Tourists enter here --->

Singapore is an efficient society. There is not much doubt about that, I mean, it's an international center of business, what else would you expect?

 But one area that I would never expect to find such efficiency is the area of tourism. Enter the island of Sentosa. Sentosa is off the southern coast of Singapore, connected by bridges and cable cars. It is a one-stop shop of the tourism world.

Seriously, it couldn't be more convenient.

You get to to Sentosa by car, bus, train, or cable car and once you cross over, it's a whole different Singapore. Home to nice hotels, water parks, the aquarium, Universal Studios, and Singapore's only "real" beaches. There's shopping and restaurants, and all sorts of cutesy places to go. The best part is that it's all wrapped up in a nice, neat little package.

The only other thing on the island is a neighborhood of ritzy mansions and condos. And, as fate would have it, I have a friend who is lucky enough to live there. One Saturday, some other friends and I, made the trek to Sentosa to hang out at the beach and spend time at my friend's condo. The weather was gorgeous, and I was very excited for my first trip to Sentosa.

I got there late, and found my friends sitting at a beach side restaurant. Singapore is completely surrounded by other islands, which not only offers it protection from tsunamis and tropical storms, but also means that there isn't an endless view of the ocean. Nevertheless, it was a clear day and the view was great. We started walking along the beach, winding our way between tables, lounge chairs, and children playing in the sand. It wasn't long before we saw a familiar face:

Tucker! And a whole bunch of other people we know, who work at the International Community School. Our groups converged and we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, kayaking, and enjoying other sand-filled shenanigans.

Then we packed up and drove the winding roads over to my friend's condo. One thing that I love about the tropics are the insanely large thunderstorms (except when I'm with Caleb, who hates them). While we were sitting on this beautiful balcony, outside of this amazing condo, we got to watch a fantastic lightning storm. It was far enough away that there was no thunder and not much rain, but some awesome lightning.

All I can say is that it was really fun to just be a tourist for the day.

Highlights and Lowlights.

On Sunday, Mama Bear and Papa Bear left for a second honeymoon/vacation/celebration of their anniversary type of a trip. To Bali. I'm only a little jealous. This meant that I got to spend three days and two nights with their wonderful offspring. Even though there is still about 6 hours left before the king and queen return to the castle, I wanted to offer a summary of my experience as a single parent: The highlights and lowlights.

Highlight: Monkey teaches Mouse how to play his favorite board game.

Highlight: Monkey and Mouse play together a lot and have a lot of fun.

Lowlight: Monkey and Mouse play the same matching/memory game over and over and over and over and insist that I sit there to flip the cards over.

Highlight: My friends come over and Monkey gives them a tour of the house.

Highlight: My friends come over and Mouse has new people to play with.

Highlight: Mouse licks my finger (randomly) and says "Mmmmm yummy!"

Lowlight: Mouse wakes me up at 5 in the morning and then cries for an hour when he realizes that it's me and not his mom...



Lowlight: Mouse head butting Monkey to wake him up in the morning.

Highlight: Mouse sleeps for two hours after school and still goes to bed on time.

Highlight: What I did while Mouse sleeps for two hours: Drive home from preschool, transfer him from car seat to couch, took a power nap, transferred him to stroller, walked to grocery store, went shopping, and started walking home. Then he woke up.

Highlight: My friend Kerri Jo comes over.

Highlight: Swimming with Monkey.

Lowlight: Missing Young Life.

Highlight:  Bringing Mouse downstairs to let Monkey get to sleep and him saying "Look, it's dark! It's dark! Let's go chicken rice!". To which I say, "It's dark because it's night time and you already ate dinner." and he looks at me with this "so what?" kind of a look and says "Let's go blue car...chicken rice!"

Highlight: Going to the book fair at SAS and picking out books with Monkey.

Lowlight: Mouse saying his new favorite thing: "It's broken! Why it's broken?" and having Monkey freak out because he thinks something really is broken.

Highlight: Sleeping in til 6, and being woken up to Mouse talking to me instead of crying.


Obviously the highlights outweigh the lowlights, even so, we'll all be happy to see Mama and Papa Bear tonight!

My, how things have changed...

I am dedicating this blog post to how things have changed in high school since I was there. Which, for the record, was NOT long ago.

1. No cell phones--none of this texting friends in between classes thing
2. No laptops--we used old-fashioned pencils and papers to take notes
3. No such thing as Facebook--if we wanted to have friends over, we called them on our *ahem* landline phones, no events on Facebook
4. No online homework--once again, old-fashioned assignment notebooks and homework on paper.
5. Chalkboards--my teachers spent their lives writing on white boards and chalkboards. No powerpoints or promethean boards.

I'm no where near a generation ahead of high schoolers these days, and yet they are getting a completely different educational experience than I did.

"It gets so much better"

The other night I hung out with some of my new high school friends.

[Let me just pause here to say that I am so excited to be a part of these kids lives and it's so much fun to have high school friends!]

So, I was hanging out with these girls, you know, baking brownies and chatting about life. They are three seniors, Jerone, Renee, and Gretchen, who have been in Singapore for 10 years, 7 years, and 2 years respectively. Like the majority of the kids at SAS, they are expat kids with dads who work for oil companies and travel a lot.

As the conversation progressed, I got to hear about all of the ups and downs that high school girls experience (which aren't that different from what I went through in high school, surprise surprise). And then it dawned on me: High School sucks.

Even if you go to a ridiculously awesome school in Singapore, High School still sucks. Teenagers are mean to each other, they do and say stupid things, they place importance on things that don't really matter. I was hearing stories about the cliques at SAS and how extreme they are. I thought my high school was cliquey, but it's nothing compared to this school.

My high school had it's run of the mill issues with cliques, bad teachers, drugs and alcohol, gangs, crappy facilities, and stupid teenagers. And because of all those things I wouldn't choose to go back to that period of my life. I sort of assumed that SAS wouldn't have the same problems because they have a fairly elite teaching staff, amazingly nice facilities, and no gangs. As it turns out, this unique school has it's own set of unique issues.

I was told about the insane amount of drinking that goes on, backstabbing, and poor attitudes that overrun the place. It honestly sounded like the movie Mean Girls, a writhing cesspool of passive aggressive meanness.

These poor girls seemed so discouraged and are just biding their time until they graduate in June. Thankfully, I got to tell them that it gets better. Way better. Social order in high school is based on physical appearance, age/grade, rumors, and other stupid things like that. At some point after high school, we just realize that it isn't important anymore.

It's nice to be the one a few steps further ahead in life, and to be able to offer encouragement for the season they're in right now.

Once upon a time...

...I painted a mural.

Yep.

It all started with these animal decals that Mama Bear got to put on the playroom wall. The "playroom" is really just the landing outside my room on the second floor. 

So then I was like, man, these animals really need some scenery to go with them. I sketched a design, showed it to Mama Bear, got some paint, and went to town:

Caleb even helped!

It was because of this (to a certain extent) that I got recruited to help the Primary School Library with a similar project...

Another stamp in the passport

I can now proudly add Malaysia to the list of countries I've been to!

A few weeks ago Mama Bear, Mouse, and I went on a day trip to Johor Bahru in Malaysia. I know it sounds exotic and extravsagant to go to another country on a day trip, but seriously, Malaysia is easier to get to than my church. We live about a five minute drive to the Causeway, the bridge that connects Singapore to Malaysia. So getting there was a cinch.

It was definitely a new experience, considering that I have never passed through customs and immigration outside of an airport. We drove through this massive checkpoint, going through emmigration on the Singapore side, across a bridge, and through immigration on the Malaysia side. And once we safely made it through, we were in a whole different world.

As you know from my previous rantings and ravings about Singapore, it is a beautiful country. It's clean, safe, and fancy. Very rarely do you see litter on the ground, let alone graffiti or other typical marks of disintegration in a big city. The economy is thriving and there is a high standard of life. If there is any poverty, you certainly don't ever see it. It's comparable to having Minneapolis without North. Or Madison without East. Or Chicago without the Southside. I think you get the point.

Which makes Malaysia the equivalent to North Minneapolis, the Eastside of Madison, and the Southside of Chicago. As we drove into Johor Bahru, I turned to Amy and pointed out that we didn't just cross a border, we crossed the poverty line.

It reminded me a lot of Dakar. Garbage everywhere. Storefronts crammed together, with advertisements accosting us from all sides. Old cars. Dirt and dust. A lingering smell of gas and trash and rot.

We had a pretty great time, Mouse certainly thought it was an adventure. We did some shopping and found a fantastic bakery with the most delicious and cheap buns. Given the chance, Mouse would probably eat his way through Malaysia.

"I got my milk, I got my lollipop, let's get this show on the road!"

Our fearless driver!

"De-wi-chous!" (aka Delicious!)

We did our best to decipher the signs...

Hello Mr Monkey

Don't ask me why, but there's a monkey on Woodgrove Ave.

Hello Mr Gecko

My holey heart

Singapore has been a huge blessing to me. It is for this reason that I haven't spent too much of my time looking back on what I left behind. It has taken me two and a half months to really feel the weight of homesickness. Maybe I was in the honeymoon period.

For whatever reason, a lot of things happened to coincide this week and last that have made me miss America intensely.

My Grandpa is in the hospital and I just want to be with my family.
My friends have all started school again and I want to be there with them for that.
Some of my friends here went back to America for various reasons this week, and where's the fairness in that?
One of my kids in Minnesota is turning 2.
Fall is happening in America!

And the list goes on.

It's hard to be here and know about all of the things I'm missing there. But I also have this gut feeling that if I were there I would have the same trouble missing all of the things here. There is a hole in my heart for the people and places in America that I love.

Regardless, God is good, and He's taking care of me here. I guess the more I miss, the better it'll be when I finally come home again.

P.S. You are encouraged to email or video chat or send snail mail or contact me in anyway or form. I miss all your faces!

the Young in Life

There's this organization called Young Life, and I am apparently the only American ever who hadn't ever heard of it (at least before I moved here). Basically, it is a ministry for international high schoolers in other countries (i.e. Americans). They provide youth groups and other fun stuff for the students, and in general provide a good influence, support, and teachings about Jesus. It was really a natural progression for me to become involved, because most of the staff go to my church and I live two blocks away from the school where 95% of the students in Young Life go.

Every Monday night I volunteer and help out with Club, the weekly large group meeting. It always takes place at some house or another along my street, which is fantastically convenient for me. We sing songs and put on crazy skits and do crazy games, all in all its a good time.

For the last two weeks we've had an average of 50 kids. That's a lot of high schoolers. Most of whom have lived here for years and years, and have known each other for a while. It has been overwhelming to try and introduce myself to them, mostly because I'm the newbie--to Singapore and Young Life.

I'm excited to be a part of it, and am hoping that by living in their neighborhood, I'll be able to just be around for these kids. Who knows, I might even start up a bible study for some of the girls. One thing I do know is that I get to be a Cabin Leader for a retreat in November at an Indonesian Resort. That's what I'm talking about...

I'm sure I will have plenty of stories to tell about my adventures with Young Life. So far it's involved lots of waffles, wiffleball with shaving cream, and pretending to shave my legs in front of everyone. I realized that it's a lot easier for me to put myself out there in a crowd of high schoolers now than it was when I was in high school. It's probably because I really don't care what they think of me, and they have to deal with me no matter what.

Harry Potter: the series

I finished reading all of Harry Potter. From cover to cover, first through seventh, in the span of less than 2 months. It was wonderful. But now it's time to move on.

It's a small small world.

I would just like to point out what a small world we live in. Last night I had dinner with a friend from church. She is Singaporean but spent 4 years in Minnesota going to school at Macalester--she lived less than two miles away from me for 3 years. Last year she moved back to Singapore with her new husband--a native Minnesotan who grew up in Eagan and went to high school at the Zoo School (School of Environmental Studies on MN Zoo property). I finally got to meet him last night and we got to talk about life in Minnesota, dealing with Singapore, and Twins baseball. Crazy, right?

After dinner last night, I got a call from a friend who had been called by a friend who had been called by a friend who needed a last minute babysitter today (I hope you followed that chain of events...). I was free this morning and so I took the job. Shortly into a chat with the mom, we figured out that they flew to Singapore on the same flight that I had flown on: July 4th, Houston-Moscow-Singapore. That and they know some of my neighbors and go to the same church that Amy and Izzy have been going to.

All the connections here are starting to freak me out just a little.

Congratulations, you're going to be a mom.

Last week, I got a taste of what it's like to be a mom. And I'm not just talking about what I've learned from years of being a nanny or living with children or anything. I'm talking about being on duty 24/7, attending to every cry and whine, having kids attached to my hips permanently.

Mama Bear went last week to visit her new nephew in the States, leaving me and Papa Bear to care for the children. Let me tell you, it really took the two of us to fill her shoes. (Mama Bear, you are priceless and irreplaceable!)

I came to the conclusion that parenthood is filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. As a nanny, historically anyway, I was around for some of the highs and some of the lows but in the end I would always be able to leave them behind and go home. Meaning that, if the kids were crabby or naughty or frustrating beyond belief, I only had to withstand it for a little while and then hand them off to their parents. On the other hand, I would often miss really great things, big milestones, exciting and cute and wonderful things. And as a nanny, I was okay with the moderation.

As a parent, you are around for EVERYTHING. The good and bad and the messy.

We had a wonderful week! Mouse was off of school that week, so I had some good quality bonding time with him. Plus I got to put him to bed every night, and let me tell you, he is an adorable kid at bedtime. Papa Bear and I made a good team, dividing to conquer or uniting on the same front for whatever each situation would present.

At some point, we decided it would be a good idea to potty train Mouse. On Saturday, Papa Bear took the first shift as I was in therapy with Monkey. We strapped some underwear on the tyke, fed him salty snacks and flooded him with apple juice and milk. One tinkle in the potty and one wet pair of underwear later, I took over for the afternoon. It was a successful day! Not only did I get him to go in the toilet once during the afternoon but also right before bed.

We went to bed that night feeling proud and hopeful for the next day. But you know what they say about pride.

After church on Sunday, we resumed battle positions, putting the kid on the toilet every 20 minutes all afternoon. But no go. Mouse had put up stronghold defenses on his bladder. I swear he has the largest bladder of any kid I have ever met in my life. Monday was no different. On Tuesday, I had all day with him by myself, with Monkey at school and Papa Bear at work. I was determined. And when it comes to kids, I don't give in easily especially when I'm determined. It was a battle of the wills. I sat in the bathroom with him on the toilet for an hour and a half. He had a full cup of apple juice and three bowls of cereal's worth of milk in him, so his bladder was by no means empty. During that entire stretch, not one drop fell into the toilet. By then it was nap time, so I reluctantly put a diaper on him and put him to sleep. Two hours later, he walks down the stairs, looks at me and says "Pee pee?". He had the fullest diaper that I have ever known him to have.

I don't call this potty training experience a failure and I don't claim defeat. It is simply a retreat from the frontlines to be attacked at a later date.

Mama Bear got home on Wednesday morning, and generously gave me the day off despite her jetlag. It was a stressful yet rewarding week, and I have even more appreciation for mothers than I did before. And it probably goes without saying that I'll have a bit of a leg up when the time rolls around for me to have my own kids.

Fun with the Web Cam

The boys and I had a little fun with the webcam today. Monkey was into it, Mouse just had fun reading the numbers as they counted down...

Living the Transient Life

We are the Transient People
We are the movers and shakers
We are the Nomads
We don't settle for anything
We know where we came from
We know we are here now
We don't know how long we will be here
We don't know where we will go next
We are Singapore.


It is well known that Singapore has a large international population. There are people from everywhere. And the more people I meet, the more I realize what an unlikely combination we are. Yesterday I went biking with a couple of Americans, an Indonesian, an Australian, and a Frenchman. The two things we have in common? We are all in Singapore and we don't know how long we'll be here.

It is because of these commonalities that I have found friendship here. I am meeting and befriending people that I would probably never have the opportunity to meet and befriend else where. It's been a treat and an honor to meet people from all around the world and find that the one thing we have in common (Singapore) is more than enough reason to be friends.


Beyond the circle of friends that I have formed, Singapore is, in general a transient place. It has a very fluid atmosphere, people are constantly coming and going, even Singaporeans. It's sort of like a college campus--students come from different places, but are all there for a reason, and there are always students graduating and moving on while new ones come in.

It is a little of a strange change of pace. I'm used to the Midwest where most people are looking to settle down. Get a job. Get married. Have kids. Pick a spot and stay there. There are definitely people that I know in America that aren't looking for that, and want to bounce around for a while. But they are definitely in the minority. The majority of people I've met here are certainly not here to settle...

I am definitely encouraged by the people here. It's nice to know that there are others who are sharing in the nomadic existence with me. Most, like me, don't know how long they'll be here. And most don't know where they would go after this season of their life. I am in good company.

Richard.

I can't believe I haven't written about Richard yet. I guess I need to be more careful about not letting the little things slip...

As I have previously mentioned, I basically live in Little America. If it weren't for the tropical atmosphere or the Filipino maids, you would think that this neighborhood was an American suburb. What with all the Americans doing American things, going to the American School, etc.

One thing that this neighborhood has that America doesn't is Richard, the Amazing Grocery Guy.

I am becoming convinced that Richard is as established in this neighborhood as the the storm drains are. Every morning we get a call from Richard and we tell Richard what we need that day. Bananas, chinese sausages, rice, pasta sauce, anything! Richard's motto is that he can get you ANYTHING. And so Richard shows up in the afternoon and lets himself in and drops off the box of groceries.

I don't know that there is a family in this neighborhood that doesn't have this intimate relationship with Richard.

Every afternoon you'll see him driving around in his van and popping in and out of people's houses, always with a big smile on his face and a friendly hello.

Harry Potter Books 2 and 3

Enough said.

I honestly forgot how much I love number 3.

For the foodies

There is no doubt in my mind that Singapore exists for people who genuinely LOVE food.

I should probably just stop there and let your imaginations go wild before I start salivating. One thing is for sure, I haven't been this in love with food in quite some time.

Due to the extremely diverse population of this island, there is an equally diverse supply of ethnic cuisine. Chinese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and the list goes on and on. Everything from beef and chicken to seafood to vegetables to noodles and rice is available in, what seems to be, an infinite combination of delectable dishes.

The source of all this goodness (besides the kitchen in my house), is the infamous hawker center. Singapore is known all around the world for these establishments, and in my opinion, for very good reason. Think street food stands, but congregated in the form of a food court. Like this:

First stall on the left sells my favorite dumplings.

And now picture one of these congregations on every other block. Each stall sells its own specialties at dirt cheap prices. There are hardly words to describe the experience.

My new favorite meals include: Hainanese chicken rice, steamed dumplings, char kway teow (fried noodles with a whole assortment of meats and veggies thrown in), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), bi hoon (a Singaporean rice noodle dish), and chicken tikka.

One of my favorite pastimes is trying new things all the time. The other day I had my first taste of Duck Rice, which was pretty tasty. The nifty thing about the hawker centers is that if you don't speak Chinese (like me), they have pictures of everything you can order on signs above the stalls. My philosophy: when in doubt order something that looks good in the picture.

When we're eating at home, Papa Bear likes to make attempts at cooking local dishes (and so far he has a pretty darn good success rate). After the first try, char kway teow was such a smashing success, it is now a weekly tradition. Here are the before and after pictures:

Char Kway Teow (bottom) with Chinese Veggies (top)

So good, there was nothing left to do but lick the plates...

The Staring Stairs

As seen in an MRT Station.

Boa Fermé

 you can only appreciate this if you've read Le Petit Prince

what is that infernal noise?!

As I sit here (inside the house), several things are accosting my ears. 1. World World (a PBS Kids show), 2. Monkey reciting World World, 3. Mouse babbling about some unknown topic, and 4. a loud, pulsating, buzzing noise that is outside, half a block away and driving me crazy! Three days, I tell you, three days of noise pollution. And no one really knows what it is or WHY it is.

I'm glad you, Reader, are captivated enough to read through the rants of my every day existence.

Obviously, I've been reading a lot, averaging a book a week at this point! Not to mention that I've been educating myself more and more about ABA. I do believe I have become a bookworm. It's about time, I missed this when I was in school! Reading what I want, when I want, and for however long I want.

I promise that I haven't just been reading, I have been making use of my life in other ways too. Therapy takes up a large chunk of my time, and has been a joyful challenge. After several supervised sessions, Dana has given her approval of how we're doing, but we both agreed that some changes needed to happen. In the last week, she has rearranged, rewritten, and revised many of Monkey's programs, as well as adding some new ones. This means that Monkey and I have tons of things to do before school starts.

And speaking of school, Mama Bear and I took the kids over to SAS (Singapore American School) yesterday to play on the playground. This was the first time that I had ever walked around inside, and it was AMAZING. The classrooms, the playgrounds, the grade common rooms, everything! I peeked inside a 3rd grade science room and it was decorated like a jungle with vines and animals hanging from the ceiling. I would go back to grade school if it meant that I could to this school. They even have a rooftop playground that has a tent like covering over it so that the kids can even play outside when it rains.

Needless to say, Monkey will be in good hands, and I will be finding excuses to go and visit his kindergarten class.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

 Photo courtesy of Amazon

It was almost 10 and a half years ago that I was first introduced to Harry Potter. I remember it vividly...

I was in the seventh grade at Jefferson Middle School. It was lunch time and I walked up to my friends in the cafeteria. They were in the middle of a discussion about these books that they had all been reading. I peeked over their shoulders and piped up: "Who's Harry Potter?" The table fell completely silent. What do you mean, "who is Harry Potter?". The rest is basically history. One of them lent me the first one and I got hooked. This happened right before the 4th book came out, so I had just enough time to catch up on the first three. And then I had my first midnight book release experience.

Since that fateful day in 2000, I have read and reread and rereread the entire series as each successive book made its appearance. These books have been dear to me and always bring back wonderful memories of time spent with my friends and siblings.

As I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone this week, I not only felt constant pangs of nostalgia, but I also grew an even deeper appreciation for the series as a whole. Knowing how J.K. Rowling develops the characters and how the story eventually ends made me even more captivated with the beginning.

Next up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...

"I know why the caged bird sings"

Confession: this was the first time I've read a book by Maya Angelou all the way through. And it was one of the most heart-wrenching, emotional books I have read in quite sometime.

Photo courtesy of Angus Robertson

It is an autobiography, telling the story of Angelou's early life. With parents divorced during her toddlerhood, she is carted to the South with her brother to live with their grandmother. The reader follows her as she grows, suffers, learns, makes mistakes, and experiences life.

The tales that unfold intricately describe her experience as a Black in a world run by Whites, as a child in a world ruled by adults, and as a girl in a world ruled by men. Having cried my way through half of the book, it made me question how we can live a world that is so cruel. Angelou gives the account from the perspective of the oppressed, but never in a condescending way. She describes injustice as it is, a disease deeper than the individuals involved.

The stories played out in I know why the caged bird sings are beautiful and and horrifying and hopeful and devastating all at the same time. I recommend this book to anyone who has never read it, but please make sure that you are in an emotionally stable state of mind when you crack it open...

the park of parks

Today I went to the Park of parks. The paradise of all parks. The park that has everything any park-goer could possibly want. Pasir Ris Park runs along the river, and looks across to a smaller island belonging to Singapore. It is one of the most picturesque parks I have ever been to.

There are things to do for bikers, roller bladers, families, couples, single folk. dog walkers, kite fliers, kayakers, fishers, skateboarders, picnickers, grillers, sit-and-read-bookers, sunbathers (although, I don't think there is such a thing as an Asian sun-bather), and everything in between!

I rented a bike (~US$3.50 for 2 hours!) and cruised around the extremely smooth, extremely flat bike paths. How wonderful! In all honesty, I was scoping out the terrain so next time I can rent roller blades.

In other news, I have now know all the Thomas the Tank Engine trains by name and can sing the theme song in my sleep.

When I'm not in therapy, I'm either getting things ready for the next session (we're having them every day until school starts), helping watch the kids, walking through the neighborhood, or reading. It is most certainly a change of pace from all of my years in school. I've also been helping Mama Bear around the house, decorating and stuff. Yesterday, we put up these adorable jungle animals on the second floor landing. I'm seriously considering painting a mural around them.

Life has been pretty routine, which has actually been very good for me, I think. Stay tuned for the episode about FOOD.

My new wingman

Today, I figured out how to change the public perception of my WPness (white-person-ness). Cart around an adorable half-Asian kid. The focus shifts from check out that WP to check out that cute Asian kid with the WP.

I needed to go downtown to return some games that I had borrowed from Monkey's group therapy center. In a spontaneous act of kindness (towards Mama Bear and Monkey), I offered to take Mouse with me. The kid loves trains and so I figured what better way to spend the afternoon than riding the MRT with him. And so we set off.

Once we got to the MRT station, my little companion started the never ending chorus of Train! Train! Train! I assured him that this time we weren't just looking, we were going to ride. I folded up the stroller, took his hand, and we confidently stepped onto the escalator that would lead us to the platform. There it was: the ever so magical train. Mouse's eyes were wide with wonder as we boarded and found seats.

Immediately I noticed eyes being drawn to the tyke shouting Train! Train! Train! When smiles appeared around the car, they were returned with a grin from Mouse. He immediately took it upon himself to make a friend out of the lady next to him. With a toothy smile and a shy hi, he would be able to soften the heart of anyone. By the end of the ride he had flirted with about every girl in view and had melted all of their hearts.


We succeeded in the task that we had set out to do, and killed some time by exploring some of the malls nearby. By the time we got back to the MRT, rush hour was starting to set in. The train was packed like sardines, which didn't really meet the fancy of Mouse who was stuck in his stroller. When the crowds thinned out, I found a seat and let him sit on my lap. This time he captured the attention of the entire car full of people by laughing a high-pitched cackle of a laugh. Normally MRT cars are filled with somber, serious folks simply rushing to and from a laundry list of to-dos. Today, Mouse changed that. He made some smiles appear out of nowhere and hopefully a little distraction from the daily grind for those people.

Once again he introduced himself to half the people near him and entertained us all by shouting out letters he recognized in the train car ads. An Indian woman who sat next to him, was so infatuated she gave him a little teddy bear.

I came to the conclusion that Mouse makes a fantastic wingman and I should take him out more. My only problem is that he only picks up chicks...

"Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community"

 Photo courtesy of goodreads.com

Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community is a collection of essays written by Wendell Berry (who may be my new hero) in the early 1990s. I can honestly say that when I finished the last page I was sad for it to end. My jaw was left on the floor. We're talking 173 pages of intelligent, thought-provoking, mind-altering words.

Berry addresses all sorts of topics: agriculture, economy, government, war, sex, freedom, conservation, and community. Topics that wouldn't necessarily be dealt with together. But Berry shows that they are all interconnected and sometimes inseparable from each other. He has this ability to explain certain flaws in our society in light of the deeper issues that often aren't addressed or even associated with the flaws on the surface.

What really impressed me the most was the tone of the essays. Berry carries a humbling attitude, we're all in this together. He was realistic without being cynical, and when accusatory there was not a hint of condescension.

I am still trying to process everything that I read in this book, so let me leave you with this:

The trouble with the various movements of rights and liberties that have passed among us in the last thirty years is that they have all been too exclusive and so have degenerated too readily into special pleading. They have, separately, asked us to stop exploiting racial minorities or women or nature, and they have been, separately, right to do so. But they have not separately or together, come to the realization that we live in a society that exploits, first, everything that is not ourselves and then, inevitably, ourselves. To ask, within this general onslaught, that we should honor the dignity of this or that group is to ask that we should swim up a waterfall.

~Wendell Berry, 1992