Novelty is good

[noodlebunfun]

It's been a long time since I had a good day.

• 7AM / 8AM: Woke up; Looked at episode summaries for Orange is the New Black and looked up novels set in France for travel inspiration.
• 9AM: Cleaned the house in preparation for my in-laws coming over for lunch.
• 11AM: Parents-in-law are late. HY brought his kids to the playgrounds near our block. I have never spent time at the playgrounds before.  It was so nice to see E and M play. E was so excited and went to all the slides and swings, until her hair stuck to her face from being so sweaty lol. 
• 12PM: Ended up having lunch at the nearby mall. We went to a Japanese restaurant, since E has been obsessed with ramen lately.
• 2PM: Went to the eastern part of Singapore (Changi) to take a bumboat to Pulau Ubin. I volunteered to help pick up trash in the island. I thought I was late because I was held up at lunch, but I made it on time. I ended up being on the same boat as another volunteer and we chatted the whole time. I also met the other volunteers and everyone was so friendly. I was flooded with endorphins due to (1) being around nature; (2) doing something new; (3) being around friendly people; (4) all of the above for a good cause
• 5PM: Had a beer with some of the volunteers in Little Island Brewing Co. I hung out with 4 other ladies and had a nice time socialising.
• 7PM: Long bus ride back home which is relaxing, if you're not rushing. The bus ride was followed by a ~20 min walk and I love walks like this. 
• 8PM: Tried a new recipes for dinner which HX loved. Minced beef + hoisin & oyster sauce on brown rice. 
• 9PM: Cleaned up the kitchen, showered and did one load of laundry
• 10PM: In bed and journaling. Looking forward to going to bed early to recover from last week. 

Comments

[haebin]

It's been a long time since I had a good day.
That's awesome. :)

I am surprised to read that people have to pick up trash on an Island next to Singapore. When I was there (okay, I have to admit that it was eleven years ago), Singapore was extremely clean.

It makes me sad that so much litter is in the nature. It's painful to see how people don't care about their surroundings.

[noodlebunfun]

Heyhey!

Pulau Ubin is part of Singapore, but it's not as developed and with less service. I doubt there is regular cleaning that happens. Also, I suppose the trash usually comes via the sea from the neighboring countries.

[haebin]

I see.
20 years ago I was in Bali and was shocked how much trash/litter was at the beach. It was horrible. And I think, today is much worse. :(