ON A WINDY DAY

Yesterday morning when I was about to go to work, the wind was blowing heavily. I was struggling to walk and exerting all my effort because if I did not, I will be blown away by the wind (literally)!

It is really unusual here in the UAE to have this kind of weather especially this time of the year, April. Usually, April is the start of the summer months (and I mean months) here in the UAE. Maybe it's because of the global warming (WTF?) that's why the weather pattern is changing. So I'd better prepare for a long and hot summer, wheeew!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Windang, a gay lingo, was derived from the word windy which means perplexed, confused, near insanity. When I reached home there were quite a few things that really made me windang to the highest level.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I received my FCCPT Type 1 evaluation report from Kenneth Harrington (pangalan pa lang malinamnam na). He was too kind to even give me a refund for the payment I gave them for another copy of my evaluation. He also sent me information about the PLAN program of FCCPT for foreign-educated physios like me who are lacking professional units. Of course, I will not apply to this PLAN program because it will cost me another $350. To make the long story short, I am lacking 4 professional units from the 90 units required by CAPTE. I need to take additional courses to make up for my deficiency.

My friend found one school on-line offering courses for foreign-educated physios. The admission fee is $75 and the cost per unit is $343 which in my case is $1372 because I am lacking 4. $1372 is a big amount of money. I am really into thinking now if I should pursue with my State Board exam because even after finishing my additional course, I still have to pay FCCPT $350 for re-evaluation. It's good that I already have an employer to shoulder the expenses registering to the State and FSBPT. If I will not pursue with this one, then I would have just been wasting money as well because I paid $660 for FCCPT accreditation, $180 for TOEFL and $500 for my employer. Reaching your dreams is really expensive.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To buy or not to buy a condo/house? This is the other thing that has been going on my mind now for weeks.

When we went for vacation to the Philippines last month, I saw how beautiful my sister's house is. I was a little bit envy (yeah I admit) but not on the positive side.

I already have a house in Cavite, but this house needs a lot of repairs. So I need to have those repaired first before purchasing a new one. This will cost me around P100,000 and will take me around two to three months to save this much. I am so thankful that I have my father back home who will be looking after my house repairs there.

Anyway, I have been browsing through some websites offering condominium units. I have been into deep thinking whether I shall be purchasing one or not. I have found one 2-B/R unit located in Paranaque City, just in front of SM Sucat with Ayala Land as its developer. It costs around P2.5M. The terms will be 20% down payment which is payable in one year plus P120K for processing, documentation, etc., that I have to pay to Ayala. So, this means I have to pay roughly P51K a month for one year and then pay the outstanding balance which is P2M through bank loan at around P25K a month for ten years. The turnover will be the first quarter of 2010. After the turnover, I have to pay around P3K a month for the monthly dues for the garbage, maintenance, security, etc., thus giving me a total of P28K a month. And what was supposed to be P2.5M will now be P3.6M after all the bank interest, etc., for a 44 m² floor area. It might be too expensive as it may seem, but buying a condo will give me a faster ROI (return of investment) compared to a house and lot. Why? Because I can have the condo rented for 20 – 30K a month. This is the main reason why I really want to have my condo unit. However, I still have to pay an additional P500K if I want to have my own parking space.

Buying a house and lot is much cheaper compared to a condo. In our subdivision in Las Pinas, where lots of townhouses are being built, I have found one 2-storey house and lot, 65 m² lot area and 80 m² floor area, with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, service area, parking space, fenced, and your own tank. If you are the first to buy, you will have the option as well to choose the color of the paint and the tiles that will be used in the house. The terms of payment will be 20% deposit which is P500K, payable in one year, but will only be P450K if I pay in cash. Then, the monthly amortization will be P26K a month for ten years. Here the monthly dues will only be around P200 a month for the garbage collection. One advantage here is that I will have my own lot and this is more spacious compared to the condo. However, if I am going to have this place rented, the highest that it can go will only be up to P10K a month compared to P20-30K a month in a condo.

But as we all know, the value of real estate is never depreciating in the Philippines, it only has one way to go and that is upwards.

Up to now, I still do not really know which one to buy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To cancel or not to cancel Mcxene’s visa.

The recent policy from our hospital really gave my mind a 360° turn. Before, even though Mcxene’s visa is not under my sponsorship, she is receiving medical and educational benefits from the company. Now, as per the new policy, only those dependents who are under the employee’s visa will receive the medical benefits which means Mcxene does not have medical benefits anymore.

I have two options:

One is to apply for a Daman Insurance out of my own pocket for Mcxene. This will cost around 1500 AED a year. With this, we only have to pay 20% of the total cost of the consultation and medicines that will be given to Mcxene on SEHA-accredited facilities.

The second option is to transfer Mcxene’s visa under my sponsorship. However, this is no easy task. Here in the UAE, if the father of the child is here as well, then it is a must that the child be sponsored by the father especially if the father’s salary meets the salary bracket required. Since my hubby is here and meets the salary requirement, they will question me as to why I want to transfer my child’s visa under my sponsorship. If I tell them that my hubby will resign from his work (which is just an excuse), they might ask for proof that my hubby really is resigning from work, which I cannot provide. If they do agree to transfer my daughter’s visa under my sponsorship, then we have to give a bond worth 5000 AED (P665K) which is refundable after my daughter leaves the country.

This place is really becoming unfriendly to families. I am now into thinking if we should be staying here for long.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I really have lots of things going on my mind now, thus the term WINDANG is very much applicable to my mental state as of the moment.

How I wish that every thing would be much simpler and less complicated.

How I wish that the wind would be gentler…