Obviously, my family and I are as far from being American as siomai is, but just because we don't celebrate the actual holiday doesn't mean we can't give thanks :p So, in honor of American Thanksgiving, I loudly proclaim to the universe my ever-flowing gratitude for the following:
~ Attorney Dennis Chan and the blessing he represents in my life, for all of my life
~ My dad, my mom, my lolas and my brothers
~ My lovely friends, all of them, near and far, from all stages and parts of my life
~ My mentors at work
~ My teachers and my students
~ The opportunities that come my way, big or small
~ The sense of safety and security that allow me to sleep well at night and look forward to every morning
~ and most importantly, the "Big Man" up there, known by many names by many people, who's my true benefactor for all the things I'm grateful for.
Thank you.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
i want to sit on the floor and whine...
"Hello? MBA graduation? Are you still out there????"
Days like this make me want to sit down on the floor, pump my fists in the air and kick and scream and whine. MBA is dragging out with seemingly no end in sight. I feel like indulging my inner brat and whine 'til kingdom come. Why again am I doing this??!?
This may just be a manifestation of me trying to do it all and juggle so many things in my life. But giving up on this is just not an option.
Hay.
For now, whining is all there is to do.
Hay.
Days like this make me want to sit down on the floor, pump my fists in the air and kick and scream and whine. MBA is dragging out with seemingly no end in sight. I feel like indulging my inner brat and whine 'til kingdom come. Why again am I doing this??!?
This may just be a manifestation of me trying to do it all and juggle so many things in my life. But giving up on this is just not an option.
Hay.
For now, whining is all there is to do.
Hay.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
forward thinking: the math
Ok, the OC in me likes to plan things ahead of time and gets kinda stressed whenever I'm told to "go with the flow". I know some people like it and live by it, but I'm just not wired that way... Also, the Math geek in me likes to see things on black-and-white and formulas put in place so that things compute properly and everything is accounted for. I do not like cracks or have things fall into them (you know what I mean)... Anyway...
This OC-ness led to me draft up a household budget for me and Attorney, for our life-together to be launched in mid-Sept 2010. The excel sheet accounts for all expected income flows as well as expenses, and computes for yields in terms of gains or losses as a function of income minus expense. It also creates another scenario where a baby is involved. I estimated costs incurred by pregnancy and the baby entering this world, annualized it, and made a safety padding to include inflation and to absorb the cost of cutesy baby things that are pricey but simply cannot be passed up (see, I'm also very realistic!). I wanted to know if we're financially prepared for this occurence. I know we planned not to have a baby until my MBA is done, but sometimes, these things cannot be helped nor 100% planned for, so I wanted to know if we'll be on shaky ground if I pee into a stick and find out we're with-child. I'm sure we'll be happy but I want to know if our wallets will be just as happy.
Bottom-line, nearly break-even if with child with a little bit stashed away for savings. Not a bad scenario all-in-all.
I'm happy now. :)
And can breathe better.
Math calms me down this way. Numbers don't lie. :p
Oh, and I just realized, imagine if we didn't have to pay 32% income tax. That would mean a 32% immediate increase in our takehome and more moolah for our little kid. Tsk tsk tsk. Instead it goes to the fat pockets of you-know-who.
Oh, and I also just realized, I didn't plan for the occurence of us having twins.
I don't think we have twins in our genes. So it's an improbable matter. :p
Ok, too much OC. Gotta get back to work.
This OC-ness led to me draft up a household budget for me and Attorney, for our life-together to be launched in mid-Sept 2010. The excel sheet accounts for all expected income flows as well as expenses, and computes for yields in terms of gains or losses as a function of income minus expense. It also creates another scenario where a baby is involved. I estimated costs incurred by pregnancy and the baby entering this world, annualized it, and made a safety padding to include inflation and to absorb the cost of cutesy baby things that are pricey but simply cannot be passed up (see, I'm also very realistic!). I wanted to know if we're financially prepared for this occurence. I know we planned not to have a baby until my MBA is done, but sometimes, these things cannot be helped nor 100% planned for, so I wanted to know if we'll be on shaky ground if I pee into a stick and find out we're with-child. I'm sure we'll be happy but I want to know if our wallets will be just as happy.
Bottom-line, nearly break-even if with child with a little bit stashed away for savings. Not a bad scenario all-in-all.
I'm happy now. :)
And can breathe better.
Math calms me down this way. Numbers don't lie. :p
Oh, and I just realized, imagine if we didn't have to pay 32% income tax. That would mean a 32% immediate increase in our takehome and more moolah for our little kid. Tsk tsk tsk. Instead it goes to the fat pockets of you-know-who.
Oh, and I also just realized, I didn't plan for the occurence of us having twins.
I don't think we have twins in our genes. So it's an improbable matter. :p
Ok, too much OC. Gotta get back to work.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
taking stock: SG trip
OK, tangible loot from SG trip with FILC (aka our first abroad trip together):
- Two Cotton On cardigans
- 1 Rubi (pronounced as roo-bi) flats
- Ikea loot: 1 candle holder, 4 rolls of gift-wrapping ribbon and a cool salt/sugar canister (yes, I know it's not much, but I haven't really gone to Ikea to shop, in all the 4 times I've been there, but really more to look around and have fun with the place. Hopefully my next visit will be more productive retail-wise)
- Burberry perfume and NYC guide for Dennis
- Jerky and chocolate pasalubongs
- Sephora loot (Makeup Forever and Benefit cosmetics)
That's it! Probably one of my leanest trips abroad ever, in terms of shopping hauls. However, this trip majorly kicks ass coz of:
- Super cool Unilever-sponsored apartment aka Trinidad Bed & Breakfast, with Julette as the assistant tour guide
- as usual, Singapore food that I love love love love, including Din Tai Fung which wasn't in the original list in my head of places to hit
- The "night-in" that we had on our 2nd night there
- Lychee martinis
- Pictures ("broken arm"!)
- New malls on Orchard road
- New terms such as "BV" and "GV" widely used throughout the trip
- Fun as usual with the girls
:D
Sa uulitin!
- Two Cotton On cardigans
- 1 Rubi (pronounced as roo-bi) flats
- Ikea loot: 1 candle holder, 4 rolls of gift-wrapping ribbon and a cool salt/sugar canister (yes, I know it's not much, but I haven't really gone to Ikea to shop, in all the 4 times I've been there, but really more to look around and have fun with the place. Hopefully my next visit will be more productive retail-wise)
- Burberry perfume and NYC guide for Dennis
- Jerky and chocolate pasalubongs
- Sephora loot (Makeup Forever and Benefit cosmetics)
That's it! Probably one of my leanest trips abroad ever, in terms of shopping hauls. However, this trip majorly kicks ass coz of:
- Super cool Unilever-sponsored apartment aka Trinidad Bed & Breakfast, with Julette as the assistant tour guide
- as usual, Singapore food that I love love love love, including Din Tai Fung which wasn't in the original list in my head of places to hit
- The "night-in" that we had on our 2nd night there
- Lychee martinis
- Pictures ("broken arm"!)
- New malls on Orchard road
- New terms such as "BV" and "GV" widely used throughout the trip
- Fun as usual with the girls
:D
Sa uulitin!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
SINGAPORE!!!
The first FILC trip was to Boracay 4 years ago. We had a lot of fun and we always said we should take more trips together, ideally once per year, but obviously, since we're only about to take our second one, that "ideal plan" didn't really pan out. Hehe. But nonetheless, I'm so excited!!! FILC's 2nd trip will be this Friday, to the land of the merlion, the hawker stalls, Orchard Road and the EZLink card, aka Singapore!
This trip is especially special to me, because it's most likely the last trip I'll go on with friends, as a single woman. True, Dennis has never stopped me from taking trips with friends, and I don't foresee him doing so when he's already my husband, but I feel strangely nostalgic, as I have been these past few days, for this time in my life. It's the last time I'll go on a trip with no other responsibility but myself. And that's something to acknowledge, I think.
Which is why I'm especially happy that this trip will be to Singapore, my most favorite and most loved city in the whole wide planet. I love love love love Singapura (its original name) ever since my parents sent me there to study when I was 10 years old. I love how the city is actually a country but feels totally like a city, like a home. You can walk around and get to everywhere you need to, without depending on cars or enduring through traffic jams. You have no fear of criminals, snatchers, rapists, etc, as it is one of the safest place in the world. You can find cheap, CLEAN and fantabulously delicious food in the humblest of places (aka my lovely hawker stalls). You can go there 4 times a year and it'll still look different somehow.
It's where my naive 10-year-old self learned what it meant to be independent, to be responsible, to know how it is to stand on my two feet and take care of myself. I believe it's where my 10-year-old self discovered her strengths. I remember having my first ever growth spurt there, but more than the physical, bodily growth, I really grew up, in the real sense of the phrase, and I credit so much of who I am now to that chapter of my life.
Singapore will always be my most favorite place on earth. I know it's been making a lot of changes lately, architectually and even in terms of regulation, but I don't care. Singapore will always hold a special place in my life.
With that said, it'll be made even more special by the fact that I'll visit it again, this time with my bestest friends. Can't wait! :)
This trip is especially special to me, because it's most likely the last trip I'll go on with friends, as a single woman. True, Dennis has never stopped me from taking trips with friends, and I don't foresee him doing so when he's already my husband, but I feel strangely nostalgic, as I have been these past few days, for this time in my life. It's the last time I'll go on a trip with no other responsibility but myself. And that's something to acknowledge, I think.
Which is why I'm especially happy that this trip will be to Singapore, my most favorite and most loved city in the whole wide planet. I love love love love Singapura (its original name) ever since my parents sent me there to study when I was 10 years old. I love how the city is actually a country but feels totally like a city, like a home. You can walk around and get to everywhere you need to, without depending on cars or enduring through traffic jams. You have no fear of criminals, snatchers, rapists, etc, as it is one of the safest place in the world. You can find cheap, CLEAN and fantabulously delicious food in the humblest of places (aka my lovely hawker stalls). You can go there 4 times a year and it'll still look different somehow.
It's where my naive 10-year-old self learned what it meant to be independent, to be responsible, to know how it is to stand on my two feet and take care of myself. I believe it's where my 10-year-old self discovered her strengths. I remember having my first ever growth spurt there, but more than the physical, bodily growth, I really grew up, in the real sense of the phrase, and I credit so much of who I am now to that chapter of my life.
Singapore will always be my most favorite place on earth. I know it's been making a lot of changes lately, architectually and even in terms of regulation, but I don't care. Singapore will always hold a special place in my life.
With that said, it'll be made even more special by the fact that I'll visit it again, this time with my bestest friends. Can't wait! :)
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