I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
We've now spent 72 hours at home and we're slowly making progress in re-organizing. We each have our own assignments. I've been working on the kitchen while Sweetie has been clearing out the balikbayan boxes we've sent in the last year. It's part two of the sorting and clearing operations we did in Singapore. Our goal is to reduce our things since we're merging two homes.
I have been prioritizing our kitchen. It will be very unhealthy to keep ordering food. I haven't used my kitchen for two years so I have been washing everything. It's a good thing to do especially in the afternoons when it gets so hot. Finished everything on the counter yesterday and I'll start working on the cabinets today. It's also a good chance for me to sort and reduce our things.
I did notice that Corelle plates used to be much thicker! The ones we had in Singapore were much thinner and lighter. I like the sturdiness of the older plates. Most of our kitchen items were wedding gifts. I've only replaced one frying pan so far, everything else still functions well. I need to have our electric range checked though. It takes so long for it to heat up and I'm not sure if the oven still works. Good thing it's quite easy to book service from La Germania. I hope it will still work for a few more years. I need it to work properly so I can finally cook some adobo.
Last night we ordered Pancake House! Woohoo! My favorite arroz ala cubana wasn't available so I got the house special instead. It was amazing to eat it again. Aside from the good food, we have so many happy memories associated with Pancake House through the years. I'll probably order McDo tomorrow because I've missed their spaghetti haha. I wish though we could order some Makati Supermart spaghetti. That would make me so happy.
Just another day at home. I love how we all converge to hang out on the dining table all day. Happy :)
Transitioning back to the Philippines in the middle of a pandemic wasn't easy. There were a lot of moving parts, but it was mainly a couple of things: (1) Quitting our jobs, (2) Arranging our travel back to the Philippines, (3) Shipping our things, and (4) Turning over our apartment.
Quitting our jobs wasn't as straightforward as we wanted. We had to give notice in advance. I wanted to leave earlier, but they wouldn't just let me go. It was a blessing in disguise because I was able to resolve additional health issues. My doctors also wanted me to be stable before I left. Eventually they allowed us to go. This was relatively the easiest thing to do.
Here's a video of our trip :)
We booked our flights and hotel in advance. It was very expensive to book just a one-way flight, so I booked a roundtrip one since I need to have my annual check-up next year anyway. The complicated part was following the ever-changing protocols. We originally booked 10 days at the hotel, but the IATF reduced the quarantine days to six. Good thing the hotel said they'll just refund the extra days.
The tricky part was the documentation needed. I detailed the requirements on this blog post. It's what we followed. Key thing is to print everything out because that would help with the clearances. Save all the QR codes also on your phone and make sure it's accessible offline (in case you don't have internet upon arrival). It makes things easier also if you have a local Philippine SIM since that's where the notifications of the RT-PCR test are sent.
Keep yourself updated also by checking the OWWA Singapore FB page. They have just posted an updated process last November 8 (see below), you may check it on the page here. Print this if you can since it could be confusing where to go next. We were lucky because the manongs who assisted me with the wheelchair took care of bringing us to where we needed to go.
A week before our flight we found out that there's a single occupancy policy. This means couples would be split up. I clarified this with the Board of Quarantine and got this response -
Room sharing for families/designated guardian shall be allowed under the following criteria:
1. With minor children 2. Persons with medical condition needing assistance with activities of daily living* 3. Senior citizens needing assistance with activities of daily living* 4. Persons with disability (PWD)
*Activities of Daily Living include eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting and walking/moving around Present the proof of your medical condition to the Quarantine Medical Officer on duty at the airport and coordinate with the hotel management regarding this. Please be reminded as well that if you were allowed to share room, you should sign a waiver with the hotel indicating your awareness of the risk of exposure in case one of your members yields a POSITIVE RT PCR RESULT. This exposure will mean that you will have to undergo 14 days quarantine with Day 1 being the date of release of result.
Jay has been taking care of me since I got sick. My two doctors wrote a memo for me stating that I needed daily living assistance. I informed the BOQ officer and presented the documents and email from BOQ. The medical officer on duty came to me and asked whether I needed to be hospitalized immediately (my medical conditions really look scary on paper). I told him I was stable and just needed my husband to be with me all the time. He gave the option for home quarantine, but I told him we already booked a hotel. We stayed at the hotel because we wanted to be sure we were negative before going home.
The most challenging part of the process was physically moving back everything. This process was tied to the turn over of our apartment. We had to inform our landlord two months before leaving so we can use the diplomatic clause on the contract. We were required to send a letter from our employer about our last day. After that we requested for quotations from shipping companies and eventually contracted one to help move our things.
Traveling for pleasure or business is easy. Traveling to transition back home is an entirely different process. We started sorting our things in early September, but we only finished packing for our flight two hours before we left for the airport. We also had to send a box via LBC the day before our flight because we realized we had more stuff to bring back. Haha. It was TIRING. We just rested the first three days during quarantine to catch up on sleep. I was so grateful that we didn't have to worry about food or chores. We were able to take naps whenever we felt like it.
And now we're home! I don't think I'll want to live abroad again or move far, far away! And I never want my family to be apart again! I slept like a baby last night. It was my first time to have more than an hour of deep sleep. Knowing Miggy's just in the other room probably calmed me down finally. Just a few more days we'll get to see my Mom! Yay!
When I woke up this morning I realized "today is THE day"! Eagerly awaited the results of our swab test and breathed a sigh of relief when they sent it earlier than expected. Made plans with Sweetie while eating breakfast. Packing did not take too long and soon enough front desk called to inform us that our ride had arrived.
I couldn't contain my excitement while waiting for our bill. Soon enough our gazillion luggage were loaded and we were on our way home. Luckily traffic was light, the funny thing is I panicked a bit when we turned a corner. I thought the drive made a mistake and was going to meet traffic head-on. I realized a few seconds later that people drive on the right side here. I got used to the left side for almost two years.
As the headed down to our drop off I saw a glimpse of Miggy. I immediately waved. I literally jumped on him for a hug when we parked. I almost bawled hahaha. I think Sweetie took a video of our reunion. I feel my life could go on now. I am now unsuspended. That's how I felt since I moved to Singapore.
I am happy. I am complete. We're going to finish our 4 day home quarantine first before we visit my Mom. For the next few days we'll catch up first, do many, many hugs and reorganize our home. I'm still in a daze and have to keep pinching myself that I am finally home.
*Many friends abroad have been pinging me about the steps we took to get home. I'll make an updated post maybe tomorrow hehe. I just need to wrap my head around the fact that we made it back!
Ahhh, the quarantine life. We're halfway through our six-day quarantine and I'm actually grateful that this was a requirement. We've just been resting since we arrived. The super busy last few weeks have caught up with us. We were probably just running on adrenaline the last few days we were closing down our life in Singapore.
I literally haven't really done anything here at the hotel. I've been meaning to sort the contents of our luggages. A friend also advised for me to bring my sewing machine during quarantine since I'll have lots of time. It's still inside the box. Our luggages are untouched save for the basic things we need for daily living.
The TV has been on most of the time, but I've never finished a show. I usually doze off after eating. Baboy reflex ftw. The hotel has been providing huge servings of food. I already requested for them to halve the rice they've been providing. Rice is life. I wish we had a microwave over so we can set aside the leftovers. No wonder so many people gain so much weight during quarantine.
I'm glad I have friends who gave some advise about what to bring during quarantine. They told me to bring snacks and your hobbies. Aside from snacks I also brought my coffee, milk, ketchup and mayo. I also brought some kubyertos since I don't like using plastic cutlery. Good thing we also had leftover garbage bag which we brought with us. It's helped keep our room clean.
I'm hoping I won't be so exhausted anymore tomorrow. It really takes so long for my body to recover now. I cancelled three VCs yesterday because I couldn't stay up. I'm only up now because I took my vitamin D3, but I might soon nod off again haha.
I shed a tear when we touched down in Manila. I was weirdly smiling from ear to ear under my mask. We're finally home after 22 months! I honestly didn't get to fully enjoy the experience of riding a plane again. We finished packing at around 4:30am and just rested a bit. Got up less than an hour later to prepare to leave for the airport.
My evil laugh after successfully ruining Sweetie's selfie.
Sweetie was my superman. We split the work to finish packing and cleaning up the house. I cleaned the fridge while he focused on throwing away things. He packed my sewing machine and the air filter while I finished packing consumables. Traveling with intent to go back to the same place is much easier versus traveling to go back home permanently. It must have been a divine superpower who helped us finish everything. I don't know how Sweetie managed to haul down all 11 luggages we ended up bringing back.
It would have been easier if we moved to a hotel after the movers got our stuff, but we had to take all precautions to minimize risk of getting infected so we just stayed home until we left.
Good thing we took the pains to make a fool proof plan. Our first challenge was getting to the airport on time. It was always hard to get a ride before sunrise in our area. We managed to find a taxi service that could accommodate all our stuff and at an early hour. Luckily the driver really helped with carrying our things. He even took care of putting them on the trolleys.
Our second challenge was making sure I survived the long airport walk. It used to be very easy for me, but since 2018 my SOB* got worse. We originally did not want to get special assistance to minimize risk of exposure to other people, but we eventually did. I was provided a wheelchair upon check-in. The challenge? Sweetie had to push me and bring all our hand carry. Two of my hand carry bags were medication. My device bag was 10kg (2 laptops, my cameras, Switch and other valuables). Sweetie's device bag was heavier because his devices were bigger than mine. We took it slow and got more assistance in the lounge.
See you later Singapore. Thank you for taking care of me.
The third challenge was making sure we weren't split up in our quarantine hotel. A single room policy was announced over a week ago and it wasn't clear how to best get an exemption. My doctors were very supportive and provided two letters stating I needed daily living assistance. I think being on a wheelchair helped. The manongs who got me from the plane insisted on putting Jay on a wheelchair too. They also took care of all our things. Ahh, that's what I love about being home, it's so easy to get help.
The BOQ officer who assisted me took care of bringing my documents to the doctor-in-charge at the airport. The doctor was really concerned whether I needed to be brought to the hospital immediately or if it would be better for me to home quarantine. I explained to him that I would be okay and just needed an exemption for double occupancy. He said it wasn't a problem since things were easing up. We were relieved.
Hello Philippines, we're back! (I think the manong who assisted Jay was the same one who did when dislocated his knee! We'll have to check our archives hehe). Yes, we switched to N95 masks before take off. First time to wear face shield!
We're home! We were so busy at the airport we didn't really get to appreciate the whole process. Being on a wheelchair changes your perspective too. I'm really glad we requested for special assistance. The check-in process was very long. If you're traveling back to the Philippines, make sure you follow the registration, vaccination and testing requirements to make the process smoother (I have a guide here). If you have medical conditions, it's helpful to send a respectful email to the agencies involved. We had a lot of concerns, but I believe St. Jude granted my novena prayer to be protected from any harm.
We are home! And our hotel was really, really nice and upgraded our room. It's just a bummer we couldn't order food from outside. That's fine, we can survive six days of quarantine (as long as I don't eat all the Skyflakes in just two days!). I was hoping to get in touch with family and friends when we arrived, but exhaustion took over and here I am awake at 2 in the morning blogging. Jetlag ka ghorl?
Oh, I have a question... how does one get used to wearing a face shield? I would have probably tripped if I wasn't on a wheelchair. Good thing the manongs were nice to let me know when to take it off.
I can't wait to really, really get home and hug Miggy and my Mom!
Transitioning back home is easier said than done. We had been sleeping really, really late since the movers took our stuff. We ended up cramming a lot of stuff in the past two weeks. We listed down our tasks and allotted the day before our flight for any emergency. That was really good planning on our part.
Yesterday was our last full day in Singapore. It was 3 in the morning and I was trying to pack my bags. I thought it was going to be easy. I even told myself I'd probably finish by midnight. At three in the morning, I finally accepted the fact that we did not account for some items we were going to bring home. I woke up. Sweetie and told him I think we should just send the excess via LBC. He readily agreed and we shifted gears. I fell asleep around 5 in the morning].
Woke up early since we scheduled theirconditioners to be cleaned. I promptly conked out on the couch when uncle left. I had a two hour nap which was useful because we met our landlord's agent for the turnover meeting. It took longer than we thought it would be and we ended up rushing to Lucky Plaza while it was raining really hard.
We got lucky at LBC because we got the last large box available. They were already running out of boxes because it's peak period for sending balikbayan boxes. If you don't send it now it will arrive after Christmas. The LBC staff at Lucky Plaza were all very nice and accommodating. We still had a lot of space in our box and they shooed us away to fill it up. So we ended up shopping while our tummies grumbled since we missed lunch.
We headed to Valu$ (Value Dollar), a popular grocery for overseas workers. We rushed around since we still had to meet our neighbors to pass some stuff to them. We ended up with three bags of assorted grocery items. We were proud of ourselves and thought we'd be able to fill up the box already. It still had some space left over so we just added some boxes the LBC crew gave us. They said you need to really fill up the box so it doesn't get squeezed during transit.
We quickly finished our business with Valu$ and then went to Tapa King to get some takeaway. Of course, we also got some Jollibee for our neighbors. I told Sweetie I haven't been to Lucky Plaza for years. I used to go there to remit, change money, buy souvenirs and go to Jollibee. It felt like the end of my journey in Singapore came full circle with a last visit to LP.
Rushed back home, ate our takeaway, then started packing again. We finished at four thirty in the moring. So because I barely had sleep the past week, the plane ride felt like free sleeping time for me (sorry Black Widow!). It was an epic day for us since we had to think out of the box to resolved our packing issue.
Good night my friends, I've conked out a few times which writing the post. I think I'm going to end here and indulge my body with some rest. GNaNyt!
I skipped over to the office yesterday to return my devices. It felt surreal when we were dropped off at my block. The place was deserted. The walk-a-lator which I normally used wasn't even turned on. The last time I was at the office was March 2020.
It was like the universe was conspiring for me not to go. Just when we were about to leave, the sky dropped heavy rain. An hour after it was still pouring heavily. We decided to brave it and go. The Grab driver who picked us up missed a turn. We ended up adding 20 minutes more to our trip. As the car went farther and farther away from the office I asked, "Is the universe holding me back?"
I was relieved when we finally reached my block and as we walked over to the next block I started to feel a bit sad. For a few seconds I wanted to go back home and not do what I was supposed to do. I marched on, dropped my things off and spent a few minutes taking photos. We were not able to go in anymore since the office is closed.
To be honest I was a bit teary eyed, but I got distracted with taking photos. Then I got busy chatting with my seatmate. I sent him photos of where we used to walk when we'd go for merienda. He hasn't been back to the office either and had a lot of questions about our usual haunts.
I've been getting questions about whether it's true I've left my job. And questions on what's next. Yes, I have left my job because I finally decided to follow the advise of my doctors. And what's next is real rest. I'm grateful I have been getting offers for work, but I'd like to focus on resting for now. I will eventually figure out what I want to do next, but for now I just want to spend time with my loved ones and enjoy being permanently home. (Friends have began placing bets on how long I'll be in this state hahaha).
I was brave yesterday. I cried for another reason.
I guess I was really exhausted and drained. I slept for 12 hours! I haven't had a day where I could just chill. We've been very busy the past few weeks (check out my one second per day video below) with the move, organizing documents and preparing our home in Manila for our arrival.
I usually take a photo by the lift whenever I go out for errands or doc appointments. This was for the month of October.
Transitioning back home has been a huge project altogether. I'm glad the only poking doctors did to me this month is the two vaccinations I got, my second COVID-19 vaccination dose and a flu shot. I lived through very minor symptoms of the flu shot while the shipping crew was packing up our house.
I knew our last month was going to be very busy. I had to detail what to do per day to make sure I don't miss anything. There were some surprises along the way, like finding out that my giant luggage wasn't going to survive another trip. We also had to let go of some things we wanted to do because we don't have the time for it anymore.
The most important lesson I learned this month is to let go of things you don't have control over. A forgiving heart also helps a lot with your well-being. I will be forever grateful for the decade I got to spend in Singapore. It was a really great run and I go home with a lot of learnings and skills I could hopefully use for my new mission.
Here's a preview of our last month in Singapore through a one second per day video -
And now my next task is to send out that farewell email I've been procrastinating to do for a few weeks now. I'm dropping off my devices at the office tomorrow so please reach out to me via my personal accounts. We're also changing our home address so please ping me if you're sending snail mail :)
Oh boy the next few days is really going to be hard for me. I hate goodbyes. We started yesterday by saying goodbye to our cleaner. She was originally hired as my caregiver after surgery. After that she helped us once a week to clean. Through the years she treated us like her children. We loved her dearly.
She came yesterday to do some light cleaning and so we could say a proper goodbye to her. She cried after Sweetie gave her our parting gift. We promised to visit her in Ilocos once things are better and when she goes back home. How I wish we could take her back with us.
Gatherings are very limited here right now. You can only have up to 2 visitors at home. Unfortunately our cap will be eaten up by cleaners coming in the next few days. My college bestie is coming over today and I'm trying to figure out how to see my other friends. I hope Cherry would be at the office when I drop off my devices. It's truly a sad situation. I also have a scheduled VC with my team, hope my voice holds up after 2 minutes*.
We'll also be busy with last minute errands the next few days. We'll need to get a RT-PCR test, pick up my meds and hopefully get a haircut. And not to forget the cleaners who are coming over. Transitioning back home is hard. It's a huge project to undertake that requires proper planning. The silver lining though is we could easily VC with friends now, but it's still different being in close proximity to them. I wasn't able to socialize the past year since I got sick and we've had to take measures to reduce risk of getting infected as well.
I hate goodbyes. Tomorrow I told myself I will finally send my farewell email to my colleagues. Sniff.
*My SVC is scarred and it's causes my voice to disappear after a few minutes of talking.
I was a bit disoriented when I woke up to an empty apartment. Surprisingly found Sweetie on the couch and not the dining table where he usually hangs out. He was on the couch because he used his chair to hang some laundry on the balcony. All our conveniences are gone. It's probably on its way to Manila now on a ship.
It's like a reset button has been pressed. It feels liberating just to have the basics. I just got what I need from the kitchen to get through the next two weeks. Most of the clothes I packed are for home use. The most radical move is downsizing to just one pillow and a small blanket. My Fitbit says I had 4x more deep sleep last night.
We're starting fresh when we get home. Gone are the busy work-work-work days and now I have time to focus on what's really important in life. I was forced in this situation for a reason and I hope to fulfill my new mission properly.
Stolen shot heehee. Gonna miss the view.
I thought the new journey would start once my technical last day comes. I realize now that the reset button was pressed a long time ago. I was holding myself back because I was afraid of fully embracing change. Kuya told me once, sometimes we care too much it's very hard for us to let go. I still feel guilty I could not continue to serve. I feel I let so many people down because they were counting on me to help. I just hope they understand I unfortunately got sick
And so the ship has sailed. I'm on this new journey with Sweetie and Miggy. Cheers to making many new joyful memories!
Whew! The movers are almost done boxing our things. They had to custom build some of the boxes and I'm amazed how fast they could do it. My gift wrapping skills is incomparable to their expertise. I think the most difficult item they had to pack was the exercise bike. The shop delivered it assembled already and it did not come with a box. We were able to save most of the boxes of our small appliances so that was easier to pack.
The moving company said it will take a month to ship and release the shipment from the port. I don't want to think about the horror of unboxing everything. We'll probably take it slow since Christmas is coming up and we'll have to prioritize fixing our place first.
I think the ship is sailing tomorrow. It's probably sailing together with the balikbayan boxes my friends also sent. If things stay on schedule it will arrive within the next two weeks. The moving company will help us deal with the paperwork to get it released from customs. Hopefully that won't be difficult.
Grateful for the crew who tirelessly boxed and carried our items to the container. The process was difficult for them since our apartment is so tiny they didn't have enough space to pack. By end of the day our place we'll be empty and we'll be left only with our luggage. After this we'll focus on the move out cleaning and get the aircon serviced. On my end I still need to finish a few quilt projects I'm giving as gifts.
Today is St. Jude Thaddeus' feast day. He is the patron saint of impossible causes. Do pray for his intercession for your impossible causes.
The shipping company moved our packing day earlier. We had to cram sorting and arranging the things we're sending back home in the last 48 hours. We've been working until 4 in the morning the past couple of days. We're just watching the crew box everything up now. I admire their energy and expertise. They work so fast. At the rate they're going they'll probably finish everything by mid-afternoon.
The first time I had a chance to work with a mover was when I moved to Singapore. I think they got bored with me then because I only shipped one box, a mattress and a folding table. They were disappointed when I told them we're not packing everything in the house. A year later I hired them to help us move homes. Ahhh, they were so happy and we finished the move by midday. Getting a professional mover is really worth it. It saves you time and effort from doing all the heavy lifting.
This move is harder though since we're transitioning countries. We had to sort through 10 years worth of stuff. When we moved to a new apartment last year we didn't unpack everything. I had a lot of clothes I didn't wear anymore. We took the pains of sorting and assembling our things so we don't have to do it when we get home. You can imagine how much junk you could accumulate in ten years.
When we get home I'll work on downsizing more. I have a lot of pre-loved items that I don't need anymore. I also don't expect I'd be traveling anytime soon and someone else will probably have better use of winter clothes and boots. I already gave away some of my books and will have to work on sorting those that are back home.
When we get home we'll have to merge our two homes. Oh boy, that's going to be fun... not! I know this isn't the best time to be doing this since there's a pandemic. Unfortunately it's part of the process we have to do to complete our family again. Praying hard that we'll be protected from harm as we complete this transition.
I just saw the last doctor I have to check-in with today. She's truly one of the best doctors I have and we were surprised with her farewell for me and Sweetie. She said, "You're one of the best and most supportive couples I have met. I really, really admire you for the spirit because your medical journey has been challenging. Others would just cry, but you soldier on and you've done very, very well."
I was speechless with what she said and was just able to mumble a "thank you". Good thing Sweetie was able to thank her properly. I was happy and grateful to hear what she said because I've really tried my best not to burden anyone with my illness. I holler only when I know I really need to be brought to the hospital. I'm truly grateful to everyone who have been taking care of me.
It's crunch time for us now. We need to finish assembling what the movers will pack and bring back for us. I got my flu shot also today and hope it won't have the same effect as the COVID-19 vaxx. My doctor insisted I get it done before going home for added protection. I just need to complete the kitchen inspection, empty the trolleys and organize my cables and everything will be ready for packing. My luggage is already set, I just need to re-organize it.
Goals for the next few days: complete the mover stuff, get some sleep, return my work devices, get swabbed, get a haircut, get remaining meds, buy luggage to replace the one that's unusable, finish sewing the gifts and say goodbye to friends. We've assigned Friday as sleep day since we've been busy bees the past few weeks.
Our trip back home is looming! The mover called this morning to let us know that they're coming a day earlier to pack and load our things on the ship. Oh-em-gee! That means we need to hurry up sorting and packing our stuff. We've been working on it for over a month already and it's not easy. It's a good work-out though haha.
Today we went out for some errands. Picked up my new eyeglasses and got a few items to help us finish packing. I'm really so glad my vaccination is complete already. They wouldn't have let me in if I didn't have it noted on the app. We also grabbed a quick bite at Shake Shack. I doubt if we'd be able to eat out when we get home (best to keep safe!).
The next few days will be very busy! I still have to see one more doctor, pick up meds, get my flu vaccination and hopefully get a haircut. I'm not sure though how I could personally say goodbye to my friends. Worse off I would just send my gifts via Lalamove. Sigh.
I seriously felt sad earlier when we went to Harbourfront Centre and Vivo City. We used to live across it, so it was like our "kitchen extension". I would get off the bus from work and meet Sweetie and Miggy at Toast Box. Sometimes on weekends we'd fancy a sundae cone at 2 in the morning. We'd just cross the street and hang out at the 24-hour always open McDonald's. We even used to walk from home to Sentosa Beach. I look forward to creating new happy memories when we get home and out of quarantine.
Just keeping this short today, gotta go and pack! Happy new week everyone!
A year ago I would not have panicked over all the preparations going back home. I have been able to keep my cool until today. I got word from our hotel that the protocols for double occupancy have changed. We will need to get an exemption upon arrival for us to stay together in one room. Of course, this change in policy is nowhere to be found on government websites and there are no updates available on airline websites as well. There are no updates also on social media sites about this.
Luckily, I found the email address of BOQ and they responded within a few hours (thanks for the quick response BOQ!). I will need proof that I have a medical condition and need assistance in daily living. I have a box full of medical reports which I was going to send back via FedEx. I guess I need to pull out some of the reports. I also requested my doctor if he could write a short letter for me since my condition is just too complicated. That's the problem with invisible illnesses.
On the outside I look perfectly healthy. Only very sharp people notice the subtle indicators that I have an illness. My doctor's nurse actually noticed my hands were shaking when I handed a document to her. I was surprised she noticed. The only person who checked my hands was my rheumatologist. Getting recognized as disabled is really hard when you have an invisible illness.
Sweetie and I discussed whether I should request for a wheelchair when we fly back home. I experience shortness of breath walking long distances and I told him walking across the airport would be difficult for me. We weighed the risk of getting infected from getting assisted and thought it would be risky. I could still walk, but normally stop every couple of meters.
I hope my doctor can indulge me with the letter. I'm panicking at the thought of being separated from Sweetie during quarantine. He watches me with eagle eyes and had to ask special permission to WFH to watch over me. The good news for the day is my vaccination is now fully recognized and I was able to get my vaccination certificate with QR code via notarise.gov.sg. How I wish my government could be more efficient with policies and processes. Sigh.
If you are an OFW or Filipino going back home, I have outlined the process here.
Oh boy our home is a huge mess right now. The mover informed us yesterday that we need to submit our inventory asap! We've been working on it the past few weeks, but didn't know there was a deadline. So last night Sweetie and I crammed completing our inventory list. I need to clean it up before I go to my doctor's appointment.
I wish I could just snap my fingers and everything will pop over to Manila. That's how Ron's mother (in Harry Potter) managed their house. Or maybe Richie Rich can lend Matilda to me. Ahhh, adulting is hard. It's painful to do, but I'm having fun sorting through my things. I've come across mementos from events, gifts from the communities and friends. I also found some money tucked in here and there.
I treasure the gifts that's given to me. I keep them all. I noted 4 boxes of mementos in our inventory last night. That includes all the planners I used through the years. I found a cute photo of me and my Dad in one of my planners. Also his handwritten retrospect just before he married my Mom. I pulled those out to handcarry back with me. Daddy has been visiting me in my dreams a lot in the past few months. I'm sure he's happy I'm finally going back home.
Transitioning back home is challenging. It would have been easier if I did this 5 years ago. I didn't really establish roots here 5 years ago and kept very little stuff. We only built our life here when Miggy and Sweetie moved. The more challenging part is ironing out all the requirements set by IATF. It's changed a lot the past two weeks. It's been hard to collate the right information to guide us (monitoring it here). We're praying that our transition back home will go smoothly.
BTW, if you're facing a seemingly impossible issue or cause, today is the start of the novena to St. Jude. The novena runs from October 20 to 28. The prayer is available here. Do add a prayer for our country :)
The past 15 years I lived my life crafting annual and quarterly OKRs. I would always ask my team, "What big achievement do you want to report by end of the quarter?" And then we'd work on delivering our goals. They were always big hairy moonshot goals. I told myself this morning, "Ahhh finally, you are free from living on OKRs." Hahaha.
A few people asked me what am I going to do now? I guess it's because people are so used to seeing me busy. Eversince I could remember I've always been busy. I was always on a fast-moving train since my teenage years. My Mom would always tell me, "Magpahinga ka naman!" everytime she'd see me. Well, my Kuya is the same so it's probably in our genes to be this way.
I got warded (hospitalized) thrice in the past ten months. It was all bunched up within six weeks. And I've had to go see a doctor weekly since then. I spotted several messages I had with my manager asking whether I was on track for my return. Goes to show how bent I was to continue what I was doing. Four months after getting warded I finally listened to my body and stopped forcing it to get well.
My body has been through a lot of trauma. My heart and mind too. I got help to deal with it (Sandra Oh isdatu? LOL). I prayed a lot and I had to ask my guardian angel to watch over my family while I was dealing with my issues. For now I just want to rest and focus my time on building joyful memories with my family once we're complete.
I gave so much of myself to serve in the past 15 years. For now I will focus on healing, my family and my faith. Christmas is also coming up and merging two homes is going to be a lot of work. I also want to catch up with friends I've practically abandoned in the last 10 years. I have a lot of making up to do since I was so busy.
For the next month we'll be busy transitioning back home. We have to finish packing, travel back and do quarantine, finally see Miggy and my Mom. We have a lot of fixing to do when we get back -- home cleaning, get leaks fixed, get the car fixed, get our shipment of our SG stuff and fix our home again. It'll probably be Christmas by the time we finish everything haha.
Ten years ago today I moved to Singapore! I must say that life has changed a lot! I'd like to say there's been a lot more plusses than minuses that happened in the last decade.
2011, service apartment.
The Plusses
1. Very obviously, my weight! I was just XS when I moved here, now... never mind. I did lose 10 kilograms in the last few months. Still need to lose more to comply with my doctors.
2. I learned to be more independent. My Mom's always been there for me and she always had my back for anything when I lived in Manila. I was lucky when I moved here because I lived with a neighbor from Manila and she showed me the ropes.
3. I have loads of new friends from all over the world. Now there's someone I can visit wherever I go.
4. My travel skills have expanded. I once surprised a school principal at her school which is 2-hours away from Tokyo. I commuted by myself and just followed Google Maps to reach her town. I'm no longer the scaredy-cat I was when I first traveled on my own from Manila to the US.
5. I gained a lot of new skills, both for work and my hobbies. My director told me, I can be a GM of a company now. My home skills have also improved a lot. I can cook more dishes and bake bread! I also rediscovered my love for quilting.
2021, errands.
The Minuses
1. Yeah, my health. The plus is my doctors here fixed my heart. The minus is it's back to where it was when I moved here.
2. Missed time with family. The LDR life isn't for me and it became very hard at some point. Good thing an angel was sent to me and advised to keep my family close. It happened again now because of the pandemic.
3. More stuff. By next month we'll be merging all of our things. I dread sorting and fixing stuff again.
I can't really think of any real drawbacks of my stay in Singapore. I'm just grateful I was given the opportunity to live here and grow. I'd like to believe I'm still the same person I was when I moved, just a bit more experienced and learned. I'm glad I got to experience living abroad, but there's no place like home. I can't wait to see Miggy and my Mom!
There's been many updates the past few days from the IATF. The good news is they're removing quarantine requirements for those coming from green lane countries. Unfortunately, Singapore isn't a green lane country, it's yellow. The most important update I gathered is you need to get a negative RT-PCR test 72 hours before your flight and have a copy of your vaccination certificate.
What this means for me as a vaccinated OFW:
1. Get a RT-PCR test 72 hours before flight. (Required for green lane, I'm trying to find info if this is required for yellow lane countries).
2. Since I'm vaccinated, I must book 5 nights hotel or follow the OWWA Singapore process if you want to use the OFW benefit for quarantine hotel facility for OWWA members. [Note: I'm traveling with my husband who is a foreign national.]
3. Register for One Health Pass at least 3 days before your flight.
5. On the day of your flight, update your One Health Pass registration for your seat number, health declaration and other details. Print or screen capture the QR code. This will also be sent to your email address. Post arrival process is available here from OWWA Singapore.
I am currently checking with POLO if they will be validating the vaccination certificate. You can get a copy of your vaccination certification from MOH through the Health Hub. You will need your SingPass account to be able to log-in. Once you log-in you will be able to download a PDF copy of your vaccination certificate.
*Unvaccinated/unverified/partially vaccinated individuals are required to do 8 days quarantine (7 nights hotel stay)
It's certainly good news that the requirement to quarantine has been shortened! I will update this post if there are any changes announced. I have a fuller process on the preparations I'm doing to go back home here. Drop a comment below if you have a question.
If you want to track what we'll be doing as we transition back home please follow my FB page and I'll also vlog our travel on my YouTube channel. We're just very busy right now sorting and packing our things.
And for what it's worth (this info has been very hard to find, thanks to a friend who's a GM of a hotel who sent me this information).
Green Lane Countries: American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. (Source: PNA)
Yellow Lane Countries: All other countries not listed. (Source: DOT MM FB)
I could now feel our time in Singapore slipping away like sand in an hourglass. I originally wanted to visit our favorite spots before going home. We're just staying home since there's a surge of cases (almost 4k per day now). Just focusing now on sorting stuff, packing and preparing documents.
Yup, our home is a huge mess right now. The mover required us to make an inventory of what's going to be packed. It's hard! It's challenging, but it's a good exercise to do since it forces you to take into account what you own. I have finally been able to collate all my supplies and realized I do own too many pairs of scissors! This week I'll pack up my Yoda collection once my arm isn't sore anymore from the vaxx.
The biggest challenge is figuring out what you need to complete for paperwork. We booked our flight and hotel two months ago. I was hoping that they would be able to provide updated guidelines, but they're not updated. There was a huge announcement last Friday by the IATF and I had to scour through different government websites to get answers.
Here's what we've done so far:
1. Book flight and check airline policies on swab requirements. Philippine government does not require a negative RT-PCR test, but your airline might require it (source).
2. Book hotel - check list of Bureau of Quarantine accredited hotels here. Go through the multitude of PDFs the hotel will send you. Pre-print everything and make sure they get your names right.
3. Get a mover - you can either ship it via a company like Asian Tigers or do piece-meal via LBC or Jolly-B.
The question I had a hard time getting an answer to is whether I needed to get my vaccination certificate by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) validated. The Philippine Embassy's page on validation of vaccination certificate was inaccessible. Luckily I found the email of POLO and got an auto-responder. The answer is NO, you don't need to have your vaccination certificate validated. I hope the Philippine Embassy in Singapore will update their guidelines soon.
It's quite overwhelming! I'm only able to do physical activities an hour or two a day, so Sweetie's the one getting a huge work-out with packing. I've been the one taking care of the documents and bookings. This is reminding me of the months we prepared for our wedding haha. And when we get home I'll need to find new doctors and prepare for Christmas! Whew!
