jiometry

Closure

2009-09-10T11:43:00.000+08:00

I have to close this one indefinitely. I have some things to attend to and its taking much of my time and energy.

Until I get back my groove in blogging. So long. Au revoir. We'll meet again - someday, somehow.

To Start Anew

2009-04-12T21:06:00.000+08:00

By the start of the Chinese New Year, I've neglected a lot of the things around here in this blog. Things have happened (a lot) so fast in my life (with some of them I'm grateful for) that I've poured out most of my energy and time in attending to these matters.

In times like these, I've decided to close up this blog and (will) try to create a new one, concentrating a lot more in showcasing most of the pictures I took for the past three years since I've purchased my very first digital Canon camera to my very own first DSLR Canon 400D.

Give me a week or so. I'll let you know of the new blog.

Closing time is imminent. Have to retire the old and start fresh.

Auspicious Ox Year To All!

2009-01-26T08:09:00.006+08:00

It's kind of strange for me to wake up in the gray cloudy morning (which seem to warn me anytime soon it will start to rain) with occasional gusts of wind pounding at my room's glass windows. The morning after yesterday's eve of the Chinese New Year is... looking rather dull and uninviting. The streets below is almost void of people (now I see a couple of two people walking slowly, hand-in-hand). It's awfully quiet that it starts to bug me in a strange way. Well, the only sounds I currently hear are the gentle wind and occasional birds twittering (and now the passing MRT train).

I always find the Singapore celebration of New Year (may it be the traditional Chinese or the worldwide version) quite emotionless for most part of the island nation, as not all seems too giddy to celebrate with happy sounds like laughter, family or friend greetings, and such. I know that there is a law (not sure about the exact details of this but I just heard from local friends and strangers alike) that prevents people here from engaging themselves in noisy activity that disturbs the peace and quiet of their neighbors (unless it's a wedding party celebrated below the HDB flats that I mostly observe). New Year celebration is the exact opposite of the New Year celebration that I'm used to and miss back in my home country, the Philippines - the the laughter, the boisterous shouting of happy children and young adults, the mini-street and house party noises, and of course the firecrackers (not fireworks, which are mainly done in the city areas) blasting all around us. I miss all of these noises, minus the firecracker noises which I've dreaded and hated since my childhood days.

Anyway, I hope to see and experience good fortune this year. A short prayer will come a long way to ease anyone of their tensions felt from the previous year. Resolutions are a passe; careful plannings are the way to go this year. I could not clearly see a bullish year (pun intended for this 2009 Ox year) ahead, but who knows, with careful plannings, hard work, and a kiss from lady luck will help us to achieve anything we wish and hope for ourselves, our friends, and for our families.

Xin Nian Kuai Lei (uh, did I say it right?).

A bit of trivia I've learned recently as I curiously pondered why people like to start their New Year greetings with the word auspicious (sometimes playfully as "Ox-picious") - the word means to bring or augment good fortune and sucess. So in way, we wish each other good luck and success in life.

We also have no work today and tomorrow. Yay, a long vacation here! :-D.

Questions

2009-01-12T22:23:00.000+08:00

To reiterate what this timely blog post has mentioned from one of my favorite blog haunts (freelanceswitch): "Are you sure this is your path?"

Lately, at the start of this year, I've been thinking a lot (as in lots of my daily time) about another question to myself: "Should should I stay or should I go?". I know it's quite cryptic (to a degree), but for some close friends and office mates of mine whom I confined about it, they know my plans (well, just plans and not yet written on stone).

I guess I just have to end this short post here (I had to exhale my thoughts).

Happy New Year 2009 To All!

2009-01-04T17:55:00.001+08:00

Belated happy new year! 2009 will really be a challenging year to all of us. I agree, as I soon found out once I stepped back into reality inside my office's premises. :-)

Things will change. I just could feel it. Moreso, things will change here in this blog. Changes, like a new lifestyle catered to the recession everybody is experiencing even here in Singapore. Soon.

Cristmas Pictures In Singapore

2008-12-25T23:42:00.004+08:00

On this day, the celebration of Christmas in this island of Singapore is in full force especially for the Christians like the Filipinos. I was grateful enough to at least attend three out of nine night masses (simbang gabi) in different Catholic churches spread around Singapore.

Here's my share of pictures I took while enjoying various trips along the heavily decorated (and overly chaotic) Orchard Road, Raffles City, plus a peak to the food feast my friends and I had partaken for our Noche Buena.

These are red poinsettias found inside a church.

Here are some dangling Christmas decorations adorned at the entrance of Lucky Plaza.

Here's the wonderful Filipino choir singing before Tang's mall one night last week.

I experimented with taking shots of speeding cars at the Orchard Road intersection. Look closely at those long light trails. Those are the cars and buses' headlights.

This is a simple shot of golden Christmas balls used as table decorations by my friends inside their flat.

Inside UOB building in Raffles city, here's a giant toy soldier guarding an equally giant Christmas tree.

This was our Noche Buena feast last night: Cold Storage styled vegetable salad, some KFC fried chicken (in the picture above), baked macaroni, butter cake, spaghetti and oven toasted chicken (again).

Merry Christmas to all!

Pacquiao Gobbled De la Hoya

2008-12-08T08:12:00.004+08:00

Pacquiao did prove me wrong with my predictions that he will lose his fight to the more experienced and bigger Oscar. That's good. That is very good. I lost confidence with him for quite some time now after his character turned for the worse throughout the years (the noted gambling stories, controversies with women, his penchant to run in politics like it's the only thing he can do good for the public people, his current government affinity and tendency to say and do "yes" to all kinds of filthy and corrupt politicians out there).

Oh, I saw this internet poster from this Nike site for Manny Pacquiao (we all know he won already).

It was a different story yesterday afternoon. I was able to watch online a live streaming video of the fight with my laptop. I knew I was going to be late with my meeting with friends that afternoon but I decided I better stick in and watch the entire match for it will be very difficult to catch replays online. All my notions of Manny have gone into smoke from the time he stepped into the ring beaming with a smile to his people to the 9th round when Oscar called it quits and slowly went up to Manny to embrace him. What a fight! But as some of my flatmates and friends mentioned, it could have been a better and more exciting fight if De la Hoya displayed more aggressiveness like what Manny did. He looked more like a punching bag or sparring partner to Manny (his handsome features reduced to a heavily sored and pinkish mess). As one ESPN announcer had mentioned -- a beating of an old De la Hoya.

The running joke is that Manny has more beatings with his post interviews such as this.

Congratulations, Manny, for winning the fight!

Days Before Christmas

2008-12-01T22:14:00.006+08:00

It's just 24 days before Pasko (Christmas Day). I could barely feel the Christmas chill here though in Singapore (unlike in the Philippines) and instead always feel hot and sticky from the humid weather outside. The aircon inside my room barely delivers the chilly temperature that I need. Looks like the global crisis has also invaded the airconditioning unit (or maybe I just need to remind my flatmates that we need to have our aircons cleaned up before the year ends).

I'm breaking on this day my long vacation from blogging since the beginning of the half of this year. There are many things I'd like to tell again, stories and things I'd like to record again in this blog.

I did miss blogging and never really forgotten about it.

Hello again to all.

On Poverty: Some Points From An OFW

2008-10-15T23:45:00.002+08:00

This is my entry for Blog Action Day 2008.

As an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker), I wonder from time to time whether the money I religiously remit back home does contribute greatly in helping out not just my family but also my country (thinking of the money I send as financial aid to our suffering economy). I know my country is poor and in very bad shape. The years pass and several presidents have come and go (either finished their term or removed from their seat of power) yet nothing concrete was still accomplished in addressing the widespread poverty plaguing my country. The illusions created by the current president are not enough to paint a rosy picture of a “stable country” capable of withstanding this global crisis, trying to cover and sweep under the rug the evidences of dirt poorness brought about by corruption, bad governance, massive consumption, overpopulation, low productivity and inadequate education among the people.

As an OFW, I always think nowadays how I could possibly contribute in helping out the poor back home. While I know that the money I remit to my family is just enough for their needs and could not possibly be shared to other people, I’m thinking of various ways on how to help out my poor fellowmen. As of now, I’m thinking of contributing my old stuffs, particularly my old shirts, and other usable clothing to any possible institutions back in Manila (ala Salvation Army like here in Singapore). I’d like to someday join my fellow office mate here who usually joins his other friends in spending their vacation in the Philippines doing Gawad Kalinga activities like helping out in building houses for the homeless. I like also the idea before of Bob (from Live In The Philippines) when he mentioned about him and his family buying and gathering some of their food from fast-food restaurants and distributing them to young beggars and street children near their vicinity. I know, there are many things that an OFW can do to help out the poor and needy in the Philippines but these are some of the ideas I can currently think of. Maybe someone out there have better ideas.

* * * *

On the side note: Here are some other web links I find interesting, tackling the issue of poverty especially in the Philippines.

If you care about the poor, let's brainstorm for ideas.

Poverty is a simple issue.

Corned Beef (a moving article from Tingog.com)

Street Children of Manila (this links to good friend Sid's photo blog and his magnificent photographs of Manila's poor and yet smiling street children).

Blog Action Day 2008 Registration

2008-10-08T22:29:00.001+08:00

I've finally registered for the Blog Action Day 2008 event (only 7 days to go). I've got a few days left to spruce up everything here and get back to blogging.

See you then (we might see again earlier if possible).

Sabbatical - Blog Break

2008-08-18T21:49:00.000+08:00

I know I haven't written anything new since last month, after I lost my domain (jiometry) and website hosting of my wordpress blog. Now I came back to my old blog at blogspot (I tend to treat blogger like a loyal friend always ready to support and cherish me with open arms even if we haven't seen each other for a long, long time).

I'm still on the verge of fixing things and thinking deeply of many things (mostly of personal matters). Soon, maybe by the start of the next month, I'll be back. A promise that should not be broken.

Seeing Little Things In Grand Villa Resort

2008-06-22T19:56:00.003+08:00

I've managed to take close-up snapshots of objects both plants and insects while we were enjoying our visit in the Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Center in Laguna.

We're peering here inside a yellow gumamela (hibiscus) flower. This flower is found inside the butterfly caged sanctuary.

This looks like a tied-up knot; an extension of the vines I noticed entwined around iron grills.

I'm looking up close to an unknown white flower, a yellowish flower blossom, and a stem wrapped with tiny flower buds and blossoms below.

Meanwhile, lots of insects can be found crawling or hovering on flowers and shrubs around the garden pool, like a black wasp I noticed resting on a vine tendril, or a spiky caterpillar nipping at some plant buds, a big black ant methodically scavenging around a leaf, or even a pair of mating yellow ladybugs (let's not disturb them below).

On the wooden table tops and stools dotting the scenic gardens around, interesting tiny objects can be found, like a hairy pod or plant pollen, a possibly dried up, knotty fruit seed, and an undetermined fiery orange outgrowth that could be a fungus below (certainly it doesn't look like a bubble gum; I never dared to touch it).

These are rusts on a decorative iron swirl, part of a makeshift metal shed in the garden area (image below).

Happy Independence Day

2008-06-12T22:29:00.001+08:00

Happy Independence Day for all of us Filipinos, both still living back in the Philippines and those living overseas - either as migrants or workers!

I greeted some of my officemates here who are still busy doing some work here, oblivious of the fact that today is our country's birth date and (official) independence celebration. I have been greeted by them with surprised looks; they seemed to be awakened from some deep suspended animation upon realizing that, indeed, today is the 12th of June, an important day for all Filipinos worldwide. "Ah oo nga no, araw ng kalayaan ngayon. Gusto ko nang lumaya dito!" (Ah yes, today's independence day. I wish to be free from here!). My officemates are referring to their plight of doing heavy work that they yearn to be free from what they're doing, drop everything, go out of the office and be merry all day. Hehehe. I wish it's that simple, but we're all deep at work concentrating in finishing assigned tasks especially fixing some production issues.

* * * *

A prayer for my country: "Dear God, bless my country and us, her children, so that we Filipinos can continue to grow and be fruitful in our lives without fear, but instead filled with love and compassion for one another. Continually bless and nurture our souls to appreciate more the beauty of our lands and to have a sense of pride and dignity to our heritage and what we have at hand, without the feelings of contempt and regret for what we lack of. Thank you God for the gift of freedom. We truly appreciate this as it contributes greatly to our distinct glow of happiness and resilience renown throughout other nations."

Butterflies And Flowers Of Grand Villa Resort In Laguna

2008-06-07T06:00:00.001+08:00

Besides the usual features found in every swimming pool resort in Laguna, the Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Centre offers much more with beautiful botanical landscapes (lots of plants, trees, and ornamental shrubs) and their main attraction - the butterfly sanctuary, near the far end of the resort, before the adventure camp area.

As I said, this resort has some magnificent display of tended gardens and plant landscapes showcasing a variety of flowering plants and shrubs. Some of these are the colorful orchids featured at this mini-garden with a wooden shed in (which also doubles as a swing) in the middle.

The butterfly garden was not yet fully open to public (or was still being maintained by the staff) when we arrived there. Some people emerging from the place told us to use the exit door to enter the garden (I'm confused there). So we entered through that door. We beheld in awe the enchanting surroundings that greeted us inside. There were lots of trees, flowering plants, shrubs, and ornaments all neatly arranged to make the enclosed garden look like a fairytale place.

I initially mistook most of these white and black spotted butterflies as the monarch butterflies until I later searched through google images similar to these. These are actually the Paper Kite butterflies.

Meanwhile, the pair of mating butterflies below (a lot of them are actually doing this inside so that's why I could take pictures of them without bothering or scaring the butterflies away) are from the species of heliconiine butterflies, specifically the Leopard Lacewing.

On the other hand, I am not so sure with the correct species of butterflies for the these two (another acrobatically mating) butterflies pictured below. I searched in the web and the nearest butterfly species I could tag the pair is the Ornithoptera priamus (the Cairns Birdwing butterflies). Am I right?

Summer Outing To The Grand Villa Resort In Laguna

2008-05-31T23:43:00.000+08:00

It was a good, sunny day when our family went to Laguna and traveled through winding roads to get to Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Centre. It was our last get-together outing before the summer season ends in the Philippines. Together with my parents (my Dad who came back from Kuwait, also an OFW), my brother, my sister-in-law, their son and my nephew, and the immediate family of my sister-in-law, we had the entire day enjoying each other's company and as well as exploring the beauty of the vast area of this resort.

I was impressed with the place when we got there. I like the way the garden landscapes were integrated in the design space of the resort. There were lots of greens - flowers, trees, and shrubs. Might be because of the flourishing garden scenes in and around the place, I noticed some uncommon birds flitting and seemingly playing in dense foliages. The place has a picturesque mixture of nature and architecture which delighted the photo bug in me.

Before the entrance to the main resort pool, we passed by this trio of metal statues (above image) right in front of the spa building. The carved expressions of the kids sort of remind everyone to relax and enjoy their stay in this resort.

This entrance leads to the main pool of the resort which is also the pathway towards the dining area and mini-bar. There are lots of hanging vines entwined around the metal arches of this entrance.

Again at the entrance, we passed by another statue, this time of a sitting mermaid on a rock. Amidst the background of trees and plants, the mermaid looked more (out of place) like a welcoming guardian of botanical nature instead of the aquatic type.

I don't know exactly why this structure has wooden wheels at the sides, but it does appear like a cross between a calesa and an elevated waiting shed. There are two of these inside the main pool area. Most of our group liked to relax and sit within the cool premises of the shelter.

It's quite innovative to form these washer faucets (above image) as jugs (as if somebody is pouring water over your hands after you twist the knobs).

As mentioned before, there is a variety of flowering plants found in this resort. Bright yellow bells are some of these flowering plants found in abundance here (image above).

Old, irregularly shaped woods were used to form the benches scattered around the garden area lining around the swimming pool. I thought the landscape artist did great with this place.

How about the swimming pool? We did not come here just to view and enjoy the garden scenery. Here are some of the pictures of the swimming pool area.

Water dribbles down this huge pool structure (wall painted with playing dolphins) at the laddered sides. Water also falls from above the sheltered portion of the structure. The falling water has enough (bearable I say) pressure to provide a massaging effect to one's tired torso and shoulders. This is not suitable though for kids though.

Besides bringing along some food and drinks, our group also opted to order additional noodle dishes like the tasty pancit bihon (below) and pancit canton at the nearby restaurant and mini-bar. The staff was friendly and accommodating and the service was fast.

Next post, other plants, trees, and the butterflies of this resort.

What Should My New Blog Be?

2007-07-21T14:21:00.002+08:00

I came across this tumblr site showcasing its own blogging tool for some "new" type of blogs called tumblelogs. Kottke defined them as this while Wikipedia described them as this. If you need such a sample of a tumblelog I guess Kottke's blog can be categorized as one. And also Pau's Brownpau blog will be a good sample too.

Is this a new breed of blogs? Not really. Just by looking at the two sample tumblelogs, the term "tumblelogs" is a coined term for such types of blogs that are minimal in writings and focuses more in refering to an assortment of links or photos from various Internet sites. Most of these posts have very little personal commentaries or even noen at all. To me, its more like finding some great and exciting content from another website and I want to share these with my network of blog friends. Yeah, like a summary of lists, with some additional remarks, if any, peppered in between.

I could say that my first blog (around 2001) can be categorized as a tumblelog. I generally write posts then that are short and more like a mish-mash of links instead of long article-like posts. I would look around in the Internet, searching for controversial or worthwhile information to blog. Occasionally, I would comment on my posted entries only if I have something relevant to share on the things I have written about. Yes, my early blogging style has no direction whatsoever. Whatever interests me, I blog about it. Whatever I like to share (even some personal matters), I also blog about it. Different posts on different unrelated subject matters. My blog then is not a type of niche blog. But to me, blogging then was more fun since I don't have to think so hard about the posts that I need to write about for the day. I don't need then to write blog posts that are lengthy and look like well-written magazine articles. I don't feel pressured to blog. I can be informal in my writing style.

I tried before to create blog posts that appear like newspaper/magazine articles. These would be posts on personal reviews of favorite TV show episodes or ponderings on political subjects in my country. But I soon found myself becoming less and less involved in blogging. I began to be too concerned on what to write or not to write. I became a perfectionist in writing such article like posts as if I am writing to get an approval of a non-existing editor-in-chief. Eventually, I became bored and burned out of blogging. Blogging then became an unenjoyable chore. I believed I pushed myself too hard on blogging deeply that I slowly did not enjoy what I was writing about. I left the blogging world middle of the year 2003.

I came back to blogging middle of 2005. As to what are my reasons for returning to blogging, that would be reserved for another post. For now, I'm deciding the direction and style for my new wordpress blog. Must I restrict my blog on posting for a few subject matters (niche blog)? Or must I make this blog a photoblog (since I have a knack for posting my photographs)? Or must I return to tumblelogging - anything goes and unrestricted? Personally I like the last option, but I also want to write more on a certain interesting subject matters with such as graphic designing, OFW matters and stories, and others. I also want to post my pictures from time to time. Why not all three options then? Yeah, these I will do.

An Album Launching Event - Banda Fantastica

2007-07-17T13:10:00.001+08:00

This is a plugging for some officemate's and friends' mini-concert album launching along with other great Filipino bands here in Singapore. I support their concert this Saturday, as I've tagged along with some of the gigs and enjoyed the music of the Filipino bands.

Here's the poster/flyer I'veÂ created for them:

You could barely see my little signed name at the bottom right corner of the poster. I used the colors of blue, red and yellow, inspired with the colors of the Philippine flag. The rock musicians in the poster were not hand-drawned. These are stock photos I found around the web (thanks to Google) and digitally manipulated in Photoshop 7.0. Yes, I still do not have Photoshop CS.Â If ever I'llÂ install Photoshop CS or higher, I'll be doing myself a favor and buy my own Macbook.Â In the meantime, I'd stick with PS 7.0 as it served me well in creating an assortment of graphics for myself, myÂ family, friends, and co-workers.

Alas, I could not find the old Photoshop psd file for this image. It maybe somewhere in my laptop or archived in the externed hard disk. Hopefully it's there. Hopefully I've saved it and did not deleted it mindlessly while backing up my files since the last time I formatted my laptop's C drive.

The WORD Is Out

2007-07-13T22:23:00.000+08:00

Hear ye, hear ye. On this night of Friday the 13th I say thee...

I'm moving out now from Blogger and heading to my new blog courtesy of Wordpress. I also have my own domain - www.jiometry.com. Yay, indeed.

Might as well head over there, so move along now.

Oh yeah, thanks for the memories, Blogger. As a beginner blogger in the year 2001, you've introduced me into the wonderful, colorful, and wacky world of blogging that I never knew existed then. I was just planning to create my personal homepage until I stumbled across one Blogger powered site. And I was hooked afterwards to blogging. Thanks to you, Blogger. You'll still be my first love in blogging.

Kinda cheesy, yeah.

On Silent Mode

2007-06-30T21:40:00.000+08:00

For a while, I'll be leaving and taking off myself from blogging to attend to something else. Well, I'll not be totally leaving the blogging bug, but as of the moment I am attending to some project. No, it's not something like secretive sector 7 project. It's not office work, mind you.

Hint: something regarding moving out from one place to another. Cryptic as it may be, I'll let you all know once I finish it and figure things out. But you might all stumble upon it if you search it out there.

Jellyfishes + Lazy Sunday Day

2007-06-24T09:34:00.000+08:00

I keep on looking at these videos of Jellyfishes to waste my Sunday or simply rest for awhile (while listening to Cambio's Divisoria on my iPod). Really, the slow wriggling and mindless motions of these jellyfishes do mesmerize me and soothe me(minus the background noise in the videos, but that can be muted out). Well now, this can be a therapy if I need to relax a bit from a hard day's work. Hehehe.

Pair of jellyfish videos (from Sentosa Underwater world).

* * * *

On the subject of being lazy on a Sunday, napping would be a very good activity, as suggested in the fifth post in 13 Bodacious Ways to be Nice to Yourself. I already have an established body clock in which between 530AM to 630AM I would be awake without even the aid of an alarm clock (alarmed cell phone to be exact). And yet, even on a weekend, I still wake up very early in the morning while most are still sleeping. I want to lie still in my bed and snuggle a bit, hoping I could get a very short snooze for a few more minutes but that won't happen. I'm already wide awake by that time. Only if I had a night of heavy drinking will I be knocked out fully and surely wake up very late the next morning. But sometimes, I would still wake up early, though drowsy and with a headache.

Ah, a little nap will do this morning. I'll take one after this post.

Posting On A Rainy Day + Home Brewed Images

2007-06-16T16:06:00.000+08:00

Currently, I'm nursing myself inside the flat, with a headache and some colds and fever. Also, it's raining outside since this morning. Look's like the weather today emphatize with my sickness.

But anyways... hard rain or not, nothing would deter me from blogging now.

* * * *

I love designing, especially creating graphics and images. I also love drawing. For now (or even years), I've lost some motivation to draw again. Nowadays, using my laptop and Photoshop, I churn out graphics for this blog or even create new ones for creating a spanking new blog layout for my friend Jerry's blog - Maripipi Online.

What and where is Maripipi? It's a small island in the Philippines with some great beach resorts and where my friend originally came from. I actually envy fellow Filipinos who came from provinces because they've got the chance to grew up in such places where there is no pollution, no heavy traffic, and no chaotic city life. I grew up all my life in the heart of the Philippines - Metro Manila (or Manila to the outside world).

* * * *

Besides the Maripipi Online layout, I also had the chance to create a graphic image for a fellow officemate here in Singapore. He has a band called Launchbox, and they're slowly making a name for themselves along with other amateur Filipino bands residing in Singapore. I'm an avid supporter of their band.

Check them out also at my previous post.

Goodbye Rico Blanco! Long Live Rivermaya!

2007-06-10T20:13:00.000+08:00

Dang! I stumbled across this post from Rebel Pixel about Rico Blanco leaving Rivermaya (the news is official). It's big news alright back at my country where the rock music industry is so vibrant. If I hadn't visited the link to Rebel Pixel from this massive list of links at freelanceswitch (enormous list indeed of good, informative websites) I wouldn't know about the news. It was only last April that they had a fantastic concert here in Singapore. I never knew this would happen to a (already) legendary Philippine band.

Yeah, first it was Bamboo. Now Rico is gone from the band. Who will be the new leader of Rivermaya?

Whatever the reasons of Rico, may he succeed. Same goes to his ex-bandmates.

To remember them, here's a short clip from the Singapore concert of Rivermaya at Downtown East, Pasir Ris.

Long live Rivermaya!

A Visit To The Zoo

2007-06-09T20:57:00.000+08:00

Wow. That was quite a period off from blogging. Now I'm back again to sharing pictures and trips lately. Starting this month - a visit (back) to the zoo, Singapore Zoo, with a couple of friends (one of which came from the US).

* * * *

We enter the Singapore Zoo

You will see these stuffed snake toys being sold in the souvenir shop inside

You'll find this intricate animal wall pattern atop the souvenir shop

Colorful Macaw birds for photography

A siamang. A type of monkey. He (or she) is looking at a trainer nearby.

Cute otters waiting for food from spectators

Now these are fake otters on display nearby

An unusual tapir animal, with its long snout for a nose

Singapore zoo has also lots of different flora species like this one

White tigers (tiger, tiger burning bright)

The map we have says its a babirusa (a pig or boar type of animal). It could also be a warthog.

Lots of kangaroos in the Australian Outback area of the zoo

And this one doesn't mind to pose for the edition of FHM or Maxim Singapore Zoo

Ok, this is not the way to ride an elephant

A wondrous finale show from the playful elephants

I was taking some pictures of penguins when I noticed this bird perched silently on a glass wall

Lots of penguins, looking like robots in their synchronized movements

A very old turtle (how old is this one?)

How about some fear factor style hissing cockroaches?

Somehow I'm nervous while taking a closeup picture of this lemur even though it seem so (somewhat) cute and gentle

African lions (thanks to my camera's excellent zooming)

Zebras eating their afternoon meal

A crash of rhinoceros quietly moving around their den

I thought this was a fox sleeping, but our map said this is a maned wolf

* * * *

If you ever go around this zoo, I suggest you bring along some big bottle of water (though drinks here are sold but are too expensive) as walking around could be very tiresome. Add to that the humid weather of Singapore that makes walking one sweating activity. Good thing there are air-conditioned shelters strategically placed around the zoo for visitors who needs some rest.

The zoo is located at 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore.

Have fun in this zoo. I had a blast here along with my friends.

Do You Want To Quit Blogging?

2007-05-31T22:20:00.000+08:00

Oh no, it's not about me about quitting. Not yet. I'm still enjoying it. I'm still having fresh ideas for this site and always on the lookout to improve on blogging.

I read this post from Problogger citing a case of a blogger deciding to call it quits. Does he have the right reasons to finally throw in the towel?

The article list down his observations of what might have caused the blog(s) to retire early. What strikes me the most is on the negative benefits of using Blogger and Blogspot hosting. I didn't know about that through my years of blogging since 2001 (which I authored a different blog before; this will be official my second blog). While I have admired and seen the ease of use and the improvements that Blogger has developer, now I'm beginning to have doubts of Blogger's capabilities. I’m still loyal (for now).

Yes, before, I was using Blogger's templates (especially when hosted under Blogspot domain). But the designer in me has always prevailed and soon I started to change my blog's layout with my own (I know Mel always admired my layout designs ever since we've met in one collaborated Filipino group blog). So besides blogging contents, my site still exists because of my endless desire to improve it through redesigning and experimenting with graphics and layouts. I refuse to wane my desire to blog and continue on, even if I don't get enough readership. I try to be realistic in my expectations. I don't want to post something in the hopes that someone might Digg it or Stumble it and bait some links from readers out there. Huge traffic and readership is indeed flattering and ego boosting. But sometimes being popular can add more stress to one's life, if not dangerous to some.

This is what I think most beginner bloggers are trying too high to aim for - to become as popular as the god bloggers like dooce, kottke, and others. To get the same (if not more) number of blog readers or fans as what these prominent bloggers have. The difference is most of these popular bloggers do write well, share very helpful tips, and post thought-provoking articles that will put to shame all other newbie bloggers that post nothing but egotistical matters (it's about I, me, and myself without truly interacting with your readers at all). Unless you are Paris Hilton and blogging about your life of mindless luxury (so be it).

Anyway, I'm no authority to state tips on how to write well and transform your blog from mediocre to great. I think Darren has stated enough information in the article to teach what should be done to help a blog become better (and even successful).

Here's some tips I could share: 1) Blog only if in the mood to tell a tale, or share some useful posts. 2) Harden not one's heart if one's blog is nearly dead, remember we do not live to blog. This is not the end of life. 3) Take some time off or vacation from blogging, or not blogging routines will become like chores - cumbersome and stressful.

You Can Always Find Beauty

2007-05-26T21:43:00.001+08:00

Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the behold. And behold...

Shooting pictures at a man taking pictures of another man's b... eauty.

If these are real tattoos, I guess this man had to bear so much pain to attain such a huge colorful tattoo. No pain, no gain(ed tattoo). My brother has a tattoo on his shoulder. I have none. I'm afraid of needles (Asus, tanda mo na). Besides, tattoos are permanent (unless removed by laser). I tend to lose interests easily especially with designs. I'd rather have a henna tattoo which is temporary and can be replaced with another pattern of my liking.

The beauty of Asia. It says it all (I guess). Which part are you looking at, huh?

A closer look at the mysterious Japanese lady tattoo. There's no Da Vinci code here, mind you.

Commenting On Comments

2007-05-20T21:25:00.000+08:00

Here's an interesting article about how the author feels that comments on blogs are abused both for random link loves and spammers.

I do see some blogs (especially those hosted in blogspot) that received several comments which some of these are written by auto-spam bots. I guess these are the comments that start with positive remark on the blog in general but end with a sentence on checking out their site which happens to be an e-commerce site (as what is indicated in the linked article above).

So far, my blog site hasn't received any spam comments (coming from unknown e-commerce websites). Or so I think. I think that the comment settings of my site did a great job in hindering spam commenting (word verification upon sending comments). For those who haven't known this feature, especially to blogspot beginners, I recommend you turn on word verification (go to dashboard > settings tab > comments menu > then click Yes option to "Show word verification for comments?". Might as well turn on (click Yes) "Enable comment moderation?" as well if you have lots of free time to filter good comments from bad ones.

As for those begging for link love, I guess one should be the judge whether to reciprocate in return or not. A little snooping around their site would be better to determine whether they're site is link-worthy, in line with one's interest or just an e-commerce site disguising as one of your blog fans.

On the other hand, reciprocating links is one way to make new friends online, eventually making your site be known to more people to other communities in the Internet.

On Mom's Day

2007-05-13T09:14:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year again to celebrate our very cute, cuddly, super special, and lovable moms all over the world.

We all have special moms. By the way, in Singapore, they have "mummies" or "mums" (British term for mommies/moms in the US).

And to my Mommy dearest...

Nothing really beats the special care of our mothers. Even if we've grown up, our mom's loving care and thoughtfulness never cease but continues on. Thank you, Mom, for everything you've done for me.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms, mums, ma's, nanays out there!

(*Giraffe kissing her baby picture from Cute Overload. Awwww!)

Makan Tales (Or Dining Adventures)

2007-05-08T21:41:00.000+08:00

First things first: Makan is a Malaysian term for "to eat". Food hawkers here in Singapore always ask this to people who approach their stalls. They ask their customers whether they like their food to be prepared for dining at the same place or nearby (thus makan - to eat here) or their customers would rather have their food placed in styrofoam and bagged to be eaten somewhere else. If you want your food to be bagged for home consumption, you would say "for take away" (yeah, take it awaaaayyy....!). I'm used to saying this back in the Philippines as "for take out". I know in America, "to go" is rather replied.

* * * *

Mini Wok Noodle - breakfast at a nearby 24-hour Makan Eatery

Once during work, I was asked by the local clients here whether I know some Malaysian terms like Makan (seems like it's their first time to meet and work with a Filipino), hinting from their small knowledge that Filipinos had some roots from Malays and Indonesians. I told them no (of course). Though, that would be my first introduction to one of the Singaporean dining terms which comes in very handy if I feel adventurous to try a local cuisine, but always hesitant since I don't know how to communicate verbally in Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia, or Tamil. Instead, I communicate physically (turo-turo style as I point this, point that, nod here and nod there).

But there are times the pointing system is not enough to convey a message that I want something that is not on display. And that would mean I have to converse in English which I know Singaporeans (should) have no problem in understanding. Alas, my English accent would always sound way too different from the way locals speak English to the point that some would turn their heads and look at me curiously. A few would mistake me for an American (because of my somewhat American sounding accent) while others readily think I'm a Filipino. Still, a few would be dumbfounded by me and would call on another co-worker in their dialect, asking for help in conversing in English.

* * * *

I once saw the owner of my suking makan place near our office eating a food item composed of noodles and broiled crunchy chicken feet. She told me that this is a new dish which they're planning to add in their menu. She asked me whether I have ever tried chicken feet. I told her yes, and added that in the Philippines these are known as a street food fondly called as Addidas (you know, the well-known shoe brand). Chicken feet = Addidas. For me it makes sense (I know it didn't to her, but she slowly smiled about it and told it to her husband who also manages the eatery). Ever since then, when I chance upon those chicken feet displayed in their glass counters and I order for them, the owners would tell me "Ah yes, addidas!" (emphasizing on the second syllable there). I would always cheerily smile back.

Figures And Statues

2007-05-05T07:02:00.000+08:00

Astro wants to greet me with a friendly fist signifying strength or force be with me. Or I think he's giving me his version of a dirty finger. You be the judge. Either way, he seems happy to have his photo taken. I found him in an Astroboy franchise shop in Bugis Junction.

Really, I wanted to give this mouse a hi-five, but the sign says it all. Found him also standing in one of the entrance of Bugis Junction.

I suddenly remember my Thai trip during the late 90's upon seeing this statue in one al-fresco restaurants along Boat Quay. Women would say Sawadee ka, men say Sawadee krup. These are their polite greetings to anyone they meet. I'll say to this statue, Oy, kamusta na po?

This statue is really surprised that I caught him in the act of doing something I couldn't really tell. This one I took in one of the Chinese temples of shrines inside Tanjong Pagar.

Look closely and the statue's head has been vandalized by some naughty people. I could accept the santan flower, but not the dried-up pink bubblegum stuck up near his ear. I know vandalism here in Singapore is punished by caning. Ouch.

Spiderman 3 And The Neighborhood

2007-05-01T19:40:00.000+08:00

Warning. Some spoilers in this review of Spider-Man 3. I know that for other countries like the US, the official showing date is May 4. Here in Singapore, it's earlier. I had a chance to screen the most awaited summer movie of the year.

There's much to be compared with this third installment against the first and the second. The good: better special effects and far more vertigo inducing scenes than the previous movies. Let's see - there are around one, two, three, four, five battle scenes between Spider-Man and three new villains (Sandman, Green Goblin Jr., and Venom). I could say the final battle scene is akin to a tag team wrestling match between the good and the bad guys of the film (ok, without saying much here, pick among the three whom Spidey teamed up with). The entire plot of the film revolves around Peter Parker getting a taste of the dark side (ala Star War's Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark force). Moreover, here you see Peter becoming bloated with ego (loved by his Spider-Man fans) and drowning in wrathful vengeance (against the killer of his uncle). Without knowing it, he's slowly pushing his beloved Mary Jean away from him.

The bad (and annoying): I was hoping that Peter's sinking into the dark side would make him look sinister and cold, a total opposite of his dorky good side. But no, midway into the movie Peter began to show his laughable street moves to surprised New Yorker women. It's more like a joke when you see Parker doing his funky dance moves in the night club, instead of seeing him seriously relishing his dark personality (thanks to the alien symbiotic costume). Either I could remember myself chuckling in my seat at these scenes or was shaking my head in utter disbelief.

Also, if you like to watch "part three" movies cramped with different plot lines, mindless action scenes, overdone "ladies falling from skyscrapers" scenes, or more than one villain to ruin our hero’s lives, then by all means buy your tickets now and enjoy the film. Actually, I did enjoy the movie. It is far better than parts 1 and 2 in terms of CGI effects and action scenes. But looking beyond these, I would have to agree with a part of Gonzalez's review (third paragraph) which makes Spider-Man 2's story better than the current. But unlike Gonzalez who rated the movie 2 out of four, I would rate this movie 4 out of 5. Only that Spider-Man 2 ranks higher, as in 4.5 out of 5.

Fast (spoiler) facts: 1) Someone dear to Parker died in the movie. 2) A new hottie ruins the relationship between Parker and MJ. 3) Stan Lee cameo again (delivering a memorable quote) 4) Bruce Campbell cameo again (this time as a French waiter; oui?)

* * * *

Here are some pictures around the neighborhood:

Food offerings to the gods or spirits

Potted plant decorated with trimmings

High flats

New Layout Update

2007-05-01T01:26:00.000+08:00

After several gruesome hours of tinkering this site's layout, finally, I was able to upload this one just in time for May 1 (as I have indicated in my previous post).

Looking at assorted sites bearing the ubiquitous web 2.0 look and feel, this blog bears some semblance with the rest (the same old, same old use of the badge, the shadings and use of shadows in the images here, etc).

Smashing Magazine has really influenced me in taking a good look at web designing trends (though professionally, I'm no web designer but an analyst and programmer; this web designing is just a hobby).

Later again. I need some sleep now. I might miss the screening of Spider-man 3 in the afternoon (I can't afford to do that). Good thing today is a holiday here in Singapore (Labor Day).

Will And Confidence

2007-04-29T21:25:00.000+08:00

Food for thought (as I really need it):

"The power to be what you want to be, to get what you desire, to accomplish whatever you are striving for, abides within you. It rests with you only to bring it forth and put it to work. You must learn how to do that, of course, but the first essential is to realize that you possess this power, your first objective to get acquainted with it."

- Robert Collier, The Secret of the Ages

* * * *

Poor Bruce for being the butt of racial remarks from Slovenia Big Brother, just because of his skin color. Brown to be exact. As for us Filipinos, we're proud to be brown (though honestly I am slightly lighter and whiter, but my brother is brown and I still love my race's color).

Shame on the two house mates who remarked unjustly at Bruce.

There is true strength in holding up one's head even if others see and treat you differently, just because you have a skin tone other than the revered "white" (yellow, black, brown, whatever).

* * * *

Next blog layout update - planning this Tuesday, May 1. Hopefully.

Afterthoughts... And Saying Prayers

2007-04-21T12:06:00.000+08:00

I can't help but cut short my blog week vacation to post this one after the very tragic events that happened this week. One is the horrific event that occured in the campus of Virginia Tech, Virginia USA. The other, as Howie's blog pointed out, a journalist from the same state of Virginia turned Peace Corp volunteer back home in the Philippines who suddenly was reported missing and now found dead a few days later.

* * * *

I can't express enough condolences and shared sadness for the families and friends of those victims of last Monday's deadliest civilian shooting in US history (so far, but God no more of this). I can only say prayers at the moment.

I'd like to condemn and say hellish things to Cho for his psychotic motives in killing innocent lives but I know there's no point anymore now that he's gone too. All I could see from this kid (based from the videos and plays I've read in the Internet) was confusion, seething anger, and bitter outrage to those he deemed "privileged" and "rich" individuals of his school. Which makes me think, since during my college years, my university has a lot of very affluent students. I came from an average middle-income family who can (sometimes) barely pay for my tuition fees and that my parents had to work hard, even to the point of incurring huge debts just to ensure their son is educated. So yes, I'm not a rich person. And yet a lot of these affluent students were friends of mine. Some of them I still communicate and enjoy their company after graduation. While Cho's bitterness towards these "rich" kids caused his supposed hatred and rage, I never let the fact that my college friends are "richer and more comfortable" affect my perspective in making friends and enjoying their company. I never let myself be isolated and locked up in one's world. Cho made up that decision to do so. It's his choice. He paid for it with his life. The bad thing is he has left innocent people dead in his wake.

I don't know if the fact about Cho's life in Wikipedia is true or not, but from what was written, his early life was full of isolation and discrimination. Sadly, there will always be discrimination any where, no matter how hard developed countries want to get rid of it.

Let's not dwell anymore to this personified nightmare.

* * * *

Interesting read on how Cho lived and died as an American in 8Asians.com.

* * * *

I'm also saddened about the news that the missing Peace Corp volunteer Julia Campbell was found dead in Banaue, Ifugao.

Thanks to Howie's post, I visited Julia's blog and read her last post. It was poignant and truly moving. She wanted to offer any help that she could provide to the poor people like those in Padang, as she stated. In her last entry, she has full of hopes, as she indicated that a new relief group from America would be coming to lend volunteer work here. In the midst of disaster, she knew the risk of her calling, and yet she brushed those risks aside, as she became fond of the local phrase Buhay pa tayo (We're still alive) to keep her spirits up and look at things positively. That phrase keeps warmth and sanity to anyone who loses everything in life except themselves and their families - at least we are still alive and kicking. I remember Mom would also say that to us children, whenever she thinks that catastrophic events would happen like losing our house to a fire. What's important is we are alive. Alive to fight for another day.

Such hopes from a truly kind soul.

For This Week

2007-04-15T20:36:00.000+08:00

First, let me congratulate Pacquiao for winning his bout against Solis. Mom sent me again an SMS from the Philippines telling me how Manny won the fight. I have no idea Manny's fight was today, since I barely receive any news from my country here in Singapore. Good thing there is mobile technology (chuckle).

* * * *

I'll blog this time short ala Twitter. Here goes: This week, I'll attend to some (more) important matters and avoid blogging for a week. I'll return next weekend.

* * * *

Yeah, I've signed up an account with Twitter (really, the name is funny and sounds stupid like Tweety Bird). I jumped again on a bandwagaon (yoohoo). But I have to say this is not much of a new and brilliant idea in blogging at all. Looks to me like text / SMS messenging or online messaging to family and friends but with a twist of blogging (telling specifically to others of your current activities or plans). Well, let's see how Twitter will fare in the next few months.

Rivermaya, Deux

2007-04-09T22:46:00.000+08:00

As promised, here are some of the pictures taken from the marvelous concert by Rivermaya at D' Marquee Downtown East, Pasir Ris, Singapore, sponsored by Western Union (umm... do I need to say that - that's free advertisement).

Gritty performance by Rico, along with bassist Japs. Grrrr... grrrr....

Japs decided to celebrate an early New Year with sparklers ablaze in both hands.

Rico gives his all, and Japs swings his arm in delight. Nice split-second shot there.

Mike has his moments during the concert. I dig the hair, man.

I dedicate this song to all of youuuu! A deep moment here.

Are the people delighted to watch Rivermaya live in concert, or are they jubilant playing with their balloons? Spike that flying white capsule-like balloon!

Before Rivermaya performed, there were four other bands featured as guest performers at the start of the concert. Three of them are Singapore bands (John Molina and Krueger [???], The Great Spy Experiment, and Flybar) but alone is composed of Filipino talents - both gentlemen and babes, as shown in the picture above. They called themselves "Addiction".

So where is Mark at the drums? Well, we save the last for one of his best performance with this video:

Rivermaya Video (A Teaser)

2007-04-08T23:01:00.000+08:00

Here's a teaser for you. A short video of Rivermaya singing Liwanag Sa Dilim during their concert here in Downtown East, Pasir Ris, Singapore.

More to come. Ciao.

Easter Egg For You

2007-04-08T11:46:00.000+08:00

Happy Easter everyone! A glorious Sunday to all! I know things have been dry around here. But lately things have been busy, and the past few days I had to rejuvenate myself from the rat race and ponder things spiritual.

This new layout is like an experiment to me. But I guess this will be staying for a long time for now, especially that I now learned how to create web sites without any tables. Purely CSS techniques. A little style here, a little style there.

Later I'll be joining with a friend to watch a concert of Rivermaya here somewhere North of Singapore. I will be posting pictures and videos of their gig.

To Hostage Or Not To Hostage

2007-03-28T19:25:00.000+08:00

I'm not surprised (again) to see and hear breaking (bad) news back home from the Philippines. This time it's about a day care center operator taking hostage of a bus full of school children.

Children taken hostage - Photo from Channelnewsasia TV live broadcast

Whatever his reasons, it's not justifiable to take hostage of these poor young kids. He can voice out his criticisms about the government (dirty and downright stinky with all the rampant graft, red tape, and corruption) through means other than resorting these children to grave danger (guns and a hand grenade). He can use the media, TV, radio, and even the Internet (like blogging) and kill all his precious time making sure everybody knows about the ills of the Philippine government. I can definitely do that through this blog. But definitely to endanger my fellowmen is a "no-no" option! Such an option backfires towards the criticizer instead of the one he or she criticizes.

* * * *

Until now, I'm still annoyed by how the current crop of Filipinos, while speaking English, always seems to grope for words and terms and frequently mumble "ah..." while pausing for a moment to get the right English word to say out loud. The Philippine news correspondent talked to by one of Channelnewsasia TV reporters frequently say "ah..." while reporting on the hostage event.

One thing I like about the English-speaking locals here in Singapore is that, even though I hear weird accents, mispronounced words, and missing "R"s (making it quite difficult for native English-speaking foreigners to grasp at once what Singaporeans are saying for the first time), I'm amazed by how smoothly and confidently they speak English to the point that they speak each word fast and almost in one continuous breath. Their vocabulary is fantastic and they speak as if they're reading an imaginary script held before their eyes.

Unlike some (if not most) of my fellow Filipinos who still have difficulty speaking whole sentences without pausing to think for the next word and saying out aloud "ah...". It's a nationwide habit I find really disturbing and should be avoided. If in doubt, pause (avoid "ahh"s or "uhh"s) before you speak. Or better yet, learn a new English word every day and broaden one's vocabulary.

But don't worry my fellowmen, I still love the way we speak English among other Asian countries. We're the only ones who can rival the Americans and even the British in speaking English words clearly, phonetically, syllable by syllable. Heck, we can copy both Northern and Southern American accents and the renowned (bloody hell) British accents and have a field day speaking out English to anyone every where.

Adding A Year

2007-03-21T07:34:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a break for me to celebrate a personal event of adding another year to one's life (aka birth day aka sprout day aka dust became man day). Thanks for all those who greeted me yesterday.

* * * *

I read this Irish Blessing for a birthday, and this I like the most among those available in this website.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you

300 : Madness? No, This Is The Bomb!

2007-03-09T06:36:00.000+08:00

I already got the original graphic novel by Frank Miller and I must say the film version has not failed the vision and splendor of the story 300.

I delighted on the entire look and feel of the film, much like the colors used in the graphic novel with somber colors of brown, black, and red. The skies almost look rendered like a watercolor painting, similar in the comic book. Much of the film colors used remind me of the colors of the award-winning painting, Spoliarium, by Filipino artist Juan Luna.

This is not a film for the faint-hearted, nor those who are grossed out by even a single drop of blood. Spoilers alert: There's overflow of blood spraying (in stylized slow motion, spattering towards the movie screen in an unrealistic pattern just like in comic books), head chopping, corpse flinging, arm slicing, torso dicing, and not to mention body piercing care of the self-proclaimed man-god Xerxes, ruler of Persia. Those who delight in such gory details will indeed be overjoyed. Those who aren't will have to endure these or cringe in horror. Just tell yourself that everything here is make-believe. It does look like a hodgepodge of killings every now and then, but these are not mindless acts done by murderers but by Spartan soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves for their king and for their country. Us ordinary citizens may never know nor feel the way of warfare unless we become the soldiers we put in the front lines of our country.

Watch out for the controversial battle scene where King Leonidas (played splendidly by Gerard Butler) breezed through the Persian warriors in a sequence like this: he walks forward and begin to pummel an incoming raider, uses his shield to hold off a sword attack, he retaliates back and kills a warrior, the sequence slows down, King Leonidas stabs with his spear another warrior, action slightly speeds up, Leonidas uses his shield to push and shove another Persian, he twirls and slaps an overhead cut of the sword, camera pans in and out occasionally. All of these occurred in one magnificent action scene.

While King Leonidas, in his form and stature, symbolizes the alpha male; Xerxes is a drag (ok, eerily looks and acts like an insecure drag queen). Leonidas, though a king, is humble, down to earth and knows death can come anytime; Xerxes basks in boastfulness, illusionary immortality and gloated vanity. Leonidas is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his family, fellowmen and country; Xerxes is willing to sacrifice others for his sake and protection of his rulership and wealth. You got to love the clashing differences of the two.

Watch Wenham (Faramir of Lord of the Rings movies) at the end gives out a poetic speech, raising the morale of thousands of Spartans as they set forth to battle the Persians. This scene reminds me of Braveheart speaking before his army or that of the King of Rohan (Lord of the Rings) as he rides on his steed speaking before his cavaliers.

I rate this movie 4 out of 5.

Here's an interesting (albeit very controversial) article on the question whether George Bush is Leonidas or Xerxes? No spear shall be flung here if you answer wrongly.

Tremors And April Boy

2007-03-07T06:49:00.000+08:00

This picture has nothing to do with earthquakes. But see the name Richter there. Ah, yes, now connect that with measuring earthquake magnitude scale and you get the connection with the next paragraph.

* * * *

The earthquake yesterday late morning that occurred in Sumatra, Indonesia was slightly felt here in Singapore. I was working with clients at the 30th floor in one of the high-rise office buildings of Raffles Place when the tremors struck. The floor shuffled a bit. Both me and the receptionist thought we were having sudden bouts of vertigo. Others abruptly stood from their chairs and exclaimed "Did you feel that earthquake?". Everyone seems to be having mixed feelings of anxiety, fear, and a bit of excitement in their expression and voices.

I called up a co-worker back at Tampines, and they too felt the tremors (Tampines is almost at the north-east part of Singapore while we're situated at the southern area). I should not be surprised, since this nation is so small (island wide) that any tremors coming from neighboring nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia will be felt strongly. Dear God, I'm thinking what would happen to us if tsunamis would be triggered and head towards the shore lines of this island.

* * * *

While riding a taxi cab, I could faintly hear the music that my taxi driver is listening to. It's a song of April Boy Regino, Paano Ang Puso Ko (rough translation, How About My Heart?). How? How-wah (or how the locals would say in their lingo).

April Boy Regino, or simply known as April Boy, is one of those popular Filipino singers of the mid-90's whose songs catered more to the classified citizens C,D,and E (or the poor people who comprise the majority of the Philippines). His songs are marked corny, without class, or simply baduy by the affluent or elite class yet exalted by the poor masses. He's known as the idol ng bayan (idol of the country) then.

Anyway, while inside the cab, I couldn't resist but sing along to the lyrics of the song, unmindful whether my driver will be bothered or not. I don't dig his music, even when I was still in my country, yet I think the strong longing and intense yearning for my motherland, culture and friendly people have been triggered by that music that I came out of my shell of adaptation in a foreign country. I wanted at that time to enjoy being a Filipino, which I could not deny. And besides, I wanted to free my tongue from English and begin to speak again my mother language.

..Nasaan ka man ngayon
Mag-ingat ka sana
'Yan ang tanging dasal
Ng pusong nag-iisa...

New And Other Thoughts

2007-03-04T22:04:00.000+08:00

I knew it's so late. But better late than never.

Things have gone overboard last month - flat moving out (and enough of annoying flatmates) :-P, long work periods (I've had it with production work) >:-(, and other stressful situations I could not list all. Let's just say I have some time at hand to take a breather and relax for a while. With last month, I've neglected my blogging activities (heck, in the first place, I don't have any responsibility even to my readers, so I should give myself some slack on this).

Enough talk. Let's move on to the pictures I had captures especially during the Chinese New Year festivities here in Singapore. By the way, the major change in the pictures is the increase in both height and width. So bear with the site as it loads the pictures.

So many of these orange fruits were on display in almost every household. A local co-worker told me these are called Kan. I told him back in the Philippines we call these Ponkan. He's not sure about the name though.

I captured this hanging on a column of a restaurant in Bugis Juction (near Bugis MRT station).

These brightly red colored Chinese lanterns hang at the entrance of Fullerton Hotel near Boat Quay. I believe they're still there, even if Chinese New Year celebration had officially ended last month.

A colorful night dragon dance. The paper dragon went crazily around.

Look at how deftly these guys twirl and swirl the paper dragon.

Chinese architecture at its best. Looks real, even though it was created from temporary building materials.

More to go.

Moving Out Of This Place

2007-02-24T07:58:00.000+08:00

In about 2 hours from now, I'll be leaving my current flat and move in temporarily to my co-worker's HDB flat. The owner of this flat has decided to close the place. Actually, this and the other blocks of flats that comprise this area is under sale (or has been sold already apparently, as 90% I think have already given up and sold to a multi-billionaire buyer their property).

I have already packed most of the things - clothing, gadgets, books, mini-stuffs - in every bag I can get hold of. No box to enclose some of my things and let some movers do their job. I've decided to carry each one personally. Some I'll take with me today. The rest I'll pick up tomorrow.

It's amazing (or should I say stupidly incredible) that I've accumulated so much unnecessary things during my 11 month stay here in Singapore. The purchasing power that I've never had before back in my country had really influenced me to buy such things I really do not need to survive. Before I pick up and insert an item in the bag, I would think twice or more (categorizing an item between two groups: group A will be the basics and the essentials and group B the unnecessary, simply decorations or add-ons). Looking at each item, I could now clearly see which are true investments and which are otherwise wasteful expenses.

I suddenly remember the black comedy horror novel Needful Things by Stephen King. Passing thought, really.

I honestly feel sad and stressed out whenever I see an item I thought I could have used for a long time would now end up in the trash bin. I've become like the citizens here who, just before the eve of Chinese New Year, would pile up old stuffs like furniture and other house appliances. Still some of these things look reusable and appear unbroken at all. The notion that these are simply old (two or even a year old) makes these labeled as trash already. Now I'm looking at an unopened bag of dried slice mushroom which I'm still thinking of whether I'll bring it with me or throw it in the trash.

It's been months already since I bought it (yeah, I'm one of those who binge buy).

Reconstruction

2007-02-20T23:06:00.001+08:00

Some changes for this blog. Ongoing reconstruction. So bear with me.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2007-02-18T21:36:00.000+08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai! Congratulations and be prosperous (or so the saying goes). Wishing all a warm greeting of Happy Chinese New Year (Year of the Pig) here from Singapore.

I'm used to back in the Philippines being greeted by my Chinese-Filipino friends and my Binondo raised classmates in college with Kung Hei Fat Choi (using Fookien or Cantonese dialect). Mandarin is mainly used here in Singapore, thus people greet one another "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" while presenting hong bao red envelopes (I assume filled with goodies such as money or gift checks). Whatever.

Hoping for a better year. Or better yet, praying and doing something positive and productive in order this year to be a better one.

The Bus Ride

2007-02-05T22:34:00.000+08:00

I considered my last Saturday bus ride to work (uh, yes, I had to work during weekends to finish some tasks) truly extraordinary, since I know most of my Singapore bus rides are too quiet and mundane. Why out of the ordinary? Here's what happened:

Rewind back to early Saturday afternoon. I remember our bus stopped at Bedok station and some school children entered. Along with them was a scruffy looking old woman who suddenly sat on top of those counters which I would call the "baggage counter" (I call it this way because I see most locals place their things - bags, packs or shopping bags - on top of this counter) and nonchalantly crossed her leg and placed her feet on top of those seats facing backwards. Most of the people boarding caught sight of her position. Even those who were concentrating on sending / reading SMS (ok text) messages on their cell phones suddenly glanced at her astonishingly.

The bus moved on to the next two bus stations. The school children in front of me (I was sitting at the third row from the driver) were noisily chatting and laughing when suddenly the old lady became noisy and started shouting towards the kids (she was speaking in Mandarin, I think, the local language of most Singaporeans here which I would never understand at all). The last thing I knew was she threw her dirty slipper towards one of the girls. Everyone was surprised by her act. She started to talk madly in all I can say babble talk (Babel, yeah, that movie still haunts me emotionally). A minute later, her burst of anger was vented towards a school boy one seat in front of me. I think I misheard the boy saying something to the old lady only to be embarrassingly replied with a slipper aimed towards his head. I tried to look away and be unmindful of the commotion, but I can't. At the corner of my left eye, I could see the slipper hurtling towards the boy. I stirred from my seat out of reflex, thinking that slipper would be hitting me instead. My emotions heightened at the moment (I'm a dragon - the fire dragon person) thinking I could smack this person but I just stayed at my seat like a stiff statue, still mindful of the next dangerous action from this crazy person. The school children decided to move and occupy the back seats. The old lady just stared madly at them. With crossed arms, she stayed sitting in her position.

The bus stopped at the next station. Three young ladies boarded and unluckily took the front seats where the school children had previously occupied. The ladies were happily chatting with each other when suddenly (yup, again) the old lady shouted at them and seemed to reprimanded one of the ladies (for being too loud or whatever). This time she stepped down from the counter, took hold of slipper and without warning smacked hard one of ladies' leg. Next thing I knew was she spitted at the young lady (I think at the lady's leg again) to everyone's horror. What astonished me was that everyone seemed to be frozen in their seat and seemed helpless in stopping the old lady's actions. Even the bus driver could not do anything but stopped the bus for a moment and simply chided the crazy woman. The three ladies were already (I think) begging the driver to do something but amazingly nothing was done to permanently stop the ongoing commotion.

The shouting match went on between the old lady and the three women. I really could not understand Mandarin so I could not deduce what both parties were telling each other. What everyone got squirming in their seats was when the old lady slid off both of her slippers and began licking the soles. She looked at the ladies while licking her slippers, as if mocking them in a twisted way. Worse was when she began to slap her face with her slippers, sobbing and feeling for something (I would think) she had done bad in the past, and pulling up her dress to reveal her breasts.

She quickly left the bus at the Changi Hospital station, crying in her departure. She sat down beneath the waiting shed's benches. The local nurse who had just boarded the bus looked surprised and confused when she heard of the tales coming from the three ladies and their encounter with the old lady. Everyone began talking of the ordeal.

Extraordinaringly, hellavaride, nakakapanibagong bus ride ito.

Before This Month Ends...

2007-01-29T23:41:00.000+08:00

...And yes, this month of January is about to end, but I only made about two to three posts for this blog. So much for having the "active blog" resolution (did I make one in the first place?).

Too much work lately. Too much things to do. A lot of "eye-opener" events lately that made me think about my current state in life, the environment I'm currently residing in, especially the people around me.

Let's just say there are more important things in life I attended to instead of writing and telling thoughts and sharing things in my blog.

* * * *

A friend blogger once said that both health and family come up number one in the list of important things that would (and should) matter in this year 2007 (and beyond). Amen to that.

It occurred to me this day that even my officemate reflected the same thing when he noticed I was deep at work. He taunted me, telling me not to work too hard and take a break - what's important is health, family, friends, and sanity. Well, the last one I just added. Really I needed a break or not my brain would have burst due to workload pressure.

* * * *

If only Pasig river (in Metro Manila, Philippines) is as clean and vibrant as Clarke Quay river below.

No stench. No floating scum plants. No oil slicks. No muck. No garbage. Not a sore eye, but a beauty to behold.

So Be It...

2007-01-13T21:27:00.000+08:00

With nothing to think deeply enough about the title of this post, I'm typing again another post (second) for this year 2007 in the hopes of reviving again the love of blogging (since this post is already overdue, as I have promised to resume blogging a week after January 1).

Well, one thing I've learned is not to promise anything if it's not meant to be done. Instead of saying it, just do it!

And another lesson from the previous year - I've learned that you can never get out of situation wherein you had to kiss some people blindly before you knew it they turn out to be bullfrogs in disguise (traitors, fiends, backstabbers, wolves in sheep’s clothings, parasites, rumormongers, etc). Ah, the world has an endless supply of such species, that I need to be careful next time of whom I relate and befriend with.

Moving along, usually the start of the (weird, I just heard myself talking inside my head in a stiff Singapore accent: "usuali duh stat of dee", anyway...) New Year brings to me good tidings, having this hopeful attitude that I could start anew again. I just read my predictions for this year, and what caught my eye was this phrase "a quiet return to fullness". Somehow the stars predict my future ahead to be filled with days of serenity, calmness, and times to... I don't know... come full circle. Completing a cycle of what? It still puzzles me to this day. But deep inside, I feel there is something that I need to finish. I don't know what. Only time will tell.

I am a dragon. My predictions tell me of the dragon liking this year of the pig. Maybe the dragon likes this year because the pig is a symbol of large festive banquet. Not to mention a roasted pig is so hard to resist. Hehehe.

So be it then...

Bye 2006, Thanks For The Memories

2007-01-01T08:01:00.000+08:00

I bid 2006 goodbye (forget the bad nightmares, relish the good memories, and move on...). Lots of things to think about and lots of plans to commit.

I start this first day of the year with a post showcasing some of the best pictures I've taken last year.

Yellow flowers, picture taken from Singapore Botanical Gardens

Is it a black goose, a black swan, or what? This was also taken inside the Singapore Botanical Gardens

My last December vacation in the Philippines, I've enjoyed celebrating my Mom's birthday along with relatives with Pancit Bihon, some Gardenia bread, and Goldilocks roll cake

Two Filipinas getting cozy with a python. Picture taken in Sentosa

This is a colorful flower tree structure found at the back of Vivo City

Sentosa's marine life aquariums feature many species that are truly unique such as this one which I call Seaweed Seahorse

Colorful lories at Jurong Bird Park

Close encounter with fruit-eating bats (I know they're nocturnal, but these creatures were wide awake and eating away the guava fruits). Picture taken from Singapore Zoo

Also from the Singapore Zoo, a red lory decided to share a sweet nectar meal with some monarch butterflies

I thought this was a pirate ship decked at the back of Vivo City, but no this was a Swedish ship Götheborg (there should be a Happy New Year 2007 greeting somewhere in the picture; quite hidden in view)

Picture taken inside Shangri-la Hotel. Looks like a great advertising picture for the grand hotel

Pelicans. Lots of free (low flying) pelicans inside Jurong Bird Park

I enjoy taking pictures of trees with branches spiking out of the trunk. This was taken while killing time on East Coast beach

I should not forget to take pictures of the legendary Singapore Merlion on Marina bay

I'll take a break from blogging for this week. See you all next week.

Happy New Year To All!

2006-12-31T23:08:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Advance Happy New to others living in different timelines! May the next year 2007 be better and brighter for everybody.

As I write this post, it's approximately 40 minutes before 12 midnight or 40 minutes left for year 2006 before 2007 creeps in and takes center stage.

This is also very significant to me since it's my first time to celebrate New Year away from my family, outside of the Philippines. It's awfully quite around here, well within the vicinity of neighborhood flats. I had a talk with a local taxi driver; he told me that traffic is not that bad even if some major thoroughfares towards Marina Bay and Vivo City were closed since a lot of people stayed at home. It will be a holiday tomorrow and on January the second. So a longer holiday period for everyone here.

But as I've mentioned, it's awfully quite here (a far cry from the noisy yet happy tradition of celebrating the coming New Year, back in the Philippines). I'm used to hearing every December 31st (and even before that day) lots and lots of firecracker explosions that could literally make all pet dogs wince and cower in fear. But now, I am writing this post with only the background sound of the whirling ceiling fan above and outside engine noises of buses at the nearby intersection.

I mark this night as something special. And now it's approximately 30 minutes left before 2007. I want to spend the few minutes left contemplating the year that was. What I have done, what happened, what should I have done, and what could have happened if I did them. Just like I saw in the news about other Muslim nations celebrating Hari Raya Puasa today when they kneel down in prayer and silently contemplate (instead of boisterous celebrations).

I'll stop for a while. I'll post back tomorrow.

Meantime, have a great Happy New Year to all!

More Christmas Pictures

2006-12-25T21:47:00.000+08:00

More pictures I've taken of Christmas celebration here in Singapore.

Yesterday afternoon, on the eve of Christmas, I got to be invited by a church friend over to their flat and join in a simple Noche Buena gathering with other friends.

It was awfully quite outside as dusk creep in slowly. Actually, it was raining when we got to the flat. I think we were the only group (all Filipinos) who were loudly celebrating that Christmas eve with lively music, movies, soul food, and some treats for the children of couples who came in the gathering.

As some Filipinos would say: Grabe, ang saya-saya talaga dito ng Pasko sa Singapore, no?

Ehem.

After the event, me and my couple of friends hurriedly went home. I thought I would be able to arrive back to my flat before midnight, but I wasn't able to. Christmas Day came by 12, and I was still inside the bus. I just silently greeted Jesus a happy birthday.

A shot of poinsettias, taken from a church altar

Most of the pictures were taken this afternoon down in Orchard Road where the area was closed to traffic and thousands of people flocked around the vicinity to see the events and free concerts.

Lamps along Ngee Ann City Mall decorated with yellow and red gem like lights

One of the colorful parade floats featured in the event

Just too many people criss-crossing Orchard road

A dragonfly paper figure on a float

This one has a paper butterfly and some flowers and lights used as decors on another float

A terracotta figure playing a harp

I always liked this Paragon Mall Christmas tree decked with hundreds of stars

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Now I go back to work tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2006-12-24T11:43:00.000+08:00

Well, technically, tomorrow is December 25 (Asia-Pacific timeline) so tomorrow is Christmas day. But let me greet in advance everyone, especially my family back home, my good and true friends, blogger friends, and my old and new officemates a warm Merry Christmas (Maligayang Pasko).

Below are some of the pictures I've taken around Singapore, particularly at Orchard Road where a thousand lights and Christmas decors are out on display to celebrate a colorful Christmas.

An picture at Orchard Road with Christmas decors

Tangs Mall beautiful gem decors during daytime...

...and at night

Small Christmas trees

The star studded Paragon Mall Christmas tree

Same Paragon Christmas tree during the night

This is so cold

Tangs Mall colorful Christmas decor that dangles from the ceiling

Remember the tree like blue glass structure of a mall featured in my March blog? Well here is the same one, inside, with Christmas lights

Hitachi. Inspiring the next... the young and old with its colorful tree

Really, last night was so crowded

Giant Takashimaya mall Christmas tree

Up close and personal picture with the Christmas balls

This is the carton Christmas tree

A Christmas kiosk

Terracotta figures and the aunties. The aunties are real; mind you

"I am not part of the painting!"

I remember I featured some silver students before last September blog post. Not meet the silver man...

This is one of the stilt mans along Orchard road giving away flyers and paper ads

The tall stilt man posing

Underneath the Christmas lights...

Mall of Asia

2006-12-14T21:22:00.000+08:00

I had a wonderful (short) vacation back in my home country, the Philippines, last December 6-11. We had celebrated my mom's birthday as well as my homecoming for the early Christmas season in our house.

But what made me excited and truly inspired was my visit to the talked-about third largest mall in the world today, the SM Mall of Asia, situated at the reclaimed area in Pasay City, Philippines. This mall is bigger than Vivo City in Singapore, and has the touch of class of its own, unlike any SM mall buildings I have known before.

Last Saturday's visit, I had some shots of the controversial place. This could well be a review or sort of preview for those who haven't yet visited this mall (and for other OFWs out there who are taking their Christmas vacation in the Philippines and are still planning where to take their family).

On with the show...

The name says it all

Very spacious walkways

Blue structures of the mall

Hanging yellow parols (Christmas lanterns)

Wide floor areas to stroll by

We haven't explored much of the mall's features... literally it will take us more than a day to do so

I call this the arena. I guess this is where some big events are held such as concerts and exhibitions.

Class type food court

A Christmas garden (with poinsettias)

The back of the building

Truly Filipino made traditional Christmas decors. Something I don't see a lot here in Singapore - something exotic and native decorations for Christmas

The mall's giant Christmas tree

Now that's a huge, olympic size skating rink; SM Malls in this tropical country are known for ice skating rinks

Zooming in on some kids enjoying ice skating

More kids and adults skating

Good thing my digital camera has 12 times zooming when I got this picture of Santa Claus with some kids and their mom. Looks like Mom wants to kiss Santa Claus...

Jose Marie Chan, a local singer, belting out his famous inspiring Christmas songs

I want my Jollibee (not burgers, but Chickenjoys!)

The Arena - Toby's all sports item stall

Light up the yellow parols

Luminous blue globe structure at the mall's expansive parking lot

Fireworks display event at 7-7:3O PM

More colorful fireworks display

An Email For Donations

2006-12-04T22:07:00.000+08:00

An officemate and good friend sent a mass email in our office about his humble drive for donations from friends and other Filipinos out there (or maybe even foreigners) for the casualties of supertyphoon Reming (international name, Durian, and drat, of all names the smelly one).

I read his email and was indeed moved by this effort to help the needy in the "Reming" typhoon aftermath. The hardest hit by the typhoon is Albay, Bicol.

Actually I only knew the extent of damage caused by the typhoon in the Philippines this morning in the morning edition of ChannelNewsAsia while riding a bus to work. Of all news coming from my home nation this is the one that was shown and reported in this country. A ver, very sad news.

I've read his email and told him that I'll help to disseminate this to others, especially to this blog, hopefully some of my friends and other readers will pick this post and see his call for help and donations. He has a non-profit community service back in his hometown Albay, catering especially for the children of his province.

Here's (some parts of) his email:

Hi Kababayans,

Apology for this mass email. I can't help it after hearing from relatives and reading the news on the wake of Supertyphoon "Reming" (see link below). With possibly more than 1,000 people dead, I was shaken and felt the goose bump. "This is worse than Typhoon 'Milenyo' and the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. It killed more people and destroyed more property.

I lived/grew up in Sto. Domingo, Albay. Our town is one of the mudslide-stricken municipalities of Albay province and was hard hit by the typhoon and mudflow. My heart cried for the people of Albay and this is the reason why I am writing this letter and asking for your help. Please click on the charity website below on how you can help and channel your donations (contact tab).

Touch The Hearts (please click)

You can also email at: wsawelfaresociety@yahoo.com

Donations can also be sent to: WSA Welfare Society, Inc. MetroBank Legaspi-Albay Branch 138-3-13811803-8.

The people clamored for basic necessities, such as food, canned goods, rice, noodles and temporary shelter. We look forward to your financial support to see us through this critical times. No amount is too small and all contribution will be highly appreciated.

Read weblink below for some more news:
http://www.inq7.net/specialfeatures/reming

P.S. I have not heard from my family in Sto. Domingo, Albay since Friday since all power lines are down. But I received a text from a family friend in Manila that they are in stable condition.

Best Regards,
Wilfred

Again, may some readers out there hopefully see this and help with any donations you could provide with.

* * * *

At the end of the rain, out comes the rainbow. This one I took along the shores of Changi Beach coast, north-eastern part of Singapore.

May the rainbow shine once again for my country. Soon. God bless the Filipinos.

Pacman Gobbled His Opponent

2006-11-19T20:39:00.000+08:00

"It only took Manny Pacquiao three rounds to prove himself the stronger, faster fighter..." - this came from the article featured in HBO and all I could say is amen to that. Pacman has already proven himself in terms of skill and prowess, knocking down previous opponents like a raging pit bull. This afternoon, I had received two text (SMS in Singaporean lingo) messages from relatives abroad breaking the news of Manny winning his fight over Morales within 3 rounds only. Ah, the news made me smile all right, oblivious of the quizzical looks from the people around me while we were inside the MRT train.

* * * *

Meanwhile...

I was checking with other online news here, such as Channel NewsAsia, if they've picked up the news of Manny's winning the boxing match. Apparently the site did not mention anything about it. I even checked on their (apparently) latest news tab for (supposedly) recent events that happened in Asia (ehem, isn't the site named Channel NewsAsia?). I checked out their Sport section for any news about the fight, but alas, even this section did not anything about it. I've even used the site's search option and - tadah - as expected no Manny Pacquiao fights mentioned. The only Philippine related news to be cited is that of Imelda Marcos launching her (infamous) fashion collection to her "fellow Filipino". It's not interesting news at all, if you ask me. Who cares about her jewelries and stuffs (non-Filipinos I assume, or those who still have affinity with Madam Imelda Marcos). What the Philippines wants is justice and reparation for the damages done during the Marcos regime.

Bear with me here. I still flip out when other foreigners still know little of the Philippines (which they sometimes they fondly call as "Manila" as if it is a registered name for a country). Or that we once ruled by a dictator they knew only as "Marcos". Or that we had a movie actor for a president. Or... whatever...

Banda Fantastika Event

2006-11-16T21:42:00.000+08:00

I had a great time with fellow officemates as we enjoyed listening to some featured Filipino bands playing at Gashaus Music Cafe (there were 9 bands overall, but I only started to watch at the time when my friends and their bands started their turn on the stage).

And here are some pictures during the event:

Launchbox band. Fellow officemates Ivan playing the bass guitar (left) and Titan playing the electric guitar (right). You should already be familiar with their band since I posted about them at this post.

Close up of guest vocalist Jolly, and Titan jamming it up at his electric guitar. You know what, I should be getting some payment for advertising their band here. Joke, hehehe.

Ok, some guy went in front of the stage and began to dance like a "high" or drunken person. But gyrated all over the place, and yet everyone loved his antics. Soon other people joined in the craze - jumping, head-banging, and going around in circles with each other.

There are lots of other people taking pictures during the event. I caught these two at one corner of the jam-packed room: an unidentified guy pointing his camera at the audience (back) and Ardi (front), another officemate, filming Launchbox's gig (FYI: Ardi is Indonesian; I was amazed that he can sometimes converse and even playfully joke with us in Tagalog).

Here is another band, Mr. Brosnan?, a Filipino modern rock band. I liked their performance of Radiohead's High & Dry.

Another Filipino band, rending popular foreign and local songs acoustic style, Quiverpool.

Titan has his own band too, Backwater. One memorable song played by the band is Hole's Malibu.

The rambunctious Pinoy crowd truly enjoying their gimmick from three in the afternoon till late at night. Every time a band ends their music, everyone could hear from this group a girl shouting, "I love you Jobert (or Yobert?)" with a quick reply "May asawa na yan" (That guy is already married) or "Kanina pa iyan ah..." (roughly translated: You've just said it a while ago...). Ah, the Filipino crowds - always know how to have a good time.

Other Filipino people crowding the stairs and surrounding the bar area. Everyone's keen on listening to good rock songs both in English and Tagalog. The most memorable songs played during the night were "Noypi" by Bamboo and "The Ordertaker" by Parokya ni Edgar. Especially the latter song, where every Filipino individual who were enticed and caught by the funny lyrics of Parokya ni Edgar sang along with the band that belted this song. I saw two British (or American?) guys at the stairs who at first thought the music being played is Chop Suey by System of a Down (since The Ordertaker is a local spoof of that English rock song). When both guys suddenly heard different lyrics coming from the band, they looked at each other with astonishment, whilst every Pinoy individual were shouting, singing and laughing along with the music. Then they saw some Filipinos converging in front of the stage and began to mosh around, head bang, with some playfully taking off their shirts like street loosed drunks. They began taking pictures of the happy riot, obviously enjoying at how Filipinos really dig the bands and explode in delightful frenzy.

Keith, the owner and manager of the place, responded well on "how good the bands are that night" and everyone is enjoying their stay. If he only knew well enough, and other Singaporeans, that Filipinos are known for music, talented singers, and excellent local bands. The Philippines has a very rich culture when it comes to music and entertainment. And (ehem), we can sing English songs quite eloquently.

And here's a complimentary short video of Launchbox, playing "Ligaya", originally sang by the Eraserheads.

The Dragon Boat Race

2006-11-07T22:32:00.000+08:00

Before I begin anything, this post marks the switch over of this blog to Blogger beta.

I'm still learning to get use to some new features of this blog like labels (and the sudden crash that happened a while ago while writing this long post, so I had to redo everything. As in everything... Thanks, but no thanks Blogger and Microsoft!)

So on we go...

* * * *

The race was held in Jurong Lake, Chinese Garden.

It's my first time to participate in a dragon boat race. Actually, it's indeed my first time to row for a dragon boat team. Our office department team has some first-timers in a dragon race (like me). So it was a privilege to be invited to join the team; I've been wooed before by an officemate to be a part of the office's dragon boat team.

During the first round, I've been assigned to row at the port side of the boat (left that is). We had a good start, and soon left our competitors behind our wake. We placed first and guaranteed ourselves to the finals.

In the second round, we had to make changes to give chance to other team members to row. I was one of the chosen to be replaced, so I had the chance to take my camera with me and shoot the following pictures.

That is our boat. Number 4. The team had a struggled start during the finals round.

In this picture, it's hard to determine whether our boat (number 4) is leading or lagging to number 5. Surprisingly, we placed second. Seems to me we placed third based on this picture. I had to ran along the shoreline just to be able to catch up and have a good position in taking pictures of our dragon boat.

Placing second is still quite achievement. Compare that to last year's department's position which is second to the last. Indeed, quite an improvement. Consider that we only had two weeks of training. No, make it specifically two Sundays only of training.

Notice the only color available for life vests is pink. Pink, and more pink. Even during training days we had no choice but to don pink life vests. The favorite color of local dragon boaters here is pink. Lah.

In between breaks, I had the chance to take some pictures of other participants, such as this.

...and someone took out the dragon head from one of the boats and just laid it out on the grass...

Other pictures:

This is a Chinese gateway to...

...Koi fishes inside. And more Koi fishes.

The stone guards near the gateway. Seems the rightmost guard has asked his collegues if one of them has farted (from the expression of his face, the smell got into his system). And looks like one felt guilty (hint: stooping down).

Before I exited the park's main entrance, I chanced upon this magnificent seven storey pagoda.

Also I noticed this pigeon perched on one of the post of the red wooden bridge along the main entrance. As if the pigeon is asking me, in a quizzical manner, "what are you looking at?".

I couldn't resist taking this picture before I finally left the park's premises. I saw this interesting scene wherein some murder of crows (or conspiracy of ravens?) and siege of herons (also not sure) gather in the huge expanse of grassland surrounding the park. Reminds me so much of the Filipino saying Pagputi ng uwak, pagitim ng tagak(English translation: When the crow turns white, when the heron turns white). Isn't it?

Blog Break

2006-10-31T23:10:00.000+08:00

Taking some blogging break here up to Sunday. As indicated in my previous post, I've been training with my officemates on rowing for our dragon boat team for the past two weeks. This coming Saturday is our company's family day event; our goal is (at least) to be able to get into the finals. Hopefully, our strong team will be able to accomplish that.

Meanwhile, many things come to my mind lately that sent me thinking, and thinking more pensively. I'll not tell anything for the moment. Most likely I'll resume back on Sunday.

Again, hopefully.

* * * *

Happy Halloween to all!

Yeah right, as if Halloween is largely celebrated here in this island when this event is purely an American holiday fare. Just like back in the Philippines, Halloween is rarely observed by the "masses" except those that live in posh subdivisions or those living in areas for the class A & B people who know much about American culture.

What I am going to miss this year though is our traditional visiting of our departed lolo and lolas buried in South Cemetery, Makati and another in Manila Memorial Park.

The (U)Nano

2006-10-24T17:35:00.000+08:00

The title suppose to be a pun on the Apple IPod Nano that I own. It's the Filipino word for "short person" (pronounced as oo-nano).

Yeah this looks like a shameless plug on the black IPod Nano that I have, but bear with me, I got this on a whim after my almost four-year old Creative NOMAD MuVo (64 MB)suddenly stopped working without any warning (sort of a sudden cardiac arrest for machines). Even its plain functionality as a data storage has stopped working. Whichever PC I try to connect, it doesn't light up and is unrecognized.

Call this one as (another) review of IPod Nano.

Good thing a COMEX 2006 IT and Consumer Technology Exhibition was held last September at EXPO Convention Center so there was an excuse for me to look around and search for a replacement of my humble mp3 player. Out of all the MP3 products shown during the exhibition, only two caught my attention: Creative MP3 players and of course Apple IPod. The deciding factor was the popularity and good reviews of IPod over Creative that made me decide to choose the latter. I personally do not like the plain looking interface of the white IPod, so the promo girl offered me the black one instead. I liked it very much. I chose IPod Nano because, even though it's smaller in terms of storage capacity than the regular IPod, I think it has enough memory to contain all my available MP3s that I would listen to daily during long bus / MRT trips and office hours. The promo price during that COMEX day was enticing too (about SG$199.00). Regular prices shot up to SG$240-250+ (from what I know). I don't have 20,000 plus songs at hand plus it's quite impractical for me to lug around something that has that much MP3s which I would not be able to listen to all of them. Repeat: all of them, in a day?

I forgot to mention - Happy 5th Birthday to IPod. Before I was dismissing the idea of purchasing my own IPod, having contended with my Creative MuVo to entice my daily trips from home to work and vice versa. Now, being the proud owner of IPod (Nano), I can say that I have bought a good product in terms of quality music and efficient functionalities.

My only qualms of the product were the following:

Beginners would really find it strange to navigate inside IPod's menus by softly touching the pad in circular motions. It took some time for me to get used to this. Though I would rather have the normal way of navigating menus by clicking buttons up or down or left or right (not up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, start, you silly boy). If you try to navigate in a circular motion, you have to slow to stop precisely at a song or option that you want. Sometimes you tend to skip over a song or option because you moved around with your finger fast.

Why doesn't this have a simple button to open and close IPod Nano? You have to press the down button softly for 2 seconds or more until the screen dims out, signaling that IPod closes. Sometimes when I press over the down button, IPod seems to not respond afterwards and still runs. I fear if I press down harder I might wear and break the down button in the long run. This is bad user interface design.

Be careful with using the USB connectivity cord accompanied with the product. There are times the USB connected device will not recognized by the computer it is attached to (the drive letter would be missing). Maybe this will help to solve the problem.

* * * *

My frequently played MP3 song is "How To Save A Life" by The Fray. The song was forwarded to me by my officemate. Until now, I can't help but be pensive and emotionally stricken every time I listen to the lyrics of the song, matching the haunting vocals of the singer.

Listen to it and you will agree that this is one beautiful and powerful song.

* * * *

Next post: delving into dragon boats.

Exhibitionistic Blogging

2006-10-18T22:23:00.000+08:00

I have already made myself clear regarding why I blog and maintain this blog, as I have specified a year ago.

So why do I revisit this post again? Well, I stumbled across this website about a local television program on, what else, but blogging, particularly in Singapore. And there is this interesting quote by Xue Ling in the website on her calling bloggers as exhibitionists that really made me rethink about blogging.

Well, yes, bloggers are basically exhibitionists - they show to the entire Internet community their inner-most thoughts (and some dark secrets) either through weaving of intricate sentences or posting colorful pictures. The old notion of keeping a secret diary or black book is gone and now replaced with overly seeking attention web logs from across nations mostly written in common English or sometimes written in their native tongue.
I remember around 2001 when I had this itch to learn about web designing after being exposed to well-designed Philippine websites of which I was surprised to learn that these were created by even teenagers. While browsing through these websites, I came across Mark's blog. I remember laughing my head off after seeing the website's banner Click Mo Mukha Mo! written inside a speech balloon pointing to an image of a well-known Filipina actress (forgot the name, and not sure which one). At first, I dismissed the website as a personal homepage by the creator. What surprised me though was each week the homepage would be updated with a new set of writings from the website's creator. And that's when I learned about the idea of blogging. I read voraciously the blog's past posts. I laughed and learned new things from it. I visited other linked blogs and was exposed to other Filipino bloggers who not only had the verbal wit and humor to write online essays but also had the knack of designing their personal blogs. I confessed I was hooked with blogging afterwards. And the rest was history.

Exhibitionism or not, I still plan to continue on blogging. I like to share what's on my mind (even if I have no guts to tell others personally). Maybe what I have shared in the past, written in the present, or will divulge in the future would make one reader out there laugh, cry, emphatize, or learn something (even just a tiny bit of information).

Hazy Day

2006-10-09T22:56:00.000+08:00

Here's my contribution of shots of last Saturday's notorious "haze-filled" day. I thought last Friday's smoke-filled night was already strange to me, but Saturday's almost entire day of thick haze was stranger (and unhealthier for everyone here).

Sing to the tune of the song "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". No really, this is what I stumbled upon passing through a tree-sprawled shortcut towards the nearby East Coast bay. Smoke, haze, mist. All grayish air around the vicinity.

Another picture of the hazy woods. Nothing much to notice here. Go figure.

Three degrees of air quality last Saturday. It is quite bad on that day, as shown by this picture.

Still, nothing stopped some people in doing what they had planned on that day, like idling in the woods, strolling along the sandy beach, and jogging on people-barren pathways.

Pinoy Band At GasHaus

2006-10-01T23:16:00.000+08:00

Invited by a friend and officemate, I tag along with other friends to support and watch him playing along with other Filipino bandmates in their gig at GasHaus (114 Middle Road, Singapore).

This sign at the bar reminds me of the ubiquitous signs me see back home in the Philippines inside jeepneys of which the version is like this "God know Judas not pay" (Judas is pronounced in our native tongue as Hudas or like saying "who does"). Get it? Hehehehe. Ok, not funny. Move along.

Wall paintings. I find GasHaus too dark inside. With a few oversized photographs and leather couches inside. Nontheless, these wall paintings add some color inside the dark music cafe.

The band - Launchbox. Made up of Filipinos main Mau Obciana (main vocals), Ivan Cunnan (doing the bass) and Titan Mercado (at the guitars). Sessioning with them were Ogie Camat (guitars, from band Mr. Brosnan?) and Glenn Ordinario (drums, from band Mesh Potatoes). This is what I call bayanihan among Filipino music lovers. Rock on!

Close up of the gals - the singers. Most of the songs the band covered were rock singles sang by popular rock bands featuring female lead vocalists such as another Filipino group based in the US, Moonpools and Caterpillars (though I was hoping they would have chosen the band's breakout single Hear which I loved the most; I wonder what happened to that Fil-Am band), and Cardigans (My Favorite Game). I was surprised they also sang "Paint It Black", a favorite of mine during the days of the hit TV series, Tour of Duty.

Close up of the guys. Serious guitar play here.

Well, well, well... while the band was playing, the TV show projected above the walls was a recorded match of Efren "Bata" Reyes. I took this as a souvenir shot - opportunities pass by and you have to grab it before it's gone.

Here are some YouTube videos I uploaded. Go see them:

Images of Orchard

2006-09-24T22:44:00.000+08:00

Ok. Now I'm going back to posting pictures I've taken while walking the long stretch of Orchard Road. Weekends at Orchard are quite colorful and bursting with events big or small, as shown below:

In front of a hotel, Singaporeans love to showcase their patriotism through flags. You could see flags even hung outside the terraces of HDB flats.

This is interesting. I saw some people gathering around these youngsters dressed in silver clothes and painted themselves metallic silver. They try not to move nor blink. As the signboard reads, they're suppose to be doing some kind of project as they are International School Students - Artists. Uhuh.

There was this very young blond girl who was told by her parents to put a coin into the student's donation box. With such innocence, she obeyed and carefully put into the box's slot the coin she was provided with.

There are many street bands that perform especially in the hot spots of Orchard such as in front of a mall's entrance or near the MRT stations. This is one of the groups playing a heavy drum beat to the delight of the audience...

... and another one from some undetermined country, but their garbs indicate something related to American Indians (maybe they are American Indians, though the music they played sounded more like those from the upper regions of South America I've heard once in TV shows).

Melting time... one last call for alcohol, so finish up your whiskey or beer... Eh? Am I drunk, or is this clock sculpture melting before my very eyes. Looks like recreated from Dali's famous images.

Now this is another interesting shot. I saw a man deftly weaving colorful figurines out of coconut tree leaves (I think). He had this mat sprawled with his suppose works of figurines that look like insects, fantasy creatures and others. While taking this picture, the man saw me and was waving at me, telling me no pictures should be taken of him and his works. I wonder why. Could he have thought I was a reporter who will inform authorities of illegal activities? Ha, I was amused at that moment, but he can't do anyhing since I already got the picture. Tough luck.

Pride And Ancestry

2006-09-16T22:46:00.000+08:00

Lately I've been... well, kinda soul-searching myself here in Singapore trying to make out of what I should I be doing (and planning) for the rest of my life now that I'm living independently from my family (well, yes, for Asians, it's a phenomenon that children get to grow older even beyond their 20's before they finally decide to move out and start a life of their own) unlike Western culture.

And part of that thinking and soul-searching is trying to blend myself among the millions of people living in this small island nation. To blend as in to try to align myself as one of the three major races of Singapore: Chinese, Indians, Malays. And most of the time I fail to blend well, especially when I speak out my English with the American accent (or that distinct Filipino accent sometimes local taxi drivers would quickly discern when you speak to them). I chuckle of the thought when one of my current officemates would tell his story of how he usually be mistaken to as an Indian, or (far-out) Nepalese (??) because of his looks. Another also told his story of how he was though of as an Indonesian or Malay. And to think, I was already mistaken to be a Japanese back in the Philippines. If I sport a bushy goatee, I'll be readily mistaken as a Malay.

The point is the current crop of Filipinos can't be stereotyped anymore as the small, dark brown skinned, flat-nosed race but more of a unique mixture of different blood races. This thanks to thousands of Filipinos going abroad and establishing relationships with other nationalities producing unique offsprings often quite better-looking(ehem).

Take for instance that big muscled wrestler of WWE Batista who my brother recently emailed me regarding his ancestry as half-Filipino (and in another source, he is half-Greek). Ah, no wonder he has that good nose bridge but bro... I mean brown skin color that Filipinos are known for (ok, I'll stop referring to the nose).

Still not convinced? See the flag on his left shoulder here. And this one one in another blog picture. Skirmish more in the Internet, he'll tell you he even idolized Manny Pacquiao.

* * * *

I just wonder why in this country I usually don't get much news about the sports winnings of the Philippines (such as Pacquiao) even though Philippines is part of Asia. And I get to hear and see more news of other Asian countries are India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and China.

A Book For Thought

2006-09-03T11:12:00.000+08:00

This will be a break from taking pictures (and posting them online).

One of the ways to have some relaxation in this island nation is to take some time to sit down and read some interesting books, like the one I purchased last May, called "What Should I Do With My Life?". Interestingly, I found some of the non-fictional stories of the book akin to some aspects of my life, especially in terms of juggling work time and personal time. I have to admit, it's only now that I'm beginning to question myself on what exactly are my plans in the future and what am I doing (now) to achieve them. I can compare my current life like walking through a park - momentarily enjoying the sceneries, unmindful of what's ahead of me or where my feet would be taking me.

There are a lot of questions and thoughts that constantly hit me on the head (really hard) on what (exactly) do I want in my current life.

I remember during college, some acquaintance told me that I seem to be a type of happy-go-lucky person.

And I could still remember someone (and still many do) asking me when will I return home to the Philippines.

Hmmm....

As of the moment, I can't give much of a review of the book (I can't describe well the stories inside as I have my own interpretations that would differ with another reader of the book). But all I could tell is that it's such a darn, well-written, non-fictional book that is so unlike of self-help books nowadays (which cater mostly to career life) because the documented people are real people whom anyone can identify with when trying to ask the eternal question "what should I do with my life?".

The rest of my life is yet unwritten. It's up to me to write the rest of my biography pages.

A Trip To Johor Bahru

2006-08-27T08:05:00.000+08:00

I've not yet explored much of Singapore, but here I was already taking a tour of nearby Johor Bahru, the southern trip of Malaysia along with friends (Dennis, his wife and a sister-in-law).

After Sunday mass, we first had lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant, West Lake. The black peppered crab was superb and the tiger prawns were nice and crunchy. The chicken nuggets and wings were tasty too (and now I begin to remember Jollibee Chickenjoy. Ah those were truly to die for).

Off we went to Johor Bahru via bus from Bugis. During the trip, we had a chance to chat with fellow Filipino Ferdinand Marcos. No really, the guy's name is that of the late (infamous) ex-president Marcos. He told us he was going to process some documents in Malaysia and he just passed by here in Singapore (or so I could still remember).

Upon arrival, I took at once the bustling cityscape of Johor Bahru. Frankly, the place looks very similar to Manila, specifically in Chinatown, Manila.

I took the shot above while we were about to cross the street to get to the Royal Museum. A local told us that it's a few walks from the immigration building we came from.

Here's something fascinating I took a picture of. A roasted duck signboard. I spotted this one far away while we're walking along sidewalks.

Some malaysian flags here.

We chanced upon this huge palace-like building. There was no guard in sight, but the gates were closed. We were thinking that, since it was a Sunday, everybody must be at home. Only a stray black cat greeted us when we arrived (the cat kept circling and pressing its furry body against my ankle; meanwhile my friend's wife kept shoving it away for she hated cats).

We finally decided to take a taxi drive to the Royal Museum. We had to change some Singapore dollars to Malaysian ringgits.

The Royal Museum. No pictures were allowed inside. We had to remove our shoes; we were given some plastic bags for our shoes. So we walked inside the museum either on foot (the women) and socks (us guys). Much of the relics inside were of the countless furnitures, kitchen items, weapons, jewelries of the sultan and his large royal family. One particular exhibition we were so fascinated with was that of the sultan's museum of hunted wildlife. You could say it's both an interesting and grotesque exhibition of stumps of elephant feet turned into umbrella cases, or unidentified animal skulls turned into amalgamated ashtrays, or numerous deer antlers turned into trophy displays and even hunted and killed water buffalos, tigers and crocodiles preserved for display.

These small trees lining a pathway remind me of little versions of Christmas trees bright with reddish leaves.

I like this building for its cultural architecture. We could see these from the large field of the Royal Museum. I don't know what this building's name is.

And now for some crazy and stupid moments...

I was doing here a stupid rendition of the Karate Kid's crane kick in front of the Royal Museum, oblivious of the fact that some guards were already watching me and my friends.

Here's my friend doing something I could not discern. I just suddenly spotted him posing for his wife (who earlier did a "Sound of Music" pose complete with wind-blown scarves) who's taking his picture. I just took a photo of him from afar, at a different angle.

Other Pictures I've Taken

2006-08-18T20:54:00.000+08:00

On National Day, August 8, these were the pictures I took:

I took this while I was strolling along the sidewalk towards East Coast beach. I saw the Singapore flag along with other colored ones, waving in unison.

I was raring to take someday a picture of this every time I sit down and meditate on a constructed rock bed by the beach. I like the simplicity of it - the buoy gently rocking over the slightly cobalt waters. The ships at the back added some interesting background to the picture.

From the sea, there is this "canal" going towards somewhere into the city. I sometimes would find a fisherman busily doing his work over the shallow waters of this area early in the morning.

This is the garden I see by my bedroom window. The scenery never fails to calm me or provide me that inner peace of mind every time I need some time to relax with my thoughts running wild.

I took this while watching the live TV broadcast of the National Day celebration held at the National Stadium in Kallang. These are the Singapore Red Lions Skydivers doing their formation at thousands of feet in the air (obviously, heck).

I caught upon one of the skydivers (now using parachutes) gently descending down. Good thing my camera has an excellent optical zooming function.

I zoomed in further, and luckily caught more of the skydivers.

On The Eve Of National Day

2006-08-15T08:45:00.000+08:00

Here are other pictures I took on the eve of Singapore's National Day (anniversary celebration of this nation's birth) last August 8. I tried to be early at Marina Bay, but since next day is a holiday, thousands of people came in and decided to stay and make the most of the rest of the night with families, friends and loved ones.

It's a good thing I had an excellent camera zoom function. Actually, I had a not so good position to watch the fireworks as there are two trees blocking my view.

I was taking some shots while my hands were quite shaking. But the photographs that came out became more interesting because of the shaky effects.

These look like forking red lightnings.

And these look like camp fires gone wild.

Sunburst fireworks. I heard may “waaaahs” at that night.

Too much light here.

Too many people around the bay area.

The beautiful Singapore nightscape. I took this after the fireworks display.

Enjoy!

Images Using My Own Camera

2006-08-07T08:53:00.000+08:00

I'm using a Canon Powershot A700 digital camera. I had bought one and I'm still giddy in using it. It's my first foray into digital photography. Since I'm a newbie, I'd ran some test shots, so I went at the nearby beach at Marine Parade. And here are some of them:

Singapore flags for National Day. Tomorrow is their nation's birthday celebration.

The beach area, near East Coast Park. I suddenly remember our Manila Bay.

A Terrier and his loving masters. Cute scruffy dog.

Waiting for his Godo. Or something. I like the image of contemplation especially at nearby water areas.

Another couple with their pet dog. This time, the couple is filming their playful dog.

I trudged along back to my flat using this pathway. I could not find the mushroom beds underneath the trees since I last saw them in May this year.

Things I Learned So Far Here...

2006-08-05T21:01:00.000+08:00

And here comes the list again. Here goes:

The more I talk and act as non-Singaporeans do (accent, quirks and all), the more the locals know I am a foreigner. Even if my skin color almost matches theirs, my accent and clear spoken English still mystifies them (by the way they look at me in surprise or what). Beats me, but they would readily ask me if I'm a Filipino (and that lyrical way of saying English comes to mind again).

Just like Filipinos, seems the locals here have that colonial mentality when it comes to conversing with a foreigner (especially the "white people"). They may deny, but really they seem to give that "awe" and "respect" to the "white people" (which they fondly call here as "kaypo"). I couldn't say the same thing when it comes to treating each other or other Asian-looking individuals. Beats me again, but it's a phenomenon nonetheless to think the Western people are far greater than the Eastern ones. Ah, we're not being bigots here, are we. It's just that I see the same kind of "Fascination with the West" back in the Philippines.

I learned you can't really get to explore well this colorful country no matter how small it may seem to be in the Atlas map. This island nation belies its small size when it comes to colorful and cultural activities one can stumble upon. I'll let you know in my next posts (and hopefully with pictures once I purchase my own digital camera one of these days). Yes, you heard it right, I am planning to buy one, lah.

I keep on saying "Salamat" (or pronouncing it as "Selamat") to Singaporeans here especially to those who I know of Malaysian descent (like those serving in restaurants and behind the cash counters). It's a good thing that the word actually meant I "something good". Because I had this belief that whenever Malay locals here speak "selamat" after a conversation, I thought the word is similar to the Pinoy word "salamat" meaning "thank you". What it actually meant is a greeting of goodwill similar to "good morning" or "good day" or "wishing you a good trip". Ah, now I know. :-)

Conversation is a nightmare here. I need to learn Mandarin, Malay or Indian as soon as possible (or in any other way). There is something in their English that I still cannot understand at all. Even the British guys here intimidate me with their brand of "English" accent. Such a bloody hell, hehehe. :-D

The Question

2006-07-25T18:23:00.000+08:00

A visitor of one of my flatmates asked me if I feel homesick already here in Singapore. Yes, I replied without any pause to think about it. It was a resounding "yes" for me to his innocent-looking question.

For almost four months, I thought I could bear myself to not miss anything from the country I left behind and try to start "a life of my own" - even just a month or two. Everytime I see local families gather and walk together in the nearby beach, I yearn for my family. Everytime I see local youngsters here boisterously play, chat and joke around I do miss my friends and close ex-officemates in the Philippines. Heck, even the sight of imported breeds of dogs tagged along by their owners remind me of my two loving "askal" pet dogs.

Sigh. There are many things I miss about the country (I can't list them because frankly a blog post can't list them all here). It may not be as economically good as Singapore, but I can boast of the heart-warming smiles and energetic laughter of my countrymen (which come in handy amidst a crisis or two).

Sale Items And Food

2006-07-16T15:16:00.000+08:00

Seems that there are a plenty of huge sale events that occur here in Singapore. "The Great Singapore Sale" is just one of the events that occur annually (island-wide) in this country, besides other sale events like PC/IT shows in Suntec City and another in Expo, Simei. I try not to fail to attend to these, as I might come across a useful item or two with inexpensive price tags.

I had finished up with purchasing some additional wardrobe (business and casual shirts) before "The Great Singapore Sale" officially ends by next week. I had to get another long-sleeved shirt as my old one had been accidentally burned during ironing last week (more like, melted a medium-sized hole at the back of the shirt). I loved that shirt, even if it was already five years old.

By the way, not all items are truly of "sale value". There are some items being sold with a 25-50% discount but if you look closely at the pre-price they're actually sold at half price of SGD$1000+ (SGD$500+). This is not sale for me - this is robbery to me.

* * * *

As weeks pass, I learn to be aware of places where one can shop for cheap food items. I usually stock on meat/poultry, cold cuts, eggs, bits of fruits and vegetables, and canned goods that would last me for the rest of the month. Stocking up is good as one tends to stick it out with what's available in the fridge instead of buying expensive meals outside. With a budget of around (usually) SGD$50 for a month, I can stock up for the food items I need for a month. It's big savings for me already; buying meals outside cost around at least SGD$2.50 - SGD$5.00.

Conversation Surprises

2006-07-09T14:22:00.001+08:00

The more I mingle with the locals here in Singapore, the more I am surprised as to how they react once they learn I am a Filipino.

I was riding a taxi and the driver is a Singaporean but of an Indian descent (complete with a gray turban and beard). Surprisingly during the trip, he asked me if I am a foreigner. More specifically afterwards, he asked me if I am a Filipino. I said yes, wondering how he'd know. Well, apparently, he acknowledged that we Filipinos speak English distinctly with a (take note) "musical kind of tone". He admitted that Singaporeans tend to speak English in a manner like "reading a book" (or seems like reading a thick volume of a British Encyclopedia with alternating halts and breathes - how I understand his perception). I might look like a Malay crossed with some Chinese blood or otherwise but the way I communicate to him gave way as to my being a foreigner here in this small island (with thick British accent: "bloody hell").

So the fact is that I don't need to tell anyone I am a foreigner (Pinoy). I'll just speak up and the mystery will be solved.

Oh yeah, for those fellow Pinoys out there, just a "for your information" only: yes, I saw an umbrella tucked between the driver's seat and the gear shifter before I disembarked the taxi. For those who don't know what I meant by that, ask me about it. :-D

Superman Returned, Superbly

2006-07-01T11:16:00.000+08:00

It's been years since I experienced the movie magic of the one of the beloved and iconic super heroes of all time. I did enjoy the latest installment of the Superman series, Superman Returns (I watched it on the opening day, last Thursday). Below are my thoughts and comments (and possible spoilers to some):

I know it's difficult to fill in the shoes of the late Christopher Reeves who made this movie character so famous that you couldn't forget to mention his name if you say Superman. That guy is really made for this role. He's the "poster boy" of Superman that couldn't be replaced easily by anyone else (think you could bear seeing Superman protrayed by Nicholas Cage?). But that guy is gone; in came Brandon Routh who fairly did justice to the role of Superman that legendary Reeves left behind. I did miss though the more bumbling type of portrayal of Clark Kent that Reeves did. Superman 1 to 4's Clark Kent has more of the comedic relief, this time around you get a milder dose of the same character but done differently by a newcomer. But you couldn't deny the eerie semblance of Routh with the facial features of Reeves.

Lois Lane was protrayed this time by Kate Bosworth. While doing the rounds in the film, as someone commented, her Lane character seemed to deviated from the feisty yet soft characterization done originally by Margot Kidder. Though I guess, the script suggests that Lane has to change personally (smoking after being stressed out; emotional anger at the mention of Superman) after years of waiting for a loved one that never did say goodbye properly.

I couldn't say much about Kevin Spacey's killer protrayal of Lex Luthor; I guess he made it a totally different persona unlike Gene Hackman did in the Superman 1. But I bow down to this Oscar-winning guy everytime he acts up as if "he is" the character he protrays.

I wish the movie had more fight scenes or added other dangerous scenarios that showcase more of the skills and capabilities of Superman, especially since this is a comeback movie; for most of the kids in this generation it will be their first time to be exposed to this great superhero so I guess this is enough reason to add more heroic action scenes. But I'm not the director nor script writer of the film. As they say, the more you add, the more you'll spoil the soup.

How ironic and puzzling to see Superman succumb to the punches of Lex Luthor and his henchman in the crystal arena were kryptonite were infused in the environment, while during the time Superman was carrying the crystal rock continent large chunks of kryptonite were slowly protruding out towards him, yet he did not budge nor felt weak while carryng the heavy weight. Again, I am not the script writer. So just enjoy the film and forget logic and comprehension.

I like the small "legacy" twist infused in the story by having Superman fathered a son with Lois Lane. What will be the powers of this boy? Will he be totally like his dad? We'll see in the next films to come.

Now which is better? Last year's Batman Begins or this year's Superman Returns? I believe you couldn't compare both in terms of their story lines since the former is literally going back to the roots of the hero while the latter tries to connect an unfinished series with another through new adventures. But for me, a story that has an origin (who and how he got the powers) makes a complete story that doesn't confuse the moviegoers especially those who would encounter for the first time a comic book character. So Batman Begins is one notch higher than Superman Returns.

'Nuff said. Enjoy the movie.

Of Comfort Food

2006-06-25T15:15:00.000+08:00

Here's something to remind me of home:

I've read a very small corner column in Sunday Straits here featuring the (take this) "last meal" that a featured personality would want to eat (before eventually he or she dies, given any chance to partake any food to relish something tasty and unforgettable).

If you ask me what food (or foods) I would like to have as my "last meal", here is my list:

#1 - Jollibee Chickenjoy (Bar none to any fried chicken out here in the entire planet)

Pancit Canton with plenty of Chinese chorizo de bilbao or a plateful of Pad Thai

Deep fried lechon kawali (High in cholesterol, but hey this is your last meal, isn't it? So dig in without any thoughts)

Last beverage on earth? Coke Lite (Ironic, isn't it? Still the health-conscious individual. Ok then, Vanilla Coke).

I ask you the same, what would your last meal be?

Missing "R" And Other Stories

2006-06-18T16:41:00.000+08:00

One morning, after a morning job from the nearby beach, I decided to pass by a hawker stall. I browsed the menu of one and decided to order a hot dish of chicken rice. Afterwards, one of the locals approached me and asked me something I couldn't discern at first ("kalah" I heard). I asked to repeat his question. With quizzical look (and somewhat irritated voice), he asked what to choose the type of chicken or something like this: "Choose what kalah" and started to point at the soy chicken then next to the steamed white chicken. I was surprised "color" was pronounced as "kalah". I never heard the emphasis on the "r" and so I thought he said a local word I've never heard before.

This sounds like an emergency English checkup for most of the people here.

Frankly, I still find it difficult to understand or discern most of the locals here when it comes to everyday English communication in stores, markets, food stalls, and even at the office. I'm used to Western English, specifically the American English. And since I came from a working place back from my country where I interact with American counterparts, I'm still struggling to communicate and understand non-Filipinos here (of whom I have no difficulty understanding English, even the broken "Carabao" English or the hybrid "Taglish").

I've heard in the local news that the government is deciding to hire native (take note: native as in coming from America, British, Australia and other predominantly English speaking countries) speakers to teach the people here effective English. But I would agree at a local who commented on this issue that learning how to speak and write in English starts at home (and doesn't end after schools or office hours); and if this is constantly used at home, the children mostly would eventually be armed with verbal skills to communicate in English. It's constant practice and usage which will get anyone to become fluent in speaking in English.

Here is a list of some of the locally pronounced English words that lately I misheard for another (or totally I did not understand at all):

At 7-11: klastik bak (plastic bag)

At McDonald's: kiddie sos (chili sauce)

At Carl's Junior: hamburker meel (hamburger meal)

at a TV show: some kind of foz... (you mean, force? "r" was lost)

I'll not be surprised to misheard horse for hose (hos).

Football Fever

2006-06-11T18:39:00.000+08:00

Everybody here in Singapore got the fever (chills and all).

Local sportscasts, advertisements, and other sportswear items are all about the World Cup 2006 happening in Germany. And I haven't yet watched a single full match being broadcasted on TV (shame on me)!

Well, I can explain. Live football games are shown, if not during midnight, in the very early hours before dawn. I can't possibly be able to do that since I have to wake up early in the morning to prepare myself to work. Even on Friday nights, when I expect no work and total relaxation the next day, I'm too tired to stay for a few more hours to watch the live games (work has gone balistically heavy).

Maybe I'll try to catch a couple of these games next weekend. Better if I could do it this coming Friday night. And I'll root and support my favorite team - Brazil team (sorry Germany, but you'll have to prove your capabilities against these guys).

Seriously, I'm not much of a football fanatic, since being a Filipino, I came from one of those families who grew up enchanted with the American sport of Basketball (I can understand that since our country was once under the Americans who happen not be to "that good" in football a.k.a. soccer while Singaporeans here adapted the love of football from the British who once had ruled this tiny island). But hey, I am in Singapore. And as they say, do what the Romans do (or rather do and love what Singaporeans do love here, lah!).

Go Brazil! If they'll win (again), I plan to buy myself a bright yellow and green Brazilian jersey.

Animated Consumerism

2006-06-04T19:07:00.000+08:00

I have to admit that I liked the computer animated film Over The Edge. While waiting for the opening of the PC Show 2006 here at Suntec City, I decided to take some time out to watch a movie (luckily, this movie was an hour away before showing so I quickly bought a ticket). I learned this movie's praises from a featured film critic in a local morning TV show - her liking the movie's animal characters and how the story's plot projects how modern people are bent into blatant consumerism.

At first, the kids (yeah, there were many kids around my area; they go wildly gaga at first sight of the "cute" animal characters - like cherished stuff toys coming to life), went crazy and laughed at the antics of the animals. But later on, the story's numerous jokes has gone to (somewhat) mature humor that the only sounds I hear in the dark area were my laughter, some old guy's snicker, and another dad or mom's guffaw.

Without being too much preachy about the subject, the film tries to convey how us modernized human beings tend to enslave our everyday lives with tons of gadgets and food binges that we seldom stop and think about what really is important and necessary to survive. In short the very basic needs that will provide us with a good quality of life (without the added garneshings or creams of life that we could do without like junk foods and branded but too expensive stuffs). In one scene of the film, RJ the racoon was pinpointing at a huffing human being over the treadmill, telling at the same time that us creatures tend to do this after gorging on tons of food (this really had me smiling).

Near the end of the film, I also liked the idea of protraying Hammie the squirrel in super hyper speed mode by having everyone and everything move in slow motion while he simply does his thing normally (look at it this way: for super fast characters, everything moves in slow motion, thus there is enough time for them to do crazy stunts like dodging bullets).

The movie may not be at par with the quality and story of The Incredibles, but I should say this one goes to my list of movies I really enjoyed (even if the characters were digitally made).

I give this 4 stars out of 5.

The Ex X-Men(3)

2006-05-28T18:12:00.000+08:00

I watched the movie last night (actually, the last full show) and, quite frankly I was both surprised and disappointed. Let me give you a list of my thoughts about the movie (and spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie):

A major X-Men character suddenly dies (or suddenly was wiped out from the rest of the film with no absolute explanation on how he perished). Wolverine questioned Jean about what happened to Cyclops (or where his corpse his) and that questioned was never explicably answered. You just find him supposedly dead under an area of green grass and a tombstone.(except

Not only has Cyclops (a major and defining character of the X-Men) perished, but also Prof. Xavier under the hands (or mind) of Jean Grey. I appreciate the darker mood of which the film's plot has suddenly went to, but I feel killing of two major X-Men does not make a good plot twist to introduce and develop other characters into the story.

Speaking of other characters, the film has falsely advertisements to begin with. If you would look closely in banners and posters, Angel (or better known to many as Archangel), is shown along with Storm, Wolverine, Magneto, Jean Grey, Beast and Prof Xavier. Eventually you've expect his character (along with blue furball Beast) to be centered at by the film or at least given much emphasis since he is a new character just like the way Nightcrawler was introduced in X-Men 2. But this did not happened. His character was used more like very thin icing on a sponge cake full of air. You only see Angel in the beginning of the film as a child frightened about his mutant transformation (into a birdman). You next see his character almost in the middle of the film as a grown man accepting his mutation and abruptly flew away into freedom, literally. Three fourths into the film, you next see him poking his head into the Xavier mansion seeking refuge. And lastly, you see him again for about two to three minutes rescuing his dad from death and flying away (again!). And ok, you see the last of his character at the end of the film as a free flying creature. Frankly, Angel's character was left very undeveloped, uninteresting and totally flat. You let other non-following X-Men moviegoers in the dark about who and what Angel can really do as a mutant. He even barely talked enough in the film. But no, Angel or Warren is just a flying bird man with stereotypical blond hair to depict what else but an angel. At least Beast had more screen and talk time (though his mutant battle skills near the end of the film was not as dramtically and strongly protrayed as Nightcrawler in the previous film).

It's a good thing that other X-Men characters are introduced into the lineup, and yet many of them suffered the same fate as Angel's flat characterization. Piotr or Collosus, that metal mutant guy, was only known appreciated in the film through battles. Rouge's character was also underutilized, if not, shown too briefly at the beginning, middle, and end of the film with no defining moments in a real-time mutant battle. Such a waste of talent here. At least Kitty Pride was given more screen time and battle scenes (and she isn't even one of the major characters displayed in banners and posters!).

Many well-known mutant characters were changed drastically in the film, of which I either chuckled at or groaned to utter disbelief. Take for example Jaime Madrox, aka Multiple Man. He's one of the good guys (X-Factor, offshoot of the X-Men) but in this film he's recruited to the side of Magneto. His character was also underutilized.

The Dark Phoenix storyline could have been the defining plot of the film but instead ended up as a mishmash of killings reminiscent of the bloody rampage done by Carrie.

Hope this is not the last film of the X-Men series of movies. This last film is far too weak against the previous movies.

Unexpected Error

2006-05-21T16:31:00.000+08:00

I hate it when you've written a long post and all of a sudden the PC you're using would suddenly display an Internet Explorer error telling an undescribable error. And then all of my Internet Explorer windows closed down without me saving my long and precious work.

Now I'm pissed with Microsoft Windows.

Now I've lost precious time and eventually will shorten my post today...

Grrr...

Anyway, congratulations to BJ and Tyler for winning the Amazing Race Season 9. It was a wonderful two-hour episode fit for bowing down before the boob tube (literally, I did that after my favorite hippie duo won the race in a tight battle against the frat boys Eric and Jeremy).

...my fingers are tired from typing.

I'll switch again to Firefox. Hmp.

Pre-Mother's Day Message

2006-05-13T16:32:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a public holiday here in Singapore. It was Vesak Day. A holiday is a holiday and good thing is a nice day to sleep and recuperate (not to mention it was quite a rainy day too; back home, an ex-officemate told me that Philippines was experiencing a typhoon).

* * * *

Tomorrow will be Mother's Day. Hope Mom would see and read this post (and not the naughty archived posts of the past, anyways). I dedicate this humble post to her, so bear with me.

In Singapore, Mother is also known as Mommy or moreso as Mummy. No kidding there. Since Singapore was once under British rule, many of the British words were inherited and later on integrated into everyday usage such as Mummy or Mum for dear Mother.

The first time I saw this word was during a TV advertisement showcasing a special magic mummy day on Sunday. Magic Mummy I wondered. I would not have concluded that the ad was referring to Mother's Day if not for the stenciled image of a curvy figure with an apron serving as background for the big fonts of the TV ad.

No dead and stinky mummies would ever replace our dear mommies.

Mom, if you read this, thanks for every sacrifice you have done for the past years especially during the development years of my life. I thank for your sacrificed sleepless nights when you attented to my cries of hunger when I was a baby. I thank you for your patience in teaching me my first steps towards walking upright during my toddler years. I thank you for your attentiveness in listnening to me when I bring home news about my schooldays during my elementary and high school years. I thank you for providing me financial support and encouragement in my chosen field of study during my gruelling college years. I thank you for thanking me when I recieved my first pay check from my first job and I treated you all.

I thank you for the countless things I could still remember you did to me - through good and bad times. I know you've always said to me you wanted to live more for me and my brother. I'm still affected by those words and I would cherish it for the rest of my life. I could not thank you enough - your taking care of us your children is a life-long career no mere work can be compared to.

I love you, Mommy, Mummy, Mom, Mama, Ma, Inay, 'Nay. God bless and take care.

Advance "Happy Mother's Day" to every loving and dear mothers out there. You deserve a standing ovation from us children of the world.

What's Wrong With A Spoon?

2006-05-06T11:09:00.000+08:00

What's wrong with using a spoon, anyway?.

Oh, I've seen enough racism everyday, noticing even the tiniest, subliminal racist acts, jokes, puns, behavior not only to us Filipinos but to other races as well. I try not to dwell on these, but the fact still lies ingrained in other people, thinking that one's set of behaviors and beliefs should be accepted worldwide.

I leave this open ended.

Rain And More Rain

2006-04-30T13:49:00.000+08:00

Technically, it's summer season back in the Philippines. But I discovered here in Singapore that rains often occur almost everyday (if not, at least once a week). A Singaporean friend told me that April is usually a rainy month. The dry seasons starts at July while the wettest months are from November to December (wet Christmas, anyone?). The sunniest month was February (that's why when I first came here, I experienced hot and humid weeks and rarely rainy days).

I would wake up early in the morning, still dark outside at six, only to hear the soft patter of raindrops against the window pane. Sometimes it would rain hard in the early afternoon. At other times, late in the afternoon, just before dusk creeps out over the city. Overall, I could say no one could predict precisely when rain would occur. I have to be observant of the distant dark skies before I leave the apartment without an umbrella.

Speaking of umbrellas, I was surprised that anyone can borrow one at some Hang Ten shops that rent umbrellas for $6 each. Up to 90 days one can use these umbrellas. To refund your dollar, return these umbrellas at any Hang Ten store (showcasing these rentable umbrellas) including the plastic casing, the price tag, and also show your receipt.

You may not return it of course. If you do, then you have bought one.

Training Days And Languages

2006-04-23T11:43:00.000+08:00

I had been busy attending training for six days since last week, so I wasn't able to catch up on my blogging habits lately.

Just like in my former job, I got to be trained this time with a new set of reporting tools that my current employer has been utilizing. I was glad to be trained first instead of immersing myself at once at the beginning of my work week.

During the training, I got to meet and interact with people of different nationalities. I find it amusing and at the same time challenging to communicate with them. Luckily, English is widely used here in Singapore. But just like Taglish back in the Philippines, most use Singlish - English mixed with Singaporean local terminologies in between. Some pronunciations and accents make it at first difficult for me to understand what my colleagues would say. But eventually, I got the hang of it. Along with other colleagues, during the training days, we got to meet with two instructors. One was a French woman and the other a Swiss man. Both could communicate well in English, though I sometimes mistake a word or two from them because of the difference in English accents that I'm used to back in the Philippines.

Just yesterday, while playing a card game with a Singaporean local, he asked me the country I came from. But before I could tell him, he asked me if I was from the Philippines. Astonished of course, I replied back on how he guessed it right. He told me that I got this distinct accent that Filipinos have when speaking in English clearly.

I guess that tells it all (with a hidden smile on my face).

Friday, My Goodness

2006-04-14T18:42:00.000+08:00

Being a Catholic, it's one of my duties to attend mass especially this Good Friday. But I observed here in Singapore, even though today is a holiday, everyone seems to be enjoying and doing things normally. I should not be surprised since being a multi-cultural place, those few Catholic citizens will be the one who would solemnly celebrate this day while the rest of the population would go out and enjoy the holiday with friends, families and loved ones.

Good thing there was a nearby church a few bus stops away (the handy bus terminal book I bought was so helpful that instead of utilizing the MRT trains I usually ride the bus to go places more frequently). Good to see that there are many Singaporean Catholics (and even obvious expats) of other races who visited the church.

What I like about in Singapore is the religious tolerance the country practices to unite all people of different races. It makes this country more fascinating and more challenging for me, especially when I relate to other Singaporeans - Chinese, Malays, Indians, other fellow Filipinos and the Americans or Europeans.

Currently, I only know two languages - Tagalog/Filipino and English. I plan to study Chinese language (like Mandarin) someday just like what my friend is doing nowadays. I know this would help me further in understanding and blending with the locals.

Nine To Six Here

2006-04-12T21:29:00.000+08:00

So how's my first day of work here in Singapore last Monday? Well, the usual stuffs when one new employee gets to be introduced to his new work co-employees. But this time it's totally different for me since I go to introduce myself before a panel of Singaporeans (bosses and other staffs). One should have been there but was out in an MC (term used here to indicate one was on a "sick leave"). That person turns out to be a fellow Filipino.

Overall, my day one was more of introductions and preparations of my ID card, computer login name, network access, and documentation previews.

Nine to six. That is the usual period of work here in the bank I am currently working under contract. Back home, I'm used to getting myself prepared to start the working day at eight in the morning till five or six in the evening. And still, I don't need an alarm clock to wake myself up - I had already developed a bodyclock that automatically alerts me to open my eyes at around six to six-thirty in the morning. Make me sleep late in the evening or early in the morning and mysteriously I would make up at around six to six-thirty (unless of course I'm dead tired the previous day; I would eventually slept longer and wake up later at around seven till eight).

Near The Shoreline

2006-04-08T10:35:00.000+08:00

I was surprised to see in the map of the current place I am residing that Singapore's shoreline is just a few blocks away. Meaning, our place is quite near the edge of this country. And this morning, I went down to see the bay view; I was quite impressed to see a long stretch of pale beige colored sand along the shoreline and a few locals where either camping along the shoreline or swimming in the waters. (To reach there, I had to pass a short route inside a park full of trees and exotic plants). Beyond the bay are many large cargo ships lining the horizon of the sea. This reminds me of the Philippines' baywalk along Roxas Boulevard minus the sea stench and floating debris. Still, nothing beats the awesome burning red sunset we have back home along baywalk. I do miss that sunset scenery. I miss home already.

Safe Landing Once Again

2006-04-04T09:05:00.000+08:00

I'm back here in Singapore (Note: For an economy trip, Singapore Airlines has an excellent service). I've been momentarily staying at a friend/ex-officemate's apartment somewhere in Tampines, Singapore. But tomorrow, I'll be moving out to a new room in a small apartment in Paya Lebar area. That room has the complete basic amenities, more importantly my own bathroom inside my room. That is a plus point. The view outside of my room's window opens out to a nearby garden where various plantlife are tended for landscaping use. This reminds of somewhat of the disturbing short story Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King.

I have about almost half of this week left to explore places, relax, and familiarize myself (more) of the MRT stations and bus routes of Singapore. It's important for any stranger in a foreign land to be familiar with the transportation system of the country, lest you'll never be (literally) going places and just be stuck in one's sanctuary fearful of strangers and unfamiliar things outside.

I'll cut things short for a while. I'm busy again preparing my things for the eventual move out. Till next blogging day.

* * * *

It's raining cats and dogs, hurling ball lightnings and booming high decibel thunders for two days now. And I thought I'll be expecting long weeks of summer heat here in Singapore.

Preparing To Say Sayonara

2006-04-01T15:33:00.000+08:00

Ain't no fool today on April Fool's. I'm doing some last minute preparations before I leave the Philippines tomorrow afternoon to my new place in Singapore. I will start working on April 10, so I've got about a week left before I strut my cranial stuffs back at work.

I know... I will be leaving many memorable things about my country - especially the people I cherish, both my family and friends. I guess I could say, that this would temporarily be my farewell. I am not sure if I could blog soon once I arrive in Singapore. If I'm lucky, I might find an internet kiosk and start blogging my activities. It will be a long while before I could save up and buy my own laptop complete with an internet connection. Well, that's one of my plans during my work contract in Singapore.

Wish me luck. I know I'll be treading into unchartered regions (only in my case).

See you soon, guys.

Preparations

2006-03-27T14:04:00.000+08:00

It's been... what? A week already since my last post. I had been busy for the past week (with some bouts of flu and stomach aches to boot). I can't speak much; I am currently busy finding ways to have some money (yeah, show the money!) for my airline ticket back to Singapore.

At the same time, finding a potential flat/room in Singapore is the next big challenge I am facing nowadays. With only references in the Internet forums, I a very short period of time in finding a potential place to stay before I would start my work by second week of April.

Hopefully, I could raise enough money for my ticket and soon find my place to stay.

Gone 30

2006-03-20T11:40:00.000+08:00

"Happy birthday! You look great for your age. Almost Lifelike!"

(one of the quotes from a forward email by a friend, entitled Things That Hallmark Cards Don't Say)

* * * *

Yes, I am thirty today, March 20. It's my birthday. Shameless plugging, but I am not ashamed of saying I am thirty years old. Being that years old is something I am preparing for eventually since last year. And being that old (to others) is something in my mind only. Upon waking this morning, I still feel 29 or less and nothing more.

Talk about trying to discount your years of living on the face of the earth.

And what would be my plans for the rest of my days from now? Plenty. Actually I am just beginning to pave my own path in this world. With having a job outside of the country, I feel this is the start of something big and life-changing for me for the rest of my life. All the while, I was in the period of hibernation. Now I'll take charge of my life.

What would be my wish? That is only for me to know and to keep.

So give me some lovin today - greet me a happy birthday or give me a virtual high five (not that I am beggin, I just feel exhilirated today to know that I have lived this far in my life).

Thank God for birthdays!

Back Home Culture Shock

2006-03-15T18:25:00.000+08:00

I'm back here in the Philippines. I came home last Saturday. My job contract will not start until April 10. So I came back to prepare my stuffs to bring back to Singapore and prepare the required documents for processing my employment pass.

Astonishingly, I felt culture shock once I had glimpsed again the familiar city life, traffic, buildings and people here in my home country. Maybe because I had been used to the (efficient) way of life back in Singapore where one can simply go to virtually any place by using their MRT, or the almost zero number of jaywalkers crossing the street (well, a handful of local Singaporeans do break their simple pedestrian laws but unlike here it's pointless to put up pedestrian signs since breaking the law is already of way of life here), or there are fewer types of vehicles in Singapore - cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, MRT - while in the Philippines you get to have those vehicles mentioned plus jeepneys, tricycles, and pedicabs.

But it's nice to be with my family and friends again. Home sweet home. It will be a quite a long vacation (almost a month from now till my start date of work); I'll try to rejuvenate myself in the meantime before I'll head back to work once again.

Take Me Home, Lah

2006-03-10T09:06:00.000+08:00

This could (or should I say would) be my last blog post here in Singapore. For now that is. I'll be leaving tomorrow for my scheduled flight back to Manila, Philippines. My short three weeks experience here in Singapore was amazing and fulfilling at the same time. Uniquely Singapore as what the TV advertisements here have been showing.

All the same, mesmerized as I am of this country, my heart still years to go back and visit my home country once again. I miss my family and friends. I'll be taking a break back home as I prepare my things when I come back here again in Singapore to commence my work in April.

Adios amigos, asta la vista. Philippines, take me home again (as what local hawkers here would say - "take away, lah").

* * * *

A food for thought. I took this photo of the banner last Saturday during the career fair in Suntec City Conference hall.

Finally, Hit The Nail's Head

2006-03-09T15:56:00.000+08:00

I just received some good news yesterday from my job agent: she told me I got the job from one of the local banks here in Singapore. Yipeee! Gooodah, goodah!

I had my job contract signed this morning and will be starting by April next month. My prayers have worked (thank God) and those long days of waiting have finally ended.

I'm realy (no absolutely bloody, in British accent) happy.

I Walk Alone: More Pictures

2006-03-07T08:54:00.000+08:00

With background music of Green Days Boulevard of Broken Dreams (had just been inspired to post images of my trips while walking down streets and alleys especially along Orchard Road), I present more pictures of my Singapore adventure below.

There are plenty of colorful flats (apartments) around the neighborhood. Rarely would I find groups of bungalows or row houses clustured in one area.

A sample of a hawker stall. This one sells various beverages from fruit and vegetable juices (like carrot juice or sugar cane or lemon or rock melon juice) to various canned drinks (like barley or wheat grass or soy milk or chrysanthemum tea).

Now this is a sample of a hawker stall selling various Chinese meals. Usually those who man these stalls are of Chinese or Malay descent. Thus, every time I order from their menu, I resort to the "pointing finger-head moving" system of communication with them. They would ask me questions in their own dialect. I would just stare at them blankly without understanding a word they said. I would become mute, until I'll try to talk back in common English mumbo-jumbo like "what" or "ummmm". They would blankly stare at me too. I would point at the food I'd like to "take away" (not take out in Singapore, but yes, take away) with and try to mumble Asian like words such as "hai" (but that sounds Japanese). I would nod to signify that I want the food I pointed at.

This is the bird I was talking about before that was common in public places. They flit around and rummage through debris and litter. I don't know its exact name. Can someone help me out?

Near the Orchard MRT station is this long mosaic tiled wall which I commonly found featured in some tourist brochures or website photographs that feature Orchard Road.

One of the towers of Ngee Ann City mall. The structure of this building is built using red marble. I believe this one houses numerous company offices.

A 24 open type restaurant utilizing some fragile looking rattan swings. Some of the restaurants here along Orchard incorporate gimmicky features such as these.

This is one of the coolest looking malls I have seen here in Orchard Road. To me, the blue tinted glass and metal structure looks like a christmas tree. The picture below features the intricate metalworks of the cone structure inside.

Of course, our San Miguel beer is known internationally and is one of the best tasting beers in the world (this picture was taken just outside a restaurant near Wisma Atria mall).

Here I am against the backdrop of Singapore Visitors Centre also in Orchard Road (picture taken by my friend). Mind you, I am the one in the middle, not the one at the right (it could have been a great shot if not for that person suddenly appearing out of nowhere).

Park Life Pictures

2006-03-03T16:59:00.000+08:00

Lo and behold, besides buildings and malls that Singapore can offer, there are parks that visitors can visit and explore peacefully nature at its best. And one of them is Fort Canning Park. They say this is the most historical part of Singapore, based from the multiple old structures I discovered here.

Oh, halu. I made my entrance to the park via this stairway route. It was not a steep climb. I assure you.

A historical fort gate. Resembles that of the Fort Santiago stone structures we have back in the Philippines.

One of many huge trees lining up every path one walks inside the park. Good thing these living things provided some shade amidst the humid and hot weather that day.

I discovered this underground construction. I did not go inside for I was intervened by a caretaker. I told him if I could take some pictures. He answered no. I noticed from a sign nearby that I need to purchase some ticket to go inside. When the caretaker walked away, I took this shot from afar (well just outside, not inside of course; I could have focused more on that soldier's pose). Then I scrambled away (pasaway).

I just liked taking some pictures of these small stone structures.

Here, I thought I was taking some pictures of some ASEAN sculptures (my reference was in the brochure's map I was carrying). Upon close inspection, these were tomb stones of some Singapore leaders.

Now this is one of the weirdest sculpture I have noticed in the park's ASEAN scultpure garden.

I guess, based from the sign, this park is a favorite venue for garden weddings. Minus of course the spot where the graveyard lies.

A few blocks from Fort Canning Park, I stumbled across this old church building that was transformed into a congregation of restaurants, bars and multitudes of small shops inside. Oh, this was named Chijmes (pronounce it as "Chimes"). Don't ask me why the spelling? Wrong spelling wrong.

A stained glass inside Chijmes. Well, what else would I talk about it?

One of the restaurant's inside Chijmes - Hog's Breath. Nice name. Reminds me of Hogsworth from Harry Potter. Specialties? I guess pig dishes. I never passed by it nor entered the restaurant; just took a picture from afar.

Searching And Still Searching

2006-03-01T15:42:00.000+08:00

Based alone from the tons of images I am posting to my blog, my friends (and other people) back in the Philippines would actually think that I am simply enjoying my "vacation" here (blogging and taking pictures) and is not busy searching for a job. Truth is, I have contacted some of the job agents I have spoken to since last year, reminding them that I am currently in Singapore. Some of them had already called me up and took my skillsets and other basic information. I have also done other preliminary interviews with some job agencies (since last week, I had accomplished two personal interviews).

But now, I am momentarily playing the "waiting game" that every job seekers know about - that phase where the "waiting" period looks like will last forever. I would follow-up on some agencies regarding my application but most of them would tell me that they're still looking for potential clients that would consider me.

Still searching. Sounds as if that search would most likely end up in nil results.

Then again, I know, it's part of every job hunters expectation to wait for that sweet call of some client or employer or agency to summon you to report to them. It may take them days, weeks, months, and even years. The bad thing is if that job hunter does nothing during that period of waiting. That is why, while waiting, I try to review again my skillset knowledge. Plus, I try to look up for other potential jobs through the internet and even in the local newspapers here.

I'll not sit down and grumble a lot.

Why am I writing this? Because I am inspired but this blog by Brown regarding his struggle to find a job in the face of homelessness for him and his family (truly inspired that I linked his site to mine; this would be an occasional read).

More Singapore Tourist Pictures

2006-02-28T15:53:00.000+08:00

Being a tourist here, I have taken numerous pictures (as visual remembrances of course) of things and places using my humble Nokia camera phone and posting them in my flickr account for safekeeping (since I don't have my own PC or laptop computer).

Let's begin with food fare:

I liked these "on stick" fares of Old Chang Kee, with a branch nearby in Toa Payoh Central. Sometimes, these would be my lunch (paired with fragrant rice). Currently, I enjoyed the Gyoza on stick. Old Chang Kee has a plethora of products including the familiar spring rolls (lumpia in the Philippines or "loompiya" as advertised in a sign inside the Enterprise building food court in Makati City).

Speaking of "on stick" fares, there are plenty of other food stalls that can be found inside the malls, and along the roads and streets of Central Singapore. Most of these food stalls advertise their available menu using colorful images of their products. Price were included in these images. Being the adventurous and always curious type of person, I would usually try the unusual like the deer meat with fried egg shown above, as long as I could afford the price.

I was able to take a picture of the counter contraptions I was talking about in one of my posts. I did this while briskly walking one of the streets here in Toa Payoh. Of course, I had to be quick in taking this shot.

The orderly and color-coded map of some of Singapore's MRT stations. I commonly use the red route of the MRT trains.

I took this picture of some men playing checkers while I was walking back to my friend's flat after attending mass nearby. Heck, these people don't mind the people around looking at them - they're all too focused in their game.

Now this is one interesting yet strange sight I frequently see whenever I walk back to my friend's flat - this mysterious gourd (or hyoutan) wrapped in red ribbon sitting under a huge tree. Beside it is a red paper (some Chinese prayer inscription written on it?). But today, I found the gourd now lying on the grass under the same tree (had someone or a stray animal played with it?). I never dared to touched it. I'm thinking somebody must have intentionally left this as an offering to the dead or some folkloric spirit residing around the area or in the tree. I'll never know the reason. I'm too scared to know; I might disturb something unknown and will crawl to me silently unaware of its presence (kind of creeps me out like Sadako of The Ring movie series).

Observing From Afar The Revolution

2006-02-24T17:23:00.000+08:00

Watching the news in the TFC cable channel.

In a way, I was expecting this "revolution" would someday happen. And now it did. While typing this, I am listening to the commentaries of some mayors and officials conveying their either their contradictions or support to the ongoing rally along Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Now I am hearing Brother Eddie Villanueva speaking to the people, as if exorcising President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

I'm still a week old here in Singapore, and yet many things had happened back in my home country - from landslides in Leyte, to submerging grounds in Adriatico street, and now this EDSA Revolution (history repeats itself again, as Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has just stated).

What is happening to my beloved country? It's a vicious cycle; haven't our people ever learned about the consequences of this mass action? And I see again the supporters of ex-President (now stop calling him President, fanatical supporters) Joseph Estrada muddling the rally, ever hoping that Estrada will be put back to presidency. If that happens, I really would not go back home (maybe just for a while, to get my other stuffs before I'll return back here again).

Tsk,tsk.

Going To City Hall Station

2006-02-22T15:12:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I met up with a kabarkada staying here in Singapore and eventually he became my tourist guide, taking me under and over the streets around the City Hall MRT station area.

I kept on hearing from my friend about this fountain of wealth in Suntec City mall where wishes are granted by following a short ritual. The fountain was constructed in a location favorable to feng shui, thus radiating an aura of wealth. According to anotgher source, this is the world's largest fountain. Well, the picture above doesn't show the entire perimeter of the fountain (look at the third picture below).

My friend encouraged me to do the ritual of the fountain of wealth. To gain luck, wealth and have one's wish granted, we were instructed to walk around the rising waters of the fountain three times. While doing this, our right hands should be touching the water. Of course, I wished hard that I might find a suitable job in Singapore. Incidentally, my friend was also looking for a job, thus he wished also the same thing.

Looks like an alien creature squatting over the fountain of wealth. Actually, this structure is a giant sprinkler of water, part of the entire perimeter of the fountain.

At night, this fountain becomes a spectacle to many people here. Picture above shows a curtain of water shooting out of the fountain. The water is used as a form of background for displaying dancing, colorful lights while pop, rock or classical music blares from speakers nearby (I remember the catchy song Pink by Aerosmith as the background music last night).

I focused my camera phone above towards the ceilings of the Suntec City mall and I kind of liked the picture that came out (a criss-cross of steel and metal).

This is the Anglican church, St. Andrew's Cathedral. It's a few blocks away from the Suntec City mall. This has its Neo-Classical type of architecture. I liked this place for its serene and quiet grounds.

A few walks from St. Andrew's Cathedral is this old structure called simply as the City Hall. Just look also at the Neo-Classical architecture of this place. Reminds me of Greek and Roman buildings. That's me on the stairs.

I call this place the Scaley Egg Theatre and Museum instead of the Esplanade Park Theatre and Museum. This huge structure also reminds me of a porcupine but instead of quills, razor sharp scales were used.

Me and my friend stopped by inside the theatre cum museum and listened to the soothing piano music of this person. With us were many students and young couples also watching the pianist.

More colorful banners inside the Esplanade theatre and museum featuring international musical artists coming to perform in this place.

I found this white cow statue painted oddly with hearts all over. It was standing as a sort of mascot in one steak restaurant inside the Suntec City mall.