DAY TWO & THREE OF THE GREAT SINGAPORE DREAM: A lot of walking and eating

DAY TWO: A LOT OF LOLLY-GAGGING FUN
it was my second day in singapore, and i woke up at around 8.30, surprised to see that it felt like the sun just rose. i didn't give it too much mind. i was going out later the day for dinner with joei, a former dj i trained way back in 2003. she was now working at the changi airport, as the no.1 customer support ground stewardess. note: i'm so proud of her ;) anywho, i went around the city again, that was around 2pm. i didn't take anything for breakfast and lunch. was still full from the night-out with grace's cousins.

this time walking to geylang serai, i passed by the varied merchandise shops until i reached tampines, and eventually ending up buying a loaf of bread, a bar of detergent and some water at the nearby 711 at Lor 105. i got home, and started eating lunch: 2 pieces of loaf bread. i didn't have plans of eating, plus joei was going to treat me out for dinner.

at 6pm, joei and i met at aljuneid station. she still had bandages on her right leg (she accidentally poured hot cooking oil on herself while she was making dinner for her housemate, who happens to own a posh condominium whose monthly rent is around S$7000. crazy right? the housemate is british.). she was still the quirky joanne (joei was the airname i gave her. she was part of the pioneer batch of djs i trained), and i was happy she stayed the same ol'd joei.

we took the mrt going to raffles, got off, then took the mrt to orchard. and voila! i was right smack in the middle of singapore's most posh area; it was high-end stores from left to right. located alongside each oter was LV, dior, dolce & gabbana, cartier, ion, armani... and everything else. i was blown away. we scurried through the streets, went up the mall rushing to the bank because she had to send money to someone, incidentally bumped into an old flame, then finally went to the korean resto only to find that it closed early since it was chinese new year's eve. so we settled for some big mac, chicken wings and fries at mcdonalds. it was fabulous.

joei and i talked for around an hour and a half at macdonald's then found the audacity to continue chatting at starbucks... it was wednesday, and it was ladies night in singapore (all ladies get into clubs and get drinks for free; guys have to pay S$30/bar). well, joei wanted to go out, but her friend who hd all the passes for guys didn't SMS back so we ended up going home... err, staying at the mrt station for about an hour, chatting. although not until joei bout me new shoes as her welcome gift for me in singapore. how cool is that!? you have to understand, joei was my first child in the radio. her and alex (jovelle) were the closest to me in the pioneer batch.

anywho, after great talk and great finds, we bade goodbye and went on our way.

DAY THREE: A LOT OF WALKING & MUSIC BY THE BAY
it is day three of my stay in singapore. i woke up at around 6.45am and found that the sun was still off LOL aparently, the sun shines its big ol' face here at around 8am, which explains why people start working at around 10am.

i took a bath and left the house to grab some breakfast. my brother was still fast asleep so i didn't bother him. i started walking, and walking, and walking. and before i knew it, i was at paya lebar. which was a station away from eunos. it was so cool to sit on one of the benches at a nearby park, watching some indian guys throwing fishing lines unto the river ducts that spanned that part of the city, and feeling the cool clean breeze kiss your cheeks, regardless of the fact that the park was right beside a busy street with trucks, buses and cars. yes, no pollution. i was blown away. literally LOL

i had lotong for breakfast. it was like puto (rice cake) with curry sauce (like the consistency of the sauce of curry chicken that we have back home), some curried coconut shavings, papaya, fish paste (alamang; i miss my mother-in-law's alamang) and tokwa. after a few bites, i couldn't stand the curry anymore, but i had to finish eating it 'cause it was S$2.50. good thing i had one sardines and one potato empanada with me for lunch. i was saved.

on my way back home i bought some other things: a razor, an adapter for my handphone charger, water and facial foam wash. i got back at around 11am, ate my empanada and set off to do the laundry. yup you read that right. do the laundry.

after a heap of ANTM cycle 15 (my brother was watching over youtube.com), i gathered whatever dirty whites i had to wash: 3sets of undies, 2 shirts, 2 sandos, and 1 pair of socks. i went downstairs to the laundry area and started doing the laundry by hand (i bought a detergent bar, remember?). you would not imagine ho surprised the maid was (who is names sitti, and she is from malaysia), seeing me sitting on the floor, scrubbing my dirty clothes. it was a riot LOL she had to close her mouth because she could not believe a burly man like me could sit down and scrub my clothes. i enjoyed every minute of it.

after doing the laundry, i went upstairs and my brother was already prepping for work. he was on the night shift because it was new year. no chinese would come to work. but filipinos would, so he was on overtime in another branch of the posh resto he worked for. at around 4pm, after watching more ANTM and checking websites for job placements, i decided to go out for dinner. i bathed, put on a pair of pants and a shirt, then scurried to the eunos mrt.

my feet took me to city hall, where i first cried, in singapore. i went to the esplanade, and tried grabbing something for dinner. apparently, because it was chinese new year, almost everyone was also there. it was so stuffed with people. good thing ventilation was great, and people were gracious enough to queue. after much thought (of the budget), i decided to go for some dessert for dinner. and so i bought chendol, a coconut-jam (that's how the condiment on top tasted) inspired halo-halo. i ate then decided to leave, but then i noticed that there was an upcoming 7.30pm show. it was just 7.20, so i didn't mind waiting for another 10mins. and yes, the sun was almost still up.

after a few good songs, the band started to sing in chinese, which was kinda my cue to go. when i got home tonight, the landlord's clan was here. imagine how embarrasing it was going through the living room, with all of them, staring at me LOL

tomorrow is my brother's day off, and he plans to go out with friends. i, on the other hand, plan to go back to the esplanade (after i post a few more CVs out there), and watch the live free shows, as part of the chinese art festival that would run until 13 february. how cool is that!? i get to watch movies, concerts, theatre performances, quartets etc for free. thank you Lord for the art revolution in singapore..

before i got to the house, i called my wife. it started out quirky, but then she burst into tears again.. and then i came back to earth. realizing why i was here for. i wasn't here for the marina, nor the merlion or the fullerton hotel or the esplanade and its quirky band that reminded me of the days i sang in one, nor of the upcoming chinese art festival.

i was here because of her. of ineng. because i need to find work and make sure they get a better life. and so i started to blog tonight.

still here. hey.