Number Thirty

So this is my 30th post on my blog! Very exciting, it's almost like I've actually accomplished something. I will dedicate this post to my sister, who also recently celebrated something to do with the number thirty.

Saturday morning we got a treat, our care package from home finally came! We had been anxiously waiting for it, since we ordered new DVDs to watch, and mom promised to add some goodies to the box. Our moms have been so sweet, sending us things from home, especially since shipping is ridiculously expensive. Mike's mom sent us new sheets, which we immediately put to use. Ikea may make great furniture, but their sheets are weirdly scratchy and uncomfortable. Mom went all out, and got us new soap, new toothbrushes, and new deodorant, which we definitely need. For some reason, deodorant sticks here are really tiny, they're short and thin compared to what we're used to. It's like doll deodorant. You'd think since it's so hot here, they'd want massive, extra strength deodorant, but I guess that's just wishful thinking. Anyway, thanks for the packages moms! It's almost like being back home, when we used to steal things like soap and toilet paper and food to avoid going shopping.

We went to a barbecue this weekend that two of our new friends were throwing. One of Mike's co-workers, Nick, just got a job in New Zealand and will be leaving our little island for another, bigger island, so he and his girlfriend hosted a farewell barbecue. I'll miss them, but I could tell they were both pretty happy to be going closer to home. It was a fun mishmash of people, lots of Australians, a couple Canadians, one more American besides us, and a lone Swede. Poor little Swede, I think he's suffering the most from culture shock and seems a little down. Or maybe that's just the Nordic personality.

It was bring your own meat, since meat gets pretty pricey here, but Nick made a bunch of chicken wings for everyone. Mike and I decided to celebrate the Fourth of July early, and brought burgers and potato salad. There were some local flavors added in too; in addition to burgers, steaks, wings, and chips, someone brought prawn crackers and crunchy seaweed.

It's funny, whenever we're hanging out with people who aren't from Singapore, all our conversations inevitably devolve into what foods we miss the most from home. It goes: talking about work, talking about movies, talking about home, FOOD. I think it must be a universal thing. According to Paul the Aussie, there's an Outback restaurant in Australia, but it's not like Outback Steakhouse; apparently it's like Medieval Times but with Australian cowboys instead of knights. I would very much like to go. We had a lot of fun grossing people out with tales of terrible-for-you Southern food, like biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, and Chuy's big as your face burritos. Gee, I wonder why obesity is such a problem in our country....Paul looked particularly horrified when I told him about sweet potato fries dusted with brown sugar. "Why would you want to go and ruin a perfectly good chip?" was his reaction. Now, I don't even care for sweet potato fries, but I feel that people who eat Vegemite are in NO position to judge.

Down Time

Sorry for the delay in posting, we've been a little under the weather, so nothing seemed exciting enough to write about. But my good friend Laura (aka the cat whisperer) informed me that she was impatiently waiting for a new post, even if said post ended up being mostly about making tea and soup.

So Mike caught a cold, and he's been sick all week. This place is so hot and humid, it's basically just one big petri dish, so germs spread pretty quickly. Of course he refuses to take any time off, so I've been trying to cure him through willpower alone. It doesn't help that our AC has been acting like a schizophrenic off his meds. At first it just stopped blowing cold air, so we had to sleep with the fan on high and aimed directly at our faces. Now, getting the AC fixed here is not as easy as it is back home. You don't just call the apartment office and ask someone to come fix it. No, WE are responsible for paying for the repairs, and WE have to call a repair company. I guess it's fair, since we pay so little in rent...wait...

Anyway, our agent recommended a company to call, but he sent Mike a rather ominous text (and I quote):

"Please be very careful. Some contractors here are very unethical. They may cook up stories about parts spoilt and needed to be replaced, to get more money out of your pocket...especially when they see caucasians. Many mechanics and contractors are like this in S'pore."

So naturally, we were pretty scared, but I guess that's just how it is. To be fair, though, mechanics in America aren't exactly known for their honesty either.  Anyway, the guys came and messed around with the unit (thatswhatshesaid), and of course, told me we needed to replace a condenser something-or-other and it would be $80. I tried to tell them we just wanted it serviced, but the guy insisted it wouldn't be cold without this piece. The way I figured, I could say "no, we just want it serviced," pay the $40 and then call another company to come out and service it, but that would be another $40. So I said screw it, I'll just pay the white tax and suck it up.

This would be all well and good, but then the damn thing went crazy again. It didn't stop working, but it started blowing FREEZING air, and we couldn't turn down the temperature. The unit started to drip water, and then giant chunks of ice started falling out of it and shattering on the floor. Mike suggested we make snow cones. I think sleeping in an ice box made him sicker. So we called the guys again, and they came to fix it again, and now I guess we'll see what cruel fate awaits us next. It'll probably catch on fire and shoot bolts of lightening. Clearly, Zeus, king of the Gods, has possessed our AC wall unit. Where's a Greek exorcist when you need one?

So that's been the focus of the past few days, but we did manage to have a nice relaxing weekend. Since Mike was feeling bad, we mostly stayed in. We've been craving Tex-Mex like crazy, so Sunday we got to work and spent all day making carnitas. It was a lengthy process, since we had to make everything from scratch, including tortillas and salsa. I don't know how the hell women used to do all this before packaged food and restaurants. Just cooking one meal from scratch was exhausting and hot, I can't imagine having to do that three times a day for a bunch of ungrateful men folk. They must have spent all damn day in the kitchen. I would probably end up putting arsenic in the mashed potatoes. Just further proof I was not cut out for the frontier life. Also, I got a pretty horrible chili oil burn on my hand. That one's on me, though, I should have known better than to cut up chilies without protection. It felt like I was wearing a glove made of FIRE. But it was totally worth it, because the food came out delicious and our Tex-Mex taste buds are satiated for now. Or at least till next weekend, when we'll probably make them again. Seriously, they came out really good.

Also Mike got new swim trunks. Hooray! The only thing I think he's missing is a cape. To be continued...

Why, Singapore?

I'd like to introduce you to a new segment of my blog, entitled "Why, Singapore?" Think of it as a sort of list of grievances to counterbalance all the good things about this place.

Today's "Why, Singapore?" was inspired by an insipid commercial that is DRIVING ME INSANE. The thing about Singapore TV is that they have very few commercials. No car ads, no movie trailers, no jingles for McDonald's or the like. The only commercials I've seen are for Dettol (the Asian equivalent of Clorox), Dove shampoo, and Febreeze. Mostly what they play are advertisements for other shows, often ones that were canceled back home, like the unasked-for remake of Knight Rider. Now, this may seem like a good thing--oh yay, fewer commercials, more TV--but NO. What actually happens is that the same commercials get played over and over and over, until Mike and I can't get them out of our brains.

There's the repeated ad for NCIS that plays "Sex Bomb" by Tom Jones. A weird one for Law and Order: SVU that markets the show as a comedy. A badly dubbed commercial for toothpaste.

But the worst offender by far is the one they play the most often, on every channel. I swear I see this damn thing at least ten times a day, and it burrows into your mind. I have taken to angrily muting and yelling at the TV whenever it comes on. Watch the following about 15 times in a row, and you'll get what I'm experiencing.

http://www.singaporesports.sg/cheerSG.aspx

I don't what's more offensive: the song, the dance (and I use that term lightly), or the dude's hair. All I know is that this is, without a doubt, the most annoyed I've ever been by a commercial.

This has been "Why, Singapore?"

Branching Out, Staying In

Tuesday night Mike got us tickets from work to go see Prince of Persia. (Yay perks!) I had extremely low expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, although apparently in Hollywood, white man plus eye liner equals Persian. Poor Iranians, but I think I'd still take Jake Gyllenhaal in make-up over the weirdly voiced drag queen from 300 to represent my people. We sneaked in some candy, forgetting that everyone brings food into the theaters here, but it added an element of intrigue. After the movie, we ran into one of Mike's co-workers and his girlfriend and went to get a drink at a food stand around the corner. I had to use one the outdoor bathrooms by a 7-11, which was one of the more terrifying experiences of my life. Everything was dripping wet, since the preferred method of cleaning here is to just hose everything down. I don't know whether it was the combination of beer and candy, or just that we don't drink as much as we used to, but man did I feel like crap the next day. No more Toblerone for me, thanks.

So tonight is our first attempt at making Thai food at home. Mike has made it before, so he's going to show me how. Up till now, we've mostly stuck with easy things, like pasta or pizza, since our kitchen isn't as fully equipped as one back home. We're planning on making green curry chicken, which we both really like. Sure, we could just go to a hawker stand and get some for cheap, but that's not the point. The point is for me to figure out how to make it at home, so I can impress people when we move back and be obnoxious about how worldly we are. "Oh, well, when we lived in SINGAPORE, we used to get this all the time. It's a very common SINGAPOREAN dish. It might be too spicy for you, since we like to make it the way they do in SINGAPORE. Would you like some chopsticks?" Man, people are going to hate me.

So first things first, we went to Tampines to stock up on ingredients. All the Asian spices that are so hard to find back home are in abundance here. And super cheap, too, which seems amazing considering how much cinnamon is. We got kaffir lime leaves, bird's eye chillies, coconut milk, lemongrass, and curry paste. Then we got a bunch of vegetables and chicken, forgetting that eggplant is heavy and we had to walk home.

One thing that sucks about our kitchen: no air conditioning. While this does make it feel more authentic when cooking Thai food, it's also really freaking hot in there. It's like being in a delicious smelling sauna. I took some pictures to document our progress, and we look drenched in all of them. At least my heat rash has gone away....for NOW.

I have to say, the curry turned out so unbelievably good. It was sweet and spicy, and the chicken just fell apart as soon as I bit into it. I'm very impressed with Mike's Thai cooking skills, which he probably should have hid better. Now I'm going to make him make this all the time. Live and learn.

Streets Ahead

We spent most of today running across Singapore trying to find all the places we've been meaning to go but haven't gotten around to yet. It was satisfying, but it's the end of the day and my feet are killing me and I have a heat rash spreading across my chest. Lovely. I am such a classy woman.

First we went to Bras Basah, which is a very eclectic and arty section of Singapore. The Bras Basah Complex has five stories of used book stores, art supplies, and music shops. It's pretty much right up our alley. We were in desperate need of a trip to this place, since Mike has been bored without a sketchbook in the evenings, and I've gone through twelve books since we got here. We've seen other book stores, but new books in Singapore cost around $17, which just doesn't work for me. We found a great little shop called Evernew, where we picked up six used books for $10. I'm super excited, and I got a pretty good variety of overly-indulgent mystery, hokey fantasy, and genuine literature. We discovered the Singapore version of Michael's on the third floor, the only thing it's lacking is that weird dusty perfume smell. They have clay and paint and brushes and those little food erasers my mother is so fond of. Mike got a new sketchpad and pencils and pens, and immediately started sketching when we got to our next stop....

Arab Street! I've been wanting to go back there for awhile, since I didn't bring the camera last time. Something about this area is just so peaceful, it's completely unlike the rest of the city. The shop keepers don't hassle you, there aren't very many people around to jostle you, and the view of the mosque through the palm trees is breathtaking. I think this might be one of my favorite places here, it's small and secluded, and I just feel comfortable there. Everyone takes their time to stroll down the road, and that sense of calmness is infectious. Mike was hungry, so he sat at the restaurant we went to last time, Deli Morocco, and ordered us some chicken tajin and sketched while I browsed along the row of shops. I found a place full of handmade Malay artwork and crafts; it had swords and creepy looking shadow puppets as well as toys and instruments made from things like coconut shell and wood. It's just like being at World Market, but I finally won't feel stupid buying a frog made out of bamboo.

Our last stop was not very exciting, but Mike has been in sore need of a pair of clippers. His strong, manly beard has been growing at an alarming rate, and simple razors are no match for such thick masculine bristles. So we braved the mall on a Saturday, which was less than fun, but we got out with what we came for. We also picked up some Magnum Gold?! (seriously, that's how it's punctuated in the ads with Benidio Del Toro) ice cream bars, which sound like condoms but are indeed as delicious as Mr. Del Toro claims they are.

Also, on the walk home, we passed a family walking with their two kids, and Mike scared the little girl and she screamed. I think she thought he was an ogre. It really made my day complete.