Little India

We went to the Little India neighborhood of Singapore: it's a lot more like the Asia I remember, less like the spit-shined, manicured, and Versace'd streets I've seen down Orchard Rd. so far. Cannot wait to return when we have more time--I saw some South Indian vegetarian restaurants that look fantastic. Favorite moment of the day: standing on the curb/kerb with Leigh drinking fresh coconut water through a straw out of recently-hacked-open-with-a-machete coconut. 

Starting to feel ready to settle down more and live less "touristy." Ready to have a home here. Ready to stop going out for meals each day. Ready to shop in a market, read a book on the couch, meet neighbors, find a favorite running path, find a rhythm.

On my run this morning was reminded of the exact same light I remember from runs in Athens, GA, in college. Heavily shaded lanes with high boughs which give the light a blue/green/grey tint. Ran past the EU ambassador's place. Schwanky.

12 kilos of laundry washed, folded, and dried by the fine folks at Professional Laundry = S$125.00. You read that right. I told everyone we needed to start wearing our clothes more times.

Befuddled a Belgian family by speaking my limited--very limited--French to them in the elevator. Americans don't know French! Mme. Rubin, my 9th grade teacher, would be tres proud. Tres, tres joyeux avec moi.

I finally, FINALLY, ate at one of those conveyor belt sushi restaurants. I've been waiting all of my life for the experience. It was better than I could have hoped. Employees shouted greetings as I entered. I ate six plates of sushi and when I was finished, the chef in the middle beamed at me and screamed, "Six plates!" I do not know exactly what he meant, but I took it as a compliment. 

I asked Ethan to rate Singapore on a scale of 1-10, and he said 5,487,193. Laney has been doing this thing saying, "My feet are stuck to the ground. You have to move me so that I can begin to move." It's cute for a little while. 

There's an incredible array of talcum powders to prevent chafing  here in humid old Singapore. It is necessary for men, believe me. I bought Snake Brand Prickly Heat Cooling Powder in a side shop. I was reluctant to put anything with the words Snake and Prickly Heat down my pants. I was pleasantly surprised and am considering buying stock in the company.

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On a sad note: the events in Aurora have depressed me so much; I cannot believe what has happened, and yet I can, because of the madness that seems to creep in on the edges of all societies (Anders Breivik last summer; the VA Tech guy a few years ago; the school shootings that happen regularly now). I feel so badly that this lunatic has besmirched our good name; I feel so badly that this lunatic has probably changed moviegoing--something I cherish--forever; I feel so badly that this lunatic hurt so many families in our community. Will Aurora ever be the same? I don't know. I don't think that Columbine has ever been the same--it's always there, at the edge of our consciousness when we drive over that way. You know that you're "close to Columbine," or whatever. Even people who went there, you say, "He went to Columbine." You say to your partner, "Oh, there's where we went to the memorial for Columbine" when you pass it as you're car shopping a decade later. Maybe that will be Aurora, now, too. Sad, sad, sad times for our home. Terrible. Unspeakable.