Drama in Singapore

Dear Readers,

Last week was filled with frustration and agony. I came down with a sore throat on Monday night and it went downhill from there. I was suppose to be at a book club but couldn't finish the book because I broke my Kindle. It didn't matter because I was called to the travel agency to finish paying for my upcoming trip to New Zealand. I hoofed it to the other side of island only to have my credit card shut down (I already called several weeks ago to make sure this didn't happen). There I was, embarassed, and unable to reach the company on the phone. So I hoofed it back to the apartment, only I got on the wrong train in my furstration and headed in another direction. By the time I got back to the apartment, I'd missed the book club. So I called the credit card people and hoofed it back over to the travel agency, having paid up.

There seemed to be some good news. The insurance company had investigated where our $6000 went and it had been found at the Raffles Hospital. Great I thought. I gave them a call. They had no idea what I was talking about. This was the fourth time I had called them to ask if they had received the overpayment. No, No. No. I was beyond upset. They said they would call me back. Never heard from them. More important, I missed going out to the pool waiting for their call.

Now, I went to my new writers club down at the American Club. They meet 10:30-1. Why so long? We all had an assignment and each of us reads our writing. The assignment was to start a page with "My mother never . . .," and make it up. After the first draft, you take your mother out of it and then yourself. I ended up with a woman named Carrie who is executed on death row because she murdered her boss who had taken out a hit on her. She was laundering money for a casino. Anyway, when I got finished reading my work, everyone was speechless. They are nonfiction writers, reporters for CNN, etc. They need help writing fiction and they hope I can help. I live in an imaginary world, I told them, where hospitals call you back and your credit card is not declined.

The real world sucks. Is any of that stuff true about your mother, they asked. Only in my head, ha!

So I look forward to reading some of my chapters of my new novel to them.

On Friday I took a taxi and went down to the hospital. I marched up to the office with my copy of the email from the insurance company and the number of the wireless transaction. Ah, they declared, they had found my money over night. It's in the mail. So far I haven't seen it in the mail. Looks like another road trip.

This weekend Steve and I went to a farmer's market that had been advertised. It turned out to be some westerners making alittle money on the side importing organic vegetables from Malaysia or bored housewives making ice cream. We were out in the middle of no where and I was afraid we would have a long way to walk home with my bottle of organic rose wine. But it must have been karma. We walked out to the road and a taxi just drove up! That night we went to Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Sling. I hadn't done that yet. After getting liquored up, we rode over to Little India to see the lights for the Hindu festival Deepavali (Festival of Lights). Cheesey Christmas lights on the main streets have been banned by the Prime Minister. But they abound there! It celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Everyone gets the day off. On Sunday we went to see Adele and the rising mummy adventure. In French because I picked the wrong cinema. Only one had French with English subtitles and that's the one I picked. It was a scream, French or not. I recommend it when you're in a silly mood (or liquored up).

Tammy and I went to charity Christmas fair at the Goodwood historical hotel. It was cool until I saw the dragon ornament I bought at Tanglin fifteen dollars higher then I paid for it. That's when I realized we weren't getting any deals here. It was the big shake down. I did buy Christmas cards with the three wisemen riding Thai elephants.

Well, that's all from here. Say happy birthday to Sarah. She's an old lady now. Ha! What does that make me? Ancient. My mother? Old as dirt. My grandmother? She knew George Washington personally. See ya.