Birthday Holiday

Home alone. It's been raining more often for the past few days here in Bright Hill. Thank God it didn't rain on my birthday, April 27 or I'd be really disappointed. Twin sissy and I heard mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, strolled along the Esplanade and had a sumptous dinner at the Makansutra Glottons Bay. I had quite a few people who remember and greeted me on my birthday I'm glad to know that I still have friends. 

We're caretakers of the house as of the moment. The Pinoy couple who own the house we're renting paid a visit to their loved ones in the Philippines and will be back next week. We were informed that we have a new lady housemate coming in tomorrow so we have to be here to brief her regarding house rules or in case she needs anything. When we first came here in Singapore we're really surprised at how comfortable Pinoys are to let strangers in their house. They even leave their valuables like cellphone or laptop unattended while they're at work. Back home, it's a risky thing to let strangers in your house. You can't trust anyone these days either you'll end up getting robbed or worse case scenario, murdered by people you trusted because they aren't afraid of the law. I admire how people in SG have respect for the law. All my life I was accustomed to living in a country where criminals and thieves roam freely on the streets and I mean it with no disrespect, that's reality. I have no regrets that I am a Filipino and I'm proud of where came from but I'm just wondering why the Philippines can't be like SG where it's safe to go around even late at night, use your cellphone without fear that it might get snatched from you. Why is everything so organized here? why is everything seem so simple yet so difficult? Filipinos are very hardworking but we go elsewhere to search for a better life. 

I'll be leaving SG soon. I might come back or maybe not anymore but for sure I'll remember this country for all that they have that we don't like the cleanliness and safety. If only the Philippines can adapt the kind of discipline they have, I think we can do better.

Wanderlust in SG

Happy Easter! It's a sunny day today hopefully it'll stay this way for the rest of the day. Twin sissy and I are supposedly going to church early this morning but it didn't happen. My legs are still aching we walked all day in Orchard and Chinatown yesterday plus I had a terrible hyperacidity possibly due to chilli sauce in the Thai chicken 

rice I ate in Orchard. I really have to avoid eating oily and spicy food to avoid the weird feeling in my stomach thank God for Kremil-S I'm feeling better now. The only challenge is that most hawker food here in SG are spicy so I really have to be a lot more cautious of what I eat.  Sissy and I went to Singapore Botanical Gardens we followed directions from www.gothere.sg but the website says to alight after Pierce Road which is the wrong bus stop it should've been "before" that so we had to walk 2 bus stops to get there I thought I already saw the gate of Botanic Gardens from inside the bus but I didn't follow my intuition, geez. Nothing much to check out inside the garden actually so we just have a few pics taken but it's definitely a good place for a family picnic too bad we didn't bring food I didn't enjoy the food there and it's pretty hefty too grrr! There are huge century old trees, plants I've never seen before, a

swan lake, etc. It's also a perfect place for a morning jog or if you simply want to commune with nature. Before we head over to Tanglin Mall to check out antique stuff we cooled ourselves down and bought ice cream sandwich near the bus stop but the ice cream is sooo frozen we didn't enjoy it at all argh! Last stop is Chinatown where we bought souvenirs for a much cheaper price from this mall called "People's Park Complex." I suggest if you want to buy souvenirs to check out this mall first. There are souvenir shops there that sell 12 pieces of key chain for $10, 4 for $10 fridge magnets, etc. whilst outside they only offer 5 or less pieces for $10. We're not leaving Chinatown without having "mango pudding" for dessert, so yummy. We also tried "chicken satay" it tastes good but I didn't like the dip that go with it I still think that Pinoy barbeque is a still a winner. 

I had a real long and tiring day yesterday. I put Salonpas on each of my legs to relieve the pain I still can hardly walk I'll make sure to rest well today.

Goodbye Harriet

I received a sad text message from my sister that our oldest dog harriet passed away already. I am somehow prepared that harriet will leave us anytime soon but when the time finally came it's still a bit disappointing. I am thankful that God gave Harriet to us and without her we wouldn't have Jack and Jill. I still recall when harriet gave birth to Jack and Jill I hurriedly travelled from Antipolo to Mandaluyong to see her pups. Mom named Harriet's puppies Jack and Jill, just like the nursery rhyme. Whenever I pay a visit I bring milk or anything to keep them healthy. I get excited everytime I visit Harriet and her pups they're so cute I took they're family picture and kept it in my Photobucket account to make sure I don't lose it. Their picture still make me smile everytime I look at it. 

They say that dogs are "man's bestfriend" but to us our dogs are more than that, they are part of our family. I will surely miss Harriet's presence and her playfulness when I visit our vacation home in Baguio. They say that dogs don't have a soul I'm not sure where they go when they leave their physical body but I hope that she's happy wherever she is now and that "Owi" (her mom) is with her now along with the rest of her family that have died years ago. My sister told me that my brother buried her in our backyard and her cause of death is either due to old age or infection from a scar that she got when one of our adopted dogs "fiona", bit her few days ago.  When I was told that Harried passed away I didn't want know how it happened. She escaped death many times she's so fond of playing with bull frogs when it rains and they're poisonous but no matter how hard my sister tries to keep them away from her she still manage to chase and bite them. She's one hell of a stubborn dog probably because she knows that my sister can fix her everytime she gets poisoned by a bull frog by making her drink sugar and it sure does the trick. I guess Harriet's time has come so as much as i don't want to miss her, I definitely will. 

We lost another wonderful and cheerful dog. Rest in peace Harriet. You will be missed.

Keep Moving

Another boring day in Sembawang, SG... zzz. 

It rained a bit but now it's sunny again, good thing we don't have any more clothes waiting to dry outside. Sissy and I we'll be moving out again to our fifth house in few more days I'm kind of getting used to the idea of being a "gyps." Nothing to do but surf the net so as much as I don't want to maintain too many blog sites, I thought it wouldn't hurt if I create a Tumblr account just to keep myself busy so I did and so far I'm enjoying it. I don't really like living with strangers. I'm not very sociable but I have no choice since we couldn't afford to rent a whole flat yet as of the moment we have to rent a room for the two of us. Oh well, sink or swim but we have to survive. 

I'm coming home soon, hopefully. Life.

Missing Home

It's raining here in Sembawang, SG for the first time since we moved in this neighborhood. This is the fourth house we've lived in since we came here in Singapore believe it or not, in less that a month. Sissy and I kind of anticipated that things aren't gonna be easy but it was actually tougher than we thought. 

Finding a place for a long term stay is the biggest challenge that we've encountered so far because everything else, we managed to get by. It's true that nothing here is cheap but you can always find a way to save on your budget. There are cheap accommodations like hostels or room for rent. Pinoysg.com is a good place to start if you want to deal with Pinoy house owners and live with Pinoy housemates. Everything is convenient here in SG. Budget supermarkets are also everywhere, usually near HDB's (government housing). 

I'm getting the hang of life here quite a bit already but still, nothing feels like home. When I was in the Philippines, I can't wait to get out of there I'm getting sick of how slow the way of life is. I hate the traffic, pollution, corruption, high crime rate and all of it's imperfection. Now that I'm here in a foreign land and I can't wait to come home. I miss the food, the smile on people's faces despite adversity and everything that make us who we are. I guess I just need to breathe some fresh air but one thing is for sure, this is a learning experience. One day I'll come home to where I belong.