Got hit by the little bolster of my playmat, my landlord's kid, the other day. It was quit painful. I really wished that I was introduced to bolster when I was young. Then I will have no problem winning those nasty pillow fights. Remember the one we had, Chris? Only if I had a bolster.. Oh boy.. you would have been pancaked 8-) Bolster can be quite useful, someone replied that it can straighten your sleeping posture. You can also use it as a back rest. It can also end world hunger 8-)
It was Valentine's day last Monday. Bought half of a dozen of roses for S$35 dollars. It's expensive, normally it would be much less. But not as much compared to the States. Too bad it was done as a favor for a friend. What I would do for a friend.. sigh.. Valentine is not that big here yet in S'pore compared to the States. But I am sure it will pick up just like Japan for business reason.
I already have some complaints. I can never figure out which side of the sidewalk to walk on in S'pore. I heard the offical side is left, but you don't see that in practice. Maybe it's because you don't get fined for walking on the wrong side, or because there are so many foreigners like me 8-) The only way to walk is to look for empty spots and go for it aggresively. It takes some practice. I don't recall having some much trouble walking in New York during rush hour. Mainly because people generally keep to the right side. Unless if a cab is coming toward you at high rate of speed, then you tend to get away from the sidewalk 8-)
Since I am on the subject of side, I still can't get used to which side to look while crossing the road. I am so used to looking right.. or is it left.. no...wait.. Well, I am just so confused at this point I simply look both sides before I cross. The other day I was fighting with the driver to get into the passenger side of the car. Well, at least it's the correct side in the States 8-)
Then there are things that I really miss, other than cars and houses: David Letterman's top 10 list and Star Trek: TNG. I would really appreciated if someone can send the top 10 list to me once in a while. Granted, it's not always funny, but that's one way I can keep up with the recent events in the States 8-) And Star Trek: TNG, which I hope my brother will tape while I am gone. I actually considered delaying my trip to S'pore because I don't want to miss the very last half season of the show. I think it has gotten much better over the years. Some of the story lines are very thought provoking, like the one when they went to a planet with a society that's socially engineered so efficiently that one person leaving might cause chaos and instablility. Mmm.. That sounded familiar 8-)
Just one more note on the Chinese New Year. Who said Chinese don't eat raw fish? There is something that most S'porean take during the New Year is something call raw fish salad. It's a mix of salad with sweat sauce, limes juice, fried vegis, .. and of course, slices of raw fish. The purpose is to toss it as high as you can when mixing the ingredients. The higher you toss it and better your luck will be for the year. Being a mature adult, we toss it very gently. But I can imaging if I were doing this as a kid 8-) We ordered a set (a set of eight for prosperity) meal for lunch, which include shark fin and all other goodies. It came out to S$40, which is my lunch money for the entire week! I hope I make the money back during the year. Maybe I should go out and buy some 4D 8-)
Ever since I started this series, I have received many questions from people asking about many aspects of S'pore. Therefore, I am trying to come up with a FAQ. If you have any suggestions for questions and/or answers, please email me. I will try to post them, hopefully with answers, in a few weeks or so. Also, I received only one response for a local gathering for the newsgroup. Unless more people respond, I guess I just have to do an unofficial s.c.s gathering with only two people 8-( Please respond if you are interested. And of course, you have to be able to attend. No, the airfare is not included 8-)
