in the national university of singapore medical school, there is a quota for the number of female medicine students it can accepts. it’s not a good investment they say because female doctors marry, bear children and stop working.
last january 6th marked my 5th month stay here in singapore. it’s been good really. it feels like home already.
when does it feel like home?
when you walk the streets and you feel like its the most natural thing to do in the world. there’s no alienation anymore – just a normal feeling of belonging.
happy new year 2002!
fresh start, new country, new job. oh the possibilities are endless.
i learned a new phrase today – “Serial Arsonist”
apparently there are people in australia who deliberately set those forest fires currently raging accross sydney. the people who are doing this are doing it repeatedly in many different areas.
we are living in a twisted world.
this is my first christmas out of the country. my first christmas in singapore.
there’s not that much christmas cheer really. tumatanda na ako, di ko na na-enjoy ang pasko. parang parehong araw lang ito, katulad ng mga nag-daan ng mga araw – kisap-matang nawala. wow, ang gandang salita “kisap-mata”: “blink of an eye”… para bagang isang pa-profound effect to impress gentle reader. hehehe… amazing!
“it’s amazing whoop, with the blink of an eye, suddenly it’s alright”. sabi nga ni aerosmith. ang bilis talaga ng panahon. sana next year na, para pwede nang umuwi at mag-baskasyon.
merry christmas na lang, whatever it still means.
may pasok kami ngayon eh. what a bummer. pero half-day lang. yehey! bukas no work tapos balik sa 26. 9:30 na ng umaga – gusto ko nang umuwi.
“smelly no more”
– brand name of local singapore deodorant stick
kwentong barbero? i had a haircut recently. very interesting. the best barbers here in singapore are malay. why? ewan. why are the best barbers in the philippines, kapangpangan? ewan din. if you visit the good barber shops in manila – there’s a very good chance that most of them are kapangkapang. its just that way, i guess. how do you spell necktie in kapampangan? hen-hee-si-kitty-hi-hee! hehehe… coffee? si-ho-hef-hef-hee-hee! hehehe! hay nahkuh! takshapoka… where was i? oh, okay…
the malay barber asked me: “are you pare?”
“huh?”
“are you pare? are you filipino?”
“ahh! yes, i am pare.”
life in singapore has been ok. its been a good, almost, three months already. i’m having a great time here and i’ve almost lost the “praning” feeling of always looking behind your back, wary that somebody will mug you. it’s a defense mechanism that is triggered in almost every place i visit except here. somehow it took a load off my back – there’s no non-work related stress and its made me happier. i just miss home a lot and i miss my family and friends terribly (can’t have everything, buster!). the good thing though about my job is that i still get to travel, albeit (hehehe..what a word), on a larger scale – asia pacific.
i’ve gotten into a routine already of going to work, being at work and coming home. somehow it has offset the “meloncholy and the infinite sadness” (hehehe…quoted from the title of one of the best records of the smashing pumpkins).
i am an OFW, an overseas filipino worker. now, i am part of that “babalik ka rin crowd” you see around christmas time, arriving at the NAIA in droves from all over, gold chain around their necks, in jeans and maong jacket, ray-ban shades, goatee, and baseball cap, pababa pa lang ang eroplano kinukuha na ang hand carry luggage at nag papalakpakan na’t handang halikan ang lupa pagka landing!
Batang Kaning Lamig 