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 been crazy busy organizing our home and planning our next steps. It feels like Sweetie and I are newlyweds again, haha. I remember that time we moved to our first home. Most of our things were borrowed from our parents' house, i.e. the sofa and our dining table. We had our beds made by my Mom's carpenter. We didn't need to buy a lot of things since we were able to use all the practical wedding gifts we received.
It's almost 12 years now since we tied the knot. We've lived in about 8 different places in 2 countries. Living that way was hard. We had to manage two households for the past ten years. It was fun while it last, but as you grow older you yearn for permanency. We never planned to live that way, it just happened because of the work opportunity I was presented ten years ago.
And now that we're back home we're working on re-connecting where we left off ten years ago. It feels like we're newlyweds again planning for our future. We've been living off our suitcase the past two weeks and have just started to explore our untouched closets. We giggle as we find clothes that don't fit us anymore. We're also going through what we left at our Manila home in January 2020.
It will probably take a month or two more before we can have some normalcy at home. I hope we can finish in time for Christmas. Gotta get moving also so I can start quilting again (sewing machine and stuff is still in the box). We've been so distracted with... eating. Hahaha.
Sweetie went out to have his car battery checked. Viola got a good washing too. Our neighbors and the building cat can't leave marks on it anymore hrhrhr. Sweetie got us yummy lunch -- Binalot! Yay! We've been craving for this for a long time now. Sarap-sarap!
And we'll have yummy puto Binan and sapin-sapin for merienda later.
Gotta go now for other online errands (pay bills) and work on the kitchen again.
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!
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!
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.
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!
