I woke up around 8:30AM. The sky was overcast and no sunlight reached in to pull me from my slumber. I laid awake in the living room daybed for a few minutes, getting myself oriented. It’s always strange waking up and finding myself not in my own bed. Everyone, including the dogs, was asleep. No one stirred from behind the sliding door that separated the bedroom and living area. On this side, me and Lou and Abby. On the other, my friend and her two boys.
Headed to Palawan Beach
For the morning walk, I led the way straight to the beach. Down the path outside the villa, toward the lap pool, and through the gate by the duplexes, the beach was just across the street. A sturdy wooden staircase took us from Capella to Palawan Beach, which was clearly empty so early in the day. Someone was raking up the seaweed that had washed up. The Life Guard was just getting in for his shift.
I was undecided if I wanted to head to the water, unclear if I wanted to deal with two wet dogs. The girls were happy to be exploring new grounds anyway. As soon as the water was visible, Abby started straining against her leash to get there. She is a water dog, a Golden Retriever, after all. With no swimming pool skills, she is a decent ocean (aka salty water) swimmer. Not as strong as Lou, who is much more muscular. with much less hair. There was no turning back. Leashes came off and off they went.
I checked with the Life Guard who just said to keep away from swimmers. There were none. We had the beach all to ourselves. Surprisingly the girls didn’t get into the water right away. In fact, Lou who normally goes straight in only did her one loop in the water midway through the walk.
Abby bunny-hopped along the shoreline. Her favourite thing to do? Roll around on her back. In the sand. In the shallow water. Very quickly, instead of fluffy blonde fur, she was brown with sand, seaweed and twigs hanging off, giving her a funny bushy tail. She was a mess. A gorgeous mess. I love watching the girls. Lou ran around in circles, trying to engage Abby in play. These are the moments I will cherish.
It was amazing to be on the empty beach, watching the dogs play and chasing them around. It was so quiet. Even though it was not early, the day had not begun on Sentosa. This time of day at the East Coast Park, you would find biker after biker plus people strolling on the beaches.
More Peacocks
On the way back to Villa #12, we met up with more peacocks. I’m not sure how many peacocks actually call Capella home.
The peacocks we saw were heading the same way we were and so we walked slowly behind them, keeping a respectable distance. The dogs again were very intrigued. Abby sat down and watched. Very quietly. Very still. The peacocks seemed okay with it, no bleating.
Back at the villa, we started the morning quietly, with the very jet-lagged Gin sipping coffee to wake up, chatting and checking out the beach photos of the girls. We covered all the topics under the sun. It is good to have great friends. To have real women as friends who have your back, who help you through tough times, even if they are only in your life for a short period of time.
Caroline Myss, George, Women
Women seemed to have been pitted against each other, in a pursuit of a secure life, as chattel. This remains true on a general level and in many parts of the world. We are fully capable of having that good life ourselves on our own terms, without prostituting and selling out who we are. Caroline Myss interestingly teaches that the Prostitute is an archetype we all have. Women continue to be enablers of men who get away with half-truths and women continue to raise generations of men who don’t see any different.
Maybe it’s life experience. Maybe it’s how we are brought up. Maybe it’s what we discover. Being who you are means being who you are in all areas of your life. You can only get away with looks and a lack of integrity or some other form of incongruency for so long before someone finds you out. It must be tremendously energy-draining and stressful to always be checking yourself. Well, hopefully that someone who finds you out first is yourself. Because when your worlds collide…George didn’t like it and I doubt anyone really does though it is inevitable.
Room Service for Lunch
For lunch, we ordered more local specials and favourites – laksa, hor-fun, and chicken rice for us and chicken sausages for Lou and Abby. And yes, more churros. The party got bigger with our friend Julie arriving. Then the boys’ playdate, which was mostly launching themselves into the patio pool. It was non-stop activity until Gin and the boys left for the airport for their onward flight to Australia. As is often the case, it was a mad dash to get ready, as the time to leave crept up so quickly, too quickly.
As I sat in the villa in the aftermath, I watched the dogs lying quietly on their sides, panting from their night walk to the beach. They are fabulous with kids, even high-octane boys and their toys, jumping over them and tossing pillows. They were done for the night. It was my turn to relax.
Full Moon Massage
To wind down the night, I booked the Full Moon Massage at Auriga Spa. It was still Full Moon energy.
The massage began with three deep breaths. From firm points along the middle of my feet to my head, my whole body was worked on. I only wished that the tummy part was more than a few strokes. All in all, it was a wonderful massage, a wonderful way to prepare for a good night sleep.
I keep forgetting one hour is way too short for a fully satisfying massage. After the treatment, I was led to the relaxation lounge to enjoy ginger tea, accompanied by dried apricot, walnuts, and cranberries. I spent some time there to get grounded. Then I went to the steam room and vitality pool to add more heat to my body and more alone/cocoon time. Now, it was time for sleep.
Staycation Day 3, in the books.