So, the Stockdales have been in Singapore a month.  It seems like only four weeks ago that we got here.  Here’s what we looked like after we made it through customs that very first night.

All this time has gone pretty fast, but to be honest, we really haven’t done much other than work on getting settled.   That said, here are a few more pictures of the apartment.

A few hiccups getting the helper here.  Hopefully, that will get figured out this week.  Suffice to say, we are all very fortunate to be from a country where our comings and goings are not limited.  We can complain all we want about the TSA, but they are a minor inconvenience compared to the everyday practices in some parts of the world.

So, as I get rooms mostly done and free of clutter, I’ll post some pictures.

Here is the office.  Yes, that is my bike on the trainer.  There is about an 88% chance that 94% of my training for Ironman Arizona will be on that thing.  That seems like a better idea than having a cab run me over.  Mrs. Stockdale seems to agree.  At least until the helper gets here.  After she arrives, I may no longer be necessary.

Here is the master bedroom.  This is where you add another joke about my not being necessary.

Here are the pools.   There are actually four and they were a big reason we chose this apartment.   There is a big play pool that has a water slide to a small play pool.  Then there is a jucuzzi pool an a 50m lap pool.

More as I get this place presentable.

Not really much going on for the Stockdales.  Other than Mrs. Stockdale going to work, the little Stockdales and I have been getting things situated around the new digs.  Here are a couple pictures of our view.  It could be better, but it could be a lot worse.

Today, we pretty much got 97% of the place situated.  Still some odds and ends.  Tomorrow, in the daylight, I’ll talk some better pictures of ‘Casa Del Stockdale’.  Nothing on the walls yet, but they’re made out of concrete and all I brought were the fancy picture hooks from Lowe’s.  It never dawned on me I need masonry drill bits and those anchor things.  I did however bring over 4000 Q-Tips so I guess that evens it out somehow.

More to follow when I have time.

If you were choosing a location for a grocery store in a shopping center in Singapore, would you locate it:

A.   On the first floor, reasonably close to where the cabs drop people off and pick them up?

or

B.   On the fourth floor, where the only access comes from an out of the way escalator and you then have to walk through two separate food courts before getting there?

Since I’m writing about it, you can fairly easily gues the answer.  Like I said before, sometimes it’s like a genius designed this place.  Other times it’s like Homer Simpson is in charge.

She’s the first from the Stockdale family to celebrate a birthday in Singapore.  She got a bunch of new clothes and other things before we left, so Mrs. Stockdale gets to sleep in this morning, go for a long run, and then she’s getting a foot massage.  There may also be some ‘art projects’ from the little Stockdales presented.  Yesterday, at the grocery store, I bought her a $12 bag of pretzels.  We’ll see if she shares any of them.  Doubtful.

So, we’ve been here almost three weeks and I’ve yet to see a mailman, or a mail truck for that matter.  I know that mail service actually exists in Singapore because Mrs. Stockdale gets mail at work.  Also, there was a letter waiting for us at the new apartment from the utility people.  Plus, I bought stamps, but that was at 7/11.

So, here’s some questions.  How does the mail get here?  Have I not seen the mailman because they are some kind of plain closed secret agents in Singapore (like Perry the Platypus)?  Do they silently move throughout the country delivering mail incognito?  Is there some kind of underground tunnel system that allows them to stealthy move without being seen by the general public?  If there is no tunnel system, what kinds of trucks do they use?  And, since we drive on the opposite side of the road with the steering wheel on the right, do mail trucks have the drivers seat on the ‘correct’ side from my vantage point?  If I get a car, should I get a Singapore mail truck so I am more comfortable driving?   Do these folks know who ‘Newman’ is?  Does the Singapore mailman oath have the line about sleet and snow not stopping them from completing their appointed rounds?  Do they wear those goofy hats?  Do Singapore mailman hate Pottery Barn catalogs?  Is there more than one person working behind the counter at the Singapore post office and when they head off to ‘the back’, where do they actually go?

These are questions that need answers!

Some of you know that we’re getting an addition to the Stockdale family.  Not another little Stockdale, or a furry Stockdale, but an ‘Assistant Stockdale’. 

In Singapore, things like cooking, cleaning, and laundry are VERY difficult.  I get tired even thinking about them.  When you combine the complexity of everyday life with the cost of labor in Southeast Asia, you get FDWs (Foreign Domestic Workers) commonly referred to as  ‘helpers.’  ‘Helpers’ are live-in maids/cooks/nannies that make everyday life easier so that I can run, bike, swim, drink coffee, read the paper, relax, play Xbox, play golf, nap, blog, relax and relax while Mrs. Stockdale is at work.

In order to employ a ‘helper’ there are a variety of forms you need to fill out and you also must complete an online class that teaches you how to treat your ‘helper’.  Here are some examples of what we learned:

(You may need to click on the image to actually read the slide.)

The entire ‘class’ took about two hours and these are just two slides from many that I could have selected.  Mrs. Stockdale and I are now well versed on how to treat the Assistant Stockdale.

We bought stamps.

That’s it.

So, fortunately or unfortunately, our stuff is supposed to make it to Singapore today or tomorrow and be delivered Friday morning at 9:00 am.   Part of me wishes it would have been lost in the Indian Ocean.  We packed WAY too much stuff given where we are going to live.  There are a lot of things that won’t even go up the elevator.  They will either find a home in a dumpster or with one of the movers.

We signed a lease on an apartment yesterday.  We didn’t get the one that the big little Stockdale cried about, we got one smaller, yet better in many ways.  It’s on the 21st floor, has a balcony, and the building has four or five pools with a nice play area.  It seems like there will be a lot of kids.  The bus for the school the little Stockdales will attend already stops there.  

The best part is that it is half the size of our KC house and our rent is three times our old mortgage payment.  AWESOME!

We’ll post some pics on Friday or Saturday as we move in.

UPDATE!   Ship is late.  Won’t move in till Monday.  It could be worse, so I won’t complain.