from Grapes to Apples

Finally, nakakita na kami ng bahay na malilipatan. Last week, 2 bahay yung tinignan namin na parehong mababait na pinoy ang may-ari. Si house #1 ay fully furnished (as in from kutsara to wall paintings), $350 per week rent (super mura) at malapit sa Bayview School. Si #2 ay no furnishing, malapit sa school ni Shannen at mas mahal ng konti. We decided to take the second one.

We’ll officially occupy our new place on 10 March. But we can already start moving our things on 4 March as we will have the key by then. Transferring our things wont be difficult as there’s really not much stuffs to move.

Nakausap na rin ni Henry si current landlord. He’s fine with it kaya lang he requires 3 weeks notice. Yun ang nakalagay sa tenancy agreement so we have to abide. Magkakaron kami ng 1 week rent overlap. Sayang din yong $$$.

About my post’s title, well we now have a nice grape vine in our backyard. In our new house, we’ll have an apple tree.

Schoolgirl

Shannen is now a schoolgirl. She started pre-school yesterday. Sobrang excited itong si linggit, di mapakali nung Tuesday. Kung anu-ano ang sinisilid sa bag nya. Alam nyo ba ang motivation nya? $$$! Nakikita nya kasi na pinapadalhan namin ng pera si Vince kapag may kailangang bayaran sa eskwelahan. Dapat daw may coins din sya pag nag school na sya. Naku, bata ka!

Twice a week lang ang pasok nya sa Meadowood Community Crèche – Wednesdays and Thursdays. $8 per session (2.5hrs) lang ang bayad since non-profit yung eskwelahan. Medyo malayo lang sa amin (mga 3 kilometers) kaya kailangang mag-excuse si Henry sa trabaho para ihatid sya. Pag-uwi ni Henry, susunduin nya si Shannen then si Vince.

Tuyo, Tinapa and Galunggong

By Bo Sanchez

Let me tell you a story. Three construction workers were on top of their half-finished skyscraper. Rrrrring!" the lunch bell sounded, and the three men sat on a steel beam jutting out of the 56th floor with their lunch boxes in hand.

The first guy opens his and groans in exasperation, "Tuyo!" There is not a day that I don't get tuyo for lunch!" He turns to his buddies and announces, "Mark my words. If I still get tuyo tomorrow, I'm going to throw myself from this building."

The second guy opens his lunch box and moans, "Tinapa". Everyday, I get tinapa!" He looks at his friends and declares, "Believe me when I say this. If I get tinapa tomorrow, I'm going to jump and kill myself."

The third guy opens his lunch box and it was his turn to despair. "Galunggong" . All I get is galunggong!" I'm telling you, if I still get galunggong tomorrow, I'm going to jump from this building and die."

The next day, the lunch bell rings and all three men are again seated on the 56th floor. The first guy opens his lunch box and starts crying, "Tuyoooooo!" And so he jumps and crashes on the ground.

The second guy opens his lunch box and wails loudly, "Tinapaaaa!" And he also hurls himself off the building and dies.

The third guy opens his lunch box and screams, "Galunggonggggg! " And so he too jumps off the building and splatters on the ground.

Days later, during the funeral of the three men, their three wives embrace and weep together. The first wife cries out, "I didn't know my husband didn't like tuyo anymore! Why didn't he tell me? If only he told me, I would have prepared something else."

The second wife echoes her statement, "Yes! If only I knew, I would have cooked something else, not tinapa!"

The third wife, between sobs, speaks up, "I don't know why my husband killed himself." The two wives look at her curiously. "Why?" She went on, "Because ... my husband prepares his own lunch everyday..."

I love this crazy story because it presents a very important truth: all of us prepare our own lunch. If we don't like our jobs, if we don't like the state of our relationships, if! we don't like what's happening to our spiritual lives - we have no one to blame but ourselves. Because God has given us free will. He has given us the power to prepare our own lunch.

If you want to earn more and be free from debt, if you're sick and tired of your bad habits, if we want to put more joy in our marriages, if we want to grow in our relationship with God - then go back to your kitchen and prepare yourself another dish. Because you design your own future. You create your own destiny. Ask yourself what kind of future do you want to have? What kind of life? What kind of eternity? You decide.

Mom's here

My mom arrived last Sunday pm. Henry, the kids and I went to the airport to pick her up. It wasn't hard to spot her amongst the crowd because she was wearing a "bloody" red jacket (her favourite color). My heartbeat went faster than its normal phase and my hands were a bit sweaty. I couldn’t hide the excitement I had to see her again.

She'll be back

Hinatid namin kaninang umaga si MIL sa airport. Ikihuha namin sya ng wheelchair para di mahirapan sa pag-transfer sa HongKong (thanks to KU's Jean's advice). Binilinan ko sya na mag-acting-acting ng konti. he he he

Nang bumalik na kami sa kotse, ayaw pang sumakay ni Shannen. Hinahanap ang lola nya. Sabi ko sumakay na ng airplane papuntang Pilipinas but "she'll be back". So ok na, naupo na sa carseat nya. Nang umaandar na kami, panay ang lingon sa likod. Bat daw wala pa si Lola. Ang intindi pala nya, nasa "back" (likod) namin. asus.....

Nag-tidy up kami ng konti nang makabalik kami sa bahay. May nakita si Shannen na isang kendi (sugar-free) na naiwan ng Mama. Ibibigay nya daw yon pag dating. Alam kong gusto nyang kainin yon pero hanggang ngayong hapon nakatabi lang. I wonder if she'll hold on to it for 9 months.

We are really grateful that she's with us in the most crutial part of our new life. Malaking bagay na may napag-iiwanan kami ng bata. Buti na lang di sya nainip dito. Well, she actually like it here kaya kahit walang teleserye ok lang.

Thanks Mommy Chit for taking care of us. We'll see you in 9 months.

IRD Family Assistance

Isa sa kagandahan dito sa NZ ay sinisiguro ng gobyerno na ang lahat ng residente ay pwedeng mabuhay ng maayos. Kung may sakit ka, libreng magpagamot sa govt hospitals. Meron ding Accommodation Supplement kung may binabayaran kang rent o mortgage. Kung maliit ang family income, Family Assistance ang ibinibigay.

Kasabay sa pafa-file PR application ang pagre-research namin sa mga posibleng supporta na makukuha namin sa govt. Dahil pareho kaming kumikita ni Henry (kahit di kalakihan), sa Family Assistance ng IRD lang kami nag-qualify. In the same week that we applied, na-credit sa account namin yung allowance na $75/week. Nakabase ito sa estimated annual income namin from April 2006 to March 2007. Maliit lang ang combined salary namin kasi July na ako nasimulang magtrabaho. Pag dating ng April rerepasuhin nila yung actual income namin. Kung mas maliit ang actual vs. forecasted, may lumpsum kaming makukuha (ata). Kung mas malaki naman, magbabalik kami na bayad.

Malaki man ang binabayaran mong tax, nakikita at nararamdaman mo naman kung saan ito napupunta. Hindi nakakasama ang loob mo dahil pakikinabangan mo din kung kailangan mo.

Born to fish, forced to work

Di na talaga mapipigilan itong si Henry sa pagfi-fishing. Ilang Sabado na syang gumising ng maaga para sumamang pumalaot. Ang tyaga talaga ng asawa ko basta sa fishing.

Kahapon swerte sila ni Russell (yung kiwing kaibigan nya). 12 good-sized snappers ang nahuli nila. Bawi na yung mga araw na kabo sila. Since marami pang stock na isda sa bahay si Russell, si Henry ang nag-uwi ng lahat ng isda. Napuno yung chilly bin nya.

Di ko na sya ngayon kino-kontra sa hobby nya. Wala eh, talagang gusto nya yon kaya pagbibigyan ko na lang.

Biker Vince

Pinapagalitan ni MIL si Vince noong isang araw. Nadagdagan na naman kasi ng sugat ang binti ng anak ko dahil sa kakabisikleta. Sabi ko naman, ok lang yon, at least ngayon marunong na syang mag-bike.

A few weeks ago, may nagbigay sa amin ng lumang beginner’s bike. Working condition pa yung bike kaya lang sira yung gulong sa likod. Sa halagang $33 ($10 lang sana pero may dagdag na $10 para sa labor), may bike na si Vince.

Binigyan lang ni Henry ng konting tips si Vince at mag-isa na syang nag-aral (without the training wheels). Lunes sya nagsimulang mag-practice. Pag-uwi ko ng Martes, aba marunong na. Medyo malaki yung bakuran namin kaya doon lang sya umiikot.

Naghahanap ako ngayon sa Trademe ng 20� bike. Pang 2 to 4 yrs lang kasi yung nasa bahay, tama lang para kay Shannen. Pretty soon, ire-reklamo na yon ni Vince. O sya, magbi-bid muna ako.

Tigil muna sa paghahanap

Kinausap ni Henry si landlord kahapon tungkol sa pag-alis ni MIL at sa pagdating ng mommy ko. Agad na sumagot si landlord na “no problem�. Pagkatapos ng ilang minuto, binalikan nya si Henry para sabihing kailangan na naming mag-share sa bayad sa tubig. Sagot kasi ni landlord ang H2O bill. Di naman kamahalan, mga $200 per six months. Prepared naman kami ng magbayad ng extra kaya ok lang.

Nawala na ngayon ang pressure sa amin na maghanap ng bagong titirhan. Ang hirap kasi talagang maghanap dahil madaming bagong dating na migrants. May requirement pa kaming dapat malapit ang bahay sa eskwelahan kaya mas lalong mahirap maghanap. So we’re be staying in our nice little place for a few more months.

Betty

Early January of this year, kabi-kabila ang mga ads sa TV para sa mga bagong shows. Isa sa mga eye-catching ay yung palabas na Ugly Betty. Nang minsang mapanood ko ito, parang "sounds family" yung plot/theme. I did some search in Google and found my answer. Ito pala yung Betty La Fea na pinalabas sa GMA (Channel 7) one or 2 yrs back.

Kahit hindi ako "kapuso", may recall sa akin yung palabas na yon. Palagi kasi itong binabanggit ng pamangkin kong si Sam. Ang istorya ay tungkol sa di-kagandanhang si Betty Suarez na nagta-trabaho sa isang fashion magazine. Matatangkad, sexy, pretty at fashionista man yung mga kasama nya, special si Betty dahil maganda ang kanyang kalooban.

Pang-4 na episode na bukas ng Ugly Betty. Yung mga nauna ay napanood kong lahat. Iilan lang ang palabas dito na talagang pinapanood ko. Nakaka-miss ang mga TV shows sa Pinas esp. yung mga teleserye, telenovela, koreanobela, fantaserye, etc. Marami na rin lang pinoys dito sa NZ, i hope soon magkaroon na ng TFC.

Changeover

Feb. 17 ang balik ni MIL sa Pinas. Pag-alis nya problema ang pagbabantay sa mga bata. Meron kaming Plan A which is to bring my mom here, at Plan B – take the kids to afterschool-care/daycare. Gaya ng sabi ko dati, di ako comfortable sa daycare dahil madalas ng nagkakahawahan ng sakit ang mga bata doon.

Working on Plan A. Nung December 2006 pa lang nilakad na ng nanay ko yung visa application nya. Early Feb ang ini-apply nyang departure date. Nung Jan 18 na-approve ang visa. Siguro dahil sa senior citizen na sya (nakup, wag nya sanang mababasa to) at may ilang overseas travels na din syang nagawa, visitor’s visa (not limited purpose) ang ibinigay sa bago naming yaya este reyna.

Dahil mahirap magpa-book ng flight sa ganitong panahon (dahil sa chinese new yr), Feb 18 ang nakuhang ticket. Gusto sana naming magkasama ang 2 lola sa iisang bubong (para may turnover of command) pero hindi na yon naging possible.

Super excited na akong makita at makasama ulit ang nanay ko. I really miss her.