I voted today...

I took the afternoon off today to head down to the Philippine Embassy to vote.

I dunno if age has something to do with it or it's being away from the Philippines, but I've noticed I've become more political these past few years. I want to know what's really happening with the Philippines. I want to know what's happening in Singapore. I want to know what's happening in other parts of the world.

In a way, it's both good and bad. Hehe! It's good because I am updated with the latest news. It's bad because sometimes I get so angry with the news that I feel like my blood pressure really shoots up. Hehe! That's why on some days, I choose to skip the news.

Going back to the election, I already psyched myself for all sorts of inconveniences when I reach the embassy. But surprise, surprise, everything was very efficient and very organised. Well done, COMELEC! :D

I was done in about 10 minutes. Well, for one, there weren't that many people voting. It was very easy though. I just showed my IC. The staff verified my name and then I was given a slip of paper indicating which precint I should go to.

The venue was well-organised and most importantly, there was A/C! Haha! I really appreciated it given that this afternoon was very humid. I was sweating buckets on the way to the embassy.

The COMELEC staff explained what I needed to do. I took a seat. Made my vote and afterwards, I was led to the PCOS machine to submit my ballot. Very, very quick!

< Given this, there's really no excuse for us not to vote. The embassy will be open Monday to Sunday, 9AM - 5PM until 13 May for all voters.

So please, please do vote. Your vote could be the one to prevent from from winning a seat.

And as they say, if you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain...

Tuesday aftie at the Phil embassy + PS Cafe...

Took the afternoon off today to head down to the Philippine embassy.

After six long weeks, my new passport is now ready for collection. Yey! =)

For fellow OFWs in the island, here's some good info in case you dunno. You won't be asked to leave your old passport while the new one is being processed.

Initially, I wasn't too happy about the thought of leaving my passport with the embassy. What if I felt like heading out of the city on a weekend? Or what if I needed to fly out? Anyway, it was really great that I get to keep my old passport while the new one was prepped.

From Holland Village, I took the bus heading to Orchard and alighted just across St. Regis. I was contemplating on taking a cab going to the embassy from the stop because it was extra hot that afternoon.

I ended up just walking since it wasn't that far. I thought to myself that maybe if I walk at a glacial pace, I wouldn't sweat too much.

Dead wrong. Haha!

When I got to the embassy, I was already sweating like crazy. And if you've been to the embassy... hehehe. :)

The good thing about heading to the embassy on a weekday is that it's not that crowded. There may still be a crowd but they're usually there for other stuff I think (OEC, etc.)

I waited for less than an hour before I finally got my new passport. Yey!

With hours to kill before meeting up with some OC volunteers, I decided I'd hang out at a cafe to cool myself and do some things. I brought Stefan with me so he'd be really helpful.

From the embassy, I decided to just walk back again to the main road. There were two Starbucks branches and a CBTL nearby, but I found myself walking towards Palais Renaissance.

I figured I'd reward myself a bit and have some me-hohol time at P.S. Cafe.

As I'd expected, it wasn't crowded at all. I got a table and for the next two hours, I did some research on a possible project. It was good that there weren't that many people. The wait staff didn't have to kick me out. Haha!

By 5 plus, I decided to leave PS Cafe and do some more walking. I made the mistake of ordering a slice of carrot cake and it was damn huge. Haha!  So to lessen the guilt, I walked to Orchard and then to Somerset. Haha!

Nice me time afternoon.