Pinoy in Singapore

An officemate of hubby told him yesterday that there was this good fried chicken place in Geylang.  So we decided to try it out for lunch today and decide for ourselves it’s true.

I think fried chicken is comfort food for a lot of Pinoys like me.  It reminds me of birthday parties when I was a kid where the standard menu was fried chicken, spaghetti (which hubby calls spaketchup because a lot of them are cooked using banana ketchup) and your ever present Goldilocks mocha cake. Oh, don’t forget hotdog on sticks with marshmallows at the tip.

When it comes to fast food fried chicken,  I’m really more of the Jollibee Chicken Joy type than KFC or [Read more →]

For Nike Golf fans like hubby, there’s a new Nike Golf store in Kaki Bukit - and it’s quite big.  They have more selections and they also carry the Tiger Woods Platinum and the Nike Junior line.

What’s even better is that they have an in-store virtual golf swing simulator/analyzer so customers can try out the clubs before buying.  Most stores only have this room with a net where you can try out the clubs.  The simulator lets you hit a ball into a screen and once your ball hits the screen it will display a simulated flight of your ball path and some information about your golf swing.

Photo taken from http://www.deadsolidgolf.com (The brand used in the store.)

[Read more →]

So have you ever tried the SBS Transit Ask IRIS (Intelligent Route Information System) Service? It works by sending an SMS to 74744 in the following format <5-digit bus stop code> <space> <3-digit bus service number> and you’ll get a reply telling you how long before the next bus and the subsequent bus arrives.   An SMS charge of S$0.05 applies for each SMS sent.

There are also other ways to Ask IRIS like through the website, GPRS or WAP but I usually use the SMS way.

Some bus stops also have a panel that displays the same information which is even better because it’s free and I don’t have to send an SMS for each bus that I can take to get to my destination.

But lately, I’ve been noticing that the information I get and those displayed on the panels are often inaccurate - as in way off.   [Read more →]

One of the mundane things my husband complains about in Singapore is that there’s not enough Basketball games on TV.  Here, it’s all about football.

Good thing, Starhub’s coverage of the Olympics includes the Basketball games.  So here’s the schedule for the US Redeem Team’s games.  I hope they live up to their name. [Read more →]

Today is Singapore’s National Day.

Here is an article from Yahoo on Key notes of PM Lee’s speech.  One of which is the bumpy road ahead due to effects of the problems in the US economy.

For me, it basically signals the end of my long extended sabbatical.  Huhu.  Back to corporate slavery.

I got this through a forwarded email.  And I don’t even normally read anything that’s forwarded but this one caught my eye because it had Singapore on it.  I also checked and there is indeed a Waterloo Street in Singapore. (Whether that makes it credible, beats me.)   Now, I don’t know if this is true or not but it reminds me of this other news article I read about a while back.  [Read more →]

Those who missed the PC Show last June still have a chance to catch great bargains at the upcoming Comex Show 2008. [Read more →]

Last week I volunteered for a book crossing activity at the Central Lending Library.  I didn’t really have any idea what book crossing was about.  I thought we were going to cross out old books from the library’s inventory.

It turns out bookcrossing as defined in the Concise Oxford English dictionary is the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

This is a bookworm’s dream come true.  At last week’s library activity, we registered hundred’s of books enough to make a bookworm drool.

[Read more →]

If you are photography enthusiast who’s looking to get your hands on your first ever digital SLR without burning a hole through your pocket, then this is for you.

I’m selling my Canon 350d SLR for an amazingly low price (because I want to sell it quickly so I can upgrade to a higher model SLR).  It’s in very good condition with hardly any scratches.  It’s currently in my house in Manila if you want to inspect it.

For more details click below:

For Sale Canon 350d w/ kit lens and 1Gb CF card

broxku.sulit.com.ph - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

2008 © Sulit.com.ph

I’ve been tracking Singapore’s rank (versus Manila’s) in the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey done by Mercer since the start of this blog.

In 2006,  Singapore ranked 17th in the world in the list of most expensive cities to live in, while Manila ranked 141st.

In 2007, Singapore ranked 14th, while Manila ranked 137th.

Now for 2008, the latest survey [Read more →]

A few months back, National Geographic aired a 6-episode series entitled the Genius of Photography featuring the greatest photographers in the world.

And for those like me who weren’t able to catch all the episodes, they are re-airing the series again on Saturdays 11 pm. Unfortunately, next Saturday will already be airing Episode 4 so those who didn’t catch the first 3 episodes will have to hope they air it again.

I came across this article by Merry Riana and Noriel Malacaman from www.Pinoysg.com.  I found it to be a good read.  Filipinos should be more conscious of where their money goes.  I know a lot of people who despite having a salary that’s barely enough for their families still want to eat out a lot, or buy the newest gadgets.  Our country would fare so much better if more Filipinos were financially literate.

A huge number of Filipino families are very near the poverty line which means they can barely provide for their basic needs and there is simply not enough money to save. But yet, people will point out, too, that those with very low incomes of Filipinos in general have also poor spending habits. They still spend on non-essential items, like buying a DVD player and TV set, or cigarettes and alcohol, or spending so much for a party to celebrate a child’s first birthday! These people may be considered as living in the “culture of poverty”.

[Read more →]

Here’s a site I came across recently.  It’s a Guide to Working and Living in Singapore.  [Read more →]

Yesterday was the release of the much awaited The Dark Knight movie both in Manila and Singapore.  I can’t wait to get to watch it because I’ve heard and read so much good reviews about the movie particularly with Heath Ledger’s performance.  I’ve read that Heath might even get an Oscar nod for this one.   It’s just tragic to think that his best performance to date would be his last (though it probably makes it more dramatic too).

But what could be better than watching a great movie? Watching it for free. So if you’re in Manila, take this Batman Quiz challenge by clicking on the image below and you might get to watch The Dark Knight with a friend for free!

Here’s an upcoming event that I think a lot of Kababayans would be interested in:

What: JobsCentral Career and Learning Fair 2008 [Read more →]

Here’s something all you photographers and enthusiasts (like myself) would likely be interested in:

PEMSEA and HP Philippines present the East Asian Seas Congress Regional Photo Contest with the theme, “The Coast, The Ocean, My Community.”

Contest entries should demonstrate local actions/implementation and good practices in sustainable coastal and ocean protection, development and management. Entries can show local and national initiatives that address natural and man-made hazard prevention and management; habitat protection, restoration and management; water use and supply management; food security and livelihood management and pollution reduction and waste management. [Read more →]

Hope you were able to catch it yesterday.  One of History Channel’s feature for this month of July is Mark Bowden’s (author of Black Hawk Down) Stalking Jihad.

History Channel is one of my favorite channels along with [Read more →]

Bookworms are sure to go crazy at the Library Book Sale at the Singapore Expo.   Books will be going for as low as S$1!  I heard firsthand that the best value buys are [Read more →]

Redd left a comment asking about tuition fees in Singapore for his son.

For foreigners wanting to study in Singapore,  the website of the Ministry of Education and this FAQ are very informative.

Here are a few things to note: [Read more →]

Here’s something quite helpful for those who are currently or planning to look for employment in Singapore.

The Ministry of Manpower just released its Reports on Wages in Singapore for 2007 and the Manpower Statistics for 2008.  Now there’s a lot of information right there (and I mean a LOT), but I think most people will be interested in the wages report by occupation so one can more or less have a ballpark figure of what salary they should expect when finding employment.

You can download the reports from [Read more →]