Nesting

Not to break the fourth wall or get too meta, but I just wanted to say hello to everyone reading this blog. Considering I was excited to have 5 people interested in my nonsense, it's pretty astounding to have 22 followers. And that is not at all negated by the fact that I am related to most of you. So thank you for reading along, it makes it feel a lot less like I'm yelling into the darkness. I think that's why I always had a problem with diaries; it's like you're talking to yourself about yourself. I know myself quite well, and I'm not that entertaining. I can talk to my reflection, but it's going to be a boring conversation. At least when I had an imaginary friend, she had a different personality. Her name was Ari, and she was naughty. Anyway, I'm glad I have an audience to direct my inane ramblings at; as long as you keep reading, I'll keep babbling.

We found this little chain of stands called Old Chang Kee, which is kind of like Singapore comfort food. Everything is breaded and fried, so obviously it's good. They have fried shrimp on a stick, which Mike is partial to, and we're both obsessed with these little pies they have, called Curry Os. It has a flaky outer crust stuffed with potatoes and eggs in curry, and it's absolutely delicious. They're really addictive, and now every time I go to the grocery store I reward myself with one. Luckily, they have them at pretty much every subway station, so no matter where I go I can get my fix.

We've been searching for some lamps for the last week and a half or so, but we hadn't been able to find them anywhere. We looked at two different malls, but no luck. We finally gave in, and set aside Saturday for will hopefully be our last trip to Ikea. I'm fairly certain now that this store is actually a massive psychological experiment dreamed up in equal parts by Stockholm scientists and Loki, the Norse trickster god. We, the unsuspecting public, are the rats placed in this giant maze, and they're trying to see how long it takes us to either figure out the exit or turn on each other in desperation. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to navigate that damn place. It doesn't help that Singaporeans have a habit of buying their children shoes that squeak every time they take a step. I can deal with those blinking lights shoes, I can even handle those moronic shoes with wheels, but I draw the line at shoes that make a high pitched squeal with every step. Do you know how fast kids have to walk to keep up? Because I sure as hell do now. I don't know what parent would willingly place those on a child's feet. They must be sadists. All I know is that Mike and I were ready to kill this adorable little girl if she didn't stop running around squeaking up a storm.

We got our lamps and high tailed it out of there as fast as possible. I think our apartment is now pretty much as homey as we can make it. We got a big bed spread to drape over our couch so we'll stop sticking to it. Who buys a leather couch in this climate anyway? I felt like a giant suction cup on that thing. But it's cozy with the cover, and we got some pillows and a rug. The lamps help a lot, and now I can read in bed with out the overhead light bothering Mike. It's strange; we'll be watching TV or reading on the couch, and I'll forget that we live in a different country. I think the honeymoon phase is officially over, though it's still nice to think that we can go explore new parts of Singapore and hack our way through the jungle. But now that we're settled, there's a real comfort in being able to stay home and eat pasta while watching a movie. I know we could be doing something more exciting, but to be honest, we've always been happiest at home. And besides, excitement...that's what weekends are for.