[Review] Adele

So, lately, Adele has been the artist played the most in my Iphone as well as ipod nano when I work out.
I really like her voice. Listening to her reminds me of the time, when I first listened to Amy Winehouse. I hope that Adele doesnt turn out like the latter wreck haha. Such a waste of talent. I only got to listen to Amy Winehouse when I heard about the ravings and the grammys etc. The hook to it was when I read or heard somewhere that Amy's album was recorded as is - no auto tuning or whatever enhancement. And I actually believed it.

Same with Adele, I watched some of her you tube videos already and I can say that, well, she really sounds better live.

The drawback though to listening to her is how it has been affecting my mood. Hahaha, such mellow songs in a foreign country, all alone - well you get my drift. Adele, well, I don't know, there's something about her voice or the way she sings that transcends. It's like, well, I can't say that I have been through all the moments she sings about, but, well, I get affected somehow.

And call it S&M or whatnot, but I'll keep listening until I get tired of it. Hahaha, sometimes when I want to switch up the mood, I listen to Rihanna's album instead. Fancy tunes. S&M.

[Random] April 10

I spent the day in and out of sleep/work. Dozing off, waking up checking the mailbox, dozing off, waking up to perform some activities for two application servers for work. Then dozing off again and waking up to perform the BW production release activity for work, then dozing off, and waking up to check on issues. Then dozing off to continue work on the production release once counterparts confirmed their parts were finished.

After the shift, I saw to it that I finished at least all the imports to production and maintenance window. After which, I decided to have something to eat. When I got back home, I decided to take a quick nap, thinking perhaps after I could go out to a pub and get something to drink - hahahaha, umiemo effect. But then the nap turned to 5 hours of sleep.

Woke up, went out to eat again lol.

So, I spent the day before my birthday doing nothing exciting.
I'm becoming such a bore.

[Random] Singapore Club Scene

So, for the first time ever, I was able to go out and party with friends without any worries of having the "driver's hat" on. So, party we went!

I can't say though that I got wasted, because, I didn't.

It was also fun getting free drinks care of a DJ friend of a friend. I think, all in all, I got to hop through 3 bars. And I have to say that the experience was very fun. Not much difference with the scenes I have been to in Manila, although, I have to note though that the first two places I went to were a lot smaller than I expected them to be.

The last one, in Clark Quay - Attica, was huge! Although, there were Napis inside as well, and I have to say, that, really, when people say they have BO, they do. Although, I won't generalize, but there was this one person who just went past us, and the stench stood still in the air, and we had to find somewhere else to dance and drink. I had to use an inhaler (Vicks) for nasal congestion to get the smell out and take the dizziness away.

Anyway, I'm blabbing again.

It was fun really. To party without any worry of getting too drunk to drive home, or getting too wasted to be able to get home. Alcohol will keep me sane here in Singapore. Haha.

[Random] Birthday Blues

SOOOOoooo ... my birthday is coming up, and I don't know why, but i'm having birthday blues.

Mood swings, temperaments, etc etc.

OR maybe, i'm just tired from a night of walking to find the fossil watch I saw in Fossil's release for 2011 - for my sister.

Well, I'm trying to think things through why I feel this way, but still, no clue. I'll just sleep this off.

CH39: News Paper Boy

On my way to take a bath (around 330 am), I heard a rustling sound outside the door. Well, it piqued my interest because I have been used to everything being so quiet in our side of Singapore.

When I opened the door, I saw a red figure rustle past towards the other wing. I thought it was some sort of thief or something, so I went out. When I looked at the other wing of our block, I figured that the person I saw running was the news paper boy.

I spotted that he was barefoot.

I also figured that with the route he was taking, he first went up the fifteenth floor and went through 1 wing delivering newspapers, before going to the other wing to perform more deliveries before going through down the stairs and so on and so forth.

What I was impressed about, which I figured better get written down here in a blog post, was how organize the scheme was. Here are the things I thought were amazing and some questions as well:
1. The organization of the process of delivering newspapers, although primitive was intellectual. I was pondering at some point whether initially (before elevators were invented), the process was to go up the stairs delivering newspapers and then taking the stairs back down. Or whether initially even though there was a newspaper, stairs up and elevator down.

2. The stamina of the news paper boy (a Napi/Indian) was quite amazing as well, as from my observation, he did not slow down at all through the whole time I was watching - so that was from floor 9 (my floor) down.

3. I was also struck by a titillating thought. My block number is 700+. In my side of Singapore - Tampines, there are about 900+ (I think) blocks all in all. So, the question I had in my mind was, how many news paper boys like what I saw are there? How many blocks does one news paper boy have to complete in order to consider a job done. Then, add to that, the other "towns" here in Singapore. How much man power is needed in order for the people of Singapore to get their daily fix of news? Is the process outsourced? Or is the delivery itself under the same ownership as the newspaper publication? And lastly, how profitable is that kind of business?

4. Why was the person delivering the news barefoot? Was it purely out of comfort? I walked out and observed the Napi delivering the papers, and my foot already got itchy, and I had goosebumps thinking what if stepped on someone's dried spit - but then I realized that spitting is illegal here, so most people should have developed the discipline not to do so. And, getting back on the barefoot thing, is it more efficient to perform the task without any foot wear? Is there friction introduced? Or perhaps, the man was simply barefoot, because if he had footwear on, then it would have been additional weight, thus making him more inefficient? Or perhaps, he didnt wear any footwear for the sole reason that if he did, then it will become all used up and "pudpud," thus incurring upon himself additional cost.

5. I found it funny, that for a slight instance, before I figured out who the person in red was, I thought, Santa should not be dark and thin ... plus, it's just April! Hahaha. Thoughts come rushing by.

CH38: Life changes

While waiting for my Mrt ride home, I only realized now that there are a lot of things I can live without. Like driving a car for instance, now in sg, I only miss driving. But it doesn't feel much as a necessity compared to when I was in the Philippines.

Some formerly perceived needs become wants.

And tasks previously not actioned become necessity - laundry, ironing of clothes etc.

Which brings me to the point that, the government can dictate on what society perceives as needs and wants. Commercialism has little effect on wants as again, governments can create policies to shape how society thinks and reacts.

Singapore has done a lifestyle change for me. Although a stark contrast from the Philippine setting, discipline and way of life can change through government action and policies.

I'm rambling here or perhaps getting sentimental, but I hope I brought up and drove through a point here

[Random] Hair Cut

Yesterday, I got my first 'trimming' here in Singapore. Well, as I am not as vain as other people, don't expect me to put out what I look like with my new hair style.

All I can say are the following:
1. I still like how meticulous my stylist was in the Philippines, in terms of cutting my hair. I do not generalize for all stylist though, just one in Acqua Trinoma. Maybe because I've been getting my hair cut by him since right before my graduation rites in UP. Here in SG, the time it took for my hair to get cut is about the same time it took for my hair to be shampooed as well as conditioned plus the chit chats.

My stylist is not very adept to speaking and hearing the English language I think, so he has to stop to hear/understand me before he continues cutting. The stylist I got, was Malay-Chinese. Very young at 23 years old. He shares that he has been working in a salon for almost 5 years. He studied while doing work so blah blah blah. A lot of the details elude me right now with all the noise in a salon and of course, the obvious language barrier.

2. My haircut cost about ~S$33. The haircut I get in the Acqua cost about ~S$13 (430 pesos, 280 for haircut, 100 for tip to stylist, 50 for the person who does the shampoo, conditioning, scalp massage, and the clearing off the cut hair from shoulders and face. - That was a mouthfull!). The stylist in Singapore does everything, wash, cut, blowdry etc etc.

There are QBhouses or other places of the same sort but a different name which sells haircuts for S$10. But, I classified those places as "Barber Shops" based on how similar they look with barber shops in the Philippines. I've already had bad experiences with barber shops in the Philippines, so I opted not to go and try. Although cheaper, the same flow of logic applies here in SG. Price difference is almost propotional as well, I think.

3. Style wise, well, I have to say that mine looks authentically Chinese/Singaporean/Japanese/Korean - whichever trend is being followed. Hahaha, my stylists boasts of his training in Malaysia and his upcoming training in Taipei with regards to styling hair...But I think I'll get another haircut once I get back to the Philippines, it's pretty expensive here. I imagine that the haircut I got is already worth about 4 days of 2 meals.

CH37: Day off

Having just visited the Singapore Arts Museum, I can safely say that this country values its art pieces and patron more than the Philippines.

The museum was retrofitted to centralize airconditioning. The whole of the museum was enclosed in glass to preserve the contents (I guess) of the pieces of art as well as provide a very comfortable atmosphere for the patrons. I recall the visit my friends and I had a museum of a similar effect somewhere in Manila. Although, yes, the experience was pleasurable, but I must say, the publicity to encourage people to visit the place was lacking.

It felt as though in the Philippines, art is packaged to be consumed only by a certain stratosphere of society. Not very accessible as well, I wouldn't know how to commute were we went, it was only a matter of convenience that we drove there.

Anyway, getting out of topic. What I wanted to post about was my liking and appreciation for the arts. I took the time from my day off to research on what art galleries I can visit, and well, what better place to visit, than the Singapore Arts Museum.

Pictures posted here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=1616857782898&id=1279969071&aid=2077498

You need to be a friend of a friend or my friend in facebook though in order to view.

So, yes, going around about the town soaking in different cultural arts and displays, is one of my idea of relaxation. I especially like going through the silent corridors and hallways soaking in the arts.

CH36: Independence

There's not much to being independent.

You do your own laundry, iron your clothes ... well, for my cause, I don't need to clean the CR/toilet or wash the dishes - the landlord seems to volunteer himself to.

But, well, like I said, there's not much to living by yourself. I feared before of having to go through major adjustments, but, nothing of the sort really came my way.

Before, when I miss having to wake up or turning my alarm off, my mom would be there to make sure I was out of bed. But, well that's not really a major adjustment, but a minor convenience. Of that sort, well, I haven't had any trouble with it. Well, waking up on time, can be a problem, but only when I'm not on shift ... blah blah ... i don't want to go into the details of work. But let's get back on the topic.

The thing about independence though that struck me, is the kind of discipline living independently teaches you. There's something to learn about having to wash your clothes, iron them, budget your time, budget your money. I don't regret my decision one bit of going to Singapore to work. I believe, that so far that I have stayed here, well, there have been a lot of learnings - both with career and personal growth.

There are a lot of things I miss in the Philippines, but I just attribute those to changes that we need to adapt to.

So yes, I can safely say, that by the time I turn a quarter of a century old, that, I am fully satisfied with how my life is going, and I can only be more than happy to look forward to what's next to come.

I mentioned in a previous post, that I don't know or can't even begin to imagine where I'll be 5 years from now, but those are variables, that need not be fussed over. Like I told a friend, we're still young and there's a lot to look forward to.

[Random] Mrs. Chong

I almost forgot to post this. This is by far one of the most touching advertisements I've ever seen on TV.

The message is there. The story line is great. It drives the message through.