Black and White Photos

With the advent of digital cameras coupled with an idiot-proof digital imaging capabilities of personal computers, my collection of black and white “feeling photographer” photos significantly increased over the last three years, and the number also became directly proportional to the amount of travels and holidays I have had.  While most people collect cliché pieces from destinations they have visited (e.g. fridge magnets, key chains, shot glasses, mugs, t-shirts, etc.), I consider my set of photos as the priceless souvenirs of my indulgence and exploration moments.  To bring it to the next level and make them real conversation pieces, I finally managed to do what I have been wanting to produce – a mini-collage of choicest photographs that serve as wall ornaments, this time in the flat that I just recently moved-in to.

9 of 400+ favorite photos

Unintentionally, the “black and white” minimalist concept caught my eyes while roaming around Ikea to find inspiration as to how my new abode would look like.  After a couple of weeks, I successfully managed to furnish a bare 1-bedroom apartment, while bringing to life the deconstructed theme found in the value-for-money home store.  With no background in interior design or architecture, below is the bare minimum that I managed to put together.  Not extremely proud of it (yet!) as there are still tons to buy to complete the picture, what matters to me at this point though is that I really feel good every time I enter my flat as I am bound to enjoy a relaxing time in a place that reflects my personality – may be colorless, but has that endearing impact that you simply can’t and won’t ignore.  :)

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Bedroom

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Balcony

Balcony

NEW CHAPTER… FOR THE NTH TIME!

Tagging myself to be leading a “transient life” turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy…  unfortunately or fortunately.  After packing four luggage bags and two huge cargo boxes to conclude my temporary life in Singapore, which lasted for almost a year, I found myself repacking all of them after a break of nearly two months in the Philippines.  Just when I thought that my “transient life” would come to an end, destiny begged to differ.  In an unexpected twist of fate, “Welcome to Dubai!” turned out to be the compelling message, which opened a new chapter in my fairly exciting adventure.

Truth be told, I am easily endeared by any concept within the realm of “new”, “fresh” or “change” – which also indirectly means that I easily get bored with monotony, stagnancy and flatness.  It may be a function of my age, my go-getter personality or the fact that I don’t have such heavy responsibilities yet, which allows me to take sharp curves and turns or maneuver my moves on the path that I am leading.  After receiving three job offers (one in Manila, one in Singapore and one in Dubai), I opted to choose another expatriate post which shows promise in terms of answering my hunger for getting on with something different again…  not just within the context of work per se, but more on the “life” that I will be experiencing – new country, new continent and new opportunity to start all over.

Three weeks ago, I found myself breathing the air of a new place that I’ve never been in.  At a glance, I saw Dubai to be very much similar to Las Vegas – a city built within a desert filled with recreational spins, making it the “Adult Disneyland” indeed.  I never thought that it would be as such, but that certainly was a pleasant surprise.  On the physical surroundings, it appears to be consistently “grand” – good, because everything that you see appears to be an eye candy, yet bad, because they all seem superficial which magnifies its seemingly ostentatious personality.  I might be wrong, but this was my first impression.

First task then is to get myself settled into the new office and find my new flat (as I was only given a couple of weeks to temporarily stay in a hotel) at the same time.  Luckily, one of my cousins is actually based here – hence, my primary support is very strong, making the start-up run smoothly.

Some pics worth sharing, see below!  :)

Madinat Jumeirah

Madinat Jumeirah

Madinat Jumeirah

Madinat Jumeirah

Madinat Jumeirah

Madinat Jumeirah

Dubai Mall

Dubai Mall

Dubai Mall

Dubai Mall

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Fountain

Mexican dinner

Mexican dinner

Mexican dinner

Night cap...

Night cap...

Knowledge Village

Knowledge Village

Knowledge Village (X-Ray and HIV Test Center for Resident Visa processing)

Metro Station (the best I've seen so far - better than SG, HK, NYC, SF, MLA!)

Metro Station

Metro Station

Mall of the Emirates (interesting advertising space...)

St. Francis Catholic Church in Jebel Ali

Palladium (one of my favorite buildings... quite similar to NYC's Chrysler

 

Long Brunch On A Long Weekend

Thanks to Deepavali (though I don’t really understand the complete story/essence of it), it’s a long weekend!  Hence, I managed to have a “stressless” day which commenced with a long brunch at Mercure Hotel with my flatmate – pizza, pasta, varieties of cheese and wine!

After a short nap (thanks to the heavy meal, I felt sleepy immediately), the day ended in Haji Lane with fellow Pinoys.  The culinary treat continued with seafood nasi goreng (plus extra plain rice), chili prawns, Grey Goose and Kilkenny.

Tomorrow’s gonna be another food day perhaps…  Will have to sleep after this post so I can immediately wake up to another round of “yummy” / “delicious” / “sarap”!  :P

The Cup That Signals “Christmas”

Finally, these special cups are out!  Back home, it had been an annual activity to collect Starbucks purchase stamps from Nov-Dec to get hold of that elusive “planner” after gulping at least 21 (if my memory serves me right) cups of coffee.  Unfortunately, the same promo was not implemented in Indonesia while I was there, and is also not done here in Singapore (hmmm…  Pinoy lang ba ang nauuto ng promo na to?!  hahaha!).

Anyway, the more important element to it is what it signals, i.e. the best season of the year!  For now, there remains 49 days before the grand celebration – can’t wait for it…  perhaps because it automatically means that I would be home, I would not be working, I would be with family and friends, I would be sharing and receiving gifts, I would be…  the list can go on and on and on!  :)

I Love Singapore # 1

“I Love Singapore…  because of Ya Kun!”.  After discovering one of the many branches of this heritage-coffee-stall-brand near my office building, my trip to the joint became a Monday-Thursday morning habit.  What’s even more interesting is that my order did not change since day one – Kaya Toast and regular coffee (except that one day when I experimented by having the peanut butter toast, which unfortunately, did not tickle my fancy).  And another amazing angle is that the “auntie” facilitating the order-taking and cashier-handling has been the same person since day one – hence, my order is now just triggered by a smile and a spoken “good morning, auntie” and she will automatically punch in my “usual”.

While I’m quite adventurous in food (especially in trying anything and everything), my daily breakfast had been so monotonous – and I love it that way.  To put a minimal twist to it, I’m absent on the stall every Fridays though…  Why?  Well, coz it’s time for a once-a-week trip in Starbucks for my tall/grande hazelnut non-fat latte and original bagel with cream cheese (which by the way, had been my “regular” Starbucks beverage for nearly 12 years now!).

Personal insight: “In a fast and continuously changing world, it is refreshing and comforting to know that there are things that remain and will forever stay constant!”.  :)

Touch It (For Days) and It’s Yours!

Just saw an interesting marketing stunt along Orchard Road this evening.

The mechanics is pretty simple – contenders just need to touch a car (well, for four days though) and the last man touching it brings the car home!  When I passed by, they were there for 32 hours already and from what I’ve heard, the contestants were given only a very short time for break periods (perhaps only to address “call of nature”…  made me think now, won’t they sleep for four long days?!).  Also heard that this is now an annual on-ground activation done by the automobile brand – for sure the previous rounds had been successful, thus, the repeat!

Call it a profound sacrifice, perseverance and commitment…  for a brand new car, why not?!  :)

 

Search for the last man "touching"

Yup, they all want the car!

Getting to Know Singapore

Two weekends ago, I finally managed to get out of my very busy schedule from work which allowed me to spend a fairly decent weekend in Singapore.  With my old friend Wena, we spent that Saturday in one of the many museums in the city…

After several times of visiting SG, this is my first time to go to one of its many museums...

The chosen one: National Museum of Singapore!

With the portable audio system provided for each visitor, we navigated the museum in our own pace and started with the basics...

Similar to most of the countries in Asia, Singapore was taken over by the British navigators during the olden days... Just like how Spaniards owned the Philippines and the Dutch for Indonesia...

Same "jurassic" look...

Before the efficient lines of MRT were operational...

The hall dedicated to the local women who fought for their rights...

From the start, the value and passion for education had been very apparent... Similar to how Americans educated the Filipinos, Singaporeans were also lucky to have been educated by the British...

Domesticated life...

The country also experienced a difficult ordeal during World War II when the Japanese attacked! Again, like the Americans in the Philippines, the British lost the battle and Singapore was left in the hands of Japan.

Didn't realize that the use of bicycles became part of the guerilla tactic of Japanese invaders... Interesting!

Japan Japan!

Finally, World War II ended and Singapore was set free... The British went back, but the country opted to be on its own...

The country's post-war look...

Intriguing mix of English and Chinese... which until now is very distinct the way locals talk - Singlish vocabulary and accent!

With its very inspiring, determined and admirable leader, Singapore geared up to becoming a first world country... While it started being a part of Malaysia, the split turned out to be the great turning point which is very apparent in today's world!

Aside from having a leader who was a great visionary, the country embarked into an industrialized society which also marked another difference...

In terms of food, the country has almost everything that most Asian countries offer - I would say it's a mix of both Chinese (North Asia) and Malay (South East) influence that made this possible... Example, satay!

A classic which is my current favorite, Chicken Rice!

Include the tea culture...

Another favorite for now, Nasi Lemak! Just appreciated the mix of pritong mani and malutong na dilis, combined!

The roots of Roti Boy!

In a nutshell, that is Singapore! Now I have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the place where I am currently in...

After the tour ended, since we were perhaps had too much of Singapore already, we ended up craving for something closer to home – Pinoy food!  Hahaha!

One of my newest discoveries - "Bonifacio"! It's just like Manila's "Sentro"... Should I crave for the fattening and high-cholesterol foodies, I know where to go!!!

Nilagang Baka!!!

Crispy Pata!!!

Dessert 1: Turon!!!

Dessert 2: Leche Flan!!!

Looking forward to more great weekends in this new country that I am starting to know, inside and out!  :)

New Home

After a month of staying in the service apartment, I finally managed to move-in to my condo unit in Siglap/East Coast area!  The first weekend got me so busy cleaning up and shopping at Ikea to add some stuff to the 2-bedroom furnished unit.  Check out the pics below to see how it looks like at the moment…

My all-white bedroom...

Black-white-gray bathroom...

Shower!

Brown & white living room...

Current favorite chillout place...

My very unused kitchen (except for the microwave oven and fridge)...

Brown & white dining room...

Yup, I set the table (for the sake of - hahaha!)... but, I haven't actually eaten on this table yet!

So, family and friends from Manila, US, Melbourne, Shanghai or Jakarta (you guys know who you are) – feel free to come over anytime!  I’ve a spare room for y’all at the moment, come very soon as I am in search of a flatmate already!!!  :D

And The New Chapter Starts… In Singapore…

After only a month and a half of resting back home and spending some days in China to celebrate my thirtieth birthday, a new life blessing arrived which opened an opportunity for me to be expatriated again, this time in Singapore.

Country-wise, Singapore is one of the places that I admire the most.  Every time I pay a visit, there’s always something in the compact city that amazes me.  I love its very organized system, its cleanliness, its recreational offerings and its multi-cultural environment.  However, I made myself ready for the fact that cost of living would be so damn high (perhaps the perks of being an expat in third world countries wouldn’t be present in this country at all), so I should expect a “proletariat” life (goodbye to my car, hello to mrt and buses, goodbye to a driver and house help, hello to doing things on my own!).  Hence, if Indonesia taught me how to accept, adjust, appreciate and learn from cultural differences and lower degree of professional competencies, perhaps Singapore will help develop my personal maturity and force me to really live independently (in its purest sense).

Work-wise, I am re-engaging myself in the advertising agency life that I have started two years ago.  It is another challenging post as it would involve learning the ropes of marketing communications in a new market and a new industry.  Thus, it is well aligned with my hunger for continuous learning and objective of outdoing myself all the time.  I am hoping that it would turn out very well and that I would be able to create a positive dent to the new company that I would be contributing my expertise and dedication to.

16 April 2010, I left Manila and flew to Singapore.  The new chapter of my life starts here and I am looking forward to living the most out of it – it is such a perfect way to begin a new milestone as I recently entered the “big 3-0″ mark!

After the plane landed, I went straight to my new temporary home (for a month at least, before finding my own place) – Fraser Place at Robertson Walk.  Such a nice and convenient space which made my first few days easily manageable.

Images of Farewell

As mentioned in my previous post, I have recently concluded my advertising agency stint in Indonesia.  Prior to my flight back home, the few remaining weeks were filled with “images of farewell” that depicted my attachment and appreciation of the life I have lived and the people I have built deep connections with over the last (nearly) two years.  Here are some of the snapshots:

Last KTV session with the singers of the Accounts Team

With my ever reliable Cara and Dhanny...

With the "humor in my life", Sari...

With the "pumping queen", Dessy...

With the "lady rocker" Dianna...

With the newbie Dewi...

Last dinner with my so-called clubbing/chill-out friends in Potato Head...

After dinner, straight to Blowfish of course...

The first couple of people that I went out with back in 2008...

Last traditional lunch with the team...

Last dinner at BIN17 with Pinoy friend, Berna...

Last dinner at The Apartment with ex-Account Director-currently-close-friend, Sinta...

Last office lunch courtesy of Riyas... your Nasi Uduk is really to die for... I'm missing it already!!!

Last dinner at FJ Bistro with the best client ever, J&J Indonesia...

Photo op for the ceremonial gift giving!

Last booze night at Tabac with Dila, John and Nadia...

Last dinner at Social House with my favorite couple, Maira and Adwin...

Last dinner at Cafe Batavia with a few of my favorite people...

Last Padang lunch at Sederhana with the whole Accounts Team...

Last ride with my ever reliable and sleepy Pak Darmo...

Last house party with the whole gang in my apartment...

Thank you guys...

Terima kasih banyak, teman teman!

For more pictures, check out my Facebook albums…