today marks our first

...MONTH IN SG!

cool ;)

don't we just LOVE freebies?!

Maps of the city: Free at the airport, anywhere. they are all free ;)
Shuttle from Budget Terminal to Changi Terminal 2: Free
SkyTrain from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3: Free
View along the way: Free
Parks & playgrounds: Free, practically everywhere

just recently, we discovered two major freebies: Free shuttle to Orchard Rd/City Hall/Chinatown from Great World City. and Free shuttle to Plaza Singapura from Tiong Bahru Plaza. Yahoo.

in a place like SG (lahat may bayad)...and coming from a place like Manila. ohmy, freebies are definitely appreciated to the max.

we are currently exploring the city. everytime we find a good / better place / or even a not-so-good one, we get high - the kind that makes you wanna say "Now we Know." Most of the time, we do things by trial and error. We learn a great deal from our mistakes and our thinning wallet. Nobody lets freebies get away, right? ;)

EXPO station

The EXPO station opened in January 2001. it was designed by Foster and Partners. a 38m-diameter stainless steel disc. and a 200m-long titanium-clad torus.

isa na naman sa mga mala-Independence Day na flying saucer dito sa SG ;)

k&y went to the Expo Complex last Sunday, 25 october 2009, for a taste and a feel of techie SALE> we also intended to buy our very own plantsa, for $5 (with coupon). we forgot the coupon, so, naturally, we went home without the iron. it's okay. we got to see the Expo station. and it was sort of refreshing to see the MRT run above ground.

from the city to the Expo (to the airport). it felt like we were on the way to a different country. nagkaroon din ng view ang MRT. parang probinsya ata ng singapore, na pinaghalong technopark na merong mid-rise to high-rise housing, na may pasundot-sundot na single-detached houses, duplex, townhouses. parang hindi na singapore, hehe. +y

interview 101

k's magic six
1. dress properly. wag sunugin ang damit na susuotin for the interview.
2. arrive on time. NOT too early, preferably 15 mins before the interview
3. speak clearly, fluently and confidently. SPEAK UP!
4. bring portfolio and be ready to discuss that damn thing! make it BIG! kwentuhan mo na lang sila!
5. wear comfortable shoes!!! no high heels for me! they hurt like hell.
6. wear sunblock as you would be walking from the MRT station to your venue

y's top 6
1. know something about the firm. ANYTHING!
2. think. think. think.
3. speak with conviction.
4. bring portfolio and be ready to discuss that damn thing!
5. calm yourself. relax your mind. you know you have worked hard for it. makakaraos ka rin.
6. treat yourself after the interview. laugh it off with a friend.

creatively mindless by design

today's list:

1. newton food centre: our first try of carrot cake (black) (S$4) - yum, we didn't recognize the carrot at all, haha! the egg was there, obviously. the carrot? (?) but it was good, we liked it w/sambal ;)

2. lucky plaza: little pinas.

3. isetan: the search for a normal mall. where in singapore can we find one, without the prada, the louis vuitton, the show, you know? please tell us.

4. ion: cool. little kids like water fountains.

the real madness

singapore. the past days have been a constant learning experience to us. we have our daily share of bloopers, misadventures, mischief. they are reminders that we are just human. reminders to make us grounded. human and real.

it all depends on how we look at things. k&y prefer to look at the brighter side of things.

Hotel Madness Part 2

18 October 2009, Sunday

The search for Victory Family Church led k&y to clarke quay.

here we are on our way to Novotel (at the back).

Oh, by the way, we missed the service. venue was moved.
Next Sunday, we will try again ;)

more of.. galang mga paa

we saw a tv feature on Orchard Central:

an installation of a tall woman wearing red boots.

15 October 2009, Thursday

our 2nd week celeb here in sg

her interview

chinatown. her first interview. i've waited in the lobby. sat on a bar stool... waiting...

now we know what they are really looking for and it gave us both a chance to re-evaluate ourselves in terms of our capabilities...

then a stroll in the park... k

galang mga paa

lumakad nang lumakad ang dalawa.

from city hall

through city link

to esplanade

to merlion

to fullerton

to cavenagh bridge

to the flying saucer

(supreme court)

to st. andrews

napagod, at umuwi na =)

the first interview

the night was incredibly crazy.

7:30, nighttime. k answered the phonecall. it was an arki firm, asking k to come over the office for an interview and presentation of portfolio. "na-windang si k, nag oo kahit gabi na." kasama pa ako, taga-bitbit ng laptop, kaya in 15 minutes, andun na kami sa office.

it was k's first interview here in singapore. and i think she did well.. what made it MORE memorable were these:

-hello! gabi na, e kung manyak kaya yung boss..o manloloko, nagpadala pa ng laptop. kaya yung mga housemates namin, nagpapasama ng lalaki para sure na safe kami. hahaha
-walang choice si y. syempre sasamahan si k. laptop nya yun e. hehehehe
-habang iniinterbyu si k, katabi si y... o diba, san ka makakakita ng work interview. may chaperone.
-well, the boss asked me what i was doing there with k.. sabi ko, "to support k."
-GWAPO si boss. YUN YUN EH! tall, young and handsome and friendly and..hay naku
-ngiti hanggang langit si k.

+y

-k

Hotel Madness

now we know where hotel royal is here in singapore... imagine this: yesterday, two tourists were positively confident that they were going to the right place only to know through a housekeeper that they were in the wrong hotel.

-k

in short, nagkamali kami ng hotel na pinasukan. nakarating na kami ng 15th floor, inikot na ang mga rooms. Alas, wrong hotel! +y

Ayan, i took a picture of k, nahiya pang mag pose sa camera, tumatakas sa hotel na napagkamalan naming hotel royal. +y

Getting to know you...Singapore

First gala day. Fountain of Wealth.

we went here first, para ulanan kami ng grasya at pag-asa :)

Second gala day. chinatown. one george.

I WAS HERE

k and i went to NUS this afternoon. rode the inter-bus. shocked that it was FREE. passed by the Student Center. Photocopy Room. 3cents per page. SELF-SERVICE! Now we KNOW! i remembered my old university campus. UP naming mahal. can you imagine.. libre ang ikot/toki jeep? da ikot BUS? Self-service ang photocopy? would you honestly pay the right amount? ..i miss UP. +y

I WAS HERE. so apt. y and i went to NUS and saw an installation art by Francis Ng. I WAS HERE. -k

we were there

..and while you are in NUS, do drop by the Conservatory of Music. it is a beautiful building. and you may be lucky to hear some live performanes in the lobby. +y

i showed this to k. and k liked it,too ;)

Change is on the way...

we are bound to make changes in our lives. big ones. small ones. i packed my bags. goodbye manila. off to singapore with k. +y

from the moment that the plane touched the ground, i knew that change is on the way. we are embarking on a new adventure, the biggest risk of our lives. starting a new life in a different country, that's scary. knowing nobody and no place to stay for the night, that's frightening. looking for a place to eat...that's surviving... and i loved every second of it.
singapore is very different from the philippines, from english to singlish and from banana to durian. ahhh, the smell of durian...everywhere. who knows, our noses might be immune to the smell in the future... hope not.
-k

Terminal 3

Terminal 2

Thursday, 5:30pm. We arrived in Budget Terminal. took the free shuttle to Changi Terminal 2. Got free maps of the city. walked around T2 and T3. enjoyed the anonymity, the excitement of being in a new place. tried to carry my luggage up the stairs, then k stopped me, pointed on the ramp beside the stairs. oh darn, yeah, the ramp! nasanay ako sa pinas, walang rampa. At 7-8pm, we were on the MRT, on the way to Tiong Bahru. Never leaving our bags unattended. Nasanay syempre sa pinas, nagkalat manggagantso. To end our night, we had our first dinner in an indian/malay resto. what spices mixed in our dinner that night, we'll never know. What we know (now)..is this, this trip, this new beginning is going to change our lives. For good? we'll find out. In the meantime, let's just enjoy the ride. +y

ispagheti, you like?