Welcome to Singapore Cuz Megan & Elizabeth!

Family,
And a good evening to you from across the globe after another GREAT DAY in the Lion City.  IT'S THE WEEKEND!!!!  But since the Bull's still fighting a cold and sounds like the fog horn used when the Golden Gate Bridge is socked in, I'm gonna lay off the sauce for tonight. 

So first off, apologies for no blog last night.  Terrier - I told the striker that her "publish rate" was NOT meeting expectations and then threatened to put her on a C-Web metrics tracking plan to ensure adequate progress was being made.  That being said, she's officially got family in town and leaves for Thailand in 10 hours, so I can't fault her too much.

The last 2 days have felt like an absolute time warp, all of it starting at 10:35 PM Wednesday night when Jenny said, "Well, I'm off to the airport."  Muffin was making the journey to Changi to pick up Elizabeth, a friend of her cousin Megan whom I'd never met (and she'd only met once).  I tried to sleep whilst Jenny was away, but between a busy week, fighting the cold, and the sudden absence of Muffin Puffin, it just didn't happen.  And so, when they arrived back at 12:40 AM, I was up to greet them!  Jenny then slept in the spare for the better part of 2 hours before waking back up about 3:30 just in time for the arrival of CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ!!!!!  The house got quiet about 4 AM, at which point everyone was EXHAUSTED. 

Now here's the fun part of the blog.  Jenny posted pictures earlier with the intention of writing about the girls activities.  I got bits and pieces of the story, and I think that the day was essentially Clarke Quay to the Flyer, followed by the Marina Bay Sands and then (my fave) the Merlion, but since she's not here to defend herself (busy packing), let's see if I can put appropriate captions for each photo...

Actually, WAIT - I don't want a caption on this - I need to
ask a question - WHY THE HELL IS JENNY THE ONE
IN LEIDERHOSEN?  Is that a bratwurst in her pocket or...
no, I can't do it - too disgusting...

The girls breaking out the "gorilla" for the first time - after all:
ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES.  They are holding up well,
considering it's about 14 Basquillion degrees...

Jenny makes some derogatory comment about the Merlion and
how Sam's obsessed with it.  She then follows this up with a
description of the "Merlion Hotel" and how it was almost as
random as something you'd see by Wu Wee Wee or Wee Wu Wu...

The girls sneak to the top of Ku de Ta at the Marina Bay Sands
on the premise that "we're going to have a drink" - well played,
ladies!  All the view, none of the expense!

Food court at the Flier (Hawker stall, obviously), at which point
Megan looks over at Jenny and says, "I really don't like Asian food -
is there a Subway?"

I got home about 6 PM, at which point the cooking for dinner had already commenced.  Clearly handy in the kitchen and ready to make some magic happen, Elizabeth asks me, "Where are your pots?"  Of course, since I've only cooked TWICE IN 10 MONTHS, I have no idea.  However, the 5th cabinet I open strikes gold.  She then asks, "And bowls?  Anything to keep the veggies in?"  Again, I'm STUMPED, but finally I find the ONE BOWL in the condo (behind all the stolen pint glasses, for the record).  Luckily she didn't ask for anything else, as I'd officially expended all my knowledge.  The girls then whipped up some GREAT pasta for us, which went down nicely with a bottle of Shiraz-Malbec and some hummous (don't knock it - it's all Mediterrenean...).  Later in the evening, I did have the distinct pleasure of introducing Elizabeth to Amarula (Grimshaw, aren't you SO proud? I gave 'em the story and everything!), and soon thereafter the bottle was no more (to be fair, I'd already killed most of it :-)).  We then had a HILARIOUS evening of story telling, and all I'll say is the phrase "newt and bat wing" might very well be the BEST line I've heard in months - Full Marks to Sister Hauzer.  

Today was a good one as well, as the girls went to Little India and Chinatown, whilst the Bull went to the mafia joint in Vivo with his old team for lunch.  Nancy was allowed to order one "new dish" for Sammy's tastebuds, and she thought that she'd get the last laugh.  However, when it came out, I grabbed the chopsticks, picked up a piece of what could only be described as basted, sauteed rubber, and said:  "This is OX STOMACH."  I then popped one in to show how tough a man I was, only to realize that it was JUST AS BAD AS THE LAST TIME I HAD IT.  Holy @#$% that stuff is AWFUL.  However, the wasabi and salted egg shrimps were AMAZING!  Well done, Adeline - I am impressed.  The best line of lunch?  When Jasmine (from Korea) is talking about eating live octopus and how the tentacles cling to your teeth and tongue as it tries to claw its way back up after you swallow.  And when we suggested, "Couldn't you just stab it first?", she replied, "No, it's not as tasty if it's not moving around and fighting."  WOW.  She's sweet and innocent folks, but watch out - that girl might be dangerous...

All was not lost in the food department, however, as I had a GREAT (if unlikely) dessert - Durian mochi!  That's right, sports fans - the stuff that almost had Jenny hurling in the streets in Bali was even tastier when stuffed into a gelatinous ball of flavorless rice.  Seriously, it's a lot better than it tastes.  Actually, truth be told - the photo of me eating the Durian mochi (I had 2, for the record) might be one of my favories from my time here, as I look like I've just been shot out of a cannon and forcefed tacks, which to be fair is how I feel on occasion after getting knocked around in the metro.

Make NO mistake about it - if this blog gets published,
then THIS is the cover - PRICELESS...

I got home about 6 PM, at which point we watched a CRAZY electrical storm before I wandered back into the fray to pick up pizza from Boomerang.  You'll notice that theme a lot this weekend, as I'll be there both Saturday and Sunday for the Rugby World Cup Quarter finals. 

Owain - Cymra am Byth!!!!

Aussies - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Wallabies!!!!  (Sorry Lynda and Martin...)

Miller - Good luck this weekend, dude.  Seriously - be careful, run strong, and in the immortal words of John "The Penguin" Bingham:  "Start slow and taper off."  Oh, and you are a MEGA NTAC Nozzle...

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print.  The Bull is riding solo for the next 6 days, so he's gonna get Sydney cranked out, beginning with our Sunday and Monday adventures Down Under!  Chat tomorrow!

Love,

Sam and (Thailand bound...again...) Jenny