Kitschy Kitchen Frenzy

Weather forecast: The sun is out and the skies are clear, but staying indoors can be fun.

Feeling refreshed from a deep eight-hour sleep, I found myself in front of the bathroom mirror washing my face and pinching my cheeks. No, it’s not because I forgot my fave cheek tint back home. I slid the bathroom door half-open and took a glimpse at the two snoring girls sleeping on the queen-sized bed. I closed it. And then I opened it again for another peek. This time with a tender giggle that only pre-teen girls (and boys?) watching Justin Bieber would make. I looked back at the mirror and saw a demigod calm figure brimming with excitement and joy. After all, it was officially the start of our vacation.

I tiptoed my way out of our room and into the kitchen. Thankfully, there were a lot of pots, pans, plates and utensils made available for our use. I quickly boiled some water in a soot-covered aluminum kettle and started to rummage through the ref fridge. Like most common Pinoy motherless households, this fridge was empty filled with bottled water and a few stuff:

Eggs, check.

Strawberry jam, check.

Cream cheese, check.

A jug of Sunkist apple juice, check.

Unidentified packets of meat, check.

Moldy ginger… priceless!

Nothing that I haven’t seen yet, I thought. I had been hoping to surprise myself with anything that would make me realize how “uniquely Singapore” this household was. I opened the cupboard and my eyes scanned the items one by one like a platoon sergeant inspecting his lined up soldiers before a drill. There was a can of Milo, a bottle of Del Monte ketchup, 2 stacked cans of Spam, a box of Kellog's cornflakes and a pack of red onions. Sigh. I guess the former tenants have already “Filipinized” the kitchen. I took out the box of Kellog's only to reveal 3 bottles of condiments, all with the hieroglyphic Chinese texts on their labels. I took the bottles out one by one. >>

Daydream

Weather forecast: Stars will shine brightly in the sky as you dream.

During my first few days in Singapore, it felt like I was in a constant state of daydreaming. Not that everything seemed totally unreal nor that I was detached from what's going on around me. In fact everything was real and I was an active participant. It's just that things seemed surreal. 

Like a daydream...

In a medieval kingdom, a lonely prince peers into a magical mirror and falls in love with a beautiful maiden from the future. As the past and the future converge, the two discover a love that transcends time, prevailing over a scheming adviser and numerous obstacles.

Sounds like a classic fairytale? >>

First Impression

Weather forecast: Sunny skies in the morning with scattered 25-inch waistlines in the afternoon.

It was my first overseas flight and I felt anxious, nervous and excited having no clear itinerary whatsoever. After a few hours we landed on this tiny dot on the map known as Singapore. Being inside Changi Airport is like walking in a fab hotel lobby that is ultra chic and modern. At an instant you'll recognize the fact that it is (still) the world's best airport.

My friends who arrived there just a day earlier were supposed to pick me up. Thirty minutes passed and still no friends in sight. I decided to lounge around the airport and ended up at a familiar fastfood chain, Burger King. I ordered a burger and a Minute Maid juice and got myself acquainted with the Sing-Dollar. Being a first-time traveller I was still in that auto-convert-to-Peso phase. I knew that was the beginning of an expensive holiday. If I remember correctly, that humble merienda cost me a li'l less than $10.

After an hour my friends arrived and off we go. The transportation system was very convenient and truly commuter-friendly. The MRT that is directly connected to the airport has scheduled trains that will take you from the East to the West in just a little over an hour. You have to purchase your own EZ-link card at the ticketing booth for S$12. This will serve as your ticket to most rides within Singapore. A few train stations and a heavy dose of stench later I am finally seeing the city with my own eyes. My first impression: Wow, it is very clean. There's no smog in sight, no street vendors and rugby-sniffing teens in tattered clothes. All the cars that passed us by seemed all brand new. After the elegant parade of various models of Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus, I  waited with bated breath for a "kotseng kuba" to pass by so I can also make "pendong" to my friends and naughtily get back at them for making me wait that long. Sigh. No "kotseng kuba". Suddenly I realized that the nice cars would be a common sight here. >>

Beyond Borders

As I am writing this, Kate Middleton is probably still admiring Prince William's dazzling proof of love. This is of course in the form of the ring that consists of a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded by solitaire diamonds set in 18-carat white gold. To be honest I am more enamored by her electric blue dress that was designed by Brazilian designer Issa Helayel. (Photo: AP)

Prince William proposed to Kate while they were on a holiday in Kenya. He said they were at the right place and time. Which makes me wonder how much a location, or a change of location for that matter, affects our lives. Angelina Jolie went to Cambodia and Ethiopia and came back with Maddox and Zahara, respectively. Bolivian Carlos Mamani worked in the Chilean mine, got trapped for more than 2 months, got rescued, and came out a virtual proof of a miracle. And Paris Hilton, well, traveled to the French Riviera and returned with a nice boobs tan.


Like them, most people move out of their respective comfort zones for different reasons. Most of them travel out of a need to find a job. Some travel for pleasure to explore the world. And some, ironic as it may sound, go out at great lengths to find themselves. As someone who has lived in another country for a couple of years, I know how life can be totally different. My reason for moving you ask? I should say it's all of the above. I went out initially as a tourist, found a job overseas and worked for a time, and then returned back home knowing myself better than before.


The blog contents of this site will include the many (mis)adventures that I have experienced while working overseas. I hope that the short glimpses will serve as inspiration, warning and a source of learning to whoever is reading this site. Once in a while I will also put in my 2 cents' worth on current happenings and share my thoughts on mundane things that make life the sh*t joy that it is.