Signspotting and Stamp-shakin'

Hello All!

A quick entry today, as a) I was in class all day so nothing of import happened and b) I am exhausted after the events of last night. But before I tell you about all that, here is some signspotting, dedicated to my sweetheart Tom, who loves it so.

#1 is a "no durian" sign, which I saw on a bus. It's the third prohibited item. #2 is self-explanatory. I freaked out when I saw it on campus. I was like, zebras? where! #3 is the bizarre flapper women who advertise bus safety. They are everywhere. They make the bus seem like such an awesome time! #4 is the anti-dengue fever campaign, which I thought was a bit unecessarily dire. Then again, I've never had dengue fever...

So, yesterday was Ladies' Night in Singapore. It's practically a national holiday. Every club lets ladies in for free and gives them 5 free drinks. It is wild! The club area in Singapore is called Clark Quay. It's down on the water and it looks like Vegas crossed with Fantasia. I know I keep making a lot of Disney references but it's true. Everything here is clean, brightly colored, and a bit fake. I keep looking for danger and dive bars, but alas I have found precious little of either. Anyway, I went with my roomates, and I was most definitely the newbie to the club circuit. We got our hand stamped for two clubs, so we could come and go as we pleased. Once that business was out of the way, we went to the bridge. It is literally a big bridge that people hang out on and drink. It's hopping, let me tell you. My jokes about bridges being where homeless people drink in the US were generally well-received, so I'd say all in all a good night. There's a 7-11 nearby where you buy your alcohol. You might ask, but Laura, you had ten free drink coupons in your purse! Why did you buy a $5 can of spiked cider?  I would reply, that's Singapore, lah! (in truth, I don't know. For me, clubbing is an anthropological experiment as much as anything. Entertaining at best, indescribably sucky at worst. So it goes.)

Anyway, the clark quay area is actually very cool. There's this bar that's called the clinic that looks like a doctor's office. All the chairs are wheelchairs, which is mildly offensive but still cool. Every bar has a different theme. When I said, ooh, I want to bring my parents here! all of my friends looked at me funny but you, my loyal readers, will understand because you know my parents are hip cats, much hipper than me.

One of the two clubs we went to was called Zirca. Remember that scene in "Jesus Christ, Superstar" where Judas is singing the title song and he's supposed to be in Hell? There's dancing girls in leather and flashing lights and stuff? Well, that's EXACTLY what Zirca looked like. It was interesting, being in Hell. Louder than I would have imagined, but cleaner. Here's a picture of Zirca. Not pictured: three hundred sweaty Asian teens with glowsticks. And the cages. There were Girls. Dancing. In. Cages. I thought that only happened in the movies?

It was actually, despite the strobe lights, smoke machines, and arrhythmia-inducing bass, okay. People were generally respectful of personal space. Asians are nicer than Americans in this respect. I jumped up and down near a few guys, and they high fived me afterwards. Much better than a sleazy come-on. They were all in polos, too. It was cute. Plus, the music in Singapore is about six years behind US, so I know all the songs!

As I shouted the words to "Time of my Life", waving a glowstick at 2am, I had a vision of myself from the outside. I looked...normal. It was nice. I actually felt cool for a minute. That was worth a whole night of going deaf. Almost. Not like I actually like clubbing, but I can do it. When I was in high school and even awkwarder than I am now, I met a girl a summer camp who told me that the secret to fitting in was "hacking it". I wasn't really sure what she meant then, but now I know. And last night I hacked it with the best!

I am still undecided on Spring Break. Thanks for your input, all. If I don't go to Vietnam, I will definitely go at some other point while I'm here, thanks to all your great advice! I miss you all very much and it's cool to see your comments. It makes me feel more connected to home. So thanks again.

This is Singapore Sue, saying until next time, sionara, suckers! (thanks, Dad, for the best signoff EVER! No, we don't speak Japanese in Singapore. But who cares?)