Super Saturday

Yesterday was a great day.  We started the day off by going to a garage sale with a TON of sewing supplies.  For those of you that have no idea what a garage sale is, it is where you get all the junk together that is cluttering your house and toss it in the garage or carport with prices on each item - then advertise you are having a garage sale.  People see you are getting rid of your loot and they come by to see if your trash is their treasure.  

Well Steph and I found a lot of treasures at this garage sale!  They had thousands of patterns, buttons, zippers, thread, notions, quilting whatever-you-call-its and material.  We had a blast and only wished we had gone earlier!

After the digging around in that loot, we ran to McDonald's to meet papa and pR, then off to the soccer game.  Can you tell which little one our grand daughter is?

Yeah, she has her dad's taste in dressing... lol... she is the one with the stripes!  She planned on wearing those tights later with a skirt and blouse that matched them, but she got hot, shucked the britches, and wore the tights with her shorts.. and this is what she looked like before the matching outfit... so cute - and so pR!!

I glanced over and thought how lucky I was to be with the girls - I sure wish it was as easy to be with our guys...
 

Aren't they cute?
 

After the soccer game, we ran over to Southdown to see the craft show.  Lots of great things there, but I have no where to put loot so I didn't buy anything.  Raelee got her hair colored though!

I am pretty proud of that 'do - I am the one that started spraying color in her hair - and we did it all the time!  She wasn't too sure about it then though  ;-)

But wasn't she adorable?

Wonder what A would look like with green hair and M with pink hair? (Those are/were their favorite colors)

It is like I am in a different world right now - still caught between the two; Singapore and the states.  I will find my balance soon, but things are sooo.... hmmm, how do I say it?  "Same, same - but different!"  Another perfect place to use this saying...  I don't feel the same as I did when I came back for visits - I feel like I am not a part of this life any more but for no specific reason; like I don't belong here but don't know where I belong...  Not sure why... it is just weird. 

I went to the first Dr this last Friday.  She looked over all the tests and asked why they didn't diagnose me with pancreatitis in Singapore.  Ummm, I dunno... I am not a Dr...  !!

She said it is pretty obvious to her that I have chronic pancreatitis.  She said that the first week or two of pancreatitis the pancreatic numbers are high, but they later level off and go back to normal, however the damage is done to your pancreas and that is where the pain comes in - and it continues to deteriorate.  She put me on pancreatic enzymes (but forgot to put the dosage) and a pain med.  She said to take them both.  Since she forgot to put the dosage, I have to wait until tomorrow to start them, but we shall see.  I do intend to go to a GI Dr for a second opinion this next week.  Reading up on it, she may have very well hit the nail on the head.  

Seeing what the internet (shouldn't be reading that right?) says about the prognosis is quite disturbing to me, but I have to look forward and not worry about the consequences of what has been... and she did say, that my initial problem probably started with that food poisoning that I had in March of 2009.  I do not drink, k?  I am still hurting just as much, but of course I have not started the medicines yet.  I am apprehensive about taking the pain meds.  I don't even take them when I have surgery, but she said I need to take them to see how it affects my pain.  I know Tylenol and Mortin do not even phase it.  Since I want to get rid of the pain, I will try it... but we shall see...

Steve is leaving for Pascagoula today.  He has that little survey to do on a rig there and will be back later in the week.  I will be at the camper on my own!  I bet I will be just fine  :-)  

Now, if I could just find my sewing machine... I would love to sew with the girls... make Christmas gifts.

PS:  I am freezing my toot-toot off over there - but I am not complaining.  I am wishing some of this cool to my friends on the flip side.  I know you are all smothering.  I feel your pain... and I love my cold!  Off to dust the frost off my car - I saw a picture yesterday I just have to get!   :-P

Our New Home

For now, we have parked our camper in a campground and paid for one month.  We still have no idea where we are going, so this is now home:

Complete with Louisiana Cypress trees, Spanish moss and of course skeeter ponds.  ;-)  After this rain we had (which brought a cool front by the way - YAY!) we are surrounded by puddles.  I am sure the skeeters will find them soon.

Last night in the middle of the night, a large critter skittered across our camper.  I have no idea what it was, but thinking a raccoon.  It was fun to listen to it slipping around up there.  The host at the campground told us they had a black bear here last week... so I didn't go out to check on the critter, just in case.  I am just telling myself it was a coon... and I really think it was... lol...

Before we left Singapore, Steve had to go say goodbye to work.  He walked in his office to do something, and waved a final goodbye to his colleagues: 

Henry, he stopped at your desk and said good luck!  He is gonna miss solving problems in the same room with you - but he is just an e-mail away.  No cussing though, you hear?

He also told his board goodbye - someone special had some fun with him:
 

I think we need to call for a remake!  He is missing it already...  lol...

This is one reason I love Steve; he left Diane flowers.  I had to leave them behind and he immediately thought of her:
 

Since he can't be there to annoy you D, he can at least make you smile every now and again... 

We also had to tell our little neighbor goodbye.  How can you resist this sweet face?

We loved hearing his chatter; from the moment the lift opened to his door he would squeal and chatter - he lives life in fast forward and we enjoyed living next door to such him, his mommy and daddy.  S and Y, we are missing you already!

For our last night in Singapore, we went and ate Chili/Pepper crab with friends Ken and Debby;

 Waving at Ken and Debby here... you are soon to follow though - look ahead, k?

And here is a picture of us the night before we left:
 

It was a great night out and we have enjoyed our evening with Debbi and Ken.  We played Mahjong with them often on the weekends, so we are gonna miss that fun.  It has been a great experience being their neighbors; Deb and I would go to Bible study together, shop together, and watch each other's place when one of us was gone.  I am bummed to have left friends, but as an expat we know life with friends is a revolving door... constantly changing; new ones coming and old ones leaving...  

 

Gotta say, I had to laugh at what we didn't eat:

Nope, no live frogs buttered, fried or gingered...

Off to run errands.  We still have to get the camper organized, but we are well on the way to the adventures of life on the road. Always looking ahead... warm memories in my heart.

We Have Parked Our Camper :-)

More later, but we found a nice little campground near our daughter and parked the camper for a month.  We will see what happens then.  Still haven't heard where we will go, but I am still not concerned.

I will post pictures tomorrow, but I have to tell you, I am enjoying being with our girls so much!  I wish I felt better, but I am at least here.  Since we just found a place for the camper and are somewhat settled, I will call for a Drs appointment for Friday or Monday and start the process of figuring out my side.  I am confident they will figure it out - it hurts on a 10 scale at an 8 all the time now.  I have barely slept for 2 nights  :-(  Of course, I am sure the restlessness is somewhat related to what is going on in our lives, but I do lay there scared out of my wits about what is going on inside of me.  I will go in right away now that I have a place to live settled.  Will keep you posted.  Also will post another blog tomorrow and maybe you will get some pictures of our swamp camp.  

Send cool weather, ok?  It is fall already!

The Ultimate Junk Store... Dinky Di Store

At the intersection of these two streets:

Across the street from Raffles Hospital...

In this building:

Right next to this bus stop:

Is this store:

In this store is a narrow walk:

A very narrow walk... lol...

To this huge pile of... treasures?

Enter at your own risk.  Take skinny bags, bulky ones will be a hazard to you - or the loot.  Take only one friend.  If you take two, one will have to wait outside.  There is no room one, much less two. Three is out of the question. 

The best way to shop?

Window shopping of course!

Do you need to call to see if he will be in?

Have fun!  If you find something wonderful can you let me know?  

When you leave his store, walk out the door, to the left.  Go down a few doors - I didn't count.  There is a linen place that was closed that sure looked fun, and the prices?  Surely, they cannot be right - I can afford them!  Lol... Check it out for me too, please?  

American's Moving to Singapore - Things to Know

Things to know/check for when you are looking for a place to live:

~You don't have to live in the Orchard Road area.  Some people love it.  Some would rather live in other places.  You will adapt no matter where you are.  Agents see American's and think you want to live next to the shopping strip. It is not necessary.  No matter where you live on the island - it is small and getting around is easy.

~If you want a larger size condo ask for it.  For some reason they start showing you the matchbox sizes.  They do have bigger ones for the matchbox size prices - but you must be persistent.  Tell your agent exactly what your 'dream' place is and see how close you can get.  By being up front with the agent, you have a better chance of getting close to what you would like or at least giving the agent a chance.  So many people I know got sick of looking and just accepted, then found out they could have asked for different, but just assumed it was 'this' or nothing.  Don't assume.

~Be sure you have an oven (my friend found out the hard way she didn't have an oven; she went to bake in it.  It was not there.  You often have to negotiate for one.)

~Be sure you have hot water in the kitchen.  Again, if you don't know, you won't ask.  If you want it in your washer - check for it there too.

~Dishwashers are an option and often outside (you read that right) or on the countertop (you read that right too)  (I see you laughing)
~If you need a patio be sure and look for one.  We had one we thought was suitable, until we put a 3x3 table and bbq pit on it, then we couldn't move.  They look bigger barren.

Things to know:

~There are 'mosquito police' here. Do not have standing water in any flower pot, puddle, container or dish inside or outside. You will be fined.  They do check your balconies and toilets - in some places very often. Just ask my friends. They knock, enter, search, fine (if any offenses are found) and leave.  Regularly.  Flush your toilets once a day - and don't forget the maids toilet in the bomb shelter.

~Ground floors get mosquito fogged - of course it is outside, but if you have breathing problems...  

When I say fogged, I mean fogged:

~Don't be so desperate for a TV/phone that you go with the first company you see -we contracted into a service and found we were stuck with one that is a pain in the last. We just paid them $200 to get out of a 2 year contract that my husband signed nearly 2.5 years ago.  It conveniently renews for another 2 years without notice.  Research, research...

~We bought a Vonage box and brought it over for phone service.  We can call our family at home just like we lived across town on in another state like we always did (when living in the states) (we dial 555-1212 for a call to the city our phone service used to be in!) for just a few dollars a month.  When we heard about the Vonage box, we called Vonage and found out we could indeed do this.  All that was required was we had to have a states mailing address.  I used our daughters.  We also brought a states cordless phone to use. Get Vonage or a comparable phone service so you can call home.  Be sure and check out the FAQ's on the link above.

~Get Skype or google chat or some free video chat; it was not necessary for us to get the Skype you pay for, we just had our kids download it.  We get to talk to our kids/grand kids through the computer and actually get to see them at the same time.  What.  A.  Wonderful.  Invention.  You do have to have a camera on your computer or purchase one.

~Most TV here sucks; at least that is my experience.  I am not sugar coating it.  Some shows are several seasons old, others you don't get, some you watch 14 brazillion of the same show for one week over and over, and you get Chinese TV.  There are a few new shows, but don't count on 'your' show being here.  You cannot get the major USA networks online here:  "The program you are trying to watch is not available in your geographic location" so don't be under the mistaken impression you can watch it on your computer.  Our solution became the Sling Box.  We had to place the Sling Box in our son's home with a DVR to save the shows to, then we brought the Sling Catcher with us.  He has to have super fast internet speeds and we have to be patient and realize if we want to watch any good TV at all or see news from the states we have to bite the bullet, have less quality TV than we are accustomed to in the state and be happy.  Yes, it is expensive.  Yes, it is worth it.  You record the shows just as you would on a DVR and then watch them at your convenience here in Singapore.  The only difference is, the DVR is sitting on a loved ones entertainment center in the states and you are controlling it here.

You can get CNN and Fox News, but it is censored and not all the time up to date.  Portions are.

Also, if you buy American products here they can be here today and gone tomorrow.  My theory is that the stock ran out, that means the next container of stock has not been opened yet and it is sitting out there waiting for someone to find it.  When they find it, they restock all the shelves on the island.  When things appear, they appear island wide, and when things disappear, they disappear island wide.  When you are desperate, you post on facebook to your Singapore friends exactly what you are looking for so they can look at all their stores.  If you are lucky someone comes up with it.  We scratch each other's backs here. 

Singapore has one of the best transit systems in the world.  I am impressed with it - and I bet you will be too.  Don't be afraid to use it - it is amazing!  Remember - it is a little island and you can't get off of it without knowing... lol... if for some reason you do get lost, walk outside and put up your arm - a taxi is appears right before your eyes.  My favorite ones are the Comfort/City/Limo cabs.  Most are safe drivers and don't use their cars as bumper cars.  Just my opinion, now you make yours...

Get to know THIS site for mass transit commuting.  It is awesome!

One of the funny things we learned are that shish-ka-bob sticks are satay sticks in Singapore... just so you know... 

And that should get you started... if you have any other questions, I should be able to answer for a bit.  Singapore changes with the tides, what may be good for now may not be in a year.

Made it to the Flip Side!

One quick post to say we made it home.  

Can't write much but... but I had to say this; you definitely eat a tad bit better in 1st class:

Just sayin'... 

Americans Moving to Singapore - What To Bring/Leave

Well, hopefully by now, we are on a jet plane leaving paradise.  We have had a wonderful adventure; we have met many incredible people, seen some amazing sights and embraced our time on a little red dot by exploring its wonders.

Singapore is a wonderful country.  It has taught me that we can live in harmony; all religions and not, all races as one, all languages but we still communicate, rich with the poor and elders with the young.  Respect is huge here in Singapore - the elders are regarded as precious; I see teens and twenties holding mom's, auntie's and uncle's arms in protection.  It moves me to my soul.  I am gonna miss you little red dot.  More than that, I am gonna miss you my very dear friends.  You are what made my life exciting.  Waking in anticipation of the adventures we could get in to, the places we went, the lunches we shared and the laughter.  Oh!  The laughter.  Yes, my friends, I will miss you. 


As we were preparing to be off on a new adventure, I was thinking about what made my move here so easy and the transition so smooth.  When I first found out we were moving to Singapore, I found a contact that led me to Pam.  Pam lived in Singapore and was instrumental in helping me bring what I needed, leave what I could get here and get through the culture shock of being here.  I thought it might be handy to tell you the comfort things we found vital to bring over from the states when we visited, what to leave and what you need to know.  If it had not been for Pam, I would have gone nuts.

For the next couple of days, I am going to be sharing lists... I could find the absolute necessity list, but not the comfort list.  So here goes:

Here is our all important list - and a few of our friends have added to it:

Misc Stuff

~Tylenol

~Aspirin

~Motrin

~Advil

~Imodium (buy the bottle, not the packets - you will be doing a lot of travels on this end - you don't want to be without it.  They give charcoal pills here... lol...)

~Sinus Medication

    ~Sudafed

    ~Benadryl

~Rolaids (none here)

~Tums (none here)

~Vitamins (very expensive here - and Sue swears by the gummy ones)

~Swim Ear

~Pepto Bismol

(most over the counter stuff in the states is not over the counter stuff here - often prescription only or they do not sell)

~Toothpaste and tooth brushes.  Yes they have them here, but they are expensive and the chances of you toothpaste tasting the same is slim to none.  It works, but if you like yours... 

~Feminine items if you are picky

~Shampoo and hair products, again if you are partial to yours.

~Band-aids (they have plastic ones that don't stick well - they call them plasters here)

~Antiperspirant - you can get antiperspirant here, but we like our brand; Arrid.  If you love yours, bring it.  :-)

~Bounce (they do have a very good liquid softener here)

~Bounty paper towels - they do have them here if you want to pay the price - if you are bringing a container they don't weigh anything, so toss them in!
~Gift bags and tissue paper - (we recycle - they are nearly impossible to find, and again... the price)
~Greeting cards.  Ditto the gift bags.

~Gas BBQ Grill!!!  (my hubby will tell you this is the number 1 thing.  If you don't want one for yourself, buy one to sell here - you would not believe the prices!  Thousands of dollars - and no I am not exaggerating).  You can get the small charcoal grills though.  I don't know how much they are.  Propane is delivered within an hour to your door after your phone call - so no worries there.

~Smoker if you like to smoke meats

~Small throw rugs (they have them here - the prices will stagger you)

~Make-up items if you are finicky

~Clothes and shoes if you are large or tall size - over size 14 womens is xxx-large here - beyond it is hopeless... lol... or you have to be very ready to give large quantities of money away)

~Top Sheets.  You can get fitted sheets here.

~Ice Trays

~Seasonal Decoration

~Good liquid measuring cups - the ones the writing does not wash off of.  We love glass ones - difficult to find here.

~Good rubber spatulas

~Cast Iron Skillets

Foods

~Miracle Whip (they do have it here, made in Malaysia and has a totally different taste - however a friend told me she has found it made in USA a couple of times in the 3 years she lived here)

~Kool Aid packets (they occasionally have the canisters)

~Soft Corn Tortillas (there is a couple of places that sell them, but they are not as good as the states ones)

~Velveeta Cheese (can get 1 lb of Mexican Velveeta if you like the $20 price tag)

~Rotel (sometimes you can get it here)

~Special seasonings like Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt, seasoned salt, and Tony Cachere's.  You can get all normal seasonings here,  and small bottles of seasoned salt if you like the price.  Trust me, bring your seasoned salt.  Also any seasonings you use in large quantities...

~Honey Nut Cheerios

~Fritos (non existent on the island, but they do go stale, so don't bring a lot)

~100 calorie snack packs

~Crystal Light

~Jello

~Pudding

~SOS Pads

~Canned chili (only have turkey chili here)

~Dryer Sheets

~Pecans (do yourself a favor - go get several large bags at Sam's or Costco if you use them.  They freeze well.)

~Mosquito Spray and wipes

~Thermal water bottle covers with silver lining.  What they have here sweats and gets everything wet. The water bottles are generally 600 ml size. We hike a lot so we like to have extras to pack in a back pack, which reminds me...

~Backpacks

What to leave:

~Most of your winter clothes, the only time you will ever need them is traveling or holiday - never, ever in Singapore.  Don't bring a ton of winter wonders, you will only have small places to store what you do bring.

~Do not bring BIG furniture.  Land is hard to come by here, so the condos are not made for big sectionals, dining tables, kick back recliners, large dressers, etc.  Leave 'em at home.  Everyone I know that brought furniture wishes they left most of it at home - at least the big stuff.  It is stacked in halls and bedrooms unable to be used.  It is basically stacked to the ceilings taking up much needed space.

~Leave  your great big baking pans.  Our ovens are barbie sized.  You can buy turkeys here, but you would not believe the people we see here with tape measures buying them.  The ovens are really, really (lucky to bake a chicken) small.
~Leave most of your jeans at home.  Believe me, you will not use them.  They adhere to your body like sticky shelf paper.  The heat is just too much for jeans.  And you will run into another problem here - there are no big, roomy washers and dryers here.  You are lucky to wash a pair of jeans and a shirt in the same load.  No kidding.  You will also spend half a day washing said pair of jeans and that shirt.  Washing is s-l-o-w here.

That  is all I can think about now... 

I have a friend who has also blogged about moving to Singapore.  HERE is her moving blog and HERE is her school moving blog.