Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
Song of the Open Road By Walt Whitman

"Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself. will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"

This poem was the only part of our wedding vow that we contributed. We found out months later that this poem was also used in the vows in the movie "Love Story", I swear we didn't know beforehand. This poem is so beautiful and personal to me. It really seems to embody the spirit our relationship.
This Valentine's day will hopefully be as romantic and tailor-made as possible.I got the only gift I really wanted...time. Mark's taking the day off to spend with me. Already on the agenda: Pancakes with blueberry citrus sauce for breakfast at home (in our new Valentine's day presents, Mark got a robe too). A free day to do whatever..... Then dinner at the Singapore Zoo complete with a "love tram" through the zoo. Perfect.

Taken for a ride. Trying to go out to dinner last night, we told the cab driver to take us to Robertson Quay. "Robinson...?" It was like he never heard of it. And this is not that obscure of a place. We should have jumped out right then. But he acts like he knows where he's going so we don't press it. After ten minutes or so, though, even I know enough of the layout here to see that he's not going the right way at all. I ask if he really knows where it is, and he pulls up and says, "Yes yes, here we are, Robinson Drive." Nowhere near. He offered to try again, but we figure our chances are better with some other cab driver who might have a clue. We gruffly pay him off; he may have been conning us, but he did at least give me back more change than he should've.

It takes us at least a half an hour to hail another cab, during which time I realize that my cell phone has gone missing. It apparently fell out in the first cab. Yay. A report has been filed, but I don't hold out a lot of hope.

Anyway, at least I have today off to spend with my sweetness.

Ever feel like you have a theme song for a particular experience? This Soul Coughing song seems to rattle around my head a lot in Singapore:

White Girl,
Market at Van Ness,
Heels to drag,
Discombobulated.
Air all soft around,
Hear the man singing,
Inclines and wires,
Telegraph Avenue.
Look away and she's eastbound, out of sight.
Dropped here,
By the hand of the Astronaut,
Builder of the pyramids,
The man from outer space.
Innocent farmgirl,
Raised by the aliens,
Out in Northridge,
Out in the larger world.
Look away and she's eastbound, out of sight.
WHITE GIRL! WHITE GIRL! WHITE GIRL! WHITE GIRL, WHITE GIRL, WHITE GIRL.

Trust me to open my mouth... Okay kids, I need to apologize for the previous blog, nobody's trying to "prohibit a flag" what's really happening is the State legislature in Virginia are considering passing a bill proposing to DISPLAY (note, not prohibit) the South Vietnamese flag at "official" events where other countries flags are flown. This IS pissing off the Vietnamese government, and maybe rightfully so, but it's not the issue I was upset about.
This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't research your sources and you blog when you've had beer. Oh well.

Very cool new bird spotted on the TV attennae of the low-rise building across from us -- the blue-tailed bee eater. From his high perch he (she?) was making short swooping runs down, presumably to catch bees and wasps, just like they describe here. Later he or she returned with two friends. They're still doing their bombing runs as I type this.

Staring at a neighboring building through binoculars for long periods of time is probably a good way to get in a lot of trouble.

Now this is disturbing: According to today's Straits Times (the English newspaper in S'pore) "Vietnam angered by flag ban in Virginia"...apparently Virginia has passed a bill prohibiting the flying of the Vietnamese flag during public ceremonies....WHAT?!!!!! Is this not the United States where freedom of speech and expression are guaranteed rights? If this law is really in effect it really shouldn't be. I believe it would be rather unconstitutional. These kinds of policies really piss off our friends abroad, and I fear most Americans, including myself are probably totally ignorant of their goings on.
On a positive note, there was a pro-American peace rally in South Korea yesterday. My parents told me the only news they saw in the States from Korea was of the anti-American nature (and they watch a lot of news). So far, all I've seen reported in the Straights time are pro-American stories such as the latter. The truth probably lies somewhere between.

Valentine's Day approaches, and it has a decidedly different flavor this year. Not just because we're abroad, or married. We also share a bank account. In previous years, even if I didn't pick Just The Right Gift, at least I could fall back on saying I care by spending a lot of money. Now, I'm just spending her money, and she's spending mine, so no substituting "pricy" for "thoughtful" like a big dumb male.

Of course, Marjorie's already bought herself a nice robe, which she says can be my Valentine's gift to her, but I'm not THAT stupid.

I have the day off, so hopefully we can get away somewhere nice; maybe Pulau Ubin.

Football match #2, today, and all the jogging paid off. I'm still not a great player but I'm improving and having more fun. The second half was played in pretty much a torrential downpour, the kind where the ball just decides to stop at random points when it hits a puddle. I "took one for the team", diving for a clearing header where I ended up lying in a mudpuddle. Almost made up for the stupid accidental handball in the first half -- I got the only yellow card of the day. It's a stupid instinct, but hard to overcome when you haven't been playing, to stick your hand out when the ball is going by you. Luckily, not in the penalty area.

Afterwards, Holland Village for dinner. We found the place there that rents DVDs; there are only one or two in town (everyone just buys them, it seems). Turns out this place has a branch right near our house.

The job hunt has begun in earnest for me now, and it appears that my prospects are good. Singapore, like seemingly everywhere else in the world, needs teachers. The only real dilemma is should I look for a full-time position? I'd like to be able to go with Mark on possible business trips (there is already talk of Hong Kong, Japan, and Tasmania), and truthfully, I really wasn't happy teaching the two years I did it. But, a large part of me wants a full time position, it's just got to be the right one. Luckily, Singapore does appear to have a few early intervention programs so maybe I'd be able to continue to work where my heart is....with the babes and toddlers.