Milestones Archives | Page 14 of 15

One of the Best News I’ve Received This Year

22 October 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Milestones

A few minutes after I arrived at work, the Admin Officer (who was surprisingly early this morning) approached me and said:

“Hey Avigail, while you were on a day-off last Friday, the decision for the Training Administrator application got finalized and you got the number 1 spot. So this week, we’ll be offering you the permanent position.”

I almost screamed and hugged him right there and then. But of course I didn’t. Instead, I said “Wow, that’s like the best news ever!!!! Thank you, Im soooo happy!!!!” With matching pa-cute smile at nag-twinkle pa yata ang eyes ko hehehe.

Now let me just say it out loud here: YEEHAAY!!!!!! I got an offer for the job that I wanted and worked for for so long!!!!!

And now all I have to do is wait for the papers before I celebrate.

I Feel Like Writing Tonight

20 October 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Milestones

I’m very much awake (it’s already 11:42pm now) and I find myself wanting to write again. Nangungulit ang utak kong malikot! Kaya heto, magkukuwento muna ako bago matulog.

Yesterday, I took a day-off to do some personal errands. I declared a health and well-being day yesterday because the focus of my errands was to (1) apply for a private health fund (2) see a doctor coz I need to get a check-up on something and (3) get myself a hair trim.

All three were accomplished. The private health fund was sort of an anniversary gift to myself (2 years in Sydney, instead of rewarding myself with some material thing, I opted for this) and in preparation for motherhood. Oh ha? Is this me talking about motherhood??? Enough said. I’ll blog about motherhood later, hah! For my friends in the Phils who doesn’t know, Australian government gives free medical assistance to all Australian citizens and residents. Although you can avail almost everything in terms of medical needs here, for someone like me who has more medical needs or who’ll have more medical needs in the future, it would be better to get a private health fund. Of course you will pay for this but at least you’re assured that if you need more medical coverage, you have your private health fund to fall back on. In my case, I really want to prepare for later on, in case I get pregnant, I could at least get a private doctor, give birth at a private hospital and have the neonatal services for my baby for free.

Check-up with doctor was alright. I’ll get the results of the tests on Friday. I’m actually quite anxious to know. Everytime I have any kind of medical tests, I get a little nervous. Today, I had an ultrasound and I asked the attendant if she saw anything bad and she said “no, not at all, but then I’m not a doctor”, which I hope she said because it’s true and not because she didn’t wanna panic me. In the meantime, I’ll stay put.

Now for the haircut. My hair is now similar to that of Mariel Rodriguez. I told my trusted stylist to just trim it but he thinned it as well so parang lalo syang umikli 🙁 I really want my long hair back—I missed it, especially when I’m looking at my old photos. Di bale, since I trust my stylist, I’m sure he has a very good reason for thinning it.

When I got home, I got news from the internet about the Glorietta bombing that happened at around 1:30pm (Manila time). If you want to read updates, you can check it out here. I immediately called my dad because he works in Makati and sometimes he goes out and have lunch somewhere. I’m glad he’s safe when he answered his phone. According to him, he was close to the area when he felt the earth moved or something. Unfortunately, some people died and a lot were injured. Nakakaiyak. When Chris and I saw the photos, bigla naming naalala na yung area na yun kung saan madalas kaming dumaan papunta sa Greenbelt. We were really in utter disbelief. When we used to work in Makati, Chris usually eat lunch at Glorietta especially on Fridays. Bigla ko tuloy naisip, “pano kung nandyan pa tayo sa Pinas? malamang nasa Glorietta ka at nagla-lunch out kasama ang barkada mo.” (I seldom go out for lunch and if I do, I also hang out with my own barkada in the office) Nakakalungkot talaga. Sa ngayon isa lang ang masasabi ko: sana matapos na ang lahat ng gulo sa Pilipinas para wala nang Pilipino ang masaktan.

Happy thoughts naman. Today is our 8th monthsary. Yay! We remembered! Kagabi palang, we greeted each other already para di makalimutan. We’re happy today because finally, we were able to buy a Canon flash for our DSLR. May IS lens na, may flash pa 🙂 The flash naman was my birthday present to Chris (birthday nya Sept pero out of stock yung flash na gusto nya). Sabi nga nya, kailangan na daw nyang pag-isipang mabuti ang christmas gift nya sa akin and he’s thinking of giving me a new mobile phone. I said he didn’t need to give me one because my parents already told me na sila na daw ang magbibigay nun sa akin. And I also said that I don’t really need anything, I just want him here. When it comes to Chris, all I really want for Christmas is to know when we’ll see each other again. Yun lang. Is that so much to ask? Sana pagbigyan naman ako ni Santa Claus 🙂

Ayan, nakapag-kwento na ako…medyo inaantok na ako. I hope everyone’s having a peaceful and enjoyable weekend! Good night!

Remembering Hongkong

20 October 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Milestones, Travel

I finally found the time to scan four of our souvenir photos from our Hongkong honeymoon.

The photo above was taken by our travel agent’s photographer when we had a stopover at Baywalk on our way to Disneyland. A similar photo was also pasted on a small plate where it says Hongkong, another souvenir item we had to pay for. This photo reminds me of our first day in Hongkong (although this was taken on our second day hehehe), walking along the Avenue of the Stars, watching the Symphony of Lights, sightseeing at The Peak and enjoyed walking around Central District (Honkong’s financial hub).

Now here’s two of my favorite photos from our HK trip:

San pa ba kundi sa Disneyland???? I love Disneyland and I love theme parks!

Our second day in was spent mostly at Disneyland where Chris and I became kids for a day. Ang saya-saya namin dito. I wanted to live there!!! hehehe. Imagine living in a fairytale everyday? Who wouldn’t want that! Because I loved it here so much, I told Chris that the next time we visit HK, I’d want to stay in Disneyland Resort even for one night only.

Our third day was spent mostly at Shenzhen, China for the Window(s) of the World Tour. We have a souvenir photo but I forgot to scan (boohoo me!). This was also the day we went out night shopping at Mongkok HK.

Now, here’s our souvenir photo for our last day:

This was taken before getting on the cable car in Ocean Park. Tatawa-tawa pa ako dyan yun pala eh maiiyak naman pala ako sa cable car ride. I have fear of heights but in order to make the most of my trips, I try to get it over it if I need to get on something. The cable car ride was only 8 minutes but it felt like forever. I was so glad the moment it was over.

I love Hongkong. I haven’t been around the world much but this is one city I love because it’s like infusing Manila and Sydney together. Manila is very alive and vibrant then Sydney is disciplined and rich. I even mentioned to Chris that how I wish Sydney would be this vibrant, this alive so Sydney won’t be so boring. Compared to Manila, Sydney can be very boring.

I want to go back, but next time, I don’t want to join the tours anymore. Chris would specifically want to go in the deep deep ends of Hongkong streets, sabi nya gusto nya suyurin ang bawat kalsada ng HK. On the other hand, we still want to do some touristy stuff like going to Lantau Island to see the world’s tallest bronzed Budda and hang out by the beach at Repulse Bay. Oh and one more thing we weren’t able to do—hang out at bars at night! I’d love to experience HK’s nightlife.

As to when we’d go there again, that I wouldn’t know. All I know is one day, we’ll go back there (hopefully we’ll have a kid in tow para mas enjoy ang Disneyland hehe).

For more photos, please click below:

HK Day 1 – HK Day 2 – HK Day 3 – HK Day 4

Personal Note:

I’ve started writing this entry since August this year (would you believe that!) but its only now that I made the effort to finish the entry in time for our 8th wedding monthsary today. So happy monthsary to us!!!

Happy Two Years In Sydney

16 October 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Deep Thoughts, Milestones

July-August 1992 – My First Trip to Australia
It was an emergency trip. My mom and I had to fly out to Sydney because my grandfather died of heart attack. My grandpa died on July 19 (my mom’s bday) and in two or three days we left Manila.

When we arrived in Sydney, it was 4 degrees–my first taste of Winter Season.

My first impression of this country: Malinis ang paligid, may disiplina ang mga tao at hindi ako napapagod sa byahe kasi walang traffic.

Since I was only 15 years old at that time, I never really cared much about this country. Basta ang idea ko noon, bakasyon ito so dapat enjoy lang. Although napansin ko na talaga na parang mas maginhawa ang buhay ng mga tao dito compared sa Pilipinas. Ang focus ko noon ay makipag-bonding lang sa mga relatives ko especially sa mga pinsan ko na noon ko lang ulit nakita.

My photo here with my Tita Bess and Baby Rachel was taken at their first house in Oakhurst. Oh ha? may bangs pa ako nyan at ang kapal pa ng kilay ko hehehe. Neneng-nene diba?

Nang pauwi na kami sa Pilipinas sobrang lungkot ko kaya pinangarap ko na lang uling makabalik ng Sydney para magbakasyon at makasama ang mga pinsan ko.

December 2001-January 2002 – My 2nd Trip to Australia

Ang focus naman ng trip na ito ay para mag-celebrate ng debut ng pinsan kong si Clare. Pero ginusto ko talagang umalis ng Pilipinas because it so happened that I was recovering from a failed relationship. Gusto ko na talagang mag-move on noon pero nahihirapan ako kaya umalis na lang muna ako. And there’s another reason pa pala: I wanted to celebrate my 25th birthday in Sydney as well.

Eto ang isa sa pinakamasayang reunion ng pamilya namin (mother’s side) kasi mas marami kaming lugar na napasyalan and since most of us cousins are over 18 y/o, naka-gimik din kami sa mga bars sa City.

Dito sa photo na’to, kasama ko ang mga pinsan kong sina Dianne, Michelle, Ayie at si Bobby na parang half-cousin namin (hindi ko talaga alam kung anong relasyon namin sa kanya hehehe) na nakatira naman sa Canada. Summer season that time kaya sobrang init!!!

It was during this vacation that I realized I wanted to live here. As in, nasabi ko sa sarili ko na kung mag-migrate ako, dito ako pupunta. Nakita ko kasi sa lifestyle ng mga relatives ko kung gaano kaginhawa talaga ang buhay dito basta may stable job ka at marunong ka sa buhay. Nakita ko na kung may effort ka in making your life comfortable, may result kahit papaano at umaasenso agad ang buhay nila. It was also during this time that my relatives were encouraging me to live here. So parang lalo akong na-enganyo. Tapos si Hilda (my college barkada) was already living here na rin. At ang pinakagusto ko sa lahat, tahimik ang pamumuhay dito.

While writing this, I realized that during my 2nd visit, si Chris wala pa sa buhay ko. Nung time na yun, ‘magka-away’ pa kami ni Chris sa office. Di pa kami friends, pareho pa kaming inis sa presence namin hehehe. Yung inisan namin tungkol sa work. Pagbalik ko sa Pilipinas (Feb 2002), dun lang kami na-introduce sa isa’t-isa (formally) at eventually naging magka-barkada.

When Chris and I went steady, sinabayan naman ng lola ko ng tanong na “Do you want to live here? Coz if you really want to, I’ll help you.” At the same time, Chris’ dad offered to help him migrate to Canada. Since Chris and I are very open to opportunities, pareho kaming nag-“yes” (ako sa lola ko, siya naman sa dad nya). Pero inuna namin (ko) na mag-apply sa Australia kasi mas gusto ko ang lifestyle dito. After a year and 4 months from the time I lodged my application, I was granted my visa to live here.

16 October 2005 – Arrived in Australia as an Immigrant Photo taken on my 2nd week in Sydney, on my way to work.

The constant challenge on my first year here was to stay in this country. Everyday, eto ang motto ko: Everyday is an achievement.

Why?

Because everyday really is an achievement for me. Araw-araw kasi nung first year ko dito, gusto kong bumalik ng Pilipinas.

I know in my entries last year, parang enjoy naman ako sa buhay dito, at totoo naman yun. Kasi yun lang ang pwede kong gawin—mag-enjoy kung anong meron ako (count your blessings) at kung nasaan man ako (bloom where you’re planted). It was never my attitude to wallow. But I will also never deny the fact that my first year was a struggle. I had a lot of questions, hesitations and what-ifs. But I avoided focusing on negative thoughts that would make me weak. Kaya kahit may mga tanong na ako mismo ay di ko masagot, hinayaan ko lang na pumasok sa katauhan ko ang lahat ng learning na pwede kong mapulot sa paligid ko.

Eto ang entry ko last year nang mag-celebrate ako ng 1st anniversary ko dito: 1st Sydney Anniversary

16 October 2007 – Happy 2nd Sydney-Anniversary to Me!!

Has it already been two years? Where did the time go?

When I was about to go back to the Phils for my wedding and vacation, I thought I would have a hard time coming back here. Bago palang ako umuwi ng Phils, ito ang tanong ko sa aking sarili: Paano kung matapos kong makabalik sa Pilipinas eh hindi na ako tumapak uli ng airport pabalik ng Australia?

Pero nakabuti ang pag-uwi ko sa Pilipinas kasi na-realize ko na mahal ko na rin ang Sydney. Nang minsang tanungin ako ng isa sa mga kaibigan ko ng “Kelan ka babalik ng Sydney?”, bigla kong nasabi na “I go home on February.” Nagulat ako at nasabi ko ang salitang “home”.

Pagbalik ko dito, na-realize ko na masuwerte ako at dalawa na ang home ko. I realized na hindi naman pala masama kung mahal ko pareho ang Pilipinas at Australia. I realized that I will always be a Filipino and I will always miss my family and friends in the Phils but I also have a life here that I have come to love.

Just last week, I told my mom, “Mommy, I realized na ginusto kong manirahan dito sa Sydney, na hindi ako nandito dahil pressured ako o dahil gusto mo lang.”

Nasabi ko yun kasi last year, sa sobrang lungkot at confusion ko hindi ko talaga maisip kung bakit ako napunta sa Sydney. Parang nagka-amnesia ako dahil sa homesickness ko.

But now I know. I’m here because it is my choice to be here. I’m here because I worked hard just to be here.

Now that my resolves are clear, I’ve made up my mind to focus on our life here in Sydney. Kasi naman last year, gusto ko bilhin LAHAT—bumili ng property sa Phils at dito, bumili ng sasakyan sa Phils at dito…para akong gumagawa ng dalawang buhay, which is not right. For one, hindi pa naman ako milyonarya hehehehe. So kabaliwan lang talaga ang iniisip ko to have everything at the same time. Seriously, magagalit si Jesus kung sobra-sobra naman sa material things lalo na kung di naman kailangan.

Today, I really wanted to tell you about how I’ve changed since last year but I didn’t. Maybe one of these days I’ll write about it. But for now, I’ve just decided to tell you how I got myself here and that I now have two countries that I consider home. Two countries, two homes, two sets of friends…two of everything. Sometimes, blessings come in twos, so happy 2nd Sydney-Anniversary to me!!! 🙂