The Jennifer Blogs

Homeless Kitty is my “not pet.” In other words, I feed the thing, love on it and talk to it. I’ve even named it (her name is Homeless Kitty). But it’s not my pet. Homeless Kitty (Or H-K for short) lives at the MRT station near our condo. She is sleeping by the stairs every time I walk by. I have asked Marso twice if I could bring H-K home with me, but he refuses. I have tried to sell him on the kitty by offering to keep the litter box in Jean-Luc’s room -- you know, so maybe we can make the boy’s room smell better. Still, he refuses to let me bring H-K home. So for now, H-K stays at the MRT and I share feeding responsibilities with the others who live in Jurong West.

How do you celebrate your birthday in Singapore? Not with cake.

We had a really simple cook-out at the pool with chicken and beef kebabs. Marso did the cooking and we invited some new friends (Bill & Kara) to join us.

Marso bought me a violin for my birthday. That may sound like a really random gift, but I played violin for a long time when I was in elementary and middle school. I don’t really remember how to play a darn thing on it, but I really am looking forward to either figuring it out with the help of YouTube and Vimeo, or to finding someone who can teach me a few lessons.

I felt bad cheating on The Coffee Bean this afternoon when I stopped by Starbucks for a coffee. The nice part about this particular Starbucks, though, is that there is an outdoor balcony overlooking the entrance to the mall. The entrance is typically decorated with something festive. As we get ready for Chinese New Year in Singapore, there are beautiful lion costumes on display and a huge red arch at the entrance.

I wasn’t sitting outside, but it was easy to hear the drums when they started banging. I got up to see what was all the commotion and noticed that one of the costumes had been moved off the pedestals and it was moving!

Two men were inside the costume, but they moved like one. It was incredible to watch this thing dancing around. I actually forgot I was watching a costume. This thing moved so realistically that for a minute I thought it was a giant version of my dog Boo. I swear this lion even had Boo’s mannerisms!

Singapore’s MDA has nothing to do with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Media Development Authority explains on its website their reason for existence is:

to develop a state-of-the-art media city
to position Singapore as a media exchange
to export made-by-Singapore content
to augment the media talent pool
to foster a conducive regulatory environment and culture

What they don’t tell you is that you are paying for the above program by owning a TV. Not by using a TV. Not by subscribing to cable. Just by owning one. It doesn’t matter if you don’t watch it, it isn’t plugged in, or it doesn’t work. You own a TV? You pay. In our case, Marso & I have a TV in our bedroom that we never use to watch over-the-air TV. We download movies from iTunes and watch those through our TV. Doesn’t matter. We have a TV.

I was doing a little research on this matter of the TV License Fee and found a guy here who had to pay his $110 annual fee plus a $250 late fee. He received a notice that he needed to pay the license fee, but since he does not own a TV, he didn’t pay it. The authorities with MDA contacted him repeatedly, and still he did not pay because he does not have a TV. Finally they reached him on the telephone and he explained to them that he does not have a TV. They told him that he was supposed to have reported that. He asked, “You mean I had to call you to tell you I don’t have a TV?” They told him that was correct. So he asked, “I have to pay $250 because I didn’t call you to tell you that I don’t have a TV?” They again told him he was correct. Ridiculous!

We have contacted the owner of our condo and he told us not to worry about the license fee. He will pay it. I am so impressed. Many of the landlords here nickel and dime their tenants. I was fully prepared to pay it when our landlord told us not to worry about it. Many expats here argue that whoever owns the TV should have to pay the license fee. That seems fair. And since our landlord owns the TV in our condo (we rent the condo fully-furnished), maybe he feels the same way. Regardless, we don’t have to worry about it.

Growing up, I remember my friend’s uncle Dennis. Dennis Dennis. First name - Dennis. Last name - Dennis. No kidding. And my high school boyfriend went to school with a girl named Snow White. My mom told us about a girl she knew growing up by the name of Lula Belle Thigpen. That struck us as funny too. But when I took D’Ette to the doctor the other day, I thought to myself, “Now this man literally has a funny name.”

The sign on the door read: Dr. Michael Ha.

I wonder if his parents had considered naming him twice, like Dennis Dennis’s parents did. Then he’d have been Ha Ha. And if he has a son, they could have named him Mini Ha Ha. (A little family joke.)

As you can tell, the magazines at the doctor’s office weren’t that great. I let my mind wander a bit.