Reflection

It's funny how it's not the New Year which causes reflection in my head, but it's birthday's. It might be because my birthday is so close to New Year.

Hi, yes, another long absence and I don't even bother being polite. Forget the niceties, lets just get right into the nuts and bolts of it.

I have a friend who is having major health issues at the moment and I have to admit it has rocked me to the core. Someone I have known for about 35 years, who is not part of the family. She is a vibrant woman who has done loads of travel and very rarely stops. One of those people who swims at lunch, walks in the jungle after work, then heads home to make pesto and hummus. Basically makes the rest of us 'normal' folk feel like sloths. So when she suddenly can't walk more than 300 meters, can't drive herself around and can't make pesto, it's a shock to say the least. Luckily she is mentally resilient.

Why am I telling you this?

Because it has made me think. Yep, I can do that at times.

It has made me think about that one step forward, five back thing that happens. And now I shall share my pearls of wisdom with you about why I think we get impatient like that. I am an expert you know.

I have decided that that is what happens when one is impatient with a situation. I think that if you can take that situation as it is and are doing what you can within your powers, then you feel that you are slowly forging forward. If you are impatient with where you are at then any roadblock or set back seems huge and makes it feel like you are losing ground and doing a fantastic backwards slide.

This is how I have felt during alot of what has gone on over the past few years. I have been so desperate to get out of whatever mindframe/situation that we have been in that I have felt very much like a 'victim' by which I mean out of control of what is happening and not being able to make any head way.

At other times I have embraced where I was at and accepted things for what they are and then it doesn't seem so bad. I think everything is a process, and if you try to circumvent it, that's when the backwards stuff comes in. Easy to say in hindsight.

"love is in the air, love is in the air." Radio distracted me for a minute.

It's birthday time here I have been down this past week or so. Not majorly, just feeling like I am a slave to the boys, which I know isn't true. But I haven't set myself up with things for me. I think that is part of feeling guilt and of not having control of the situation, therefor feeling like I don't deserve anything for me. Especially as it would mean asking more of hubby, not that he would object and doesn't but that's not a solution. I want some independence back.

So, time for a job. Something nice and flexible from home. Something that enables me to gain control, make decisions and feel that I am gainfully contributing, even if it is only to my own well being. Hmm, just reread that sentence and wonder if I am very selfish or feel like a lot of mothers, who are at a cross roads and starting to rediscover the joys of life outside of motherhood.

Wow, where did all that come from? I think I should be on Oprah with my retrospective clarity.

I think it is certainly time for me to go and get on with the day. Afterall that's what I have been saying.

Carpe diem.

The real holiday

So, the All Blacks won. Congratulations! Should be good for the NZ psychie and NZ'ers everywhere. But that is all the comment I can make as I didn't watch the game. I had a much more adventurous weekend.

Saturday was 'D' day for my root canal, and I had to go to a whole 'nother country to get it done. Well I didn't have to but chose to. I had spoken to two girlfriends about it here and they were most distressed that I was going over to Malaysia by myself to have this done. I put on a brave face and said that I was just going to catch a taxi over and then back again, easy! What I was astonished by, was the fact that neither of them knew that there was a taxi service which did this. And that it was only $10 SGD per person in a shared taxi or $40 SGD for the whole cab, one way of course.

And it was that easy.

I went to Queen Street, near Bugis, which is where all the local buses and Taxi's leave from for Malaysia. 10 mins wait and off I go. It took an hour from getting in the taxi to the taxi depot in Jahor Bahru (JB). Easy as. The best bit for me was not having to get out of the Taxi and go through customs, then get back in the Taxi drive across the causeway, get out and go through Malaysian customs and then get back in the taxi and head into town. Which is how it goes if you do the trip in the bus. Yes, it is cheaper, around $3.00 one way, but it adds about 40 mins to the trip, if not more depending on the time of day.

Upon arriving in JB, I was promptly ripped off. No international travel is complete without being conned. I hadn't been to JB for about 10 years and while trying to get my bearings a taxi tout got me. 10 MYR (Malaysian Ringgit) to a shopping mall. Well, hell why not, I had no idea where I was. Turns out the mall was around the corner. If he had been on the meter it would have cost about 3 MYR, and yes they do use their meter. Oh, he just got me at a weak moment.

Shop I did. Well I wandered around the mall and tried on many clothes and shoes. But no go. But McDonalds was good for lunch.

I then ventured out just in time for a tropical downpour. Actually it was good timing, not that I knew this. I needed to be at the dentist in 30mins and thought I may as well find a taxi since there was no point in walking. Turns out that the dentist is in JB, but greater JB. About a 30min ride from central where I was.

Yay, made it.

Other than the tradition of taking my shoes off at the door, the clinic was fine. Clean, modern and everything I needed or I should say the dentist needed.

As I lay back in the chair, with the drill whining in my ear, I realised that I felt like I was on holiday. I had had a whole day without my son. This is the first time in over 2 years. It was liberating.

Since when did going to the dentist become relaxing and not nearly as fearsome as I remembered it to be. Lucky, I get to go back another 2 times.

The return trip was equally easy. I did have to get the receptionist at the dental clinic to tell the taxi where I was headed. It is hard to talk when half your face is numb. I was home about 8pm.

All in all it wasn't nearly as traumatic as I expected.

Spectacularly bad day

I wasn't going to write this one, but not much else has happened since, well quite a lot has and I am sure I will get sidetracked and write it all anyway. This could be a mammoth read, time waster.

I love Friday's. It's the day of the week that always makes me feel positive and brings promise. It's the day that I think is good for pancakes for breakfast or bacon and eggs. I am not saying that I make this all that often on a Friday but sometimes I am inspired to do so. It's a good day for a treat. It's the end of the working week.

Last Friday was like all the others. Actually not really, and thank goodness for that.

I take my son to an ANZA playgroup on a Friday morning. They hold it at an indoor gym and it is a great place for the kids to run, climb and be active. It really is a bit hot for that outside here.


Couldn't find any pictures of Go Go Bambini, so I found you a map of it's location.


I enjoyed the playgroup initially and joined ANZA to meet other expats living here in Singapore. I hoped that it might help ease my transition. However I have found it sadly lacking........you know what? That's another blog all on it's own.


Playgroup was rather uneventful this week and I cam home felling rather disheartened. But that's ok as I had plans for the afternoon.


I have booked our first beach holiday since arriving here. Actually I think it may be our first beach holiday in about 3 years, and had to make the payments that afternoon. 


Being still new in Singapore, I still have to plan out my adventures so that I know where I am going and how to get there, especially with my son. If by myself I am much more likely to just rush out and take it as it comes, with the knowledge that if I get lost then I can catch a cab etc. But I have the leeway to muck around a bit. With my son, he has a limited tolernace for the buggy and if I let him walk then I have to leave about 3 hours before I have to be somewhere.


The other issue that we have to sort out is banking. Hubby joined us up with ANZ here as it was easy for us to get an account. What we didn't know is that it is classed as an overseas bank and they don't have NET's cards which work on the local network. NET's cards are like eftpos cards in NZ and Australia. So most things we do we pay for in cash. The other thing about ANZ is that they have a tie in with the other overseas banks but not with the local banks, which means there are limited ATM machines you can use.


Taking all of that into account I headed to Raffles Place, where I know there is an ANZ branch and then a short walk to Robinson Road to pay for the holiday. Mission accomplished.


I alight at Raffles Place and head to the ANZ. First obstacle was that they were under renovations. That's ok though as they have put an ATM machine just across the square. I find this machine. All going well. Only to find that the machine had temporarily run out of $50 notes (they don't have 20's here) and was only issuing $10 notes. How annoying since I want to withdraw $2000.00, but if that's the way it has to be so be it. Other wise I am going to have to get on the MRT and go to another station (where I know there is another machine), get the cash and then come back again and head to Robinson Road. I start with drawing. Only to be told that the maximum limit at this machine is $400 at this time. I KNOW that you can with draw up to $3000.00 per day here. I try to make multiple with drawals, but you know, these machines are hard to trick. Son starts screaming at this point as he wants out to run around and it is nearing 5 pm. I have to make payment by 5.30. 


There are a lot of banks around this area, but unless you know where they are it can be difficult to find them. Especially as I needed a specific type of bank.


Eventually I found a Maybank which I know takes my card. Cool. It is on Robinson Road, even better. To get to it, not so cool. There were roadworks on every corner and I had to use the MRT under pass. Which mean steps with a buggy. 


Off I trot. Get the money and then off to make payment and I still have about 20 mins. All good. Get to the travel agent. They are on the 8th floor and to get to the lift there is a flight of stairs. I mean 20 or so. With a buggy. I had no choice but to leave the buggy outside, unlocked, while we went to make the payment. My son used the climb to exercise his vocal chords. It was a bit like yelling in a public toilet.


Payment made. The lovely travel agent informed me that we could have got the same deal a bit cheaper had I gone to the Golden Mile (which is the place where all the buses sell their tickets from), I actually knew this but just wanted an easy, organised trip this time. Trying to get the confidence up about travelling with a toddler.


Got the tickets and got out. Buggy was still there. Crime rate is low here. I am not saying there isn't any, but on the whole it's a pretty trusting place.


Getting back to the MRT was where it all fell apart for me. I hoped that there was another entrance I could use to get underground and to the MRT because on the way over all the steps had been downwards, which meant going back was all upwards. I go to the entrance I had come out of and there was no way I could cross the roads. There were workers directing people underground and all the crossing where blocked off. Helpfully, there was a sign at the entrance to the MRT letting me know that this was not an entrance for people in a wheel chair of with wheels and that for this service you had to cross the road and use the lifts over there. 


Yep. That did me. I love irony, but not at my expense, well just not all the time at my expense. So, while I was struggling up the stairs, with peak hour workers heading home, I lost my footing and found myself sitting on the ground. My son was fine in the buggy, but I was done. You know, just over it all. I had gone out to do a simple task and it wasn't meant to be.


It's moments like that, that remind you you are still new in a huge city and it really does take a while to figure out how it works and how easy it was in your previous city because you knew it.


Now, I am totally ready for the holiday. 

The next step

Now that I have conquered food shopping, actually I have probably just begun, but I have it under control for now.  Of course with food shopping comes eating.

To be honest all we have done since we arrived here is eat. There is so much variety here when it comes to food, and many different places to get it. There are hawker centers, restaurants, kopitiams (foodcourts) in malls, fast food chains. I am pretty sure that on nearly every corner there is some form of eating establishment.

We loved eating out for the first month. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mainly because we enjoyed discovering our new environment, and also because we didn't have any cooking utensils in the kitchen. As much as we enjoyed it, I started craving salads and things cooked the way that I like them.

Hold on, how did I get sidetracked talking about food. One track mind.

What I was getting to in this blog was my need for exercise. Hubby has been very conscientious and has been making sure that he gets out every week for at least 1 bike ride, which in this heat is super nuts.

Today while my son was at play group I forced myself to go for a swim. It was so good.

See, no excuse.

The pool is literally on my front door step and I go swimming lots with my son, but I manage to ignore it for myself. Today that is changing. I threw myself in and made myself swim laps. Ok, they were widths, not lengths, but still that's a good start.

Tomorrow I will attempt to do it again, then the next day and the next. Until it becomes habitual. Well that's the plan, but I am sure I can be side tracked by something.

Meat and more meat

I was a wake bright and early this morning, with excitement tingling through my toes. Could have been pins and needles.

Anyway, I met a lady at the egg stall at the market the other week and she informed me of the best place to get meat in Singapore. Everyone has an opinion on this subject. Even the chicken man at the market can tell you where to get the best angus beef in town. "Go to Novena Square. Look for the building behind it and go up to the 4th floor and look for MMM butcher. He best for Angus beef in town." See, I was paying attention! No, I haven't tried it yet.

Food is integral to life in Singapore.

So the Egg lady, as she will forever be known, texted and set up a date for this morning to go and find her hidden gem. There is nothing like an adventure. Armed with my camera, the one on my phone, I stood and waited for my ride. I got a call 5 mins before I was to be picked up, asking what my address was, as Egg lady had deleted the vital piece of information. With my vast knowledge of Singapore, I proceeded to giver her directions. "You know that shophouse that you looked at and decided not to rent? Well, I live right opposite that." Clear and concise. Funnily enough she found me.

We drove for about 20 mins. I am not sure where, we were to busy meeting each other. We had chatted briefly and swapped numbers over eggs, but beyond that we knew nothing of each other. So we were having the obligatory girlie meet. "What are you doing here? How long do you think you'll stay? Are you enjoying it? What have you found hard about being here? Wow, it's cool to be driving in a car. You get to see different parts of Singapore." That inane chatter. It was fun! I felt like I had been let out for good behaviour.

Back to the tale. Basically we headed to the ports and in a huge industrial warehouse we found Ben Foods, http://www.benfoods.com. They have a selection of goodies on offer. There were your pasta's and  tinned goodies. Olive oil, canned tomatoes, frozen bacon (I am assured it is the best brand you can get in Singapore and at a hugely reduced rate compared to the supermarkets), butter, cheeses, wines.

The next section is your meat. There is pure Angus beef, vacuum packed fresh from NZ. There are frozen lamb chops, marinated ribs and all sorts of other goodies at reasonable prices. The catch is that it is all prepackaged and you have to take it how it is. For a small family like mine that is a bit daunting, but then, I have a freezer and will just have to re package into small portions.

Now, I have just been off on a quick tangent. In all my excitement I forgot to take photo's while out shopping, so, I have just taken photo's of the goods I bought. I will put them on the bottom and also for the hell of it I am going to compare the prices that I paid at Ben Foods with the ones at Cold Storage.

Actually I am going to get on with that right now.

Purely for baking and my son. Not for me. I paid S$2.60 for 250g. At Cold Storage butter ranges from S$3 to S$6 for 250g. 

I am not going to comment about this buy. I paid S$2.50 for this. At Cold Storage it is S$3.45.

Hubby and I LOVE good ribs. They better be good. US Marinated back ribs. I paid S$14.80 per kg. At Cold Storage Ribs are S$30.50 per kg. Cold Storage ones are Australian and not marinated. 

Meat, glorious meat. NZ Pure Angus Beef. I paid S$26 per kg. Cold Storage is about S$59.90 per kg.

Bacon. Oh, how I have missed you. I paid around S$10.00 per kg. In Cold Storage bacon is between S$20 and S$30 per kg. 

Thought I'd try this for lunch. I paid S$4.60 and at Cold Storage it is S$7.50.

Gotta have ya lamb chops. I paid S$15 per kg. The only lamb on the Cold Storage website I could find to compare it to was lamb french rack at S$69.90 per kg. I did see these at Ben Foods and I think they were around S$25 a kg, but were frozen.

It looks remarkably cheaper. But I haven't tried any of it yet. Although Egg lady swears by the meat. The only other downer about this is that you really have to have a car.

Anyway, we now have enough meat to feed an army. I think we'll have ribs tonight, followed by bacon for breakfast tomorrow and then maybe a lamb chop for lunch followed by a steak for dinner.

Happy eating.

Another long weekend

We have just had a long weekend and I haven't written a thing. I don't have anything to write.

The weather was grey and overcast, which makes me think it is cold outside but that's an optical illusion. It's still hot out. As I have mentioned before in my blogs, it always rains when hubby wants to go for a ride. This Saturday just gone was no exception. But he did get out over the weekend.

Otherwise we spent the time happily lounging around the house and the pool. A venture out to China town to see the lanterns, which we were too early for. A wander around the mall and an evening of suger highs, was the high point of the weekend.

This is no bad thing. Relaxing and not doing much is a good thing, a very good thing. But I have come to realise that after the last few years I don't know how to do that. It's been flitting from one drama to the next. So now when we get to do nothing we get antsy. There is an impatience, a distrust of sitting still and enjoying the moment.

I say, something to work on.

Now back to scoffing my face on banana cake.