Fresh Starts

I'd just like to inform you regular visitors to the Abstract Musings that we are transferring to a new site. Now i bid adieu to blogspot and head for a refreshing start. check out our new site by clicking here.

From the Land Down Under...

Finally, I have found the time to post. i know i've been offline for almost a week and probably you guys are wondering what has happened to me. not to worry as i am very much alright and pretty happy now that i am with J. :)

i arrived in Sydney last march 8. it was quite a bumpy ride, but i didn't get any motion sickness. my agent checked me in on a good seat -- one that's near the toilet! hehe... Qantas served us two full meals and the food was great. I didn't get much sleep though. I guess all that excitement and anxiousness kept me from dozing off.

when we landed in Sydney, there were lots of foreigners who also arrived at the same time as our trip. to my disappointment, the immigration department was packed with Europeans. Halos mahimatay ako sa amoy! Ack! LOL! it's a good thing it took me only 10-15 minutes to get them to put a stamp on my passport. otherwise, i'm sure i would have had a sneezing fit. hehe...

At the customs area, i really had nothing to declare. but since i had some valuables and gifts from our wedding with me, i didn't want to take the risk so i queued up at the 'something to declare' area. the lady just asked me what i wanted to declare and i told her the details. she then asked me to bring my luggages to the x-ray machine. i thought they were going to go through my stuff (which, by the way, i was afraid of because i had so carefully packed my clothes), but to my surprise, the guy there just placed my bags back on the cart after going through the x-ray machine and told me that i was free to go. phew! :)


when i came out, J was already there with his videocam. Kala mo artista! LOL! :D

We checked in at the Medina, near the central station. The two days were spent sightseeing. We were able to visit Darling Harbour, The Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Manly Beach, Sydney Tower, Chinatown and downtown Sydney.

As of this writing, am now in Canberra, still trying to settle in. I have yet to get my clothes out of my luggages and put them in the closet. the weekend was pretty busy since we arrived. we had to get my medicare number and open a bank account for me. the welcome parties are killers! mukhang tataba ako dito. LOL! the filipino community here is very big and close-knit so, it isn't that lonely here.

More kwento to come...

a not so happy birthday

yesterday marked the big 3-0 for me. and yet, i still feel like i'm in my early 20's. where did all the time go?

there was no big celebration at our house, since we had that early despedida party last Saturday hosted by my mom. and also probably because, there was an emotional strain in the air due to my impending departure. there were only six of us (me, mama, brother david, our two household helps and baby G) having a real quiet dinner. it was too quiet for a birthday celebration.

and to cap the night off, i spilled buckets of tears while i was talking to J on the phone. i guess i just wasn't good enough in keeping it all in.

i hope, when when my mom drops me off at the airport on Tuesday, she can be strong for me and won't let me see the tears in her eyes. otherwise, i am almost a hundred percent sure that i'd be an emotional mess at the departure gate. *sigh*

last minute details

it's the first day of the month. this signifies the start of a lot of things for J and me.

for one, both J and I are celebrating our birthdays this month, with dates just five days apart. :)

another thing to look forward to is my departure on the seventh for my trip to Australia. Only less than a week left before i haul my belongings to be with my husband at last!

time is of essence right now because i have to finish packing things and running errands before i leave for good. apart from packing my stuff into luggages and boxes, i also had to make some last minute visits to my dentist and to the salon. the works! :) tomorrow, i will be picking up my plane ticket at my travel agent's office and meet a good friend for lunch. for some reason, i have been putting off packing, but hope to do them during my last few days in Manila.

i am excited alright, for this is what J and I have been waiting for months -- to be together! but, i am also feeling sad because i'll be leaving my family behind.

by next week, i will be in a different land, with major adjustments to face and new people to meet. when you think of it, it can really be scary. but i'm up to it. at least, i don't have to face them alone. i have J with me. :)

then and now

i turned in late again last night because i watched the feature on the 1986 People Power Revolution on ABS-CBN in its entirety. i felt like i was back in history class, but this time, with a different twist. the feature was very detailed and presented the events that took place in chronological order.

what was most interesting about the documentary was that they interviewed key personalities to tell their side of the story. it was such a diverse group of people which included nuns, priests, former US ambassadors and soldiers, even ordinary citizens who went to EDSA to take part in the protest against Marcos. what was even surprising was that there was not a single politician interviewed.

this was good for a change. i think what the producers wanted to convey to the public is that EDSA 1 was just not about these government officials who turned against the former dictator, but also of the common Filipino. for without them, Ramos, Enrile and Honasan's plans would not have been fruitful.

not only did the show tackle past events, but they also discussed the significance of EDSA 1 in the world and in our country. it was definitely a shining moment for the Filipinos then. if only we could keep the spirit of EDSA 1 going... what a difference it would make!

it is only now that i got to appreciate this important part of Filipino history. i was only a 10-year-old kid when it happened, oblivious to it all. Kudos to the Foundation for Worldwide People Power, Inc. (FWPPI) who produced this wonderful documentary!

walang magawa

i was blog-hopping earlier and came across Via's blog. heto ang resulta ng taong walang magawa. :P

kung wala na rin lang kayong magawa, try nyo na rin. :)

the perfect birthday present

after all the wondering and speculations, our prayers have finally been answered! this came in the mail today for me...


this has got to be the best birthday present for us yet. it feels so surreal! i must have looked really silly when i opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter from the embassy. i was jumping around and screaming! LOL! :)

of course, i had to let the news out. and within the following hour, i've informed almost all of our relatives and friends. everybody must have wished for this visa to come kaya it finally arrived today. thanks for all your prayers! :)

oh boy, time to really start packing. this time, for the land down under. Beh, watch out, here i come!!! :D gosh, i am soooo excited! :D

two months and counting!

time flies! today marks our second "monthsary." i miss J so much... :(

in light of this, i'd like to share this post by Ms. Seuss for all us married couples out there. such wise words! :)

Never go to sleep angry.
You won’t be able to sleep comfortably anyway because the other person is beside you and you’re both digging this little trench on the bed that not even the hem of your nightgown is supposed to cross.

There are habits you CANNOT change.
If he is messy, then he is messy. Don’t create wrinkles that will add to your derma bill. Even if he pretends to clean up it will only be for a month. Same thing applies to you anyway. You’ll never be able to kick that habit of shopping for your nth pair of shoes.

Your spending and saving habits need to align. Or at least agree on a percentage. Really.
If you both believe in seizing the moment, then blowing your bonuses on a trip to Vanuatu is cool. But if one is a compulsive saver and the other is in love with the concept of a sale then building up a fund for a home is going to be tricky

Don’t forget to take some “ME” time.
Take care of yourself. You won’t be able to take care of anyone else in the long run if you don’t. Don’t feel guilty about it. He loved you for your independence. Don’t lose it just because of a Mrs. prefix or a hyphenated surname.

Create space between yourselves.
Trees grow better when they both catch sunlight.

Like nature, a marriage has seasons.
Keep the memories of summer in your heart when you go through a harsh winter. Remember you will get past it if you keep faith long enough till your next spring.

Keep God in the Center.
If there is something which will be instrumental in the success of a marriage, it is your relationship as a couple to Him/Her. (Oh, and add to that your mom-in-law or equivalents thereof at the periphery :-))

When you pray for your husband, pray for yourself too.
Sometimes when you ask God to change this or that about the love of your life, you actually need to ask Him/Her to work on you.

Talk. Wait --- COMMUNICATE.
Over the years the definition of the word “husband” will evolve as your relationship grows deeper. Part of the evolution is in how you discuss the profound and the mundane...

In the long run, it’s the ordinary everyday that matters.
Flowers, gifts, and big celebrations are great. But that’s just the icing on the cake. Make a REALLY good cake.

wait and see

nine days have passed and i'm all done with my novenas. why the prayers, you ask? well, at this point, i am undoubtedly desperate to get my a$$ over to where my dear husband is based. to put it simply, i am bored, lonely and feeling utterly unproductive as i have taken care of almost everything i need to attend to. and that's the sad truth. we're still keeping the faith inspite of it.

it's a good thing though that J's package came in the other day. i now have loads of plastic bags so i can vacuum seal some of my stuff (my bridal gown, most importantly). i couldn't get hold of one in the local stores so i asked J to send some to me.


each Space Bag has a "zipper" (much like those ziplocks) that allows you to seal in your items. then there's a one-way valve in one corner of the bag where you can fit any vacuum cleaner hose into and suck out the air from within the bag to compress your items. pretty neat stuff and yet so inexpensive! :) time to get busy tomorrow! yipee! :D

photobucket discovery

i was tinkering with Photobucket earlier today and discovered this. it's like Flickr's photo badge, but this time you can choose which pictures to include in your Bucketstamp. cool!

for this little experiment, i used little baby G's recent pictures. check it out! :)