Initial Observations about Singapore: Part 1

I've had this germinating in my head for a while. I'm making it a Part 1 as I'm sure there'll be future occurrences that will continue to astound and confound me.

1. It's fucking hot
   The first thing I thought before coming here was that 30-degree days everyday would be some sort of paradise, after all, some of the best days I've had in Australia have been around this temperature. But I didn't factor in the humidity. Looking at a cloudy sky and sweating your dick off is not an ideal situation. Especially when it happens every day without fail.
2. People get bored here
   Not much of an observation, hey? People get bored everywhere. But I get asked of locals - what do you do with your spare time? With the insinuation that there is nothing to do here. I counter with something along the lines of: between travelling around, having people visit you, games of FIFA on my XBox360, playing online poker, drinking at the various bars, eating at the many food destinations, shopping for essentials, writing, and dealing with my addiction to Facebook... what spare time? I'd be doing the same thing in Sydney!
3. Banter is non-existentWhat do I mean by banter? The usual chit-chat you'd exchange around the office or in a cab. Talking shit. I am built for this, my whole day revolves around lackadaisical observations that are perceived as cool stories and yet this doesn't really happen here. My first trip in a cab I launched into a somewhat bland note that the weather was different here to Australia. Normally that would generate all sorts of colourful expressions from a cab driver. Not here.
   "You're not from here are you?"
   "No."
   Silence. The same applies in the office, but I'm threatening to circumvent that with much yelling across the room of late.
4. They love their food
   You don't just sit down and have a drink with these people. As a matter of fact I can't remember a session I've had where this has happened. You sit down, order a drink, and all of a sudden someone remembers it's compulsory to have food with your drink. Of course, silly me. I'm not really pooh-poohing it, it's just something that's taken some adjusting to. Some of the best drinking sessions I've had have been at places like Strattons. And there you need to be very drunk to order the food.

So there you have four quasi-negative points about Singapore and where I'm living now. Am I loving it? Yes. A change is indeed a holiday and while I'm still dumbstruck by some of the concepts I'm wrapping my head around, I wouldn't have it any other way. Work's been challenging, but I have to keep reminding myself that this would be the case with any new job I was starting. Let alone in another country.