Sundays from Singapore: Land down under

This is the very last Sunday for Singapore post. I don't know why I stopped writing them, but I did. Hope you enjoyed my reliving the biggest adventure of my life.

7/22/2002

I think we are finally done with travel for a while, having spent 2 months in the States, and just now, a week in Sydney, Australia.

My expensive suitcase, bought at one of those chichi luggage stores, looks like it has been used as a soccer ball by the International Elephant League, and is held together by Duck Tape and neon straps. I no longer worry that someone will steal my American-sized clothing, because only a desperate XXXXL woman would acknowledge ownership of such a mortifying valise. You will be please to know , however, that my $15 dung-colored duffle-on-wheels is in fine form, with wheels that roll in the same direction and a handle that fully extends and retracts.

Did you know that you can take a climbing tour of the harbor bridge and walk on the topside of the bridge structure? See those groups of people flanking the flag at the top? I think I'll pass!


Sydney was a marvelous city, and in spite of being the dead of winter there, the weather was gorgeous, and allowed me to wear jeans and long-sleeve shirts for once. Stud Muffin was hosting a four-day meeting, so we camped out in a great hotel in the center of the business district. In most US cities, such a location would afford you a choice of bars, copy shops, and the occasional bookie, but Sydney is more accommodating than this. Within easy reach of my feet were two harbors (including the famed Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House,) shopping, museums, botanical gardens, a major movie (Matrix) shooting location, and assorted cafes. Clothing was expensive, food reasonable, and interesting gift shops and curios abound. In fact, the only drawback to the city center was the annoying habit of everything closing for the night at 5 PM. And I mean everything... including places to eat.

One afternoon, when the girls and I knew we were once again on our own for dinner, we happened upon a cafe in an alleyway surrounded by cute little shops. It was around 4 PM and we knew it was time to start foraging for food to get us through the night. I mean, a Kit Kat bar will only carry you so far, before you start thinking your tennis shoe might taste okay with a little mustard.

So here we were, perusing a menu mounted on a signpost, when a waitress comes up and explains that this menu "no longer applied." Oh goody, I think, since the listed fare was kind of frou-frou and I don't go in for salmon pizza and squid salad (big seafooders, these Aussies!) Maybe there is a more substantial and less pretentious menu for the afternoon. This menu no longer applied, she explained, because the kitchen closed at three! And with that, she hoisted the sign from it's stand and walked off with it.

This left us with a choice of McDonald's, Burger King (sometimes called Hungry Jack's, for no apparent reason,) or the hotel restaurant, which offered kangaroo fillets and emu steaks. The hotel was definitely out, I was filled to overflowing with Burger King's Cinni-minis for breakfast, so McD's it was.

I really wish I could buy commemorative postcards or something showing the local favorites from all the regional McDonald's I have ventured into! That way, you would know I'm really not making this up! In Singapore, we have (oooh, limited time only, rush in today) McSalmon burgers and Black Pepper chicken sandwiches, or for breakfast, the ever popular Curry or Red Bean pies, while Australia has the McOz and the Aussie burger.

I was unable (and unwilling) to discern the difference between these two special offerings, but the Food Pyramid guys will congratulate the Aussies on including almost every known food group in a single sandwich. In addition to the usual and expected beef patty, cheese, some kind of sauce or condiment, and leafy vegetable, these burgers include fried egg, beets, and tomato. I say, add a scoop of ice cream under the top bun for dessert, and I think you've got it covered!

I'm having trouble ordering food in Australia, too. If you want french fries, you must ask for chips, but if you want potato chips, ask for crisps. And don't bother asking what the "tasty cheese" indicated as coming on your sandwich is, or you will get a blank look. Maybe it is a brand name, or maybe it just proudly points out that they have left off the really ripe, super stinky, probably found fermenting in a professional footballer's gym bag, stuff that their competitors use. And all the salads are composed of weeds mowed down from the median strip, but hey, at least they are composting it one way or another.

Food aside, the people we talked to were very friendly, the homegrown boys were proclaimed "yummy" by my teenagers, and the people are ecologically minded, which I appreciate. The toilet, for example, includes two flushing options, a half flush for minor needs, or a full tank flush for more solid waste. Lest you think I show an unnatural obsession for bathroom fixtures, as indicated in previous posts, well, my husband says I never met a hydrant I didn't use.

Me, trying not to look cold on a boat around Sydney in July.

The highlight of the trip (at least for me) was taking the girls to the opera at The opera house shown on every postcard in town. We saw Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe," which is an English language opera involving slutty fairies, members of Parliment, and a Lord Chancellor who appeals to himself for permission to marry a ward of the state, and repeatedly loses the case before himself. Okay, I guess you had to be there.

The girls really enjoyed the evening which included sixth row center seats, and a chance to dress up, but I think their vote for favorite activity was the Jet boat ride around Sydney Harbor. This was a high speed power boat ride which cut radical circles and came to dead stops to allow water to swamp the passengers. Mom, gratefully declined to join then, and was the only dry person walking home!

Everyone enjoyed the trip so much, we think we might go back at Christmas, which in the illogical world in which I live, will finally be summer Down Under. Until then, I will busy myself with washing the "clean me" notices written in dust by some smarty off every surface in the apartment, and preparing for the girls to reenter the school system. In my spare time, I think I will work on a list of other taste treats to present to McDonald's Worldwide, thus starting a new career to fill my empty days. Whadda think of a McSushi sandwich? How about Escargot McNuggets? Or maybe...

Well, I never!

Stud Muffin wandered out after his shower this morning to where I was attempting to focus both eyes together on my email. He asked if I was enrolled in any online courses.

No, why?



Because I thought that was your science experiment going on in the shower!



Later, on the phone, he hoped I got a good grade on my project!

Brat!

Another great day!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here on the farm. Today was no exception. Sorry to all my frozen friends up North, but Spring will get to you too! The weather was so nice, I set my little seedlings (now properly called "plants") out for a little shade bath on the porch of the studio.

Spaghetti squash, cucumbers and tomatoes on the floor.

More tomato plants, cabbages, and peppers on the elephant bed, guarded by wooden chickens.

Close-up of chicken guarding the cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, oh! And Swiss Chard hiding behind the chicken's *behind*!

I planted six different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, but I think I have too many plants! I never expected all of them to germinate!

I worked on installing some metal edging to *try* to keep the grass from invading the shrubs, and after about an hour, the shade bath time was up. Gotta move slowly with little plants! They got some breezes to strengthen their stems and more full spectrum light so their move into the garden won't kill them. Then back into the studio under their lights, while I worked on my Pay It Forward goodies. Bet you guys thought I forgot all about that, huh? Soon.

Before returning to the house, I took a walk to get the mail. Boy, am I glad I did! My package from Julie at Red Hen Studios arrived stuffed full of neat things! I won a give-away she had over at her blog. And, yes, Julie is the same great gal who tagged me yesterday! Lookie here!



There's a handmade tote with a great embroidered hankie top, a framed birthday card (perfect since my birthday is on Monday!) a Mary Englebreit book, some handmade note cards featuring Julie's own photography, a colorful notice of her upcoming show, and this...



I can't believe she could part with this dainty apron with hankies on the bottom, even to someone as deserving as me (*wink*.)
It is so soft and sheer and I love the way it flutters in the breeze. I mentioned my breeze, didn't I?

So I want to thank Julie, very, very much for all the wonderful things! I can't get over your generosity!

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Julie at Red Hen Studios for the six random, definitely not important things about me meme. Julie sews beautiful things like aprons and bunting and sells them at her Etsy shop.

The rules for this are easy:

1. Link to the person that tagged you. (Did it)
2. Post the rules on your blog. (Right here)
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Okay, let's see. I already did 7 weird things about me, so I guess I need to come up with some more.

1. I'm allergic to cashews, and it gets worse each time I have any. The next time will either send me to the hospital or kill me outright. This is only important if you are going to invite me over for dinner! Hint, hint

2. One summer, during high school, I was taking Biology for summer school. I had a pet duckling, named Garth, that rode around with me by standing inside my bra. We were constantly being chased by the librarian who heard quacking. As Garth got bigger, he sorta walked on a leash. He also ate 5 feet of string that I needed for an experiment and got me in trouble. Then he grew up and flew away to chase girls.

3. Another summer, during college, I worked as a showroom model advertising a tourist show while dressed as Carmen Miranda. Full on get up, with flowing gold lame skirt, lots of leg showing, and a basket of fruit on my head. I stood close to 7 feet tall in that outfit. If I had a nickel for every photo that was taken of me that summer, I'd still be a rich woman.

4. Barack Obama was a year behind me in high school at Punahou School in Hawaii. Never knew him, but remember a skinny black kid running around when there weren't may African-Americans in the school.

5. I put my way through college partly by working in a rat lab, cleaning cages and checking heart rates on post-surgical rats. Rats have very fast heart rates, for those of you who need to know. Got bit my first day on the job by a rat whose surgery DID NOT make him mellow as planned!

6. When I got married and started thinking about having kids, I always wanted girls. I got two perfect, beautiful daughters that are my pride and joy. They crack me up everyday!

So there you go! More useless information about moi. Now we get to hear out of some others... hmmm. I think I'll tag:

Kelly at Whirlwind Lodge

And

Letitah at Fabriquer

Everyone else I *know* well enough to tag, I have already tagged before. So just join in the fun, if you haven't been named!

Saving the Buggy

Remember when I said that we had to abandoned the Bad Boy Buggy after the snow storm? Well, we decided we needed to save it before any more wet weather came our way. So, I went to the local Co-op and bought 4 bales of straw to fill in the eroding road bed. I felt like I was driving a parade float around town with my bales sprinkling bits of straw like confetti wherever I went!

We had to leave the buggy when the road eroded so much that we couldn't keep all four wheels on firm ground going up hill.

One of many erosion spots.

Roadway has shrunk to about 3 feet wide here.

Stud Muffin considering the problem.

First bale in, providing stability for Stud Muffin to drive over the hole.

Additional bales in other cave-ins.

This is where the buggy was originally parked. Even more bales here.

This is only a stop-gap measure, until we can get someone out to help us re-engineer the road and we get in some really big truck loads of rock!

And since I know how interested you all are in food (still), I made some more bread this morning.



I used my sourdough starter that I have been nurturing for a week or so now. It smells very "sour", but mostly it tastes like good fresh bread! But so good with butter!! Want a slice?

Sundays from Singapore: Cellular phones

Photo by jonjon2k8

1/7/2002

Let's talk about cell phones for a minute. In Singapore, they are known as hand phones. I don't know why since I rarely use another appendage to operate one. Hmmmm. Maybe ear phone would be more accurate.

But anyway, Singaporeans are addicted to their cell phones. Almost everyone over the age of nine or ten has one, they almost all use a handsfree earpiece and microphone, and they are on it constantly. I am beginning to wonder if when children register for kindergarden, they don't get one permanently installed at the same time. "Here's your 40 pounds backpack, your uniform of the blobbiest shape and most horrific color we could find, and your surgically implanted cell phone. Welcome to grade school!"

People walk around town with a thin wire dangling from their ear. It is very disconcerting to be in a quiet elevator with other people and have one of them startle you by talking to nobody! At first you think that you must have jostled them and they are chewing you out, then conclude they are receiving alien transmissions, and finally take note of the cable sprouting from their head. Ah ha! I have practically started arguments with taxi drivers, insisting that yes, I do want to go to where ever I just said, only to find out, much to my chagrin, that they aren't the least bit interested in talking to me, but rather, someone more important who isn't even in the car!

This wire-in-the-ear look constantly reminds me of those dolls that jump when you pull the string hanging out of them. If I were to pull on somebody's earphone, do you think their hair would stand straight up on end?? Would their eyes bug out and could I hear that Awhooga sound like in the cartoons? Might be worth running for my life just to see and hear all of that.

I suppose I wouldn't mind the overwhelming number of cell phones in use here, if I wasn't frequently inconvenienced by them. Like walking along the street behind someone and having them pull to a dead stop because of something someone on their phone just said to them. Or the fact that nobody turns the phone off when they go to the movies. If it rings during the show, they just talk loud enough to be clearly heard over the 180 decibel Surround Sound in the theater. And I'm quite sure I don't want to know all the details of their lives, either!

Everyday, the newspaper advertises all the competing cell phone companies, with half page ads imploring you to switch to their superior service or upgrade to a phone no bigger than a credit card, never mind that your current phone lets you choose from 35 preprogrammed rings and message waiting tones. Their new and improved phones lets the user with nothing else going in their life to compose and download their own music to alert them to a call!

You can play games on your phone, change the screen saver cartoon character or message anytime, or you can send Short Text Messages (SMS) to one or many people in a chat room. You can do telephonic SMS blind dating, make a restaurant reservation, or as one ad shows, indicate to your friend that they forgot to zip up their pants, all without uttering a word. Of course, by requiring you to push all the microscopic buttons to compose a message, you certainly can't be expected to keep walking too!

If that weren't enough, there are now vending machines in the MRT stations that will allow you to make purchases using your cell phone. The charge is put on your phone bill so you don't have to have the money right on hand. Maybe someday soon, I can just point and click my grocery order and have it delivered while I am drinking my cellular soda and picking up strange men in a phone chat room.

Now, I will be the first to admit that a cell phone is a wonderful tool. I like the security of knowing that should I need help, I don't have to find a phone except at the bottom of my purse. The girls each have one and it has greatly enhanced their freedom of movement around town. As long as I can reach them by phone, everyone gets along.

My phone here even works in the US, although I was a little paranoid the first time I turned it on in Arizona and got a text message saying, "Have a wonderful time in America from Singtel!" I hadn't told them of my vacation plans! How did they know? I finally figured out from my vantage point in the shrubs that nobody was spying on me, it's just that my phone had to locate a new network and it will establish that I was home in the US. However, I think that one greeting of the sort was enough. I really didn't need their best wishes for a happy vacation every time I went to use the phone!

Just as email has taken over from the snail mail system, cell phones are eliminating the need for land line phones. How else can my husband reach me in the toilet or while trying to balance a tray loaded with fast food in a crowded mall without a wireless contraption? It's a bit like belling the cat, isn't it? No matter where you are or what you are doing, if you have one of these gizmos and it's turned on, you have to spend time in elevator shafts and lower level car parks (parking garages.) I'm getting better at answering it before the 12th ring and subsequent voicemail recording, or before my purse vibrates off of the table, but I don't think I will ever become a complete aficionado. I am still partial to bellowing upstairs for the girls, and using my mother's time tested call, "Soo Wee, pig, pig, pig!" to get the family running from all parts of the neighborhood. No cell phone message or fast food purchase can replace my enjoyment of my children's horror-stricken faces when summoned to dinner in the old-fashioned way!

Shop Update Again!

I'm having so much fun with this! A couple of new things for the shop. Comments, criticism, whatever, welcome!

Google is having a server problem, so you will have to go to the shop to see pictures!