Will document my life in the last 48 hrs after I catch my breath.
Chaotic
Category Archives: travel
Floating
We had our weekly call yesterday and I was trying to recall my leads that I got from the conferences last week…and OMG I really couldn’t say something coherent. My notes and my thoughts were all scattered because there were so many! I mean everyday I was talking non-stop from morning until evening and throughout all that, I couldn’t take down notes lest I scare or offend the person I was talking to. I had trained myself to be a walking encyclopedia but I guess age is catching up on me.
I just edited today and did some small admin stuff but the brain cells to write all the stories I needed to push out this week have died last week. I still don’t have the capacity to think lucidly because I am attending to a million things: poaching people, trying to interview candidates, emailing people I met last week, connecting my reporters to sources.
If I were going to a regular office, this would have been a lovely lunch bag for myself. I was tempted to buy my own but I knew if would just be a waste because I wouldn’t be using it.
I played truant later in the afternoon. At 3 pm I went to Raffles City to check out some bag styles on 50% off at Desigual there. Well, I didn’t like the ones that were left there so I went to Challenger to check out some things. And I saw some mechanical keyboards that are cheaper than Razer. I called up Twin A if she wants to replace the Royal Kludge that she bought because it has connectivity issues that I couldn’t resolve. Apparently it is a known bug according to Reddit; the 2.4G dongle doesn’t work well since it gets in conflict with other wireless devices. Anyway, Twin A said she’s happier with a membrane keyboard as she finds it easier to use when she’s playing Minecraft. Which is weird.
Of course, I cannot buy one twin without the other having the same. So I asked Twin I if she wants one as well because her cheap keyboard that she bought from Shopee is already falling apart. She says pass because she doesn’t have money. I said no, this is a gift from me because her keyboard and mouse are already not working properly. Yey, she exclaimed. She said she is happy with any keyboard that looks cute.
So there, I got one white and one pink and a pink Logitech Pebble mouse to match. Twin A already has her own new Logitech Pebble that she bought with her own money. Logitech lasts forever so better to pay premium for keyboards and mouse. My own Logitech slim keyboard and mouse combo (grey) are already a couple of years old. If I’m not mistaken, these are already 7 years old.
And I would be getting the Royal Kludge mechanical keyboard and try to solve the connectivity issues. I think I would buy new key caps because white will not remain white with my sweaty hands and obnoxious cats who love sitting/lying on my keyboards.
I went back to the office at 5:30 pm and continued to work while having my dinner at my desk. I got out of the office (the last person and I had to turn out the lights AGAIN) at around 8:45.
It was already too late to swim so I just stayed a bit at the pool area of the hotel.
Here’s the thing: I always book hotels with pools but I couldn’t find time do laps because I’m too busy. I just assure myself that I’m getting plenty of exercise with all the walking I do around here.
I started packing at 11 pm-ish. I finished past midnight. And I barely made it to the 30kg weight limit.
I’m hungry. Need to sleep this off.
Bag hag
Whenever I’m here in Singapore, I attend church at Every Nation (the international chapter of Victory in PH where I used to go) at Vivo City (Golden Village). Yes, the movie theater. Because that place can accommodate a lot of people. This morning was the first time I attended church in 5 years and it was overwhelming that I couldn’t help tearing up during praise and worship. I had my head bowed at that time since I had been wiping my face with my handkerchief.
I stayed away for too long. My anger at the pastors at Victory was so great that I let it get in the way of my spiritual growth. It was their misogyny that pushed me down and caused me to turn my back on God. They let Filipino machismo talk instead of counseling me according to the Word; it pounded me down to the ground. It was my fault, they said, that my marriage fell apart. I should have soothed the ex-husband’s ego because I’m a high profile media person. Basically, what they’re saying is that I should make myself small for somebody who doesn’t want to grow up.
I’m still trying to reconcile this hurt and anger with church-going. I don’t think I can go back to Victory either in Katipunan or LB. They did a lot of damage to me. Because of them, I always thought that I was in the wrong; I was evil and that I was going to break the family apart.
The answer and healing came through science. The real answer was that the ex-husband has narcissistic personality disorder. Disorder—-my shrink told me a disorder is incurable, but it can be managed. As an empath, I will literally die if I continued to live with someone with NPD. As I was telling my friend L last night, he sucked the life out of me for almost 20 years. Narcs use the energy of empaths to feed their need for dominance and extreme ego, just like vampires. Or the Nazgul in LoTR or the dementors in Harry Potter. They chase away all the joy that is left in your heart.
So L told me she understands why there is this incurable need for me to be alone and shun connections and people. I told her, I never had enough headspace for myself. I couldn’t even hear myself for 20 years. As an empath, all my energy was sucked out by people who surrounded me: the narc of an ex-husband and the equally self-centered ex-partner J who only wanted to receive but didn’t give.
I told L that I needed to live inside myself for a while. This introversion is my form of healing; a time to listen to myself because it has always been other people’s welfare and happiness that I worked on. I dismissed myself.
On a related note, because of this living inward and discovering myself/self-love, I treated myself to a shopping spree at Vivo City.
Guess? was 50% off at Tangs and the standalone Desigual shop at Vivo City was having a 50% off as well. I checked Zalora PH for the current prices back home and that decided my fate. I shopped. Then I bought the girls some cute lunch bags that can fit their thermos and new lunch boxes.
I’m such a bag hag. I’ve known that for quite some time now.
So the bags I brought with me go now inside the luggage…
My Michael Kors bag is older than my daughters. It’s already showing its age (the lower part is getting rubbed against my clothes) and the friction is causing some blemish to the fabric. I should also be careful with the frequency of having this dry cleaned because the chemicals are harsh on fabric. I couldn’t use this regularly in Manila because this tote bag doesn’t have a zipper: all my stuff inside would be very accessible to shifty hands. It costs more than the salary of some editors I know so I always store it in its silken dust bag with lots and lots of desiccants inside to absorb moisture.
I also learned from Buddy Tan (the owner of Blackwing Shoes) that I should apply body lotion on leather bags and straps because they will start cracking, like our own skin, when it’s not moiturized. He said his mother-in-law had her housemaid apply body lotion and massage the bags regularly to keep them in tiptop shape. He told me I should avoid the leather conditioners and oils (like mink) sold commercially because these make the leather ultra moist that could also contribute to the weakening of the leather itself if not used correctly. He said use them sparingly and I would be better off with my body lotions. “If it’s good enough for your skin, then it’s good for your bags’ skins too,” he said.
I’m tempted to go back to Tangs, probably in Orchard, to check out other styles…No, I should leave myself some room for shoes, which I prefer to buy back home. From the local shoemakers in Marikina.
Ah, the bag hag strikes again.
And to think I still have two Kate Spades inside my closet that I rarely use…
Manpower issues
Oh geez, this tita can no longer keep up with the millennials. My friend B and I were convinced by the Filipino journo friends we had drinks with last Friday…to stay up past 3 am. I was so trashed the following day that I only got to do my grocery shopping at 3 pm.
I wanted to put that kind of chandelier in my future bathroom
There were so many conferences this past week, which allowed fellow Pinoy journos to gather in one place and exchange chismis. These were former Bloomberg TV Philippines/TV5/Businessworld people. One is an anchor/SEAsia reporter for CNBC, the other one is already a senior producer/editor/journo at CNA, and another is a Bloomberg reporter transferring now to their Jakarta office from Manila bureau. Others are from MSN and a commodities trade magazine.
We all had the same complaints: WE CANNOT HIRE IN SINGAPORE. ZERO TALENT.
Two of these people here I have already poached in the past. Of course they wouldn’t jump ship because they’re already the same level as me. The others are really meant for broadcast. So basically we’re all competing for a very small pool of unqualified locals because we’re all having problems with MoM barriers. What I found out is that they can go around the limitations by hiring at S-Pass levels and just hit the maximum payscale at that level so they can get people from abroad. Unfortunately, I cannot do that since 1) we’re an MNC so it’s harder for me because of reputational risks; 2) we’ve already hit our quota.
And of course, there is no way I can hire a local PR or citizen. For the PR, they are so much sought after that I cannot afford them. For the citizens…mehhhhhh. I will just kill myself by imposing this kind of headache if I hire local.
I told my bosses that there is no way I can fulfill London’s orders so I’m poaching from our HK bureau and sold SG so much to her. She’s flying in September to cover two conferences and if she likes it, I will facilitate her transfer. I can tell I will not be loved by the HK bureau chief/current manager.
I can also try poaching from our Australia bureau…
I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I’m a coffee runner since the world began. For some reason my good friend G and my brother-and-SIL tandem like the local Gold Roast coffee here. So here I am, in danger of going overweight on my baggage.
There is also a nearby reflexology place. This is the reason why I like staying in places like Lavender; neighborhoods like this have affordable options.
I fell asleep there while I had the 90 mins foot and back reflexology combo.
So my my good friend, who transferred here during the lockdowns of 2020, and I agreed to meet here so we can have nice talk amid the fireworks and the lights show. Her studio is a chaos right now because her mom and sister had been staying there for a week now or so. Plus of course, we wouldn’t be able to talk about sensitive stuff because they’re around.
She had been my best friend in elementary and I was always at their house because my piano teacher lived nearby. So every Saturday after my lessons, I walked over to her house to hang. We kind of drifted apart in second year high school because we thought we’re too cool for each other to hang out together. She joined the rich kids clique while I joined another popular kids clique. But we later realized it was stupid (teenagers…) We were still in each other’s lives though and all throughout our 32 years of friendship, we were always just a phone call away.
It has been more than 5 years since we saw each other face-to-face but we talk almost everyday on FB Messenger that’s why it didn’t feel like we haven’t seen each other that long. I’m the one who knows EVERYTHING about her life post-separation from her husband. Like every graphic detail. LOL.
I’m helping her now find another law firm doing M&As here in SG because her current one sucks. It’s a local so no wonder.
It’s kind of funny. They have an oversupply of lawyers and bankers here while there is a dearth of journos since there is no free press here.
Ok, I must take a shower now and attend church at 10 am.
Miss CallMeCreation.com’s night out
Hah! After a very productive week, I finally had a relaxing night for socials. Despite feeling a little bit under the weather. I just discovered there is a little lounge room at the office that has an Osim massage chair that I enjoyed for a few mins before walking over to this pub. 😎
I took my time this morning and had a leisurely breakfast of kaya teh set at Kopitiam. I missed the softboiled eggs.
While I was buying takeaway lunch at the basement of Raffles Place, I saw these fish skin chips being sold at that Japanese resto. I was weighing whether I should buy now or before I leave on Tuesday. I decided against it so I just proceeded to our office to do some serious work.
I was so busy today that I ate lunch at my desk because I needed to finish my edits and a million emails.
Then I went to Suntec to meet a source. On the way back to the office, I got held up because there was a Delsey luggage sale. 🤣 Buying new luggage is one of my missions here in SG and just my luck I came across this store. The 55″ luggage I bought only costs SGD 164 (minus the GST because I will claim refund at the airport when I leave. My old American Tourister is already falling into pieces and I already had the wheels replaced in Manila.
It was still raining when I arrived at Raffles Place.
Back at the office, I had a lonely dinner at my desk because I needed to finish some tasks because that luggage shopping held me up by an hour 🤣.
And now I’m having a pint since my friends are taking quite a while to arrive. The rain. They’ve already forgotten how to navigate much worse thunderstorms in Manila.
It will be almost a week since I had taken my antidepressant. I’m doing good. ❤️
🤕
I don’t know if I’m going to get sick or this is just exhaustion. I went home early after we wrapped up our 4-day conferences.
I still have to go to the office tomorrow to finish some edits and articles.
I’m so tired but can’t sleep. Need to decompress.