The Contents of My Suitcase and Blogs that Should Have Been

Clothes, of course - nearly every piece I own and altogether too much. Shoes. Far too few accessory items; style is, it would seem, all about accessories. Ziplocs ziplocking toiletries. Three journals: my first ever - half filled; a leather bound one I bought before moving to California one year ago - half filled, but I'm still committed to it; and his, that which he bought for me in Amsterdam a few months back - only one page bears a thought of mine, and it is of he who gave the gift. Some mail I will never, in Singapore, address. Ibuprofen. An old dayplanner I bought last February for return-to-California scheming and planning. Flight itinerary. Every spiral notebook I've owned since August of, 2008. Bracelet from Hawaii. David Yurman dogtag. And books - more than I'll ever have time to crack: Cold Mountain for its iconic American romance; Through the Looking Glass and Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland; Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell; Charlotte's Web for studying (I'm writing a children's book); Poetry Slam for nostalgic purposes; House of Leaves because I know I'll finish it someday if I keep taking it places; The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes because it is a treasure, and I keep my treasures close; lastly, An Infinite Ache, a play by David Schulner, because reading it makes sighing feel so deep, and I need to sigh deeply sometimes.

I suppose that's pretty much it. A smattering of me. A good portion of everything I own...There's a model here named Adrian. He arrived in Singapore a week before I did and is here for nearly the same exact stretch of time as I am. The living situation in the model's apartment, which is tragic at best, drove him elsewhere, and I don't blame him, but that's not the point. Adrian is the oldest model of the whole bunch of us by a good twenty years - 32 to clients and the agency, but 40 to the rest of the world. So Adrian is a career model, and Adrian's whole person seems to belong to his career, and his career has made him into something of a strange man. Or strange for the modern world, anyway. Wisdom sits very plainly in his eyes and about his loose dress, his stride and stance, his whole carriage, buzzes something like a nomadic energy. You can just tell that he's a wanderer. Now that I've unpacked my things, I realize that almost everything I own is here with me in Singapore, and it makes me think about the past, about how I've been a wanderer, too - drifiting with all my life in bags like a gypsy or something, trying to find home.

There are 8 of us here. Beau J, the Canadian, Robert, the Australian, Matej K and David L, the Czechs, Bruno A and Leonardo W, the Brazilians, Adrian, who is from South Africa and not really here so much physically as spiritually, since he moved to his own place. And then there's me, of course - Ricky B, as the agency has named me. Reportedly, there are two more on the way. No telling how that'll work out, since the apartment has exceeded its capacity as it is. Though I do think Matej should be gone in a week, which is little bit early, you should know. He's sort of lazy and bad-smelling, qualities that don't tend to charm clients. Plus I think he got some girl pregnant within a week of his being here, but that hasn't been confirmed. We are all good guys. We are each completely different. We may not be the best ambassadors of our respective countries and cultures, but we are good guys nonetheless.

It's been 5 days here now, and there are so many blogs that I haven't written, so many stories I haven't told. That's the way it goes, though. I can only do so much, and adjusting has been really traumatic, if I'm being honest. I'm not in mourning for my lost Blackberry anymore, though I still think of it very fondly. New Blackberries will come, and I'll probably lose them, too. But maybe by that time, my t-mobil contract will be up, making the switch to ATT possible. Then new iphones will come! Either way, I feel like sanity is returning to me, and that should make blogging more possible and therefore more regular, which should give you more to follow.

From Sweaty Singapore With Love,
Ricky B