Day Two: Jet Lag

Here's how it started. And it looked just that blurry.


There was a Skype call with my beloved at 6 a.m., followed by a little killing spree of these guys:

I did try to give them a fighting chance by gently gathering up as many as I could, opening up the casement window and flinging them out the window. Ants fly right?

Then there was a period of intense self-medication:

Sadly, Singapore Starbucks does not have Light Fraps, so I started my day with the equivalent of a mocha milkshake and tried to ameliorate the sugar crash with coke products and green tea.

(Later, all this caffeiniation led to a couple of hours of hiccuping which I'm sure did wonders for my cred with the Singaporeans from the Workforce Development Agency. )

As I rode  (all by myself) to the IAL offices (Institute for Adult Learning, remember?) , I tried to plan my graceful exit from the bus. I had decided to bring my small wheely suitcase with shoes and a change of clothes, as I had been advised that sudden downpours can occur, and even with an umbrella, everyone gets soaked. So, desirous of being prepared for all manner of disasters (I believe in disaster--ask Emily) I packed the wheely suitcase and took it with me on the bus. This meant that I would have to stand up, holding the bright pink pole for dear life, make my way to the back door of the bus,  tap my bus card on exiting, and hoist the suitcase out without falling on my face as the bus streaked away.  I mentally rehearsed the move-multiple times--and it went off without a hitch. What I hadn't counted on were all the little steps in the middle of the sidewalks--each one it's own specially designed death trap. Exhibit A:  The oh no--where are the stairs to get down here?!! Well you can actually  see them in this photo, but from my perspective (astigmatic as it is) I couldn't and thought I was on a ledge. (And let's not even go to the place of what people may have thought of the woman taking pictures of the sidewalk..)

Exhibit A

After what turned out to be a  far less treacherous trek than I originally feared, the office building was in sight. It is at the top of the hill and it was very warm at 8:30 a.m., so I found that my newly developed menopausal ADD (look a birdie!) did wonders for the climb up...look a flower!




This was my day as seen through my jet lagged haze:

• Tried to fix names and faces in my soggy brain by doing things like-"Nice to meet you Mamie. We rhyme." Oh yeah--I'm a shoo-in for the next State department appointment.
• Went downstairs to eat lunch and tried to eat someone else's food order. I thought, a la Panda Express, that the proprietor was offering me a taste of the dish, when she was s in fact just showing me her suggestion of what I might like to eat.
• Yawned for 10 minutes
• Took taxi ride down Orchard Street (The Rodeo drive/5th Avenue of Singapore) to get to swell high-tech center where I will be giving my workshop. (YAY they're all Mac ;-)  
• Met Mamie (and Zainal and Lynn) who demo all the cool tech in the room--iPad collaboration, multiple screens, recording devices. We all make the requisite jokes about finding a camera that will make one look thinner.
• Hiccuped uncontrollably for several minutes. 
• Yawned.
• Took taxi back to office and saw a melted superman statue out the window.

 (Stolen image from http://daddy.nivlek.per.sg/2012/01/cny-singapore-art-museum.html)

• Yawned and worked. Worked and Yawned.
• Got back on bus around 6:30 and headed back to the apartment. 
• Got out and faced the SIDEWALKS of SINGAPORE again.

• Delighted in the absence of ants.
• Heated up some soup and made a grilled cheese bagel
• Went to bed by 9:30.  ahhhhhhhhh

Day 3 awaits...