Scary!
Luis and I were walking towards
Riverside Point for a boat ride (
Singapore River Cruise) yesterday afternoon shortly before 5PM when a man blocked our way from out of nowhere, and asked for money. He said he was so hungry and didn't have a job at the moment. I had goose bumps all over my body right away. I scanned around, very discreetly, for signs of other people -- anyone -- who could help us should the man turn out to be more than a beggar, but found nobody! At the same time my mind was racing to think of things to say to the stranger to keep him occupied while I think of what to do (to give or not to give). I only had my coin purse with me at the time, with only a $2 & $50 bill in it. I was thinking giving him $2 might insult him, but I would hate to part with my $50 because my son was so looking forward to his boat ride. I saw flashes of gruesome holdup scenarios in my mind. My mommy instinct told me to give, give right away, or the stranger might just go berserk, pick up my son and hurl him out into the river behind me. In a split second I decided to hand him the $2 bill while apologizing for not having more to give. I was soooo relieved when he took the money, thanked me, and strode away. Whew!
******
Four nights prior to this scary experience, I brought a visiting friend to the same place for coffee and a boat ride. This picture was taken at the same spot where the man stopped us, and before I was reminded scary things can happen anywhere :( even at the most unexpected places.
Simple Pleasures
Singapore wasn't dubbed
The Garden City for nothing. The whole city-state abound with trees, plants & flowers. For its size, it surprisingly has a lot of
parks. How many do we still have in Manila? Do we even have any other than Luneta? It's a pity we have the land but we don't have the love for nature and the beauty it provides...externally and internally. Anyway, what I really want to share is what we were treated to, accidentally, last Sunday afternoon. We decided to check out Singapore's
Botanic Gardens and we couldn't have picked a luckier timing.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra was having a free concert at the park's Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, and there were throngs of people watching, both locals & expats. The mood was juvial, especially with kids & teens playing and running on the open, grassy fields. Their spirits & energies undoubtedly bouyed by the orchestra's rendition of various modern music. Families came prepared with picnic baskets, including the elderly, even those on wheelchairs.
Spending Idle Time
I have time to burn. Everyday since Thursday last week I have at least 2 hours of free time after dropping Luis in school. The past 2 days I spent mostly reading and writing. This sudden freedom is actually much awaited, considering that I was holed up for almost 3 months doing nothing but mommy-cum-housewifey chores. I had no one to talk to most hours of the day but my 3 yr old son. Good thing I had the internet or I'd lose my mind completely. Having this free time forces me to think of what interesting things to engage in. For starters I've taken a shot at vanity (yes, finally!) I got to visit the salon last Monday and had my first ever manicure and pedicure, Singapore-style. I still prefer David's in Manila, though, or the very special personal service by my Ate Melda. Hmmm....wonder when I'll have the courage to have a facial for the very first time?
Having time away from home has its pros and cons. The first good thing is that I am again able to do what I missed doing for a long, long time -- bum around at
Starbucks. Do & I discovered Starbucks together during our dating days, when we'd have dinner together every night then head to Starbucks Rockwell after for some serious newspaper reading. We'd go there armed with
PDI &
Phil. Star and read from cover to cover, or until our eyes popped out of their sockets in tiredness. What we really like about Starbucks coffee shops is that you can stay in one the whole day with just a cup of coffee and no staff will give you the stare. No barista will make you feel you have to go after finishing your cup and vacate the seat
pronto by dropping utensils, trays, and sometimes even chairs so you'd feel uncomfortable. When we moved to Korea, and now here in Singapore, it's the same
Starbucks. As they say, you're really there for the ambiance. C'mon, I don't know anything about coffee. I can't tell one from the other unless the tastes really, really differs. So I will not claim to patronizing it because I am a coffee connoisseur. I am simply there to bum around, to hang out. These days I go to Starbucks armed with a bag full of this and that. Yesterday it was a booklet of raffle tickets we got for purchasing an
LCD TV. It's a good thing no signatures are required because even I can't distinguish my handwriting anymore. My hands got so stiff and tired halfway through the booklet I felt my veins threatening to explode from the pressure of writing. Once you get used to using computers all the time sadly you lose the stamina to write long-hand. Today I finished
sa wakas reading
Life of Pi and started
Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex right away. I said there are pros and cons, and here's one con. If you bum around at Starbucks between the unholy hour of 12:30pm and 3:00pm -- and you're pregnant -- there's no way you won't get lured to sleeping. Hahummm...
My Preschooler
August 14 was our big day. I said "our" because I'm probably more excited and anxious at the same time as Luis who is starting preschool. I hope I did my best to prepare him for this big change in his routine. But who really knows what can happen, and for how long?
The SchoolAfter careful study of the whole "menu" of preschool methods available nowadays, Do and I agreed Luis will benefit more if he gets montessori training. And we mean the
real montessori method, not a regular kindergarten or playschool with the montessori word attached to the school name. Being a first born, only child (for a long time),
sigurista-type we feel Luis will learn more to be independent and secure in a montessori setting. We also like it that this method emphasizes and builds on the child's love of learning, promotes and develops comprehension and concentration and not just rote & shallow memorization and definition of information. I am not an expert on the montessori method, but if you are interested to know more, click
here.
The 1st Day in SchoolThe first 3 days in school was designed to facilitate orientation and familiarization of new students. They were short -- 45 minutes -- sessions with one parent attending together with the child. Our first day was uneventful save for Luis wanting to go home after only 15 minutes in the classroom! The
directress (your equivalent of teacher) managed to engage him for another 15 minutes but after that he conveniently positioned himself beside me and got contented just watching the activities going on around him instead.
The 2nd DayThe second day proved to be a lot, lot, more challenging...and scary. Challenging because Luis did nothing the whole 45 minutes but cry and thrash about. How to get him interested in the many
materials available to him and how to get him involved in an activity proved to be more difficult than I (and probably the directress') initially thought it would. Scary for me because I was beginning to ask myself if it will be the same scenario each day, for a long time. His tantrums get sparked by the slightest nod or comment or movement by anyone in the room. The school administrator and Luis' directress kept telling me afterwards that it's all normal and that they see the same thing happening all the time. We went home with my fingers tightly crossed.
The 3rd DayAfter a few howls as we enter the school compound, silent whimpers as we wait for the time in the front porch, and a few kicks of protests upon entering his classroom, I had to totally leave Luis under the care of his directress so I can attend the parents' orientation at the second floor. Ten minutes into our meeting I got a positive nod from the administrator saying Luis was doing okay, and has stopped crying as soon as I was out of the door. When I went down for a peep (through the one-way mirror, of course) after our meeting, the kids were already singing their goodbye song and I saw Luis joining in despite the tears in his eyes. I thought my heart will break at the sight!
The 4th and 5th DaysI was both proud and sad. Proud because Luis, suppressing his cries, willfully entered school when one of the directresses took his hand and led him in. He was trying to be brave, to be the big boy I keep telling him that he is. He was greeted by his class directress and upon seeing her, he let out his tears and gave her a bear hug. I jealously thought, oh, that should have been me he's hugging! Both days he vomitted before the start of session. On the second occasion I happen to still be around the school premises so one of the other moms told me to go right in. Luis cried upon seeing me and proudly proclaimed "see, mommy will watch you" (he still refers to himself as 'you' most of the times). After cleaning him up I walked him to his classroom, and he went without protests, only a slight turn of head in my direction as if wanting to ask for the assurance that I will just be around to "watch him" even if he doesn't see me.
Today we missed the school bus because he vomitted again, this time at home, just when we were about to leave. After changing his clothes he tried another 'delaying tactic', declaring he needs to poop (eventhough he's done it twice already earlier in the morning). I was bracing myself for a bigger show of protests once we get to school. Surprisingly, when we got there he just went right in when he saw the door open and took the hand of the first directress he saw in the hallway. He was led to his classroom with only confident steps of a little boy who has finally found his school a great new place to hang around.
Where Have I Been?!
I can't believe more than 3 months has passed since I last posted anything in any of my sites. I can't possibly use moving to Singapore as an excuse. We've been here, settled, for more than 2 months already. All the boxes have been unpacked, even the smallest of our knicknacks sorted out. I have my full time maid (yes, I was finally convinced to get one despite my initial decision not to, and you'll know why if you'll keep reading) for almost a month now, so I can't use being swamped with household chores as an excuse as well. That leaves
pregnancy hormones as the only possible culprit for my unusual
katamaran.
Stranded in Manila
So there you have it. The first of my many updates. We went home to Manila for a one-week vacation prior to moving to Singapore. That's when & where I learned I am 6 weeks pregnant. Unexpectedly Luis and I had to stay behind for 2 more weeks since I needed to go on bedrest. I was totally depressed, thinking at the time I'll have another difficult pregnancy. Thank God after 2 weeks the baby is okay and I can move about (although my OB would have wanted me to stay for one more month, just to be sure). It helped that this is my second already. I somehow know my body more and could tell when I need to stop and relax. I need not stay in bed the whole time after all, and our extended stay proved one of the best vacations Luis has ever had.
Singapore, Our New Home
Thanks to my supportive, organized, husband. By the time Luis and I got to our home in Singapore most of our stuff have been unpacked and sorted out. I actually sent Do a sketch of how our furnishings should be arranged, where to put which item, which he provided to KC Dat and I think that helped a bit in organizing things. The challenge, and I know you will agree, is in sorting out the little things we can't find the heart to throw away thinking that we just might need them in the future. I guess we all have that packrat mentality in each of us. Who knows what we'll need or who will need these little things one day? Better have them some place in the house, space permitting, for future use.
Housekeeping ChallengeThe decision to proceed with our move despite my condition was a tough one. Considering my history, my OB would have preferred I stayed in Manila for at least another month. But I was worried that Luis will miss the start of school again, and that there's no one to look after Do's needs. So last May 28 we flew here determined to make things work out. I immediately contracted a part-time maid service to help clean the house and iron clothes once a week. Once a week wasn't enough but I am not willing to pay more than what a once-a-week visit will cost, so I managed by doing a little of every chore myself. Enough to sustain us until the part-timer's next visit. The big challenge is in cooking. I have always said I am not a kitchen person. I can cook out of necessity, and I must say I am not a bad cook at all. But if you'll ask me if I enjoy cooking I'd flatly say no. I'd rather clean the house, wash and iron the clothes, take care of the dishes. The clincher to our decision to get a full time maid is my being pregnant; that we'll most likely need one anyway when I give birth so better find someone now to train and get acquainted with. We found Racquel through a maid agency and so far, she's proving to be one of those good decisions we've made since we moved here.
Pregnancy Privileges, Pregnancy BluesNow that I have full time help available, I can indulge in what most pregnant women crave -- sleep. I don't have to wake up very early to prepare breakfast. In fact, after breakfast with Do, most days I snuggle back up to bed and wait for Luis to wake up. The thing I enjoy the most now that I have a lot of time is taking care of Luis' needs -- bathing, playing, eating together, outdoor fun. Suddenly I realized he is growing so fast I might wake up one day with protestations of "mommy, i want to bathe myself, i'm a big boy now"! And besides, once our new baby comes who knows how much time I can still devote to both? Luis is also starting school this August (I'll talk about this more in my next entry) and pretty soon, his world will be beyond Mommy and Daddy. Then I might pull my hair in frustration if I don't make the most out of our time together now.
There you have it, in a nutshell. Updating my site would have been much easier had I not forgotten how to do most of the editing. I figured since I was gone for a long time, I should give my site a fresh look in time for my coming back announcement. It might take a while before I am able to put some trimmings again so please make do with what I was able to put up for now. Till next.
