The weekend that was

Just had a great long weekend.

On Saturday, I had a little excursion alone to Batam, Indonesia (click to see map), where my college buddy Jean was waiting to take some Manila visitors of hers and moi to a spa for some pampering.

The day turned out to be just perfect! Despite the 6am start to my day, I was happy and content to be watching the people who were up early like me riding the MRT train to the Harbourfront station. Once there, it was only a few minutes before I was comfortably ensconced in my ferry seat, music blaring into my ear from my mp3 player.

After a short uneventful hour on the seas spent mostly dozing, I was in Batam mid-morning. Jean was already waiting at the ferry terminal. After a quick stop at her hotel to grab a bit of breakfast and to fetch her visitors, we were soon on our way to our massage appointment.

My 2-hour turn at the massage table being kneaded, scrubbed and polished and then soaked in something milky and honey-smelling was just heavenly. I could have stayed there to sleep the whole day if they let me but too bad that we all had to rush soon after to the ferry terminal again to catch the 2.45pm trip to Singapore. Jean's visitors still had to do Sentosa and Night Safari (the usual kamikaze skeds of rushed visitors) so we couldn't linger.

Suffice it to say that I slept like a log that night.

Sunday was another slow day. The hubby and I woke up late, pottered around the house, watched TV, read the Sunday papers and ate lunch at around 3pm. We both had Monday off to celebrate his birthday, and so we didn't feel hurried to accomplish some things-to-do then. At 6pm, I went to mass at the Cathedral.


The big news of the day was I got me a new phone! A Nokia 6880. And it cost me all of S$98 (Php3,280)! It's cheap cos I used a $100 voucher from M1 and because they signed me up to a 2-yr contract again. Upgrading was the farthest thing from my mind really, but what helped cinch the deal was the hubby's insistence that we were losing money by letting the resale values of our phones drop rapidly without a counter plan from us.

(As of last weekend, the resale value of a black Motorola RAZR v3 here was S$100, down $50 from only a weekend ago. My Nokia 6220 was a paltry $50. boohoo.)

And so, moi, who is soooo not into phones, have a new 3G phone. I'm still fiddling with it, alternately loving it and wanting my old 6220 back. The hubby loves it for a car-racing game and for the camera (2-mega pixel). Whatever it is, at least this phone is again forcing some sleeping cells in my left brain to wake up and figure out this new gadget. And God knows I need these mental teasers!

Monday was hubby's birthday! We were both off like I mentioned earlier, so it was a happy day from the start. But since everyone else was working and we have no relatives here, well, it was just us meandering in Orchard until dinner, when good friends joined me in 'surprising' hubby.

As it turned out, I was the one surprised cos the hubby later said he knew all along that something was up, that I was a dead giveaway in my actions and constant answering of a suddenly always-ringing phone. Mwehehe. I think I need coaching from some of the best party-organisers around -- my Kalayaan friends and Shanana (when she's in the mood). :-)

Best news of the day: hubby got his first floral bouquet ever fr J and E! Now that surprised him!

Aircon tales

It was time to have the aircon units in our place checked, so the men from the usual aircon servicing company I hire were here yesterday morning. Ordinarily, I would have left the 2 youngish Chinese-speaking workers to their tasks uninterrupted (usually takes an hour to clean the covers and water trays and vacuum the drainage pipes and check the gas of 2 window-type and 2 split-type ACs). Yesterday, however, I had to engage the more senior-ranked-looking of the two in conversation to explain to him, in very plain, and sometimes almost broken English (so we could understand each other), that the aircon in our computer-cum- ironing cubbyhole didn't respond anymore to the remote control despite the latter having new batteries.

Me (pointing to the aircon with remote in hand): That one, not working. See? (While aiming and pressing remote. Deadma ang aircon, no reaction.) New batteries here. (While pointing to remote.) This remote ok with other aircon. (Walks to living room and demonstrates. Aircon turns on with one click.) So how?

Technician: Ah. Signal receiver. Not working. $120 only.

Gastos na naman!!!

Ok, it's not so much the cost of replacing broken-down things in this rental condo that gets to me. It's more the idea of having to call the not-so-nice real-estate agent of the absentee owner of this condo that makes my heart drop. You see, our contract for this place spells out that any repair over S$100 that has to be carried out will be borne by the owner of the condo. A repair costing less is on my account. Ergo, dahil $120 ang new signal receiver, I must call the not-so-nice agent to tell her that hey, the owner better pay for this.

I don't like this agent very much because she is unrealiable, mostly unhelpful, and generally don't care much about this condo. (If only the absentee owner knew how she has left the bathroom ceiling slowly and surely warping despite my repeated entreaties to her to get someone to poke their head into the ceiling for a possible water pipe leakage check.)

She's the type who doesn't call back when she says she will, who immediately puts me on the defensive when I call about something needing attention in the house, as if I have nothing better to do than sabotage the appliances around here. She dilly-dally's about getting me a plumber when water is already flooding the kitchen and seemingly wants the perfect alignment of the stars with Jupiter and Neptune before she will call an electrician to check why our ref short-circuits and leaves our place without electricity.

Anyway, so I had to call this lady, who I shall call Lynette. When she answered, I explained to her the problem.

Lynette (the she-devil): Why $120? It was only $80 the last time the other aircon also had this problem.

Me: Of course it wasn't $80 or I wouldn't have bothered calling you that first instance, right? If it was just $80, I would have had to pay it myself hence there would have been no reason to call you.

Lynette: Ok then. Pay $100 and then we will pay the $20, to make a total $120.

Me: Don't be absurd! You pretty well know that is not how it works! The contract states that anything that has to be fixed that costs over $100 will be paid by the owner. Don't try to pull a fast one on me cos I am not falling for it! And tell the owner that both our responsibilities re the unit were spelled out in the contract and his include paying for anything needing fixing or replacing that exceeds $100. He signed that contract first too. And ask him if he has heard of the concept of maintenance costs when owning a house? His unit is 8 years old and he can only expect things to be starting to break down around here.

After a few more to-ing and fro-ing, she finally relented and gave her go-ahead. (Aba, dapat lang!)

It's nice to have remote-controlled aircon units again but these battles of will with Lynette must stop soon. I don't like the idea of moving again after 4 years in this house, but I think the she-devil leaves me with no choice. I just can't stand her any longer! Anyway, I've been dreaming of a condo with an ocean view. Might be time to look into the possibility of that.

Hear, hear, the taxman's here

When I saw the unmistakable envelope from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore a few days ago on the dining table, I immediately set out to open it. You see, I was expecting a bit of reduction in my income tax assessment for last year given that the government had lowered the top personal income tax rate in early 2005 to 21% from 22%. Also, 2005 was the first full year that I was going to be assessed as a permanent resident (PR) here, so I was naturally curious if the change in status would have an effect on my tax rate.

Just as an aside, the taxman here doesn't withhold tax monthly from employees the way the BIR does in the Philippines. So for the whole of 2005, I received my pay sans tax.

Then came mid-April and everyone who earned S$22,000 and above from Jan-Dec 2005 had to file their returns with the IRAS. A few months hence (a little over a month in my case) and they come back to you with their assessment which states how much you owe the government.

A taxpayer then has the option of paying the owed amount in full or in 11-12 monthly installments by direct debit from a taxpayer's specified bank account. And so goes the cycle.

And so I was in a hurry to open the envelope in my hands. And boy, did the taxman deliver good news! My tax due for income earned in 2005 has been almost halved -- from the usual 4.8-5.5% rate to just 2.7%!

(I can't help but remember at this point how the BIR used to take almost 30% of my measly income when I was working in Manila. What country! (Translation: Ano ba yan?)

A low personal income tax. Just one of the appeals of Singapore to me.

For you Kat!

Hey Kat,

Check out this video I found. Now I miss our karaoke sessions back home. Remember the usual last song in our final set with Anna? Wilson Philips! Those were the days.

Hope you are having a blast over there. Don't worry too much, remember that when God closes a door, He opens another. Have faith, my friend.

Dead over $2,000 loan

Be warned. This may be a disturbing post to some. Words like chopped up, human limbs are afoot.

In The Straits Times on Friday was the news that Filipina maid Guen Aguilar -- she accused of killing and chopping-up her fellow maid and good friend Jane La Puebla on Sept 7, 2005 -- had pleaded guilty to and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

And for the first time on Friday, those of us who wondered what could have transpired on that fateful day finally got to read the details of the case.

To wit: The two domestic helpers were good friends. On Sept 7, Jane went to Guen's employers house to prepare lunch with her friend. They were chatting while working and everything was fine until Guen brought up the matter of the S$2,000 (Php66,360) loan she had extended to Jane, S$1,000 of which was loaned from a local loan shark.

(For perspective, a Filipino maid typically earns S$350 a month here in Singapore. In today's exchange rate, that is about Php11,600.)

Guen, 30, was said to have suggested that Jane, 27, sell her video and digital cameras to partly repay the debt, which made Jane agitated and she started raising her voice, according to the paper. Guen then tried to placate her while still attempting to settle the matter. But when the suggestion of selling the cameras was again mentioned, the two started to really fight.

They hit, scratched, pulled each other's hair, lunged for the other's throat. Guen bit Jane. The struggle went from the laundry area to Guen's bedroom where somehow Jane's blood got spattered on the walls, floor and mattress. And when Guen got the chance, she grabbed a cushion from her bed and smothered her friend.

After a few seconds, the report said, Guen lifted the cushion and she started sobbing because she thought she had killed Jane. But then Jane stirred so Guen strangled the younger woman until she finally stopped breathing.

For 2 days, Guen kept the body in her employers' house, inside a travelling bag in her room. On the third day and after her employers had left for the office, Guen then went to Mustafa Centre in Little India where she bought a cleaver, an axe, gloves, wallpaper, detergent, pillowcases, a bedsheet and some garbage bags.

Back in the flat, she then started the horrific task of dismembering the body. She placed the head and each of the limbs in separate plastic bags. These were then stuffed into a bag together with some newspapers.

The torso she wrapped in newspapers and a garbage bag which she also then stuffed into another bag.

That done, she then cleaned up the blood traces with the detergent, put up the wallpaper over the spots on the wall that remained stained even after her clean-up and changed the bloodied sheets and pillowcases.

By midday, she took the bag with the head and limbs by cab to Orchard MRT Station, where she dumped it near a mural wall.

She went home, took the second bag with the torso and this time went to MacRitchie Reservoir in another cab. When she got there, the cabbie was said to have even offered to help her carry her bag, an offer she refused. Alone later, she took the garbage bag out of the travelling bag and dumped it along a footpath.

She was back at her employers' condo by almost 3pm, her last act to conceal the crime being to dispose of the second travelling bag at the lobby of the building's basement carpark.

And how was Guen immediately tracked by the police? Inside the garbage bag containing the torso were newspapers, one of which was an International Herald Tribune page bearing the name and delivery address of Guen's employers.

For manslaughter, Guen faces either life imprisonment or up to 10 years in jail. She initially faced a murder charge but this was reduced to manslaughter early in the year due to her mental condition at the time of the killing.

Sentencing will be on May 29.

Blog roll, pls

Despite reading in the newspapers and hearing about the rising popularity of blogging for years, I never really went around looking up how a blog would look like and read until late last year.

It happened innocently enough. During dinner at the office one day, my colleague excitedly told those of us working the night shift with her that she had stumbled upon this blog written by a Malaysian young adult who detailed his almost daily drug use and experimentation.

Of course, our interests were peaked, mine especially (but not because I secretly long to be a drug addict, duh. I'm too vain to sport the drugged out, crazed, lost look). I was fascinated because while most drug abusers will go to great lengths to hide their problems from society, here was this rich, young man going against the code of druggies and detailing his downward spiral for all to read and pass judgement on. Maybe he was longing to be found out?

Anyway, because of the young man's blog, we had a great discussion going on round the table that night, which ended with the young interns trying to one-up each other on who has read the most bizarre blog.

Of course, the next time I was online and surfing, blogging and bloggers were on my mind. I googled blogs, Pinoy blogs, Filipino blogs, just to know what is already out there. And know what? There is a LOT out there. Blogs written by countrymen from all over the world, sharing their stories, thoughts, observations, travels, jokes, recipes and more. Some are good, some way better than others. Some are funny, irreverent while some are deep and insightful.

In the few months since I started blog reading, I've come to be a regular 'lurker' in about 6-8 blogs -- I say lurker because I always read their entries, but I don't make my presence known by writing comments and such. Until I started my own experiment of a blog two months ago, of course.

If you notice, on the right hand column of this blog is a spot for links to blogs that I often read. For two months until last night, I left it unedited, showing Bloggers' default link to Google News. Then last night, I thought, why don't I finally email the bloggers whose entries I read almost daily to tell them how much I enjoy reading their blogs? While at it, maybe I could get their ok too for me to link to them from my site, right?

So that I did and woohoo, the links now featured on the 'Blogs I Read' spot are the first of the good people I wrote to last night who responded immediately with their okidoki. (Much appreciated, guys!) If you want to read something more worthy after my drivel, check out those links (and their links in turn) and get to read the many stories of the unfolding lives of the people who are online.

Ah, blogging. It's been fun so far learning the ropes. I think I've awakened one or two dormant areas in both my right and left halves of the brain while trying to grapple with HTML, Photoshop and pointing my camera in the right direction. But alltogether, its been good.

Home till the cows come home

I received an email from a long-lost friend last weekend and one of the things she asked about my life now in the little island that is Singapore was what my home looked like. It was the first time for anyone to ask me this question and since I'm not one to quash curiosity about my domecile after having been asked nicely enough, I dutifully took photos of the flat. (Click each photo for a bigger view.)

And now it's your turn. To the faithful millions who read this blog (that's right, you and you. Haha!), won't you please take photos of your living room and kitchen too and send the pics to me? I will put it up here just for fun, our kind of virtual home visits, eh?

Do it! Just do it!

Phrase of the day: Till the cows come home = for a long but indefinite time. (from The Phrase Finder)

Rain and Essec

The weather here in Singapore has been fantastic of late due to intermittent rain. And so we've been spared (for now) the really humid heat that is usual in these here parts at this time of the year.

I love this kind of weather -- cool, a bit wet, the sun hidden behind clouds. It's perfect for just staying in, curling up with a book or magazine or sprawling self across from the telly.

Wish it could be like this for a few more weeks. I certainly am hoping we won't have to contend with 36 deg C temperatures like we did last year.

-----------

I'm so excited to know that Essec, a prestigious French business school established in 1907, has finally opened its Asian centre in Singapore.

The school's MBA course is a short 6 months while their executive programmes are typically 4 weeks. Six months for an MBA! (Halleluiah! Someone finally got it. That busy rat racers simply can't afford to be away from the cubicle farm for too long, damnit.)

I can't wait to see their curriculum. And of course, their fees.

According to the Straits Times Interactive, the centre here will also develop research in areas including luxury brands, biotechnology, innovation in services, urban management and risk management. (Research in luxury brands? Aba, winner!)

When INSEAD opened their Singapore campus last year, I also checked out their curriculum for the executive MBA course. The 14-month course would have been perfect for me if only I had 85,000 euros to pay for it. :(

Paging Bill Gates or Mr Mittal of Mittal Steel. Can you folks please, please, please sponsor my EMBA?

I'm craving, I'm missing

I want!

1. Lanzones (called duku here)

2. Banana cue, banana cue, banana cue

3. Yellow, sweet mangoes (plentiful in Mla at this time)

4. Chiko (chiku here)

5. Pork barbeque fr Market! Market!

6. Sisig

7. Andok's manok

8. Grilled tilapia, daing na bangus

9. Zesto dalandan drink

10. Chicken joy


I miss:

1. Waji, Juancho and Jela (our second generation)

2. my Dad and Mom, my bro and Net; my sis and Noli

3. hanging out with my UP friends, SMC ka-pamilya, friends from the media, high school barkada

4. 500-peso massages

5. 100-peso manicures and pedicures

6. driving

7. the stress that came with my wedding preps (strange but true)

8. Tagaytay

9. Boracay!!

10. David's Salon (Edmund at Mega)

The song in my head

Have you ever woken up in the morning with a song in your head that keeps playing for the morning or the day, or worse, for days on end?

I don't know why but for the past 2 weeks, I've woken up with Eraserheads' tunes playing in my head.

I've pondered about what could have possibly brought this on given that I haven't heard about the group or their songs in gazillion years. (The last news I heard about them was that Ely had left the band and the group was being fronted by a woman na.) I couldn't have 'picked up' the song unconciously from a radio somewhere rin kasi they're not played here naman.

And so it was that for 2 weeks, I was humming Pare Ko, Toyang and Huling El Bimbo to myself while making a mental note to ask friends here if they had visitors arriving soon who could possibly buy me some E-heads CDs in Manila.

Then on Monday, I had to go to Lucky P -- the weary-looking Orchard Road mall that houses many Filipino stores, restaurants and remittance agencies -- and remembered one store there selling VCDs of Pinoy movies. I went to the store on the off chance that they would have music CDs as well and what do you know?! They do sell the E-heads' 2-CD Anthology! Happiness on earth for $29.90!!!

After listening to this for 2 days now, I think I have a new E-heads favourite song -- Minsan. The lyrics are a beautiful ode to friendship that I can really relate to.

Audio:eraserheads - minsan.mp3
by acegaddi

Eraserheads - Minsan Lyrics

minsan sa may kalayaan tayo'y nagkatagpuan
may mga sariling gimik at kaya-kanyang hangad sa buhay
sa ilalim ng iisang bubong
mga sekretong ibinubulong
kahit na anong mangyari
kahit na saan ka man patungo

chorus
ngunit ngayon kay bilis maglaho ng kahapon
sana'y huwag kalimutan ang ating mga pinagsamahan
at kung sakaling gipitin ay laging iisipin
na minsan tayo ay naging
tunay na magkaibigan

minsan ay parang wala nang bukas sa buhay natin
inuman sa magdamag na para bang tayo'y mauubusan
sa ilalim ng bilog na buwan
mga tiyan nati'y walang laman
ngunit kahit na walang pera
ang bawat gabi'y anong saya

repeat chorus

minsan ay hindi ko na alam ang nangyayari
kahit na anong gawin
lahat ng bagay ay merong hangganan
dahil ngayon tayo ay nilimot ng kahapon
di na mapipilitang buhayin ang ating pinagsamahan
ngunit kung sakaling mapadaan
baka ikaw ay aking tawagan
dahil minsan tayo ay naging
tunay na magkaibigan

Wax job

I went for leg waxing on Friday morning, my first time to have a pro do it for me after a spot of DIY-ing at home some weeks ago. I figured a pro job's cost of S$30 (Php981) was well-worth the money, inasmuch as it took me an entire evening of stop-and-go labour when I did it myself kasi I had to accommodate intervals of rest from pain.

Anyway, little did I know that I was soon to be not only de-haired in Fave Nails -- I was also de-skinned (meaning burned!!!).

The session started ok enough: the pain was bearable, the lady worked briskly with an electric wax applicator but i noticed soon after that she would stop every so often to go stir the pot of hot wax plugged to an electric container located maybe 5 steps away from us. I was just observing her but didn't say anything until I saw her plunge a popsicle stick-kind of applicator into the hot wax and pulled a thick glob which she then started to take to me.

Me: Wait. What's that?

De-Fuzzing lady: I wan to try like this. To see if faster lah.

Me: Wait. Won't it be so hot?

De-Fuzzing lady: No lah. Same as that other wan.

Then she smeared the glob on my shin.

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAW! Shit, that's very hot. (while shaking legs)

De-Fuzzing lady: Hot ah?

WTF??!!! Is she psycho, or what?

When she peeled the wax off, the skin was smarting and was tender. When I walked out of that place an hour later, an angry red welt was already visible and it was really smarting so my next stop was Guardian's at Far East Square to get BurnAid and some gauze.

Here is the welt after 3 days. (It looks gross but that's how burns look. The burnt skin is now a bit flaky and will probably peel away soon. I just hope I wont get a scar for my vanity.)

Easy credit

It seems like the banks here in Singapore are going all out to sign-up new users of their credit cards. Every other week yata, I get calls from reps of different banks offering me platinum cards, or a cash line or balance transfer.

I don't know where they get my number but the calls are annoying when directed at my office number, like yesterday when StanChart called offering me a cash line and a credit card. I curtly turned down the offer, of course.

As it is, I already have 7 cards from 4 different banks and it is a pain trying to remember what card to pay when. Two cards are office-linked so I can't cut those. Three give me good deals when dining out and entertaining so I can't cut those too. And the last two are keepers in that they have the best reward programmes.

The thing about credit cards though is that you MUST pay all your bills in FULL every month or else risk digging a grave for yourself.