Team Jake...

With The Walking Dead on a break and The Vampire Diaries about to go on a break (?), I have no idea what series to watch.

Thankfully, I still have tons of series waiting to be watched thanks to Ian. Some weeks ago, I started watching Grey's Anatomy again. I'm now somewhere on the third season. I stopped watching a bit because I'm starting to get annoyed with the characters. Hehe.

Last night, I started watching Awkward. I remember friends Mon and Victor were talking about it ages ago. I just never started watching it because at that time, I was on TWD and TVD.

So far, I've been enjoying the series. It's your typical shallow, teenage drama but I'm kinda liking the series because I don't have to think. It kinda reminds you of the awkward time that was high school.

Almost done with season 1 and I've started to DL season 2. My landlord recently just switched to fibre broadband and so far, the connection's been awesome.

If you've been watching the series, you will know what I mean when I say I'm Team Jake.

You're. welcome.

Friday nights at OT...

When I was still in my previous job, some of my colleagues, including my best friend Tey, would usually stay back at the office on a Friday night.

One, Manila + Friday night is a recipe for horrible traffic. Two, there is more work to be done. Hehe!

The good thing is that our office was smack in the middle of the business district. That meant having easy access to the malls, drinking places, etc.

On certain nights where we didn't feel like heading to Greenbelt or we just wanted something very laidback, very casual, we would go to this place along De la Costa called OT.

It was a stone's throw away from the office and on many nights, it served as our version of the bar that Ally Mcbeal and her colleagues would hit.

There ws nothing fantab about OT. People were allowed to smoke. Food was your regular stuff. When you leave, you bring with you the combined smell of cigarette smoke, smoked food and so on. LOL!

But we love the place for two things - cheapo buckets of San Mig Lights and cheapo karaoke. Haha! We're talking about five peso per song here.

If I remember correctly, karaoke starts at 10PM. By then, there would be quite a few tables occupied with fellow yuppies who wanted to relax but nothing too formal and chichi (chichi talaga?!). Most of them were colleagues from other departments - Engineering, IT, Customer Service, and us Public Affairs.

Because we'd always see each other

A catalogue of the songs would be passed around and we would take note of the number code for the songs we wanted to sing. We'd give the piece of paper to the waiter who would then key in the numbers to the karaoke machine. Haha!

And for the next two hours, we would have our own karaoke night. No one cared how you sung the song. When you had the mic, you owned the place. LOL. No fights erupted. No broken bottles or noses. Just pure, unapologetic singing. Haha!

Good times, good times, indeed!

Q1 of 2013 was all about trips...

Partly inspired by Tipz's recent post. Hehe!

The difference is that my realization came before the actual trips. Hehe! :D

The first quarter of 2013 saw me heading out of the island every month.

In January, I went to Bali with a few friends I've known for more than a decade now. Towards the end of the month, I did my first trip back to the Philippines ever since I got here.

In February, I'm not yet sure if this will be THE major trip of the year. This much I can say though, the very short trip to Kathmandu surely left a lifetime of memories.

In March, PG Boy and I joined the mass exodus from the island because of the a long weekend. We headed to Malacca. What can I say? I def want to go back. It was too short a trip.

I am really grateful to have been able to do these trips. I don't think I've been traveling this much when I was back in the Phils. Hehe. Or I was, but mostly for work and mostly to places around the Philippines. Hehe!

With the current situation for foreign workers here in Singapore, my goal this year is to really save. It's a critical year because no one knows what will happen come March 2013. Yaiks. However, I am praying, I am hopeful, I am claiming it, that I will still be in Singapore in 2014. Hehe!

Docent training begins...

Last Saturday was the first session for the Museum Guide/Docent Training Course at the National Museum of Singapore.

A day before the course, the organizers emailed readings - yes, readings - to all docent trainees I suppose.

On the way home last Friday and over breakkie last Saturday, I was reading on the pre-colonial history of Singapore.

It's very interesting. When I think about Singapore, what usually comes to mind are the skyscrapers, great shopping, chicken rice. It was good learning about the time before the island was occupied by the British in 1819.

The first session of the course was both fun and intense. The senior guides gave a lively and enjoyable talk on guiding skills for museum volunteers.

Afterwards, we were given a lecture on the Temasek history. Singapore was once known as Temasek. In Malay, it means sea town. That afternoon, I met Wang Dayuan, Sang Nila Utama, Raja Culan, Iskandar Shah, among others.

Following this was our first gallery walkthrough. I've been to the History Gallery a couple of times, but this is the first time that the artefacts and relics are having more meaning to me.

The session ended with an assignment. (It really does feel like going back to school!) I had to prepare a talk about a particular topic. Come the third session, I will be doing my presentation. Exciting and it's also making me nervous. Hehe! :D I'm really impressed with how organized the training course is. It was also great seeing how passionate the senior guides are in what they do.

We were given a schedule of the entire training schedule that will run until end of May. The senior guides are right. Our Saturdays will never be the same again. Hehe!

Looking forward to the next sessions.

Juan Pablo II, te quiero por el mundo...

I recently watched this two-hour CNN documentary on the last days of John Paul II.

Partly inspired by the recent trip of MkSurf8 and RKGreg to the Vatican and Rome during Holy Week. Hehe!

JPII, without doubt, was one of the most well-loved leaders of the Catholic Church. I still remember his trip to the Philippines for World Youth Day decades ago. My Mom and my second brother trooped to the Apostolic Nunciature at Quirino Ave. to get a glimpse of the Holy Father. That was definitely an experience.

Check out the docu when you have the time. It features beautiful interviews on the last few days of the Holy Father before he returned to our Creator.

What I liked about the Malacca trip...part 2

3.) The Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. To get a glimpse of how the houses along Tun Tan Cheng Lock look inside, visit the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. The house belonged to a Chinese merchant named Chan Cheng Siew and his family. The descendants have turned the grand home into a private museum showcasing the distinct Peranakan lifestyle. Centuries-old Chinese needlework, intricately carved wood furniture inlaid with mother of pearl, elegant china dinnerware from England, traditional clothes are but some of the few things on display at the private museum. There is a minimal fee to be paid. The museum opens daily at 10AM. The first guided tour is at 10AM. The Baba and Nyonya Heritage House was definitely one of my favorites. Sadly, no photography/videography allowed.

A bit of trivia: Peranakans (literally meaning "born here" in Malay) are the descendants of early Chinese settlers who inter-married and adopted the local Malay customs. The marriage of cultures resulted in a unique Baba-Nyonya culture. Baba is the term used for the Peranakan male while Nyonya refers to a Peranakan female.

4.) Nyonya cuisine. Philippine cuisine has strong Spanish and Chinese influences. The same can be said of Peranakan cuisine. The intermarriage of Chinese and Malays led to a unique Nyonya (or Peranakan) cuisine. Do try Cafe 1511 just beside the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. On the way to the museum, we met an uncle who was very proud of his Peranakan heritage. He told us to order the pai tee (tophats), nyonya popiah (which came with a strict order, "Nyonya popiah, okay! Not the Chinese popiah!" Hehe!) and the curry fish head.

5.) The tomb of St. Francis Xavier. At the ruins of St. Paul's church, there is an open tomb. What most people probably do not know is that the remains of St. Francis Xavier was briefly interred there before it was transferred to India. There was no marker to inform people that the tomb is actually a sacred one (to Catholics, at least). As a somewhat practicing Catholic, I was really glad to be able to visit the grave of a saint. A bit more trivia: Quite a number of miracles attributed to St. Francis Xavier took place in Malacca.

An overnight trip turned out to be not enough to explore the city. There was still so much to see - museums, more ancestral houses, dining places we didn't get to try.

Would definitely be back.

Two years Singapura...

Today marks my second year in Singapore and with Wiley. :)

The dream to work here started in 2008 when I visited friends Richie, Mon, Jean and Joi. It took three years before the dream became a reality (hehe!), but I'm really happy to have been given this blessing.

Really grateful to all the people who have inspired/encouraged/supported me in making this happen. Among them MkSurf8, Chris, Ian...

The story of how the dream became a reality is here.

Lately though, things have been quite uncertain for foreign workers. Measures to tighten the inflow of foreign workers keep on being introduced. Work pass applications, both new and renewals, are being rejected. Anti-foreigner sentiments abound online.

Still, I'm grateful to have experienced the last two years and to start a third year. One day at a time, I suppose...

It's just a bit stressful because it's difficult to make long-term plans because of the uncertainty here. Add to that the fact that I worry about what will happen to me and PG Boy if ever... Knock on wood a million times. Haha!

Sabi nga ni Bien, "Mygash, ...years in the making ang pagkakaroon ko ng jowa, tapos wawasakin lang ng MOM? No no no." Hahaha! True that!

Anyway, this is a post about being grateful. My sentiments on being a foreign worker in a country I really love is reserved for another time. Hehe!"

Thank you ulit sa lahat lahat ng kaibigan!

What I liked about the Malacca trip...part 1

If I had to choose my favorite parts of the trip, it would be these:

1.) Wah Aik Shoemaker House. Along the bustling Jalan Tokong, one will find most probably one of the world's last makers of shoes for women with bound feet (also known as lotus feet shoes). We met Raymond Yeo, the grandson of the shop founder, who was kind enough to tell us a bit about his grandfather and the shoes they make. The business is family-owned for the past three generations. Aside from the lotus feet shoes (which are now mainly sold as a souvenir), the shop also sells beaded sandals and leather shoes.

2.) Ancestral houses. Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, formerly called Heeren St, was also known as the Millionaires' Row of Malacca. One must take time to walk along the street to appreciate the houses that belonged to the wealthy merchants. It is easy to think that it's just another row of usual houses. Two things: One the beauty of the facade is in the elaborate details. Look for the decorative tiles the front of the house. Look for the details around the windows of the house’s second storey. Two, though the houses may look small, these open up to huge spaces. The reason for narrow width? At one time, taxes were collected based on the width of the house. The front may be narrow but the length of these houses can extend to more than 100 metres in length.

Of the many houses, house no. 117 seems to be the grandest of them all. This is the Chee Ancestral House, which once belonged to one of the wealthiest families in colonial Malacca. (Or I think it still does because the house still has residents and is not open to the public). The house reminds me of some of the ancestral houses in Iloilo.

To be continued...

Malacca getaway...

The recent long weekend was an opportunity to head out of the island for a short holiday in the neighboring country.

Destination: Malacca.

I've missed the chance to visit the historical state of Malaysia twice. Missing a trip to the UNESCO World Heritage City a third time was not going to happen. Hehe!

Grand ancestral houses. Memories of a colonial past. Cuisine that reflect the local culture and heritage.

The old town was a treat for the eyes and the palate. Walking along the streets of the old part of town, one's eyes are drawn to . And at the end of a long walk, reward yourself with a feast of Nyonya cuisine and traditional desserts such as candol.

An overnight trip turned out to be not enough to explore the city. There was still so much to see.

Would definitely be back.

Highlights from the trip in the next few posts...

...

There has to something good to come out of all of these... There has to be...