Bills Bills Bills

Since my husband left for Singapore, we had this illusion that our bills will disintegrate slowly but surely, but since he left the only credit card and bills payment we’ve made are bills for Meralco (regularly every month) water bills, and after 5 months since he left half of the BPI CC bill that we have. I am left with the burden of budgeting everything while staying on top of all the bills and usually during these times (ends of month) I get flustered with all the calls I am receiving from our 2 other CC’s that is still left unpaid. Although I try not to get very anxious about getting them immediately closed, I just still feel flustered. And these are the times when I wish that I could just follow him there in Singapore work double time so we can pay everything twice as fast and then we can start saving for our family. I just wish I can teleport myself to where he is and bring my daughter with me there too. Live on a beautiful country where life is peaceful and worry-free.

Today I started applying for Singapore Jobs again, I decided, just because my husband said I cannot go there to look for work, doesn’t mean that I cannot look for work completely right? So I started applying and applying again. Getting my hopes up like I always do when I send in applications to dozens and dozens of companies who will not even send me a rejection reply. They are part of the reason why I check my E-mail everyday, that maybe just maybe one of those hundreds of companies I applied for will finally come to there senses and offer me something, even just a measly interview, coz I know I can knock their socks off!

Tomorrows another day, maybe I wouldn’t be as depressed as I am right now. Good Night all, I’m gonna start watching movies now and see you guys tomorrow.

Going Home

After much deliberation. I have come to the decision that I will go home to my house in Las Pinas on May 1. I had this decision earlier that I will stay at my parents house in Pasig for the whole month of May so I can save a bit, but I think its time for me to go home, I’ve done so much imposing in this house and I think its time for me to go home. Although money is tight, I think with a little control we can make it through the whole month without any problems. And if there will be problems, my in-laws are there to help us a bit. I miss my home and I think its about time I stayed there for good. I will also be looking at a playskool that Nike can attend so its time that I started scouting for good playskools around my home.

Wish me luck that I won’t be lonely there, because I am planning to stay put in Las Pinas for good, or until Nike and I can follow Noel in Singapore. See you soon Las Pinas.

EDIT:

5:37 PM

I decided I might stay May 1 and 2 because I have plans that I forgot. but will come home on a weekday first week of may! hehehehe

Working News

Last night my best friend and I were having a booze session here at my place. We started around 8pm and ended at 12:30 AM. It was really fun! After that I went upstairs prepared the bed for my daughter (who was watching tv beside her grandfather - in her grandads room) took about, so I wouldn’t stink from alcohol and got my daughter to get ready for bed. at around 1:00 AM I started talking to my husband via skype and like always I also started browsing the net.

I make it a habit to check my e-mail every hour, and last night I received one of the best news of the year. I have been shortlisted to work for a popular travel guide as a travel writer. (I wouldn’t name the company just yet, unless I am 100% its a go!!) and I got very very excited.

The letter of the Director for me below:

Hello Elaine

I thought your essay was good and I would be happy for it to be a part of future COMPANY NAME travel guides. If I already hadn’t been to the Philippines your essay would compel me to do so.  Coincidentally I am in Manila now, and suffering from the heat Can you cool it down please?

The next important issue is production time. The industry standard for experienced copy writers is 240 words per hour, including research. The key question, then, is whether you can and want to achieve this speed either now or in the future? I suggest that you can work more quickly when you are practiced at travel writing.

Further, you will be specialising in one or two countries which means that you can gain a “feel” for that place, and take advantage of overlapping data and cross-referencing while you research it. In other words, as time passes you will not have to research a topic from scratch. The history, culture, climate and geography of a region will have commonalities with the region of the country as a whole, and to the region next door. I will also give you some print travel guides for that country so that you can bone up on the various regions. Over time, you will not need as much raw research to produce an essay.

If you accept this offer we need to assign you to a country or two. The top 10 visited countries in the world are, in order: France, USA, Spain, UK, China, Italy, Ukraine (strangely), Germany, Russia, Mexico & Canada.  That’s 11 actually, but the rankings are disputed by different statistics. (You can see the tourism demographics at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism. It would be good if you could

select a country on the list … either that you have visited or are interested in researching.

THIS PARAGRAPH I OMMITED BECAUSE THIS INCLUDED THE PAY RATE.

We pay you using PayPal. This requires you to open a PayPal account which is free and can be done online at www.PayPal.com. Once I transfer funds to you, you can use PayPal to purchase anything online. You can also link your PayPal account to your bank account to receive the funds as cash. We will pay you within a week of receiving your essay.

Once paid for, your work becomes the property of COMPANY NAME Guide, although acknowledgement of your authorship is published with your articles. Editing of your material is done at our discretion, either by addition, addition or alteration. Often, grammar is tweeked and spelling is de-Americanised.

We will also give you feedback so you can align your writing more closely to our style and policies. This is normal even for excellent writing so it is not to be taken as criticism.

Let me know if you can work within these guidelines? If so, I will forward to hearing back from you.

Kind regards,

(NAME OF THE DIRECTOR)

This is a very exciting news for me and I feel that finally I will be doing something worthwhile as writing is a real passion of mine and so is research, and what more travelling!

I have already Emailed the director accepting the job, and just waiting for further instructions. So everyone please wish me the best of luck and I will update you on what the next email will hold. ^_^

Electric Shock

Its the time of the month when every Filipino gets their electric bill, and what a shock that has been for us. Our current Electric bill costs PHP15,000 and that is just waaaaay too high. Some of my friends electric bills which was just around PhP3000 last month is at PhP5000 this month, thats a really big increase. I know its hot and appliances are working more because of the heat to keep cool, but the main reason I believe for this increase is that now the Kilowatt hour cost of the electricity is at PhP13. Why??? when 5 months ago it was just at around PhP8 per kilowatt hour. Why did our electricity cost so high now, what changed? what improved? Are the Filipinos working their asses off just so they can pay the electricity bill? and why isn’t our government, the people who swore to protect the nation from injustices and cruelty not doing anything about this?

Electricity is important to us, but it is also important that after we pay our bills we have enough money left to buy food, pay for education. But whats happening right now is every penny earned is every penny spent on electricity alone? Whats going to happen to us if this persist? We won’t have even a peso saved to secure our future and our children’s future, just because we need to pay such high electricity cost. I call our government to take action, The Filipino People cannot survive with this kind of expense.

I call on Meralco to take pity on the people. Do not let us drown in electric bills and your high prices. We are suffering enough as it is without you adding to our burden.

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.

Elections: Are You Submitting to Peer Pressure?

As most of you know the Philippines 2010 Elections is coming up in May, and the most popular names being discussed nowadays are of Noynoy and Manny. Why are they the most talked about? Is it because they have the most political advertisements? Or is it because they are the ones blatantly attacking each others campaigns? I personally will not vote for either of them as I am a Gordon Supporter, maybe I think because it seems that he is not too keen on taking the position, it makes me feel that he has no vested interest. And looking back at Subic, He really did make a difference. I have also heard and know a lot of people saying that they also want Gordon to take the position, or some even have other candidates in mind, but would just settle for Noynoy so that Manny will not win, or will just settle for Manny so that Noynoy will not win. What kind of thinking is that? Why are we letting the presidential elections become a popularity contest? Why are we submitting to Peer Pressure? You will vote for this president because  most of the others will be voting for him too? That is just not the way to go. I am not asking you to vote for MY President (Gordon) but what I am asking is that each and every person have a mind of their own, do not let the number of political advertisements change your mind of who you want and do not want to vote. Please vote for the person who you think will make a difference in our country. We do not have just two candidates, we actually have 10 (Noynoy Aquino III, JC de los Reyes, Joseph Estrada, Richard Gordon, Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas, Gilbert Teodoro, Eddie Villanueva, Manny Villar, Vetallano Acosta) and all I ask of you — for the future of our children and our childrens children is that we vote for who you want to vote for, vote for who you believe in! Do not let statistics fool you into voting just the two candidates on top (Manny or Noynoy) have a mind of your own and vote for a worthy President. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a write up to tell you that nor Manny nor Noynoy do not deserve your vote, but if you don’t like any of them in the first place, then don’t vote for them just because your mom or dad or sister said so, or just because the statistics say that only the two is in reach of the position. If we all vote for who we want to vote for, then who knows maybe the truly deserving candidate, Be it Gordon, Noynoy, Manny, Jamby, Gibo, JC, Eddie, Erap, Vetallano or JC, as long as the vote you cast comes from the heart, then in the end, whoever wins you will not feel cheated.

Do not submit to Peer Pressure. Research on your candidates and know the facts and then decide. Cast an educated vote!

Farewell Ugly Betty

I have been an avid watcher and fan of Ugly better since it premiered on September 2008. I found that its easy to watch very funny and touches real life experiences which anyone can relate to. It also had its moments where it made me cry and made me laugh loud that if anyone saw or heard they’d think I’m having a nervous breakdown.

I had no idea that the 20th episode of Season 4 was the last episode I’ll see of Ugly betty, all I know that the ending of episode 20 was that they took away the word Ugly in the title Ugly Betty, I thought that was their way of introducing a new title to the series, since Betty was no longer Ugly. But as I did some research today, I found out the ABC has decided to cancel the show leaving me a bit shocked and a bit saddened to know that I will never get to know what happened to Betty and Daniel as a couple. It would have been nice to find out, and I hope that ABC or other networks will find that the Ugly Betty Series is a good investment.

But for now Adios Ugly Betty, but I hope to see you again soon.

Steak and Clothes

Sunday is usually a special lunch day here in my Parents house, and today being sunday is no exception. The only difference is that I was the one assigned to cook the meal. My mom prepared everything and all I needed to do was grill it. Today was Steak day! Oh so Yummy! I woke up earlier than I usually do so I can prepare myself from the heat that I was about to endure. It has been really hot here in the Philippines lately and doing some grilling / barbecue just makes it even hotter. But the food turned out great and everyone was so happy with my Medium Well steak!

After lunch one of our family friends came over and had a bag of goodies for me, I decided I will start selling stuff in MULTIPLY again. And I busied myself the whole day taking pictures of the clothes and editing the store website.

hope you can drop by and see the clothes I have for sale at my SWEET ARTICLES STORE.

A Daughters Pain

In my situation right now, being away from my husband, I did not know there will be something more painful than having him away from us, until tonight.

I was busily looking for ways to get our family together in Singapore in the earliest possible time. Researching about Nike’s Student Visa and how it works and if it works for Pre-School children, according to my research it is possible, so I started researching for Pre-Schools where I can inquire to enroll Nike next year (2011).

Then Nike spoke to me as if feeling that I am thinking about Singapore, she said

“Mommy, yesterday Nike rode the big airplane… and then Nike cried in the big airplane, yes?” — for her yesterday means any moment in the past.

I said “yes baby”. Then went on doing more research.

After a couple of minutes she stood in front of me, looking troubled, then she approached me silently and carefully as if looking for comfort, so I put my arms around her and hugged her tight. When she pulled away she said with pain in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks — she said only one word which said it all: “Daddy”.

So I carried her and put my arms around her and asked, “You miss daddy?” and between silent sobs she said “yes.”

I never knew that with Noel being away, there would not be anything more painful than me enduring the distance, but now I realize, my little girl, a 3 year old heart is full of pain and longing for her daddy, she is in a situation that she can not comprehend and all the hurt must be confusing for her. It breaks my heart hearing the pain in her voice and seeing the hurt in her eyes.

This just makes me more eager to make it possible for our family to be together again, because I know, right now, nothing will make my daughter happier than seeing her family together.

Drunk and Depressed

Wow I never thought there will come a time that I would call myself Double Ds! But this is not a positive Double D. My D-D means Drunk and depressed. Actually I almost always only allow myself to self pity and become depressed when I am drunk and tonight I drank 5 Bottles of beer and 5 refills of 400 Ounces of Cosmopolitan Cocktails so this night would pass as me being drunk… and Depressed.

Its only during these times that I allow myself to feel sad about my husband being too far. And these are the only moments I allow myself to reminisce about the moments I miss when we were together.

Like for instance right now, I cannot stop thinking about the moments we were at the mall together taking our daughter out to enjoy the arcade. I also cannot stop thinking about our first studio pictorial as a family. There are so many moments that seemed so irrelevant before when he was still that I miss so much now that he is not, like him driving me and our daughter to the mall after he gets home from work so we can unwind, dine and give our daughter a chance to play at a small play gym in SM Megamall.

I miss holding his hand when we walk around the mall, I miss the way he chases his daughter around the mall when Nike strays away. I miss the way he looks as he drives our car on the way to ATC so Nike can ride her favorite carousel. I miss the way he steps inside the room and greets us with his ever so loving smile when he comes home from work. I miss every moment with him, and its only these times (when I have alcohol in my body) when I truly let my guard down and let myself feel the sadness and during these times I drown in all the sadness and I allow myself to cry.

I miss what I used to have with my husband, and I am scared I could never have them back.

Blue Ribbon - Stop Child Abuse

Decorate your web pages with Blue Ribbons this month, to show your support for Stopping Child Abuse:

A friend from Fluff-friends gave me this message:

An average of 4 children die everyday as a result of child abuse or neglect. In the United States, 1 in every 58 children is abused or neglected (more than 1.25 million children). More than half of those children are victims of neglect, where basic needs aren’t getting met. The rest are victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Blue is the color associated with child abuse prevention and awareness. These wings represent every child who has ever been/is being/may be abused and/or neglected. We need to do everything we can to give these beautiful, innocent children a voice. 

If you’d like to show your support, please put these wings in your habitat for the duration of the month, and leave your link on my wall, so I can come and visit you. If you’d like more information on child abuse prevention, visit this website: http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth/. Thank you! xxx

And I am Reposting an article from FUNKYTOWN 

 According to wikipedia, “in the U.S.A., a Blue Ribbon Campaign against child abuse originated in the spring of 1989 when Bonnie Finney of Virginia tied a blue ribbon to her car antenna, as tribute to her three year old grandson, Michael Bubba Dickinson, who died at the hands of his abusive father. The blue color of the ribbon symbolizes the color of bruises.”

Sad to say that child abuse, which may cause serious injury to the child and may even result in death, happens in all cultural, ethnic, and income groups. The child abuse statistic in USA shows that an estimated 906,000 children are victims of abuse & neglect every year. The rate of victimization is 12.3 children per 1,000 children.

I know this is horrific to read and see, but if it helps to stop child abuse, we must all pass it on.

Here’s a poem:

BLUE RIBBON AGAINST CHILD ABUSE

My name is Sarah
I am but three,
my eyes are swollen
I cannot see.
I must be stupid,
I must be bad,
what else could have made
my daddy so mad?I wish I were better,
I wish I weren’t ugly,
then maybe my Mommy
would still want to hug me.I can’t speak at all,
I can’t do a wrong
or else I’m locked up
all the day long.When I awake I’m all alone
the house is dark
my folks aren’t home.When my Mommy does come
I’ll try and be nice,
so maybe I’ll get just
one whipping tonight.

 

Don’t make a sound!
I just heard a car
my daddy is back
from Charlie’s Bar.I hear him curse
my name he calls
I press myself
against the wall.I try and hide
from his evil eyes
I’m so afraid now
I’m starting to cry.He finds me weeping
he shouts ugly words,
he says its my fault
that he suffers at work.

 

He slaps me and hits me
and yells at me more,
I finally get free
and I run for the door. He’s already locked it
and I start to bawl,
he takes me and throws me
against the hard wall.

I fall to the floor
with my bones nearly broken,
and my daddy continues
with more bad words spoken.

‘I’m sorry!’ I scream

but its now much too late
his face has been twisted
into unimaginable hate.

The hurt and the pain
again and again
oh please God, have mercy!
oh please let it end!

And he finally stops
and heads for the door,
while I lay there motionless
sprawled on the floor.

My name is Sarah
and I am but three,
tonight my daddy
murdered me.

*~*~*AGAINST CHILD ABUSE*~*~*

As individuals and community members, we have the power to prevent child abuse and keeps kids safe and families strong. So, it’s our duty to pass this poem on as a Blue Ribbon Against Child Abuse!

Again, Support the cause, decorate your sites, whether it is facebook or friendster, Multiply, Tumblr - Let people know about child abuse. Let people be aware so we can prevent children from dying because of maltreatments of adults.

Exploring HTML and CSS

The past few days I have been addicted to enhancing and personalizing all my networking and blogging sites. It all started when I joined tumblr and decided to rekindle my love for blogging and writing. When I started this blog, I didn’t realize that it will bring back my love for doing CSS and HTML LEARNING.

I am not a computer science major or has not learned or been taught by a computer guru about HTML and CSS. When I started using MULTIPLY I got interested with editing the look of my website so that it wouldn’t look like the rest of the multiply world. That when I started studying HTML and CSS codes on my own so I can do tweaks with the look of my website. During that time, I was only concerned with the end goal and did not really pay attention to what the coding means, as long as I got what I wanted as the end result I just copied and pasted tutorial codes and edited a few. While doing this I learned a little bit. Then I got bored with multiply and editing themes so the learning stopped.

7 days ago I started this blog site and I realized I don’t want it to look too plain, I want it to have my mark, I wanted to edit the theme little by little so that my webpage will have my touch. I slowly tried to tweak some of its HTML coding and added a few widgets here and there. I started paying more attention to the codes that I am inserting and deleting and now I can say I understand the codes much better than when I started tweaking on my multiply site.

Then today, the whole day I got obsessed with re-structuring my whole multiply page. I deleted my old custom CSS theme, chose a new base theme, got the raw CSS code of the base theme and started experimenting from scratch, some of the things I don’t understand I researched online, and I am happy I did this, because now, not only can I edit and tweak my themes, I understand what I need to edit when I need to edit it, I understand HTML and CSS themes better.

Doing these makes me regret more that I did not pursue my childhood passion. I remember when I was still in Grade School, I have always wanted to take up Computer Science in College. When someone would ask me what I wanted to do I always tell them that I wanted to be a computer engineer or programmer. Sad thing is I didn’t follow my dreams. When it was time to apply for college, I chose Business Management and Math in my applications. I guess one can say I got peer pressured because all my family studied Management. It was the worst decision I ever made, because I know in my heart that my passion will always be computers.

But I decided I will make up for it by learning as much as I can about Computers, Web Designing, Web Developing, Graphics designing, trouble shooting. And when I have enough money to pay for additional education for myself, I will attend vocational classes that will help me achieve my life long dream of becoming a computer geek!

Uncelebrated

Today is April 15. Nothing Special, but yesterday was, see April 14 is our Wedding Anniversary, I woke up knowing and waited for my husband to greet me. I didn’t greet him the whole day until I finally forgot about it at night when we finally talked, then I remembered again almost at the end of our conversation last night around 1:00 AM but I still didn’t let him know, I just told him that I am feeling sad lately, and that I am scared that he may have another girl in Singapore, although I trust him, I sometimes get this crazy moments where I get scared that he is too far from me.

So our whole anniversary day passed uncelebrated. I felt bad about telling him about it this morning but I did. And he was so sorry it was cute. I know he is not really good with dates and I even expected him forget, but I still got upset, maybe because it was the first wedding anniversary that we are spending apart, and sometimes, no matter how much girls deny it, no matter how much I deny it, I want to feel special. I have never gotten flowers from him. Ever. I sometimes dream that there will be a surprise waiting for me, but I know he’s not like that. Don’t get me wrong, my husband is sweet and caring, he is often lacking in the thoughtful department, but he makes up for it by being loving and sweet. But you know how girls are, we always want what we can’t have, we always complain about things that we wish we could have, but we never give our partner hints, we just want them to guess and we expect them to know what we want and what we are thinking. I am not mad at him though, I’m over it. I just thought that it would have been nice to get a surprise - I guess now is not the time. Maybe someday.

To my dearest husband, I love you, and belated Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary.

Nestle's Fast Recovery

After Five days of waiting, the field representative of Nestle finally was able to get the 1 Liter Nestle Chuckie that was spoiled when I opened it last April 8, 2010 (blog of it found HERE and HERE). They took the Nestle Chuckie I had so that they could do laboratory testing, and replaced it with 1 Liter of Nestle Chuckie. They also sent a letter of apology along with the replacement.

Letter of Apology



The Receipt that they took the sample from me and replaced it:



Thank you Nestle for responding this type of concerns with sincerity and seriousness. Our children’s health is a serious matter to us and I personally am a happy mother knowing that you as a childrens snack and milk provider is taking your customers seriously.

Again, Cheers! I will wait for the laboratory results within 2 - 3 days to find out what has happened.

Semi-Stick Figure Doodle

I have always been amazed with people who can draw, My husband for example - he is so artistic and talented and can put all my ideas in paper. Like these baby drawings for example — These are rough sketches that I asked him to do when I was trying to design baby picture t-shirt designs and I just described what I wanted to him, and he drew it within 10 minutes, just like that.

These  drawings are just a sample of the simple drawings that noel can do, I’ve seen his old sketch books and there are a lot of really good and more complex sketches in there, I wish I can encourage him to continue this passion, as this may be a good passion for him, since he also likes photoshop and manipulations, he can do a physical sketch of whatever he likes to draw and edit using photoshop and create his own portfolio. :)

Anyway yeah, and I am idolizing another person here in tumblr the owner of happymonsters, she does really amazing drawings and commish sketches and I just adore her, so I started sketching (using a real sketch pad, pencils and colored pencils) to follow her footsteps, she inspired me in trying to be creative, so I drew this — this is ME handing out a flower to My husband — For always keeping me inspired in everything and to Lucy - The owner of happy monsters for inspiring me to try and be artistic (although I clearly need lots and lots and lots of practice).

So expect this is the first of many many sketches that I will try, some of them may even be good, so look out, just a little bit more practice, and a little bit more imagination and soon I may even be drawing for real! LOL.

Midnight Murmurs on My Mind

I am watching Meet Joe black, and suddenly I caught a glimpse of my wedding pictures via our multiply site where I created this slide show of my self made lay-out of our wedding pictures and I got so sad I wanted to write a letter to my husband.

So here goes.

Dear Daddy,

My Head Hurts, I am sleepy and tired, but the worst part of my day is that I am sad. I wasn’t sad after we talked, but a sudden rush of sadness swept through me when I saw your smiling face on our wedding pictures. And I felt like no matter how much we try to grow together and how much we talk to each other everyday, the distance that we have this past few months is putting a strain on us, on our growth as a couple, on our growth as family. And realizing that makes me sad. It’s not that we are growing apart, but we are not growing together.

I used to know and see your every smile, but now its like we can only share these moments through words and its hard. It gets harder everyday, because no matter how much I try to recover, I sink deeper and deeper into this sad hole just looking at what used to be ours. I want it back, I want you back, I want to grow older everyday WITH you, and not just talking about growing older with you everyday.

God knows how much I miss you, I hope you miss me too.

Love Forever,
Elaine

I guess I’m just being a bit sentimental, yet again. This usually happens to me when I have some beer in my system. Beer tend to have this effect on me, so maybe I should really just start drinking wine, because wine gets me in a happy mood, a happy sleepy mood. Yes, I guess I’ll get myself a glass of wine, forget this silly loneliness and hop to bed. Goodnight Guys! Cheers!

Hungry!?! Oatmeal Anyone?

Since I’ve already started quitting all my vises which started with Fluff — which I have not completely taken out of my life, just minimized my usage of this app — and quit smoking, I decided that I will make sure to minimize my other vise as well, JUNK FOODS! yup, for those who know me well, like my husband, you should all have an idea of how much of a junk food junkie I am, I LOVE my potato chips, my cookies, my soda, my milk drinks, chocolates, nachos and lots and lots of other junk foods. And today I started to minimize my consumption of junk foods because when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was my fat face, my cellulite infested tummy and my flabby arms and thighs! Ugh! I hate what I saw. Ever since I got married and had Nike (My Daughter) I’ve become complacent with my health and my figure. I’ve gotten too comfortable with not having to care about what other men and women think about me because I already have that one important man in my life. But today — Today! That will change!

I got hungry this afternoon, and I immediately went to the fridge and looked for — wait for it — Potato Chips and a chocolate drinks, but I suddenly stopped when I got a glimpse of my body in the mirror beside the fridge. The disgusting view of my tummy all folded and floppy made me squirm and I decided to eat OATMEAL and drink WATER instead. I decided I will slowly start to live healthy, lose a little bit of my fats by having a better diet and do a 30 minute exercise on my own everyday — I got this flirty girl exercise regime that I’m very excited to start doing with my best friend (kate — Call me! lets start ASAP!!!) I just needed the motivation to start it — and looking at myself in the mirror, not fitting in my old clothes and thinking that I probably wouldn’t look good in the clothes that I am eye-ing to buy at the online stores in multiply is motivation enough for me to start living healthily!

I am so proud of myself that I finally came to my senses to start doing this healthy lifestyle, I just hope I could push through with it! Wish me luck and cheer me on!!

Rekindling Old Flames

I was bored yesterday. extreeeeemely borrrrred! since my other hobby (online shopping) is not an option due to lack of funds, my sister and I decided to get old movies that we loved and watch them again, I am an 80s baby (born 1984) and my sister was a 70s baby (born 1979) so our taste in old movies was different.

She got excited by teen movies from 1980s and I get excited by teen movies of the 90s. But she seemed so excited about getting “her” movies that I decided I might as well give it a try.

Today I finished watching 16 Candles

Main characters:

Molly Ringwald as Samantha Baker

Justin Henry as Mike Baker

Michael Schoeffling as Jake Ryan

Anthony Michael Hall as Ted, aka “The Geek”

Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong[2]

Haviland Morris as Caroline Mulford

Paul Dooley as Jim Baker

Carlin Glynn as Brenda Baker

Blanche Baker as Ginny Baker

Edward Andrews as Grandpa Howard Baker

Billie Bird as Grandma Dorothy Baker

Carole Cook as Grandma Helen

Max Showalter as Grandpa Fred

Liane Alexandra Curtis as Randy

John Cusack as Bryce

Darren Harris as Cliff (Wease)

Deborah Pollack as Marlene, aka “Lumberjack”

Joan Cusack as Geek Girl

John Kapelos as Rudy Ryszczyk

I thought I haven’t watched it before only to realize that I already watched it when I was younger. This movie is interesting to say the most, I liked it, but I didn’t love it (sorry to 16 candles fans out there), because I think the story is a bit too shallow, and the execution of the movie is not really that good. Maybe I just also do not get the humor, but the humor isn’t that appealing to me either. But the hot guy in the movie is really hot LOL.

My sister gave me another movie to watch, the title is Some Kind of Wonderful. She assured me that this isn’t a shallow and she seemed overly excited about it, so I will give it a try later tonight.

Eric Stoltz - Keith Nelson

Mary Stuart Masterson - Watts

Lea Thompson - Amanda Jones

Craig Sheffer - Hardy Jenns

John Ashton - Cliff Nelson

Elias Koteas - Duncan

Molly Hagan - Shayne

Maddie Corman - Laura Nelson

Jane Elliot - Carol Nelson

Candace Cameron - Cindy Nelson

Chynna Phillips - Mia

Scott Coffey - Ray

But right now I am trying to watch The Prince and Me:

Julia Stiles as Paige Morgan

Luke Mably as Eddie, Prince Edvard

Ben Miller as Soren

Miranda Richardson as Queen Rosalind

James Fox as King Haraald

Alberta Watson as Amy Morgan

John Bourgeois as Ben Morgan

Zachary Knighton as John Morgan

Stephen O’Reilly as Mike Morgan

Elisabeth Waterston as Beth Curtis

Eliza Bennett as Princess Arabella

Devin Ratray as Scotty

Clare Preuss as Stacey

Yaani King as Amanda

Eddie Irvine as Himself

Angelo Tsarouchas as Stu

Jacques Tourangeau as Professor Amiel

Stephen Singer as Professor Begler

I am enjoying this movie right now, but I remember when I first watched it, I felt so into the movie, I guess thats what happens when you get older, stories like 16 candles and the prince and me seem a bit shallow and uninteresting, but still watching old and familiar movies are entertaining and brings back childhood / teen-hood memories that you tend to forget.

So I was trying to look for good movies to get and here are some of the movies that I decided is worth watching again.

Please do let me know of any other movies (I prefer Romantic Comedies or Comedy Movies) that would be worth watching because since there seems to be millions of movies out there, I tend to forget the titles of those that are really good and funny and entertaining and those that make you teary eyed and tingly all over.

Here are the lists of movies that I have lined up to watch the next few days.

Practical Magic



Meet Joe Black



Patch Adams



The Princess Bride



Notting Hill



I will watch these movies till I am not bored anymore and wait until its the weekend and maybe do something fun with the kids, like go the Active Fun in Fun Ranch - Tiendesitas or watch a big screen movie LOL.

One Stick A Day

I decided I will quit smoking! It’s the one vise that I hate the most, and I am determined to QUIT! I have been saying this since last year, and I occasionally
quit, then come back to it, don’t know why.

I guess its because every time I eat too much, its just nice to have that one stick to make you feel better. Every time you feel stressed, it helps you calm your nerves. And every time you feel sad, it takes your mind off of whatever is making you feel sad. Yep, I guess that’s why I keep coming back to it. But this time I AM GOING TO QUIT! and this is not like when I say I’m going to start my diet or do exercise, because I will make sure I do this, I will quit!

I told myself I’m going to start quitting one step at a time, decrease my consumption. But then that doesn’t really help at all, Because if I used to smoke 9 sticks a day, then when I do it one step at a time, I will have to gradually decrease my consumption, so I will have to make do with 8 sticks a day for how many days? then 7 sticks then 6? I will just make sure that while I am adjusting to this quitting period, the most I will smoke is ONE Stick a day at a maximum or none at all, and today I am proud to say that I did not smoke, not even one stick! so Yay for me!!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Cigarette picture taken from: http://freehosting.tomaweb.com/quitsmoking/cigarette_poisons.htm

Memories of Singapore

Video 1: Black and White Photo Slide Show of our Memories in Singapore.

Video 2: Colored Photo Slide Show of our Memories in Singapore. (Currently Viewed)

I decided this afternoon that its time to create a Photo Slide Show of our vacation in Singapore last March 18-27, 2010.

It was so hard to choose a few pictures for the 9 days that we spent there because for me, all the pictures are priceless, invaluable and important.

I showed the slideshow to my daughter (Nike) after I encoded it, and afterwards she said “Mommy, Punta ko Daddy” English Translation: Mommy, I want to go to daddy. And she got teary eyed and I knew she suddenly missed her daddy so much.

So I just promised her that this year, before her birthday we will be visiting daddy in Singapore again for 3 weeks.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Video hosted from: METACAFE

The Sweetest Husband

I just want to make sure to make my husband and my Skype conversation timeless.

[12:12:32 AM] elaine.malonzo: yay!!! u did my dish

[12:12:35 AM] elaine.malonzo: ur favorite food

[12:12:37 AM] elaine.malonzo: naku

[12:12:41 AM] elaine.malonzo: edi u dont need me anymore

[12:12:51 AM] elaine.malonzo: u can cook all ur favorite foods na i cook for u..

[12:12:52 AM] elaine.malonzo: awwww

[12:15:42 AM] Noel Malonzo: hahaha

[12:15:45 AM] Noel Malonzo: adicct

[12:15:53 AM] Noel Malonzo: i don’t need you to cook me food

[12:15:58 AM] Noel Malonzo: i need you lang

[12:16:21 AM] Noel Malonzo: i need you to keep me sane

[12:16:46 AM] Noel Malonzo: i need you to give me love :)

[12:16:52 AM] Noel Malonzo: and….i need

[12:16:53 AM] Noel Malonzo: to go to sleep

[12:16:58 AM] Noel Malonzo: hehe, mommy antok na ko

[12:17:04 AM] Noel Malonzo: kala ko sandali lang luto tagal rin pala

[12:17:11 AM] Noel Malonzo: gotta go sleepy time na

[12:17:14 AM] Noel Malonzo: love you much

[12:17:19 AM] Noel Malonzo: reply ka when ur back

[12:17:55 AM] elaine.malonzo: awww

[12:18:01 AM] elaine.malonzo: that is so sweet bebe

[12:18:20 AM] elaine.malonzo: i love you so so much..

[12:18:27 AM] elaine.malonzo: I miss you tuloy..

[12:18:28 AM] Noel Malonzo: love you too

[12:18:33 AM] Noel Malonzo: i need you to be here rin pala

[12:18:35 AM] Noel Malonzo: hehe

[12:18:41 AM] Noel Malonzo: kaya sana magwork lahat

The sweetest things.. I miss my husband. Good Night Guys!!! Goodnight Bebet (what I call my husband - besides daddy) and good night baby Nike. :) Sweetest dreams to all.

I want to Shop Online!

Lately I have been trying to rekindle a lot of my passion which includes writing, and sadly one of my other passion is a bit expensive which is ONLINE shopping. I love online shopping better than the physical shopping first because its easier to find something online, just search and viola its there, no need to drive or commute, no need to walk, no need to go to stores and find out that whatever your looking for is no longer in stock or is already sold out. Doing your shopping online is so much more convenient. But there is also a disadvantage, like one time there was a shirt that i bought the seller said it was for small to medium frames, but when I tried it on it was so big I had to throw it at the back of my closet. But most of my online purchases are always successful and nice, but you will get an occasional disappointment which is just normal.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of the online stuff that I wanted to buy (sadly I dont have money) so since I think they are gorgeous items, maybe you would love them too.

ITEM NUMBER 1 - PINK CARMELA - SUPER SIZED WEEKEND BAG

This one is called Pink Carmela - Super Sized Weekender Bag from the multiply online seller Ewi’s Online Boutique

Description of the Bag:

Dimensions:
Length: 20 inches
Width: 13.5 inches
Thickness: 8 inches
Handle Length: 21 inches

Inner Details:
Plain fabric with multiple pockets

Shoe/Laundry Compartment:
Plain fabric SEPARATE from inner bag fabric (contents of shoe compartment will not touch the contents of the bag)

ITEM NUMBER 2 - BLACK & WHITE PAISLEY WEEKEND BAG

This is a SOLD OUT Bag from another Seller - I called it Black and White Paisley - Super Sized Weekender Bag. And it is sold at Shoppingspells. It has the same dimension and description as the Pink Carmela - Super Sized Bag but the price of this lovely is PhP1550.00 only.

ITEM NUMBER 3 - SILVER BLACK LAPTOP BAG

This Laptop Bag I adore to bits, here is the description of the seller:

You will definitely fall in love with these elegant Quilted and Padded Laptop Bags w/ Built-In Pocket/Sleeve!

NOW WITH AN ADDED FEATURE! We’ve included a large pocket (for calculators, cables, etc.) and a cellphone pocket as well! :)

Large Laptop Bags - Php 1,880 - can fit 15.4 up to 17 inch laptops. 

Medium Laptop Bags - Php 1,680 - can fit 12 up to 15 inches laptops

Small / Mini Laptop Bags - Php 1,680 - can fit 11inches netbooks. 


Both sizes has an extra space for your cables, textbook,s documents, papers, cellphones, etc! Comes in different colors that will suit your taste :)

Made of imported materials that will ensure that your laptop is safe from any harm!!!

Plus, it comes with a FREE elegant bag charm! 

This Lovely laptop bag comes in many other different colors and is from Ewi’s Online Boutique.

ITEM NUMBER 4 - LOLLIPOP LAPTOP BAG

This is called a Lollipop Laptop Sleeve. It can be made custom built for the size of your laptop.

Prices are as follows:

13” & Below Laptop bag = PhP600

14” = PhP700

15” = PhP800

17” & Above = PhP900

These bags are sold from Fashionmonster.

ITEM NUMBER 5 - T-SHIRT ORGANIZER

For the Constant Traveler this may be a bit handy. Its called a T-Shirt Organizer, where you can place your shirts and have it organized in color, or type, or material. It will also be functional for those clothes that you bring during travels so they wouldn’t keep moving around your luggage.

Details of the products:

Material: Printed fabric same as LeSports Sac
CLOSURE: Zipper

FEATURES:

CONVENIENT:
Can be used to organize clothes for traveling or in your closet! Also comes with a handle (on the side)

ORGANIZER:
Can be used to organize your things! 

MULTI-FUNCTIONAL: 
Can be used for clothes, toiletries, beauty products, baby clothes and diapers, storage cases, shoes, etc etc etc! 

Approx. Dimensions: 4x12x16

Price: Php 280

This product also came from Ewi’s Online Boutique.

ITEM NUMBER 6 - PERSONAL MEDIA CASE

This Product is called the Personal Media Case.

The Product Details:

Protect your camera, cell phone, chargers, mp3, PDA, AC adapter and cords with our stylish carrying case. Our adjustable pocket dividers will adapt with just about any kind of gadget you have, assuring you of that snug and secure fit. Perfect for travel or everyday use.

Available colors: 
Fushia Pink
Black
Brown
Beige Stripes
White Stripes
Violet Stripes

Dimension: approx. 7” x 5.5” inches

Price: Php 360 only!

This Product also came from Ewi’s Online Boutique. This is probably my favorite shop in multiply right now.

ITEM NUMBER 7 - TRAVEL ENVELOPE

This is called a Travel Envelope - this would pass as one of my latest obsessions, a PASSPORT HOLDER!!! LOL :) this is really gorgeous and functional for the traveler in you.

Description of the Seller

Features:
-Faux Leather with Black & White checkered lining
-Magnetic lock closure
-Multiple pockets inside
-Zippered pocket at the back
-All YKK zippers

Dimensions: 8.75” length x 5” height

This is from the Multiply seller Shoppingspells.

ITEM NUMBER 8 - VINTAGE TREASURE BOX

This is a really cute Jewelry box and a great gift for a friend. its called Vintage Treasure Box - Mini Baul.

Description of the Seller:

 

Keep your treasures safe and sound in a mini baul.

So vintagey affordable!

Size: 

length:3.1”

width: 2.5”

height: 2.4”

Retail Price: P150

3pcs or more : P140

6pcs or more: P130

12pcs or more: P125

20pcs or more: P120

This came from Paponei’s Gift Shop.

And the pictures below are some of the clothes that I would love to have.

TOP NUMBER 1 AND 2

The First Top Description:

PRICE: 350php

Dimension when laid flat:

Length: 29.5”
Bust area: 15”
Material: High quality Cotton
*best fit small to semi large frame.
*garterize at the lower bust area.

The Second Top Description:

PRICE: 350php

Dimension when laid flat:

Length: 23.5”
Bust area: 16”
Material: Stretch Cotton
*best fit small to Large frame.

Both Tops came from Mom & Me Online Shop in Multiply.

TOP NUMBER 3

The Top doesn’t have a description but costs PhP650.00, it came from Cheers101 Multiply shop.

So far those are the stuff that interested me. But I will make sure to keep you posted every time I see more great online finds!

Swimming Saturday & Microfilters

I woke up this morning at the sound of My daughter (Nike) and My Nephew (Kian) fighting over some toy. it was 9 am. So the first thing I did the moment I woke up was scold my daughter, a typical activity for me when we are staying here in Pasig.

So when I woke up I remembered two things: 1 My dream about my husband, it was a real bad dream because the dream was all about him telling me that he’s got sexual affairs in Singapore and it was just devastating. Thank goodness that was just a dream. the second thing is I suddenly remembered my internet connection in Las Pinas, I remember it will always get disconnected everytime my in laws use the extension phone, now I figured out why.

Did you now that if you are using a DSL ISP Like PLDT or GLOBE, you have to have a Microfilter for all the extension lines in your home, so that your Internet will not get cut everytime the phone rings and everytime someone uses the phone. I learned about this just now because I had the ISP changed here in Pasig, and the service man gave us this microfilters that will help prevent the disturbance from happening in our DSL Line and it works like a charm.Now my problem is I didn’t get an extra one to take home in Las Pinas - so I would look for one in Ace hardware or buy one from PLDT at a cost of PhP300 each.

so now that story’s out of the way, Nike, Kian, My sister and I inflated the “Biggie” pool and took a dip this morning. The kids had so much fun but since the water was so cold they only swam for an hour and a half. Just Posting some of the kids pictures to share (Swimming Saturday Photos). 

Besides my dream and the Swimming session this morning, my day has been nothing but ordinary, and its been more than 24 hours since my husband and I last chatted, so I already miss him.

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.

Kudos To Nestle Philippines

Although I have had a bad experience this morning with one Nestle Product - Their 1 Liter Nestle Chuckie, I have to applaud them for taking matters seriously and taking action immediately. As I was having dinner tonight just 10 minutes ago, I received a call from one of the Customer Service Representatives of Nestle Philippines regarding my complaint about the Spoiled Nestle Chuckie that I almost gave my daughter this morning.

They said that one of their field representatives will be coming over to my house the next few days to get the product in question. They will be doing laboratory testing of the product to see why it was spoiled when I opened the carton. I believe they will also be looking at not just my purchase but all the other cartons with the same batch number to see if this is just an isolated case or a contaminated batch.

They will inform me of their finding within 2-3 days after they pick up the spoiled chuckie and of course I will be letting everyone know what the findings will be once they give me news.

Again, Kudos to Nestle for not taking these matters lightly.

Beware Mommies - Chuckie on the Loose

In one way or another, while we were growing up we’ve grown accustomed to Junk Foods. We often pester our parents to buy us Potato Chips, Pringles, PicNic, Chocolates, and our favorite Chocolate Drinks. Just a few minutes ago I was about to give my daughter a glass full of Chuckie Chocolate Milk Drink, and thank goodness I got envious I took a sip. When I tasted the Drink it was sour and has already gone bad which confused me because it was newly opened and the expiration date printed on the box is November 18, 2010.

What would have happened to my daughters tummy if I did not taste the drink, if I just went ahead and trusted the expiration date on the box? She might suffer from tummy ache or LBM or even food poisoning, God knows. And thank goodness for mothers instict, or mothers curiosity I tasted the drink before I handed it over to my 3 year old daughter!

Right after I tasted the 250 ML Nestle Chuckie Chocolate Milk drink I went online to check the email address of Nestle Chuckie, Contacted Nestle Philippines and Nestle South America, to make sure they know that this slip ups can cause major damage to our childrens health. We are trusting them to give us and our children a healthy drink, but if they can not guarantee that the expiration date is not a good basis to assure us that it is safe to drink or eat their food, then what good does it do for us to trust that they can give us safe and healthy food?

Here are some of the pictures of the Milk Drink - See how bubbly the drink is when I poured it in the cup, and the expiration date on the box is not until November 2010.

So Mommies, No matter how big your children are, and no matter what the expiration on any food, milk, drinks is printed, let us always taste our childrens food before we give it to them. Because we can never tell if the Expiration Dates on the Cartons or packs are a real indication of the freshness of the food that we give our children. Let us all be vigilant!

A New Day - A New Call

So this morning was different, I didn’t wake up from the sound of skype ringing, but my mother woke me up because our NEW DSL Provider Called to ask for directions to our house. Still a good call to wake up for LOL.

Ok I say new because I talked my sister into changing DSL Providers. Why? Because our current DSL Provider (Destiny Internet) Sucks, big time. The guaranteed speed is upto 1 MBPS, and yes when you check the Speedtest website (SPEEDTEST) you will get a download speed of 1 point something Mbps and an upload speed of point 7 Mbps but during actual usage the internet connection will download at a maximum speed of 30-40 Kbps thats on a good day, which is very very rare. The Internet would more likely be intermittent, choppy and I couldn’t even use skype to call my husbands mobile phone in Singapore, and sometimes even if we use skype to skype video calling it would tend to hang because of the turtle-like speed of the internet.

Why, do you say, did we have Destiny Internet connected in the first place. Well, my sisters internet was connected a few years back, when PLDT’s service was still crap, and Destiny was the best internet service provider, but like everything else, they became comfortable with the service they are providing, and has become crappier and crappier as the months go by. And PLDT has improved their service. So now we are transferring to PLDT DSL. Good Bye and Good Riddance MyDestiny Internet, I will call your ever so messy customer service system later and cancel the subscription.

So now that story’s out of the way, I want to show something off. Although I am 100% satisfied with this product, I think its gorgeous, there are still some things that I would have loved this product to have.

So This is my latest Obsession. A Passport Holder. I bought two online for my daughter (Nike) and Myself. Nike’s Passport holder is the White / Pink / Silver Butterfly Designed Holder and My Passport Holder is the Black and White Paisley Holder. It is really gorgeous in person, the only thing missing for me is another Sleeve on the left side so that I can insert both of the flap covers of the passport. But this is a really good buy in my opinion, its not floppy and the whole passport cover is hard and will not fold whatever is inside it and the texture of the cover is like pvc so its water resistant. It has 5 Card slots on the right side and 1 big slot on the left for the tickets and boarding passes. I would have loved it to also have a ball pen slot, so that I can insert my ever so faithful pen in it, everybody know you always need a handy pen anywhere you go, most especially when you are travelling to fill out those embarkation / disembarkation cards.

So my mom called me again around 11 am, she said the maintenance guy from PLDT is already here so I rushed downstairs, excited to play with new Tech toys, only to realize that it was the XEND Delivery guy waiting for me. I forgot all about this purchase, well not really, I just got excited about the internet thingy, LOL, I am a Tech Freak. So when this arrived my mind got diverted a little bit to what’s inside the package, but my craving for more cute affordable passport holders still have not subsided. 

I still think that anyone and everyone who likes to travel should have a really handy passport holder, with slots and sleeves to put travel things in, even if you are not traveling but have a passport, I believe you should invest in a good passport holder because it is one of the most expensive government issued identification cards, and its your pass to enter international grounds (except for the visa ofcourse).

So two things got me excited today. The connection of our PLDT DSL Internet and my new Passport Holders.

Oh, I got the holders from a great online multiply seller BELIKEASTAR. Thanks Emily!

Sophie Kinsella's - Twenties Girl

After so many years, I was finally able to buy a new book. Actually Noel (My husband) bought me a book in Harris in Jurong Point Mall in Singapore. It was one of his gifts for me for visiting him there. At first I was very reluctant to let him buy me a book because A. Books, Clothes and Food were more expensive there and B. I thought I can just download a PDF Version. Then I realized, I will buy this book sooner or later anyway, because I have a collection of Sophie Kinsella Books, yes, I adore her to bits, so I let noel buy me the book. Sophie’s books are always Fascinating and Hilarious, always light and very easy to read. Sophie is the Author of the Book Series Shop-a-holic , and my sister (Tiggy) and I loved her even before the movie was released, and forgive me for saying the brutal truth that the movie was nothing compared to the book. Did you know that Sophie Kinsella’s Shop-a-holic was the first book that I read that made me really laugh out loud, Her writing is amazing! and her humor is captivating. Anyway so I bought this book in Singapore, during my Third or Fourth day there, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t read it while I was in SG because I wanted to spend every possible second with my husband. So I read it on the plane during my flight back home to the Philippines.

In between my sobs and my tears, not because of the book, but because I am leaving my husband alone in Singapore, while my daughter (Nike) and myself will go back to the lonely and unorganized country, Sophie’s new book kept me entertained and pre-occupied enough to forget my miseries.

I wasn’t expecting The Twenties Girl to be as good as Shop-a-holic because Rebecca Bloomwood is my ultimate favorite fictional character, but Sadie and Lara’s tandem really went close to Rebecca’s pedestal in my opinion. 

The book is not just funny and entertaining, but when you think about the actual story and how it ended, it will make you realize that we often take for granted the people around us, and when they are gone thats when you feel sorry that you have not given that person/s the chance to get to know you or you haven’t taken the opportunity to get to know that person a little better. It shows you the value of knowing your family, take time to know where you came from, what your roots are, know your history and you might be surprised at how similar you and the people around you are.

At the start of the book, Sophie Focused on the fun and the hilarious moments of Lara and Sadie. It was light. And the story will keep a smile plastered on your face. It will even make you wish you are haunted by a ghost yourself, because of the perks that was illustrated in the book.

Towards the end, I feel Lara’s sadness and reluctance in completing her task, Sadie’s unfinished business. At first I thought it was her selfishness, that she only wanted Sadie around because it benefited her in so many ways, but Sophie was able to illustrate that Lara has grown accustomed to having Sadie around because she fell in love with her as a person, Sadie has become her greatest friend.

What this book taught me is that I should not let time pass to get to know anyone and everyone around me, not to take people for granted because not everyone is like Lara, who was given a second chance to get to know her great Aunt Sadie.

I would recommend this book to everyone I know, even to those I don’t know. If you are reading this blog, I suggest you go to the nearest bookstore and grab yourself a copy of ALL Sophie Kinsella’s book, and you will know why I have fallen madly in love with her books.

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!

My First Thoughts

I Remember when I was younger, I loved doing all sorts of random ramblings and art. And after I got married, it was all set aside to make way for mommy-hood. Now my daughter is already 3 1/2 years old, and I decided its time to write again. I used to love it, and when I was younger I thought I can make a living off it, now I’m laughing out Loud to myself, because I realize I was never really that good at writing, but one things I’m good at is narrating my life.

So here is my first step to rekindling my passion for writing, I will be taking it One day at a time. I am here to tell you my life. Enjoy!