singas so far: lost and found

despite plans to wake up early and jog alongside the singapore river, i awoke flat on my back at 10 in an unusual coffin-like pose. i was in the midst of a long and vivid dream that included three main vignettes: 1) an episode where i talked my way out of a fight with good ole white boy iraq war sympathizers, 2) walking through a grocery store nekkid, and 3) being questioned by the CIA because my mother was under suspicion for child abuse. ive heard armchair dream analysts say that its how one feels about dreamed events, not the events themselves, thats important. id summarize my reactions as follows: 1) i was naive to get myself into the situation but surprised by my adept exit from it, 2) self-conscious that my perusing produce in the buff wasnt horrible, but inconsiderate, and 3) surprised by my mothers fragility and the prospect of her losing everything that shes built from nothing.

a curious start to a curious day. its been a truly remarkable tuesday, that is, worthy of remark, both good and not so perfect. lets start with the unfortunate loss of my pretty camera, as well as misplacing my journal, itinerary and list o local contacts just 12 hours earlier. clearly someone is sleep walking. me thinks the camera was left in a taxi on my way back from the botanic gardens this afternoon. the driver was nice and i gave him a tip, so heres hoping my call to lost and found will be fruitful. not likely. no use getting too upset. i just wish i hadnt lost all those nice pics from penang, taipei and sg thus far. :( i took solace in purchasing a handsome polo, oxford and sweater vest at a j.lindeberg store off orchard rd ;)

so lets concentrate on good stuff- two wonderful dinners in 2 days, the first with beautiful jail bait arjuna and tainan at the maxwell hawkers market (the stingray and satay were sigh-worthy) and omars friend missy (all his friends have been conspicuously female) who treated me to a delightful and entertaining southern indian dinner- highlighted by lime juice and a spicy fish head curry- in singapores little india district, which was all lit up in neon peacocks to celebrate deepavali, or indian new year.

i know i know, stop whining about the heat, but this unsweaty man is marinating in his own juices after anything more than a 15-minute foray into the un-air conditioned elements. all said, i thoroughly enjoyed the vast botanic gardens today, complete with an impressive orchid garden, extensive collection of the diverse ginger family (which includes bananas and turmeric!) and an inspirational lunch at halia. as a precocious 13-yo boy, i started a plant and landscape consulting corp., and the well-planned gardens harkened me back to those early entrepreneurial years and made me long for another greenhouse of my own.

but the true epiphany came while waiting for a portabella and asparagus ciabatta at halia. ive been feeling naughty for not giving more thought to whats next career-wise and had just minutes earlier committed to dedicated time slots for plan making. yet it was in the midst of eating a yummy bitter arugula that the idea congealed. i love those moments when my creative entrepreneurial pistons fire and ideas start to wildly metastasize. its how each of my companies have been borne and i cant wait to piece together the details. its incredibly exciting to think of all that must be done next! stay tuned!

so, all in all, i was in a heady, wonderful space... incredibly grateful to have had this creative moment. perhaps losing my dear camera while still in the euporic fog of discovery was a necessary sacrifice to achieve balance, lest i get hit by a car or contract some horrible water borne illness. just material goods and nostalgic momentos, right?