a different kind of journey now

My last posting in this blog was about two months before I got married.  I got married in a simple but very intimate solemnization in Singapore, the country where I have been staying since 2000.   From my side of the family, it was only  my Mom who attended.  From my husband's side of the family, there was none who could travel at such a short notice.  For a short notice it was.  We only decided beginning of February that we will get married in April. I chose 4 April as it was also Easter Sunday.  For me, Easter Sunday is always meaningful.  There is something about Easter that bodes well of new beginnings- resurrection from the dead, end of betrayals and the immaculate love and forgiveness that our Lord Jesus has shown to all of us, will always touch my heart. 

Then, I stopped blogging.  Not because I have not traveled after February 2010.  In fact, I did travel more in 2010 than in 2009.  I managed to go back to the Philippines (my country of birth), to Indonesia (for a short honeymoon), to the UK (to visit my new family there) and to Australia. 

But I guess I, seem to have lost the desire to chronicle my travels and to post pictures here as most of my friends seem to have been to the same places I have been.  Thanks to Facebook, I could see that everywhere people have been traveling extensively and posting loads and loads of photos to show them.  I just felt so drained after looking at all of them.  Then I told myself, am I like them?  Have I been showing too much of where I have been?  I just find it a bit too ordinary now to be traveling and felt that if I cannot share something awesome or extraordinary from my traveling, then I better not share anything.

On another note, I also learned that being married is like traveling, a different kind of traveling.  Your desire of destination is of course, the 'till death do us part'.  But the journey itself is totally different for each and every couple.  I think I have enough friends and acquaintances who have told me their own stories of marriage to know that how I am going about in my own journey of marriage is totally different than how they are going about in their own.  Each to his/her own, I am beginning to realize when it comes to marriage.

Ahhh, so now maybe this blog of mine can be of a different journey.  I started this blog in 2003 with the aim of chronicling my travels and to share my experiences.  Today, 20 September 2011, I have decided to continue blogging here with the aim of chronicling my marriage experiences.  Then and now, I hope I will continue to share awesome stories and extraordinary experiences that those who come across my blog could learn from. 

I still believe that I have chosen the road less traveled and in doing so, I have had the opportunity to visit so many places and meet so many interesting people, including the one person, whom I fondly call my baobei, who has managed to make me decide at age 42 to give up singlehood and commit myself to him in marriage.

Let the blogging begin, again!  Well, sort of.... 

I finally found my soulmate

In the same way that I never realized that I will go to Singapore to work and stay for ten years, I also have never realized I will be traveling further to meet the man of my dreams, the one true love and soulmate of my life.

Thank you universe for finally making our paths cross, three and a half years ago. I have been to so many places and have met lots of people, but only him has touched my heart and my mind like no other. Super duper loving he is and so caring. Now this wandering soul will be settling down very soon in one place, beside where my baobei is. By then, I will be traveling no more alone, but half of a whole in order that together, we can have new experiences, collect different charms from new places and meet new friends who will make our lives more fun and meaningful as a couple.

a different kind of holiday at Mt Elizabeth

My baobei believes otherwise.He thinks I am having a holiday here. No, I am not on top of a mountain somewhere in Indonesia or Malaysia or the Philippines. I am in a hospital that is called Mt Elizabeth. I googled Mt Elizabeth Hospital's history but nothing concrete came out. And of course, I have the hostpital brochure inside my luggage and my leg is still in pain (a.k.a lazy) to even get out of the bed and look for it. Though am not sure even their brochure will say anything about its history. Maybe I should ask Jeeves. What say you my baobei?

But I would hazard a guess that the name came about because this is located in an area that is now the very prime commercial area of Singapore, which used to be an orchard, hence the name Orchard Road. This hospital is on top of Orchard Road, and everytime I come here and walk, I always feel like I am climbing a mountain. Maybe hence the name.

Anyway, back to this stay here being a holiday. It is not and this will never be my idea of a holiday. But maybe my body more than my mind which is in need of this kind of holiday. Considering that I only get out of the bed to go to the toilet, get something from my bag or re-arrange my stuff, my body is indeed having its own holiday, away from the hustle and bustle of sitting down for more than 8 hours at the office or walking from one meeting area to another.

My doctor just visited me now. She showed me how my L5 has come out more and is rubbing my nerve, hence the excruciating pain I have felt last week on my left leg. But after two days of physio, she also noted that the strength is coming back to my left foot, except for the toes. Three more days of stay here and I hope will be enough to reduce substantially the numbness in my left leg and the strength to come back to my big toe.

Unfortunately, I don't have a digicam now so cannot show any photo of me in my 'hospital gown,' which I fought so hard to get from the nurses. That is another interesting story altogether. One I hope I will not have to do the third time around.

Love is you bao bei

Dance with my father (Luther Vandross)

Back when I was a child, before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high and dance with my mother and me and then
Spin me around ‘til I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure I was loved
If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
How I’d love, love, love
To dance with my father again
When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way, I would run from her to him
He’d make me laugh just to comfort me
Then finally make me do just what my mama said
Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he would be gone from me
If I could steal one final glance, one final step, one final dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
‘Cause I’d love, love, love
To dance with my father again
Sometimes I’d listen outside her door
And I’d hear how my mother cried for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me
I know I’m praying for much too much
But could you send back the only man she loved
I know you don’t do it usually
But dear Lord she’s dying
To dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream

My Mum, my best friend

I have not seen my Mum for a year. Not because I did not want to see her but I did not have the chance to go back for Christmas. I had to forego my usual yearend holiday and an annual retreat to Baguio with my whole family because of work. Not a good choice perhaps but something I decided on after careful consideration. It helped that my Mum has started working fulltime so I know she will be too busy to really be with me when I go home. I was not planning to ask her to go with me to Jakarta. The inspiration came when I found out that Philippine Airlines has a v cheap and direct flight from Manila to Jakarta. With two catches. One, they will not serve you food. Second, the plane will arrive midnight in Jakarta. Since I know my Mum will be okay with flying any time of the day as long as she can go off somewhere, I decided to buy her a ticket that will give her her first opportunity to fly alone, without anyone else helping her along the way.

It turned out to be a good experience for her and for me too. I learned how good a service really SQ has. I also learned that Lenny really has a v good and caring heart as she allowed me to wait at the airport until Mum has checked in and made sure she will be okay to go inside the immigration area already. She is really a gem of a friend in Jakarta. Always going out of her way to make my stay in Jakarta so wonderful.

I also learned that Mum has shrink a bit in size. Now she wears a delectable size 10. But not really that delectable as her legs has become much thinner. In fact, she cannot walk for more than four hours in one go. She needs to rest after a few hours of walking. At one point, she was walking ahead of me and I was wondering to myself, how she would look like in 10 years' time? Will she be able to hold and carry her grandchild with me and my bao bei? I told her my baby thinks I will have difficulty with the climate in England. Mum said never mind, she will not stay with us for long. I told her, am sure my baby will not mind having the heater on most of the time. We just have to work harder to have to pay for it. LOL!

It was a hectic work week for me but going back to the room with Mum being there was worth it. I also saw how she has made new friends at SCI and now she has a shirt to show that she has been there too. We talked yes, but not for long every night as we dont seem to need so many words just to be with each other. She also had a chance to talk with my baby and even managed to bring back some seeds for her small garden in her apartment in Manila. Mum has green thumb and I am amazed at how she can take care and can grow plants with ease. Whereas I will always have to cajole the one pot of plant inside my room not to wither and wilt and die on me. LOL!

Well I look forward to her visiting me in SG in August. I hope we can go away together for a few days as well. Maybe go to Kota Kinabalu or to Bangkok. She likes to shop but not really to buy so much but just to be able to see different places and buy a shirt and shoes and a bag here and there. Not too much now I have noticed. Now I hear her say, she does not really need a new bag as she has plenty still at home. Either she has changed or I must have really sent her so much of stuff when I moved house recently. LOL! Either way, I was just too happy that I spent a week with her to care. She is really a best friend to me now.

Posh in Jakarta again last week

There goes Posh in Jakarta again last week for another conference. She is really going places this year. Where is she off to next?

Kris vs Adam, the conspiracy theory behind the AI 2009 Winner!

(logo downloaded from http://www.americanidol.com/


LOL! I was amused today. Finally someone other than my bao bei made my day today. After reading the reactions of several FB friends, I decided to track the two guys (?) who managed to elicit such strong feelings and emotions of support, disappointment, surprise, amazement and even anger. Of course it was the AI finals the past two nights. No, AI is not anymore widely known as Amnesty International. It has been replaced now by the more internationally known and accepted acronym for AMERICAN IDOL! LOL!

I dont have a TV in my room and I have known not to be a TV addict so I have stopped watching AI since I moved out of Oxley Rise apartment two years ago. I am not a singer nor am I known to be good at singing, despite being a Flip. The whole world I think has this mistaken notion that all FLIPS are v good singers. Never mind that not one of my ancestors as far as I know have ever sang publicly. With these two qualifications, I thought I would be a good judge of who should be the 2009 AI winner as I have not seen any of the shows this season 8 and I dont have v good technical background knowledge of singing. LOL!

So I went to the website, downloaded all the songs that these two guys sang and listened to Adam with his v 'A1' performance and to Kris v 'A1' performance. At some point, I must admit it was becoming difficult to choose between Adam who manages to show his versatility by giving all the songs he sang his best-est rendition, using his vocal power (or prowess?). Kris on the other hand, also showed his versatility by combining his 'next door boy' charming voice with playing either a guitar, piano or a keyboard. I have to say I have a bias for singers who can play musical instruments. LOL! But I also like someone who really knows how to make you appreciate music like Adam with his rendition of songs that make you feel like he is 'wearing' them. I guess I may not be describing it v well here but I hope you get my drift.

Anyway, back to the two guys and my conspiracy theory. In the end, I am not surprised Kris Allen won that night. He is after all a true blooded American who can sing, play the guitar, keyboard and piano v well and perform. I think when he sang Marvin Gaye's 'How sweet it is to be loved by you,' was the moment for me when the scale tipped on his side.

Whereas Adam, I think he should have just joined Britain's Got Talent, rather than the AI. He would have a better chance of winning. The Brits, I think are more appreciative of his kind and style of performance rather than the Americans. Plus, he looks more like George Michael and Boy George combined that he could have joined the contest. Of course, I am getting more biased towards Britain's Got Talent due to the influence of someone v dear to my heart as he shows me the links to some of these audition snippets through youtube. LOL!

But both guys really rocks! In their own way and for their own fans, that is. For me, it still is my bao bei with his singing voice that rocks. Must ask him later though if he had a hand in creating that Ford hybrid car they gave to the AI finalists. LOL!