What do you mean it's December?

Okay, who stole October and November? Anyone seen them? Cause I certainly haven't!

My life at the moment is just one big blur. *sigh* We're moving. Again. Three years ago my Hubby's company moved us from Sydney to Singapore, well now they're sending us back. Anyone who's moved house will know how hard it can be but I have to say shifting countries is a whole different ballgame!

Man, there are soooo many things you just don't think about. Bank accounts, doctors records, school reports, passports, residency paperwork, quarantine for the animals, the time it takes to ship furniture from one country to another...and the list goes on. And I don't want to even talk about the time-suck factor of the whole event. Or the stress. *pulls hair*

On top of all that we're making this wonderful (hear the sarcasm?) move right before Christmas. The week before to be precise. Whose flippin' idea was that? We have to pack enough in our suitcases to get us through two months without ALL our stuff plus Christmas presents that have been bought. Not to mention all the IMPORTANT paperwork in my office. Good thing the company is sending us business class or there'd be lots of yelling from me.

We've got less than two weeks and all I keep thinking is are we there yet? I know we shouldn't wish our life away but I'd really, really like it to be February now. That's when we get to move back into our house. Before that we'll be living out of those suitcases at my in-laws.

It's a good thing I'll have all that yummy Christmas food as a distraction. Not to mention the many get together's I'll be attending over the Christmas New Year period. I know it's all going to go quickly, just look at October and November but.....ARE WE THERE YET??

Passport to Passion

I wasn't sure what to blog about for my first time so I thought I'd start at the beginning. A little bit of info on me and you'll see where the inspiration for my collection of short stories came from. I'm an Aussie living in Singapore. I followed my own personal hero of 21 years, dragging our 4 children behind me, when he was promoted to a regional roll. We live in a condo that has 5 pools, 3 tennis courts, a gym, hairdresser, mini-mart, spa (yes the pamper yourself kind and the one with bubbles), an alcohol serving poolside cafe and a beautiful view that stretches all the way to Indonesia. Right about now is when my friends tune out or turn green with envy, and I haven't even mentioned the maid! LOL

Singapore is a tropical climate, never drops below 22C/72F but has humidity off the scale. Coming from Oz we're used to the heat but 24/7 can get a bit much unless you're me. I LOVE the heat. (Probably why the heat level in my stories is always scorching.) We're also lucky to be just a short trip from some of the most exotic locations in the world and in the over 2 years we've been here we've taken advantage of that and visited many. Which leads into my little collection of short stories.

One Night In Bangkok was inspired by a trip I took with Hubby. He had to work and I got to tag along. From the minute I hit the airport I couldn't get the song out of my head, you know the one I mean, so I guess it was only a matter of time before Mr. Muse got involved. Parking myself somewhere that gives me the ability to people watch is a pastime I love and being in a foreign country makes it more enjoyable. Sitting back in the bar of a luxury hotel sipping on an ice cold cocktail just adds to the pleasure. Watching a rather rumpled, sweaty businesswoman stagger through the front door and flop into a chair I had one of those light bulb moments. There was no businessman coming to her rescue in real life but once Mr. Muse and I were done with her she had a hunky Thai/American savior.

Singapore Fling was similarly inspired by an afternoon of relaxing in the famous Long Bar in the Raffles hotel here in Singapore. The birthplace of the cocktail Singapore Sling proved to be a good source of inspiration for Mr. Muse. It wasn't anyone in particular that inspired Carly or Saxon but after an afternoon of watching the many changing faces it's not surprising that they found their way into my head.

I love playing the 'who are they?' game. It makes a boring wait go quicker, in the check-out line in the supermarket is a great place to try. Is the tired woman with the 3 kids in tow a single mother or has she just found out her husband is sleeping with her best friend? Is the immaculately dress woman in the next line a mistress to multimillionaire? Is the baby-face boy behind you a serial killer stalking the city? The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. I just happen to have an imagination that knows no bounds. I guess you could say the world is my oyster.

Rhian Cahill