Since Peter was in Singapore for work, his company provided a hotel room for 2 weeks. We stayed at the Ibis Hotel near Bugis Street (a famous market street) While he was off slaving away at work, I took full advantage of being in one place for two whole weeks!!!! I don't think I've been in one place that long since September and it was wonderful! I spent my days just doing normal things. Working out in the mornings (in the room with my downloaded videos), eating my $150 salad, fruit, and nuts, drinking lots of ICE water, washing clothes, using the internet, and watching tv (I got to watch Ellen!) : ) It was wonderful.

Besides being sloth-like, I did make it out a few times, and even figured out how to navigate the public bus system all on my own! Believe it or not, this was one of the first times that I've had to do this in my life! I grew up in an area without public transportation, and even with all my world travels, bus tickets are usually purchased in an agency and all I have to do is show up and wait for the driver to take me from point A to B.--Either that, or I'm traveling with someone else who does the navigating. I've never really had to read the map, figure out the bus route, and know where to get on and off. I managed to do this without getting lost even once (almost a miracle for me) and even remembered to swipe my ticket both upon entering and exiting the bus (they charge per kilometer) every time except once, a $3 penalty I did not like. Anyway, I know it might not seem like much to most of you, but I was quite impressed with myself and felt a bit liberated. Hey, it's the small things in life that matter, folks! While mastering Singapore's bus system, I went to the Botanical Gardens to run, made a few Embassy runs for refill passport pages, and met Peter for lunch at his work at Sun Tec Towers. It was a good 2 weeks!

Our nights were spent eating out (weren't impressed with the hotel food), doing some city exploring (shopping), and apartment hunting for Peter. One night we made went on the Singapore Flyer. It's like a giant ferris wheel but each compartment is a little pod with a sofa and glass windows all around. It is also the world's tallest…and it was HIGH! I've never really had a problem with heights until this trip so I thought I'd be fine. I thought wrong. I guess all my extreme heights adventures (think Bungee Jumping, Petronas towers, & KL tower) on this trip have finally gotten the best of me and my body and mind had finally had enough. The second the door closed behind us, my heart began to race and I began having a panic attack where I couldn't breathe and all I wanted to do was get the heck out of that car. Wouldn't happen for another 40 minutes until the ride was over so I spent the entire time with my head buried in Peter's shirt, eyes closed tight, trying to catch my breath. Poor Peter, who had been really looking forward to getting some good photos up there, spent the whole time telling me stories to distract me and trying to snap photos from afar (I wouldn't go near the windows) as I clung to him for dear life. Needless to say, it was not our best night outing.

We did manage to have a few good nights out too. My favorite was dinner with my childhood friend, Deb who I've known since we were about 10 years old! She's been living in Singapore for a few years and it was so great to catch up with her…twice! Once at brunch on the water front in Clark Quay, and once for dinner at her apartment. Said apartment is also HIGH so besides avoiding the windows and balcony, I enjoyed the night. I was even able to cook (a risky move on her part) but the food turned out well and it was nice to have a nice, healthy meal of vegetables! She and her friend were also able to give Peter advice on in the ins and outs of life in Singapore.

On the first weekend, Peter and I checked out some apartments and he decided to go with the first one (my favorite). It's in East Coast Park, the beach area, and is only a 15 minute walk to the beach. I am not a fan of cities and was feeling a bit claustrophobic so I was really happy to move there the following weekend and "feel at home." The neighborhoods remind me of La Jolla, San Diego, with palm-tree lined roads, nice houses, and a beach area vibe. I was even able to RUN along the beach and scope out spots for bbqs, camping, and eating out along the water. Other perks to the apartment are a pool, gym, and good, cheap (relatively speaking) food nearby. We already found an Indian and pizza place we love. Finally, I had the beach, a super market and kitchen to cook in (made gluten-free pasta with my olive-oil sauce as soon as I could!), a place to run and workout, internet, and one spot to unpack and "settle into" for a bit. Oh, and Peter was there, which was good too I guess. : ) I was a happy girl!