I can’t believe that it’s been more than a year since I wrote this (comments in teal have been added now):
Top Things I’ll Miss in the Philippines (in no particular order):
- Pinoy chibog. Mangga with bagoong. Okra. Dinuguan. Kilawin. Inihaw na isda. Chicken inasal. Halo-halo. Tapsilog. Toyomansi. Fresh dalandan juice. Lansones. Isaw. Sinigang. Adobo.
*Thanks to Lucky Plaza, I can still enjoy these once in a while. Well except for dalandan juice and isaw. - The warm people.
*Yes, definitely still miss the friendly customer service people in the Philippines, the ones who actually greet you with a smile and don’t get mad when you take long to make up your mind in ordering something. But it’s not an issue in the office because so far I’ve been lucky to have really nice colleagues. - OPM. I can probably still download mp3s from the net but I won’t be able to get my weekly dose of the champions on ASAP.
*It’s tiring to watch ASAP buffer on the internet, so I tried that only once. Can’t wait to subscribe to TFC next month. -
Pinoy movies. I won’t be able to watch KC’s first movie, For the First Time. And what if Lloydie has another movie? I will not be able to melt in my seat when he does another sundance.
*I heard that For the First Time was bad, actually. And I was able to watch Lloydie’s sundance sequel on my laptop. -
CSI Sundays. Ok, so maybe they have AXN there. But what if they don’t? I will so miss Mac and Horatio.
* Waaahhh!!! I don’t have Cate’s patience to watch buffered episodes on the net, so I’m a season behind. T.T -
Long lunches and dinners and merienda breaks with loads of chikahan and tawanan.
Tagalog. I love the English language, but there are just some words that are so hard to translate from Tagalog to English. Will I still be funny in English?
*Now thanks to Betchie and Yves and Arlene, my new lunch buddies, I can still have the lunches. And yes, apparently I still am funny in English. Just ask my contacts. -
Videoke. Perhaps I should delete my list of songs in my cellphone. Yes, I have a ready list of songs to pick for videoke nights, just in case people have a hard time picking songs. The list includes songs that I can actually sing that won’t strain my vocal chords too much, as well as catchy sounds that everyone can sing along with and dance to at the same time.
*Yes I definitely miss this. It’s not as fun to visit a karaoke joint and listen to Chinese songs. -
Ate Yolly. My labandera has been taking care of my clothes for a couple of years now. She has done such a good job and I’m afraid that when I take over, I will not be up to par. Like, once, my favorite pair of tokongs had a messy dark blue ink stain right down the front and I thought I’d never be able to wear them again, but she magically made the huge blob disappear. I don’t know how to do that! Besides, doing laundry is my least favorite chore!
*I still don’t like to do laundry, but it’s amazing how easy it is when you’ve got a washing machine. I have been lucky not to have any stain problems so far. Though I did ruin my Fox jacket with bleach. T.T -
Unlitxting. For some reason I can’t explain, I like to text more than call.
*Cellphone rates are sooo much cheaper in Singapore, it turns out, so I can text as much as I want.
10.Cheap commutes. No more jeepneys and tricycles and pedicabs.
*No I don’t miss jeepneys and tricycles and pedicabs at all. Who needs them when the MRT and buses are so much more organized and convenient?
I can’t believe that it’s been a year since this episode. Since then, all these has happened to those people:
*Cate and I have lived in three flats – (1) two weeks at Rodel’s old flat in Pasir Ris, (2) two weeks transient at a Filipino-owned flat in Sengkang, and (3) turning a year in this old flat with an awesome location in Hougang. Moving to a better one (though not as great a location) next month. Excited much!
*Rodel’s generosity was rewarded – Monet became his girlfriend.
*Joey and Gelle got engaged and then civilly wed.
*Cate’s sister Cheryl also came over and found a job and became our flatmate.
*So many visitors from the Philippines equals so many visits to the Merlion and Sentosa. I don’t want to watch Songs of the Sea anymore. I guess it’s true that familiarity breeds contempt. Tyne has been visited by her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s mom, separately. Cate also had a visit from her boyfriend. Joey and Gelle’s families came over for their civil wedding.
*I’ve had two jobs.
*I’ve been to three new countries – Singapore (it was my first time), Indonesia, Malaysia.
*I now abbreviate too much – nvm, tmr, tks, urw. And I now say words like “can,” “by right,” and “is it?” and put “ah” at the ends of my sentences. But no, I still don’t say lah seriously.
*I was reunited with my first love – the library. And keep maxing out my borrower’s limit of 8 books per visit. I have also acquired the Singaporean’s hobby of reading while commuting, and even reading while walking.
*I’ve learned to appreciate some Singaporean food like hokkien mee, barbeque stingray, and cereal prawns. So much so that I gained some 10 pounds. T.T
*I have bought too much stuff. Singapore sales are a shopaholic’s dream. Or nightmare, whichever way you want to look at it.
*I’ve made new friends. Now this is something I can never have too much of. ^__^
hahaha. everyone always comments on how high i jumped in that shot. it's my office laptop's wallpaper, so even this big boss who is always so serious actually smiled when he saw that and said, "quite a jump, i must say."
wow Dee…<br /><br />I never thought you can jump that high girl.