As I search some old files, I find...

I've been scanning my emails lately, wondering which files to erase. I guess I can be very sentimental and actually don't like deleting files. But then again, I'm graduating soon, a new life, a time to scrap the old and look forward to better things to come. Below is something I've written eons ago, a file created on Sept. 2, 2003 at 5:55pm. --->


singapore skyline: a view from the esplanade

Amongst the wide array of food here, I've adapted to certain tastes, a handful I call my favorites. Mee Siam is one dish that eats into my Singapore life: a harmonious blend of spices, and sweet and sour delights.

A dash of sourness, lemon or lime, dishes out that distinct Mee Siam taste.

My life here is not free from such neutralizers. There are times when my Hello card stacks up my table while our phone back home rings a thousand times a day. It's horrible when you feel lonely and stressed about certain things. It’s normal to feel that way wherever you are. What matters most is never giving up, overcoming the situation and always depending on God every step of the way.

Regularly I reflect by the Nanyang Lake and there's no denying I get sentimental thinking about God's wonderful creation, which transcends mere landscapes of flowers and trees. Here friendships also blossom, and laughter keeps me grounded in places of "firsts".

Me, my big mouth and hands free cell phones: the first time I chit-chatted with a cab driver…he was not actually talking to me. The first day of my waitressing stint was also such a gag. Imagine being plunged into the dining area overflowing with people without training. My one time big time attempt to surf was also a bag of laughter because I remained stationary, and no sailing took place.

Eventually I learned to pull the strings and certain “firsts” were better handled: playing bridge, watching the world cup soccer fever with friends non-stop, eating chilli, making my first-ever video, strumming the guitar to Steven Speaks’ Passenger Seat, and organizing birthday surprises for friends.

Around here, they never fail to spice up each serving.

Adventures are around each corner of this garden city. I’ve come from witnessing two old men fight in the MRT (something I missed in the Philippines) to walking in the dark near flying bats and pioneering prayer-walks around campus to starting a sushi day with free manicure sessions for those under exam stress.

I often satisfy my sweet tooth, these are my honey moments.

For two years now, Singapore has been my second home where sweet memories are incessantly etched. One of my birthdays here was celebrated Singapore style: bubbles, sparklers, a Happy Birthday song in Chinese, a cake with my edible photograph, and a sumptuous dinner plus two original CDs of my fave Janet Jackson from close friends…People pass by from all over the world and I feel I’m studying in an international school as I’ve had classmates and professors from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Britain, Canada, America, Australia, etc… I also hold dear dance performances I’ve had with the university’s dance troupe. Hip hop moves I learned colored our first-ever participation in the international student’s week as Filipinos got down with Gary V’s Shout for Joy… Ultimately unforgettable was being meters away from Singapore’s hero, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in a Q&A session with students…I was also able to visit Japan for free by simply assisting a friend in an English contest held there …Amidst it all, it still boils down to one thing: sweet memories are friends close to heart. Being with dear people make playing volleyball, swimming in Sentosa, biking, karaoke, kayaking, or plain eating at Mc Donald’s a wonderful time.

These extraordinary experiences often make me feel as though I live inside a beautiful painting, the matrix of moviehouses, a simulacrum of some sort. Dried leaves here literally fall like rain, reminding me of the serenity of my campus. Amidst the chatters of birds, the fire trees and the occasional rainshowers and my country style dormitory, studying becomes easier especially for nature lovers like me.

What’s bad is I seem to grow fatter each day. Could it be the mee siam or the unbalanced diet from juggling food varieties as I go back and forth from Manila to Singapore at least twice a year? In any case, I am looking forward for more sweet and sour treats and spices of the Singapore life.

-30-