What's new in Singapore?

Dear Readers,

I know it has been a while since I last wrote. I have been struggling with stomach failure (gastroparesis) for a month now. For those who don't know what it's like, imagine you can't eat solid food because it doesn't digest. Instead, it sits in your stomach and rots causing pain and nausea. This goes on all day and night. While others are munching on hamburgers, you are sipping your Ensure and losing weight. So I went to the doctor here and started on a drug called domperdone, an old drug they used to use for morning sickness. It pushes food through the stomach and into the intestines at a faster rate than normal and controls naseau. It's like having an alien in your stomach. There are minimum side effect but the drug is illegal in the US because it causes birth defects. No worries there for me. Now that I am doing better, I am trying to get off it. We'll see if that is possible.

So, what else have I been doing? On our unending quest to finish all the things we want to do before we leave on August 25th, we headed over to Vivo City and caught the cable car rides to Sentosa Island and Mt. Fabor (highest peak in Singapore). More like a rock. While over at Sentosa, we had lunch at the newly opened Shangri La hotel there. Quite a place. Then we headed over to Mt. Fabor for a great view of the harbor, the ships, cruise ships, and tropical rainforest on the mountain. It began to rain so we headed back to the mall where they were having a wedding workshop. Steve took some pictures of the dresses in order to see if our daughters had any comment. Weddings here run $100,000 easy.

It's coming up on Easter here and it's the time of the chocolate duck in Sinagpore. At the Shangri La Hotel, however, not only can you get a chocolate duck but you can get a chocolate frog, mushroom, strawberry egg, two foot bunny, rooster, and my favorite-chocolate puzzles. You can even get a chocolate box with chocolate eggs inside. They have constructed a huge box with chocolate sides that the chiefs are carving. You crave a crunch bar just walking by. These guys have alot of talent-carving camels and tropical scenes all out of chocolate. What a country.

Recently we ventured over to the new Art Science Museum at Marina Bay, next to the casino. It was newly opened and they have alot of bugs to work out. First of all, they had eight counters and only one computer working. All the workers were gathered around the one computer watching the one girl work while the line was out the door. Steve was vivid. Then the audio was too difficult to even operate. It wouldn't slide (what happened to the good old days of buttons?) Steve was more vivid. However, I really enjoyed the exhibit on Genghis Khan and the trebachet (lobbing machine they used in ancient times to knock down walls). They had a little one that Steve and I played with-lobbing ping pong balls at one another. Then they had exhibits on the silk road with stuffed camels and such. Then there was the Oman ship wreck of 800AD off the Indonesian coast that had just beautiful and perfect china kept in barrells. It was marvelous to look out and imagine how after all this time, it was still in the perfect condition it was packed it back in 800 AD. Wow.

The design of this building is in the form of a lotus flower. It was fantastic. But they have a long way to go to make this museum work. For example, there wasn't any science. Just the hope that science was coming. They need to take some things from the art museum and some weird stuff they have in the national museum and stick it in there. And gets some science. They do alot of that here.

Last night I forgot I had signed up for a art lecture at the American club. It was at 6:30 and I remembered at 6:40. Oh no! I had already paid. So off I went in my Tshirt and shorts, running to the club. I got here about 7 and was ushered in to a room full of snooty art people dressed in ties and jackets and dresses. I felt pretty low and to make matters worse, the only seat left was up front. I decided to be a man and walked up there proud and sat down like I wasn't trailer trash. Like I had money to buy art. The lecture was excellent advice on how to start a collection and the guy from Sotheby's did a mock auction. That was fun. Afterwards, I sipped my free red cheap wine like I was one of them and acted like I knew what I was doing. But I learned my lesson. I got to start writing stuff down! My head is full of fluff!

Last Monday Steve and I had dinner with his boss's boss and some new people who have moved to Singapore on behalf of the company. They insisted we go to a Japanese restuarant. I had tempura shrimp and fried potato salad. No Kidding. Honestly, it was potato salad they had deep fried. Delicious. Never heard of that. Steve had soup with those shrimp with eyeballs swimming in it. To each their own.

I wanted to go to my bookclub at this lady's house so I took a taxi. Little did I know that the Chinese taxi driver knew less than me and I knew nothing. He drove up to Robertson Quay, the sign, at the Sinagpore River and said get out. I said this didn't look like an apartment building to me. So I got out and carried the address to about twenty people, all who gave me different directions to go in. Oops. Now a half an hour had passed, I was still at the river with a very black cloud over my head, and no closer to getting to the bookclub. A man at the back of an hotel saw me and motioned me over. I thought I sure do stick out like a sore thumb! Lost? You bet, sir. He had no idea either but he lead me inside the hotel (It had become white with a monsoon rain outside) and the man there ran me off a map. I tried and tried to call the lady whose apartment I was going to when I finally realized my phone was dead. Now what? I was long gone from where I was supposed to be and they were still pointing me in the wrong direction-according to the map they had just given me! A taxi drove up to the hotel and I jumped in. Home, James. I got home alive and dry. I called the lady from the apartment and she said no one had trouble-they had all taken taxis. Good for them. Wish they had picked me up as they seemed to know where they were going.

I learned my lesson. Make sure they know where you are trying to get to or all is lost before you even start. And make sure your phone is working. I had it fixed today! Tammy and I heading out to unknown territory tomorrow and I don't want to get stuck.

At night, Steve and I have been walking around the botantical gardens for exercise. We happened upon these cacti that people had been carving on. See, graffiti is a big offense. No one wanted to deface the park but I see they had no fear of attacking an innocent cacti that couldn't fight back. No one would dare to carve up a tree (planted by the Prime Minister himself!) I suppose the police traced the initials and caned the offenders. Or made them sit on cacti.

Well, the saddest thing has happened. My favorite store, This Fashion, is going bankrupt and closing. Seems they are in debt. This store was a brainstorm of some guy who copied run way designs, bought cheap fabrics and sent the designs to China for inexpensive knockoffs. He made a mint selling designer clothes at $20 a pop. I certainly have a very cool wardrobe because of him that I get all kinds of compliments on. They think I have gone to Mango or something where they sell a $10 blouse for $240. Oh well, times change. Soon I'll be back at Walmart and my usual sucky stock of clothes that I can afford. But for awhile, I lived like a queen . . .