JollibeeSG's new policy

Just so that everyone's expectation is set, here's the new "seating policy" from Jollibee in Lucky Plaza. (They're pretty strict on this :)

Rundown of a typical day of a 12hour shift employee

Saw a post in this format and I found it interesting. So I'm doing it here as well. Here's what a typical day for me looks like:

1. 5:45 iphone alarm went off. Already wide awake. Had a good night sleep even if it's quite hot. Aircon's busted again.
2. Did not just snooze, but turned off the 5:45 and 6:15 alarms. Like I said already wide awake. Might wake up the wife and kid unnecessarily.
3. Reminds me of an earlier episode of Elementary, in which Holmes psychoanalyzes Watson having two alarms as a sign that waking up to work is something that she "needs" to do rather than what she "wants" to do. Or something...
4. I'm not like that though. I really like my job now. 12 hour work shift, 2 days on 2 days off, follow the sun model. Just need the alarms just in case.
5. It happened before. I woke up to the alarm then I snoozed/turned it off. I thought to myself just gonna lie down for a minute more. Then when I woke up, 30 minutes has gone by. Missed the bus that day. I said to myself. Not. Again. :)
6. It's the typical morning ritual. Bath. Brush. Suit up.
7. Finished earlier than usual. Can't find the damn phone though. Took me a while to navigate through the dark room.

2D1N Trip from Singapore to Johor Bahru

Prior to the trip, we already had purchased one of those deals with one of the hotels in the Bukit Indah area: Princeton Hotel. Located very near the Jusco, Tesco, and Giant, it's also along the path of the Causeway Link bus CW3 and CW6  to and from Singapore. It's a great "staging area" for the trip to Legoland and Puteri Harbour Park.

Just to sum it up, the itinerary would be like this:

Day 1:
-> Jurong East Bus Interchange. CW3 (SGD 4.00)
-> CW3: Jurong East -> Singapore Checkpoint -> Malaysia Checkpoint -> Jusco
-> Princeton Hotel (checkin; deposit required)
-> Legoland (Taxi: ~MYR 15.00)
-> Princeton Hotel

Day 2:
-> Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park ( ~MYR 17.00)
-> Hello Kitty, Thomas and Friends, etc
-> Princeton Hotel (Taxi: ~MYR 30.00 )
-> Jusco (Lunch, shopping galore)
-> CW3/CW6: Jusco -> Malaysia Checkpoint -> Singapore Checkpoint -> Jurong East/Boon Lay Interchange (MYR 4.00)

Here's some more details about that:

Day 1, 08:30 AM:
Already at Jurong East Bus Interchange at the queue for the Causeway Link bus. The fare was S$4.00. By 8:35AM, we're already in, and we're off to the next stop to the Singapore Immigration at the Tuas Checkpoint (also known to some as the 2nd Link).

Day 1, 09:15 AM:
We missed the original bus we rode on (very long queue at the Malaysian Immigration.) Going to Bukit Indah, you can ride either CW3 (from Jurong East) or CW6 (from Boon Lay). Point of origin doesn't matter, as from this point forward, trip is the same. Waited for the next CW bus to come along (in our case, it was CW6) and we enjoyed the ride.

Day 1, 10:00 AM:
After the Jusco bus stop, we signaled the bus to stop just after Princeton Hotel. At the hotel, since it's waaaaaay too early (our family room was still occupied; checkout time was 1:00 PM), we just left our deposit, had breakfast at Login next door (I like their bee hoon), got our tickets, then booked a taxi to Legoland.

Day 1, 11:30 AM - 07:30 PM
Taxi driver chatted us up on our way to Legoland. Said he was an ambassador for Legoland and that you can purchase some tickets from him at discounted rates. Meter rate was around MYR 15.00. Never had the opportunity to confirm since we already had our tickets. Taxi dropped us in front of a mall, which serves like a foyer to Legoland. Lot's of shops and restaurants at this area. At Legoland, we spent the rest of the day taking the rides, taking pictures, and checking out the stores.

Around noon until around 2PM, the heat was very intense. It was really, really, really hot. We spent most of the time indoors. Lunchtime anyway. :) To get your blood pumping, I recommend Project X (Technic), Dragon Coaster (Kingdoms) and Aquazone Wave Racer.

Day 1, 07:30 PM
Just outside Legoland, we had dinner at Pancake House. After that we got a ride back to the hotel.

Day 2, 09:45 AM
We booked a taxi for the Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park. The taxi we rode got lost a few times. (Sigh.) Total fare amounted to MYR 17.00.

The location was fairly new as there are buildings being constructed near it. Not much else worth noting at this time, so the place is kind of isolated.

Day 2, 10.00 AM to 01:00 PM
The first floor is  the souvenir shop, ticket sellers, and the LAT's Place restaurant. The second floor is the Sanrio Hello Kitty Town. The third floor is the entrance to the Little Big Club. The fourth floor is the Little Big Club's Thomas and Friends area.

The Thomas and Friends ride is where I had the most fun with the family. We were able to ride everything except for the Bumper cars (required age is 6). Downstairs there's several shows scheduled on stage every 30 minutes or so. And there's tons of play areas where kids can have fun.

Skipped several shows and attractions, as we we needed to get back to the hotel to check out. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we extended a bit longer, nice people that they are. But I really couldn't. Just wasn't wired that way I guess.

Day 2, 01:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Got back to the hotel just in time to check out. The hotel staff suggested we go back to Puteri Harbour Park, as we purchased the 2 Park Day Pass, so we could return anytime. They also offered to look after our luggage while we go back to the park. See? Really nice staff. Had to decline though, as we really wanted to check out Jusco nearby.

The heat was a killer. If Jusco wasn't very near, we would have booked a taxi.

Had our late lunch there at Nando's. After that we explored Jusco. Nice place. Affordable merchandise, much cheaper than in Singapore. We loved it. We immediately made plans of going back in the near future to do some whole day grocery shopping. I remember a bought 2 months supply of hair gel. I saved SGD2.00  for each. :)

Also saw one gaming store at one of the upper floors. Can't remember which floor, or the name of the store. But I remember it because on it's window, there's a lot of the old gaming consoles. The original, good old Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). All of a sudden, I go UP-UP-DOWN-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT-B-A-B-A-Start. Aaaah, memories....

Day 2, 04:30 PM to 06:00 PM
After finishing up, we went back to the bus stop in front of Jusco. We're waiting for the CW3 or CW6 Singapore-bound buses. First bus that arrived, we skipped, as the bus was relatively full. Big mistake on our part. Weather suddenly turned for the worse and started pouring heavily. At the same time, more Singapore-bound passengers are crowding the bus stop. And I'm carrying my son who finally fell asleep.The next bus arrived, fare was MYR 4.00, literally clawed my way through the crowd to get on. People don't seem to be kind to anyone, even if you're obviously carrying a kid. Oh well. :( Guess the rain brought out the worst in everyone.

Day 2, 06:00 PM to 06:30 PM
Back at the Tuas Checkpoints. First on the Malaysian end. Rode the same CW bus to get to the other checkpoint. On the Singapore end, we got delayed as my mother-in-law didn't have the disembarkation (DE) card.

Only then that I realized what happened. When we exited Singapore the previous day, the SG immigration officer obviously took the DE card. Now that we' re going back, she needs to fill up another immigration form, which we did right then and there. After we passed through, she now has her new DE card attached to her passport.

We went to the CW berth where there are two queues: one for CW3 bound for Jurong East, and CW6 bound for Boon Lay. Jurong East was closer to us so we queued up that way.

Rain hasn't stopped. Explains the terrible heat through out the day, I guess. My son finally woke up while we are on our way to the Jurong East interchange, unaware of the trials we went through to get from Jusco to Jurong East. :)

In conclusion:

• Princeton Hotel in the Bukit Indah area is an ideal, because of it's proximity to the bus route, Jusco, and easy access to taxi ride to Legoland or Puteri Harbour Park.
• Legoland is vast with lots of open spaces, and your experience will be largely affected by the weather conditions. Outside of Legoland, there is a lot of amenities.
• Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park is relatively smaller and compact, but is well built and airconditioned. Outside of it, not much, as the area is still being developed (as of this writing).
• Jusco is a nice place to do shopping. :)
• 2 days is enough to cover both attractions plus some shopping. Just depends on how long you want to spend on each one.
• If you have a person who is on Social Visit Pass (aka a tourist), it would be nice if you have extra copies of the Singapore immigration form (the one with the disembarkation card that will be "attached" to your passport.)
• Causeway Link bus is a convenient way of going from Singapore to Johor Bahru and vice versa. And, as far as I know, the cheapest method as well. (SGD4.00  from Singapore, MYR4.00 from JB.)

Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful hitting movies in March

Oz the Great and Powerful is Disney's attempt to re-imagine the origins of the major characters in the classic children's novel. (Is it just me, or is there just more and more origins and reboots recently? The last two X-Men movies… The Hobbit… Amazing Spider-Man… Three Stooges… Dredd… Oh well…)

Anyway, after decades worth of adaptations, this is the first one in recent memory -- or perhaps ever --  that focuses on, well, the Wizard of Oz himself. This I find really odd. With "Wizard" in the title of the novels, films, and shows, you'd think that the wizard will be the star of the story. But no, that's not the case. Despite the namesake, he is playing second banana to Dorothy and, as in the case of the musical Wicked, to the witches.

Well, this movie changes that I guess. Oscar Diggs, small-time circus magician and future Wizard of Oz, is right there, front and center. It's a fresh take on a classic, and a good one at that. With the star-studded cast, and veteran storytellers at the helm, this one promises to be a great film to watch.

SG: Renewing your household worker's PH Embassy documents

Due to urgent circumstances, I had to process our household worker's documents in the Philippine Embassy on my own (without agency). And I was able to do it quickly in under two hours. :) There were some prep work, though, and I had a clear plan of what to do and where to go.

Requirements

• Two (2) original copies of Standard Employment Contract
• Two (2) original copies of Undertaking of an Employer
• Worker's valid Work Permit + two (2) photocopies
• Worker's Passport + two (2) photocopies
• Employer's IC + one (1) photocopy
• Seven Thousand Singapore Dollar (S$7,000) Performance Bond/Embassy Bond
• One(1) photocopy of the Ten Thousand Dollar Medical Insurance (MOM)
• One (1) OWWA Information Sheet
• One (1) OFW Information Sheet (aka OEC form)
• One (1) PAG-IBIG membership registration form (MRF)
• Cash amounting to S$110 for Embassy Fees

Philippine Embassy in Singapore changes work week on March

Starting March 17 this year, the Philippine Embassy work week will be Mondays through Fridays.

Ditching the Sunday shift would probably mean more people  will be there on Mondays and Fridays, instead of the usual Sundays and Thursdays we all have come to know and love. :| A very important consideration if you are making an appointment there for…  whatever reason. (OEC, Passport, etc.)

Here's the official announcement from their website.

Post Passport Renewal: Transfer your Re-Entry Permit

This is for the Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs) who have a new Passport number (either through renewal of Passport, update of Passport, etc). Note that if the SPR leaves Singapore without a valid Re-Entry Permit (REP), the PR status will be cancelled. So better get your documents synced up nice and properly.

Fortunately, all you have to do is the "Transfer of Re-Entry Permit". And, it's fast and (to my big surprise)  doesn't cost a thing.

Here's what you need handy:

• your new passport details (passport number, name, nationality, place of issue, date of issue, date of expiry);
• a good network connection;
• a computer with preferably updated browser and plug-ins;
• access to a printer (optional)

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (SG) giving out iPad! #ShamelessAd

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe

If you're in Singapore and if you're good at puzzles, try playing Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe's new Facebook game, Piece IT Challenge. Top three scorers win the following:

1st: The new iPad
2nd: iPod
2rd: $100 Xin Wang Dining Vouchers

Up to 10 levelled puzzles to solve before time runs out. Each puzzle more difficult than the next. The faster you solve the puzzle, the higher your score for that level. Accumulate as much points until you finish all levels or you run out of time. Last day of promo: 16 September 2012.

Our Chance Encounter of the Port of Lost Wonder

Port of Lost Wonder (POLW) - Singapore's First Kids' Club by the Beach. It's one of the newest attractions in Sentosa, specifically intended for kids! :) It's a pirate-themed swimming resort that offers a lot of attractions and facilities for the whole family.

Last week, we had no intention of going here. We originally planned to take the cable car and get off at Beach station, then walk towards the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia to have our picnic there. Along the way past the carpark building, we got a glimpse of this huge pirate ship and right then and there we decided to go in and have our picnic there.

Obviously, that was a good call. :)

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TIP: POLW is the first stop of the Palawan-Tanjong Beach tram from Beach Station. Can't miss it.

The BIG difference 50 cents make.

The iRemit branch in Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road is offering a special Easter promo. 

(Long queues at iRemit @Lucky Plaza)

First is the extra 50cents. All the other remitting companies are at 34.10.

Next one is the service charge. Service charges for any transaction type is now at SGD1.00 only.
Everyone in Singapore probably know rhis already. :) Just posting for the sake of posterity. :)

And a reminder for Easter next year. :)

Sent from my iPhone

UPDATED: Philippine Passport Renewal and Ad-Hoc Validity Extension in Singapore

Just sharing our experience with the on renewal and validity extension of our passports in the embassy. Hopefully these info will help some people out there.

NOTE: These are our experiences in March 2011. Whether the process will change in the future, we don't know yet.

UPDATE: Just updated this port on 2012-05-05, with some new information that I've got, all in RED.

Just a background: our passports will expire in June 2012, but already had plans to go back to Philippines in May. As commonly known, persons with phil passports with less than six months validity cannot go out of the country. So we either had to renew our passports or extend our passports validity. Since me and my wife had differing work schedules, we got to try two methods of renewing our passports.

Extending Validity Only (aka the Ad-Hoc Method)
 

As I found out sooner, this is not an option. Well, not exactly. They don't extend the validity of passport without an existing renewal appointment. (UPDATE 2012-05-05: I haven't been able to confirm if this has changed yet. For the rest of this post, I'm working on the assumption that you still need an existing renewal appointment.) You will end up renewing your passport right then and there. Be that as it may, it does have some advantages.

IT Show 2012 Day 2

I tried my best to get as much pictures as possible. :)

BULALO! Oh Bulalo!

Every now and then, we want a taste of home and have one of our favorite delicacies. It's pretty rare that we look specifically for bulalo, but when we do, we always end up disappointed: Meat was not tender; wrong type of meat; wrong type of bone; not enough meat; you name it. I think we've been served every type of disappointment in the bulalo department for the last five years we've been in SG.

That changed tonight.

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"BULALO! Oh Bulalo! Where have you been all this time?! ;))"
(taken at Lucky Plaza)

Heads up: Risk for postpaid subscribers

Just a heads up.

For Singapore postpaid subscribers, there maybe a few things that you're provider did not mention to you. One of which is that your number is publicly distributed in the yellowpages. To test it out, go to the Internet Yellow Pages - Singapore (http://www.yellowpages.com.sg/), click on "Find A Person", and search for the name. Chances are, you will see the contact number as well as the home address with map.

This can -- and probably will -- be used by agents or whatever you want to call them who will contact you for whatever reason. Just last week, my colleague was contacted by a "Windows support agent" saying that his windows laptop/PC has downloaded a virus. (Yeah right. As if Microsoft would spend time and manpower to track down each and every Windows user.) The agent was doing everything he can to convince him of the importance and urgency of this "issue". Just one problem: my colleague does not have Windows; he's all MAC. When he mentioned that, the agent immediately dropped the call.

My other colleague had a similar problem. He went along with the agent just to see what kind of info the agent was looking for. He confirmed later that the agent was asking for some financial stuff -- credit card numbers etc. Just for the heck of it, he shouted back at the agent and threatened to sue him. Agent abruptly hanged up. :))

They have since then contacted their providers, got new phone numbers and specifically asked for their numbers to remain private. Both of them are postpaid Starhub subscribers. So far, I haven't seen or heard of any SingTel postpaid subscribers who have experienced this.

This is a bit of a security risk so regardless of your country, location, or service provider, you may want to check with your provider to confirm. Or at least make it slightly more difficult for scammers to find you.

The first "Can" Glass: GREEN

Just bought my McDonald's upsized McChicken meal to get this glass.


Unlike previous McDo glasses, this is not made by Luminarc. This is manufactured by Pasabahce Cam Sanayii, based in Istanbul, Turkey.

New McDonalds Glass Cans!

I just opened my Facebook and got this ad! Can't wait to get the whole lot!

Foods-To-Eat List: Christmas 2010 in the Philippines

After three long years, we will finally be going back to Philippines to celebrate Christmas! It's been a while so here are some food items that I want to eat once we get home:

"Star Bread" or Putok -- yep, miss the good ol' putok / star bread made in our local bakery, accompanied with Coke which I consume every afternoon. Though I'd probably pass on the Coke this time around...

Halo-Halo -- whether it's the halo-halo on the streets or the halo-halo in Chowking or Razon's, it's way better than anything they have here.

Red Ribbon's Salisbury Steak -- very yummy! Love the sauce on top of that luscious salisbury steak! Mmmmmmm...... Steeeeeaaaak..... :))


KFC Gravy -- yep, there's KFC in Singapore, but there's NO gravy! And no spoon and fork either! Yep, I miss the bottomless gravy we love and enjoy at KFC! Maybe I'll order some chicken too.....

Pampanga's Best's Pina Ham -- I used to sell some of this in my last job back there... Well, there's really no reason not to like it. It's cheaper than the traditional Christmas hams, but is very very tasty. A lovely alternative if you're on a tight budget.

Hen Lin's Siomai -- One of my favorites, going way way back in gradeschool. I remember when the local Park and Shop was still open and the "food court" area had a Hen Lin stall which sells 4pc of Siomai for 16 pesos. Then there's the calamansi/lime and the chili! Ah good times... Anyway, the only thing that's changed is the cost. And the fact that Park and Shop closed down a long time ago...


Smokey's Chicago Dog -- One of the reasons I love watching movies so much! Perfectly cooked hotdog on bun. Pickle relish. Bacon bits. Onions. Sauce -- not sure if it's just meat sauce or chili sauce? Plus a healthy serving of ketchup and mustard! Now, all we need is a move to watch...

Ah yes... Good times... :)

Newborn Filipinos in Singapore... Now What? - Summary

We finally completed our baby's papers here. I just thought this summary might come in handy for other Filipinos in Singapore who have a child born here. Here's a list of your to-do's in order to ensure that your child has the papers to have a valid stay in Singapore -- i.e., so your child is not an illegal alien, a TNT here.

This is divided into three main posts, as there is a waiting time in between each.

Part One: From Birth to Passport Application
The initial part consists of the following steps:

• Birth Registration
• Philippine Passport Application
• Extension of 42-Day Limit

Completing your Baby's LTVP Formalities (Newborn Filipinos in Singapore... Now what? - Part 3)

This is the last post regarding of the "Newborn Filipinos in Singapore... Now what?" articles.

At last, this is the homestretch. Weeks of patience and hardwork now pays off as your child finally gets his new Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP).

That is, of course, assuming your application was approved.

While waiting for the approval...
The review of your child's LTVP application usually takes between two to three (2-3) weeks. During this waiting period, it is best to get the following ready to avoid the cramming:

Newborn Filipinos in Singapore... Now what? - Part 2

This is the continuation of my previous post regarding the papers you need to do for your newborn kid in Singapore. http://raabad.blogspot.com/2010/08/newborn-filipinos-in-singapore-now-what.html

Reminder: This post is based from our experience back in November 2010. Some details might have changed since then.

Philippine Passport Collection

Although you generally have to arrive early at the Philippine Embassy to accomplish things faster, for passport collection you actually have a bit of a leeway. No need to be at the gates before 7:00 AM. I was there around 10:40 AM (I got queue number 49; the number being served at that time was 26). I was finished by 11:15 AM.

And -- perhaps more importantly -- there is NO NEED TO BRING THE BABY WITH YOU!!! Yep. There's absolutely no need. Dads can do this on their own, without tagging along the entire baby crew. Means you can move faster and you don't have to worry about your baby getting irritated with all the noise and the weather. Yipee for baby! :)

So here's what you bring along: