gusto kong matutong mag-drive

Finally, after much thought and deliberation (and convincing from hubby), I’ve decided to take driving lessons.

Yesterday, I took the first step and went to one of the driving schools in Karama to submit the requirements. The guy there told me that it would take 15 days before I could actually begin, but fortunately, since Ramadan is coming in around 2 weeks, their weekday timings will be just right for me (no need to pay more for Friday classes).

Anyway, I know it’s a long shot that I’ll be able to get my licence on the first road test (since it’s very common here to get it after 3 or 4 takes), but I’m hoping and praying that I won’t have to spend so much just to get one.

Wish me luck!

i love you

Back in high school, this was just one of the many songs that we often sang during mass. I didn’t pay attention to the words then. But now, as a member of CFC and a parent, I realized it has a beautiful message and explains the real meaning of those three simple words…

“I love you ‘cause that’s just what I am
I could never turn away from you and leave you all alone
Yes, I love you though you have gone your way
I could never leave you all alone and leave you way behind

Though you weigh no more than dust, placed on a scale you rise
Though your worth is just as much as sand, I love you just the same
I am love, I am love
Though your sins be dark as scarlet, I will turn them white as snow
Though your sins be red as crimson, they mean nothing more to me
For I made you and you’re meant for me for all eternity
I have loved you, yes, I love you
I always will love you

I love you ‘cause that’s just what I am
I could never show you greater love than lay my life for you
Yes, I love you what more proof do you ask
Show me any love that’s greater than the love I’ve shown to you…”

today...

...is our 62nd monthsary of being together and our 26th monthsary as a married couple. Aside from that, Caila is now exactly 17 months old...which means that I only have one month left to enjoy my entitlement of leaving the office 1 hour earlier than the rest of my colleagues. Augh! I am definitely not looking forward to that!
Well, at least Ramadan is coming soon, so I’ll still be able to leave the office earlier than the regular working hours until mid-September.

pinoy mafia

A rare moment for all of us to be together at the site office.
L-R: Humprey, Sheila, Flor, Eva, me, Kuya Alex (missing Kuya Omer, Jonah and Tito Sonny).

you can contact us at #1, #2...and/or #6

Last night, hubby and I suddenly realized that between the two of us, we have so many mobile phones...6 to be exact...and all with working SIM cards. Here’s a rundown of all of them:

Nokia 3650 – I got this sometime late 2003 and this is what I used when I came to Dubai (until I replaced it last 2008). The SIM is a prepaid Etisalat number which used to belong to the wife of a Japanese manager who left UAE recently. When I got it, it still had around Dhs80 worth of load :)
Sony Ericsson K750i – Hubby bought this the day we officially became a couple...27 May 2005. We use this for the Smart roaming SIM so that our friends and families in the Philippines can text us for 1 peso. Since hubby regularly takes this with him to work, I send him messages using chikka txt messenger from my computer (instead of using my personal mobile and load).
Sony Ericsson W910i (2) – Hubby and I bought these after we got married in May 2008, and we consider these as our wedding phones (mine is red, his is white). We use these for our personal Etisalat numbers.
Nokia 1208 - This phone came along with the Etisalat number from the Japanese manager’s wife (the one that’s inserted in the Nokia 3650 one), but now I keep our other roaming SIM in this phone because it’s small and light to carry.
Nokia 6600 – This was issued to me by my company last March 2007 and has a postpaid line. I used to use a Nokia 2310, but later they gave me the phone that I’m using now. Since I have to keep this mobile with me at all times, I usually just leave my personal phone at home and have all the calls diverted to my company phone. What I like about this phone (aside from the fact that I can use it to make personal calls from time to time), is the good quality pictures I get to take from it and I can save as many songs (and photos) as I want.
So, there you have it...all our functional mobile phones. We didn’t notice that we had this many until last night when we happened to place them all together. Of course, we don’t bring all of them with us all the time. Usually, we leave the 3650 and the 1208 at home coz just a few people know the numbers of those. As you can see, most of them have sentimental values to us, so letting go of them would be very difficult. I hope one day my company will issue a phone that’s dual SIM enabled (a triple SIM would be even better!). It would definitely make my life a bit easier than having to bring all of these phones.

busy, busy week

Ever since we were informed that my manager passed away, we have had to go through the piles of papers on his desk and open his drawers to sort out his stuff… a mix of personal and business things. It would have been easy to just give all his personal belongings to his wife...but being a Muslim, he had 2...and they’re both in Egypt. So, that’s one problem (which wife gets what) that we need to sort out. Then, we found out that there were so many pending issues, documents and payments that haven’t been resolved and the papers were just lying on his desk. So of course, we have to sort out all these as well. On top of all that, well, there’s just so many things to do and so many problems that started coming up since his death because of new information that we find out each day. Augh!!!
Anyway, that’s at the office.
When I go home, I rest for a while, watch some TV, then begin preparing our dinner. Yup, you read right...I am actually starting to cook (yay! congratulate me!). Since Caila is vacationing in the Philippines and I still get to leave the office 1 hour earlier than the rest of my colleagues, this leaves me lots of free time on my hands at home. Plus, hubby has been working overtime since Sunday at his new job. So, instead of just lazing around, I decided to start being a good old-fashioned wife so that when my hardworking husband comes home, he can just rest and have a good yummy meal (at least, I hope they were). Since Sunday, I’ve cooked lumpia, beef steak, bangus, and tofu with vegetables. So far, he hasn’t complained (he wouldn’t dare! hahaha!), so that’s a good sign. Unfortunately though, despite the long hours he works at the office, he still brings home some of the things he has to do. This is why he hasn’t been able to work out at the gym and I haven’t been able to go swimming lately. Augh (again)!!!
Well, that’s been my week. Thank God it’s Thursday! Tomorrow, no work. Whoopee!

before i was a mom

While I was browsing the internet, I came across this beautiful poem by an anonymous writer and I just had to post it here.

"Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom
I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much…before I was a Mom."

remittance

Last Friday when I called Mama for our regular weekly conversation, she reminded me that the payment for her pension was due, and she requested if I could add bit more for her other expenses when I send the money. Considering that I only remit money to her every 3-4 months, I did what she asked over the weekend.
 
Yesterday, Mama called me to let me know that they were ok despite the arrival of Typhoon Basyang, and she said she just wanted to say THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! (well, you get the picture) for the money I had sent. I couldn’t count the number of times she said that, but it was really heartwarming to hear.

Then I realized how many times have other OFWs sent their hard-earned money to their families in the Philippines without so much as a sincere “thank you” or “take care of yourself” or even “we miss you” when they receive it…then the only time they’ll think of calling their hardworking loved one abroad is when they need money again? Sheeeshh!!!

Anyway, I’m just glad that Mama really appreciated what I sent. The loneliness from being far away from them and the hard work we have to endure is worth hearing how grateful our loved ones are and knowing that they’re ok.

still our home

I just received great news!

After months of exchanging communications with the real estate company, they finally reconsidered and lowered the annual rent of my apartment! Yaaaaay!

I didn’t think they would agree (because they almost never do), which is what happened when I sent my first request 2 months ago...but then I sent another letter asking them to reconsider...and now, after almost 3 weeks, they finally replied with the great news.

I’m so happy! I’ve been living in the apartment for more than six years already. It's been my home since I arrived in UAE, and this is where I began my own family. So many memories have been made here with so many people, and I can’t think of us living anywhere else while we’re here in Dubai.
The building is in a great location...making it easy for us to go to the mall, the church, the metro station, the hospital, the bus stop, the bakery, and supermarket. Most of these places are accessible by just a few minutes walk.

And now, we’re assured that we can afford to stay at the same neighborhood, at the same apartment, and still call it our home...at least, for another year.

betting for the heck of it

Yippee! Spain beat Netherlands!

Honestly, I’m not into football. I don’t even know any of the players. I couldn’t care less about who won the World Cup.

But last night, while we were preparing dinner, I informed hubby that Germany secured 3rd place and it was Spain vs. Netherlands in the finals. Unlike me, he LOOVVVEESS the game, but he really wanted Germany to win (so did I, but just because my foster family are Germans).

He asked me who I thought would win, and without thinking, I simply said “Spain” (sorry, Robert!). I didn’t know that a psychic octopus named Paul Allen had predicted the winning teams for each game all throughout FIFA 2010 (seriously?!); I just found that out this morning.

So hubby said that just to make our lives more exciting (yeah right!), and out of loyalty to our good friend from Amsterdam, he would root for Netherlands.

Actually, this is the second time we “bet” on separate teams. There’s no money involved; we do this just for the heck of it.

The first time was during the NBA Playoffs Finals last June between the Lakers and Celtics. Hubby and his friends were all raving for the Celtics, so just to annoy them during the game, I kept cheering for the Lakers. At least in basketball, I know one player...Kobe Bryant (I also know Michael Jordan, but he doesn’t play anymore). You should have seen their faces at the end...it was priceless!

And now, I won the bet again. Yay!

You might ask: what’s at stake for the prize? Well, I always tell hubby “the loser has to treat the winner to dinner at Burj al Arab,” but he has never agreed. So I guess I’ll just settle for a movie or dinner in a restaurant instead...exciting isn't it?

shocking news

I came across these 2 articles in Gulf News today:

A woman tries to flush her newborn baby down the toilet of a plane
A man is caught sexually molesting a comatose girl

What in the world were these people thinking?!?!

trust his heart

a song of encouragement and faith...

"All things work for our good
Though sometimes we don't see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what’s best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just don't see Him
Remember you're never alone

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart

He sees the master plan
And He holds our future in His hand
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Trust His heart"

a nice night in

Hubby...Slurpee & Shake...Marrybrown...The Losers.
Enjoyed a great evening with all of them yesterday at the apartment.

swimming again

Backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, diving, and simply floating and splashing around.
I couldn’t keep track of the number of laps I swam last night...I just remember that I spent about 35 minutes in the pool, all alone, enjoying the water.
The pool is just at the rooftop of our apartment building...and to think that it’s been more than 2 years since I last swam in it!
Sheesh! I gotta make up for lost time.

a decision to exercise

Since we have a lot of free time on our hands in the evening, hubby and I decided that we should start exercising to lose all the flabs we accumulated since we entered parenthood.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, he will work out at the gym and I’ll swim laps at the pool.
Last Saturday, we actually spent almost an hour at the gym to warm up and get a feel of it.

Let’s hope we’ll be able to actually do this regularly...at least until the end of September.

the karate kid

Jaden Smith is really talented and naturally funny which made us enjoy the movie more. However, the title should have been Kung Fu Kid since it was actually kung fu (not karate) that he was learning...but I guess since it had many scenes and concepts that were similar to the 1980’s movie, they just kept the original title.

What made it memorable was that this was the first movie we were able to watch together in a Dubai cinema after more than 2 years since we got married.

Thank you, Mahal, for our date that lasted until 1:45 on Saturday morning :)