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!
It's been a week since we got home from hotel quarantine. It took me a few days to wrap my head around the fact that I'm truly home. I'd wake up confused when we were still at the hotel. I guess that's what happens when you get stuck in one place for a long time. Things got better when we got home and I adjusted faster. Here's how I really knew I was home:
Big hair don't care. Hello humidity! Hahaha.
1. Bottomless hugs from Miggy - this is what I missed most when we were apart.
2. I could breathe better here! Surviving without a/c the whole day! There are days though when the AQI gets a bit bad. We also just use the air filter at night.
3. The FOOD! I wrote that in big bold letters. Since my stove needs repairing we have an excuse to order all our favorites for now.
4. Friends sending moreFOOD! We've been receiving care packages from friends! Yay! It's been a mix of my favorite food and new food to try (like the Lola Nena's donuts!). I'm so grateful since we've been receiving food from out of town too!
5. Rows and rows of Pinoy tsitsirya in stores! I saw this today at the convenience store at our place.
6. Kakanin everywhere! I should have seriously ordered two boxes of the puto Binan!
7. It's also much easier to get help here. When we arrived from the hotel we immediately got help from the maintenance folks to haul up our stuff. And at the airport, Sweetie was able to rest because the manongs took over everything.
Neighbor's carpenter fixing our sliding door.
8. I was deliriously happy when I was finally able to switch my Google Play country to the Philippines! I immediately changed all my subscriptions because they're just a third of the price compared to Singapore (well except internet!). And the prices of fabric on Shopee and Lazada, O-M-G! It's really going to reduce the cost of my projects.
9. Humor online. We all know how Pinoys can be funny at any kind of situation. Check out this posting for garter I saw the other day. LOL.
10. And the daily politics teleserye. However funny it may seem, it's really a huge concern how things are turning out. We all need to take action and pray hard we don't go further down in the dump. Sigh.
Of course, internet is spotty. I ended up writing this post across an hour because connection kept going up and down. Welcome to the Philippines! :D
Ahhh, life in the Philippines. It's been 48 hours since we got home. I have been sleeping better and breathing better. My lungs are happy. Some would say that there's more air pollution here, but I grew up here so my lungs are used to it. I have been skipping my inhalers since I feel fine. The one thing I'm adjusting to is the heat. I've increased my water intake by 25% to combat it and I've been coping well so far.
My neighbor told me to take my time acclimating. I've been taking it slow. We're still living out of our suitcases as of the moment. Our house is in a disarray and we're working on organizing it. Yesterday I spent at least an hour just washing dishes. I had the fright of my life when I unearthed a dried up house lizard under the dish rack. Awww, poor Dengge 402. We've been naming the house lizards who have been plying our ceiling since 2009. Haha.
Did you notice that the evening breeze has started to become cooler? I enjoyed it a lot last night from the balcony. This means Christmas is coming! I have been looking around for decors since I don't know if my existing ones have survived three years of heat. I hope our Belen is okay. We'll look into decorating once we have things more organized.
One of the things I'm enjoying now is ordering food I've missed a lot. When we got home, Miggy had an array of food from Chowking. In the evening we ordered Shakey's. Yesterday we received care packages from Chelle and Ms. Myna. Chelle sent mind-blowing Lola Nena's triple cheese donuts. It arrived just in time for merienda and we enjoyed it a lot. Ms. Myna's care package included goodies from Dayrit's! We'll probably have that for dinner and we're excited to try the cacao tea. Thanks so much Chelle and Ms. Myna for the care package. <3 <3 <3
So apparently there's a different way of doing groceries here. My Shopeeholic friend Ederic advised that it's better to buy items from brand stores on Shopee. He said that the items come directly from their warehouse and you can get free delivery if you use ShopeePay. I'll probably try it next month, for now I ordered some basic groceries from SM since I'm more familiar with them. I have to plan our weekly menu better so I don't buy too much stuff. I also want to get my fruits and veggies from OnlingPalengke.com since their quality is much better than online groceries. Figuring out this grocery stuff is going to be fun!
I'm so far enjoying this acclimation period. We're just home serving our home quarantine. The best thing about it is Miggy's with us and I can call up Mom anytime using a landline phone (we can hear other better on it than a mobile phone). My doctor will also be happy to know that I'm spending two-thirds of the day without air-conditioning, haha. Maybe that will also help melt my fats, LOL.
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!
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've been trying to memorize the view from our apartment. We have a nice view of the park and it may be awhile before I get this kind of view again. Back home we could see the Skyway on one side and SM on the other. Save for the random planes that passes by there's really not much to see. Sometimes we try counting the number of new cars Toyota parks in the lot beside us.
Things have been crazy busy for us the past few days. I have to finish packing today to make sure I fit everything in our luggage. I'm following the advise of my friends who have previously done quarantine -- bring your own snacks and bring your sewing machine! Yeah, I still have my sewing machine with me because I had to finish my gifts. I also didn't want my precious sewing machine to be crunched under tons of boxes.
We got swabbed yesterday and decided to do something radical -- get a haircut! Not just a trim, I had my hair shortened... really, really short! Here take a look --
I told myself since I'm transitioning to a new way of life I needed a new look. I think the hairdresser got really excited when I told him I wanted short hair. He seemed pretty pleased with his work. The last time I had my hair this short was 20 years ago. Ralph and Myra were so surprised yesterday when they came for dinner.
I'll do the same for the hordes of stuff I've accumulated. I was so busy the past 15 years I just stuffed everything in plastic boxes. I might as well give things away so they can be used better, no use keeping stuff to be used "someday". I realized also I need to change the way I live. Ralph pointed out to me that having planned what to do until Christmas goes to show my A personality is still on overdrive. Yes, I really need to learn to relax and just chill. Being an incessant planner is what got me in huge trouble haha.
I think the first thing I need to do is fix my body clock. It's been so messed up since it's been hard to fall asleep. I've been conking out faster after the movers shipped all our stuff. I managed to finally wake up at 8 in the morning today. With just 3 hours of sleep I'll try to stay up until a more appropriate bedtime. This is where I'll start for now (see, trying to be chill hahaha).
We're on our final stretch before we board the plane that will bring us back home. I'm so happy that we've been able to meet with our closest friends. It's hard since the restrictions allow you only two visitors per day and that includes service crew. Things fell into place during the weekend so we've been able to see some friends. I'm going to miss them so much.
Wow! It's already November! Sweetie reminded me that it's All Saints Day today. The day we usually visit our loved ones in the cemetery. I haven't been able to visit my loved ones in the cemetery for a long time now. That's one of the things we'll do when we get back home. I know though they are always watching over us. Throughout my ordeal my Dad would always visit me in my dreams. Mom (my MIL) also visited during the time I was doing my biopsies. Their visits gave me the strength to fight.
Going home in a few days. I'm so excited! I just hope we won't have any issues and that we'll be safe. I can't wait to see Miggy and collect my bottomless daily hugs again. And I'm looking forward to seeing my Mom again. We'll probably wait a few days more before we go see her just to be super safe. I'll probably cry when I see them again.
It's been 20 months since I've been home. That's the longest I've been away. I'm sure there's been a lot of changes and I look forward to rediscovering things. The first thing I want to do is eat all the food I've missed and buy the groceries I've been longing for (haha!). I also want to see the rest of my family and friends, but we'll have to see how we can do that safely. At least when I'm back home I could send them random food or things I bake. Just the thought of being in close proximity to more people I love makes me want to cry.
And who knows maybe being back home will help me complete my recovery process. I really hope I could go biking outside in the next few months. My doctors would love that since they also prescribed me to get enough daily sunshine!
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!
