Bisdak Babbles

Are you a bath or a shower person? I’ve grown up without having a bath tub at home so I hadn’t been exposed to the supposed comforts of soaking in a tub until I was sent to Japan. I had my own room and own bathroom with a tub. I tried a few times but I guess I prefer taking a shower, put on my pyjamas, stretch in bed while watching a movie or reading a book. But maybe a very elegant and cozy bathroom lighted by Murray Feiss could change my preference.

With the rising number of AH1N1 cases, occasional reports of food poisoning, personal hygiene must be observed at all times. I just hope everyone shares this same interest specially when using public utilities and when in public places. The first reason why I don’t really like taking the MRT is that it is just too crowded even on weekends. Everytime I’m on it, someone coughs and sneezes without even covering his mouth! I also don’t like using the public toilets because of those “leftovers” on the toilet bowl and the improperly disposed sanitary pads. Well, we can’t force all people to be considerate so at least, we could start at home. How I wish we had copper sinks because I have read somewhere that copper possesses natural antibacterial properties that naturally kill viruses and bacteria.  Then at least I don’t have to pour much worries on keeping the sink virus-free as much as possible.

I admit I got bored here in Singapore during my first few weeks. I was used to being busy on weekends in Japan that I sort of freaked out when left with nothing to do on weekends. Singapore could be boring if you do nothing about it. The most important step I had to do that I took for granted before: socialize. One of my colleagues invited us to her place one weekend. It was sort of a Philippine-Myanmar friendship day! We talked about our countries and prepared some local cuisines. I, of course, prepared one of my favorites: humba. One brought crema de fruta, the favorite of that day.

I hope I could share some photos by the pool but I’m not yet ready to show off my still very visibly gross tummy. Yes, for the first time in my life, I’ve worn something so daring: a swimsuit! Anyway, here’s a couple of the “group picture”:

Did another visit again to the websites of some automobile distributors in the Philippines. If only I have at least enough to buy a Toyota Innova, I want to buy one now! Maybe because of the economic slowdown that there’s a decline in sales, and now they are trying to attract customers not only by giving rv warranty, some are giving free 3-year LTO registration! They even have this low cash out. For Toyota Innova, they only require P79,300 as a downpayment. Too bad I still don’t have it but hopefully, soon?

I have been babbling about weight loss pills over and over again. But finally, I am happy with myself for overcoming three consecutive days of laziness and boredom. I have finally taken up my running shoes again and been running/walking a total of almost 3 kilometers per day. I know this is such a short distance but I am really happy. Maybe in the future, I could do a 10km per day! I have started jogging last month but I could only convince myself to run once a week! At that time, I found jogging so boring, even while listening to my favorite music.

Finally, I have found something that would take part of my mind off the “jogging part”. I listen to a teach-yourself-Spanish audio book while doing my rounds!  I sort of need to learn Spanish because of my current project.

Based on my experience, I find audio books more effective than music when getting rid of boredom, even while I’m coding something!

Where did I get these photos?

They do resemble Manila to me. We had the chance to visit a friend staying at a condo near the Al-Junied station. Above is what you see from the 17th floor. I wish I had a good camera, I could have taken a night shot. I bet it looks a lot better.

Anyway, before I came here, I asked some friends to describe Singapore. They agree to one thing: just like Makati City. And my first and current impression? Just like Makati City without the jeepneys and with better buses.

During my first few days here, I saw those ads at the MRT stations about Uniqlo opening at the mall near my place. When the new mall opened, so did Uniqlo, a Japanese grocery store, and a couple of Japanese restaurants. A friend told me that Singapore loves almost anything that is “Japanese”, which is really good for me, too.

I thought that the description was a bit exaggerated until the Hokkaido Fair held at a nearby mall. Then when I had the chance to visit Plaza Singapura to watch the surprise movie, I was very ecstatic to see this:

I was even more surprised to find out that there is a handful of Daiso, the 100-yen shop, here in Singapore! The items are sold at a bit higher price at S$2 each. I have been to Plaza Singapura’s Daiso twice and the place has always been crowded. How I wish they would open another outlet nearby.

As what I have often been told, I should take good care of myself. When I was in still in Japan, I religiously took my vitamin C. After all, prevention is the best medicine. I worked for a small company then, so the benefits including the health insurance, was not that good. Now, I am entitled to better health insurance so I have to make the most out of it. Of course, I still don’t want to be sick. Those needles are way too scary, and the thought of being sick is just overwhelming. But at least if I do feel something, I can now visit a physician for free. Though some serious illnesses, like mesothelioma does not manifest its symptoms 30-50 years of too much exposure to the cause (asbestos), it is still not too late to start a healthy lifestyle and constantly undergo preventive measures. As a side note, it would really help a lot to get one of those good health and life insurance plans.