Diary for February
1st February
Returned from
Thailand,
unpacked and started getting my mind around to thinking of work for tomorrow. Reality
yuch.Singapore is just recovering from the Chinese new year celebrations. It's the year 4696 by the way (according to the Chinese calendar ... doesn't time fly!) or "The Year of the Tiger"
2nd February
Shep wins the competition for solving the
mystery of the disappearing Indian restaurant in last months diary. He says "If you haven't worked it out yet ... the butler did it. Hue Chue,
Fat Choi - or something like that!"Thanks Shep, I think we both need to get out more!
3rd February
Perhaps I'll get a job as a Singaporean
weather forecaster. I think they must have a very easy job because the weather is the same
every day ... Temperature between 24C and 33C, sunny with showers in the afternoon ...
getting dark towards evening!4th February
New Hong Kong Gourmet Diner has opened up in
place of the mysterious disappearing Indian restaurant. They do a very nice fried rice.Samantha sent an email of Clinton Jokes (You need to get out more too Sam!). Here's the only clean one amongst them!
President Clinton looks up from his desk in the Oval Office to see one of his aides nervously approach him. "What is it?" asks the President. "It's this abortion bill, Mr. President. What do you want to do about it?" the aide asks. "Just go ahead and pay it." responds the President.
5th February
"In this life, one
thing counts,
In the bank, large amounts
I'm afraid these don't grow on trees
You gotta pick a pocket or two ..."
Guess who's playing Fagin in the school production of Oliver?
6th February
All the school staff were taken out by the
chairman for a Chinese New Year meal at a very large restaurant in the centre of
Singapore. Traditional Chinese banquet and free drinks all night!!!Yours truly won a hamper (containing food and brandy) in the lucky draw... here's the proof;
7th February
Living in Singapore sometimes feels like
living in Disneyland. This evening a huge parade came down Orchard road near my house:"Chingay 26 is the grandest and most colourful street parade in Singapore. It features spectacular floats of different themes and showcases cultural performing groups in Singapore and from countries all over the world. Every parade involves about 3,000 performers. It attracts about 100,000 spectators including tourists and is widely covered in the media. The parade lasts for one-and-a-half hours."
8th February
preparing myself for my part in Oliver I
cooked "hot sausage and mustard" for lunch!
9th February
So I thought I’d get my hair cut
avoiding the high charges of the hair stylists around this area. I caught the bus to
Little India and went into one of the barbers on Serangoon Road. It was a large shop with
about eight barbers busily cutting the hair of local Indians. There wasn’t a single
piece of fair hair on the floor. I sat down in a chair and saw in the mirror my barber
coming in from the back room. He was wearing the thickest pair of bottle glass spectacles
that I had ever seen. He managed to feel his way over to where I was sitting then
proceeded to change the blade in the cut throat razor. It was at this point that I noticed
that everyone else in the shop was having their head shaved for the Indian festival of
Thaipusam…I think I’ll wear a baseball cap for school tomorrow!
10th February
Got up at 5am to see the Hindu celebration
of Thaipusam, a colourful chariot procession from the Temple near my mansion. Participants
in the ceremony had pieces of wire through their skin with objects hanging from their
bodies. I witnessed long needles being passed through body parts ... unfortunately the
photos didn't come out too well so you'll have to use your imagination.
11th February
At last I got to see Titanic (the film not
the ship)... really enjoyed it despite the unbelievably loud rustling of sweet papers by
people sitting near us.
12th February
Help, I'm turning into a DIY type
person...I bought some material for S$3 and using only a pair of scissors and masking tape
made a pair of curtains for the bathroom!
13th - 16th February
Long Weekend in Thailand. Possibility of a job for September. Watch this space.
17th February
Returned from Thailand with three times as
much luggage as I went out with. The clothes were so cheap I bought more in one weekend
than ever before in my life!
18th February
Gotta tidy the house ... parents arriving
at 9:10pm!
19th February
The parent tour begins ... Sentosa ====> Boat Quay (Thai meal) ====> Coffee in the local
Indian cafe....
20th February
..... bus tour of the city (4 hours !)
====> sleep ====> Newton Circus hawker centre ====> Night Safari ====>
Bojangles bar.....
21st February
.......walk along Orchard Rd ====>
Tang's ====> Coffee at Starbuck's ====> Planet Hollywood ====> Great World City
====> Lunch at Taiwan bar in Food Junction ====> sleep ====> Little India (inc.
Mustaffa's) ====> Long bar at Raffles ====> Grill on
Devonshire for dinner ====> Airport.
22nd February
Met a friend of the the boy I sponsored in
India who is now working in Singapore. He took me for a meal in Little India.
23rd February
Woops ..I think that meal in Little India
was bad ... I've got food poisoning.. up twice in the night being sick ... sick once at
school also.Came home from school early due to condition of stomach. Anna, the maid, was only half way through the house cleaning routine so sent me to my room!
24th February
Recovered from sickness, back to school,
Oliver rehearsals.....If anyone recorded Oliver from the TV over Christmas I could do with
borrowing the tape to study my role!
25th February
Excitement as a grade 7 class were
evacuated from their classroom as a thumping and scratching noise was heard coming from
behind the bookcase. Was it a rat or a snake? .... neither it was a large spider chasing a
lizard!
26th February
What a nice day at school today! The
middle part of the day saw us going on a school trip to the west of Singapore Island to
see a film "First City in Space" at the Science Centre Imax Cinema. Very good.
27th February
It was like being at a holiday camp at school
today. It was free dress day and breaktime saw the annual "Miss
ISS" competition where high school boys in full drag strutted their stuff on
stage in front of the rest of the school whooping and cheering; Tom, a former A Level
student of mine won and as part of the prize he had to stay in his frock all day!After School we travelled to Lower School for "Oliver" rehearsals. For the first time I met Oliver himself... or should I say theirselves ... as there are two of them. One will play the part each night of the performance.
A group of twelve brave staff met this evening for a fish head curry (it saw me through the evening) in Little India. I expected a small fish head but it was huge... eyes as big 2p pieces. Following the meal, and in keeping with the theme of earlier in the day, we then went on to the Boom Boom Room to see a transvestite cabaret which was really very good. Didn't leave the club till 3am ...
28th February
My friend Kenny, who has now moved from
Malaysia to Australia, keeps in contact with me by e-mail. His first language is Chinese
and he speaks very good English though occasionally he gets a word or two wrong. Here's
part of a message I've just received from him:"I didn't eat a lot Australian food, cause I cook every day. I eat 2 pieces of bread and have a cup of coffee for my breakfast every morning, and bugger or bread for my lunch"
! ! !
Thanks Kenny ...