Fish Tales

Beep. Beep. Beep.

That’s my least favorite sound of the day.

It’s when “Morning Greg” spends the next few minutes trying to convince “Nighttime Greg” that things need to change. The conversation usually follows the same script. Mornings arrive too quickly. Enough staying up so late. Need to be more considerate. An agreement is reached.

But, things never change.

“Nighttime Greg” continues to be an inconsiderate jerk to “Morning Greg”.

And, “Morning Greg” has no defense.

Except for today.

The unexpected happened.

An extra hour of sleep.

Sometime during the night, my mobile phone switched over to an Indonesia telecommunications network. At least that’s where TELKOMSEL is located.

Why? Good question. Just because I can see Indonesia from my condo doesn’t mean I want to roam on their network. Thanks SINGTEL.

Because of the network change, my phone automatically adjusted time zones. Indonesia is an hour earlier.

So, my 6:15 alarm became 7:15 in Singapore time.

And, “Morning Greg” enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. Guilt free.

Apparently need to use a real alarm clock...

Last week a visitor from the US asked me what grocery store items I missed most.  Ahh… where to start? There are so many things. Here’s a short-list:

		Cherry Coke Technically it’s ‘Coca Cola Cherry’. But no matter what you call it, you aren’t finding it in Singapore. It’s been my sad story for a while now.
		Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese There’s no such thing as extra sharp cheese in Singapore. And, sharp is nearly impossible to find. Just plain old cheddar. And, it’s usually white… not orange. Isn’t cheddar supposed to be orange?
		Oregon Berries I know, I know. You can find berries at the store in Singapore. But, they are not great. I’ve mostly given up, because it usually ends in disappointment. Once you’ve eaten picked-that-morning berries in Oregon, nothing else tastes quite as good.
		Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups It’s only the best combination of peanut butter and chocolate ever. Even the 7-11 around the corner doesn’t stock it. And, no, I’m not counting the not-so-sweet Canadian export version occasionally available. Nope, not gonna cut it.
		Barbara’s Jalapeño Cheese Puffs All natural. No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. And they’re my favorite snack not found in Singapore.
		USDA Prime Top Sirloin Australian beef is certainly better than no beef. And, for sure, it’s the best option in Asia. But, nothing beats an American USDA Prime Top Sirloin steak. Don’t mess with Texas. Or the Midwest. Or anywhere in the US for that matter. Best. Beef. In. The. World.
		Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola The real breakfast of champions. Oh, how I miss this granola. Without raisins, of course.
		Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips They struggle with tortilla chips in Asia. Makes sense – it’s only an ocean away from Mexico. Sometimes you can find Tostitos Restaurant-Style white chips. But, give me my YELLOW corn chips, please.
		Great Harvest Bread Nothing beats fresh bread straight out of the Great Harvest bread ovens. Either plain whole wheat or five-grain. And, on Saturdays, the cinnamon rolls are tough to pass up.
		Red Baron Singles – Deep Dish Mini Pizzas These used to be my guilty little pleasure. Not anymore.
		High-Country Teriyaki Beef Jerky Okay, so maybe this is only found in Montana grocery stores. But, at least the High Country online store ships anywhere in the continental US. But, not to Singapore.
		Cherries I’ve already written about buying cherries in Singapore. Yes, the stores have cherries and, they are good. But, they are expensive, expensive, expensive! So, they are getting filed under not available here.
		Skor Another candy bar makes the list, but this is my favorite of all time. Hard butter toffee with a milk chocolate coating. No one in Asia has heard of it. Sorry state of affairs.
		Crest Regular Toothpaste It’s not something anyone spends much time thinking about. What, maybe a few minues a day? That is, until it doesn’t taste right. Then you think about it more. And it bugs you everytime you’re at the grocery store and all they sell are Colgate products.
		Advil Who wants to mess around with unknown brands when it comes to getting rid of a headache? No one, that’s who. Singapore has a pain killer called Panadol. It isn’t as effective. I’ll take the advanced medicine for pain!

So, there you have it. The top 15 items missing from my Singapore grocery store. And, I’m craving every one of them right now. Except the Advil, of course. But, I probably would be if I ate all that.

P.S. I do get great things in my Singapore grocery store that are not available back home. Like the most excellent mangoes ever. And great Thai fragrant rice. And tasty curry spices. And, many more things. So, this post isn’t a complaint… just a summary of my homesickness for familiar foods.

Check-out the demolition project across the street from the Taj Land’s End Hotel in Mumbai. Talk about a renewed perspective of hard labor.

Seriously, the entire building is being demolished brick by brick. Floor by floor. With sledge hammers.

And lots of laborers.

No explosives. No wrecking ball. No machinery.

Making a pile of bricks, the hard way

Someone explained the reason to me. Something about the building resting on reconstructed land along the coastline and close proximity to the Taj.

All I can say is. Wow.