onward christian soldiers!

last night featured more vivid dreams and only half-sleep. i awoke early to don skimpy shorts and jogged along the river promenade and was kindly rewarded by a nice head wind on the return journey. i spent most of the day avoiding the heat but purchased a pretty new casio elixim to replace the little slut thats now in someone elses sweaty grasp. i experienced the simple luxury of picking up washed and folded laundry. me and ashleigh headed to the night safari, which started out as a frightful tourist trap and ended an inspiring tram ride through the jungle. personal favorites included the tapir (!), giant ant eaters (which side is which?), and, of course, the asian elephants. the night is still young so i may meet ben at zouk, but marty is draggin a bit. (update: i did indeed meet up with a refreshingly down to earth mr ben, downed a couple chivas shots and tiger beers and then had the taxi drop me at random so i could wander buzzed through the citys empty streets one more time. why does this seem to happen a lot?)

i leave the spore early tomorrow morn excited to drop a few industrial strata but regretful that i didnt stroll through chinatown or the katong hoods peranakan row houses. the pernankans created singapores mixed chinese-malay culture and since the asian civilization museums entire peranakan exhibit was under remodel, i leave without any mud baby highlights. what i will take (sans photographs!) is an appreciation for the island nations attractive urban garden motif, its surprisingly playful public art and advertising, and its peculiar, dogged attempts to control its kind citizens lives.

i have a feeling that a lack of access or interest will keep postings to a minimum as i work my way up the coast of viet nam with kris, the quiet ob gyn from bangkok. its weird to think im just shy of 1/3 done with my holiday. life is hard. hasta luego to all the mamasitas and papananas- arjuna, tainan, sam, ashleigh and ben. im amused that youre all afraid of the states. i promise the violence is mostly random and that gruffness shouldnt be automatically interpreted as meanness. and um... its a big place. get yo visas and tell me your travel plans and i will put you under the auspices of yankee love.