Singapore is like a hangover

You know when you're hungover, you feel tired and achy and icky and weird. And it's hard to focus. And bright lights and loud noises hurt your head. Yeah.

The root cause of this, of course, is the dehydration that comes from drinking too much. And with the long plane trip, lack of good sleep and hot hot sweaty weather here, I have become a bit dehydrated.

Anyone who has been to my desk in Seattle has seen the evidence of my regular water consumption: there is a large pink cup and a large water bottle on my desk at all times. I take them to and from the kitchen several times a day to fill them up.

In Singapore, I have only a miniature little water bottle that I fill and refill often. And it has taken several days to get caught up on my water consumption, to the point that I don't feel completely cruddy. 

Due to my experience living on the west coast, with many beloved family and friends on the east coast and my regular cross-country travels, I underestimated the impact of jet lag. I may have even scoffed (at least in my head. Usually.) at the wishes of "good luck with the jet lag". I dont know if it's because I'm going the opposite way, or because of the time and route that I flew or if it's just because it's so hot here.....whatever it is, this jet lag mess is no joke.

But I'm powering through and today is much better. I'm fairly functional, staying awake at my desk and might even have the energy to walk home from the train station (instead of taking a bus). 

It's funny how God truly gives us things in life to prepare us for what's to come. Only in this case, I didn't think that all those times I went to work hungover would prepare me for my international experience. (Fritha, Pickle, Pie - I'm looking at you). 

I'm on a boat and...

Ok, I'm not on a boat yet. But I will be. Soon.

The Singapore trip planning is in full swing. There are a host of things in Singapore that the BF has been waiting to explore until I arrive: the Raffles hotel (origin of the Singapore Sling), the botanical gardens, the zoo. So that's on the agenda. Also, dinner with some friends of friends who live there.

Then we're going to go to Bintan, Indonesia. It's about a 45-minute boat ride from Singapore and is a beautiful little island, with beaches and jet skis and kayaks and golf and...stuff. According to the interwebz, it's all the resorty things people love about Bali, but not quite as touristy.

But now that the trip is looming, I have a few concerns. In which hotels will we have drinkable tap water? How much does alcohol cost? How scared do I need to be of street food? Or ice in my cocktail? But my biggest concern about the trip: how in the world is my poor translucent Seattle skin going to handle the equatorial sunshine?! Now that summer has arrived, I'm trying to get out and play and see some sunshine when I can in Seattle. But it might not be enough. Anyone know where I can acquire some SPF 90 or something? 

Sing a song of Singapore

So, the BF moved to Singapore. He got offered a job as a full-time professor and department chair at video game college. Yep, that's right. There is such a thing as video game college (with programs for teaching computer science and graphical arts with an eye toward game design professions), it's a real, accredited school and they offered him a job. So....that's a no-brainer. For a gamer dude nerd like the BF, it's CLEARLY an AMAZING opportunity.

So, the BF moved to Singapore.

The good news is I've gotten very good at calculating the 15-hour time difference, using Skype and I'm planning my very first trip to Southeast Asia.

I'm going to visit in a few weeks (weeks!!) and will get to explore Singapore. Delicious street food, bustling night life, interesting mix of cultures...it's such an exciting place to visit. And because once you've traveled 8000 miles, what's another 800? So we're looking at other places in the area to visit. Currently up for consideration: Malaysia (including Kuala Lumpur and those REALLY big buildings), Indonesia (one of the islands west of Bali) and Cambodia (to see the ruins at Angkor Wat).

Now to figure out all the vacation details.....