Our 1st meal in the apt. with real glasses & real flatware. The eggplant casserole turned out pretty good.

See, a real spoon (not plastic!)

Study/Guest Room -- See, it's inviting you!

See my "new" chest of drawers from Guardian Angel Thrift Store in NC. Very nice to have clothes in drawers instead of in a suitcase on the floor.

We've slept on our beds now for the 1st time in 2 1/2 months, & we're liking that quite well.

Carrie's Room

Moving in, Aug. 28, 2008

US shipment has arrived, Thurs., August 28, 5 weeks after our arrival

Eight Fingers & Two Thumbs

I was invited to play table tennis with the other R&D groups today at Choa Chu Kang Sports Center. In the late eighteenth century or the early nineteenth century, the Sultan of Johor allowed the Chinese immigrants to plant "ganmi" and pepper along the river bank. These immigrants were called "Kangchu" - the word "kang" means river and "chu" is the clan name of the first headman in charge of the plantations. Its no longer rural with lots of housing and even its own MRT (train) station. We had a good time and my table tennis skills were well tested! On the bus back, Peter, an elderly man began to ask me about the Singapore Table Tennis Team -- big news since they won a Silver medal at this year's Olympics. I thought they did well - just need more experience and offered how pleasant and outgoing Singaporeans are. Well at that moment the magic happened again in his reply: "Singaporeans are 8 fingers and 2 thumbs." I had to digest that, but I think he was saying that only a few are outgoing -- most beneficial, like thumbs. What a nice way to ride!

Junction 8 in Bishan

Food Courts are everywhere in Singapore. Cuisine is inexpensive, and it covers the earth from east to west -- sometimes with interesting outcomes. In this food court, located at Junction 8 in Bishan, you can find a Japanese meal which takes traditional Chicken & Rice and adds an omelet on top of the rice. Singaporeans claim chicken and rice as a national dish and its ubiquitous here. The omelet adds a nice twist. The Junction 8 Food Court is one of the nicer ones -- fluorescent lights in the tables. Its busy for dinner tonight. The first order of business is to find a table, then take turns getting food. Oops, Carrie's done -- off we go!

Wii--Too!!

Well, we finally got it going after a short visit to the Internet for some help. Carrie has been bowling and playing baseball. There's plenty more for her to explore and we've heard she can play on the Internet with friends. Good thing, she was missing them today we think. The Wii might help or it might trigger some good memories for her. Either way, its not all bad to remember loved ones and good times together.

Wii!!!

Some pictures speak for themselves. Tune in for a future update to this one!

Your Big Chance

Adventures come at surprising times -- more so when you're in contact with local folks day to day. This, and the exercise of walking between transit stops keep me using the public system -- its also less inexpensive. Today on the bus a Chinese man passionately conversing in that tongue looked over and asked "Are you American or British?" When I answered he diatribed on the virtues of Obama for president and asked me to encourage my British friends to write their Labor Party to limit the erosion of representatives from Parliament (before its too late)! About half-way into this dialog many were laughing around us. I agreed to pass the information along -- so to my British friends: please see his note -- this is your big chance. And.... I must confess how much I enjoyed talking with him.

Its Durian-Time

Thanks to my good friend Dan formaking us aware of this local delicacy. In my experience, nothing polarizes people more than Durians!

From Wikopedia: The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Regarded by some as fragrant, others as overpowering and offensive, the smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia. Writing in 1856, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace provides a much-quoted description of the flavour of the durian:

“

The five cells are silky-white within, and are filled with a mass of firm, cream-coloured pulp, containing about three seeds each. This pulp is the edible part, and its consistence and flavour are indescribable. A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed.

”

While Wallace cautions that "the smell of the ripe fruit is certainly at first disagreeable", later descriptions by westerners are more graphic. British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory."^[16] Chef Andrew Zimmern compares the taste to "completely rotten, mushy onions."^[17] Anthony Bourdain, while a lover of durian, relates his encounter with the fruit as thus: "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."^[18] Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:

“	... its odor is best described as pig-dung turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away.

August Festivities in Holland Village

We stopped back by "Holland V" as its called locally to get some groceries and other odds and ends. Walking around we came upon this event in preparation -- this is a tent if you can believe it. On the table in front see preparations for the "Hungry Ghost." August is Hungry Ghost month. Deceased relatives that are not given the proper send-off into the next life (and I think this necessarily involves the firstborn son) wander the earth creating difficulties for those of us that remain. To appease them, fruits are offered in August to the "Hungry Ghosts." -- you can see them on the table in front. Apparently, the ghosts consume the spirit essence because the fruits can be eaten following the ceremonies.

The Birds

Well, Things do get "interesting" at times don't they? Carrie is attracting a crowd -- and she's not sure what to do about it. Then a crowd of photographers appeared around her and she was getting flashed at and squawked at from many directions. It was all great fun!

Jurong Bird Park

One of the really nice things here is the exotic wildlife that can be viewed in the zoo, the bird park, and other places on the Island. A lot of thought goes into the exhibits and you really can interact with the creatures. Here Carrie is feeding a Lori in the Lori Loft at the Bird Park.

from the wet market to the apt. on Aug. 2, 2008

dragon fruit

enjoying our beautiful floors

Singapore Symphony Orchestra at Botanical Gardens

Impressive! This is my 1st blog entry. Don't know about living up to Glenn's expectations. This is also a picture from my new mobile phone. Also impressive. John McC, doesn't the Pepsi look quite inviting! BTW, all the red is for National Day here in Singapore.

Carrie Chows Down

You can see that Carrie is enjoying certain aspects of the wet market -- like her dad. BTW, you can see papaya off to the side -- our fruit and desert course from the wet market.

The "Wet Market" (Seafood)

Glenn experienced the"Wet Market" last week just across the street from where we live. We found some good deals on seafood which is one of the less-expensive items in the meat category. So, we purchased some shrimp which were stir fried with tai shim (spelling?) -- a leafy green veg which seems to be a relative of our beloved Swiss Chard.

Here We Go

Well, there is much we could relate about why we left our long time home in North Carolina for Singapore, how we got here, travel items... The reality is that we're still not settled in, and with everything else in motion, or needing to be in motion we'd never start communicating. So, we're going to jump in, into the flow and see how it goes...trusting to the wonders of Google's blogging software. Deep inside, my hope is that the better half who has real writing talent will pick this up and then, you will be more enjoyably entertained.

We passed a great milestone yesterday! After almost 2 weeks here with no local phone number we now have a local mobile number. Those of you who know Charlene may be amused by the picture of her near to the cellphone manual -- now proud owner of a Nokia 6500! This phone has a reasonably nice camera so no excuses for not communicating.