only in singapore?

dehumidifer is quickly becoming a very important word in my vocabulary and an item in my closet and drawers that i cannot live without. in LA, i had a humidifier, it was to keep the air... well, humidified cuz it was so dang dry. hospitals use them. consequently, DE-humidifying anything was a foreign concept, but it makes total sense here where you can cut through the humidity with a knife. the problem isn't just sweating all the time, your clothes get moldy if not properly aired out, and well... dehumidified. i brought these packets from tokyo that does the trick, but of course, they have them here in boxes, called happy hippo. don't ask me why. what else about singapore... you have to turn the water heater on before taking showers. you can just leave them on all the time, but why when you can conserve energy. the problem is, when you're rushing in the morning and you forgot to turn it on, there is a waiting period involved. planning ahead becomes more important if you want to be energy conscious. safety locks are huge here, with all the electric sockets, dryers, etc. seeing as i've always been a safety girl, this works well for me. however, there are still some things i haven't been able to figure out about singapore. for example, the escalators are 1.5 times faster than the US, but the people walk slowly. this doesn't mean that you crash into people when the escalators throw you off, but it does leave you wondering what the point of the fast escalators are when people don't seem to be in a rush. on the other hand, it may be the heat and the humidity that slows people down (conserve energy if you will). i haven't caught on yet, so i still walk at my "new york" pace and arrive at my destination sweatier than everyone else (gross). another thing, their "express" cleaners take 5 days to dry clean your stuff. express in LA meant 24 hours or the same day service. perhaps the clothes are too hot to get dry as well. despite or perhaps because of these mysteries, i am growing quite fond of singapore. it may be that i'm still in a "honeymoon" phase, but it's beginning to feel more and more like home. sundays are my favorite days because i get to worship and fellowship with other believers. while i am still not settled in a "home" church and have found my community, i still look forward to my sundays, each time wondering, "could this be the one?"

btw, i finally opened a local account with citibank. it took less than 15 minutes. a follow up visit was required where i was finger printed/scanned. it's a new way of using my account called biometrics. no card required, simply scan my finger at a merchant and punch in my ID and the purchase is made. scary...