bo liau - nothing to do

i woke up at 12 noon with a headache. being single (away from family) yet married can become torture. i have 3 days without work. yesterday i braved the sales and today i spent half the day sleeping and half the day walking around Bedok Central. having nothing to do or nothing to do anything with can be ultra boring. i did the laundry yesterday but the day proved to be longer than i thought so I went to Expo and today, i decided to walk around Bedok Central. The first thing I did was check out the fish soup. First taste, hmmm, not so delish but after i poured the chili with sauce in and it blended with the milk, i found myself devouring every fish slice and slurping the soup as well as sweating like hell in the sweltering heat. i also drank sugarcane juice. yumyum. i better try the fish soup in the other kopitiams nearby. i ate the one in front of the bus interchange. after that i walked around and decided to check out the Bedok Princess Cinema. was it just me or is it that the cinema entrance is nowhere to be found? anyways, i went to the Bedok Community Library. The library was vast. there were 3 floors of books. i found myself leafing through a magazine and sat amidst old people reading books until this inconsiderate Chinese gay started fanning himself with a newspaper loudly and throwing the other parts of the newspaper on the table and on the floor and never bothered to pick it up. i felt the urge to swat him with the magazine i'm holding. so i left and went to check out the other floors.

the first floor was vast. i was surprised to see a lot of people spending time at the library. there were people of all ages. i will take my daughter here. i know she loves books. i am overwhelmed by the Singaporeans' love for reading.

this is where Zoie and I will spend our day. the 3rd floor is filled with children's books. there's even a toddler's nook.

this is the toddler's nook.

i spent most of my time reading about Singapore. okay, i read about Canada first then found a more interesting book on the country i live in. i then looked at the time and was surprised more than 2 hours have passed. i've never spent this much time in one place before not counting the sales and the grocery.

speaking of grocery, i went to buy food at Fair Price. The prices there are super cheap. After that i walked around and toyed with the idea of getting an iPhone not that i already have budget for it. heehee! i then became busy finding my way back. i always get lost. always! even in the Philippines, always! aaaarrrggghhh. okay so i went to look for the curry puff store and ended up buying 5 pieces and mistakenly ordering teh c which turned out to be hot and after paying and asking the cashier if the milk tea was cold she looked at me as though she wanted to hurl the hot milk tea at me. this language barrier kills me sometimes. anyways, i drank it with straw and shared a table with an old man. i liked looking at old people in Singapore. they all look so healthy. so i did consume 3 pieces of curry puff after telling myself that i was still full. after that i saw a store selling bags for just $5 and bought one. great ending. i also called my husband overseas. hmmmm...

Singapore Expo Sale

i am very tired today having come from the John Little Sale at Singapore Expo. My experience before wasn't as bad as this although i went home with much more loot today than my first time. It only takes one bus and 69 cents from the ez-link card to get to Expo. I love my new place. so near the sales. There were several sale happening simultaneously in several halls at Singapore Expo. I went to the comfort room first and the queue was so long i almost peed in my pants. eherm. excuse me. the toilet was so dirty too. anyways, i did not dare enter the other halls because i don't really have much to spend. i managed to taste a few products at Singapore Food Expo and then went out to look for the Popular Sale. The queue to the cashier was so long and i was holding what? items not even worth 10 dollars. so i decided i'd come back and went to check out the John Little Sale because everyone seemed to be holding a plastic bag from John Little. I managed to get hold of really cheap items. The sale was pretty exciting because they feature items by the hour and one man kept on shouting so customers will buy the featured item which was either buy one take one or 70% off.

My Loot:
1 brown Arthur Yen knitted blouse worth 69 dollars for only 9 dollars
1 long sleeved Arthur Yen black shirt usual price 49 dollars again for only 9 dollars
1 pair of high heeled shoes (forgot the brand) for 10 dollars must have been worth twice or more
1 dry iron for 11.90

pretty neat huh. i did put back some things like food and stuff. also, i was quite undecided about buying a bag. maybe because i will soon have my own LV albeit the fact that it's a second hand bag from my sis in law. i bought it for a low price. eherm, correction, i bought them for a sibling's price. LOL. when oh when will you arrive, my papillon and pochette? hehehe. i also want want want a big Neverfull for my laptop. hmm. probably next year?

i want my fish soup

fish soup - you can have the fish meat fried or not and you can have milk on the soup. this is my most favorite dish so far and i have tried having this dish from several hawkers already.

this is a kind of fish soup that i specially like. the fried fish soup with milk. i had this near Buangkok MRT. there are tofu and other veggies. the best fish soup i've had or rather soups are - the one below my office at 339 Beach Road and the one near the market near Kampong Glam. The one near Kampong Glam had interesting things in the soup and more milk in the soup. i like the tofu, seaweed and other veggies. the one downstairs had bitter gourd and very very delicious fish meat covered with very tasty batter. you can tell from the queue that never seem to shorten. i eat lunch after 130 pm and still the line is very long.

food for thought restaurant

after a meeting, my co-workers and i (well, 2 of them own the company and there were 4 of us) went to this cool cafe that one of them suggested. the fact that you eat there you are already actually helping feed a child all over the world. the restaurant is called Food for Thought, and it's located near Bugis... where exactly, i have no idea. we just like parked and walked towards there but i know it's near a church and near Queen St. i can probably find it again just by walking near the area. all the people eating there were wearing black, white, brown or gray. some were wearing blue. we were also wearing black. the cafe interiors were mostly silver and black.

 these are spaghetti sauce bottles that they used for interiors and some of the bottles inside has some drawing of some kid that they are helping. all the contents were donated as food as well.

 they had some merchandise for sale like books that kinda inspire you to help or do a good cause.

 their table napkins have inspiring thoughts on it. each of us had a different message. the tshirts of the servers also bore messages.

this was what i ordered. almond pesto chicken sandwich with salad on the side and lemon tea. the servings were quite large. i should have ordered the fries but i ended up eating some of the french fries on my boss' plate and part of his curry chicken. haha! i also got some of my officemate's sausage and scrambled egg and my other officemate's affogato (espresso with vanila ice cream). the food was mid-ranged. the price will actually buy us 2 meals already if compared to the usual kopitiam food that we eat.

the ambiance and the food - i give them a thumbs up!

I died and went to retail heaven

last sunday i moved into the room that i rented. then i decided to explore. i bugged my agent who was probably relaxing with his family on how to get to Ikea, the only store building in the world that i'd like to live in. anyways, after doing a hundred rounds at Bedok Central, i finally figured out how to get there. i rode the train to Tampines then okay, i admit, i got lost at the bus interchange. a kind bus captain directed me to the other direction. then i tapped my ez-link card at the bus only to be told, NO FARE. lol! so there i was inside the shuttle bus. then the bus stopped by a huge supermarket called Giant. i went down Ikea and oh my i just could resist going through everything and making circles going back to displays seriously contemplating if i need those cheap yet stylish things. i managed to buy hangers, a fleece blanket, a pillow and a red trash bin. i was actually there to buy just the hangers. then i ate hotdog sandwich and drank lemon tea. when i crossed the road to head over to Courts. what the... another retail heaven?! i swear i will spend a whole week there when i finally buy my own flat. whoa! these stores are huge. then i head over to Giant. Grocery heaven! I admit there are 2 things that are sure to win me over. bags and grocery shopping! i was drooling. haha! in fact i took a lot of things wanting to buy them at Giant then got dismayed by the queue outside.

will post pictures soon. that is, if my old Blackberry decides to make friends with my new Vostro.

cutie pie alert

beep beep beep... oops there goes my cute guy radar sounding an alarm. wah lau! i just stayed in the office for what? minor ot work and i go out the MRT and there were a LOT of cute guys around. so what if i'm married? i like beautiful things... i like looking at cute guys. all the way from circle line to green line up to here in the house, there is a cute guy in sight. woot! i am seriously thinking about doing more ot work... hey, enlighten me. is there like a rule here that says, cute guys must come out after 9 pm? seriously... i wasn't hungry. in fact, my stress went away.

my lunch

this was my lunch. you see the good uncle downstairs is really generous with the servings. i just point to the ones i like - in this case an eggplant dish with the eggplant looking like it's color blue and this fried thing which makes me wonder if it's pork or chicken. must be pork? or not... the good uncle and i exchange only a few words.

me: rice please
him: eat here? (eet heh?)
me: take away (then point point point to the things i want)
he then chop chop chop the things i wanted then plop plop plop on my plate
him: toofifteeh ($2.50)
his wife: sauce or curry? (then i point to whatever)
me: alright, thanks!

mr. bean - my favorite breakfast

this is not mr. bean or rowan atkinson, the actor. this is mr. bean as in mr. (soya) bean. the breakfast that perks me up everyday. okay, almost everyday. i especially love their promotion - the double indulgence. a cup of warm soya milk with chocolate and that pancake filled with egg and mayo. yum yum. "pancake's not oily"according to my Vietnamese officemate. he is so correct.

sometimes i feel like i look like him after biting into my pancake.

 my egg mayo pancake. okay, sorry, the photography doesn't do it justice.

my soya chocolate drink. gives me a fuzzy feeling inside. like it's Christmas. heehee

the woman who introduced me to egg mayo. i was looking a bit lost and she said, egg mayo?

oh i also tried their pearly soya bandung. bandung is a concoction of rose extract and milk or in this case, soya.

oh, tuna pancake is also yummy and i must try the cheese according to my co-worker. red bean? hmm not too sure if i'd like to give up my egg mayo chance for red bean but i will see. tomorrow, i might try the cheese.

weekly deodorant

ONCE A WEEK DEODORANT? WTF. i was so tempted to buy it hahahahah. can you be so lazy that you don't want to stretch each arm to roll on a deodorant EVERYDAY?

real estate lah

the thing that i hate most is paperwork, i remember how dreadful i felt when my dad decided to transfer some of our properties to my name... wah lau. anyways, one cannot escape that especially here in Singapore. well, just now i signed several documents because i will be transfering to my very own room tomorrow. my agent prepared all the paperwork and i had to read, understand and sign my freaking name on all of it. i'm kinda excited... well, a bit sad because i will be on my own, leaving my friend but then, at least, she'll have her privacy again. i didn't want to impose too much.

the cost of real estate here in Singapore is so high that please don't ever try to convert to your currency. the only thing that made me feel bad was when i found out that the cheapest common room i found and will be moving into costs as much as a 2 room flat in Montreal, Canada! can you imagine how much a house costs here? okay, don't imagine. haha! the standard of living here is indeed very high.

a common room means you'll have to share the bathroom with the owner of the flat. a master bedroom is not necessarily bigger but you'll get to have your own bathroom. that's what i wanted to get at first before i heard how much was the rental and fell off my chair. an hdb flat are the apartments that you see all over Singapore. they're like government housing projects. a pte apartment - okay so i never realized before that pte stands for private - well, i don't really know what pte apartments are. maybe like a private apartment minus the amenities. a condo has a lot of amenities available. like today my jaw dropped when i found out that our neighbor back home lives in a condo and i just dropped by and wanted to kill myself for not bringing a swimsuit. there were tennis courts, an infinity pool, billiards hall, playground, sauna (hyperventilating here). a landed house is where really rich people live. while a landed house is very common in the Philippines, here if you have a backyard, wow, then you can probably afford my soul. a landed house is where my boss lives. haha... oh, also some of my officemates. filthy rich yet so humble.

anyways, an hdb flat is already a dream come true for me. maybe we'll get to rent one as soon as my family moves here with me.

Looking For Work In Singapore

Singapore is a booming country. Hmm... to be honest, i am quite ignorant on the subject called Economics. any doubts? well, let's just say managing money is like making me step on several durian fruits - with or without skin. you know what i mean, lah. okay, going back. Singapore is the promise land. Meaning, you find work here and well, your future is kind of secure. you are sure to earn about at least twice your salary back home. i am not really an authority on the subject - finding work in Singapore - but I could share my experience. i cannot say my experience is helpful to others but it could serve erm some kind of example? LOL! okay, i am a very, very lucky person. i am blessed with a good friend who gave me shelter here in this foreign land. my friend blogs www.stupigity.com anyways, living at her very stylish flat alone kinda served as an inspiration for me. first thought, i want a flat like that. this is a self-centered post, i warn you. but let's forget about being nationalistic for a while and think about our future first. oh, well, becoming an OFilipinoW kinda means we're also helping our country right?

okay, so i came here on a Sunday. my friend bought me a Saturday newspaper on a Sunday. "Do you have yesterday's paper?" I heard her ask the lady at the magazine store. In the wee hours of the morning I applied for a job, when i woke up i got an interview invite and the following day, i got hired! my boss treated me out to lunch together with all of my new officemates. of course i wasn't authorized to work yet. mind you, this doesn't happen all the time. you may want to read about the experiences of our fellow kababayans at www.pinoysg.com this is not the reality. truth is, if you are really, really, really, really x 100 sure that you want to work here, first consider these factors:
1. do you have enough dough? prepare to stay for at least a month to look for work. there are stories of people lasting a few months before they can find work here. there are also several ways to extend your stay here. hmm, wonder if i should mention it here. okay, you may apply for e-extend at ICA or try to exit to JB, Malaysia. beware, though. THEY know this tactic. also, the rental here is so high - can you imagine renting a whole condo unit back home is equivalent to renting just one room?
2. do you have enough guts? like me, i left my family back home. i've cried several times already. no joke.
3. do you have enough faith? believe it or not, i got closer to God when i got here. again, no joke.
4. do you have a laptop? although you are here, you need to apply online or just go to walk in interviews that are announced on the newspaper. DO NOT TRY TO BARGE INTO ANY SINGAPORE COMPANY WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT.
5.  are you trying to get away from it all? HAHA this is irrelevant. i just wanted a 5th item. on second thought, here's the 5th - how marketable are you? they look at how experienced you are.

if you are a play safe person... okay, i should have done this but didn't. before you come here: (note: be sure you have a credit card for online payments. good thing my husband has one. oh, i am not allowed to have those cards or else, i might need to sell my child because of debt. but that's beside the point. okay, again, be sure you have a credit card)

1. try to apply for EPEC at the Ministry of Manpower. they say that MOM recognizes only a few schools and if your school is not listed, take the risk. i am not too sure about this but i got approved... and my school is on the list. there is also about a month or more needed to activate your EPEC so start now. EPEC allows you to stay in Singapore for a year to look for a job.
2. try to apply to as many jobs as possible. even if you feel your fingers getting shorter from emailing thousands of companies to submit your resume - DO IT. true that it's more likely to get a job when you're here but who knows. they really call you overseas. i got a call back home. nosebleed!
3. gather and scan all your documents
4. try to get as many certifications as you can (this is for IT people. they have more opportunity here. compared to me - from creatives)
5. prepare yourself for rejection. Hmm, i haven't really felt this but, yeah, you may be really good back home and here, you might not get noticed. you might be barking at the wrong tree.
6. apply for a job that you are good at and not for the sake of just landing a job here. believe me, i am very happy at my present job right now. i know i could do my work well.

okay, that's all for now. hope that helps.

can and can't

let's say we replace "YES" and "NO"with "CAN"and "CAN'T". this is Singapore, man. hmm. a few months more and i will be saying these words. i have this very very persistent urge to say "LAH"at the end of my sentences.

this simply means - relax and wait, the person inside is trying on several clothes.

Singapore Lah!!!

FINALLY... who would have thought I now have time to blog. This blog has become dormant. I guess my brain became dormant... or my life... nah! So this blogger here has relocated. Thanks to her friend who writes the awesome blog www.stupigity.com. This blogger here lah has finally fought against what would have been a not so exciting life.

When I got a whiff of Singapore, I took a step back, focused my eyes again and I said, haaaahhhh this is the country for me. (wink!) What?! I'm talking about the food.

I've never been here really. I went to the countries around it but never ever really felt that longing to explore Singapore. Who would have thought that when I do get to go I refuse to leave. A blend of different cultures and beliefs, it is everyone's country. and oh did I mention shopping? SSSHHHOOOPPPIIINNNNGGGG... I actually swooned when my friends brought me to IKEA where I bought my first and most treasured possession - a weighing scale. With all the food - I doubt if anyone will never gain weight. All I hear are the plok, plok, ploks of each viand being poured on my plate.

aaahhhhh... or should I say, laaaahhhhh...