What a year, huh?

How have you been?

I hope everyone in your family is doing OK, including you. 

As for me, I'm thankful to still be alive. Happy that I have celebrated yet another birthday. Still paranoid about getting sick and dying, though, but happy to be alive. Pwera usog.

...i bought my fave cake, and sent a note to myself, lol...
that's how happy i am that i'm still alive :D

this is not the cake i bought...this one's from hubby...

We had our share of bumps (COVID 19 had struck my loved ones some time in July but they're OK now - Thank you, God!) but in spite of it all, we soldiered on. After all, we're still together and at the end of the day that really is all that matters. We are still not out of the woods but, with God's grace, we would surpass this too. 


Some COVID-wentos:

My county had shutdown late March because of this pandemic, but I have started working from home a few weeks prior that because I don't want to risk my health (I have Asthma, and therefore one of those high-risk). We also have pulled out our kids from daycare a few weeks prior the shutdown. 


It was tough working from home (WFH) with 2 toddlers screaming and getting into all sorts of mischief but we managed.

The county re-opened late May. It was called "yellow phase", and more and more establishments have  opened (with restrictions), including my kids daycare. We didn't take them back right away, though. We waited a couple of weeks until the daycare had perfected and iron out some of the details of the "new" normal. My husband and I, on the other hand continued working from home.

We missed our friends dearly but we're thankful for their thoughtfulness, prayers and words of encouragement.  We have postponed all plans of travelling by plane but we were able to sneak in some beach time when most of the states were in the yellow phase.  The birthdays in my family were all anti-social themed, lol. Meaning, it was just us and some "face time-ing" with relatives. We were still able to make it interesting though so the kids will still enjoy it. We had a Frozen theme birthday party for my daughter and Ghostbusters theme for my son. I made their cakes (and cupcakes).

Fast forward to late October, I got a new job. It's the same industry as my previous one but pays better. I've been with the previous company for 8 years and have acquired a new skill set during the last 3 years of working there. This new skill set is what paved way to this new job and much better salary to boot. The only thing is that it's a double-edged sword. It can either be a blessing or a curse. A blessing because a lot of  that particular industry needs that certain skill set but not a lot of Software Engineers with Java background has that. You know how it is; more demand + less supply = inflated price.  A curse because, while there is still some Java programming, it's just "some" Java programming. So hopefully my decision won't bite me in the end. Although, I think I will be alright. I have 17 years Java experience and I am Java certified. Old as that maybe, but I think I am at a point where I don't need to be too self conscious about my Java years of experience. It's like riding a bike. You never forget it. Atleast for me that's the case. I hope.

So far so good. I like my new team mates. I am WFH full time. Yes, full time remote. My team had been working from home full time even prior the pandemic.That's because they are scattered around the US so there's really no need to go to the office. 

What else.

I have a new series addiction called The Outlander. It started with my imX Pilates instructor (Reformer pilates, not the mat one) talking about it and eventually I got curious enough to try and watch it. I have binged watch the series and now reading the books. I'm in book 7 currently. It's about time travel with some bits of history and romance. Main character is a Scottish highlander called Jamie Fraser and a Sassenach named Claire Randall. Try it, you might enjoy it.

the most number of books i have read in a span of a year!

I have a semi-big project back in the Philippines that will start  in "session" by first week of January. The planning and analysis was done this year (Aug-Dec 2020) and with God's grace, I'm hoping it to be "functional" before year 2021 ends. Will you include me in your prayers, please? I am much obliged.

Health-wise, I think I'm OK. I'm starting to feel aches and pains here and there but nothing that a dose of advil won't cure, lol. I try not to take meds for every aches and pains though. I love my liver. 

As usual, I am just yapping about.

How about you? How are you? Anything good that came out from this pandemic. I know, I know, an oxymoron, but you know what they say, if life gives you lemons, get a tequila and salt. LOL. Are you a plantita/tito now too? Any new hobbies? New routine that you think is worth continuing? 

Oh, I forgot, I am learning 2 new instruments. A ukelele and a banjo. Hubby got me a banjo for my birthday. The ukelele, I bought on impulse (agh! i need to stop doing that). Ukelele, is easy (well, so far). It's like a guitar but I'm just worried it will mess me up with my guitar chords memory bank and have them all mixed up. The banjo though, that I need a formal lesson. I'm just waiting for when it's safer to go out and do lessons in person. I probably can wing it using youtube (like what i did with the  ukelele) but I need someone to correct my "form" and my strumming/plucking. Can't wait to start playing some of Keith Urban's songs (my main reason why I want one).

Alright I'm done.

but before I end my post.....

May we all have a healthy new year.
May God bless us all and keep us from harm.
May we all find something to put a smile on our lips no matter what circumstances may befall us.
May we always find something to be thankful for.
Know always that someone loves you.
Happy New Year!

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Dreaming of the old

I keep dreaming about this person I know from my past. 

Like a thief in the night, when I least expect it, there that person is.

I can't for the life of me understand why. I read somewhere (or maybe someone told me) that if you dream of someone, that means you're thinking of that person. But I am not thinking of that person (but after the dream, that's a different story ofcourse). 

Someone told me (or maybe I read it) that the person might be dying or is dead and trying to tell me something. As far as I know, that person is very much alive and healthy.

I read (now this time I'm sure, because I googled it), that the person represents my anxiety or something that I need that I don't have currently. For example, if you dreamt of a highschool classmate that you have no attachment whatsoever but all you know is that person is the most shy person you have ever known, then dreaming of that person might mean, I am shy about something and I need to do something about it. Something like that. But I don't know what that person I dreamt represents. That person is doing OK in life, I'm doing OK in life. That person is smart, I'm not bad myself (how else did I ever got here and survived if I'm mediocre, modesty aside). I'm happy and content (pwera usog), that person is happy and content (I hope, I don't know much about that person anymore). What could it be then? 

I really don't know.

And it bothers me that because I dreamt of this person, I start to think about that person. I don't have issues about thinking of that person, mind you. He/she is a good person. I was fond of that person but I want to remember the good times and not the bad, and when I start thinking of that person I remember everything. The good, the bad, the ugly, the in-betweens, the overs, the unders, the left, the right. 

Everything.

I don't want to remember everything. Just the good ones.  

Just the good ones.

Please. I don't want to dream of that person again.

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Project: Rewind

sometimes i would hear a song.

or smell something.

or taste something.

or the breeze felt familiar.

sometimes the angle of sunlight entering our kitchen window suddenly feels relevant.

the sound of rain suddenly takes me back in time.

a memory.

sometimes it will make me smile.

sometimes sad.

sometimes mad.

but sometimes.

sometimes.

i just don’t know how or what to feel.

it’s like watching a very old movie starring you but is not stirring anything. just random fragments of memory.

i’d like to put them in writing as i feel them, hear them. taste them. remember them.

and maybe i’ll give it to my kids.

it will be like looking into the magic pensieve. 

but instead of getting my memory via a wand into a pensieve, it will be “that” notebook.

notebook.

in the era of internet.

notebook?!

why not.

it’s more personal that way.

atleast that’s how i feel.

Project: Rewind

i like the sound of it.

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1..2..3..4...5-2-9!

I got my degree of Bachelor of Science in Information and Computer Science in St. Paul College Manila (it's currently renamed to St. Paul University). It's a 4 1/2 years course. The 1/2 is because of the additional courses/OJT we need to take during summer and some Saturdays (Paulthenics anyone?). 

My husband got his Bachelor's degree (major in Physics and minor in Economics) in New York University.

With this background information, it's sort of a given that we want our kids to go to college as well (if they want to, hopefully they do) and that's when this story about 529 comes in.

We started saving money, every payday (which is 2x a month) for Keith's college fund when he was still in my tummy. The husband and I agreed on a certain amount that we set aside every payday and put it in a Savings Account. When I was pregnant with Priya, we did the same thing. We also started saving for her college fund while she's still in my tummy. That means the money we need to set aside for college fund doubled because we now have 2 kids to save for (we set aside the same amount, every payday, for both kids).

image from google

Then, last year, 2018, we decided we have saved enough to open a 529 (thru Vanguard).

So what is 529?  It's a college savings fund. It’s a tax-advantaged investment account that works like a Roth IRA, offering tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals (also see: 5 Reasons to Start a 529 Plan). Want an example? Here's an excerpt from how-much-to-save-for-your-childs-college/ :|
"If you have a 4-year-old child targeting a private university, your monthly savings goal might be $700/month using a savings account versus $400/month with a 529 college savings plan. That’s a big difference!"

image from montco.today

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3 years of citizenship

American citizenship, that is.

3 years ago..

november 30, 2015.

i just recovered from giving birth to our first..

and hubby had to take care of our newborn.

and because he’s a premie and he doesnt have his shots yet, and it’s flu season, we decided not to take him anywhere outside the house...

so here i was doing the oath taking alone.... 3 years ago...

#pathToCitizenship

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Timeline 

(as of Nov 2018)

20 years ago, I got my 1st US working visa and was supposedly bound to NYC (did not materialize)

13 years ago (after 7 years after the first H1b-US working visa), I set foot in the US soil for the first time (my company in the Philippines sent me in north carolina in 2005 & 2006 for an off shore project)

11 years & 9 months ago (after 1 year & 3 months of travelling to US for work), I moved to the US permanently (found an employer-a consulting firm, who sponsored my new US working visa)

11 years ago (9 months after moving to US permanently) , I switched employers (I found a better employer, a software company, and is willing to transfer my HIB and promised to help me with my greencard...
*bonus: this is where I met my husband)

8 years ago (3 years after changing employer), I got my green card (permanent residency, sponsored by that better employer)

3 years ago (as in nov 30, 2015, 5 years after getting the greencard), I did my oath taking as a US citizen (had to apply to be Filipino again-dual citizenship, after that)

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