and so far $2,600 has been raised. Please consider donating $5 to help him during this very difficult time.

Our Holiday is Over -- Too Soon!

Here's a short clip of the Pre-Queen's Day celebration in Amersfoort:




So, I haven't posted in a week. Wanna' know why? I'm a big DOOFUS! That's why! I left the USB cable for my camera at home!! I had fully intended to blog and post some pictures at least every other day so that I wouldn't forget all of the details of our holiday. I'm glad I didn't lose the cable, but damn, how could I have left it at home? I can't remember crap now. I hate when that happens. I've uploaded my photos to Flickr (for my non-geek family and friends, that's over on the right in the sidebar just below the "Twitter" box).

Antwerp

Oh, our first night in Antwerp, I told WHH that I needed to get something to eat so that I could take my medicine. I checked out the room service menu and selected the cheeseburger, really without thinking twice about it. Where the hell is my BRAIN??? Huh? I really think it's gone into hiding. Anyway... it was delivered along with 3 Duvels (WHH needed a snack too). A tiny salad garnished the plate along with the obligatory yummy French fries. I ate some of the salad, WHH popped open a Duvel, then I took a big bite of the most horrendous-tasting burger -- E V E R! That's when I remembered that horse meat is a big favorite in Belgium, and I'd just seen it on the menu at Tavern van Rijswick. It had to be horse meat!!! It was awful, but I did not get sick from it. I don't want another one, but ok, I lived through it.

The next day we went to the taxi queue at the hotel and WHH told the driver, "We'd like a tour of Antwerp. Can you do that for us?" Harry, the cab driver, took us on a two-hour tour of Antwerp stopping at points of interest so that I could take pictures. A lot of tourist spots were closed because of May Day, but it was very interesting and I loved all of the architecture.

Brussels

We drove to Brussels the next day. I say "we", like I drove the car. I did not. WHH did all of the driving. I just tried to keep him from running over bicyclists and pedestrians. He did a great job. :D

We only spent a few hours there in the heart of the city. WHH remembered where Mannequin-Pis was and took me there so that I could see the little guy for myself. I just loved that fountain, especially since I have two sons who were into "sword-fighting" when they were little. Hell, they probably still do that (heh). I bought a little gold charm of him for my bracelet.

Brugge

The next stop on our tour was Brugges (Bruges), my favorite of the three cities. We stayed at the Hotel Prinsenhof, a beautifully appointed and charming hotel. It is family-owned and the personalized service was so nice. The website has a short video. Check it out if you have a few minutes.

At the DeCarre Restaurant, I had one of their specialties, rabbit prepared Flemish-style. The portions were huge, and it was delicious. The rabbit was slow-cooked in a plum gravy, it was really like stew.

We took a boat tour, and WHH got some very nice pictures. The Belfry/Belfourt at the town square was hosting a Salvador Dali exhibition and an exhibition of sculptures by Irenee Duriez. I fell in love with one of the Duriez sculptures and we bought her. She won't be delivered until the third week of this month. We've already decided where she will be displayed. I can't wait, and I'm happy that we splurged on this piece. When she arrives, I will take lots of pictures.

Back Home in Singapore

We arrived home early yesterday morning from Amsterdam. When we walked into the apartment, it was hot and stuffy. It's a damn good thing that I asked Jing to check on our place while we were gone because the dining room aircon leaked all over the place. Somehow, Jing managed to move the dining table out of the way and hauled the rug out to the laundry room to dry. Fortunately, it dried out just fine without staining, at least that I can see now.

I also discovered that while I was gone, I WON A T-SHIRT from Dave2's 4th Blogiversary! YAY me! If you haven't checked out Dave's blog yet, you seriously need to get with the program! In addition to the free Bad Monkey t-shirt, I ordered a watercolor print of his photo, "Tuscany", and I ordered a watercolor print of "Smoking Bad Monkey".

WHH spent the entire day yesterday catching up on a jillion and one freakin' emails. I was very proud of him that he did his best to relax while we were gone. That's hard for him. He likes to work, ok, yeah, he likes beer too. Mostly, he works too hard. He came home from work today in a good mood.

I almost forgot... here are some of the beers we tried: Duvel, DeKonninck, Primus, Tongerlo, Jupiler. I liked Jupiler best. :D We will be spending the next 9 months trying to lose the weight we gained last week. Such is life!

Work vs. Holiday -- Whaddya' Gonna' Do, Eh?

In just about an hour, I'll be leaving for the airport. It is time for a holiday... not for me, but for my Way-Hot Husband who works his ass off TOO much. He really needs to be off work for at least two or three weeks, but I know he won't do that. It's too hard to face the jillion and one problems and emails after being off work that long.

We love living in Singapore, and the people he works with are the most diligent hard-working people he's ever worked with. The problem is that he not only works here in Singapore, but Europe (6 hours behind us), and the U.S. (12+ behind us depending on which coast). His work is virtually 24/7. It never stops. This is globalization folks, and this part of it really sucks ass.

Back on the 15th, I did a personality meme. I asked WHH to take it. The results are "him", but don't even come close to the essence of HIM. No matter what the task at hand is, he will work at it until he's got it completed to his satisfaction.

Just as an example, my elliptical had a rusty part that needed to be replaced. He took the thing apart, figured out what the problem was, then spent several hours on the phone trying to order a new part. The part arrived the day before he was leaving for Europe (thanks Mom and Dad). Before he left, he tried to fix it. He was so pissed that the parts were almost welded together. We'll have to order another part to fix it. The thing is, he felt badly that he didn't get it fixed before he left! That's the kind of man he is. It's just an elliptical, but it doesn't matter because he knows I like to work-out on it -- whatever it takes to make me happy. He's just too good!

Another issue for me, anyway, is that the rest of the world can go on a fucking holiday for a gawdamn month or more, and nobody EVER questions that shit. Why the hell can't Americans and Singaporeans do the same? This issue is not inherent with this company -- this is corporatism and it effects all of us. Why the hell can't we take the days off that we've earned? Why must we constantly work ourselves to death?

I look forward to seeing your comments. I'll be offline for the next 18 hours or so, but I'd really like to get your input.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to flying Singapore Airlines -- the BEST in the world!

How on Earth could I have forgotten to include these two pics in my previous update? I think I'm losin' it or something!

A Great Cook!

(click to enlarge)

A Wild Hare!

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The week obviously started out fun, with Sunday being Easter and all. The kids were great and we had a fun time with Alex, Cristina, and Vicky. Yet, I feel obligated to share the things that have pissed me off in the last week or so...

• Trend-Micro has labeled my Gmail account as SPAM because I forwarded an anniversary ecard to WHH from our son. I am BLACKBALLED because I forwarded my husband something nice from OUR SON? WTF? I tried to contact Gmail for support and they say, "we ask users who experience delivery delays or whose messages are bouncing back to their accounts to inform the recipient's mail provider about the issue" Yeah, like MNC is going to care that WHH gets my Gmails.

• Tenants SUCK! OK...well, maybe not all tenants, since, um, we happen to be tenants too. I'll clarify here, the tenants who live in our house in a subdivision in an ATL suburb, SUCK ass! Check this out:

• $4,000+ Oven installed in November (including removal of old oven, disposal of old oven, installation/labor for new jillion dollar oven).

• Two reports of a BROKEN HINGE on said JILLION dollar oven. One last month and one again this month. Those suckers are GOING TO PAY!

• Trashed under-cabinet light. Look at it -- just dangling there like a piece of...oh, I don't know... TRASH??? WHH and my DAD worked hours installing that lighting and it looks like shit now.

• Basement ceiling looks like, I don't know...maybe a bunch of damn VERY BAD monkeys have gone wild in our basement??? They WILL pay!

• If you have time to click on those pictures of the oven, you can see that the cabinets are scratched up and dinged, and look like TRAILER-TRASH SHIT. I think their sons must've been using it for, oh, I don't know...maybe... kick-boxing with cleats?
  

• WHH was working on our 2006 taxes a few weeks ago, and soon calculated that we spent $24,000 in repairs. That is not a typo! Every appliance in that 14-year old house has been replaced, except for the stupid down-draft Jenn-Aire cooktop for which the old-fashioned drip-pans cost $25/ea. and have to be ordered directly from them or Repairclinic (a great website by the way). I.HATE.DRIPS!
  

• Oh, and those dorfwad kids tore up the shower door in one of the bathrooms. Once again VERY BAD monkeys that need to LEAVE MY HOUSE! SOON! And they WILL pay! (well maybe if I can scrape up the money to sue their sorry monkey asses)!

• Oh yeah, I've got a sinus infection, ear infection, and a fever.
  

• While at the doctor's today, I did have the presence of mind to ask why the hell can't I have a good cry. You know... that was in a previous post (just scroll down, will ya?). He told me that I'M AN AIRHEAD! No lie, SONOFA...!!! I know YOU already knew that, but damn! When your doctor tells you, it's rather disconcerting. He said next time I need a big "cry", either hold that shit in, or cry it out and then sleep with my head raised up. He made no guarantees that the swelling would go away any faster than a week's time. Do you know how hard it is to "hold-in" a BIG cry?
  

• Why do I have to have an AIRHEAD???

• I'm going to have another beer to ease my achin' AIRHEAD.
  

Alrighty then, I had other stupid stuff to bitch about, but I've pissed myself off just talking about this AIRHEADedness! Sonofa...!!!

Happy Easter!

UPDATE: These are a few of the pics we took Easter Sunday:

I wish you all a very Happy Easter and a wonderful season of renewal and Spring! There's something very special about spring-time, although it's always "summer" in Singapore. Spring has always been my favorite season of the year, except for the allergy part. I could do without that, but then again, whaddya' gonna' do, uh?

We celebrated Easter with Alex and Cristina. I'll post some pictures tomorrow if they're good. It's too late now, though.

They're always so generous with their love and the food...well, only in my dreams can I cook the way Alex does! I've gotta say that Cristina has been learning lots about cooking too. Alex has been bragging on her bread-making, and I love fresh bread! I honestly can't remember everything he made for our special meal today. There was prosciutto and salami, salmon-wrapped melon, two nice fresh breads, two kinds of fish roe with bread, butter, and onion (mmmmm!), tomato, onion, and feta salad, another kind of salad, but I can't remember the name of it, oyster soup with a beautiful broth that was creamy, yet not thick, and there were lots of nice veggies in it (mmmm...hmmm!), a lettuce salad, asparagus and baby corns sauteed with spices I need to ask about, and roasted lamb -- Oooh!


It was a perfect meal. As my father-in-law always used to say to Gloria, "You did it again!" Yes, he did! PLUS, they had ice cream, a cake, and Vicky made tiramisu, but I just couldn't. I wish I had some now, though!

Good Friday

Whenever WHH (Way-HOT Husband) has a holiday, we enjoy sleeping in, lazing around, eating a good bacon-filled breakfast, taking a nap. Yesterday, however, we were awakened at 8 with little screamer-girl's ultra high-pitched screams. She screamed non-stop for a full fifteen minutes. She was livid, I tell you! I'm pretty sure that Li'l Screamer Girl climbed out of her crib. I heard no approaching "adult-sounding" footsteps, but I eventually heard her little feet running throughout the apartment. I don't know where the rest of the family was; out on the terrace and they couldn't hear her? That doesn't make a bit of sense; we could hear her through these concrete floors that WI-FI can't even get through!

After her screams stopped, I laid in bed awhile thinking I might fall back to sleep, but that didn't happen because the phone rang. Whoever it was hung up after the answering-machine picked up. I still laid there because I'm lazy that way, BUT then a damn bird decided to perch atop the railing outside our bedroom window squawking away for several minutes. He sounded like he was in the room with us! Sheesh! Scared me half to death. So, I got my lazy butt out of bed. WHH was able to go back to sleep for at least another hour or so.

Now the issue of the phone call with no message really pisses me off. For some reason, my phone showed that WHH's cell phone called (I know that it wasn't him because he was lying in bed with me). Weird! Since the caller hung up without leaving a message, I have no idea who it really was.

The way caller ID works here is, once I know the number of someone calling, I must program the name of that person into my phones. If I don't recognize the number, I don't pick up. I refuse to be beholden to a damn telephone. I have phones for my convenience...not to be at other people's beck and "call". So, if you're calling and I don't pick up, please leave a message. Otherwise, I'm not going to call back because I don't know who you are.

Which leads me to the next topic...

Telemarketers have figured out that Singaporeans are going to pick up their phones--ALWAYS! Singaporeans love their handphones. The nuisance calls have increased dramatically since we moved here. Telemarketers are really rather sly because most of the time the number shows up as "Overseas". When I see that, I pick up because I think it's one of our sons or other family. Once they start yapping at me, I hang up. I could go on and on about phone issues, but I won't...for now, anyway.

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We went to River Quay Seafood last night. It'd been too long since we'd had our favorite black-pepper crab and my favorite cheese lobster. My, oh my, that cheese lobster is decadent! Have a look.....Yummy!! The lobster is an Australian Rock Lobster, that tends to be tough and chewy, unlike Maine lobster (oooohhh!!). What makes this one so nice is that they steam it, then they slather that cheesy stuff all over it, then bake it "just enough" so that the outside is a bit crispy, yet the cheese and lobster is, oooh, so delicious.

We always get some fried rice and bok choy. I tried making bok choy a few weeks ago, but I don't have the patience to make homemade oyster sauce. My bok choy sucked ass. I try, I really do.

While waiting for our food, WHH took a photo of me... (please check out Karl's blog) :D

I made a couple more videos of Tania last night too...




Tania performing "Before You Accuse Me"



and... "Love Song"

Bangkok Part II -- OH SHHH.....

IT was 4 am when I awoke with the most horrendous abdominal pain. I quietly got up to go to the bathroom where I sat for an undetermined amount of time trying to relieve myself. The pain was so bad that I was completely drenched in sweat. I felt like was about to give birth... to some kind of evil monster. Seriously.

I was finally able to go back to bed and eventually fall back to sleep. When I awoke again, it was about 9:30 and Diane was having her coffee. She offered to walk to the pharmacy to get me some Immodium. It ended up that the pharmacy was about a mile away (we thought it was only a couple of blocks away). I took the Immodium, and it helped, but I still ached, though not bad enough to keep me from our planned outing.

We thought about going to Chinatown and scoping out the silver factory that we'd heard about. We also considered a couple of markets that didn't look like they'd be too far away. We opted to go to the nearest market. We headed out with our trusty little map. No sooner had we left the hotel and a woman approached Diane asking her if she needed help. She was very friendly, and told us she'd just gotten off work at the hotel. Diane told her we were looking for the market, and she replied, "Oh, that's not going to have local goods. You need to go here for the local goods. I'll take you there; we'll share a taxi." I said that I didn't want to go there, nor did I want to share a taxi. The woman ended up leaving in a huff. I think she just wanted a ride home (or wherever).

Diane and I walked over to the mall, but once inside, we were lost again. The signage there sucks! We were outside the mall and looking at our map trying to figure out where the hell we'd ended up, and another woman approached us. She told us of yet another market we should go to rather than the other two. She kept yapping on and on. Finally, we left her and we were going back to the hotel when a Tuk-Tuk driver approached us, "You ride tuk-tuk, I'll take you where you want to go!" Diane told the guy, "No, my friend won't ride in one of those." He starts after me trying to convince me to ride in his tuk-tuk. I flat-out told him "NO!" and walked away. We were heading back to the hotel, and Diane's bag was partially open, I was turning to look at her, when I saw that the guy was directly behind her! She turned around to face him, and then he dropped back. By that time we were back at the hotel.

After all the time we wasted walking around in circles because we were silly enough to listen to these people, I needed to lie down. Diane went back to the mall. I took a nap.

She came back a couple of hours later loaded down with a bag of goodies. "Oh, Diana, I found the coolest place at the mall. They've got all kinds of nice local goods. I'm going back. Do you want to go too?" Of course I did and we had fun browsing and shopping.

I had to be back at the hotel at 6 to pick up the ring I'd bought the day before (very pretty, but I paid too much for it). Each time I passed the street corner where the tuk-tuk guy had been, I noticed two women with babies panhandling. They were sitting on the sidewalk with their babies in their laps, breastfeeding them, and one arm outstretched with cup in hand for money. On my last trip back to the hotel, I gave one of them 20 Baht (US $.62). Hey Big Spender!! She smiled.

The streets in Bangkok are very dirty. One can barely make out where crosswalks are because the "white" paint is blackened from dirt. The taxis are nice Toyota Corollas, but there are no seatbelts in the back. I felt naked! The driver who took us back to the airport was driving too fast, and doing that herky-jerky thing that makes me nauseous.

The new Bangkok airport is dreary, not to mention that they've had to close it a couple of times because runways were cracking and other problems. The customs area where we arrived is nothing but fluorescent lights, plain concrete, and steel. Very utilitarian and institutional-looking. I hate fluorescent lighting! Yes, I know it's better for the environment, but can't somebody invent something better? That shit gives me a headache and puts me in a foul mood!

Diane and I had a great time together, and both of us are glad we made the trip. Neither of us wants to go back though. Singapore has spoiled me forever, and I was happy and grateful to be back home.

Bangkok

Diane and I made it to our hotel around 6 last night (Bangkok is an hour behind Singapore). We had some dinner at the hotel Chinese restaurant, while it was not spectacular, it was good and filling. We decided we wanted to go to the night market. We paid 100 Baht for a taxi ride to the market. The market was a bit like a big Lucky Plaza of Singapore. Around midnight or so, we'd had enough and decided to get a taxi back to the hotel. We got into one, and the guy said 200 Baht. We promptly got out of the cab! Several cabbies soon surrounded us telling us "You ride with me". We ended up back in the first cab and paid 120 Baht.

Today we took a tour of the Grand Palace and the temple of the Emerald Buddha...
After the Grand Palace (the former residence of the beloved and revered King) tour, we took a river and canal tour in a long boat. The water on the river was choppy and I was terrified I was going to fall into the river. Really! The tour was interesting, but the guy taking us on the tour rarely slowed down enough for us to get good pictures. I did manage to get this picture of these boys swimming in the canal. They were cute.


Our tour guide then took us to the Royal Lapidary, a government-sponsored jewelry factory/store. Fun!!!

Once we got back to the hotel, we both needed a rest. The heat can really wear a body out.

We walked around Siam Square looking for a good place to eat. All of these years, I've thought it was pronounced SI-am, when in fact it is, Cee-yam, duh. Oh well, live and learn. We saw the Hard Rock Cafe, but they were closed! Maybe it'll be open tomorrow? We ended up at a pizza place that was really good. After dinner, we walked around some more in the malls, but neither of us found anything that we could not live without.

We went to the 7-Eleven across the street from the hotel to buy a few more Heineken's and 4 bottles of water for the evening.

I think tomorrow, we're going to check out Chinatown. We've heard that there's a silver factory over that way...hmmm.... ;D

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Last week Alex and Cristina had us over for a Chinese New Year dinner. Alex made spring rolls, curry beef, rice, noodles, fish, and more! Everything was delicious and as usual, I ate too much.

Zul Sutan "Forever Man"

Yesterday and today were public holidays for Chinese New Year, so we went to Harry's last night. Here's a little clip of the fun...

I Have Hot Water In My Kitchen and other interesting things....

Yesterday (Valentine's Day), was a fun and interesting day for me, yet, I want to be clear that I am far from being an authority on anything except the foods that I like! :D Please leave comments that would clarify my entries below. I do my best, but it is impossible to learn everything in two-year's time.

SHIONG LIM TEMPLE

I went on a tour of Shiong Lim Temple in Toa Payoh. I didn't have my notebook out (my bad), but I think the guide said that the temple is the oldest in Singapore, if not the oldest building. The guide said that it was built in 1898 (the Wiki article says 1902). The temple sits amidst HDB flats towering over it, yet one can still feel solitary and meditative.

Here are my photos of the tour:

Yu-Sheng

Mid-morning Coffee and Tea

Ms. Geraldene Lowe, a very well-known tour consultant here in Singapore spoke while we had tea.

Here are a few pointers from her for Westerners:

If giving gifts........give 2 oranges -- or eight NEVER four. Four is a bad number as it is a homophone for "death".

Give only a "live" plant such as bamboo or pussy willow decorated with red bows

Never wear white or black....these colors symbolize death.

"Ang Moh" literally means "red devil". I'm not clear on the entire story, but I know that this is how some Singaporeans refer to Caucasian people. I've also been told by Singaporeans who were doing their best to be hospitable to us, that "Ang Moh" means red-haired people. I think they were trying too hard! :D

I've got a lot more notes from Geraldene, but I think it's time to move on...


Yu-Sheng

Next stop, was the luncheon at the Hollandse (Dutch) Club. The chef came out to demonstrate how to make the "Tossed Salad" (Yu-Sheng, I think that's part Hokkien part Singlish) which consists of julienned-strips of vegetables along with thinly-sliced raw salmon "cooked" with lime, cinnamon, pepper, vegetable oil, and other ingredients I cannot remember (I did my best, but it's also a good thing to get into it, uh?). The ingredients to the salad are piled high; one on top of the other. Once all of the ingredients are in a huge glob, everyone round the table uses their chopsticks to "toss" the salad. It's fun and it's messy! Better yet, it is a most delicious salad!

After we enjoyed Yu-sheng, we had a sumptuous buffet. I especially liked the codfish with a black olive sauce. YUM! Oh, the other thing that I learned..........NEVER, EVER BITE Noodles! They symbolize long life, and if you bite it off, your "screwed" (in American). It is best to slurp your noodles. Yes, just as we did when we were kids eating spaghetti. Singaporeans have the most wonderful food!

Got My Hair Done...

Next up...........my hairstylists, whom I've gone to since I found them online at the Expats Forum. Dammit, they're going to quit the biz. I can't believe it! Cabie did my highlights and Arthur cut my hair. These two are the first-ever stylists to tell me that I should NOT cut my hair. My hair has grown quite long since I first started going to them two years ago. When I get compliments on my hair, I stay with the people who are making sure I get the compliments. They were quite a team, and I trusted them. I suppose it's one of those "all good things must come to an end". I'm sad, though.

My Valentine & Me...


My way-hot husband gave me a bouquet of 29 roses...for the years we've been together. Can you see the "Happy Valentine's Day" imprinted on the center rose? I'm impressed (it doesn't really matter if you are or not, he's mine and they're mine) :D

We're romantic, but not in the sense that we want to get all "pfoofed up" and got to a fancy-schmancy thing. We decided to go to The American Club Union Bar. It was quiet in there (there was a big hoo-ha going on in the Colonial Room upstairs). Our favorite bartenders doted on us, first by giving us the lunch-time menu (more extensive). I had the ox-tail for the first time -- with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies on top. Yummy! Of course, I ate too much, as always. That is real comfort food. I'm getting hungry again (not really, but yeah, I could eat some more of that). The rest of the evening??? I'll leave it to your imagination ;-)

I've Got Hot Water In My Kitchen.........

Mr. Fixit arrived promptly at noon today -- just as he'd said he would last week. He attached a "vent-thingy" to the dryer so that lint doesn't accumulate and catch fire. Then he went to work drilling holes in the walls and soldering copper pipe so that I could have hot water at my kitchen sink. He was finished with the plumbing by 5:30. After that, he spent 45 minutes cleaning up the laundry room, sweeping lint, scrubbing the floor with a scrub brush, and helping me wipe up the floor. He also took away the POS dishasher and helped me move the washing machine to where the dishwasher had been.

That.is.all....THE END! :D

Jim and Patrick

My sister, Donna, just sent me an e-mail of Jim and Patrick together at Christmastime at Mom and Dad's. Looks to me like they had a great time. I couldn't have gotten a better Christmas gift!