maintain an organized, speck-free floor and a very shiny tiled bathroom like Jec. I had a very relaxed 2 months because of her. I need not detailed to her my expectations for she passes my description of Cleanliness. I am a fan of clean bedrooms, bathrooms and floors. She will be home to Pinas in January and I say hello to pamamalantsa and cleaning. Chuck would say hello again to his laundry chores and may need to share with him cooking, floor mopping, the etcssss. I think it would be fun. ( My response of faith.)



While going towards the bus stop this morning, Chy shared to me this very beautiful confession that it melts my heart. An amazing new year’s eve gift for mama are these words.
” Ma, dun sa Manila, wala tayong dada, dito sa Singapore, meron. Gusto ko talaga dito sa Singapore mama kasi may dada tayo. ” Anak, ..very beautiful, madrama ka talaga, mana kay mama.

During our first month here, she would excitedly tell me about the nice things in Singapore - the elevator going up and down to our flat, the playground at the ground floor, the attached bathroom of our bedroom. Now, her discoveries are escalating to higher grounds. While fetching her from school yesterday, she told me that she loves me and hugs me close. Ayyyy…The heart of a child truly is pure. Kahit madami beses ko na sya napagalitan at napalo, she never holds grudge- sana ganun din ang hearts ng mga adults. And like me, I need to work on my ” anger management ordeal”.

She deserves a new year’s eve toy shopping. She liked the toy worth 20 sgd ( P600) but told her that for toys, her limit is only 10 sgd, so , she looked for a better alternative and find this fishing rod that comes with other sea creatures.

And while she was busily playing, she became my photography model.

Location: Across Causeway Point, surrounded by fruit trees like Persimmon trees and the like ( unsure though).

UTI. I have it. It is painful and requires you to frequently visit the bathroom for this small amounts of urination. I am not fond of urinating, that’s how it was triggered. I usually keep it to myself until I feel like it is bursting and that becomes my signal to hurriedly run to the nearest bathroom. I tried to change this habit but after the first round of UTI in September was healed, I went back to the habit. Old habits, die hard indeed. Luckily, visiting a doctor here is very convenient. I will just show my HP badge, get my number queue, a short chat with doc, body check and off I go complete with medicines. Cashless transaction complete with medication until I get completely healed.

here’s some for- adults conversations we had.
During my first check up 3 months ago, I was completely timid.
The blunt doctor asked me, Are you sexually active?
I think I was blushing and could barely find the right words, and said. Yes, I think because I am married. Which brings to mind that being sexually active cannot be directly associated with marriage. And he gently explains to me the probable reasons, etc. etc. knowing that I wasn’t active in the past and became active in an instant. Hahhahaa..I am not sure if that is the best way to relate the details but sort of like that. Cool.
It is another doc who checked on me today and I was trying to be ready of his would be direct questions and I ended up too aggressive. Hahahhaha…I was too ready and maybe appeared overconfident. Blah.blah.blah. He asked me about the unusual things I have been going through, etc. etc. And asked me about history of this ailment and like a memory brought to mind, I told him this, ” You know doc, I noticed that what triggers this is the bad habit of preventing urination. “Oh, yeah, very normal” , his short reply and gave his scientific explanation . He further asked if I had this before September and I immediately answered him this, ” Oh no, maybe because I was not sexually active before September this year” and thinking it might create misinterpretation, my mouth raced to add these statements” because my husband worked here and I was in the Philippines and I just moved in last September” . Gosh. my stupid mouth is putting me into trouble. My heart was racing, the doctor smiled and said, Yes, that is very normal. I hope you don’t mind, I will check your stomach and called in his nurse to assist. Perfect. Because I don’t want to lie in his clinic without another female attending. Hmmm…all I know is that, my mouth was stupid.

Actually, I like this doc ( the latter one). He is very attentive and I even asked his advice on how to clean Chy’s seemingly hard as rock ear wax. He advised me to buy olive oil and put 2 drops in the affected ear. After 4 days, notice it to be soft and told me to use ear pick instead of cotton buds- the latter has the tendency to push the ear wax deep down and would be harder to remove. Clever.

How can I end up this post without saying thanks to a group that keeps my paypal account happier. Each day, they don’t fail to provide more opportunities for me like this one on New York Yankees tickets which of course is a great big DEAL.

It is so funny how a mother creates story to keep Chy’s mind active while dressing up for school. She is not a nice person early in the morning ( just like me). Today, she shoots up loads of investigative questions to me which are very complex I couldn’t help but be very careful in responding to for she never forgets first hand answers.

Chy: Mama, nung bata ka ba, nakikinig ka sa teacher mo?
Mama: Yes Chy, of course.
Chy: Eh si dada, nakikinig ba sya?
Mama: Minsan , hindi ( ngek…mejo mali ata un)
Chy: Mama, may friend ako dun sa school curly ang hair, ayaw makinig sa teacher.
***************************************************************
Chy: mama, ano po kulay ng uniform mo nung bata ka pa.
Mama: Hmm..blue.
Chy: Nung bata ka, nasaan ako nun?
Mama: ( pambihira naman to, ano kaya tamang sagot?)Mmm…na kay jesus.
Chy: ano ang ginawa ko dun?
Mama: Nag wait kung sino ang mama mo.
Chy: Eh, nung bata pa si lolo at lola, nasaan ka nun?
Mama: Andun din kay Jesus, nag wait din ako.
***************************************************************
Actually, she doesn’t look satisfied and she asked this question 3 times already and I tried as much as possible to be consistent. I should be sharing notes with Dada, so that she will get the same answer from him.

We also had conflicts:
She debated over curly hair . She told me she doesn’t like curly hairs and don’t want me to curl her hair or my hair. She told me we should take a bath always so that our hair won’t get curled.

She is so asar over someone who commented something on her hair today. Tito Melvin told her jokingly that she should take a bath na kc di na nice ang hair nya, and she cried her heart out.

Gosh, she is very pikon over it. I realized that when it comes to her hair, better be very careful when you comment. OMG??? 4 years old palang tong bata to, ang arte arte na. Nakakaloka! I had very short hair when I was her age. Iba din talaga generation ni Chy, may gap na kami. nyahahahhaha..

At eto ang mga reklamo nya ngaun about the childcare set-up:

“mama , it is so hard to take nap in school, kasi walang milk dun sa bottle.”
“mama, bakit di pwede mag earrings sa school?”
“mama, nainis ako sau, kasi di mo dala ung watch ko nung sinundo mo ako”

I wish to record all our conversations, so that we could look back on these notes together and will be laughing out loud. The world is our playground, we will surely have fun! And loads of flash memory drives wouldn’t be enough to store our wonderful mem’ries!

The Heart of LIFE
By John Mayer

I hate to see you cry
Laying there in that position
There’s things you need to hear
So turn off your tears and listen

Pain throws you heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won’t all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it’s nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
But then the circle of your firends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won’t all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who’s misunderstood
But I know the heart of life is good

I know it’s good

(This song has a positive impact on me, I wish to pass this unto you.)

Alam kung di ka masyado masaya sa school mo. Madameng beses mo sinabi sa akin na di mo sila na iintindihan kasi ang salita nila ay Chinese. Sinabi mo din na miss mo na mga kalaro mo sa Pinas. Alam kong part lang to ng adjustment mo anak, makakaraos ka din. Nagtataka ka din kung bakit sa school ka naliligo ngaun, ganun kasi ang set up sa childcare. Lam ko din na nahihirapan ka sa pagkain mo dun, pero anak, kailangan mo kumain kundi gugutumin ka at mangangayayat ka. Kailangan matuto ka na ng walang nag susubo sa yo at kumain sa anumang pagkaing nakahain sa mesa. Anak, matututo ka din. Di ako mapapagod makinig sa mga news bits mo about ur school, nakakatuwa nga pakinggan ang mga observations mo. Ngtanong ka minsan bakit di mo pinapasok ung slippers mo sa school at hanggang sa shoe rack lang, ang sagot ko ay para di madumihan ang floor pero sabay banat mo din, eh, bakit mga teachers, ng slippers sila. hehehe..anak,baka slippers pangloob ng school lang ung gamit nila kaya di rin dudumi ung floor. Sinabi mo din, bakit pag naligo kayo, body lang , di kasama ang hair, naku anak, baka ganun lang ang bath sa kanila, so, ako nalang magliligo sa yo kasma ang hair sa gabi, sabay tau anak. Anak, like what I told you, pag di mo sila intindihan, tell them to speak to you clearly in English. Baka kasi nag english na yan sila sounding Chinese lang. hhehehe…And don’t worry, your teacher Pria is an Indian so, she has a better English toungue, masasanay ka din. You also asked me why your school is smaller than your school in Pinas at kailan ka magkaroon ng school na ganun. Yung sa Pateros kasi anak ay big school talaga un kasi may mga elementary and secondary dun, next time, papasok ka din sa ganun na school. You have to start in a small school first para di ka mahirapan sa adjustment mo. And when ate Jec is gone, it is going to be me and you in our daily walk to school before I go to office. Please, wake up early ha, para di ma late si mama. At pag off ni dada, kayong dalawa naman ang magka partner. Ganito ang buhay sa SG anak, we have to learn to cope and sustain this. Sabay sabay tau sa adjustment. I am going to be full time, no Ate to call unto to assist but definitely, it would be a great training ground for us. Goodluck to us in 2009 and the best is yet to come!!!!

Today, while walking along Orchard Road under the scourging heat of the sun, I craved for comfort food. I thought of stopping by at Starbucks and get myself a Frap but a signage caught my attention.

Today, this is my comfy food. The food that eases the tension caused by the humidity of Singapore weather.

Actually, Chuck’s eyes were glued to the No Smoking sign. Sigh..if I could make that as his new year’s resolution. But, you cannot impose a resolution to anyone. I quit smoking 3 years ago, and that definitely gives a 360-degree advantage to my Health.

What i like about this country and I dislike at the same time is the long walks one have to endure to finally reach the final destination. With Chy getting heavier, we had to carry her in going there as she couldn’t endure the long strolls herself. So, when we finally reach the place, she became our official photographer. Here’s her snapshots:

And more of our lakwatsa galore!Sakit jud tiil.


Gutom pod. Swallowing a few pizza slices from New York! New York!Rootbeer float is sooo yummy yummy there!



Hail, the Singapore flyer under preventive maintenance! This is the largest in Asia or world? But they say, it stucked 5 days ago. Oww..scary. Better get ready with your life insurance quotes when you embark this. Exagz ko lang un.

I am almost half full of my irritation to end up at home with streamed movies rather stay out from the flat and enjoy the long vacation. See, am not very patient on unplanned weekends and most especially on routines.

Besides the weather is almost perfect, minus the occasional drippings. Suddenly, we got a call to roam around the city- oh yeah, planning SAVED.

Chy haven’t seen the Merlion , so off, we go to Esplanade for a glimpse, also a wonderful chance to click and try the powers of Nikon 18x optical zoom. Awesome, still very clear from afar.


ow..sheep..need to doze off, Chuck and I will be heading to Orchard tomorrow morning. I need to catch up on sleep. Will post more soon…We were with Kim and Karen ( our bakaysonistas)

because of these TOP things:

I can do my Other To Do’s like:
1. Read a book. I am currently reading “For One More Day” by Mitch Albom ( writer of Tuesdays with Morrie)-this is a story about a mother’s love.

2. I can pretend I am SINGLE again and hang out with my man.
in the library

just anywhere in SG to support his new hobby



4. And become a plain housemom.
Walk home with Chy


Camwhore myself to death

It was different. Primarily because we are in Singapore but the feeling is the same. It is Christmas, there’s warmth in your heart that you want to share with the people close to you. I miss my family, yes, indeed, I am used to celebrate Christmas with them and now, I had to accept the fact that I will create my own Christmas tradition, right in my own circle here in Singapore!

Merry Christmas from the depths of my heart!

\




Thank you, God for the gift of family and friends and the gift of HOPE and PROSPERITY in the coming years!

I am not the kind who likes gadgets and adores new technology. I heavily rely on Chuck’s understanding over new stuffs. I thought I will never like those touch -screens phones until I finally used one. A very compact phone that can store all my outlook calendar entries so I could easily view my daily tasks like teleconferences and meetings with all the conference codes that I need to log in.So, while on the train, I can call in. Cool. But I don’t want to do this all the time. I want to stay focus on teleconference, so , most of the time, I reserve a small room for myself so I could express myself more clearly. I can check my mails and chat with friends using ym esp that wi-fi can be found anywhere in SG, mostly popular in McDonalds. But I still have to figure out if I can access to HP’s VPN using this, hmmm…but not too important, I don’t want to carry with me heavy loads- work stuffs.

When Chuck got this, I thought I didn’t liked it but the slim and sleek style is very tempting and jokingly told him that I might need this kind too. And as a Christmas gift to me, this precious phone that he liked so much has to be given away. (As in lab kaau ni nya nga maguol ni sya magasgasan ni) But, he can’t expect that same level of care for me as I am very careless on phones. But after a week of using this, I have proven myself wrong again. I liked it na and pramis, will take care of this!

Isang, Dyosa! lurvvvv it.

On Christmas eve, I invited him to some tech hubs nearby to browse some cam. He wanted to own a DSLR, but after series of debates on the pros and cons, this new cam won. He wanted an excellent optical focus, I wanted it light. And besides, we are not pro yet, so we have to begin with this point and shoot cam that functions similarly as DSLR. Glad NIKON has the answer.
Isang Dyoso!


I remember back in High School- mahilig kame mag exchange gift as in kaming dalawa lang without the knowledge of our friends ( pero M.U. palang kame nun) hhahhahahahha..uso pa ba M.U. ngaun? .nyahhahahha….so, ngaun, back to our tradition, exchange gift ulit kame.
Ps. Itong jowa ko, nag iinvite manood ng Australia ( we both like Hugh Jackman). Sabi nya, streaming lang over the internet ha kasi mahal mag sine eh. Eat nalang kame ng Doritos and popcorn parang sine na din. nyahahha..bukas, mag date kame sa kwarto. hahhahaha. Naku..baka kung ano ano pa ang mangyayari. bwahahhaha…

We told Chy that we have to leave her behind after church so we could have a date. Then, she asked this, ” Mama, what is a date? can I have a date too? ”
Ok, another of this tensed moment. I smiled and said, “No. Only dada and mama is allowed to that.” If she could remember this statement , she will probably call me a liar when she reaches teen years and she will be allowed to date ( Allowed kaya sya ng Dada nya? eh, mukhang strict yun)
“But I haven’t seen a date mom?” she muttered.
“Don’t worry sweetie, dada and I will take pix”, and we rushed our way outside, so there will be no more of those brainer inquiries. It is tough to be her mom.

As promised, dada and I had to do some camwhoring so we could share these snaps to Chy.
Foodie at an Indonesian Homestyle Cuisine- Tambuah Mas.

Meet the drinks. Guess which one is mine and which is Chuck’s. See, look at how opposites attract!Too bad, the large ikan ( fish) didn’t get a shot! Perhaps, we were too excited to finish it.


And spent most of our hours at Starbucks, sitting at the most comfy couch, sweeting each others nothings..( yay) walayy sense…


You will see another contradiction by the look of our Starbucks bev. Chuck always gets the Frap ( ice cold ones) and I prefer it hot. This symbolizes how we implore individualism in our marriage life. I am not the one who could easily conform for the sake of. If that would have been the rule of thumb, I would have been BORED. But, I don’t deny the fact that a woman has to submit to her husband. To someone as independent as me, that mandate helps!

Last night, I got the clue on my Christmas gift to Dada. Not an xbox 360 but a pillow he specifically described to support his neck in sleeping. I think I found one in Seahorse shop last month. I remembered Chuck’s first gift to me- it was a very soft pillow covered in satin sheet. I liked it so much until I had to give it up for its retirement. Oh yeah, it was given to me in 1999, huh, about 9 years ago.

You know what is weird, funny and clever at the same time? Airports in Singapore while made to function as an airport ( do i make sense here?) are tourist spots at the same time. There are 3 terminals here and last Saturday, we decided to visit the newest of these terminals, Terminal 3 for some kid fun! They entice shoppers to spend SGD50 on their VISA to get free tickets of the Candyhouse and free train rides. We can’t resist that. So, we browsed the airport’s shops to spend our SGD50 wisely on some SALE items perhaps but ended up with some grocery items at FairPrice. What is fun here is that, while it is a very awesome international airport, it has food courts at the basement with the same price as outside’s. Unlike in Philippines for instance wherein the shops located at airports are tagged with very superb prices. Well, not in in Singapore, there’s quite a lot of EQUALITY here. And, what more..you can actually shop tax free. …It takes one to be explorative to unlock the loads of avenue to have fun in Singapore without the need to spend a lot! We plan to hit the parks in the coming days…that one is for FREE! So, I refute myself when I say, this country is boring. Not anymore!

Changi Airport offers these:

Art work with Dada.


with Mickey and friends!


Free train ride.


Since we are not allowed to enter the transit area, Chy enjoyed the view from here.


And ow..we missed to take pic from candy house. But Chy enjoyed a free tumbler of candies there.

By the way, we have done buying all the stuffs we give out for Christmas!Look what is underneath our Christmas tree. Our simple tokens to our friends. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For the first time since I assumed this post in August, this week, so far was the buzziest and craziest. I don’t want more of this, kaka STRESS! and don’t want to talk about it.
Actually, am filled with excitement….

- Chy will start school on Monday ( whole day childcare from 7am to 730pm)
- Anniv sa Dec 21
- Christmas na! Christmas geps are all packed and friends are coming
- Food ( hmm..my christmas recipe not ready yet but Chuck will help me on that)
- Chy is starting to get a feel of Christ’s bday ( in her prayer the other night, she talked to Jesus saying this, ” Jesus, lapit na bday mo!”) haaay..heart melting.
- I don’t have to go to work from Dec 22- Jan 4. HP shutdown!
- I am losing few pounds, NO thanks to Fenphedra- don’t need you.
- And this one caught me by surprise!!!! I am included in the variable pay bonus ( which I wasn’t expecting) and here’s what my boss has to say about me:

Review Rating - Strong performance; performance met and often exceeded objectives, and consistently reflected strong performance behavior.

Thank you God!!!! This indeed is a very pleasant surprise and your fabulous gift to me on your day. I am humbled and I know now what you are trying to say to me. And would like to share it to you my dear readers;

” Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand”
Matthew 14:20-21
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

…and it is our 5th wedding anniversary!!!!!
love, love, love.
love, love, love.
love, love ,love.

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you say but you can learn how to play the game.
It’s easy

Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
No one you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It’s easy.

Excerpt from All you Need is Love- by The Beatles