Me & Mr (Kelly) Jones

Fort Canning, Singapore--It felt almost ILLEGAL to walk out of the office in jeans and a shirt but as I raced to the City Hall MRT to meet my mate Nat with Dakota blasting on my ipod, I knew it was going to be an amazing night. The boys definitely know how to put on a good show--they played a mix of old songs (traffic, hurry up and wait, i'm just looking, local boy in the photograph, the bartender and the thief, and of course dakota as encore) and tracks off their new album (bank holiday monday, pass the buck, it means nothing). I didn't know all the words to the songs (unlike Nat who reckons she was 16 when she started listening to a thousand trees) but every inch of me was feeling it. And when Kelly came on stage solo to do maybe tomorrow (used in the movie Crash), it was pure bliss. Everyone needs to go wild once in a while, to let loose, jump and wave your fists in the air. Hell, everyone should take off their shirts and rock in their bras. And this is Singapore, mind you. God bless the Welsh!

The Cure

Indoor Stadium, SINGAPORE -- Adding on to Reese's end of July thanks, I would like to thank my bro who harrassed me to buy tickets to The Cure (!!!!) only to bail at the last minute due to work. So what do I do with two free tickets to see them? Scream my lungs off when the opening bars to Pictures of You come on of course! Who cares if Robert Smith looks like the goth version of the Pilsbury doughboy with nest-like hair, the man can play a mean guitar! And when he sings "Yesterday I got so old, I felt like I could die.." the 70 year old gramps jumping up and down (not an exaggeration) in the audience could not agree less.

the fountain of wealth

District 12, SINGAPORE-- So the biggest fountain in the world is at Suntec city where I work. Lonely Planet hit the mark when it described it as "the world's largest fountain is not necessarily the world's most tasteful one." As if its magnificent size wasn't enough, if you actually went around the inner core of the fountain thrice, you could make a wish and (surprise) it would come true. Seriously. But that's not my point. Every night at 8pm, the fountain is host to this laser light show. The first time I heard it, I was taken aback by the blaring rock music coming from outside my office windows. Was that an outdoor concert, thumped thumped my heart. As it turns out, it was the start of the light show. From then on, I would hear ten minutes of Hootie, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Sugar Ray and I would know that the show was going on. Anyway, I saw the show for the first time today (yes, I've been working here for 5 months now) and it is utterly disgusting. Think water show at the Bellagio (minus Clooney and the gang gazing out to the fountain) but the water only spurts in one direction (like a broken fire hose) and there are gawdy lights in blue, green and red amidst songs like How to save a life by the Fray. And the best part of it all, you can pay to have an 18m personalised message displayed on the water curtain. "Will you marry me? (but please excuse my lack of taste)" I don't think so.

p.s. there is again no connection between the pictures here and my post. moreover, i don't actually think this post has a point.

mis primeros II

Manila, PH -- continuing from jan's list of firsts in the 'pore:

1) making breakfast (me with my hit or miss scrambled eggs, jan with her spicy instant noodles) while listening to phoenix & 'save room'

2) spending sunday afternoon on an artificial beach (ibiza by way of sentosa!)

3) getting overwhelmed by the the national library's collections (and it's such a nice building). geek alert!

4) lounging at loof while dreaming of opening our own bar back home

5) being accused of wanting to date a certain australian body part

6) getting a drunk brit sailor to sing 'stars of cctv'

7) drinking the lethal graveyard while playing bato bato pick (i.e. jack en poy, stick paper scissors etc.)

8) shophouse-hopping at quirky hadji lane (i wish i had gotten that 'pig of happiness' book). justine throw a party at pitch black!

9) having an all-cheesy song night while drinking vodka pear :just take my heart when you go/i don't have the need for it anymore



adriana at estela, sana ay maulit ang maliligayang araw noong tayo'y nasa ibayong bansa! bernardita at feliza, kayo naman ang aming guguluhin kapag nakapagipon-ipon na kami para sa biyahe patungong estados unidos! todo cherva jah jah jah!

Mis Primeros

Manila, PH -- – So Reese and I recently returned from our six-day Singapore sojourn visiting Justine. By recently I mean an entire week ago. But my aversion to and shameful ignorance of all things complicated (i.e., technology) have kept me from posting sooner. Bong, thanks for the overseas crash course in blogging. Hope Shanghai has been good to you!

Anyhoo, my first time in the tiny tidy island was home to many other firsts:

1) flying international…solo
2) tip being refused by “Uncle” cab-driver
3) hot air balloon ride (DHL balloon, mind you)
4) leaving home at 1am for a night out
5) sleeping at 8am from the night out
6) beverages: aloe vera, barley, Lebanese wine
7) shameless infatuation: with a minor (note: HH)
8) seeing wildlife…at night
9) free-flowing drinks at the bar, having the best time with bartenders in kilts (they had undergarments, tsk)
10) tequila shots without the burning, i-feel-SICK-to-my-gut sensation
11) breakfast of kaya toast dipped in soy-seasoned half-boiled egg…with locals
12) flying business class (thanks to Risa)

Justine, maraming salamat sa mga ala-ala. Hindi ko malilimutan nang iwan mo kami ni Risa sa sahig-sayawan, a.k.a. “dancefloor” para sa aming sariling kapakanan…

Thanks for the best time, Justine! Here's a snippet of our fight song c/o Risa. Enjoy!

Mark Farina – Dream Machine

on being nationalistic

Botanical Gardens, SINGAPORE--Some bloke paid me probably the biggest compliment to date--he called me 'nationalistic.' I've never been described as nationalistic before and I was damn proud to be seen that way. Call it ironic but my patriotism has been awakened by living away from home. I realise how lucky I am to have grown up in such a beautiful country with the most fun-loving and genuinely warm people I know. Living in a sanitized bubble like Singapore makes you long for the dirt, the grime, the chaos that is Manila. Living in a country which supposedly is a melting pot of 3 cultures which amounts to none really makes you take pride in certain things about you that are unmistakably and unashamedly Pinoy. So yup, I was born and raised in the Philippines. In a third-world country, thank you very much.

p.s. the pictures here have nothing to do with the content of this post. they're just pretty.

swingapore post

District 12, SINGAPORE--In my nearly five months of living in the tidy tiny island of Singapore (Singapoh), I've had to deal with the usual string of questions that start out with 'where are you from, why did you move to Singapore, do you like it so far?'. Well, obviously I'm Filipino but here's why I moved to Singapore and what I've learned to like/love/hate (depending on the day) in this 'fine' city:

1. I don't have to be subjected to crazy bus drivers in Singapore
2. at the same time, no one has to be subjected to my uh, driving skills
3. everything works like clockwork in Singapore
4. when you're in the ferry queue to bintan at 7am and you haven't had coffee being told to 'please follow one line' just doesn't work
5. i have learned to do my own laundry, make my own bed, breakfast, clean the toilet, use a screwdriver and hammer!!
6. i have shrunk many clothes and nearly lost a hand in the process
7. singapore is a melting pot--i've met norwegians, kiwis, aussies, brits,scots, welsh and the dutch
8. from these mix of people i have learned that a small backpack in england is called a 'rucksack', in australia you don't make out but you 'pash', say 'skal' when drinking with the norwegians or 'proost' with the dutch, and when the kiwis offer you anything with vegemite, politely refuse and run for the door (sorry helen!)
9. change your language settings to UK English: authorise, analyse, favourite, colour, whilst
10. say 'bloody hell' when you're 'pissed' or worse when you're 'sloshed' then when you're ready to call it a night, say you're 'going back', you had a 'lovely' time but you're really 'knackered' (this i love!)
11. travel is good in singapore, you can hop on a bus/train to malaysia, a ferry will take you to indonesia, and budget carriers can take you as far as perth
12. alternatively, you can hire a car and drive around the country for the 1 hour that it takes to get from end to end (and you wonder why the 'get-out-of-singapore-once-a-month' policy is the only way to maintain your sanity)
13. it's an english-speaking country
14. ok, it's more like a singlish speaking country and if you find yourself squinting in concentration trying to understand the locals, don't worry because they're probably squinting right back at ya
15. the best indian food, noodles, chicken rice and chilli crab around
16. did i mention these were all fried?
17. independence
18. too much independence
19. happy hour and free flow wines at 1 for 1 rates
20. still double the price of a vodka seven in manila
21. meeting new friends
22. missing your old and best ones

I'll leave it to Reese and Jan to post something on the 'sights' here in Sing. Flight details Reese!

i'm on holiday!

Changi Airport, SINGAPORE -- i've got 7 hours to kill before our flight to india. it's a thursday, and i'm out of the office! such a welcome change. it's my first time here in the lion city and i'm amazed at how huge the airport is.
we're leaving for trivandrum tonight then heading to new delhi tomorrow.
to psyche ourselves for our trip to the land of the elephants (tigers?) trixie and i had the thali meal with vegetable biryani and some roti prata. and then, since we have an unnatural fear of starving in a foreign land, we ate our baon chocolate krinkles from goldilocks. so pinoy! haha.