Observations after two months

A random smattering of thoughts that have repeatedly come up since arriving.

• The damp is pervasive. The humidity here is a way of life that I'm trying to learn to swim through. Swim with? My skin is constantly damp and sticky, and at times I feel like I'll never be fully dry or clean again. Being dry is part of the clean feeling, I've discovered. The driest thing to be found are fresh clothes coming out of the dryer. It's all downhill from there. People mostly hang their clothes outside to dry here but I don't get it. When I hang our clothes out, they never feel like they're fully dry. And my bath towel never dries after I've used it. I can't even hang it up behind the door because I'm afraid it'll make the door mold! I've heard of shoes disintegrating from the mold. Thank goodness for the dehumidifiers in our closets, it's ingenious. 
• Heat + moisture + mask = terrible skin. The current state of my chin is akin to a teenager's break out. My skin hasn't had this kind of a geography since high school. The heat and the humidity combine to open and enlarge the pores, while also producing copious amounts of sweat. Add a mask to mix that all together, rub it in, and voila! A time machine that can take you back a few decades. Silver lining--the mask covers it much of the time.
• Singaporean bathrooms are designed for men. In the bathrooms here, there is a singular outlet that is restricted for the use of a shaver. I never even knew there was a difference in voltage for electric razors, but the things you learn! The shaver outlet will ruin anything else that gets plugged into it, including a hair dryer or straightener. The hair dryer is a new appliance in this household, rendered necessary due to the damp that, if left unattended, can result in fungus on the scalp. Marcus actually uses the hairdryer more than I do, and has surprisingly found that the maid's room is the one place in our apartment with both the right power outlet and a mirror. ???
• Consumption and waste is alive and well. The guilt. Plastic bags are rife. I've used more plastic bags in two and a half months than I did in the last seven years. And you actually need them, because the garbage shoots are tiny and (per the building manual)  garbage must be tied tightly in a plastic bag before it goes down the shoot. Let's not even talk about how disgusting the shoot is. Recycling does exist and you're told to recycle in a variety of mediums, but this must also be a face-saving tactic because the opportunities to recycle are sparse. You know the recycling bins at the airport where there's one container separated into three different sections? That's the bin we have at our building. Where there are 35 floors with probably 4-5 units on each floor. Not gonna cut it. Composting is but a dream. 
• Access to international shopping chains is great but localization is not. Singapore is such a small country that it has to import most things, including stores. If you come from a developed country, you'll most likely see stores that are familiar: Zara, H&M, Ikea, Marks & Spencer, Uniqlo, plus all the designer shops you could ever hope for. What strikes me as funny, though, is that the seasonality of the stores and the available stock is not tailored to Singapore. They get the same stock that's in season anywhere else. As most of these stores are based in the northern hemisphere, that means that it's winter and the clothing reflects this. Every. Single. Store. Uniqlo is currently selling puffer coats, sweaters and sweatshirts. Zara has an abundance of jackets, long skirts, and thick work pants. At least Cotton On has clothes that reflect summer in Australia. This makes it a bit difficult to put together a cohesive Singapore wardrobe. My workout gear is ok (thanks Cotton On) and I've managed to find some decent tank tops. And a skort. Oh my friends, the skort is back!! In the days of Covid and the inability of Singaporeans to travel to the ski slopes of Japan, the cold weather clothes leave me stumped. 
• Pests are a clear and present danger. Ok, not a danger. But I have a big fear of pests in our apartment. The garbage shoot is incredibly disgusting, and on our second time viewing the apartment, Marcus said he saw cockroaches when he opened the shoot. Since we've moved in, I've killed two cockroaches and an untold number of large and small ants. They somehow got into the last half a bag of our Trader Joe's rainbow trail mix. I was (and still am) devastated. A-holes. I've just ordered serious tupperware for storing our pantry goods. I'm hesitant to go into the room with the trash shoot (which is also the laundry room) for fear of what I'll find. I'm also afraid to open the door to the trash can (which has to be emptied pretty much daily) as I've found a nearly dead cockroach wriggling in there as well as a lizard. The lizard is fine, though he's not doing a very good job of eating the other pests. For the first time ever I'm employing pest control, which I think is mandatory. I feel that living in Singapore involves attempting to keep the jungle at bay. Nature would gladly reclaim what has been taken from her, sending in the humidity to grow plants and fungi, and unleashing creatures to overrun what has been taken by men. Actually, I think the same thing about living in Seattle. Our garden had a number of forest plants that made me appreciate that mother nature is never far. But I do relish Seattle for its dearth of invasive pests. 
• It feels very safe here. I can walk around late at night and not feel worried for my safety. I can walk around in tight or revealing clothing and not feel out of place or threatened. I've yet to walk around anywhere that feels dangerous. All of that. Feels good.