Butterball, the Penmanship Police, and Seetoh

First, Happy Thanksgiving! You are probably still celebrating in the U.S. It is now Friday morning here in Singapore. We spent our first married Thanksgiving dining on a four-course T-day dinner at the Four Seasons. It was nice, but could not compete with Mom and co.'s homemade turkey and trimmings. The biggest disappointment is that we don't have any leftovers. Mom - think of me with every bite of that apple pie for breakfast! I thought about asking the chef (who is from Michigan and trained at the Culinary Institute in NY) to give up a drumstick but I chickened out. Below was our main course - in case you thought Butterball looks different in Singapore. It was the first time we have gotten dressed up since we arrived (which apparently means we have to take pictures every five minutes) - Mo looked dashing, and I wore a dress and heels for the first time in many months.

Saturday night we are going to a dinner at someone's home - I think there will be 10 of us - a mix of Americans and locals. Should be fun. I am making a pumpkin pie.

So you must be wondering about the "penmanship police." Let's put it this way - several of our personal checks have been returned to us because they "claim" that the written dollar amount is not legible. This is total bs. (Or someone needs to go back to their eighth grade civics class and learn how to fill out a check properly) The writing is perfectly legible, as is the number written next to it, AND the receipt was in the envelope! Good grief!!! Big brother is getting really picky.


So our last blog (think back - it was a while ago), we told you about our first (and probably our last) Singapore celebrity sighting. We met Seetoh! He is the author of Makansutra (makan means 'to eat', sutra of course is a religious text) and host of a TV show by the same name. We have a picture, but someone doesn't like the way she looks in it so go to the website. The link below is for a foodie walking tour near where we live. I look HORRIFIC in this picture, but for the sake of proving that we met, here it is:

http://www.makansutra.com/jalan/walking_joo_chiat.html

In a previous blog, we told you about the local specialty called Kaya Toast. Well this is what it looks like - Kaya is a coconut jam and the brown toast has Kaya and butter slathered on it. The local coffee called Kopi is very strong and delicious. Can't eat this too often - it has to be at least 5000 calories.

You never know what you are going to see in Singapore. For example would you expect to see a beautiful woman in a lime green ball gown slit up to her waist playing the swiss Alpenhorn in a shopping mall? Or would you expect to see a group of about 50 locals practicing their Texas Two-Step in Chinese Square? You just never know.... How about Chrismas decorations gaudier than anything you have ever seen. Our local shopping mall has a modest display compared to what is being lit up on Orchard Road (the main shopping drag). Silent Night and Here Comes Santa Claus are blaring out of every speaker wherever you go.




Mo has also developed an affinity for all of the massage equipment found in the shopping (better perhaps than an affinity for the masseuses?) - there are at least three different massage stores in each mall and we are making our way through them all. For anyone who wants to buy Mo his dream gift - here it is. A $588 leg massager that converts to an ottoman. (Don't judge me, a#*$ole, you dont know how good this is)


A parting picture of a beautiful rainbow seen out of our home office/Mo's dressing room window. A few minutes after this photo was snapped another rainbow appeared above this one.


Bye lah,

L & M

You Set Your Clocks Back, Ok Lah?

While many of you are falling back- getting that extra hour of sleep- we here in Singapore are staying the same. Our clocks are anyway. Now the East coast is 13 hours behind; midwest, 14, and for those of you on Pacific time you are now a whopping 16 hours behind us. That's no joke. Apologies in advance if any of you get a call in the wee hours of the morning; we will try to remember to think about the time change!

So what's new? Let's see...it's still hot, but definitely on the cooler side of hot, as opposed to hot hot. Mo played in his company's annual tennis tournament. He played doubles and showed of some shots that even I didn't know he had in him. And he had the best outfit on the courts.

We are toying with the idea of taking Mandarin lessons, but what we really need to learn is Singlish. Yup - that's what they speak here. It is a mix of English, Malay, and some variation of Pig Latin. And, it is generally difficult to understand. Mo says that Singaporeans speak as if they are text messaging, leaving out words and ending words abruptly. He is dead on. Here are some of our favorite expressions or words, okay lah?

Can: Yes

Fatty bom bom: big-bottomed person

Ang Mo: this is a foreigner (it actually translates to red-hair)

Hup ply: Half price

Accuse me: Excuse me

No more orready: Out of stock

Tok kok: To talk rubbish, nonsense

(Note: These spellings and translations came from An Essential Guide to Singlish by Gartbooks - no - not Garth Brooks!)

Stay tuned next week for our first Singapore celebrity encounter and more Singlish!

Love,

L & M