DEAR MCXENE

Dear Mcxene,

Hi baby.

I'm writing today to thank you, for giving me the best two years I've ever had in my life.

Today marks the second year when I went under the knife, felt the pain while being incised, transfered from one bed to another without any help 30 minutes postoperatively, and first saw my bundle of joy, Mcxene Leigh. She was just a tiny angel then weighing 3.5 kg and 55 cm in length.

I was full of fear before I gave birth to you, thinking if I would be worthy enough to be called a mother because I did not know anything about being one. But when you came along, my motherly instincts just came out naturally. I didn't know why, didn't know how... it just did. Two years of sleepless nights and restless days just to give you all the attention that you need and deserve and those two years that you have been with me have been the most wonderful. You have taught me how to appreciate those simple joys of life, to be thankful for everyday and have given me the strength to face each and every challenge especially when it concerns your welfare.
Those two years made me realize the reason why I was born, and that's to give birth to an angel, and that angel is you.

I love you my daughter.

Love,

Mommy

ON ANSWERING QUESTIONS

Wouldn’t the world be simpler if people are getting the right response to the questions they ask?

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Lai – Hello, I am awaiting a shipment from the US. It’s first class express mail service from USPS weighing less than 0.5 kg, so it’s just a regular mail. I would like to know if the parcel is delivered right into the recipient’s doorstep or it would have to be picked up?

Call center agent – Can I get the tracking number please?

Lai – Oh, I don’t have it right now. Anyway, I am just asking a general question and I know that the shipment is not yet here since I ordered it about three days ago.

Call center agent – Ma'am, I need to know the tracking number.

Lai – But I don’t have it and I am only inquiring about deliveries if it is to be delivered to the recipient’s doorstep or if it’s for pick up.

Call center agent – I’m sorry Ma'am, I need to have the tracking number because if I don’t have it, I cannot give you any information.

Was my question answered?

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Lai – Hi, I would like to ask you regarding our company’s health benefits. My daughter is my legal dependent here in the hospital, but her visa is not under my sponsorship. As per the new policy, dependents who are not under the employee’s sponsorship will not receive the health card from the insurance company and will not receive medical benefits also. I would like to know if I still have to renew her existing dependent card that the hospital issued her last year because it’s expiring in May. Also, will she not be able to receive any medical benefit even from the hospital itself without using the insurance like before?

HR officer – Hi Lai, as per policy, she will not have the insurance card because she is not under your sponsorship, so she cannot avail of the hospital insurance.

Was my question answered?

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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

ON MOOD SWINGS, COURTESY AND PARTEY

Kanina pag dating ng amo ko sa work, ayun bigla ba namang - "Good morning, Lailani," with matching modulation ng voice at jus mio parang hanggang sa kabilang mundo eh rinig na rinig ang boses nya. Di pa dito natapos ang topak ng amo ko, niyakap pa si Weng na para bang close na close sila. Come to think of it, naboljak lang ako ng isang araw dahil lang sa nagtanong ako sa HR ng bagong policy sa insurance namin. Gusto nya kasi secretary ang gagawa nun, eh haller sanay ako na ako ang umaayos sa problema ko at ako ang gagawa ng paraan para makakuha ng impormasyon, hmp!

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Pabalik na ako galing sa lunch, bigla ba naman akong tinawag ng amo ko sa opis nya. Syempre akala ko boboljakin na naman ako. Yun lang naman kasi yun eh. Once na tinawag ka nya, ihanda mo na sarili mo, boljak na kasunod nito. Nagulat ako kasi nga, hindi naman ako naboljak. Nagbigay lang ng reminders with chika on the side. Aba, aba, aba..... na-chorva siguro to kagabi at maganda ang mood... hmmm.... teka muna.....

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Buong araw halos puro Medical Evaluations ang ginagawa ko na usually sa puti lang nya binibigay. Ewan ko madami naman kami bakit sa akin binibigay, siguro sinusubukan ako. Eh di subukan nya, care ko naman! At dahil nga wala naman syang magawa at ginagawa, ayun nagbasa ng mga reports na tapos na. Nung wala naman syang nakitang mali, nagdagdag-bawas ng articles, "a. an, the." Nagwe-wear off na yung mood nya na masaya.

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Ending, natapos naman ang araw ng matiwasay. Yun nga lang, mejo mabagal ang processing ng utak ko kanina. Late ko na nare-realize na mali pala ang ginawa ko at pwede ko palang gawin ng mas maayos ang isang bagay kaso di ko naisip.

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Habang naghihintay ako ng taxi pauwi, nakita ko na marami ang naghihintay, iba't ibang lahi. Well, hindi naman ako mainipin so mega naghintay talaga ako. May dumating na Pinay, mejo may edad na, may dalang karton, nginitian pa ako, eh di syempre smile back naman ang lola mo baka sabihin suplada ako. Ayun bwisit na bwisit sya sa mga ibang lahi dahil inuunahan sya sa taxi, eh haller mas nauna naman yun. Di nya yata napansin kasi feeling nya sya ang nauna sa lahat ng tao na maghintay ng taxi, ultimo ako na nginitian nya at kabayan nya eh inunahan nya. Kung di lang to matanda, nakutusan ko na to eh!

Buti na lang dumating si Mama Lai at dala nya si Pangcar (Honda Civic nila) at sinakay ako pauwi. Kakakuha lang nya ng lisensya about one week ago. First time kong sumakay sa kanya and I must say, mejo umiral ang pagkainggitera ko at wish ko nagda-drive din ako. Eh sa gusto kong mainggit eh, bakit ba?

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Before the day ended, pumunta kami sa haus ni Mai at naki-partey sa birthday ni Lance. Cutie Lance, dinedma naman si Mcxene. Di bale, dinedma rin naman sya ni Mcxene, hehehe...

Nandun din ang mga bruha kong sis. Syempre kwentuhan to the max at kahit late na, lafang pa rin at lafang. In pernes, ang ganda ng muffin cake ni Mai! At ang mga bruha kong sis, nakipag-agawan pa sa loot bag na bigay ni Mai!

At ako eto, 1:43 na ng madaling araw, blog pa ng blog.

Nighty night!

ON BEING STUPID

Sometimes, I can be stupid even without knowing it. I just realized today that the UAE doesn't have a system to deliver mails directly to one's home. It's all in the PO Box unless shipped through Aramex, Fed-Ex, etc.

Two weeks ago, I went on panic buying mineral makeup from the net. All of those orders were addressed here in my house because when I ordered a book online last time, it was delivered right at my doorstep through Fed-Ex. Thinking that everything will be like that, I ordered online without hesitation and have it delivered here. How I wish that it will come through. Two weeks have passed already and I am keeping my fingers crossed that those shipments will arrive.

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Stupid.

Oo. Yan ang ultimate na description ng mga lokal na utaw dito. Oo nag-Tagalog ako, baka mamaya kasi may makabasang lokal, yari ako.

Bakit ko nasabi to? Bweno, isi-share ko lang ang istorya ko.

Nagpunta ako kanina sa Immigration Department para mag-inquire kung ano ang mga requirements para ma-transfer ko ang visa ng anak ko sa sponsorship ko. Ang sabi sa akin nung mokong na mamang taga-Immigration na walang kaabog-abog at walang kurap -> hindi pwede kasi hindi ka nars, titser o engineer. Jus mio naman, eh anong konek? Isa pa, ang dami na kaya nilang ni-approve na transfer of sponsorship from male to female na hindi rin naman yung tatlong propesyon na yun ang trabaho ng mga babaeng yun. To make the long story short, hindi sila consistent sa mga sinasabi nila at sa mga laws nila. Saka parang may presidential pardon pa, sabi ba naman, bumalik daw ako kinabukasan at kausapin ko yung pinuno nila baka daw pumayag. Eh haler naman di ba? Kung meron talaga kayong rules na sinusunod, dapat walang exemption to the rule. Patupad sa lahat, hindi yang iba-iba ang sinasabi ninyo, depende pa kung kanino ka natapat.

Hay, pasensya na pero you have to be here to know what I am trying to say.

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And then we come to the last part of my stupidity run.

I applied for an FCCPT type 1 credentialing a couple of months ago. They are only sending the results online, but I did not seem to receive the result from my email. I have a feeling that I had accidentally deleted the mail since I was in the Philippines during the time that they sent it and I didn't have the time to scan my mails one by one.

Now, I have to apply for another copy and pay $90 for that.

So all in all, $90 plus almost $100 for the online orders that might not arrive (I hope not) equals $190 dollars just because of stupidity.

Oh well.....

Nighty night!

ON BLOGGING

I have always wanted to keep one, but has not been able to. I don't know. There are times that I really want to blog, but time restricts me to do it. I will do my best, however, to keep this one. As it is really hard for me to keep just one blog, this will be a mixed blog, photoblog, digiscraps, and everything that my mind wants to shout out.