"I'm not a business man, I'm a BUSINESS, man!"

Dressed for success in Singapore.

Although, despite the Scott Bakula-style Quantum Leap I made in relative presentability points, Uncle Dan was still drinking Haterade with his bacon and eggs this morning.

"Looking a little scruffy still," he said.

"This is the best I can do."

He looked unimpressed.

"All right, looking good, Bayless!" Lesli exclaimed. Mark nodded in agreement, and reached for the camera.

"See, Uncle Dan!"

Besides, it wasn't so bad anyway. Not only did I get to carry around a comb in my pocket for the first time in my life (which was awesome), but I also found that people treat you with a lot more respect on the street and at restaurants when they think you're big time, or smart, or rich, or something other than what I really am. I may go with the tie full time...
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It's not that I didn't enjoy the all-day meetings with my uncle -- I definitely learned a lot about how business people actually work with one another, and it's only Day One, so I'm sure to be in for a ton more -- but it was after work that I really started to enjoy myself.

The inside of an office is just never as cool as a part of town -- any town -- called "Little India."

Let's play an ethnic word association game. I'll say a country, and then I'll guess the image that immediately pops into your mind of who lives in that country.

Ready?

China: Chinese people.

Japan: Japanese people.

Vietnam: Vietnamese people.

Singapore: ........Asian..........people...............with squinty eyes..............I am assuming...............dude, I don't know anything about Singapore.........I just know there are Asians living there.

Singapore's ethnic storybook reads kind of similar to our own, I guess: Native people pushed out, melting pot of sorts ensues, not a real rich sense of culture. And by that I mean that my sense is that the word "history" here dates back about 200 years to some British explorers.

According to the 2000 census, it's 76.8% Chinese, 7.9% Indian, 13.9% indigenous Malay, and a handful of others. Those "others" include lots of rich, white ex-pats (like the family putting me up like a king at the moment), some Sri Lankans (I ate with one who I met tonight), some Phillipinos, and some others, I don't know.

Want to keep playing the word association game? Rich or poor, ready?

Asia: poor.

That's what I figured, at least. But I think I was wrong, about this country, at least. This place is one giant Starbucks, from what I've seen. Mark told me it has a higher per capita income than America. Little India wasn't rolling on dubs or anything, but I think it was for sure a Little wealthier version of India (by the way, I soon discovered how I had been able to score a sweet, tacky "Singapore" t-shirt for only a buck there ... because it doesn't say "Singapore." It says "Sigapore").

It's the Asian Dream, perhaps?

I can't be sure -- I've only been here a day, and I have no basis for comparison. But even if it falls short of that expectation, you gotta give this ad wizard representing www.classic-ideas.com.sg props. Dream ho's?? That IS a classic-idea.com. I can't believe I never thought of building dream ho's before. I mean, I have created a site for building a dream, (cough, www.newcollegeidentities.com, cough), but never a dream girl with loose morals and looser pants.