The hiccups continue. Haneda was an oasis of free WiFi, sparkling loos, eye-popping Japanese snacks and smiling service staff but when we arrived in Singapore shortly before 6am on Monday morning, there was NO ONE at the arrival hall to meet us, and not a useable phone between the four of us.

But hopeful sign 2: the guy opening up the Quiznos kiosk gave me some change, and hopeful sign 3: there was a payphone and hopeful sign 4: Alan was waiting by the kerbside. He'd sent a text/email but of course we are not that mobile coming from America!

That familiar wall of damp heat. We loaded up and drove to Ghim Moh where mum and dad were to meet us. I planned the menu: hae mee noodles dry, youtiao with black coffee, carrot cake two kinds, nasi lemak and prata. The table was laden....But alas, as we parked and walked towards the deserted hawker centre, a banner cheerfully told us the place was closed for cleaning.

Argggghhhhhhh....

Setback number who's counting: the Holland Village hawker centre was closed too. But of course. It's Monday. What was I thinking? Have I been away for so long that I've forgotten this is the day of rest for many market stalls? We settled for a barely-operational Crystal Jade and then a bit of Ya Kun kaya toast. Adequate but not ideal.

I did not look forward to the prospect of entering the Pine Grove apartment and it was as I expected, but no worse. Ethan is staying here this week and had a happy reunion with the girls. I went to work clearing out my old room as best as I could. We do have some breathing space though, as mum and dad are going to church camp in Desaru this week so we can have their room. They left around noon. I got to work cleaning up in the kitchen as well, and the bathroom, and unpacking all our luggage, except for Alexis's, which is simply voluminous and unmanageable. I think she brought nearly every piece of clothing in her closet.

Try as they might, J and Izzy succumbed to jetlag and went to sleep. The other two children clamoured to see MIB3, so we got to the laborious task of waking them up. But setback # way off the charts by now: J's glasses have gone missing!!!! I went through all the suitcases and every bit of trash I had taken downstairs but I could not find them. Woe is me! I knew we should never have come!!

There was no help for it. The movie was out of the question. Instead, I drove everyone to Sunset Way, where Alexis had mee pok from her regular stall and I bought some pasta/pizza for Izzy and Ethan from Rocky's. Afterwards, we got prepaid mobile cards from 7-11, and while everyone spaced out, I went to work contacting friends etc. As expected, I am immune to the 12-hour time zone difference jet lag, and I went to bed at 11. Of course Izzy was up half an hour later and needed a snack. Luckily, we had foreseen this earlier and were prepared with cup noodles from 7-11.

So, the first day ends and we survived. Hopeful sign # 5: The heatwave took a break today.