Category: Life in SG

People often ask me why I am such an optimist. They ask how I can always remain positive about the world and the people in it. The truth is, I have to. I have encountered places and fields where I see the worst of what people do to others.

I see people hurting not only themselves but their children. I see pain, anger, hatred, indifference and death. I see parents who choose drugs and abusive partners over their children. I see children who are forever affected by the horrible events they have experienced.

Cynicism is easy in my job. It is simple to become hardened and callous about the things that we see and hear about. All around me are people who have given in to this cynicism, and I can’t blame them. After witnessing a certain number of negative things, the human mind naturally tends to think everyone acts that way.

I think, I don’t want that for myself. I have to actively seek the beauty in this world. I do everything I can to find something that takes my breath away each day.

Whether it is a moving quote, an amazingly beautiful photograph, a joke that makes me laugh till I cry, or a smile from a stranger, I find something each day. I confront cynicism where I find it and I do each and every thing in my power to help others to see the beauty in this universe. Because it is there. Beauty is all around us and we are so caught up in our pain that we don’t look for it.

And the truth is that we’re all in this together. Life beats down every person in a complicated and unique way. At some point everyone is hurt to the core by life, and I say, “Good.” Pain is a teacher.

As in the ubiquitous example of a child touching a hot object, pain teaches you what not to do. Embrace your pain and use it for good. Use your past pains to help others avoid the same pains. Use the pains you as examples for yourself. Don’t use your pain as an excuse to avoid life, an excuse to deny beauty, or an excuse to hate. Your pain isn’t the end, it is the beginning. With each little pain we experience, we can choose to let the pain close us off from the world or open us to it. Let it open you to the wonders of the world and the beauty all around you.

Let’s all think positive, we can make it—somehow, somewhere over the rainbow, beneath the pale moonlight. Oh yeah! 🙂

Before anything else, I’d like to give my words of appreciation to my concerned friends and relatives who are never tired of asking how I am coping up with working and living here. To all: I’m safe and fine, thank you very much! 😀

Yesterday I went to Orchard to open a savings account with DBS/POSB. I saw posters everywhere promoting the Fashion Season@Orchard (FSO) event happening next week. And in most malls, there were 50% to 70% cut-off prices and discounts because of the end-of-season sale (Spring).

So, although I wasn’t buying any piece as my budget proscribes, I roved around in three hours to see the designs of the new arrivals, the next season’s collection. Not that I’m really into fashion; I just think that a new fashion season always brings a thrill of anticipation, a frisson of excitement. It’s exciting to see firsthand in the stores rather than in magazines what this fashion capital is sending out to tickle people’s sartorial fancy and tempt them into credit card meltdown. Which pieces will be hits—and which will be unequivocal duds?

It’s a tough call. To my eyes, the way we dress is undergoing a huge paradigm shift. Silhouettes have morphed, and we’re not just talking about clothes. It’s also a season dominated by shoes, with heels and embellishment anchoring our strides; and a cornucopia of statement accessories not seen since the 1980s or 60’s. (I have seen a store selling clothing all inspired by the sixties, in fact.)

In whatever season, it all boils down to how we stay in trend without looking too trendy (read: fashion victim). Even classic dressers find the siren call of this season’s key looks tempting. Why?

Two points: The flirty girl of Spring/Summer has blossomed into a “glamazon” who’s not afraid of showing her softer (and yes, girlier) side, and women here really have a massive pack of confidence in their pairs of killer heels when I don’t.

Perhaps in their mind, they think alike: In these times of global uncertainty, we could use a little confidence, no matter how frivolously we get it. My mojo, on the other hand, is just a pair of comfy, rain/shine, conquer-the-world shoes, mascara (maybe eyeliner) and sweet, cherry lip balm.

Want to hear about how my workweek went? I thought you’d never ask. In no particular order:

1. The company treated us newbies to lunch last Wednesday.
2. I got my employment pass card from EPSC, Havelock Road last Tuesday.
3. I met the clients for the first time last Wednesday and I’ll be going to meet them once again on Monday to deliver the next set of project deliverables for testing before deployment.
4. I…did another demo presentation, studied and read the project documentation, aligned the testing plan and submission of deliverables schedule to the developers, generated the first batch of performance reports (summary and breakdown view), tested the system according to the marking logic forms, updated the master matrix file for the assessment and consolidated incident reports.

Oh, what I’m experiencing is life in the fast lane; it zooms by and sometimes while at work I forget to breathe. Thank God, I’m deeply preoccupied.

Still, I should remind myself to take a minute to pause and listen to the pitter-patter of my heart beating and my pulse racing; taste the silence of the world; see anxiety take over; close my eyes and look at plain darkness; look at darkness until I see something worth holding onto; and wait until breathing doesn’t feel like a losing game and then open my eyes, again.

If ignorance were a crime, I believe I’d be in federal prison. I’m now about three weeks old in Singapore and one week in HeuLab, and I don’t know anything yet about the Singaporean government and politics since I haven’t got the chance to read their news or watched TV regarding some raging current events in this country.

The least I could do [was and] is observe people (and “eavesdrop” or listen to them talk when I don’t really mean to) and things I find just different from my normal sphere of cognition. Here are my top five interesting findings on living in Singapore:

1. The Ubiquitous Smartphones

Unlike in the Philippines, almost everyone here is a smartphone user. Passengers of trains and buses play games, applications or music using their iPhone, Samsung, LG or Motorala touch-screen phones while waiting for their next stop.

This roots to the fact that StarHub, Singtel and M1 all offer competitive mobile broadband plans with maximum speed for wireless Internet connection with an iPhone. They can also get discounts for other phone brands with their lines. Click here for an example. The site shows outdated listings, yet those still are pretty much what the the three major telecommunication companies cover.

Also, because of Singapore’s minuscule size, it has the infrastructure to support island-wide 3.5G mobile and wireless Internet access. Sadly, most connections require a password, even for public WiFi, so I could not connect now that I’m still using a simple prepaid SIM card with no data plan.

2. The Unique Language

Singaporeans speak English so bewildering that I’m always putting on my best ears and work my brain only to frazzle myself in understanding this complex language. It’s called Singlish, their so-called unofficial “first language.” Before, I thought that it’s just a combination of English and some Chinese words plus “leh,” “meh,” “ah” or “lah” in the end. But I was wrong.

Singlish is the creole of choice for citizens cobbled together from various linguistic backgrounds including Queen’s English, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Bengali, Punjabi and a smattering of European, Indic and Sinitic languages. Whoa, what an exhaustion of sorts! I was told by my work mates to transform my rather slang English accent to Singlish so that locals can better understand me, but I’m afraid I’d just sound sillier.

3. The Friendly Environment

Singapore just happens to be the safest place in the world at present. I have walked in deserted streets so many times at night and not felt in the least bit unsafe. I can just put out my wallet to pay or phone to make a call or send an SMS without the fear of the possibility of being robbed. I can go into malls without having to open my bags for the painstaking inspections of whether or not I’m carrying a terrorists’ weapon for destruction, killing or drugs. I can be anyone without the fear of being judged, because we’re mostly from different nations, anyway.

4. The Weird Weather

Rains and Singapore are like a twin brother. Lying in the tropical zone, the country is always moist and faces heavy rainfall; the rain in Singapore usually comes shortly but intensively. In some consecutive days, rain comes lightly for about two hours from 4PM. So I have to make sure that I have my umbrella in my bag to shield myself from getting drenched and sick.

5. The Hawkers

I just noticed that competition in the food market for specialties and offerings (in hawkers and in most food centers) does not exist. It’s a free enterprise! Each diner in a “kopi tiam” has its own type of food which is different from the rest, whereas in other countries I know of, what Diner A sells is most likely similar to what Diner B, C and D has. Only one stall sells beverages; other food vendors don’t sell drinks. There’s a stall for vegetarian meals, one for Indian food, one for Malay’s, another for Chinese, Singaporean, mixed, seafood, pancakes, bread, etc.—you know what I mean.

In other news, the earthquake in Japan yesterday is quite frightening. Is the world about to end? No worries. This is a place where natural disasters do not occur, for the most part. Owing to the geographic location, Singapore is sheltered from most of the natural disasters that afflict neighboring countries. There was never a storm here, my aunt said, “only strong rains and lightning striking with no prior notice.”

Here, on the other hand, are my top five recent updates about work:

1. I will be claiming my employment pass on Tuesday from EPSC.
2. I have presented my first corporate deck to our internal team two times.
3. I have gotten to know my team mates both in the project I’m managing and the business sales team, and also the developers’ team and other admin in the office which I’m not part of.
4. I am now more familiar with our products, solutions and services, and I’m growing wonder and enthusiasm in them.
5. I am beginning to feel proud of joining of this company and holding this project and position.

Hasta la vista.

Good morning. It’s Monday once again, and I have a nice surprise for you: Another Detox: On Identity and Routine

Yesterday was the end of your person-hood. Today, you become someone else. I have conspired with the stars and the stars have conspired with the universe to fashion you into the person you should become.

Today marks the beginning of when you will wake up on time. Over your morning coffee, you will create a list of goals to be accomplished within the year, within the month, within the day.

You will go back to this list every day from hereon, ticking items off and then adding some more. You will count the money inside your wallet and account for all your expenses within the day. This means that you will not have to take a cab to work (and you have no reason to, having woken up on time), and you will control that daily intake of expensive coffee.

You will perform your morning bathroom rituals in an orderly manner, almost like an assembly line: toilet first, then shower (shampoo, soap, scrub) then brush your teeth.

Memorize this sequence, as you will be doing this every day. Iron your clothes; remember to straighten out the unnecessary creases. After today, you will need to do this at night to avoid the morning frenzy.

As you make your way to work, memorize your route. Do not divert, do not explore. Sit on the same seat inside the train. If it is occupied, stand in front of it until it becomes vacant. Do not push. Do not shove. This would be very impolite. Remember: women, children and elderly first (not necessarily in that order, though).

As you sit in your office cubicle, you will remember the acronym CLAYGO from school: Clean As You Go. Keep that extra bottle of alcohol handy. Baby wipes are a plus, too. File all paperwork in their right places. Throw out the pens that no longer work. Collect all paperclips and keep them in one container. Remove the unnecessary decors. Practice minimalism.

Open up your planner: you will be needing this from now on. List down the important meetings and calls to attend. Color-code, if necessary. Don’t be tempted by your seatmate’s dilly-dallying. Allow yourself to stand up and stretch every half hour. Wear your glasses while sitting in front of the computer.

Remember the acronym GTD: Get Things Done.

Tonight, when you come home, remember to wash off your make-up. You will again have an assembly line of nighttime rituals, including ironing tomorrow’s clothes,and saying your prayers. Consider what’s in store for you tomorrow.

Think of those who matter as you fall asleep. While in your dream world, you can be anything that you want to be. But tomorrow, when you wake up, it will be just like today.

Today, you’ve become someone else. And after tomorrow, you could inspire someone. 🙂

So here I am in Singapore. The first day was a day of fateful encounters. I carried four heavy bags all the way from the Changi Airport, to MacPherson Green Condo (via MRT), to Lorong 2 Toa Payoh (via cab), to Dunearn Road, worrying about a place to stay (the landlord whom I have confirmed the room that I was supposed to rent could not be contacted as soon as I got here; maybe she tricked me for some fake and nasty deal). I barely had lunch. It was as if my lungs were going to die and curl inside themselves like pink lovers.

It’s my first time to enter this country; every street corner is like an unfinished poem and every face is like an artificial name recorded in leather bound journals. When I hear people talking in languages (we have totally different races here) I don’t understand, I feel like someone’s sucked all the calcium from the marrow of white bones…I reach for close encounters.

Nevertheless, I don’t feel so foreign because I can speak and understand Cantonese, Fookien, Mandarin and English apart from Filipino anyway. Plus, my looks blend in (at last) that I feel most at ease in this place, this public place that feels so private.

Sun is down at 7PM–obviously bizarre to me. Heat is settling and the whirlwinds are nipping at my skin. Now I’m staying/renting a room at Aunt Cristy’s cousin, Aunt Kathy’s place, persistently looking for a job.

I’m getting better, or closer to getting better, and I’m burrowing closer to restless legs, cocooning myself into a much sturdier frame. Morning, my favorite time of day, is becoming more bearable.

I’ll be posting in this blog less in the next few weeks or months because I’ll be busy job-hunting and coping up with the new lifestyle here. Also, I have just started a new private blog (for daily updates) with Louie.

So far, one company (member of CSC or Computer Sciences Corporation) called me three times and said that they like my profile and soon they’ll be calling me again for a scheduled interview. I hope to get this job immediately!

For now, I’ll leave you with the thought lying in my fizzled brain: Fate is a tease. You tempt me with possibilities I can’t ignore. I left home in my desire for change and success in the near future. How could I not trust you blindly?

It has always worked, and yet, this time I am less than calm about the outcome. What I might have seen as your hand pointing the way might just as easily be my own hand grasping at air.

So many choices in my life, all made with the belief that what will be will be. “If it’s meant to be it will be,” as Louie always mentions but he means this in a sarcastic way. 🙂

But I still believe that “there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” I can find a good and stable job here and hopefully get my plans all accomplished as I get back to the Philippines.

Is there really a fate? Yes? No? Maybe?

I don’t know.

This makes me wonder how ignorance really is bliss. All I know is that I’m in good state and I’m helping myself to be in a better one. I say thanks and grace to all who’ve helped me make it through here.

To Mommy, Daddy, Nicole, Louieboo, Aunt Fely, Uncle Johnny, Uncle Peter, Aunt Jacq, Aunt Cristy, Aunt Salyn, Aunt Evelyn, Aunt Kathy, Achi Anne, Aphu, Angkong, Uncle Kahong, Gaodao, other relatives and my closest friends, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for your sincerest support and prayers. ♥

Until next time.

It’s already February, and I’ve lost track of time. Time makes no sense in all of this; that is, the way it passes. It’s Tuesday; I thought it was Wednesday.

This is the effect of me being jailed in the four corners of my room. But staying here is not tantamount to losing productivity. This week, I have updated my resume once again, organized the required documents, started job hunting online—and in addition—finding a new and cheaper room to stay in (because I have been notified that the room I was supposed to be renting became unavailable). Why, life is divine chaos. And I’m embracing it.

Two days ago, Mom told both my father and mother-side relatives about my planned journey and invited them to a farewell party in our house on February 12, 2011. They all wished me good luck and gave me the usual words of comfort for support, just like what everyone else did.

In return, I confirm with confidence, “Yes, I can do it!” It was only yesterday that it began to sink in—the thought that I’ll be the moving to a foreign place soon, a place I have never been even in my late-night dreams. I felt a somewhat inescapable feeling propelling me to breathe hard to soak the expectations all in.

Sometimes I close my eyes and tell myself one thing: please, hold on. This is just one of those times. I am feeling anxious, and nervous, and excited, like a volcano simmering in the very tiny capillaries of the arches of my feet and slowly, s l o w l y, rising up into the kneecaps and hip bone sockets and pelvic cavities and abdomen, and singeing the wings of the thrashing damselflies and butter wings hibernating there.

I won’t back out, of course. Each person on this planet can make a difference, we believe. But it takes a genuine soul to take the very first baby step that would make the actual difference.

I’m making this happen not for myself in whole actuality but for my family. For the record, I decided to leave because of the unsatisfactory compensation I was receiving from my most recent employer, apart from my goal to graduate from being an employee and the urgent temerity of wanting to grow more—gaining more enhanced and technical experience in the corporate world and living independently from my parents in some place away from the physical home (where everything I need is provided instantly like magic).

I’d like to prove that the synonym of the very fiber of my being is patience—in striving for what I projected should be achieved and in getting the hard-earned results by my own perseverance.
…

Another company has called me today for an interview. But I’m not there yet! So I asked for it be rescheduled on the day after my arrival. Three other companies have responded to my application, and I said the same thing. I probably should pause shortly and resume sending out my CV next week.
…

Mom bought us web cameras and a microphone for the desktop. We’ll trying them out later.

Toodle-oo!