4-day Marathon in Manila

Day 1 (Dec. 14) : It's my first time sa Tigerairways. We got the 1st flight 7:30am. Nag taxi na lang kami papuntang budget terminal. So far,ok naman ang budget terminal, may internet kiosk din at di ako nainip maghintay. Surprised lang ako kasi, first come first served talaga. Di man lang inuna ang mga oldies at may kids sa pila. Puno ang plane, maraming balikbayan kasi magpapasko na rin. We arrived in Clark around 11:30 na, and tool a Philtranco bus papuntang megamall. We paid P300 sa bus, and the bus left around 1pm na. We got there in megamall around 2:30 pm and nalipasan na ata ako ng gutom. Pasok muna ako ng Mega A and bought sandwiches and drink before kami mag taxi pauwi. Maraming na ngongontratang taxi driver, alam nila kasing mga balikbayan ang sakay ng bus eh. Sinsingil kami ng P250 hanggang amin sa Guadalupe. Since kuripot kami at alam namin lugi kami sa singil nila, napilitan kaming dalhin ang luggages namin sa taxi queue sa side ng Bldg. Nakarating din kami at P85 lang ang fare. Since marami kaming aasikasuhin, takbo na kami agad sa Makati, nakapag renew agad kami ng NBI at hubby got his COE from his previous company, di na nga sya nakipag kita sa mga co-workers nya dun at baka masabit pa ng kwentuhan eh nagmamadali na kami. Konting gala muna, then we ate at Chowking. Sarappp..na miss ko chowking chow-fan =) We're both tired na, then we headed home around 8pm.

Day 2 (Dec. 15) : Maaga kami gumising kasi last working day na aabutan namin ang mga offices na pupuntahan namin. 8am paalis na sana kami ng ayaw naman umandar ng kotse namin. Medyo napabayaan na kasi at walang gumagamit kaya nag kaka problema na. Bumili pa si hubby ng battery ng car, ako naman sinubukan kong mag commute muna at mauna na sa Makati Police Station para makakuha agad ng Police Certificate. Sa haba ng pila dun, nakaabot pa si hubby pagkatapos nya maayos ang kotse. Ay grabe ang red tape sa atin. We paid P150 each for the certificate and imagine P50 lang ang nakalagay sa reciept. Yung P100 sa bulsa na nila. Di na namin magawang umangal baka di pa namin makuha ang papeles eh pina rush na nga namin yun. Inabutan na kami ng lunc time dun. Kain muna kami sa Tokyo-Tokyo sa People Support Bldg sa may buendia. Nakabalik na kami at lahat, wala pa rin ang certificates. So punta muna kami ng Libis at inasikaso muna namin ang kailangan namin sa Bank. Maayos naming nakuha yun at dumerecho na kami sa Makati City Hall to get naman an NSO copy ng birth certificate ko. Hay grabe init that time, pati ulo namin maiinit na. He dropped me there, then he proceeded to Police Station to get the certificates then binalikan nya ko. Tuwa naman ako kasi 30 mins lang ako nag antay sa birth certificate. Napaka efficient talaga ng NSO Makati. Nakapag tyangge pa ko tuloy sa office grounds nila at nakabili ng office pants. Since 3:30 pm pa lang noon, may time pa kaming asikasuhin ang collge plan ni kuya. Tapos na kasi yun, and kailangan lang namin i-claim ang copy ng full payment and certificate nya. Nakuha namin lahat ng kailangan that day so we deserve to treat ourselves. Nakatikim din sa wakas ng footspa at pedicure ang feet ko. Si hubby naman nakapag pa haircut and whole body massage. Nagmamadali din kami umuwi, kasi nag promise kami ng Jollibee treat sa mga pamangkin ko. Pina deliver na lang namin since traffic din naman kung lalabas pa kami. By 7pm, punta kami ni hubby sa Market Market. We bought some pasalubong and nakabili ulit ako ng pants na gagamitin sa kasal kinabukasan. Nakauwi kami 10pm na.

Day 3 (Dec. 16) Pinilit kong magising for the simbang gabi. Sobrang pagod di ko nagawa. But we got up early pa rin kasi maaga ang kasal at wala pang isusuot si hubby. Kailangan pa namin dumaan sa Robinson's to buy clothes.
Late kaming dumating sa wedding ng friend namin. Halos patapos na nga. But it was great to see our college friends there. May common ata sa amin, lahat tumataba na. =) Buti na lang na serve din ang food sa reception at gutom na rin kami. Right after the wedding party ended, we bid goodbye to our friends. We missed them, college barkada sila ni hubby and almost all of them ninang and ninang ng kids namin. This year lang wala kaming Christmas party, oh well, hopefully next year makauwi kami ulit with kids. Then, nag megamall kami ni hubby after ng wedding. Dami namin nabili pampasalubong..karamihan food. Daming tao sa Mega, maraming pera ata ang pinoy. By 8pm, punta na kami sa Lola ni hubby to meet his family there, at nag balikbayan din kasi ang Titas nya from Japan. Late na rin kami nakauwi ng Makati, 10pm na ata yun.

Day 4 (Dec. 17) As usual di na naman ako nagising for the simbang gabi. Maaga kong ginising si hubby, kasi paalis na kami kinabukasan, di pa namin nadadalaw ang auntie ko at di pa nabibigay ang pasalubong. Punta muna kami sa house nya which is 15 mins away lang from the house ng mama ko. Sandali lang din kami dun, wala pang 1 hour. Dumaan muna ako ng market to buy some suman na gusto ng kuya. Nagmamadali kaming pumunta ng Market Market, to have our breakfast sa Heaven and Eggs..sarap grabe..na miss ko ang food dun. Namili na rin ako ng mga vitamins and medicines na dadalhin from Mercury Drug. Tanghali na, kailangan na rin namin bumalik at pupunta p ng Cavite si hubby para bisitahin yung umuupa sa house namin sa Molino. Ako naman, nag pa drive sa brother para makapag grocery sa Landmark. Balak ko pa sana mag MAKRO, kaso baka mag over luggae limit na kami kung dun ako bibili ng mga dadalhin ko. After mag grocery nag chowking na naman kami, sumunod sa min ang sister ko and we had lunch together. Di na rin ako nakapag shopping ng marami kasi dami ko ng nabiling grocery eh. By 4pm, nakabalik na kami at ganun din si Hubby. Idinaan nya muna ako ulit sa salon so I can have my hair treated at cut na rin. may dinner kasi kami sa house ng bestfriend ko na ikakasal naman kinabukasan. It was great to see friends during this time of the year. Lalo na ngayon na malayo na kami sa kanila. We were there til 10pm and have to go home na rin to fix our things. Mga 2 grocery bags din ang di ko nadala kasi over the limit na kami.

Day 5 (Dec. 18 pauwi na) We have to be at Megamall by 7am. 6:30am na ata kami nakakuha ng taxi cab. Buti na lang kasama namin sa byaheng ito ang brother ko at kinuha namin ang baggage allowance nya na 15 kilos. Nakaalis naman sa oras ang bus and we were at Clark by 8:30am. Close pa nga ang airport, we have to wait sa labas pa. Pagpasok sa loob tuloy tuloy naman na rin ang processo. Medyo matagal nga lang kaming nag hintay sa waititng area kasi 11:30 pa ang flight namin eh.
I thank God for the safe travel, for the opportunity to see our relatives and friends, for giving Papa the opportunity to visit us and spend his holidays here with Mama, for making me free from kidney stones (after a series of lab tests and frequent visits to my Urologist), and for the Singapore Permanent Residence. Thank you LORD!

Kakulitan ng mga bulilit ko

Kuya: Ate anong tawag mo dito? (pointing to his forehead)

Ate: ano?

Kuya: Eh di forehead! di mo pa alam?

Ate: pano naging 4-head yan, eh isa lang yan?

*******************************************
Kuya: Lola watch tayo ng Crazy for You (telenovela that has a very late showtime)

Lola: Di pwede, magagamit na si Mommy mo.

Kuya: Di ba anak mo sya? Dapat ikaw ang magalit sa kanya!!!
*******************************************
Ate: Mommy, ayokong mag-asawa..

Mommy: Bakit naman, anak?

Ate: kasi ayoko pong magka-anak..

Mommy: Bakit , ayaw mo mag-ka anak?

Ate: kasi ayoko manganak..

Mommy: Bakit, ayaw mong manganak?

Ate: kasi ayoko pong maging Lola...

Mommy: bakit ayaw mo maging Lola?

Ate: kasi ayoko pong tumanda at mamatay...

Logic nito ---wag mag-asawa... para di mamatay..hahahaha
*************************************************
Ate: Daddy, pwede ba kami pumunta sa house nila Ate Darelle (cousins)?

Daddy: no, kasi mag eat ka lang ng candies dun...

Ate: hindi, di ako kakain dun ng candies, pag binigyan nila ako di ko kukunin

Daddy: talaga anak, eh kung si Daddy ang magbibigay sa yo, ano sasabihin mo?

Ate: eh di...Thank You Daddy!!
*********************************************
Mommy: kuya, pls. get the baby oil..

Kuya: (3 yrs old that time) Mommy san ba ang Mommy Oil at Daddy Oil? Naiwan kasi si Baby Oil..

Permanent Residency

We just want to share the good news that our Singapore Permanent Residency was already approved! Hubby submitted it last month, Oct. 18 to be exact and the approval date on the letter was Nov. 21, 2006. We praise GOD for this wonderful blessing!

Homesickness

Habang papalapit ng papalapit ang 4 na araw naming pag-uwi sa Manila ni hubby, na hohomesick ako lalo. Ewan ko ba, imbes na maging excited ako lalo akong nalulungkot. Nalulungkot ako lalo pag nakikita ko si Mama na malungkot din. Nararamdaman kong gustong gusto na rin nyang bumalik ng Manila. Lalo na ngayon nag-uulan na dito sa SG, di sila nakakapamasyal ng mga bata at halos buong araw nasa condo lang sila. Hayy, how I wish madala ko na rin si Papa dito para magkasama sila. Ayaw pa kasi nya mag retire at may bunso pa kami na graduating ng nursing. Naka 3 months na rin ako sa work, masasabi ko namang so far so good. But I still can't wait to migrate to NZ wherein I will be stay at home mom to my 3 little kiddos.

NAWIES SG Halloween Party


I joined this eGroup even before we went here in SG. The members were all married Pinoys living in SG. They have been of great help to me and hubby as we relocate here. This is the first EB I joined and we all had fun last week, the kids enjoyed the goodie treats given by the moms. Can't wait to join them again for the early Christmas Party scheduled next week.

Manila here we come!

Hubby just book our flights for a 4-day stay in Manila. It's not actually a grand vacation, but we're going there for the purpose of getting some important papers needed for our ITA (NZ requirement). It will be me and him going this time via a budgeted airline. My father will be in SG, 3 days before hubby and I go. Papa will be here for a month stay. oth of them (him and Mama will take care of the kids while we are away. I have started to list down all the resto and fastfoods that I've missed and would want to visit. Here are some:
1. Jollibee
2. Max's
3. Mexicali's
4. TGIF
5. Chowking
6. Gerry's Grill
I just don't know how it would fit in, in our busy 4 day-stay. Visiting the salon is on top of my list, aside from the Tyangge Christmas Shopping =) I'm so excited to attend the Simbang gabi too and buy puto bumbong and suman. I plan to bring those here coz my kids love to eat those. This vacation certainly is a good excuse to continue my diet har har...

Lantern Festival @ Chinese Garden

I filed my first vacation leave from the office so we can celebrate hunny's bday that fell on a Monday. We bought the tickets a month ago pa. If by MRT, our travel will take us an hour, if by bus 1.5 hrs and so we take the cab to go there to save time. Naligaw pa ang cab driver, nagkamali ata sya ng rinig ng destination namin. Sobrang bait ng driver, he took a few dollars off from our payment dahil nagkamali nga. Sobrang honest ng drivers dito, or di ko pa cguro na experience na maloko nila. We'll see, when I get to take the cab this coming week , off from work due to my afternoon shift. Anyway, we really got a lot of nice photos from the chinese garden. The kids super enjoyed the lanterns, and ako super enjoy sa pagpapapicture.

Typhoon Milenyo

Signal #3 nung Thursday sa Manila, ayun mula noon di na namin nakakausap sa chat ang Papa ko at sister ko. Til today wala pa rin daw koryente eh Saturday na ngayon. Naala ko tuloy ang papa ko, ina asthma pa naman yun, eh ang init daw sa gabi. Sana mabalik na ang koryente sa lugar namin dun (South Cembo Makati). Nag aalala tuloy ang Mama ko na nandito sa sa SG. Nasa news nga na maraming nasiraan ng property at may mga na aksidente rin. Sana bumalik na sa ayos ang lahat.

Singapore Zoo
We visited the zoo last weekend. The kids had a blast. Super enjoy sila sa animals na nakita nila. My mama was amaze how clean the zoo is and most of the animals are not on cage, unlike sa Pinas. We got kasi free tickets sa zoo courtesy of hubby's company. We just paid for my mom. We hope to be back there when papa and my sister arrives.

1st month at SG


Today is exactly my 1st month at work. I arrived here 1 day before I started my work. It's been a while na rin since I blog.
So I resigned from my work after being there for 3 months. The kids followed us here a week after I arrived. I believed dami na rin namin na accomplished since we arrived here. My mama is here too to take care of the kids while hubby and I are at work. We already found a school na for the kids, Kindie school of Church of the Holy Trinity in Tampines. The kids enjoy their stay here, well except of course they miss their cousins. Almost everyday online ang kids ko, they are busy chatting and talking To my nieces and sister ko. Whenever hubby is on restday, they go swimming sa baba ng condo. Hmm..I missed Pinoy Food so much. Mapili kasi ako sa food and I'm not adventurous to try the local dishes here. Kahit sa bahay, we cooked Pinoy food. Did I mention that I brought a lot of dried fishes and canned goods =P Unfortunately, the grocery near our place doesn't to much Of varieties ng food. Good thing na lang my office is beside Plaza Singapura so sometimes lunch time is my grocery time too. I never walked this long in my entire life. Tamad ako maglakad, kaya na missed ko na tricycle and FX sa Pinas. But then, Nakakapayat pala talaga ang paglalakad, I shed a few pounds. Our ITA (invitation to apply) for NZ has arrived na last Sept. 13.
We didn't expect it to come pa, in fact kinalimutan na nga namin eversince nag email ang VO that we cannot claim bonus
Points for the work experience and because of the course namin. Buti na lang mabait ang VO (visa officer) and she added back the points. So she have given us 4 months to submit our ITA including the medicals. We plan to submit it maybe November or late December So we can stretch our stay here in SG.

3 things @ 3am

My insomnia striked again, I can hardly sleep after giving my Yanna her dose of medicine. I found reason to blog the 3 things I'm thinking right now at this hour.
1. I got a job now in SG! The employer just sent me a job offer letter yesterday afternoon. I was on a phone for an hour for a technical interview yesterday morning too and sobrang hirap. Buti na lang I got the job. I'll join hubby in mid of August.
2. Hubby is arriving tomorrow! After 3 weeks, he'll be spending his 5 day- off with us.
3. Family reunion today! My uncle who's based in Italy arrived last week for his wedding and Titas, cousins and Lola from las Vegas are spending their vacation here too. So happy to see mama's family to be complete and at last they've seen each other after a decade na yata.

So here you go. Now I feel sleepy...

The Portrait of the Counselor Idealist (iNFj)

While I'm looking for some project management related infos from www, nakita ko to Keirsey Temperament Sorter
I remember, nag take na ko nito when I took a "Train the Trainer" course sa Ateneo Business School. Here's the result of short quiz and true enough, I found a lot of valid points based from the result ng mga nasagutan ko. Nakakatuwa kasi malalaman mo kung anong klaseng tao ka and maganda rin if your friends can take this. Mas madaling maintindihan ang isang tao pag alam mo kung anong klase ugali meron sya at madali ma settle ang differences.

IDEALIST NFs, being ABSTRACT in communicating and COOPERATIVE in implementing goals, can become highly skilled in DIPLOMATIC INTEGRATION. And they would if they could be sages in one of these forms of social development. The Idealist temperament have an instinct for interpersonal integration, learn ethics with ever increasing zeal, sometimes become diplomatic leaders, and often speak interpretively and metaphorically of the abstract world of their imagination.
They are proud of themselves in the degree they are empathic in action, respect themselves in the degree they are benevolent, and feel confident of themselves in the degree they are authentic. Idealist types search for their unique identity, hunger for deep and meaningful relationships, wish for a little romance each day, trust their intuitive feelings implicitly, aspire for profundity. This is the "Identity Seeking Personality" -- credulous about the future, mystical about the past, and their preferred time and place are the future and the pathway. Educationally they go for the humanities, avocationally for ethics, and vocationally for personnel work.
Social relationships: In their family interactions they strive for mutuality, provide spiritual intimacy for the mates, opportunity for fantasy for their children, and for themselves continuous self-renewal. Idealists do not abound, being as few as 8% and nor more than 10% of the population.

Eto ako -> The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and directive and introverted in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.
Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.
Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others' feelings so keenly. Furthermore, the Counselor is most likely of all the types to demonstrate an ability to understand psychic phenomena and to have visions of human events, past, present, or future. What is known as ESP may well be exceptional intuitive ability-in both its forms, projection and introjection. Such supernormal intuition is found frequently in the Counselor, and can extend to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come, as well as uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.
Mohandas Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt are examples of the Counselor Idealist (INFJ).


Kayo anong type kayo?

Taipei adventure

I was sent to taipei for my onboarding training. My first day was traumatic, di ko mabuksan ang very secured na apartment. Feeling ko nagbubukas ako ng kaha de yero ng bank. I will take a pic of the door and post it later.
I thought matutulog na lang ako sa labas ng pinto. Di ko alam how I was able to open it, triple lock pala. Ako lang sa apartment na may 3 big rooms. Anyway, my 2 weeks stay is over and I can't wait to see my kids and of course honey (who is now in SG) na uuwi naman next week. This pic is taken from the 89F of Taipei101 (World's Tallest Building). I went with Jill, my officemate in my previous company, pasyal pasyal lang sa mall. The mall sa baba is like our Rustans. Mahal mga paninda. We paid 350NT dollar to go up, via the world's fastest elevator, 45 seconds lang from 5F to 89F.

Very cheap ang perfumes dito halos 50% off. Original naman ang binebenta at may pwesto din kasi. Laman na nga ako ng night market nila, halos every other day pumupunta ako. Best friend ko na rin ang Dante Coffee Shop dito (same as starbucks sa atin), dun lang ako nakakain ng type ko food na pasta, bakes potatoes and sometimes rice. Mapili kasi ako sa food, since puro chinese restos dito and di ako kumakain ng seafoods, sobrang konti ng choices ko. So laman din ako ng Burger King, their Pizza house and Subway. I don't cook in the apartment masasayang lang eh. Tomorrow na flight ko at 10am, but the service will pick me up at 7am. hay I can't wait to go home and be with the kids.

Birthday at iba pa.

It’s my son’s 4th bday today. He’s funny kanina, kasi sabi nya di pa raw sya 4 yrs old, not until he blows the candle of his cake daw tonight. We bought a superman cake for him which will be pick up by hubby tonight. My mom will make him spaghetti too. We decided not to have a party but a simple salo-salo for the family lang since we are busy preparing for his daddy’s flight na this Sunday eh. I also have a business trip for 2 weeks in Taiwan and will be leaving too on Sunday. So sad, that the kids will be left with the yayas in Lola’s house. Mag exodus na naman kami, and move ng mga gamit nila on Sunday morning. I will be back on the 22nd, in time for the very busy last week of July. Padating din ang mga Titas and Lola from the States so bakasyon grande sila. Ako din naka toka maghanap ng place for them to stay and pickup service. Surprise kasi ang pagdating nila sa mga relatives namin dito. This is the 2nd time na gagawin nila, last year Feb 14, nag surprise arrival din sila. On July 29, na lang naming icelebrate ang bday ni Ate and Kuya (5th and 4th nila), plan kasi bumalik ni hubby from SG. Festive Season sa family namin this July.

Joyful to Sorrowful

I hibernated from blogging for a while and I missed doing this already. Ever since I got a new job, I got so busy with many things. Let me tell you what happened when I was gone for a while.

May 19-21, 2006

I had a good summer. My allergy caused by the changes in weather stop already. Stop is a better term, since my derma didn’t cure it. My body suddenly adapt to the super hot season. And so, I had a chance to visit Boracay with hubby and his officemates for their teambuilding. We got the Asian Spirit Saturday 9am flight and arrived there by 10am. There’s a 30-minutes boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay. We stayed in a newly-built transient house of his boss, Casa Sta. Fe in Boat Station 1. We arrived earlier than his officemates kasi they took the Cebu Pacific Flight. We were with Jed, my former boss and boss ni hubby ngayon. We waited for the 2nd batch to arrived before we took our lunch in Andok’s in The Mall. Hay sobrang sarap kumain, kaso puro fired and lechon ang
Lunch naming. By 2pm, we headed back to our Casa and had a swim na by 5pm til 7pm.
It was my first time there, I love the beach very much, sobrang clean. I think it was the cleanest beach I’ve seen in my entire life. Too bad, bawal pala mag uwi ng sand. Dinner was in Pier1. I didn’t like the food there, ordinary lang and mahal pa. Di ko na try ang longa-burger, pero masarap daw at P40. Next day, early morning, I woke up hubby na at 6am so we can walk around. Kami lang 2, we had our breakfast and tried the famous
Choco-banana-peanut shake sa Jonna’s. Saraappp..but I wasn’t able to finish it kakabusog. Tsaka sayang picture picture naming, kakahiya sa pic pag laki ng tyan naming. By 8am, hubby’s officemates are ready na to go for boating. We rented a boat for P2500 for 3 hours, to go around the Boracay Island. We tried snorkeling, but I didn’t enjoy it eh. Since it was my first time to do, natakot ako. Di ako adventurous eh. The water seems mababaw, pero mag check ko, very deep pala. Very clear ang water and you can see the corals and nice fishes. Di na ako nagtagal dun. Then we headed sa Puca Beach. Ganda ng sand, very clean din and konti tao. Natupad na ang wish ko na mag 2 piece, naka boyleg naman ako. Pero di ako umaahon, baka mapag kamalang salbabida…
Di ako..si hubby ko..hehehe..My Lunch was spent with hub’s officemate BF kasi teambuilding sila. I was baby-sit by one of the BF of his officemate. Went shopping in The Palengke. I wa sable to buy cheap necklaces and ref magnets for pasalubongs. The at 5pm, swimming again. Dinner was at Hawaiian Bar-B Que, owned by a celebrity daw. Forgot her name, pero I know kaaway sya ni Aiko Melendez..hehehe (chika pa). Sarap ng pork ribs and pineapple rice. Yung ibang food I forgot na, di ko na ata naabutan sa bilis mag eat ng officemates ni Hubby. Then after pigging out dun, the team decided to drink and dance sa Cocomangas. Treat ng boss nila. Ok ang music but not the place. Looks filthy to me, buti na lang madilim. Otherwise di ako cguro pupunta dun. Then transfer kami ng bar, so we can sing naman. Videoke til 2pm. Nope, di ako songer
Nakikipa palakpak lang ako at moral support kay hubby at team nya hehehe...
In our 3rd day, I got up early as I usually do, 1:30pm ang flight namin sa Caticlan . We need to go again sa The Palengke ni hubby eh. We were able to bought shirts for our parents for pasalubong. We finished packing our things and had early lunch na at 11am.
We took the tricyle, paid P100 sa trip naming to the port. We took a 15-min boat ride pa after that. Nakaabot naman kami sa flight naming. We arrived in Manila at 3pm na.

June 2006
1st week of June, hubby got a phone interview from the a Singapore Company. He got the very nice offer and resigned na rin from his job on the 2nd week. We were busy preparing for his move. I called up our family doctor and had the family vaccinated for flu shot. It was a very tiring month. The kids were already enrolled na and they were so excited to go to school too. Kuya is in Nursery and Ate is in Kinder1 na. They both go to the same school and had their summer classes there too. Hubby is busy transitiong his role to his officemates. Ako, busy kaka isip on how fast we can join him in SG, or will it be a wise decision for us to move pa rin kasi we are waititng for the visa na rin next year eh. This year, ang magiging milestone naming eh ang submission of the documents required and the interview. After that, if smooth ang lahat and no issues at all, hopefully ma grant ang visa in 1st or 2nd Q of next year.
Sorrowful din ang June kasi hubby lost 2 dear relatives. He lost his lolo Cinto and Tita Juliet. Both died because of stroke. They past away on the same week, that’s why we have to transfer to and from the wake of Lolo and Tita. We really missed them. May both of them be happy wherever they are.

New work.. New life

I finally have a new job. Been busy the past few months actively finding a job that would satisfy my expectations. I bid goodbye to my officemates of more than 2 yrs in the last working day of April. I had mixed emotions, sad to leave officemates who turned to be good friends and at the same time looking forward to a new assignment. I didn't rest and started with the new company on the following week. Now after a week in a training, I would say...so far so good. My team composed of young girls, good reason for me to feel young again. Oh well, I know for a fact that I only have 1 year tenure in this company before we go to NZ. But I know too, that I will be able to eventually apply my skills there.

R&R at Bataan

The kids had fun when we (including hubs relatives) spent the holy week at Balanga, Bataan (hometown of hubby's mom). Then we went swimming at Morong, Bataan and spent overnight there. It was a fun-filled vacation and kids were looking forward to go back.

Friendly Yanna

My little girl got a ribbon for being the most friendly in her class and got a medal too for the 6th honorable mention award. We saw a lot of improvements to her eversince she went to school. At 4 yrs old, she now knows addition and subtraction. Schoolling helped her to loose weight too. Yanna became overweight when she turned 1 yr old and according to our pedia, she'll be in the obese borderline if we don't change her feeding style. And after 10 months in school, weight is close to normal now. Being the shy kiddo in her class, the one who don't greet her classmates when she's late, we don't quite expect that she'll get that recognition. Maybe she acts differently when we're away, but I'm just happy to know that she's just like her Dad. Oh well, I hope the 2 boys will be like their ate Yanna. Very friendly and yet serious in her studies. We are very proud of our girl.

Patience

I am not a patient person and until now, I am learning to be one. I hate waiting for someone because I come on time. I managed to be early always at work and I feel bad whenever I'm late due to traffic. I dunno, I think I was trained this way. My parents, especially my Papa (a military man) thought me to prepare my things/uniforms the night before. I remember pa, my Papa told me na if I was a boy, he would have enrolled me in PMA (Phil. Military Academy). Kasira ng beauty =) He noticed kasi that I grew up with strict discipline, like he is. I carried on this trait 'til highschool when I joined the COCC in highschool (Paco Catholic School). But when I was in college na (Mapua), I think that was when I started to learn to wait. Hubby is always late to our date, to our meeting time etc...so many explanations made, so many excuses and so many Ok- that's-fine-to-me liners. I thought it would end when we got married. Little did I know, that it will continue and worsen my waiting problems. And now, I realized that God is soo good that he will use someone for me to acknowledge my shortcomings and make myself a better person. Guess what, as of this writing, I am waiting for my dear officemate hubby to finish with what he is doing so we can go home early....It's Friday honey!

Our New Home

We've been busy these past few weeks because we have move to an apartment. We decided to remove some of our stuff from our house in Molino Parkhomes and have it rented again or if possible sell it na. Then some of our things naman from my parents house in Makati pa. It was a very difficult decision for us, moving out from my parents and live on our own AGAIN. This is our 4th move if I remember it right, very tiring and costs a lot too. Eversince, hubby and I lived on our own, it was early last year when have decided to move back to my parents house in Makati (near our office) so that the grandparents can see their apos often and check on the yayas too. We didn't imagine that life will be complicated if you live in a house with the yayas and my parents. Sometimes, I want to believe that yayas and parents don't mixed. In a span of 1 year, we lost a LOT of yayas because of this issue. For our own peace of mind, hubby and I decided to live again on our own. Although, this may mean additional expense for us, we will be able to sleep peacefully now at night. No more crying/noisy-nieces who lives in the same house. Don't get me wrong, we love our relatives, but we have our own privacy too. Hopefully, my allergies that is stress-related (according to my derma) will disappear soon.

Yaya woes

It's been a roller coaster ride with the Yayas that we have. They come and go. I can't even count how many yayas we had eversince hubby and I had started to have babies. To think na, my eldest Yanna will turn 5 yrs old this July pa lang ha. Almost all of the yaya we got were from the province, and some from Manila na. They have different stories, and different reasons of leaving. Some are heaven sent, some naman are so so..It's so hard on our part, sinc both me and hubby are working. The kids are left with their yayas and I usually just check on them by calling them frequently. Good thing my 2 kids (Yanna and Edric) are able to tell me now on how their day went, but my youngest (Aldrin) is left with his yaya all the time. Here are some tips from an expert Yaya employer:
1. If possible, get the yaya from a reliable source (agency, kapitbahay, relatives..etc)
2. Do a phone interview to check her background (what are her skills and if matches the one you're looking for) - is she all around, or yaya lang talaga
3. Once you feel she's ok naman kausap and you trusted your insticts..go hire her
4. On her first day, get and document her information (Name, Bday, Address, Contact #)
5. I usually take a picture of them, kung ayaw nya mag isa sa pic, sama mo yung old yaya.
6. Orient her to her daily duties and inform her on what you expect from her
7. Have the old yaya be her buddy for training.
These tips worked for me, at least I get to know them well and more importantly, they know what I want in my house. What worries me a lot, even if you treat them well, there are still problems that we ought to face. First, it's diffucult to know if the new yaya will "click" with the old one. Second, I dunno how efficient she'll be in handling work at home, may mahinhin kumilos, may tamad, may iba naman parang robot kumilos. I can live with the 2nd problem eh, the 1st one naku iba na yan. I had a lot of yayas who left because they had a fight with the other yaya. Usually, hubby is the referee and usually the yayas can settle their differences. BUT, there are cases, Yayas go and leave us..hay hirap. I'm so dead tired of finding yayas, because it cost us money and costs us effort to do training. Eto pa, I feel we are at their mercy, kasi we leave the kids with them and they feel they are indispensable.
I'm just waititng for our time to come to NZ, and this problems with the Yayas will end na. Bakit kamo? coz I will be a yaya to my 3 kids when we get there.....hopefully for a short time lang, baka I can't keep my sanity if I do that for good...

My Permed Hair

After living with painstakingly rebonded/straightened hair for 18 years and not being able to go out of the house until every strand is dried perfectly in place, I realized with glee that permed hair is wash and wear. I can pop into the bathroom, pop back out, get ready in five minutes and run out of the house without worrying about having a massive mess on my head. With the time and energy I have been saving on not having to eletric fan-dry my hair and after discovering the joy of low (even non-) maintenance hair, I might just stay curly forever. I actually have curly hair (well in runs in the family) when I was little, but due to my frequent visits to the salon and have my hair straightened, my naturals curls are now gone. I remember that college days were the last time that had those kind of curls. My biggest joy now going out of the house in the morning with my hair just towel dryed and looking at it in the afternoon or evening to reveal still beautiful, perfect, sexy curls. Just how my dear hubby love it when we were still in college.

EOI Selected

Yes, you heard it right. Our Expression of Interest (EOI) to New Zealand was selected just today. Hubby and I submitted online our EOI last Feb. 13. We started filling-up the EOI since December. It tooks us a while to submit because we contemplated first if NZ is really for us and we were quite hesitant at first since the policies were changed last Dec. 21.After joining the pinoyz2nz 13th meet, we felt that there's still a chance for us and we hope that we will be able to make it in the selection pool for Feb. 15. Eversince we have submitted it, I am checking the Immigration NZ Online Services everyday, just to check if the Submitted status changed na to Selected. And when I checked nga an hour ago (while I'm writing this), whoa! We were selected! At 135 points with no job offer, it's quite hard to comply with their new policy of getting 140 points. We are so happy! God is so good! I know we have a long way to go pa, but this is milestone for us. Getting to NZ now is hard, but it is possible!

WELCOME!

I'm so excited to blog. It's been a while kasi na I'm contemplating to do this. Something I can do to express what I feel, share my ideas and update some friends. Now, I had the courage to write my thoughts and start my own blog. Til my next post! Happy V-day pala!