First Published August 1,2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal
SINGAPORE —My friend Persis, a Malaysian filmmaker, asked me if I would miss my apartment in Singapore. It’s a fair question considering that I’m a homebody and I lived in this walk-up apartment for 3 ½ years (out of my 4 ½ years in Singapore).
I’m house proud – I loved inviting friends to my flat because I was (still am) very fond of this apartment which I’ll be leaving soon. It’s an old apartment (about 50 years old). And as such it doesn’t have the amenities that once can usually find in the spanking new high-rise condominiums dotting the island state. There’s no swimming pool, no gym, no country club in my apartment block.
But my apartment’s fully-furnished, spacious (over 100 square meters – that’s big in land-scarce Singapore), airy (BIGGGG windows), with paintings and photographs adorning its off white walls, huge patio. It’s in an apartment block surrounded by plants and trees (and some squirrels and birds). It’s near a bus station, a hospital, a botanical garden, and just a 5 minute-bus rude away from Orchard Rd-Singapore’s shopping central.
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But I laughed and told Persis, that it’s not possible for me to be attached to my apartment (or any place for that matter) as I don’t like staying in one place for a long time.
“I must be a gypsy in my past life,“ I told Persis. Persis agreed, adding that even if I’m going back to Manila later this year (to pursue a post graduate course in anthropology in my alma mater -the University of the Philippines), she knows that I won’t stay in Manila for long.
I find stability in movement. I’m one of those people whom Pico Iyer described as people “who travel by habit.” Which is why when I was 10 years old, I wanted to become a flight stewardess . I thought then it was so cool to earn a tidy amount of money and to travel anywhere, for free. But I’m too short for the job, less than 5 feet tall. But being “vertically-challenged” proved to be a blessing. I didn’t become a flight attendant but became a journalist instead. I get to travel, write, tell stories and earn a decent living out of it.
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I won’t miss the apartment but I will miss the feeling of independence of having my own place (as I lived with my parents back in Manila). I will miss the moments, the friendships I made, the love that I found and lost in that apartment. I will my fabulous flatmates – Yun Nar’s cooking and late night girl talks with Liana; the simple vegetarian meals that I learned to cook in the kitchen (hummus, toasted bread with vegemite and butter, adobong taukwa). I’ll miss those big parties which I hold in my flat (we had over 100 people coming in and out of the flat during the Haloween party held in 2003. It took me a week to recover from all the alcohol and food that I ingested that night)
I’ll miss the my big living room where I do my yoga asanas
And I’ll miss Butch – my neighbor’s cat. My favorite furry, fat cat. I’m fond of cats -they’re domesticated but they’re still wide. I love it that they’re independent, frivolous, playful, curious and naughty.
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And yes Persis, my bestest gal pal and partner-in-crime in Singapore, I’ll miss you too.
