I just realized it's been ten days since my last post. With all the activity in the next few weeks, this gap will probably be too common until we return to Jakarta. So, I'll try to catch everyone up on the activities as much (and as succinctly) as possible.
Pre-Singapore. Monday through Wednesday of last week I was still in Jakarta. Monday I packed because I knew I would not have time on Tuesday or Wednesday. My wife gave me quite the list and I spent much of the night locating everything on the list. Tuesday was my regular Futsol night and the last one we'll have for a while because two of us are leaving Jakarta to add to our families and two others are going on vacation for a month. Wednesday, because we won't be able to play in July, we had a night of poker. We usually only play once per month, so this was quite a treat...even though I was on tilt most of the night because of how slow we were playing. Thursday evening I flew to Singapore.
Friday. When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, we began the tradition of taking pregnancy pictures. We have continued this tradition with each subsequent pregnancy and this Friday I took the day off of work so we could make the pictures for our final pregnancy a little more special by doing a location shoot on Siloso Beach at Sentosa Island. After the shoot we spent the day at the beach and finished with a dinner at Mucho's on Clarke Quay.
Saturday. In the morning, I had a consultation with a "no baby doctor" to clarify a few questions and discuss appropriate timing - before the birth, after the birth, etc. That went well and I learned more than I ever hoped to. In the afternoon, my wife and cousin wanted to feed their shopping fix with a visit to Chinatown so I took the kids to an indoor playground. We finished the evening with dinner at California Pizza Kitchen where I amazed everyone with my ability to consume large quantities of ice cream.
We also witnessed one of the more interesting spectacles I've seen in Singapore. After leaving the bus we had to cross the street underground via the subway station. From a side door, two women dressed in showgirl costumes entered the subway with a blindfolded man in pink skirt in tow. Initially, I thought someone lost a bad bet. Then I saw the writing on his chest and the eagerness of the women to display him to everyone. This was a shaming. I'd heard of these rituals in Asia, but this was the first one I've seen. Written on his chest was the phrase: "I don't care for people".
Sunday. Friday night my daughter and I played the game of memory and she beat me fair and square 12 matches to 8. She made a bet with me before the game, her first bet, and if she won I had to buy her ice cream and take her skating at Marina Bay. I took care of the ice cream at CPK. So Sunday, we went "ice" skating. We thought it was on ice, so we wore jeans. Turns out it's some new way of skating on plastic with some type of Teflon coating. It was actually very similar to skating on ice, only it wasn't cold if you fell (which my cousin did once and my daughter did frequently...I didn't).
After skating we went to the Singapore Science and Arts museum which is in a lotus flower shaped building in front of Marina Bay. We saw exhibits from Dali, Van Gogh and a showcase of the Sunken Ships of Asia. The Van Gogh exhibit was really interesting.
Monday. Monday I turned 36 years old. Two activities we had considered doing earlier we intentionally delayed because it would be free for me to do on my birthday. So Monday I left work a little early and we went to Sentosa Island to do the zip line from the top of the island to the beach. My daughter, strapped to me, and my cousin all flew over the treetops down the zip line. My daughter was excited up until she looked down at what we were about to slide down. Then she screamed and said she was too scared. I made her do it anyway and one second after we pushed off from the platform her scream turned to a laugh. When we finished she asked if she could go again, just as I anticipated.
After the zip line we spent thirty minutes in a taxi to do the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo. My free entry also entitled me to free ice cream at one of the restaurants. This meant we ate dinner first....I don't pass up ice cream. We had a scare at dinner when our food orders arrived in reverse order and I took a full bite of chicken thinking it was tofu. For those of you who don't know, I discovered in my early twenties I am highly allergic to chicken. This one full bite is more chicken than I've eaten in more than ten years. Thanks to a few scares in my mid-twenties, we always carry benadryl with us when we go out to eat. I took a pill and finished my meal then we went on the safari. The safari was as good as it was the first time we went. The more amazing part of the evening is that I had absolutely no reaction to the chicken. Usually my mouth and lips still swell and itch even though the benadryl prevents the more dangerous effects. Oddly, nothing happened. This is so odd I'm considering seeing an allergist again to determine if my allergy is now gone.
Tuesday. The original plans for my birthday was for my wife and I to enjoy a quiet dinner and movie alone while my cousin watched the kids. We did this on Tuesday instead. First night out alone we've had in nearly two months.
Wednesday (today). Today is a holiday in Jakarta (Ascension of Mohammad), so I had the day off. Unfortunately, it was a day of medical appointments. My daughter has complained of stomach aches for the last six months, including yesterday. The pediatrician we saw said she probably has Giardia, which means we have to take stool samples to a lab within an hour of them occurring. Guess what I did after lunch? We also scheduled dentist appointments. After my first visit to a dentist in Jakarta, I won't do a second. Once I arrived in Singapore for an extended period I made our semi-annual appointments.
I'm back to work tomorrow (Thursday) while we await the arrival of our son. The only day he's not allowed to come is 1 July. My cousin leaves at 11 AM and my mom doesn't arrive until midnight, so we have no kiddie care if he decides to make his appearance on Friday. Wish us luck!
Pre-Singapore. Monday through Wednesday of last week I was still in Jakarta. Monday I packed because I knew I would not have time on Tuesday or Wednesday. My wife gave me quite the list and I spent much of the night locating everything on the list. Tuesday was my regular Futsol night and the last one we'll have for a while because two of us are leaving Jakarta to add to our families and two others are going on vacation for a month. Wednesday, because we won't be able to play in July, we had a night of poker. We usually only play once per month, so this was quite a treat...even though I was on tilt most of the night because of how slow we were playing. Thursday evening I flew to Singapore.
Friday. When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, we began the tradition of taking pregnancy pictures. We have continued this tradition with each subsequent pregnancy and this Friday I took the day off of work so we could make the pictures for our final pregnancy a little more special by doing a location shoot on Siloso Beach at Sentosa Island. After the shoot we spent the day at the beach and finished with a dinner at Mucho's on Clarke Quay.
Saturday. In the morning, I had a consultation with a "no baby doctor" to clarify a few questions and discuss appropriate timing - before the birth, after the birth, etc. That went well and I learned more than I ever hoped to. In the afternoon, my wife and cousin wanted to feed their shopping fix with a visit to Chinatown so I took the kids to an indoor playground. We finished the evening with dinner at California Pizza Kitchen where I amazed everyone with my ability to consume large quantities of ice cream.
We also witnessed one of the more interesting spectacles I've seen in Singapore. After leaving the bus we had to cross the street underground via the subway station. From a side door, two women dressed in showgirl costumes entered the subway with a blindfolded man in pink skirt in tow. Initially, I thought someone lost a bad bet. Then I saw the writing on his chest and the eagerness of the women to display him to everyone. This was a shaming. I'd heard of these rituals in Asia, but this was the first one I've seen. Written on his chest was the phrase: "I don't care for people".
Sunday. Friday night my daughter and I played the game of memory and she beat me fair and square 12 matches to 8. She made a bet with me before the game, her first bet, and if she won I had to buy her ice cream and take her skating at Marina Bay. I took care of the ice cream at CPK. So Sunday, we went "ice" skating. We thought it was on ice, so we wore jeans. Turns out it's some new way of skating on plastic with some type of Teflon coating. It was actually very similar to skating on ice, only it wasn't cold if you fell (which my cousin did once and my daughter did frequently...I didn't).
After skating we went to the Singapore Science and Arts museum which is in a lotus flower shaped building in front of Marina Bay. We saw exhibits from Dali, Van Gogh and a showcase of the Sunken Ships of Asia. The Van Gogh exhibit was really interesting.
Monday. Monday I turned 36 years old. Two activities we had considered doing earlier we intentionally delayed because it would be free for me to do on my birthday. So Monday I left work a little early and we went to Sentosa Island to do the zip line from the top of the island to the beach. My daughter, strapped to me, and my cousin all flew over the treetops down the zip line. My daughter was excited up until she looked down at what we were about to slide down. Then she screamed and said she was too scared. I made her do it anyway and one second after we pushed off from the platform her scream turned to a laugh. When we finished she asked if she could go again, just as I anticipated.
After the zip line we spent thirty minutes in a taxi to do the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo. My free entry also entitled me to free ice cream at one of the restaurants. This meant we ate dinner first....I don't pass up ice cream. We had a scare at dinner when our food orders arrived in reverse order and I took a full bite of chicken thinking it was tofu. For those of you who don't know, I discovered in my early twenties I am highly allergic to chicken. This one full bite is more chicken than I've eaten in more than ten years. Thanks to a few scares in my mid-twenties, we always carry benadryl with us when we go out to eat. I took a pill and finished my meal then we went on the safari. The safari was as good as it was the first time we went. The more amazing part of the evening is that I had absolutely no reaction to the chicken. Usually my mouth and lips still swell and itch even though the benadryl prevents the more dangerous effects. Oddly, nothing happened. This is so odd I'm considering seeing an allergist again to determine if my allergy is now gone.
Tuesday. The original plans for my birthday was for my wife and I to enjoy a quiet dinner and movie alone while my cousin watched the kids. We did this on Tuesday instead. First night out alone we've had in nearly two months.
Wednesday (today). Today is a holiday in Jakarta (Ascension of Mohammad), so I had the day off. Unfortunately, it was a day of medical appointments. My daughter has complained of stomach aches for the last six months, including yesterday. The pediatrician we saw said she probably has Giardia, which means we have to take stool samples to a lab within an hour of them occurring. Guess what I did after lunch? We also scheduled dentist appointments. After my first visit to a dentist in Jakarta, I won't do a second. Once I arrived in Singapore for an extended period I made our semi-annual appointments.
I'm back to work tomorrow (Thursday) while we await the arrival of our son. The only day he's not allowed to come is 1 July. My cousin leaves at 11 AM and my mom doesn't arrive until midnight, so we have no kiddie care if he decides to make his appearance on Friday. Wish us luck!
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