Walking

     Ever since I had the stroke, walking has been part of my daily regimen. The moment I wake up, after some warm-up stretches, I go on for a walk.

The village road I walk each morning

     Walking here brings back a lot of memories when I was growing up and schooling as a pupil in the next village, the bigger school. It was unpaved still and every day I would walk to school to attend my classes, in slippers. Today I met students walking in their shoes, I think they are students of the village high school which started years after my young days. 

     Imagine this rough road, unpaved, not that today's paving is excellent (I can just guess how much the politician kicked back for this project) and I walked through it morning, noon and afternoon. It thus brings back a lot of childhood memories.

Purple Hearts

     I cried watching this movie on Netflix which I learned is a 2022 release. It's not a huge movie with superb stars. Out of curiosity I watched it on Netflix and it made me cry.

The marriage for convenience became real

     She, Cassie, was an aspiring singer, but with diabetic sickness. He, Luke, was a reformed addict, with the marines about to be shipped to a foreign military mission when his debt, due to his drug addiction days, came running after him. He had no choice but to get married in order to pay his debt and Cassie to have money for her insulin demand. Unfortunately, he had a terrible accident in the war so he had to return, recovering and learning to walk. 

     There were complications in their make-believe relationship when the military authorities found out of their marriage for convenience. He valiantly took full responsibility, cleared Cassie's role in their make-believe. In the end, Cassie realized she had learned to love Luke, and ran to the military prison to let him know.

World Cup 2022

     I miss football World Cup which happens every four years. The 2022 edition is not shown on live TV, unlike when I was in Malaysia and Singapore where football has massive following. The opening yesterday in Qatar and the first match was not shown on TV. I found out the results only online. 

2022 World Cup

     It is not shown in the Philippines where basketball reigns. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief when the whole world is agog over World Cup. I first learned of the World Cup in Malaysia, the 1996 World Cup, when Brazil won its fifth title. Malaysian friends are crazy on the World Cup so I had to get involve in order to join their revelry.  I learned to bet on my favorite teams although I don't remember winning.

 

Coffee

     I grew up not learning to drink any hot beverage because I sweat a lot. I didn't drink coffee when I was young, which I got used to until I worked in the Philippines. When I worked abroad in Malaysia, I noticed they seldom drink cold drinks. They have coffee and tea both with milk for their standard beverage. Thus when I went out with them, I learned to consume hot coffee or tea and that initiated me to learn drinking hot beverages. They had awesome coffees and teas from the neighborhood coffee shops to posh restaurants.

     Thus when I saw in the grocery here in Leyte a coffee with Malay words, my first thought was that it must be from Malaysia, only to discover later that it is actually from Indonesia. It is sweetened with gula Melaka. I drink coffee without sugar but since I have no stock of my sugar-less coffee, I have to drink this.

Coffee from Indonesia 

Things That Made me Love Singapore

     I was watching Somebody Feed Phil in Netflix when one of its episode was about Singapore. It showed the foods that make Singapore. This prompted me to write about things I love in Singapore, my home for almost ten years prior to my stroke that sent me back home.

Somebody Feed Phil episode on Singapore

     Cleanliness makes Singapore Singapore. It is very clean, throwing rubbish anywhere but in the designated bin is fined. Chewing gum is banned in this country. Everything is in order, pedestrians follow the street rules religiously.

     Hawker food is very common in Singapore. It is prevalent in Malaysia too but in Singapore they are huge, organized and very systematic. Lau Pa Sat and Newton Food Center are two of the biggest and most popular places to find hawker foods. Newton Food Center featured in the Crazy Rich Asian movie.

     Orderliness is something I have never seen any other place more organized than Singapore. People cross the streets at designated places, buses stop and pick-up passengers at the right places, and overhead and underground passes are available for convenience. The mass of people live in high rise housing estates that are very organized and mostly complete with the needs of the residents.

     Honest taxi drivers is hard to find in other countries. In Singapore, they are honest and reliable. They will give you your change up to the last cent, very uncommon in other Asian countries.

     It is a small country that everywhere seems near. You can walk around the island in half a day.  There is no massive traffic jams to cause unnecessary delay. It is very easy to get a taxi to go to the airport and back. The government planned well in constructing the MRT's and LRT's to cover the island well.

The iconic Marina Bay Sands

      

Schipol Airport

     I believe I've been to Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands the most in my entire life.

A gateway to Europe

    When I was working with Jotun Paints, a Norwegian company, I had to pass through this airport to get a flight to Sandejord, Norway. I had several meetings in Norway at the time I was working with Jotun from 2001 to 2010.

     In 2011, I joined a US company but my division was headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands and our global laboratory was based in Belgium. I had to go there frequently for meetings and training. Thus I went to Schipol Airport very often that I will never forget this hub.

Change of Heart

     When I was still an OFW in Singapore, I was very vocal of my support for Leni in 2015. That was then when I was not in the Philippines, far from the grassroots, far from seeing the realities. Now that I am back to ground zero, I can see the true realities in the rural areas, the conditions of the poor farmers mainly in the countryside. It is far from what I thought the country has become all through these years. 

I was a victim of the yellow propaganda

     I without doubt changed my political color. I have reached to a point I became "Anyone But Leni" although I certainly voted someone to ensure the yellow wagon doesn't come into power again. I have come to my senses after seeing the conditions of the poor. 

      Unfortunately, no one among the politicians is fighting for the poor, no one is looking at the root causes of the economic disparity of the society. A new leadership has been installed, not the yellow power, but as I see it, they are not offering a real alternative that will fight on behalf of the oppressed poor. The status quo remains.

Dreams

     I have this app on my phone called Holy Bible. Everyday it gives me Bible passage to read. Before going to the app, they always have this statement, one for each day. This one penetrates deep in my heart.

Today's note

     It touches me because I am a dreamer. Growing up, I was dreaming always. Doing the tedious farm work at an early age, at the rice fields, at the coconut farm, my mind was dreaming of many things that most came true to my life. I think they drove me to strive to reach them. They sort of became my goals in life.

     I used to dream of having my own house, my own car, I got them. I used to dream of traveling around the world, I kind of reached them when I was working, Europe, the US and around Asia and Middle East. I've never been to Africa though, only seeing it on TV, on Netflix. I never expected to get sick and stop working for good.

Monasterio de Tarlac

     Last time, I brought my family to Monasterio de Tarlac, a pilgrimage site for Catholics, housing a relic of the true cross which Jesus was crucified. It was moved here from Germany, probably because of the many huge number of Catholics in this country. It is a sacred place, especially among the devoted. The relic is kept in this monastery in Tarlac. This place is such a holy place for Catholics, for the believers. 

Monasterio de Tarlac

The shrine where the relic is housed

Huge statue of Jesus Christ