How Death Has Guided My Married Life

Categories Misis Belleza

Starting at 17 years old, I lost 4 friends in 4 consecutive years. Charmaine in 2005, Randall in 2006, Axell in 2007 and Krishia in 2008. All of them are my High School batch mates. And my life was never the same ever since. One is called a widow/widower for a spouse who gets left behind but there is no word to describe parents left behind by children who die earlier than their parents. Probably because it’s not the way things should naturally be, in…Continue Reading “How Death Has Guided My Married Life” →

Valentine’s Day 2017

Categories Misis Belleza

It’s 11:00pm, 14th of February 2017. First Valentine’s Day celebration as a married couple. I’m propped up on our bed, writing this blog post while my husband is snoring beside me. An hour ago, we were walking from the parking lot to our hotel in our flip flops and summer casual wear, while every couple we walk past were dressed in their best romantic dinner date attire. An hour and a half hour ago, we just parted ways with our 1st 2 friends in Darwin…Continue Reading “Valentine’s Day 2017” →

Twenty Seventeen

Categories Life Musings

I wake up to a brand new day, but this time most especially, to a brand new year. I won’t wish for the next 365 days to be good to me, since as experience have taught, a mix of the good and the bad is necessary for a more exciting journey. It’s the time of the year when lofty promises are made, but you’ll see that towards the end, you wrap up with unfinished business. I’ve been there and done that. Endless lists of goals…Continue Reading “Twenty Seventeen” →

Dear Luna and Julio: On Commuting

Categories Casa Belleza

Hi kids, This morning, Mom woke up at 4:30am for her 11am meetup with friends. Yes, I woke up 6 1/2 hours early! It’s not because of my body clock (I’m not an early riser, for starters), it’s not because I woke up to your Dad’s snorefest (I’m a deep sleeper I couldn’t even hear your dad’s snoring), but it’s because Mom wants to escape the horrendous traffic situation in the city especially during rush hour. Also, it’s because Mom needs to allot extra time…Continue Reading “Dear Luna and Julio: On Commuting” →

My Next 7 Things About Married Life

Categories Misis Belleza

I’m way overdue for my 2nd quarterly reflection about marriage (supposed to be written on our 6th wedding monthsary but we celebrated our 8th yesterday) but I thought tonight would be the best time to write about it, while sipping red wine on the sides, enjoying Karlo’s signature hotdog and onions as pulutan, listening to Wave 89.1 Dreamsounds playlist in Spotify, all while being in a completely confused state in our life. My first quarter reflection listed 10 things but I’ll cut this down to 7…Continue Reading “My Next 7 Things About Married Life” →

Licence to Heal

Categories Friendship

She was unstoppable. Not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them. – Beau Taplin Today, my best friend Aileen officially earned her licence to heal, after passing the Philippine Physician Licensure Examination which she took in September, and in March this year. Yes, I am proud of the fact that Ai took the test for the second time, after not making it in the first try, and emerging victorious in the end. I witnessed how Ai prepared for the…Continue Reading “Licence to Heal” →

My Sparkling Gems at Work

Categories Macquarie International

It’s been more than a month since I was assigned to do Live Chat in Macquarie International’s Contact Centre. Basically, I’m this pop-up window which appears at the bottom right hand side of Macquarie University’s website, specifically on those pages for prospective international students. I’m a creature of habit, and the more frequent I do things, the more efficient I become. Thanks to my keyboard typing skills, copy-paste skills, and Google, what used to be a 50 live chat count for the day, I can…Continue Reading “My Sparkling Gems at Work” →

Lost in Translation: Aussie Slang

Categories International Student Life

I thought we’ll be spared from communication gaps which normally happen if you go to a foreign country which speaks another language apart from yours. In the Philippines, our medium of instruction is English so I thought it’s just the Australian / British accent which I have to adjust to when we get here. Turns out, Aussie English is a whole new world of interesting words, phrases and expressions which take time getting used to. My husband and I spent our Sunday morning with our friends…Continue Reading “Lost in Translation: Aussie Slang” →

The Seventh Chapter

Categories Life Musings

I bought a book two weeks ago entitled ‘Rising Strong’, written by Brené Brown. I know I shouldn’t buy a new book, given the stack of books I bought in the past months which remain unread ’til now. But I knew deep within that I needed to buy it. I just finished the 7th chapter, out of the 11 book chapters. This section was by far the most difficult reading I had to do in my whole life because I was just crying the whole time. It…Continue Reading “The Seventh Chapter” →

Dear Luna Aurora and Julio Miguel

Categories Casa Belleza

To my dearest Luna Aurora and Julio Miguel, Hi kids, it’s Mum. This is my first letter to you my loving children. Just to let you know, neither of you has been formed in my tummy yet as I’m writing this. I’ve sent the wrong signal to my friends over the weekend that I was pregnant when I posted a pregnancy journal that I bought on sale. The thought of writing a letter for my future children has been bugging me ever since. I think…Continue Reading “Dear Luna Aurora and Julio Miguel” →