Got a new LCD TV, yahoo!

Last week, I was having the idea (Mike termed it as an “urge”) of flying to Manila for 2 weeks in end July. I was planning to stop over Singapore for 3-4 days before I fly to Manila. I mentioned this to my boss and asked him if it will be possible to work for a day in Singapore and another 1.5 weeks in Manila since I don't have enough holidays to use for this year. Unfortunately, the big boss did not approve even though they won't spend a dime for my trip. They said that we can't mix pleasure with work!

Since my idea of traveling was now impossible, I shifted my spending energy on buying an LCD which Nat has been convincing me to buy for the longest time. I went to the mall after work and asked the salesman at Bing Lee for the last price of the 26” Samsung LCD since it wasn't on sale and he came back with a $250 discount. So I immediately called Nat and asked him what he thinks and he was obviously happy. So with a good price and Nat’s approval (he specifically wants an LCD with a built-in HTV tuner), I decided to buy it. I also tried my luck for a free mixer from the salesman but he said that he’d already given me a good discount.

Carrying the tv from the cart to the car on an inclined parking proved to be quite difficult.

It's not usual in Sydney for salesman to help you carry heavy stuff like appliances to you car. I didn't expect that the box will be that heavy so as I was carrying the box, I dropped one side of the box and to avoid losing my grip to the other side of the box, I let go of the cart which rolled down and came to a halt when it hit the car parked beside us. Good thing there wasn't a dent or a scratch.

So I drove back home and used a trolley to bring it up.

The stand has to be installed. It took me half an hour to just tighten the screw.

and here's our new LCD....

Now, we can enjoy watching at the comfort of our room!

Home Alone

I'm home alone again and this time it will be for 2 long months. I woke up Saturday morning puffy eyed and feeling numb. On our way to the airport, I was holding Maku's little hand, and I was quiet the whole time, wondering why it always has to be like this. It’s really hard to say goodbye especially when you are the one who will be left alone. When they left,I didn't shed a tear at the airport, I was feeling so empty. It was only when I got home that I felt so lonely that I burst into tears and I was already missing Maku terribly. I again asked myself if we made the right decision moving to Australia. It's been tough for all of us since we moved here, I am separated from Maku most of the time and Nat has to quit his job, a job that he loved. It's been one and a half years since we move to Sydney and many times have I thought of going back to the Philippines but with the economic and political instability, I don't know if it’s a good idea to move back.

I just hope & pray that everything will work out fine for us wherever we may be.

Fun Saturday

We met with co-n@wies Janet and Archie and their cutie Joaquim on Saturday. Good thing it was a fine sunny day. We had lunch at Gourmet Pizza Kitchen in Chatswood. It's a kid-friendly restaurant with high chairs, activity books, colored pencils and pizza dough that kids can play with. You can even have the dough baked but we didn't know about it until a friend told us. There was a Filo waiter who was very nice to give us $17 discount off our bill. The food was good and we will surely go back there.

Afterwards, we went to the park across the street from our apartment so Maku can play.

He always has this face whenever he goes out of the house

Mama, I'll try the bigger slide

watch me, Mama




weeeeeeeeeee............

Daddy, can you catch the ball?

I've always wanted to try riding a scooter

We ended the day with Nat's ala Breton burger which was really yummy!

we topped it with mushroom and caramelized onion plus chips on the side

Nat was enjoying his burger while watching Bee Movie

OZ Slang

One and a half years have passed and I still don’t sound like an aussie (even a bit!) and I still am having a hard time understanding the accent. Most of my colleagues in my department are either Asian or American so I don’t get to deal a lot with Aussies unless I’m talking or visiting clients which are very rare and on those rare occasions, embarrassingly to say, we sometimes end up writing emails. Every conversation would start with saying hi and followed by how are you or G’day mate (pronounced as Gu die Myt). Australian vocabulary may also differ from American English like a bell pepper is a capsicum in OZ. There are still a lot to learn but below are some lists of Aussie Slang that I hear once in a while:

Arvo: Afternoon

Barbie : barbecue – Aussies love anything grilled, steak or sausage (straight from the fridge), tomatoes (pron with a short ‘a’) etc

Bikkie : biscuit

Boozer : a pub. Bottle shop : liquor shop.

Brekkie : breakfast

BYO : unlicensed restaurant where you have to Bring Your Own grog, also similar party or barbecue. Most restaurants have BYO so you can bring your own wine, drinks, etc

Chewie : chewing gum

Chokkie : chocolate

Chrissie : Christmas

Coldie/Grog : a beer. OZs love beer so much that they even have it during lunch break

Exy : expensive.

Fairy floss : candy floss, cotton candy

G'Day Mate : hello buddy/friend!

Heaps : a lot, e.g. "thanks heaps"

Kindie : kindergarten. To enroll your kid as kindie, they have to be at least 5 yrs old.

Lollies : sweets, candy. Originally, I thought it was lollipop

Maccas (pron. "mackers") : McDonald's (the hamburger place).

No worries: No problem
Postie : postman, mailman

Prezzy : present, gift
Reckon! : you bet! Absolutely! I always here this word!

Sickie : day off sick from work (chuck a sickie = take the day off sick from work when you're perfectly healthy!)

Sunnies : sunglasses

Ta: thank you
Uni : university

It's raining, its pouring, Maku is snoring

It's been raining the past few days and I feel so lazy to get up the bed especially seeing my two boys still asleep and snoring. I feel so jealous that most of the time I wanted to go back, curl up on the bed with my boys and call in sickie (OZ term for sick leave) . Weather forecast shows that it will be raining for the next few days. I wish it stops raining this long weekend, I wanted to bring Maku out to the park or the zoo at least before they fly back to Manila.

Daddy’s Birthday!

It’s my dad’s 62nd birthday today, ironically I am sad that I’m not there to celebrate it with him but at the same time happy that he is still alive and healthy. I spoke to him this morning and he was jokingly telling me that he thought he’d have a surprise party as I always plan a surprise party for him. My dad is the best dad in the world and I’m so proud on how he raised us all to be good and God fearing children so I dedicate this post to my wonderful daddy.

My dad is a great achiever. He worked himself up from being a driver and a security guard in Rufino building to a (good looking) lawyer and businessman.

The eldest in the family where he also stood as the father to his siblings of 6. He’s the most generous person always sharing his blessings (even if there’s little left for him) with others.

He’s a devoted, loving, sweet husband to my mom always praising mommy's cooking that he prefers to eat at home

He’s a very supportive dad. He’s a disciplinarian but not a strict one kaya nakakalusot pa rin paminsan minsan

He’s a sweet grandfather spoiling the apos not with material things but with so much attention, sometimes flying to LA and AU to be with them

Some Facts about my Dad

1) He’s retired but still looking for other business ventures. Di nya ma-take na wala siyang ginagawa. Actually, he’s not yet fully retired pala as he will be the driver of one of the apos this coming school year.

2) He’s a handyman and he always knows how to fix things.

3) He doesn’t wear shorts that’s why his legs are so white.

4) He’s always in Makati, specifically in Figaro, Glorietta. So if you can’t reach him on the phone, just visit Figaro and you’ll surely see him there.

5) He’s very practical that he wouldn't eat at a fine dining restaurant, or buy some branded clothes or book a business class ticket. He’d commute from time to time if he thinks it will save him time and money.

6) He’s very religious that he goes to Manaog at least once a month and hears mass even on weekdays.

7) He’s a fighter and the most optimistic person I know. Whenever we are at our lowest, he's always there to say something that would make us feel definitely better in the end.

8) He's so maabilidad kaya he's my idol.

9) He's very friendly that wherever we go, he knows somebody. Kung wala, we'd see him talking to the guards or waiters, etc.

10) He doesn't have any vices, he doesn't smoke, gamble or drink ( i think he can only drink 2 bottles of beer the most)

11) He's not high-tech. He doesn't even know how to text but he knows how to retrieve text messages.

12) He's very persuasive that most of the time even if you were firm with your decision and you discussed it with him, he'd make you change your mind.

To my dad, I know I don't say this much but I'd like you to know that I love you so much and I am just so thankful for everything. I thank both mom and you for making our lives comfortable and for being supportive to us even now that we have our own families. I don't have a gift for you and mom, so utang muna. I'll have something when I fly next year for my holidays.

Our not so little Maku turns 21 months

MAKU-lit, malikot but malambing are the 3 words I would best describe my little boy who turns 21 months today. Maku is tall and looks big for his age that most people think he's already 3. He plays a bit rough so we think he can be a good rugby player someday. He likes typing on the laptop and gliding the mouse why we are seriously considering buying an Applecare. He loves to pretend he's talking on the phone which is why he always gets our phones and we end up finding them under the bed. He always brings out the digital weighing scale from the other room, steps on it and looks at the number coming out as if he can read it. He loves to hide under the blanket and would giggle and say shhhhhh loudly. When we tell him that it's time to go to bed, he'd close his eyes, snore and pretend he's sleeping. He doesn’t finish his milk or juice which Nat said he got from me (I don’t empty my glass/cup – I don’t know why). He doesn’t like medicine so I always end up holding him firmly and Nat giving the drops. We can only brush his teeth properly when he’s distracted. He’s a jetsetter, flying to Manila and Australia back and forth (flew to Australia thrice already and flying back again in August) and once in New Zealand (lucky him, Nat & I haven't been there). He's a bit vain that whenever we ask him to comb his hair, he'd go in front of the mirror. He’s a very sweet boy and he loves kissing us on our lips with matching mwahhh. He likes to be read a book and especially love “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and he never fails to kiss us while we are reading him the book. He’s very friendly that he waves to all people that he sees and glances at little blondes but on occasions where they approach him, he would shy away. Torpe!

He's a smiley baby even when asleep

Labeled as the Michelin tire man because of his chubby arms and legs

then later on as the Destroyer and/or the Tasmanian Devil as you can see why.

The only time Maku is behaved is when he's asleep

and when he's watching Hi-Five and any sports shows.

His first Lacoste shirt from Wowo B & Wowa O. He has more Lacoste shirts than I do and has even got a pair of swim trunks from Ninang Leila. I likewise can’t remember how many pairs of shoes he’s had.

At a young age he already helps us with house chores, he would throw rubbish, put placemats back in the drawer, load clothes in the washing machine and put his dirty clothes in his hamper.

He loves to drive. In fact, he uses any round object as a steering wheel, with matching sounds pa yon. He's giving the Kiwi a ride.

Sometimes he's a bit picky with food but puts anything on his mouth



He gets frustrated easily and is short tempered (mana sa tatay) that he smacks us when he doesn’t get what he wants which sometimes get into our nerves.



He's been at 2 playschools. At Gymboree when he was 6 months and was enrolled at the Infant-Toddler in BF when he was 17 months. Here is his graduation picture.

We celebrated Maku's 21'st month at home. We wanted to invite friends over but decided against it so we ended up celebrating it with just us three. For dinner, we just ordered take-away noodles, nasi goreng and Nat baked chicken wings.

With such energy and enthusiasm, we are pondering what would happen in three more months when he's already 2 ! You know what they say about the 'terrible twos' ! Wish us luck and more patience !