I’ve moved on to
I did…
.. have a few thoughts about a post for today. At almost 11pm, tired, frustrated and with the right arm hurting, all thoughts are lost in my head. Perhaps tomorrow, a night’s rest will help me remember the thoughts.
The weekend started very productive btw. I woke up early and had breakfast with the little one. Then I went to the market to do the weekly shopping, and got fresh fish! My sister was awake when I got home, so I dragged her to go walking with me. The weather was just right for walking, the sun was hiding behind clouds and there was soft, cold wind blowing. Walked for about 30 mins, not an easy feat, mind you. I usually give up in 20 mins hehe
My right arm has been hurting since Monday. It didn’t hurt much early in the week, so I simply ignored it. However, pain has been more pronounced since Friday morning. I can’t even lift my wallet without feeling pain, which has always been heavy, not with money bills but with coins! 😀 So dragged the Hubs to bring me to the clinic after lunch. That trip to the clinic didn’t amount to much, the rehab doc already left for the day. The on-duty doc saw me and just gave me referrals to see a rehab doc – next week!
Anyway…. Mama said that marriage is something you work on, hard. And you just don’t get up, you pray for the marriage to work, pray harder for you to stay in the marriage. It has been a day of short fuses for both me and the Hubs. Just little things, that irritate and suck, big time. Before I end my day, I pray for longer ropes… so short fuses won’t burn the house. G’night!
House and lots… of problems
Hubs and I are hoping to build or buy our first “starter” home soon. In the 3 years we’ve been married, we’ve been renting. The first 2 years at a townhouse, almost dilapidated and we didn’t have neighbors. It wasn’t exactly a nice place to go home to, but we got tired of brokers (there’s another post on that somewhere here). So last year, we finally found a nice house and the rent wasn’t too bad. And it’s in a nice, quiet, middle-class subdivision.
We actually have purchased a lot in an upper middle class subdivision but haven’t built a house yet coz we still can’t afford to. That lot should be, what we would like to think, for our dream home. Perhaps in 3 years’ time, we can start building.
Our contract in our current house is coming up in May, so we’re thinking if we’re going to extend, or look for another house. Or even look at the posibility of buying a house here in our current subdivision. So we looked at options here and spoke to a few contractors for fix-up the house we’re looking at. Of course, financing the asset is the biggest hurdle to all this. We looked at the Pag-ibig Loan option and the other was through a bank. Pag-ibig sounds like the logical way to go, our neighbor who used Pag-ibig said it could be done. However, the loan release takes 3-4 months. We talked to the broker, the owner isn’t open to Pag-ibig financing, mainly because it took too long.
We went to the same bank were we got the loan for our lot. They would only appraise the lot at the selling price. If that’s our loanable amount, then we won’t have money to fix-up the place.
Why is it not easy to buy a house? It’s such a big, big headache. After all these, the Hubs and I are thinking of building a house in our lot. We’ll just start small, just build the very basic. Then just add or fix-up the house when we have more cash… no? Let’s see where this leads us.
Movies to (re)view
After the Golden Globes, I made a list of movies to catch. Most of the movies nominated in GG for sure will not be shown here in Manila. I made sure to ask some officemates for copies of some movies. Luckily, they got Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I was excited to see all 3 films. Vicky Cristina Barcelona because of Woody Allen and Penelope Cruz. Slumdog Millionaire because it was the first Indian film which won the Globes (if I’m not wrong). And Benjamin Button because, well, of Brad Pitt (need I say more?! 😛 )
Vicky Cristina Barcelona was funny and ironic at the same time. I enjoyed the dialogues; I enjoyed seeing Barcelona on TV. I promised myself that I’ll travel to Europe in my lifetime and Spain is one country I’d really like to visit. Not being colonialistic here, but more because I would like to see the country with its siestas. I met a real Spaniard last year, during a job interview, well, my job interview to be exact. He was gorgeous, and spoke so elaborately, so animatedly which convinced me at one point to join their company. Woody Allen certainly is still talented.
I then watched Slumdog Millionaire, on a Friday afternoon. I was in Mumbai, India last September and I remember the sights and could almost smell Mumbai while I was watching the film. It was true-blue India, too real, too right in front of your face. The movie was wonderfully done, it was more like a documentary actually. I don’t believe I’ve seen anything similar before. There were painful scenes, so if you’re faint hearted, it’s not a movie for you.
Benjamin Button. Brad Pitt. There was a huge billboard along the highway when you’re coming to Makati, which was put up in December. That billboard did its job, I was raring to watch Benjamin Button since then. As the movie wore on, it dawned on me that Cate Blanchett was the star of the movie. I never really considered her beautiful, but in the movie, she was really beautiful and her acting was just great. Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button is like Brad Pitt as Joe Black (remember that movie?). There was a scene though when Cate said to Brad, “You’re perfect” – and he really truly was. It was an enjoyable movie altogether, really greatly done.
Maid to be
Filipinos living in the Philippines are said to be blessed because we can easily get help when we need them. I personally grew up with maids at home, even as much as 3 at a time, when it was just me and my Mother. Now are not rich, but we surely did live like we were rich, with maids at home. The maids were my playmates and my companions when Mama had to travel for seminars. When I was old enough to move to my own room, I had a Yaya sleep in the room with me. I even had a Yaya until I was in grade 6.
Since I got married, we had to get a maid. My husband and I work, so we need someone to look after the little one when we’re working. The first maid we had was my youngest sister’s Yaya, so I was used to her. She knew what I liked and got along well with the Hubby. Her husband was not pleased though coz we’re here in Laguna and her family is back home, in the province of Misamis Oriental, in Mindanao. After a year, she had to go home.
We got replacements quite easily, a mother and daughter tandem. I thought that it was necessary to have two, as the little one was growing up and work was piling up. It could get lonely too, so if there are 2 of them, it won’t be so bad. Unfortunately, we had a rough time adjusting to each other; the mother wasn’t much of a cook but was meticulous with cleaning and laundry. The daughter didn’t know much, but was patient with the boy. And there are other little things of course that just didn’t seem right with them. There was this one time that Hubby left his cell phone at home, when he arrived, there was a call made he didn’t make. When we asked them, it took the daughter awhile to admit it was her who made the call. There was also this time when money was left on top of the ref, which I simply left so they could bread for merienda. They said they didn’t know about it, but when the Hubby asked them again, they said they saw it on top of the ref. What irks me more is that they are not happy people, they are mostly sad. Perpetual sadness, that’s what I think. And I like seeing happy faces, smiling faces, light personality.
The list goes on. But they’re great with my boy, they love him so much. Before long, Hubs and I realized that we are at their mercy. If they decide to go pack-up and leave, we’d be doomed. As much as we hate to admit it, we need them. Mama used to say that great maids are hard to come by, now I believe her. My cousin had the most wonderful Yaya, but she had to leave when my niece was 4. The Yaya’s mother asked her to go work abroad to earn more, and she did, she’s now working in Singapore looking after a family with 3 kids.
And then last Xmas, our maids left for a 2-week vacation. We were told crazy to let them go in the Holidays when there is so much to do. But they were adamant to go home, so they left and promised to come back. The first few days of course were very hectic. I had to work from home during our peak season. Luckily, that worked fine. I would be with the little one the whole day, I got to work in between playing with him, cooking lunch (breakfast would be pancakes from Jollibee ), getting him to nap. When the Hubby is home, he would bring dinner or cook dinner. He’d take over watching our boy, while Mommy will work full time until about 12 am. So we got through the 2 weeks, with minimal mishap. We were fed, the little one’s clothes were washed, the kitchen sink was clean, and the bathroom was relatively clean. The house had scattered toys and little stuff everywhere though, but it was a livable house. It was a joy being together as a family, living together just us and proving that we could live without maids. Other cultures and communities have done so and are still doing so.
I wish we could afford not to have maids, I really do. Maybe we could just get one of those cleaning ladies or stay-out maids. They leave when we’re home. Maybe when the little one is older, perhaps we’ll try that. For now, the maids will need to stay.
Holidays end
When December kicked in, there was no end to all the flurry and hurry. There were Christmas parties to go to, gifts to wrap, shopping, Christmas decorations to put up. We had family come over as well, so that in itself was enough to almost fill up our calendar with activites.
Then 2 weeks into the month, until the New Year celebrations, my Maid and Yaya went home for a vacation. It seemed the humane thing to do, give them their rest after a year-long of work. But 3 days without them, I had a change of heart. LOL
Good thing the government declared almost 2 weeks of vacation, so the hubs and I took turns looking after the little one. I had to work over the holidays, specially Dec 30 and 31, which was mainly why we didn’t go home to Cagayan de Oro for the holidays. I still hate working over the holidays, but what can I do? It’s my job.
Two weeks actually allowed us to become closer and the bonding time was just great. We had time to do a bit of travelling, we went to Baguio for about 4 days. The trip was great in some parts, we enjoyed it more when we didn’t worry much about missing a site to see. When we just went with the flow, mostly ignoring bad traffic and managing that we will be eating late and getting bad service. Baguio was just exhausted from all the tourists, and service was bad in most restaurants. This was sad, being that it is a tourist destination for most Pinoys. Though I kinda understand why they were like that – it was the holidays and they were out, not spending time with family.
Finally the Holidays have ended. All of the gifts have been sent out, the Christmas decorations have been taken down, there is still a bit of ham in the ref, pockets are empty, accounts have almost dried up. Back to the real world now. The Maid and Yaya are back, the little one is back in school too & hubs is back at work. I am back to commuting almost daily to Makati (horror!). We are crazily into saving every peso we can, hopefully getting better at financial planning, and that’s another post altogether.
Happy New Year everyone! The year’s outlook looks grim, if you listen to the news everyday. So I’ve stopped listening everyday 🙂
Simple life
“The willingness to be and to have just what God wants us to be and to have, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else would set our hearts at rest, and we would discover that the simpler the life the greater the peace.”
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Luke 12:15
Wouldn’t it be nice and pleasant to live a simple life? Where what you need, like and love are all just within reach. Where it is easy to be together with family and friends. Where work will not run you down. Where living beneath your means is as simple as ABCs. Where catching up with your favorite people happens every time you want it to. Where there is time to enjoy nice movies, songs and books.
Back from the hiatus
I’m back from my so-called vacation. But it was not entirely so. We were so busy with the new business venture that there wasn’t time to do stuff. Hubs and I did however, found time to be with each other. No yayas and no work definitely for about 10 days.
We went home. Salay is home to me. Bugo is home to the hubs. We also got the chance to spend time with my family and the hubs’. Home is really where you are most comfortable. I would imagine staying in Salay for good, growing old there, seeing bugoy grow up. That would be ideal. But that is not where we make our living. Hopefully soon. In 10 years perhaps? 🙂
I didn’t get to meet up with high school friends. At the end of each day, I was too tired to drive to CDO and just have dinner. My days are spent with my little one. I’m constantly reminded that he’s growing up so quickly, he can communicate his feelings well. We didn’t agree most of the time, but we had to because there was no yaya to run to. It was wonderful 🙂
Now, I’m back in front of my desk. Reading emails, discarding the unimportant ones. Being on conference calls, multi-tasking. I’m getting a headache as I type. But this is life. In fact, this has been my life for 10 years. It isn’t always bad, it’s been fun actually. It’s just that spending time with my kid and hubs are more fun and that should be my life, no?
Kariton
One bright Saturday in October, hubby and I travelled early to Manila and then to Divisoria. We promised to do our Christmas shopping early, a change to our ways. We hopped on a bus to Taft to get on an FX to Divisoria. While waiting for the FX, we noticed a commotion about 15 meters away from where we stood. A woman was shouting and crying…wailing in fact is the best word. A man was quietly determined to pull a kariton or a wooden cart, while several men in matching t-shirts tried to confiscate it from him. As they were getting near us, I could by then understand what the lady was wailing “Wag po Kuya, maawa naman kayo!”. The lady was clutching a puppy to her heart, while the mother dog jumped on top of the kariton, barked at the men who were trying to take away their home in an attempt to protect her master’s property. The man of the kariton was trying to pull but was failing miserably; he was so composed, so controlled. I bet he was angry as hell. The lady was loosing it, cursing and pleading in one breath.
I soon realized that the kariton is their home. Their only worldly possession for that matter. They were an odd couple actually, the woman didn’t have teeth, looked haggard and tired. The man was muscular, looked younger and strong. They were said to be garbage scavengers, taking whatever is in the garbage that can be sold.
The men in matching t-shirts were Pasay City employees. Told to free the streets of people who don’t belong to the streets. I can see that they really take their job seriously. And I agree that the streets should be free of people living on it. But I totally disagree with the way it was done.
Heart-wrenching. That’s all I can of the situation. It was hard to see, hard to believe that people can do such things to fellow humans. I couldn’t shake off the feeling of helplessness, of hopelessness. That certainly was a big emotional moment for everyone standing by. All I could do as we finally grabbed our ride was say a silent prayer for the couple and their dogs.
Tagged
been tagged by Kaith
Rule: List all the names you were called by and the people who call you that. Tag at least 5 members of your contacts and give a comment on their site for them to know they’ve been tagged.
Girlie – Given by my Mom’s closest sister, coz she thought I was a very “girlie” baby. All my cousins & relatives call me this. My friends from back home also call me this, classmates and friends from grade school, high school and college too.
Girlash – A name from Girlie. I think I started signing Girlash in High School, so my closest friends in High School and in UP call me Girlash. This is my fav nickname 🙂
Gerlay – To my really really close friends. And who can get away with calling me such 😀
Carina – A nick name I used when I started working. Realized that Girlie might be too…. girlie 😛 So Carina it is. Only friends/officemates call me by this.
Carins/Caring – Carins is what my closest friends at work call me. Caring is a name my barkada when I started out at work call me and they still do.
Mommy – to the Hubs and the Little boy.
Ate – To my parents and sisters.
Tagging Jerry, Chitgoks and Judisan.
Suburban Mom....working in the urban jungle 