Gratitude Monday: a whole list

Well, I’m back from my Singapore adventure. And I have a list of gratitude that it sparked.

I had to come to terms with a maximum of four to five hours out and about in the 90F and 90% humidity. Not so much because of exhaustion, although, yeah, I was tired; mostly because I would hit a point where I ran out of water but not thirst, so I’d head back to the hotel to rehydrate. That was interesting to me.

But that limitation made me aware of many, many small things that kept me going. So, in no particular order:

Water. Man—what a blessing potable water is. And the occasional water fountain—I saw way more toilets in parks and public places; not so many water fountains, so I really appreciated them when I came across them.

Hotel washcloths. I took one out with me every morning, and it was pretty soaked by the time I came back. I still shvitzed off 4lbs while there, but mopping my face seemed to make me feel better.

Shade. Even if it’s just a construction barrier, shade makes a difference, a welcome one.

Breezes. I don’t know why they were such a relief; technically, they were just pushing the hot humid air around, but they absolutely did.

Benches and the occasional low wall. I had to park my butt on them frequently.

Kindness of strangers. I was struck by how willing people were to help. The hotel concierge gave me a MRT card, so I didn’t have to buy one, but I did have to top it up. He warned me that the kiosks might not accept my foreign credit card, but that I could use cash just fine. Well, he was right about the CC, but I didn’t see how I could use cash, so I went to the Passenger Service guy. He could have said, “Lady—look around you; go to the kiosk that accepts cash.” Instead, he took my cash and topped up the card—even though there were notices that the Passenger Services people don’t do card transactions.

Another Passenger Service guy saw from a distance that I hesitated about which platform to take. He’d been walking around his little office, but by the time I got to the window, he was sat down, ready to help.

I got confused about which turnstile to use. A commuter whizzed past me, but gestured to the indicator: a green check instead of a red cross. Such a simple kindness, but it made such a difference.

At another MRT station, I was examining the neighborhood map, and an employee came over to help. He spent about five minutes describing all the features in the neighborhood, how I could approach them and what to expect, then suggested, “You can take a photo of this map.” Well, yes—that was bloody brilliant.

(Everyone in the city was so kind, that when I got to Changi Airport and encountered the Singaporean equivalent of the TSA and Immigration, who had all the charm and communication skills of their US counterparts, it was kind of a shock.)

Singapore has every mosquito known to nature, but I couldn’t wear any repellant for the same reason I couldn’t wear sunblock: in the 50 yards from my hotel to the MRT station, I’d washed away my moisturizer with sweat. But I didn’t get bitten at all!

Masks. Everyone wears them inside anywhere; many wear them outside. No bellowing about "mah freedumb!" or shrieking that vaccines cause penis shrinkage. We're in a pandemic; we get on with our lives in a way to protect public health.

Pain. As in: none. Yay!

There’s more, but this is a start for this Gratitude Monday.