MY FIRST DAY IN SINGAPORE: MIXED EMOTIONS LIKE THE NOODLES I HAD.

when i boarded the plane, i knew there was no turning back. that morning before i was accompanied to the airport by my two bothers-in-law, i was wary. grace had been crying almost the whole night, and we cuddled in bed more than the usual times. i was more than sad when i left the house - i guess i was devastated. i knew that it would be the last time i'd ever see my kid again, sleeping soundly on the bed, with her gymnastic routines, and the last that i would have the chance to kiss my wife goodnight, and cuddle until i fall asleep.

the ride was long and painful. the wind messed up my hair and that added to the remorse. i wanted to jump out of the car, and run back to lipa. but it was too late. before i knew it, we were on the SCTX. in an hour or so, i was already in front of gate 3 of NAIA terminal 3. my brothers-in-law scurried off in the car; i took a deep breath and made my way into the terminal. at gate e16, i had to wait for an hour before the check-in counters opened. during that time, i met a woman and her son who was an HRM graduate from fatima who was in the same flight as i was. her mother asked me to take care of her son during the flight. it turned out he was seated far from me.

i checked in the bags at around 4am, then made my way to the immigrations. the immigration officer, a burly man in a black coat, asked for my passport and ticket. i told him i was visiting mg brother. he asked for an affidavit of support signed by the philippine consulate of singapore. i told him no one told me i need that. after a few more questions and some bantering, my passport got stamped and i went inside gate 115. i was forewarned that the officers in the budget terminal were fierce.

on board, i felt a sudden chill come over me as i watch the petron gas tank fill up the airplane's fuel tank. i was on flight 5J 801 bound for singapore at 6.25am. the journey was long and achy (since i could not recline my seat), and i found it difficult to pee in the available toilet since the ceiling was too low). i fell asleep praying the rosary, but i managed to finish it before i touched down on changi. at 10am, i was getting off the plane on gate 4 of the budget terminal. it was the longest walkway ever.

at the immigrations booth, i queued behind a seasoned female traveler who had been in SG before. after some chitchat with the immigration officer, it was my turn. i gave him my immigration card, passport and ticket. he raised the passport beside my face, smirked then stamped my passport with a 30day visit pass. he said nothing but welcome when i said thank you. before i went outside the airport, i bought an SG simcard for S$18, and had a couple of pesos changed for SG dollars. i took the cab to changi road, where my brother lived.

the cab driver, a 60-something customs retiree whose sister-in-law was a filipina from bicol and had friends in sariaya, was very conversational. he had been a driver for 11 years, and once fell prey to the rantings of philippine customs officers. we had some chitchat about sepak takraw, and how filipinos did not like the game, and how filipinos in SG took over basketball courts, and manny pacquiao was now a congressman. i was in changi in a matter of minutes. my ab fare was S$13.80, so i gave the man S$14. he gave me change. 20c. i was amazed by the honesty.

the house was a quaint suburban chinese house. it was owned by an old chinese couple, who spoke little english. i was led by the maid upstairs and was shown the room my brother rented. the room is spacious enough to have at least 3 people: two on a decker, and one single bed. after i put down my stuff, i decided to take a walk. besides, my brother was nowhere to be found (he had work), and so i didn't want to just stay and linger around. a few SMS' came, and i was invited for dinner by grace's cousin, mythel and her husband onil.

meanwhile, it was 5pm and my brother arrived home. i took the liberty of not wandering off too much, although i did get to go online, find a local mall, and several stops and a hawker station at eunos. oh, and there was this local dining spot where indians and malays hung out to eat. you would not imagine the variety of curry, coriander, oregano and every other known spice, which i inhaled. derek told me to stay away from the place, since the smell stuck to the skin. i might come back there again soon.

derek and i rode the eunos mrt to joon koon, since i already bought an EZ line for myself. i was getting off at city hall, which was 6 stations away on the NE track. my brother was getting off at clementi which was 10 stations away. i got off at city hall, 3hours earlier than the agreed time for dinner, which was 9pm. so i waited it out in the mall. at city hall, there were two malls already: the raffles city shopping center (which looked like the block in north edsa only more posh) and the citylink mall, which reminded me of trinoma, only cleaner. needless to say, i allowed myself to get lost in the malls. i got as far as the doors to the theaters of the esplnade, but i stopped myself since i didn't want to wander off too far.

two hours to go and i leaned by the wall that stood in front of starbucks, and looked at the people scurrying home, carrying bags of food, looking all posh and dashing in their limited edition apparel and their iphone4s. i looked at my two phones - a slide-up and an old bar. i wondered if i'd ever find work. gilbert was right; i was rushing it. man, it was my first day in singapore. i should've taken the time to at least appreciate the view.. but i was too busy crying, while i SMSed grace that i was growing jealous of the people who were on their way home, 'cause i wasn't.

at around 7.30pm, onil arrived. mythel couldn't get out of the office until 9pm, so were stuck together. he told me it took him 10months before he found a job, since they arrived april, three years ago, after the chinese new year. apparently, a lot of singaporeans resign after they get their bonuses during the lunar new year, and so he told me to expect a bulk of possible jobs the week after this. my hopes went up.

by 9pm, mythel came, and the couple decided to take me out for dinner by the marina. at the makansutra gluttons bay, like the banchetta in ortigas and the night market in lipa, we ate real good chicken wings, pancit, liempo (courtesy of mang kiko's chicken), a heap of yang chao rice and some iced tea. our background? the new marina buildng, the infamous merlion, the durian building and the rest of singapore's main streets that were filled with lights and sounds because of the coming chinese new year.

we talked and we laughed and the couple shared their 3-year romance with singapore. they were under a government program, so they were grated one year of stay in the island country. both of them found work, and now vow that so would i. after dinner, the couple took me to the esplanade, showed me some art, walked through the al fresco bars, then went to the merlion, whose spout ran out of water at around 11pm. mythel would not stop telling me that i would eventually find work, and that all i needed to do was to try and try harder. onil, on the other hand said i had to toughen up and believe that good things happened to good people in singapore. the couple was gracious enough to drive me home, up to the gate of the house i am now staying at.

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and so now, i look foward to the coming chinese new year. hopefully, people would start calling me next week. onil says SG is a frank city. if she didn't like, she would tell it to my face. that's why, he said, she wouldn't be wasting my time as i look for work in her busy streets and by-ways.

i still feel a little wheezy. this afternoon, after lunch at 1pm (i ate seven big squidballs - no rice, 'cause it wasn't available anymore at the ststion), i walked all the way to Lor Sarina(?), and bought a loaf of bread, two bottles of water, and some detergent. it's gonna be a long february. but i guess i'll be here for the ride.

still here. hey.