Another Path..

With the way things are right now, I need a back up plan. Nothing is currently going our way and I'm beginning to ask if my plans are aligned with what the universe has in store for me. I've created an elaborate list of things to do in order to get to where I wanna be in life. I've been following that list and even added more just to get my life in track and so far, nothing is working for us. I've gone back and forth on that list, tried different tactics, adjusted my lifestyle, slaved over job-hunting and I'm still where I was a month ago. Struggling to get a move on with the life I want.

Now, I'm not the most religious person in the world. In fact, I don't have faith in organized religion. But I do believe in the higher power, and so I pray. I'm thankful that I was able to accomplish the first half of my plan and I try to face the obstacles head on. But as the days go by, I'm beginning to ask whether the universe is attempting to tell me that this is just not for me. That I want the wrong things. The delay we first encountered is now looking like a signal that we shouldn't have pushed it. Perhaps we shouldn't have forced what we wanted and that we should have quit while we were ahead.

It's too late to for all the "should have", "could have" and "would have" now. What I'm, currently trying to do is to set up a fall back plan. If we have to go back to the PH, what the hell are we going to do there?? Where the f*ck will we end up?? I have a couple of ideas but all of them include taking a chunk of my savings. Oh well, life's a bitch! I just have to suck it up and move on if we ever fail in this endeavor. I've never been one to be a gracious loser, but life is kicking my ass so hard that I might have to admit defeat at some point soon. I really don't want to, but i"m running out of options. Soon there won't be any left of "me". I'll just be a pile of ashes on the ground, being taken away by the wind..

Dangerous Territory!

Living at my parent's house feels a little tense. Its always been like this so it's not news to me. We were raised in at atmosphere were the mind set is "Every man for himself". I didn't grow up with my parents so I feel weird, it's like living in a stranger's home. My sister grew up so far from how I was raised. I was able to realize how unconventional we were back in the PH. When we got here, I was told right away that I can expect no help in finding a new job while I'm here. It's frustrating sometimes, given that my mom has a ton of untapped connections, but I'll live. That's just the way we are.

Ogot has already started his training with a local clinic and he has nicely settled into a routine with my dad. We both expected that he'd find a job first because his field of study has a man-power shortage here in SG so finding work is easier. My field, on the other hand, is swarming with unemployed professionals buying for the same opportunities. I've sent out hundreds of CVs, literally. My email is now flooded with either acknowledgements of receipt or notices of regrets as the company opted for a citizen/PR. That's the big struggle; competing with local citizens and PRs. It's less troublesome to hire them because there are no extra paperwork to accomplish.

My frustrations are eating me up and I'm exhausted from commuting all over SG. I'm trying my best not to fail. Only time will tell if I'll get over all this in one piece..

A Little More Downtime..

My dad still had a couple of days off when we got back to SG. So we decided to make use of them. Everyone was tired from the MY trip so the morning after was a lazy one. My mom had a Zumba class in the afternoon so the rest of the family opted to go out with her. My dad and Ogot grabbed a drink while my sister and I walked around the mall and did a bit of shopping. Dinner was the next agenda then off to drinks with my mom's friends. We accepted the invitation that morning and agreed since we haven't seen the "aunts" for some time now.

There was a live band and karaoke in the pub and everyone had a turn on the mike. Drinks were pouring from every direction and my mom and her friends drank a little too much. The good thing about their gang is they know when to stop. So we where home-bound around 3AM.

It wasn't the best idea to stay out late the night before as we still had plans to go to Sentosa for the Skyline, Luge and MegaZip. It was hard to get out of bed but the plan was made and so it should be accomplished. So we dragged our asses to Sentosa and walked around. Our energies shot up after the first Luge ride and from there everything was a piece of cake. Even managed to record the Inter-island MegaZip ride with my video camera in hand whilst screaming down the line.

The following day was a bit painful. It was back to job-hunting, hair pulling out of frustration and exhaustion. The good news was, Ogot got a job, he's still under training but at least I know he'd be settled soon. Now the pressure in on me to find work and be able to stay here, otherwise I'd be forced to go back to PH and start from below zero..

A Week in MY .. ^_^

Our 30-day social visit pass was about to expire so we had to exit to MY. We spent a week in MY which is why I was MIA from my blog again.

The first day was a nightmare. We didn't want to spend a lot since we were supposed to stay there for just four days and since my mom knew someone who owned a backpacker's hotel, we opted to stay there. So we packed our bags and headed to MY, the hotel was horrible. Cockroaches in the kitchen and bathroom plus over-flowing trash in the cans. The room was small and there was nothing to do. The building alone was old, dingy and in the middle of nowhere. There are no public transport near so you'd have to call a cab if you wanna go anywhere. The forest was behind us and the lighting is fit for horror movies. We half-expected that some guy with a hatchet will show up and start hacking at our limbs and then dump our bodies in the forest, never to be seen again. The place was dirty and it was totally creepy.

I called my mom as soon as our private room door closed and told her all about it. She asked that we stay there for one night and look for someplace else the next day. So we locked ourselves in the room and tried to deal.

My phone suddenly rang around midnight. It was my parents. Mother told dad about our situation and he started insisting to cross the border to get us settled in a different hotel. After about an hour of talking it out, my dad calmed down. We were able to convince him to sleep it off and just go to MY in the morning.

Morning came, we packed our bags and headed out. The place was so far from civilization that it took the cab almost an hour to get to it after we placed the call. I felt relieved when I saw my parents, we had breakfast then to the hotel that my dad knew. The place was a vast improvement from the first hotel. It was right in front of the mall and accessible to a variety of restaurants and spa's. Once we got our things in order, my parents we're off. Mom asked if we can stay at MY a little longer so that they can join us at the end of the week to go to Legoland. We agreed to the suggestion as it sounded like a pretty good deal.

We hit the bed once my parents were out. We barely got any sleep the previous night so we were exhausted and sleep was inevitable given our state. Seafood barbecue dinner was that night's menu, we got up, went down stairs, bought some take-out, ate and resumed sleep.

The following days were spent doing random things. Watched "OZ" in 3D, had body scrubs at the spa, went shopping for additional clothes since we got extended and didn't bring enough. The highlight of the trip was the food. We went to different restaurants and proceeded in trying and eating a ton of food. It was a quiet week, it felt nice.

My parents came it towards the end of the week. The remaining two days became eventful. Dinner with my honorary aunt and uncle, some drinks and Legoland the next day. There was an interview with immigration and a ton of waiting. I was sore by the time we got back to SG..

Lost in Translation

So here's the problem with living in a foreign country; the language barrier is unbelievably broad. Especially here in SG, where every is of a different race and speaking a different dialect.

We went out for dim sum yesterday as my dad knows it's my fave. We let him order everything because otherwise we would get it all wrong. My dad amazingly speaks five of the Chinese languages; non of which I'm remotely familiar with, plus two more dialects (English and a faint knowledge of Tagalog). I've only mastered two; English and Tagalog. And despite English being the universal language, not everyone knows it. Which is why even the simplest of task can be turn nerve racking.

People misunderstanding you can led to a ton of inconvenience, the most recent one I encountered was having to eat cheese with my coffee even though I asked for cream. I hate when people send back food they ordered so I sat there and ate my cheese while filling silly and vowing to learn even just a little Chinese to avoid another catastrophe.

Dad's mom came to visit and since she only speaks Chinese, I can only communicate with her using simple English and a truck load of hand gestures. So when we had dinner with her and one of dad's brother, we mostly sat at the table and like spectators in a tennis match, watched them talk. I would even know if they were talking about us or what.

I still have no complaints regarding our move. I find all this just a minor hurdle in our hopes of relocating. I'm thinking of just enrolling for a language class when my job-hunting days are settled. Who knows, maybe I can grow and cultivate a fascination with a variety dialects. But for now, a little nose bleed won't hurt. I'll just leave the ordering to my dad..