Pinoy Abroad in Singapore With...

The Potentate
Age: 24
Occupation: Professional Bum (momentarily)
Length of Stay: 2 months (or longer if Lady Luck winks at me)




I came to Singapore with a grand dream: green(er) pasture and I came to see the dream crushing by the day.

I left the country in mid-February leaving behind a P20,000 a month salary job; a position with an incredible investment of blood, sweat and tears; a thesis in a university and an unrequited love. Forty-seven days and S$1,482 cash shelled out after, the chances of achieving the Singaporean Dream have become realistically slimmed.

But woe is not me. My depression saga is over and sans the high drama, I figured it out: why not savor the moment of vacationing in a first world country? This should come as a sweet consolation after more than two years kisssing the Americans' asses. A little break from the corporate jungle is truly a rejuvenating reward.

Inspired by the template of Singapore's Straits Time's Singapore Abroad, this is my attempt to unleash the real Singapore from my vantage point.

GETTING AROUND

The best way to get around Singapore is...




By train. The train system in Singapore is efficient, convenient and connects to the most important landmarks of the country. This is a far cry from the Philippine train system where human congestion is an inevitable greeting and train intervals seem to take an eternity.

The best way to explore the place is...




On foot, so put aside those stilettos and don a comfy pair of sneakers! Singapore is a tiny city-state and walking gives you a luxury of time to appreciate Singapore's bubbly and diverse architecture. From a picturesque galore of avant-garde attics, to sleek bridges to glitzy landscapes, the beauty is endless and is devoid of architectural eyesores.

What is the weather like?




Singapore's weather is a rocketscience mystery to me. At times, it is just really hot with a screaming humidity that you could cook cheeseburgers on my forehead and in the middle of a fanfare, the rain pours. Inconsistent but otherwise, a very common tropical weather. Beats me: In the midst of an insufferbale heat, why do Singaporeans manage to keep their cool and never get to undergo the agony of perspiration?

Which places really excite you?



HDB's parks for their functionality, pragmatic concepts, smart designs and relaxing ambience. You could throw out a picnic there and if guilt overwhelms you for eating lots of carbs, you could work out afterwards in an open min-gym.

Must one know the language to get around?



No. Almost everybody speaks English or Singlish (Singaporean English with a cute accent) to be exact. Learn to shrug off, though, Grammar 101 as most Singaporeans do not give a fig of the proper subject-verb agreement. And please, forget the American accent, they consider it very low-life and despicable!

SHOPPING

The best bargains are at...



Mustafa. This is an Indian-run mall located nearby the Ferrer Park station. Perfumes and fragrances are the best buy here. Disclaimer: steer clear of shopping between 10 am to 10 pm as the narrow alleys make shopping an unberable affair due to the bottleneck of shoppers. Thus, leading me to reveal one cool fact about Mustafa: the mall is open 24 hours. How cool is that?

FOOD

Do not leave the place without...



Eating chili crabs. It is relatively pricey but worth it. Food bon vivants, time to upgrade your taste!

The best dinner is at...



Hawker centers. If you're looking for variety and cost-next-to-nothing gastronomical delights, head nowhere: Hawker centers offer the best of it!

SUNDOWNERS

What is the coolest place to chill out?



Starbucks Cofee near the iconic Merlion. It is cool, hip, breezy, vibrant and serves you right if you have a penchant for people-watching.

The one place you always take your friends is to...



Killiney's Coffee in Siglap (a stone throw's away from the place I'm living). The cofee is unlike anywhere else. Its unmistakable aroma and taste keep me coming back.

FURTHER OUT

What is there to explore?



The night life at Clark Quay for your bar-hopping indulgences, the red-light district area in Geylang for curiosity's sake, the humungous Night Safari, the public libraries for the bookworms (free access, baby, free!).

Any other sites that would appeal to Filipinos?



The night market in Chinatown. Remniscent of the Philippine's Divisoria, toursits and locals alike flock here for cheap thrills. Thus, if you're a bit hard-up and faces the dilemma of what "pasalubong" to give to the entire barangay, Chinatown is your antidote.

Creme of the Crop

This is a homage to the people who inspire me, an appreciation of genius and virtuosity. Their works redeem me from mediocrity and fuel my imagination with overflowing beauty. Their lives reassure me that nothing is impossible and that perseverance pays.


Favorite Actress: Kate Winslet



With her Oscar win for The Reader, Kate cemented her status as one of the best living actresses. There's a certain je ne sais quoi about her. When she acts, I am drawn to her: the vulnerability she exudes and the strong cinematic presence, no one is at par with her in these departments. Her versatility is unquestionable: from her works in Heavenly Creatures to Sense and Sensibility to Holy Smoke! to Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Kate is adept at pulling off her character with much aplomb. When an authoritative figure like Davis Edelstein of New York Magazine calls Kate as "the best English-speaking film actress of her generation," you know that the superlatives I used here are not all bluffs.


Favorite Film: American Beauty



American Beauty is a perfect feat of poetic indulgences: a bag blowing in the wind, the rose petal scene, the shooting scene and when Kevin Spacey delivered the following line at the near-end of the film, American Beauty became one of my most indelible films in recent years:

I guess I could be pretty pissed off
about what happened to me... but it's
hard to stay mad, when there's so much
beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel
like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's
too much, my heart fills up like a
balloon that's about to burst and then
I remember to relax, and stop
trying to hold on to it, and then it
flows through me like rain and I can't
feel anything but gratitude for every
single moment of my stupid little life...
You have no idea what I'm talking about,
I'm sure. But don't worry...You will someday.

Sam Mendes'(Kate Winslet's hubby) directorial debut, the film won 5 Academy Awards in 2000, including Best Picture. It features strong performances from Kevin Spacey and Annnette Bening. The screenplay, of course, is from Alan Ball, the creative mind of Six Feet Under which I adore a great deal.


Favorite Book and Author: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand




That Ayn Rand is a genius is a sheer understatement. Her book, The Fountainhead, is a fine example of flawless literature: its raw significance grows by the day. Lorine Pruette, a New York Times reviewer couldn't be more appropriate: You will not be able to read this masterful book without thinking through some of the basic concepts of our times. Rand's basic tenets of Objectivism are my solid and stolid parameters:

a) that I am heroic;
b) that my own happiness is the moral purpose of my life;
c) that my productive achievement is my noblest activity, and
d) that reason is my only absolute.


Favorite Sports Personalities: Serena and Venus Williams



When it comes to raw athleticism, charm and tennis drama, no one beats the Williams sisters. Their signature backhands and forehands and the sheer power of their serves made the Williams sisters an omnipresent and mighty force of women's tennis. They changed the face of Women's Tennis Association: they brought high fashion to the court with their loud-colored outfits and bling-blings, they commanded more aggressiveness to the sport and protested for equal money prize between the men's player. With a combined 17 Grand Slam titles, the sisters show no signs of aging as they remain to be the ones to beat in the WTA circuit.

Favorite Model: Liya Kebede



Liya first burst in the fashion industry when Tom Ford personally handpicked her to grace the designer's Gucci Fall/Winter 2000 fashion show. From zero to hero, Liya became an omnipresent force in the fashion circuit: Vogue cover appearances, non-stop features in ad campagins, a record-breaking Estee Lauder contract and a spot in Forbes Magazine's Top 15 richest top models in the world in 2008. And extending her influence to humanitarian advocacy, she was given a post as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. While the rest of the models are busy snorting crack and slutting in St. Tropez, Liya is making the world a better place to live. If only Kate Moss could learn something from Liya...

Favorite Artists: Rachael Yamagata and Allison Crowe (as of the moment)

Inasmuch as my musical taste is volatile and shifts periodically, the artists I have mentioned are the ones rocking in my sublime taste right now.





Allison Crowe's (not Krauss) music is a sheer listening pleasure. Her renditions of some classic songs (A Case of You by Jni Mitchell, I Dreamed a Dream by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg (from Les Misérables), I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) by Ronnie Shannon (popularized by Aretha Franklin), Me and Bobby McGee by Fred Foster & Kris Kristofferson (popularized by Janis Joplin, to name a few) showcases "unique aspect of Crowe's artistry."

Favorite Song from Allison Crowe: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen - I get emotional everytime I hear this song. It is so moving and haunting at the same time. When she sings the part: well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth the minor fall and the major lift the baffled king composing hallelujah , I never fail to get goosebumps.




Rachael Yamagata is just a talent to behold. Her music is my soundtrack on waking up in the morning, going to the train, breaking up, on loving again. There's just too much truism on her music that is too hard to ignore.

Favorite Song from Rachael Yamagata : I Wish You Love - From the movie Prime (topbilled by Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep), the song invokes a sweet naivete and simplicity: But most of all when snowflakes fall, I wish you love. I used to sing this song to my erstwhile significant other, and oh boy, did the moron weep!




Favorite Music: Latika's Theme from Slumdog Millionaire's OST

Genius is even too lame to describe the music of Rahman. This song is so dreamy and calming that I officially made it as the song of my funeral. Beautiful humming and haunting background and when the guitar kicks in the middle part of the song, it is just so heavenly.

The Initiation

This is my blog. I am the host. And I am the guest.

Welcome to my world. For the uninitiated, this is me in a nutshell: keping track of the professional career of the Williams Sisters, appreciating the artistic genius of Kate Winslet, extolling the philosophy of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and lately, rocking in the music of Rachel Yamagata and Allison Crowe.



I am spontaneous. I embrace the idea of a spur-of-the-moment fun. Although I do not espouse hedonism, it definitely doesn't hurt to let loose of onself and dance to the music. A glass of wine + stimulating conversation = divine!

I read a great deal. Ignorance is the most singular agent of poverty. As cliched as it may sound, knowledge is power. When someone bashes me, I rebut to the cretin a quote or two from Ayn Rand and the cretin shuts up.

I appreciate music. It is gratifying to know how music shifts or dictates your mood. If I wanna feel my bohemian spirit, I listen to Out Tonight or La Vie Bohemme from Rent the Musical. If I want some high drama, I play Rachel Yamagata or Allison Crowe or Sarah Maclachlan. Oh, I just love my IPod and methinks that Steve Jacob should be canonized to sainthood for this nifty invention.

I love art films. From Slumdog Millionaire to Gone With the Wind to American Beauty to The Pianist, the artsy it is, the better.



Inspiration is my medium, my fuel. I exist because I'm inspired. It doesn't have to be associated to a significant other. A music from Kate Voegele or Kate Winslet's cinematic aura rejuvenates my mundane existence. In this rather bleak world, to be alive alone is already a torture, an insufferable anguish. An inspiration might just reverse the status quo.

But I press on. To feel love and pain at the same time: the ecstasy that it brings, the roller-coaster ride, the highs and lows, the unrequited love. Eventually, I come back to my senses, slap my face twice and contemplate. Forget about the conventions, shrug off the moral police. Heed to the call of Pamela Anderson: Time passes, shit happens, you do the best you can. We put so much drama into everything. You gotta remember to breathe.

'Cause when things go haywire and the formula does not work anymore, it's time to....

Stretch the truth...