Hello, January...

Even with that particular challenge that welcomed me and a bunch of people back in the Phils. this 2013, the first month of this brand new year is still an exciting and a busy one.

On top of the volunteer work I'm doing with this particular group which takes up two nights every month, Wednesday nights will also be quite busy (for the next three months) because I registered for a language course at the ERC Institute. It's quite a challenging language to learn, but we'll see, we'll see. Haha! I aced my Spanish courses back in uni. I learned Nihongo quite quickly after attending a few sessions. We'll see about this one. Haha!

Workwise, things are also quite busy. My team lead signed me up for two trainings, which will take up three days all in all. Uhm, it should be okay lah. Training is always good and will definitely be of use.

The one thing with work that is causing me stress at the moment is the impending renewal of my work pass. I am praying double, triple hard for the renewal. I don't even care if my work pass type is downgraded. As long as the work pass is renewed, I will be one happy boy. I'm not ready to go back to the Philippines. There. I said it. And I have my reasons. Hehe.

The other two major things happening this month are two trips. One is to a beach place I've never been to. The fact that it will be with some good friends from Manila makes it really exciting. Another trip will be happening some time end of the month. That one is also worth looking forward to, at least for me. No deets yet.

So, yeah it's a busy January.

How is your January looking?

Look who's coming to town...

Because I had some free time during my volunteer shift last night, I've  been checking through the different events at the Sistic website.

That's when I found out that...

Joseph Vincent and Jason Chen, two of my fave YouTube artists, are coming to town for a concert! Gaaah!

That's right on, 5 May, Jason and Joseph and four other YouTube stars will be having a show at the Hard Rock Hotel.

I want to watch but 1.) the tix price is at $70(!!!) and 2.) I may be the only oldie in a sea of uni, or worse, sec school, kids. Haha!

Here are Joseph and Jason in one of their collabs.

What's on your list...

Bucket list. That list of things you want to do before you die.

Over the weekend, Pg Boy and I were just having our usual conversation and our topic led us to talk about bucket lists.

Do I have one? He asked.

I'm not sure, but I think he's the first one to ask me that. And I think it's the first time I really thought about whether I have one.

Hmm, as it turns out, I think I don't have one. LOL! Or I never really bothered to make one up.

It's somewhat ironic given that I'm usually one who likes to plan stuff.

But thinking about it now, I guess the reason why I don't really have a major list is because I have been fortunate enough to have been able to do things that I really want to do. Some were on purpose. Some were because the opportunities came at the right moment.

For example, volunteering. Back in my uni days, I considered taking a year off to do volunteer work. I knew about the Jesuit Volunteers Program. I knew about the Gurong Pahinungod of UP. Due to other bigger responsibilities, I didn't get to do this. However, I did end up having volunteer work as a career for three years or so. Having been part of the Pahinungod in UP Manila was equally as enriching and fulfilling as doing a year with JVP or GP, I guess.

I dare say, even more.

The three or so years with Pahinungod have definitely changed my perspective about a lot of things. It also instilled in me a strong sense of volunteerism, one that I'd like to think I still carry with me these days.

What else?

To be able to publish something with my name in it. By some stroke of luck (?), I did. First, there were the number of articles I wrote, which somehow made it to national dailies.

Then, of course, there was ICON. We were a bunch of dreamers who wanted a local magazine for the local LGBT community. We were happy getting our hands on Out, or Instinct, or whatever other mag was there. But still, we craved for our very own.

And we did it. It happened at the right time at the right place with the right people. While the magazine may no longer be in circulation and though it was very short lived, I will always be proud of ICON.

The most recent one thing that could have been in my bucket list is being able to work in Singapore.

That dream was three years in the making. Haha! Since my first visit to SG in 2008, I have already fallen in love with it. But it took me three years to make it happen. With the support of people who believed in me, I was able to finally do it last year. Whooopppeee!!!

And there are other things I can think of.

So I guess you can somehow say that the things that are supposed to be in my bucket list have been ticked off quite early?

Still…

I started thinking about what else could be in my bucket list.

In no random order:
1.) A white Christmas.
2.) Machu Picchu.
3.) Europe - for the art.
4.) On a whim, going to Changi Airport and choosing some random destination to fly to at that moment
5.) On a whim, going to one of the really, really high-end stores in MBS or in Orchard and getting myself something without having to ask the price.
6.) Have a stroll at one of the parks in Tokyo during Sakura season.

These are the things that came of the top off my head. Some are quite shallow. Hehe! But hey, it's my list. I get to decide what goes into it.

How about you? What's on your list?

The best thing about the trip to JB...

in 2008...

in 2012...


The best part about the short trip to the nearest town of Malaysia was not just getting to see an endodontist, but alsot getting to see couchsurfing buddies Alan and Marco.

The last time I saw these guys were in 2008... in Manila!!!

We've been in touch once in a while. Alan even invited me to his wedding, but I just was not able to go.

When I moved to Singapore, Alan messaged me but our schedules never matched so we never got to arrange for lunch or dinner.

Who would have thought that it would be Alan who would help me find a dentist in his home town of Johor Bahru?!

Pg Boy suggested our next best option to SG was JB. I've never been to JB, and now I had a reason to go.

My appointment yesterday at the endodontist was at 3PM, but I decided to go early to meet up with Alan and Marco.

It was my first time in JB and Pg Boy wasn't free to go with me. I was really grateful that Alan offered to send me to the clinic after we have lunch.

They picked me up at the City Square mall and we headed to one of the local restaus that served fried beehon which reminded me so much of how bihon is cooked back home.

We weren't able to do much catching up, because I had to go to the dentist already and they both had to go back to work (even if it was a public holiday).

However, we agreed to meet up again when I go back. Maybe next time, Alan will bring his wife Ivy and their baby Elicia. Would be cool to see them, too.

Good trip to JB.

Eh, Singlish so damn cool, ah...

One more thing that I have grown to find very interesting about my adopted country is the colloquial Singaporean English, Singlish.

The Batangueños have their "ala eh." The Singaporeans have their "lah."

In the short span of time that I've been here though and after numerous conversations with local friends, I've learned that "lah" is just one of the many phrases in Singlish.

You've got lah, leh, loh, mah, meh, among so many other Singlish phrases.

And if you think that you can use these phrases interchangeably, uhm, no, you can't. Each phrase is used for a certain statement.

I know! So confusing mah!

The local government actually discourage the use of Singlish and favor the use of standard English. From what I've read, certain steps have been made to promote using standard English.

For me, I see Singlish as one more instrument that gives the country its identity. So really, I dun see anything wrong with it.

Actually, I'm even more interested by ang mohs (ang moh is a local term used to call Caucasians) who speak Singlish, just like the guy in the videos above.

Uhm, honestly, I dunno if he considers himself an ang moh because it seems like he's been living here in Singapore all his life. Hence, his very familiar Singlish accent and use.

Stumbled upon his videos while looking for Singlish videos. I may have been living here for a really short time, but I'm actually glad that I could understand some of the terms he's using in his video.

Eh, so damn cool.

A&F boys are waiting for you...

Several weeks ago, this wall that boarded the A&F store was in the news because some conservative was scadalized by the image.

Sheesh, one objects to this while no one objects to the scantily clad images of women for lingerie ads? What's up with that?

Anyway, the board, if I remember correctly, was taken down.

A couple of days ago, A&F made it to the news again when thirty (!!!) shirtless men stood outside the store to be greeters.

They were there on the days leading up to the event.

Haha! I'm not sure if this is what they do in all A&F stores that are about to open.

But whoever thought of this idea, good job! Such a great way to get back at those narrow-minded individuals. Hehe!

Three decades later...

Three decades later, the same question still pops in my head around this time of the year.

Good friend Chris shared this John Meyer song with me. Uhm, could pretty much relate to it (except for the quarter-life crisis part, I'm done with that. Haha!)

Because, yeah, grateful as I am for everything that's been going on right now..

... I [still] wonder sometimes...
About the outcome...
Of a still verdictless life...
Am I living it right...

32 in a few.

I've finally booked a ticket for Lion King.

I had to wait until it was the last few show weeks before really pushing myself to get that ticket.

Good thing the show kept on extending. Otherwise, I wouldn't have forgiven myself. Haha.

Really excited to see the show.

Good things come to those who wait...

Good things come to those who wait.

Two months later, it's official.

8 October 2011.

F1 weekend with friends from Pinas...

I didn't get to experience any of the recently concluded F1 fever. Hehe!

That's because both my home and my workplace are far away from the city (which became a race track for a couple of days), from the roaring engines of the race cars, from the excitement of F1 race fans coming from different parts of the world.

We'll see. Maybe next year. =)

But one good thing I had thanks to the F1 event was that several friends from the Philippines were in town and I got to catch up with them - Manny, Joi, Reg. Franco was also in town but we didn't get to meet up because he was only here for a day.

Sunday night was spent clubbing with the club-going friends. I missed tugsing I have to say. Haha! Last time was in HCM, and that was just whoa! So Sunday, no very early Monday morning, was ultra fun dancing to the awesome beats of DJ George Leong.

Monday night, on the other hand, was spent with Joi, her husband-to-be, and Manny. It's a good thing Manny missed his flight. Hehe! At least, we got to finally hang out.

We all met up at Vivo City, had dinner at Food Republic (which had nice interiors) then drinks at some Irish pub facing the harbor.

It was definitely a good F1 weekend. Hehe!

Tuesday nights at NUS Bukit Timah...

The past two Tuesday nights have been spent at the track oval of NUS Bukit Timah.

SG buddies Sarge, Chris, Ian and I have been doing some speed training.

Uhm, actually it's Ian and Sarge who have been doing the speed training.

I, on the other hand, am struggling to do some speed training. Chris is doing his own thing. Hehe!

The NUS BT campus is really quite good and conducive for training.

There are several other groups that go there to train. Some for football. Some for basketball. Some for tennis.

Being there really encourages one to try to be fit. Hehe!

So I think we'll be there the next few weeks, or until the big race in December. Hehe!

But I got to say that the best part of the training is not at the campus. Hehe! It's afterwards when we head to Newton Circus for dindin. Hehe!

The cab ride to NUS Bukit Timah...

Just got back home from a training run with SG gang Ian, Edsel and Chris.

We went to the National University of Singapore campus in Bukit Timah, where there was a nice track oval.

On the way to the venue, Chris and I sort of got lost. We could see the NUS building but we somehow couldn't find the way to get there. Haha!

Instead, we found ourselves amidst the lush greenery of the Singapore Botanic Garden.

We headed out of the garden as soon as we saw the next exit and as soon as we got out, there was an empty cab that came our way. When GoThere fails, take a cab. LOL!

After telling the kind Uncle where to bring us, Chris and I proceeded to talk about work and other things.

The Uncle, a Singaporean who must be in his fifties, must have known that we were Filipinos, because he asked how often we came back to the Philippines.

Afterwards, he wowed us even more by telling us that he has been to the Pagsanjan Falls, Cebu, and even the Malacanang Palace where he saw the thousands of shoes of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

I was really impressed and I felt proud that a local knows about the nice things about the Philippines.

However, his next statements kind of saddened me.

He said, "The Philippines is a very beautiful country. It used to be a favorite holiday destination of Singaporeans. But after all the news on terrorism, not anymore."

When Chris and I alighted from his cab, we had the same sentiments. It was really sad to hear another comment/story of how the Philippines used to be on its way to the top but somehow, something went wrong and it is where it is now.

This wasn't the first time I've heard the same comment from a local. And it does make me wonder, "What happened to us? I'm sorry I'm going to say this, but I think we need an iron fist to get us back to the top."

A dose of cheese over the weekend thanks to "Love in Space..."

I'm a sucker for cheesy, romantic movies. One of my OGTs. Hehe! So shoot me.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the movie poster for Love in Space. It's a Chinese film that's being shown locally. I wasn't sure whether it was good or what. But after seeing the trailer, I decided I want to see it.

Yesterday, I was able to drag a friend to go see it. Hehe.

The film looks into different kinds of romantic love stories experienced by a mother and her three daughters. All three girls have achieved much in life, except in the love affairs department.

A quick background.

The first sister and fellow astronaut are both in a space station. Once a couple, they broke up due to some misunderstandings.

The second sister's story shows how love is indeed powerful, empowering a person to face his or her fear to be with his or her match.

Lastly, the youngest sister is an popular actress who decides to go incognito to prepare for an upcoming role. As she works as a waiter at a local cafe, she meets a struggling writer who works as a waiter by day and a watermelon seller at night.

The two spend more time together, and eventually start to like each other. I sooo love how Wen Feng would give Peny a ride to her "home" on her watermelon cart.

However, Peony's manager tells her she has to go back to the real world sooner than she wanted. Wen Feng continues to wait for Peony, and they meet again when Wen Feng ends up as an extra in Peony's movie.

Drama unfolds, but in the end, love prevails and everything is just the way they should be.

The mother has her own love story, although the movie focused more on the story of the three daughters.

Of the love stories presented, obviously, my fave was that of the youngest sister and the struggling writer. I really thought that there was great chemistry between the actors who played the characters of Peony Huang (Angelababy) and Wen Feng (Jing Boran).

I really found actress Angelababy soooo pretty, and actor Jing Boran was really the boy-next-door kind of guy. Cute and dorky. Nice combination. Hehe!

The script was not bad either. If you want cheesy, if you want drama, if you want comedy, you would definitely get it from this film. The movie was also show at different locations including Beijing, Sydney and the International Space Station.

It is definitely one of my fave movies this year, for so many other reasons. *wink wink*

I hope a DVD is released.

Green SG: The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve...

The mission to explore the other "wild" side of Singapore continues.

This time, the destination was a wetland reserve located Northwest area of the island-state called Sungei Buloh.

Saturday morning I got an SMS from nature-tripper friend Melvin inviting me to go to Sungei Buloh. I gave a quick yes. Any opportunity to escape from skyscrapers and to be in the midst of greens was something I always welcomed. (Plus, I love that I'm getting to see a side of Singapore not too many get to visit.)

The reserve is about 130 ha of mangroves, ponds, forest and wetlands that is home to various flora and fauna. From what I read, Sungei Buloh is also a destination for migratory birds.

We agreed to meet up at Bishan the following day at 845AM. Melvin said he'd invite some friends to come along. I, on the other hand, invited the usual suspects. I also invited Alex, who I'm glad agreed to go (thanks to the help of my little buddy Zap. Haha!)

Sunday, I was up early. Really early. I heard the sound of rain from outside my room. True enough, when I got up and took a look, it was raining. Argh!

I called Melvin. No, I woke up Melvin from his sleep (haha! Sorry!) to ask if we were pushing through with the trip. Ever the optimistic person, he took a quick look outside and said yes.

Around 930, Melvin, Desmond, Alex and I began with our road trip. We reached Sungei Buloh around 10AM. Though it was only a 30-minute drive, the place was faaaar. (To give you an idea on how far it is, I was already getting a "Welcome to Malaysia" SMS from Malaysia telecoms carriers Maxis and Celcom. Haha!)

Our morning exploration began with a short film viewing at the reserve's small theater. The film gives visitors an overview about the reserve.

There were three routes available to take in exploring the reserve. I think we did a combo of all three. Our mission for the day was to get to Tower 2C.

After crossing the main bridge, we started to make our way to the heart of the reserve. Welcoming us was a monitor lizard who was clearly enjoying his Sunday morning. A quick hi, and it lazily went back into the water. You'll find several monitor lizards when you explore the reserve.

Every now and then, we would stop when the group's naturalists Melvin and Desmond would hear a rustling in the bushes or a distinct chirpring of a bird, and we would try to find out where the sound came from.

Throughout the reserve, there are many observation areas. If you're lucky, you can probably spot several of the wildlife inhabitants. Melvin wanted to see snakes, but we didn't. I secretly wanted to see the crocodile, but it was probably somewhere.

But seriously, I was happy seeing 6 (or 7) monitor lizards, a school of archer fish, a squirrel, a number of mudskippers, and three to four species of birds. There was also that dead horseshoe crab. Haha!

We were able to climb two towers, which gave quite a nice view of the reserve.

Exploring the reserve took us about three hours. By 1PM, we were back at the Visitor Center and getting ready to return to the city. I thought it was really a nice way of spending Sunday morning.

Hmm, of the three places Melvin has brought me to, I think Sungei Buloh is my fave so far. In second place would be Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and then MacRitchie Reservoir.

One of the places in the "Next-to-visit" list is Pulau Ubin. That one I'm really excited about.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is open 7.30am-7pm on weekdays,
7am-7pm on Sundays & Public Holidays. Admission is free except on Sat, Sun, Public Holidays and school holidays: $1 per adult, 50cents per child/ student/senior citizen.

Green SG: A Visit to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve...

Francis, one of my first local friends here in Singapore, invited me to go hiking at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve several weeks ago.

The guy is one fitness enthusiast. I met him via the dragonboat rowing. He runs. He goes to the gym. He swims. He goes hiking.

One time over dinner, we talked about hiking and he told me he'd let me know that next time he goes hiking.

Two weeks before he was to leave for London for graduate school, he told me about his plan to go hiking at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve during the weekend. New kid on the block I still am, I was more than game to join him. His friend, Melvin, who is also a nature-enthusiast, joined us. Really glad to have met Melvin as well because he has been showing me the "green" side of Singapore. (Will write about another nature walk soon.)

Some trivia.

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is about 12 kilometers away from the Central Business District. It retains one of the largest primary rainforest that used to cover the entire island. The Bukit Timah Hill is Singapore's highest elevation at approximately 163 meters.

Bukit means hill in the Malay language. Timah means tin, although from what I read no tin deposits are found in the area.

When we arrived at the nature reserve, we were welcome by several macaque monkeys freely roaming around. Some were just sitting by the road leading to the Visitor Center. Some were watching over the parked cars of nature-lovers visiting the reserve.

The reserve was obviously a fave spot among nature-lovers and health enthusiasts. There are a number of hiking routes that one can take. I'm not sure which one we took. Haha!

It was a good morning activity. After a good several minutes of walking, we reached the Bukit Timah summit. We started our descent after a short rest and the compulsory photo op (haha!) and made our way to one of the quarries. It's rather strange being in the middle of all the greens. One would think SG is all about skyscrapers, malls. Perhaps the next time a friend from abroad comes over for a holiday, I'd take them here instead of the usual tourist attractions. Hehe!

It was really an awesome day! Got to go hiking. Was able to visit a new place. Learned a little bit more about the SG culture.

How to get to Bukit Timah:
- By bus:
Bus numbers 67, 75, 170, 171, 173, 184, 852, 961.
Take bus to Upper Bukit Timah Road, alight opposite the Bukit Timah Shopping Center and Beauty World Center. From there it's approx. ten minutes walk along Hindhede Drive to the Visitor Center.
- By taxi/car:
Via Hindhede Drive; parking facilities at the Visitor Center are limited.

Volunteer work training begins tomorrow...

Tomorrow evening will be the start of the training for a local group I will be volunteering with.

When I made the move here, I told myself that one of the things that I want to do when I've finally settled is to get myself into volunteer work.

Yeah, blame it on the Pahinungod years of my life. The three years with my university's volunteer group have really sparked the fire of volunteerism in me. For that, I am forever grateful.

Wherever I go, I have always tried to look for ways to volunteer.

Last June during Pink Dot, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that several LGBT groups are present in this supposedly conservative country.

I decided I would get in touch with one of the groups to find volunteer opportunities.

After doing some research, I sent in my application for a volunteer post to a couple of these groups.

A phone call, a face-to-face interview, some email exchanges and as I've mentioned in my earlier post, I will be starting my training tomorrow night for the volunteer work.

I'm really looking forward to the training, and the real "work" after the training. The LGBT sector is one area I'd like to volunteer with and I'm glad I will be able to do that here.

More deets soon.

Believe it or not, this is in SG...

Believe it or not, this is in Singapore.

Yeah, who would have thought, huh? In this land of skyscrapers and luxury stores, this piece of beautiful greenery exists.

And there quite a number, I have to tell you.

You just have to know where they are. And it would be great if you have friends who are into nature-tripping. Hehe!

Will share where this is in one of the next posts.

At the Hermes Festival of Crafts...

Yesterday, I spent about an hour and a half at the Paragon atrium area to see how craftsmen from one of the best fashion houses around the world create handbags, saddles, scarves, ties, among others.

From September 3 to 7, Hermes craftsmen will be at the Paragon in Orchard to showcase their skills in making luxury pieces.

This is the first traveling Festival des Métiers (Festival of Crafts).

There were a number of work areas at the venue where visitors met Hermes artisans to witness first-hand how Hermes handbags, leather pieces, scarves, jewelry, watches, and other items are made.

I was just amazed at the skill and discipline of each of the master craftsmen and women who were there. You can see their passion and dedication to their craft.

Even if they were all working on different pieces, one could see that what bound them together was the careful attention to detail and love of their craft.

Amazing, just amazing.

After seeing that exhibit, one would no longer wonder why a Birkin costs up to a hefty six-figures. Hehe!

But, seriously, it was really great to have seen the Hermes craftsmen and women at work. I'm glad to have been able to take a peek at how it must be like in Hermes workshops.

It really was what luxury was about.

Second half-mary for the year this Sunday...

The Safra Singapore Bay Run this Sunday is my second half-marathon for the year.

I was supposed to register for the run, but was not able to do so. A good friend wouldn't be in town during the day of the run so he just gave me his race pack. Hehe!

He's been running for quite some time now, and has had really made good time with his half-marathons.

This Sunday will be a new PR for him. Hehe! It will be his slowest. Haha! Sorry, Teh.

It's going to be an interesting run. From what I've read about the event, the Sunday race route includes 20 iconic Singapore landmarks. And there will be about 20 street-side festivities to make the experience even more fun.

I'm excited. I'm not well-trained for this one, but my goal for this is to just cross the finish line.

Good friend Ian will also be doing the run, but this is just going to be peanuts for him since he's been doing full-marathons and is a triathlete. Haha!

Let's do this! :P

My last half-marathon for the year is the Standard Chartered Run this December.

Back in a bit...

Dear blog,

I know, I know. I haven't been paying attention to you for the longest time.

Believe it or not, I think I am just starting to really fully settle in this new environment, new everything.

Tomorrow, it will be my fifth month here in Singapore, and yet I feel like I've been here for more than a year now.

So much has already happened in that short five months.

Looking back now, it's surprising that so many things have already taken place. Some are good. Some are challenging. Most are very good, and I couldn't be more grateful. Friends have played a huge role in making the move easier. (I say easier because I've always been in love with Singapore, and I've always said I would move here in a heartbeat given the opportunity. Having friends here just makes things so much more better.)

I moved into a new home, and I have a good feeling about it. My wonderful landlord prepped the room really well. I have a nice desk, and a nice chair that Stefan (my Macbook) and I can use to chronicle this new journey I embarked on five months ago.

So, I promise to sit down and spend time with you more, my dear blog.

In the meantime, I can't believe it's already September! Whoooppee!

More great things are going to come. I know it. :)