happy new year!

It’s already the 12th day of January and I haven’t written yet my farewell to the year 2009. To put more drama and to set the mood on what I was thinking to write, I was initially planning to do it on the New Year’s Eve in Laguna but decided to just enjoy the moment with my in-laws.

2009 has been a tough year for me. Well probably many would agree that it was not an easy year. We felt the effect of the Global Economic Crisis that exploded on the last quarter of 2008 – and I am one of its casualties. First half of 2009, I was jobless. Instead of going back to Philippines, I decided to give another try and look for possible employment here in Malaysia or Singapore, good thing AIG gave us a good separation package, that I must say enough to support us for 6 more months.

June 2009, through continuous prayers and Faith, I was able to get an employment in one of the local companies here in Malaysia. To date, I am still connected with the company and currently involved to several projects.

It was also the year that we became closer to Him. Through the Couples for Christ Community we met new friends that helped us to strengthen our Faith and balance our spiritual life. We will continue to be active on this organization for this is our way of thanking and bringing back to Him all the blessings that we are receiving.

Moving on, I am now officially opening this formerly “anonymous” blogsite to my friends. I am now letting go of the pain that the economic crisis has brought to me and welcoming this year with faith and high hopes that are plans will be done according to His will. Let my past year be a reminder that nothing is permanent in this world and despite of these trials there would be always our God who would strengthen and guide us.

Cheers to 2010!

“Thank you Lord for all the blessings that you have showered upon us for the past year; For our Jobs that support our needs; For keeping us safe; For the good health;

As we journey the coming days of 2010, Please continue to guide and bless us.

Amen.”

home

Playing on my background is a song by Daughtry called “Home”. Let me share some of the lyrics:

"Well I'm going home,Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home."

Actually, it is not advisable to listen to this song when you are an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) or if you are miles away from your friends and family. It will just make you sad and makes you feel you want to quit and go home in an instant! I don’t know, but for me, whenever I hear this song, my thoughts will be immediately filed with memories of being home. I can clearly feel the atmosphere of the activities that I used to do.

On the lighter side, 7 days from now, we will be going back to Philippines again for a 2-week vacation. The past weeks have been a very busy week for us. We attended the Couples for Christ Christmas Party and I was tasked to bring one of the dishes. Guess what, I cooked “Binagoongang Baboy” (Pork with shrimp Paste). I must say that I was able to give justice to this dish for everybody enjoyed it. One time, I will post my recipe that you should try! The night of that same day – dec 5, we attended another Christmas Party in Cyberjaya, it was organized by some of our Filipino friends, technically, they are the officemates of Michelle. Since I gained some good reputation in cooking to them, I was assigned to bring Leche Flan! I prepared it the night before the party and finished at around 3am. Not being over confident with what I prepared, again, it tasted really good!

@Couples for Christ Group, Villa Impiana Condominium

@ Cyberjaya
We also bought some “Pasalubong” (Gifts) for our families and friends. We took advantage of the Mall wide sale here in Malaysia. Usually it happens whenever there are occasions like Ramadan, Christmas and other special occasions. It’s not just a 3-day sale, it’s like, 2 months or all throughout the season and I must say that the prices are really LOW! But of course we never splurged on shopping, remember, it’s recession so need to set aside some ringgits to fund unexpected expenses in the future.

Right now, we are literally counting the days, excited to be back home again.

“Pilipinas, Buhay ay Langit sa Piling Mo”

christmas tree

It’s the time of the year once again. Christmas is just around the corner and everybody is already feeling the cool breeze of the season. Last night after meeting my wife at the train station, we headed to Endah Parade Mall (just a small shopping complex across our condo) to join some friends who invited us for dinner. Actually it was not in the plan for as much as possible we avoid dining out in exchange of just buying fruits and eating home cooked foods. Because for the past weeks, we felt that we are not getting a healthy diet.

Anyway, after the dinner, on our way to the grocery store, we saw the Christmas Decors Section. My wife and I have been planning long time ago to buy a Christmas Tree, so we tried to look around and we spotted this best buy Christmas Tree! 7.90 MYR (Malaysian Ringgit). I know you want to convert, its roughly 13.50 PHP = 1 MYR. After that, we added 3 sets of Christmas balls, 1 Christmas light and this long shiny thing that I don’t know how it is called.

This is our first Christmas Tree since we got married, we never had the chance to buy one when we were still in Makati. That’s why we are very happy and excited with this one. It actually feels good to see our humble Christmas Tree from our living area, making us more excited to be in the Philippines again. 28 more days and we’ll be home once again.

So here is our 3-ft slash low-cost slash but loved Christmas Tree!

Ooops, if you are wondering where the “Star” is, we’ll be buying a small one probably this weekend.