My Dream House

When i first come to work in Singapore my plan is to save as much as i can so i can buy a land and then build a house in it.
I limit my shopping the best as i can, no fancy clothes, buy bargains only. Thats the rule i gave to myself when it comes to purchasing clothes.
I love fashion of course, i love to dress up like any girls out there.
But my mind is already programmed to limit my expenses.
I am also obliged to send some money to  my family back home. Being a Filipino its our nature to  help out our family and sometimes even relatives who needs our help.
And se being the one who is working abroad and earning  a lot better, they sometimes seek our help when they need some extra cash, esp when time of emergency.

In the past year i have countless remittance sent to my  family and relatives but i did not  keep track on the money sent to them.
Once the money is sent to them , i dont expect it to return to me someday.
For them I am thier saviour whom can they turn to in time of needs.

In return to my generosity, they treat me as a VIP whenever i go home to visit them.
Yes, i earn thier love and respect. They consider me as the most loving sister, aunt, cousin ,daughter , friend, saviour and whatever you may call it.

I throw parties whenever i am home, this is a once a year occasion and i always make the most of it.
The happy faces of my family inspires me to work harder. And thats the highlight of my vacation.
I have a close knit family, even have extended families, meaning nephews , cousins who are so loving towards me.
Aside from the regular remittances i also send packages which contain clothes, shoes, bags, book and sometimes even computer and tv, and of course few grocery items that i felt they should try.

Ok now back to my dream house...yes after paying my agent  in full when i first arrive here, i slowly save some money.

After 4 years i manage to purchase a 350 sq m residential lot. In the province land are a  lot more cheaper that in the urban city.

Its a quite countryside place with few neigbors . I love the vast green land sorrouds it.
During the rainy season, we are sorrounded with a vast  green scenery. The smell of rice  and corn that is beginning to ripen that is ready to harvest fills the air. The air is clean compare to the air that you inhale in most modern cities.

We started to build a humble farm house as i called it. With a 3 bedrooms complete with living room ,kitchen and bathroom i think its comfortable enough for a small family.

But after a flood our house became a mini house as it shrunks to the ground after sand fills the entire land. Our house as  a lot higher than the one here in the picture.
After the horrible flood it became a tiny maniature.

However, after years of saving again I started to rebuild it into a bigger one. Now the construction is still going on and hopefully by the end of this year , the construction process will finaly be over.

Traveling Around Asia

Been working and living here in Singapore for a number of years now. And one of my best experience is to be able to travel around the region. In the past years i managed to squeeze some time to travel (when bosses are away on holidays). I may one of those lucky ones who can get away whenever I want to. I love traveling , i consider myself a very  adventurous person.
Although my trips are short I enjoyed all my trips, I  have a friend who loves traveling too and whenever we both have the chance we try to squeeze our limited time into traveling. For some maids who are working here they can only envy us whenever we said we just traveled overseas and of course they said WHOA you so lucky.

I get a very reasonable pay every month, so extra money for traveling is not a problem..The countries that i have visited over the years are , Hongkong, China, Brunei, Macau, Malaysia( been to Malacca, KL,  Genting Highlands, Cucup a small fishing village in Malaysia and a numerous trips to JB)I also make a numerous trip to Bintan  and Batam which I quite enjoy.
I am planning to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal someday if i have the chance and the extra money of course. I enjoy traveling because i love photography. I took a lot of photo whenever i travel and I will put them in a CD and gave it to my relatives back home to show about  the countries I visited.
One particular place i went to in China is the 7 Wonders of the World. Its a massive park in Shenzen where  they build a look alike of The White House, Grand Canyon, tower of Liberty, Pyramid of Egypt and so on. There was also a Eiffel tower and all looks like the real one.
And in Brunie I noticed that there is no tall buildings or  sky craper like what we have in Singapore. The land is massive but you cant see tall buildings and i find it so strange knowing that Brunei is a very rich country. Me and my friend who lives in Brunei drove to the other end of the island where they built the 2 Mllionth Barrel Monument. Then we went wandering about in the Empire Hotel and Golf resort , it was a very massive place , the hotel structure is so beautiful. We sat by the edge of the pool and no one noticed that we are not a guest there. I think everybody can go there and take a leisurely walk around the hotel . We had dinner though in one of its restaurant so we are not a intrusive stranger after all..
My aunts who lives in Scotland  and London are  inviting me over and over again to visit them there. If only visa can be bought in a flea market why not....sigh. I heard a horror stories in Singapore about visa application being ignored by a  official at the British Embassy. I f they find out that you are working as a maid they wont even look at your papers even though your sponsor  provides you all the necessary documents.
Talking about assholes.......My  uncle who lives in Las Vegas  was  inviting me to visit him and his family as well but that can wait. Wait till the word discrimination disappear in the dictionary.

My American date

It was year 2006 when i meet Greg. We meet in one of the dating site in the internet. We talk via IM whenever we see each other online. He is a married guy with 5 grown up daughters he was 44 when we meet. He works as a lecturer (thats what he told me). He comes here to conduct seminar with students who wants to become a internet genius.. He has a masters degree in a California University ( didnt ask though what course he took)
When we started chatting he mentioned that he is coming to Singapore to conduct a seminar in Suntec city. He will be staying in a hotel near the building. He asked me if we could meet up one morning for a coffee and have a chat before he start with the class. I agreed to meet him.
I live about 10 minutes away from Suntec so I thought theres no problem with the travelling time.

When he arrives he gives me a call saying that he arrives safe and asked me when is the best time for me to meet him up. In short we meet up in the morning for breakfast in his hotel restaurant. There was a buffet breakfast , but we both more interested to talk than eating. After few months of talking via IM and cam to cam here we are finally making eye to eye contacts.
We both know what to expect to each other as we already talked a lot of things over the months.
Our topics consists of family, weather, work, daily routine etc.
He knows im working as a maid , and he thinks that my english is good and everytime he says that im blushing ...I have a college diploma for goodness sake and works in a different company in the Philippines before I came to work here.
He is a average looking guy, soft spoken, speaks clearly and always smiling.
He asked me if i love Singapore and my answer is YES. Is it his first time to visit but already wanting to come again if the company permits.
We meet again in the evening after his meeting and dinner with clients. I brought him in the clark quay area for a drink and show him around. He enjoyed my company we laugh a lot like we know each other for a long time..
He stayed here for 5 days and I meet him every single night till he went home.

He came back one more time around July 2008 and of course we meet again. I brought him to Vivo City and had lunch in a Brazilian Restaurant. We watched movie after and show him my photo that was being displayed in Marina Square. YES, im a maid and a photographer too. Peopl
e thinks maids are ignorant and stupid but i tell you its the people who judge maid thats is ignorant.
He was so amused with the photos that he asked me to teach him how to take good photos. We did take a few snaps at the Marina Bay area using his point and shoot camera . And took some using my DSLR . I let him use my camera for a while and he took few snaps of me . Being the photographer myself im not good at posing but we laugh at the outcome of the photo shooting.

Well, by now some of you are wondering how i manage to skip out from my employers house and meet this wonderful man.
When your employer is good and gives you all the freedom you want. This is how we suppose to live, right.
I have the right to live and enjoy life, and 10 years over with the same employer, they still havent fired me.
When I came home and showed them photos of me and Greg, they are so happy and said GO GIRL!

Now 2 years after that meeting Greg is coming again to SG. Cant wait for you my friend.
Over the years , you make my life worthwhile with your never ending thoughtfulness and your jokes really makes life bearable.

My Australian friend

I meet this guy over the internet about 3 years ago. We started by chatting online and know each other well. He is single but living with his Australian girlfriend. He has a full time job but works at home most of the time. I never dare to ask him what exactly his job is all about. Although he did mention to me about trading job, and so i assume that he is a trader. Anyway ,that doesnt concern me.
We meet in person in one ocassion to see face to face ( although we already see each other cam to cam). We meet in Starbucks in holland v, he seems a nice guys, average looking guy , not so tall and soft spoken. He speaks with sense, he laughs at my jokes and i laugh at his jokes. We become good friend after that. We chat online almost daily talking about the weather and everything under the sun. I never dare to bring up a topic about his gf. He knows im working as a maid but that doesnt bother him. Im older than him and he doesnt mind, im just average looking girl and he doesnt mind. Im just glad that there is one person who is not tired of talking to me all these years. When he and his gf goes away for a holiday he tells me to be good and talk when they get back. He tells me about thier trip when they come home.
He allows me to tell story about my work and family. He gives advice if i ask him to, he ask me to have a break if i said im tired.
I sometimes wonder why a educated, young, good looking Australian guy not tired of talking with me.
Sometimes I asked him if he is not bored talking with me. Im not a office girl, i dont have a established career, although I have a college diploma.
When i first came to Singapore in the middle of 90s I thought it easier to come to Singapore if you apply as a domestic helper. My plan is to come here as tourist, apply as a domestic helper first just to have roof and free food while looking for a job that I want.
Unfortunately , that didnt work MOM has regulations about domestic helpers. Once you come here as a domestic helper, you will work only a domestic helper, and you cant change your job!!.
He and his gf are now married but we continue our friendship. Three years on he is still there greeting me when he see me online.
I am grateful that there is one person who doesnt look down to people like me and and im forever thankful.

Who should wash the car?

There are probably 80,000 filipino maids in singapore and maybe 80 percent are washing their employers car if not everyday, twice a week or maybe once a week. My question is ... is washing car our responsibility? As far as i know we are employed to do housework and childcare jobs but washing cars? Isnt it suppose to be a mans job? Why can't emloyers wash their own car? They sit and sip a coffee or read a newspaper while we wash their cars?For some unlucky maids they are being paid 300 dollars / month for a housework that includes, cooking, taking care of children ,laundry, marketing, ironing, etc. Our work starts at 5 am while our boss are still asleep and our work finish [ if we are lucky ] at 10 pm when our boss goes to bed. Some even work till 2 am sleep for 3 hours then wake up at 5 am. How rediculous is that? Some work for employers relative at day and work at employers place at night , although i have not see anyone working at someones place but i talk to few maids who relate me their situation. Some earning extra but for some they work for free it depends on their employer.
If they want us to wash their cars why can't they pay us extra at least? Or do we have the right to ask for a fee for washing their cars? Can the ministry of manpower can do anything about this or let the employers relax and sit while we wash their cars? How about asking us to rest after we wash their cars. I doubt that... i know some employer who ask their maid to quickly wash the cars so she can feed the baby or go to the market or make the beds or do the cooking or do the laundry or god knows what else. In their eyes maids are not human, maids are machines.

Who should walk the dog

Who should walk the dog? That's the question most maid wants to know. Is it our responsibilty to walk our employers dog? Is it fair to us to walk the dog aside from feeding, grooming while our bosses are setting pretty at home drinking coffee or reading newspaper? In fact they are the one who choose to have dog and not us. Is there any answer for these?

date with the birds goes wrong

I went to jurong bird park yesterday with a group of friends. I went their a couple of times already but the reason of me going their this time is to take a photo of the birds. Photography is one of my favorite hobby, I have taken photos of birds before and I love the color of their feathers. Although I have a huge collection of bird photos in my photo album, theres none in my pc. So when one of my friend brought the idea of going to the bird park last weekend I was pretty excited about it.

When we reach the park around noontime it was all bright and sunny . Only to become cloudy after the bird show. After a brief walk around the park we went straight to the ampitheater to find a good spot in the middle of the canvas canopy. I admired how they perched the canopy in a cave like angle in the heart of the park.
Going in a park with a group of friends is not a good idea after all. Every one wants to go in a different direction. I wanted to go in the lory loft so I can have a close look at the birds and be able to take a close up photos of them. That didnt work because my friend dragged me to the waterfall aviary [ it's a man made waterfall but they did a good job by make it look like the real one.]I managed to take photos of flamingos,pelicans and other birds. Only to find out that all my shots are blured later on. My friend accidentaly changed the setting of my camera when I asked her to take a photo of me. I was really pissed when I found out about it. I will never let anybody touch my camera again. I want my 16 dollars back...