Sab kuch provided for

... is a phrase we use in the house to describe infrastructure on the Little Red Dot. Like in Sim City. Schools, stadia, police stations, fire stations, bus terminals, train stations, banks, libraries - all in that careful layout, such that the circles of influence overlap nicely. As I said, like in Sim City. And, welfare. Websites that tell you which vaccinations to take, and that track the vaccinations as you go about taking them. Even the germs in your life have to queue up.

Sab kuch provided for. Except those things that we all know about.

Even West Mall Bukit Batok. Giordano for the $2 to $12 man. Dano for the $2 man. Crocodile for the $120 man. Food court. Post office. Library. Salon. Starhub. Singtel. Subway. Pastamania. Bengawan Solo. New books store. Used books store. New CD store. Used CD store. You have a need. We meet the need. Five full storeys of need-meeting. It's five minutes away. It's taken me two years to find out.

The latest - Makan Mumbai Indian Food. Masala Dosai $2.50. Mango Lassi $2.00.

People. Take the train. Go and explore the heartlands. Vada Pav $3.00.

Biblio

I am not as well-read as many of my intellectual friends. I do not read as fast my fiance, my closest friend or his fiance, who are all book-gobblers. I do not have on my fingertips, a list of the greatest books of all time. Yet, I love books. I love looking at them, smelling them, or just being around them. Or them being around me. Like in Kinokuniya. Or Borders. My two favorite hanging-out places in Singapore. Or, Fully Booked in Rockwell or Serendra. Manila. I know I share this with my mom. She claims I got most of my grey matter from my dad. But, filling it up with dollops of letters, syllables, words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs from books is a habit I am sure I got from my mom. We both have this in-built homing device that can seek out a good bookstore in any shiny mall or dingy back alley. A good book and a better read are always the best tokens I could take home for her.

I have been reading a bit this year. I have consciously made time. Of course, every day low prices on Amazon UK is a blessing.

I could borrow from the excellent library network in Singapore (I discovered the Bukit Batok Community Library tentacle of the NLB octopus today). Or, rummage in used-book shops. But, I have started buying books. My fiance has decreed that the bookshelves at home will be stacked with classy hardcovers. A home library, of sorts.

Here is a good way to start:

Randomhouse 1

Or, here:

Randomhouse 2

I have started. With De Tocqueville's Democracy in America.