Changing Plans

I am a sucker for sticking to plans and when plans change or fail I feel upset and resentful. I am not one for disappointments and I discouragement. And just last night one of the most important plans of my life fell through, my husband decided that September is too soon for me to go to Singapore and look for work and be with him, for what reason? I do not know. He’s been in Singapore since December 2009 (almost 5 months now) and I visited him there last March, and I just fell in love with Singapore. He before last night he kept telling me to move faster and find work in Singapore, he kept pressuring me, so I went ahead and applied for my EPEC (which got approved last April 16, 2010, Yay for me!) I have started inquiry regarding Student Visa for Nike (so that we could be together as soon as possible) and I have also tried looking at the LTVP (Long Term Visit Pass - Singapore) so that I could take care of my Job hunting in Singapore this September. Everything was perfectly planned, I will push through with my online E-VP Application for LTVP in August so that after 4 weeks processing I can schedule my Personal Appearance in ICA Singapore in September - Just in time for my sister and my arrival in SG. Then once I am there I will start pursuing my walk-in and online applications and re-book my return flight to the Philippines so that once I get a job offer in SG I will come home to the Philippines, take care of my Childs necessities and affairs because we won’t be taking her in Singapore for the first 6 months (the time we need to save money and take care of our house in SG - so that everything is ready when Nike arrives — Her school, Her Student Visa or Dependent Pass, her home and her life). Noel and I will work our asses for the next 6 months, I will get Nike from the Philippines to live with us in Singapore, and then we live happily ever after. But last night the plan changed. And I am upset. Now the plan is to enroll Nike in school (in the Philippines) this June — which I have strong emotions about as I feel that its too early since she’s just 3 years old (i know - i know some kids go to school as early as this age - but in my opinion its too early for a child to be exposed to the pressures of school at this age) I really want to wait another year, or at best when she turns 4 - which mind you is just the right age for Nike if she will be starting school in SG in 2011 (as originally planned). And then the next plan is I just start looking for work Next Year. So that will put a 1 year gap in our original re-union plans. Sucks Right?! Sometimes I feel like I have no say in the matter, that other people always get what they decide they want to happen. I am upset yes, very upset because the original plan was great and it would give us the earliest opportunity to be together again, but what the heck, if my husband feels that he wants more time alone, then fine, so be it. My only question is, why is it too soon for me to work in Singapore? Isn’t it true that if there are 2 people working there, the chances of being able to save more money is twice as much - because here in the Philippines I am only earning 10,000 per month (yup!) If I work in SG whats the lowest salary will I be accepting — 1800 SGD? (60,000 Pesos). I am not going to argue nor am I going to push what I want. I will not be going to Singapore on September (this is final), I do not go to places where I am not wanted for one, and two, I am still very upset. So I guess the next time I see Noel, it will be December. So yeah Plans Suck! And I hate having no say in the world.

Ordinary Day

So today is just one of the ordinary days of my life. Except I drove from Pasig to Las Pinas just to get my Transcript of Records and back from Las Pinas to Pasig, and found out afterwards that I did not need my transcript of records after all. LOL. So the story behind that is that Singapore EPEC System E-mailed me yesterday saying this:

Dear ELAINE MALONZO,

We have received your documents, but we need you to resubmit the following documents for the

consideration of your application EPEC-2010-11166.

Please provide a copy of your

- BACHELOR’S DEGREE from DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY, MANILA

Please follow the steps below and upload the document for our processing of your EPEC application.

Step 1. Access EPEC system at https://epec.mom.gov.sg/epec/
Step 2. Log in to EPEC system using both your EPEC reference number and passport number.
Step 3. Upload the requested supporting documents.
Step 4. Click on “Upload” button.

If we do not receive the document within 7 days from the date of this email, your EPEC application

will be withdrawn.

Thank You.

This is a computer generated document. Please do not reply.

So when I received this I immediately thought they did not accept a copy of my Diploma as Proof of my Bachelor’s Degree, so I decided I will go to Las Pinas (my marital home) to get my transcript and submit it to EPEC as soon as possible so that they can process my application immediately.

When I arrived back in pasig, I set up my 3 in 1 Canon Printer to scan the transcript and logged in to EPEC System and to my dismay it said there that I should provide proof why my Name in the Passport and my Diploma is inconsistent / different. So in other words, they wanted me to send a copy of my marriage certificate, which I had a copy of here in Pasig. Grrrr right? wasted gas and effort, but atleast I was able to go out LOL.

After that the remainder of the day was uneventful and hot! and now I am just waiting for my husband to arrive home (his home in SG) from his company dinner so we can chat and laugh about unnecessary trip to Las Pinas.

Oh and a side note, I have not heard from any of the Nestle Field Representatives yet, so they were not able to get the sample of the Spoiled Nestle Chuckie in my possession.

My Thoughts are Jittery and Scattered

So I started my day at 10am - like I usually do. I love sleep and I tend to do it 12 hours a day, but last night I slept late, well, not really, around 2 AM. So I woke up and directly went to my Laptop trying to make it Shush because Skype was ringing, My husbands calling me from Singapore, and my daughter Nike is still asleep. This is how I usually start my day since my husband changed his shift.

I faced my laptop with a smile on my face, morning breath and a morning glory in my eye, yeah, true story. But just like the previous days it is always a good way to start my morning, seeing my husband who is currently in Singapore…Far…Far…away from us.

So he showed me a little bit of magic card tricks that he started learning a few days back from this video that his officemates showed him. One thing I love about Noel is that he is so child-like and gets excited about little things like Magic and toy cars that does drifting, little remote control airplanes and cooking a successful meal for the first time.

later in the afternoon I just can’t stop thinking about Passport Holders, yep, they are my latest obsession. But I can’t seem to find ONE piece of cute but affordable passport holder online, when you search google, you will see plain-leathery-serious looking passport holders that are not cute at all!! I want something that looks like a cute wallet with slots for boarding passes, Luggage Tickets, Embarkation / Disembarkation cards and other things that you use when you travel like Identification cards and credit cards and what-nots. There’s not a cute Passport holder out there! HEY WALLET MAKERS maybe its time you created cute funky Passport Holders, Ticket Holders, Check Holders, Bank Passbook Holders, Card Holders and all the holders you can think of! Its time to make a niche! and I am definitely one of the first people to buy or maybe even buy and sell your products, just make sure they are cute and affordable. Anyway so yeah I was looking at google, amazon, and practically everywhere on the Net and I was only able to come across one Multiply website that sells Gorgeous Korean Made Passport Holders seibufashion shop - a shop in Multiply. Sadly for me the prices are too expensive, although they just range from PhP480 - PhP1500, but I am looking for something thats a bit cheaper, something like PhP200 - PhP300 Per piece but is of the same quality and cuteness. So I continued looking online but found nothing and I suddenly had this craving to go to the Mall, I wanted to go to SM Megamall at first, and then a thought hit me! I WANTED TO GO TO GREENHILLS, just to see if there are shops there that sells cute Passport Holders, yes, I am very Obsessive.

So having no money, I decided not to go out today. Passport holder shopping, rather window shopping will have to be done some other day, specifically pay-day. So I just watched Ugly Betty Season 4 Episodes 15-18 the rest of the afternoon.

And after watching I decided I wanted to get my mom and my dad a valid passport. My dad’s passport was already expired maybe 20 years and my mom never had one. The problems we are facing right now in getting my mom a passport is that she doesn’t have any Identification Cards with her maiden name on it. So I called DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to confirm what documents we will need in order to get my mom a passport and I got a list:

Mommy’s requirement for passport new application

NSO Certified Birth Certificate - get in http://www.e-census.com.ph

Baptismal Certificate - with daddy

NBI Clearance - go to megamall

Old Transcript of Records or report card - maybe still with daddy

Daddy’s Requirements for Passport Renewal

Old passport and photocopy of passport pages 1,2,3 (amendment). The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps. - get from daddy

Birth Certificate from NSO in Security Paper (SECPA) or Negative Birth Record from NSO if born 1950 & below - Get from NSO (ecensus)

Drivers License photocopy - get from daddy

SSS ID PhotoCopy - get from Daddy

So once my dad wakes up from his afternoon nap, I have something new to obsess about…GETTING BOTH OF THEM PASSPORTS!

Once I get all of these documents I will just get their application processed online via PILIPINAS TELESERV, Thats the same agency that helped me get mine and my daughters passport last October 12, 2009.

Although my obsession shifted from Passport Holders to Passport, they are still directly related aren’t they? but the other obsession I am having right now is trying to look for an employer in Singapore. Thats Right! I want to work there, because first and foremost it sucks to be away from my husband and Second I was able to visit Singapore last March 18-27, 2010 and it was just so gorgeous. I just fell in love with the place. It seemed so safe and so organized, I was jealous that my husband gets to live in such a beautiful place and I get stuck HERE. Don’t get me wrong I love my family, I don’t want to leave them here (hence doing the first step of getting them passports *wink* *wink*) but I’d really really love to raise my daughter in a place where I wouldn’t have to worry about her getting kidnapped or taken and sold, or raped or murdered, or getting hit by speeding car. I want her to grow up realizing the good things in life and not having to worry about strange murderous people that is lurking in the shadows.

So I have been applying online, via Job Search Engines and via email for the past week and its somehow getting frustrating, because my resume is really bad, and I think no Singaporean employer is interested in me. I have been trying my hardest to find work online, but I guess I will have to go to Singapore to hunt for Jobs personally, Just waiting for my Singapore EPEC (Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate) to push through.

So whats the EPEC? well its a certificate and a 12-month Social Visit Visa to Singapore that will tell your prospective employers that they will not have a hard time getting an S-Pass or E-Pass when they decide to hire you. And as mentioned its a 12 month social visit visa, which means you can stay for a duration of 1 whole year in Singapore to look for work, granted that you can support yourself while you are there. Because you know tourists are only granted a maximum of 1 month stay in Singapore. So for me, knowing that I may have a hard time looking for work, since I have a really bad Curriculum Vitae, I need this EPEC.

Anyway thats all my scattered thoughts for the day. See yah!