Food, Books and Cats

Third times a charm, right? This time at The Cat Museum was the best so far, and the busiest. I had a great time with the other volunteers and the cats were so playful. Though I need to stop buying books every Thursday, or else I am going to end up like a library.

As has become a custom, I met Dawn at Bugis for a late lunch. This time I wanted something cheap and light for my stomach. We walked around in the basement of Bugis Junction in search of good looking sandwiches and salads. At Paris Baguette, I bought an avocado and tuna sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes and romaine salad. At the counter she asked if I wanted it toasted, and I said no, but the other girl had already put in in the oven. Hot salad and avocado is not very nice. I asked for an orange juice as well, thinking it must be made from the huge pile of fresh oranges. Instead I got a lotion-looking plastic bottle with 100% fresh orange juice. It tasted like fresh oranges, no doubt, but it was so small for S$7!

We did not get very full from the meal so we went to ColdStorage to get something to snack on while we were volunteering later. I found some Japanese candy that I really liked and need to buy more of. After we had paid we still had more than a hour to kill before we had to be at The Museum, so we spent most of it at Bras Basah Complex, going through bookstores to find one specific book John wanted me to buy - Creativity, Inc.. I did not find it, but I bought The Reader for myself.

At the Museum we got separated. I was in the Kittengarten with two other volunteers and Dawn outside with the adult cats. It was strange that we were three in the same room, since normally it is only two, but we figured there were too many volunteering. I had a small headache and mostly sat on a bench watching the cats and kids play. At one point we were fifteen people in the small room, which felt crowded and I wondered if this was good for the kittens. The volunteer that had been there longer than I had said it was no worries, though I still felt at unease for the sake of the cats. Eventually I left the room to go to my position for the second session.

Dawn and I were instructed how to handle the reception. It was fairly easy: point the customers to the computer and let them sign in, take S$12 dollars for thirteen years and above, S$10 for kids between seven and twelve. Anyone younger than seven had free entry. Doing all the math in Excel made everything very smooth. Dawn explained about the floors to the visitors and showed them to the escalator, while I sat in the hallway waiting for more. After five thirty there was not a lot of entries, so I headed back inside to get our bags with snacks. It was nice to sit there, people were so friendly and almost shy.

After leaving The Museum we went down to the basement of Bugis Junction again. John had asked me if I could buy dinner and Dawn recommended a skewers place - ToriQ. I bought two servings with three chicken and two pork skewers for S$15. I never got a chance to look at the pre-filled takeaway boxes and the rice already in there, so it was not until I got home and John opened his box that we noticed it was covered in seaweed. I like seaweed and thought the dinner was very good, but John does not eat seaweed and was less pleased. Though the chicken was good, the pork was less so. It was a good finish of the day, at least for me!