The best way to fly: C-I-A-B - coffee in a bag...

Family,

And a good Saturday morning to you from across the globe after another GREAT DAY in the Lion City. MUFFIN PUFFIN ARRIVES TODAY!!!! Seriously - I couldn't be more excited if I tried. She touches down in Hong Kong in exactly 6 hours, and then it's a brief layover before arriving in the Sing just before midnight. YAY!!!!!!!

Friday was a BIG DAY in the office. The Shogun himself was present, and I had but one goal on this fine, sunny Friday - TRY COFFEE IN A BAG. You see, Shogun has spoken about this stuff to the point it's legendary, and given that yesterday was his last visit to the Lion City, he had this on his to-do list (he'd actually billed it as one of the top five experiences of Singapore as recorded in the MCC - now THAT'S high praise). A few big about "coffee in a bag" that make it unique:

1. It's in a bag - seriously.

2. The price is 70 Sing cents,which is about 47 US cents. For that I get a volume of coffee that is about 2.5 times the amount I drink IN A WEEK.

3. You have 2 options: - Coffee O (which is black) or Coffee C (which has condensed milk as the creamer - yes, this makes it quite sweet).

4. You have no option - there WILL be sugar in this masterful mix (which makes it even sweeter).

5. Somehow, via some method of Pakistani voodoo witch magic, this stuff becomes HYPER-CAFFINATED, meaning that you're pretty sure your heart will explode 20 minutes after consumption.

The work day was good, and I got out of there about 6:30 to roll over to the gym for a swim before dinner. Check out these 2 photos, as THAT is the view I have whilst swimming. Honestly, it's amazing. That being said, the one drawback is that YOU CAN'T STOP YOUR GOGGLES FROM FOGGING UP. It's hilarious - the world is a patch of cloud after 50 meters. However, I did manage to log 1000 yards freestyle, which was a BIG improvement from my last swimming debacle.

I was shot down in the steam room, however, as someone had JACKED UP the temperature to about FOUR MILLION DEGREES. Seriously - I COULD NOT BREATH IN THERE. If I breathed through my mouth, my throat caught fire and my lungs felt like I'd just flooded them with molten lava. When I breathed through my nose, I was pretty sure that a) I was melting my top lip, and b) singing my nose hairs. Good times.... I made it exactly 90 seconds in there before I switched to the sauna, where a creepy dude kept trying to look up my towel. In a word - SKETCH.

Dinner that night started at Brewerkz, where I had another tasty (yet EXPENSIVE) $16 Golden Ale. Luckily Jackie (follower #22, btw - Wild Card, I'm comin' for ya) and I found 2 seats at the bar, as the place was PACKED.

After the brewski, we rolled into Clarke Quay, where, after checking out all the options, we opted for this Cuban joint called "Cuba Libre." Now I realize that I've never been to Cuba, so I am not going to question much, but a few points here:

1. There were picture of Che everywhere. That's cool, but Che was from GUATEMALA.

2. There wasn't a picture of Fidel in the WHOLE place. Really? REALLY? Did you just forget that he "works there?"

3. The staff were dressed in baseball caps and mechanic uniforms. Okay...you nailed that one, actually. Full marks.

4. NO ONE SPOKE A WORD OF SPANISH. Well, except for the band from Columbia. But I couldn't understand them because THEY WERE SPEAKING AT 180 DECIBELS.


The meal was actually really good, and the music was solid (but LOUD). Basically Jackie and I spent the last 30 minutes yelling at each other, but all in all no complaints. Muffin - when you want to go dancing - THIS will be the spot.

And now it's noon and 87 degrees outside, which means I get to do the mile jog to the treadmill. :-) We're gonna log 5.5 or 6 miles today, depending on how I feel considering that I haven't eaten yet today. But hey, it's time to get after it!

And before I forget it, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SPEEDY NINJA, CARLY O'SULLIVAN!!!! Wonderful news, my dear - SO SO SO SO SO Happy for you!!!!

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat tomorrow!!!!

Love,

Sam and (somewhere over the Bering Straight and making good time according to United's web site) Jenny