Life As I Know It

The first semester just ended.  I lost a few pounds again, thanks to all the sleepless nights I spent checking papers, making exams, and doing my sideline researches.  Nonetheless, many good things have happened to me this sem and I just want to take this opportunity to tell the world that good things do happen to good people. 
My hard work last year was rewarded by a merit award at the start of the current school year.  It was truly unexpected because I wasn’t originally in the list of awardees.  Only after I asked why I never got any credit for the research I did was my score recomputed and was found to be good enough for the merit. 

I also got the chance to present my research work in a national conference on educational measurement.  It was also great that I was able to meet up with my EDMEV classmates and to create linkages with other practitioners.

I thought I had more than enough blessings, but apparently God had other blessings in store for me.  I was invited to apply for a Rotary group study exchange.  Since I had nothing to lose, I tried my luck and was accepted after going through a nerve-wracking panel interview.  The trip will be in August 2009 and I will be traveling with four other companions to Massachussetts. 

When I got all these blessings, I asked my hubby if these are pam-bawi for all the bad things I had to go through (e.g., Nanay getting sick, Dean getting retrenched 3 times in a row) or there will be more bad things to come because I’m getting good things now. Hehe.  I know that’s negative thinking.  I guess I should just take these for what they are - blessings that come just because God loves me and He has great plans for me! 

I just hope and pray that the blessings will keep on coming…and if at some point in time they don’t, I’ll still be able to see the good in everything that comes my way.

I have a lot to be thankful for, having received many blessings these past few months.  Here are a few I’d like to share with you.

1.  Getting the chance to take a two-month (unpaid but stress-free) summer break with Dean and the kids in Iloilo.  I got to be a full-time mom, for once.  It was tiring, but I enjoyed it.  Made me rethink my position on being a stay-at-home mom… I think I can do this after all!

2.  After all the hard work I did last school year, I got recognized for my performance and received a merit award (with corresponding salary increase, not so high but enough to buy a few additional kilos of rice).  I really feel grateful for this because God knows how hard I’ve worked last school year, especially during the second semester.  It was the first time I received public affirmation for the work that I did and it felt good!

3.  My paper on values got accepted to the 1st National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation and I’ll be presenting it in Manila on August 6.

4.  Enzo turned 5 years old today.  I consider myself very blessed to have this child.  He’s such a smart, good-mannered, and wonderful little boy and I know that he is God’s special gift to me - and a reminder of how much God loves me.  Because of Enzo I grew up and became a responsible adult.

Truly, God cannot be outdone in generosity!

For two days in a row, Dean and I have been lunching out with friends.  Yesterday, we went to Joy-Joy, a popular carinderia along the diversion road to Dumangas frequented by med reps, sales people, and just about anyone who wants to gorge on alimusan and talaba.  We invited two other friends to join us.  We spent more time on the road than we did eating.  When the food came, we just dived in and ate to our heart’s content.  We had two servings of talaba, adobadong alimusan, and pork chop. Yummy!

Today, we went on another food trip with friends at Peppy’s Thai Resto. As usual, their squid, beef curry, chicken pandan, and wet noodles did not disappoint.  If you’re on your way to Iloilo, you shouldn’t miss these two great eating places.  Namit kaon!!!

Thanks to Typhoon Cosme, we ended up going to Guimaras instead of Boracay.  We went to Raymen Beach last Friday.  It was a nice, quiet beach.  I liked the fact that it was clean and the sand was brownish but coarser than that of Bora.  We only stayed for a night since we had to hurry back to Iloilo to attend a baptism. 

But since there was still a typhoon raging somewhere else in the country and we were at the tail’s end, the waves were quite big and we didn’t really venture that far from shore.  Evie enjoyed the swim, but Enzo was a scaredy cat.  (The women in our family have always been the more aggressive ones!)

I enjoyed an early morning stroll along the coast with Dean and we bought fresh crabs and fish from the fishermen who had just pulled in from the sea.  For Php170 we had 1 kg of fresh crabs and 250 g of palad, which we asked the hotel to cook for our breakfast.  Yummy!  And the mangoes… the best!   I’m not a  fan of mangoes, but  that time, I really ate my share.  Truly, Guimaras mangoes are the best!

All in all, it was a good (and much cheaper) substitute for Bora.  We learned our lesson, though.  Next year, we’re scheduling our Boracay vacation in  March!

My summer vacation is almost over.  Two weeks to go and I’m going back to my daily grind.  I’m really grateful that Dean let me take time off from work so I could take a much needed break and spend time with him and the kids.  I’ve gotten used to waking up at a time that I want and getting my daily siestas.  Pretty soon, these days will be over.  What’s more, I have to wake up earlier than I did last school year because Enzo’s starting Prep in La Salle and their classes start at 7:30 AM! 

I don’t even want to go back to Bacolod yet.  :(  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but natawhayan gid ko d subong sa Iloilo.  I know being with Dean can really soothe me.  I just wish I can take him home with us to Bacolod.  Hay!

A friend and I were chatting the other day and we started talking about how we’ve matured over the years.  We’ve had our share of bad relationships that we couldn’t seem to let go even though we knew they were going nowhere.  Back then, we thought that if we tried hard enough, things would just fall into place, despite the fact that all the warning signs were there. 

Although those relationships didn’t work, I’m sure they didn’t fail to teach us something.  If anything, those experiences made our friendship stronger and helped me appreciate the relationship I have now.  I now see that those failed relationships were never meant to be and that God was saving me for a much better person - my hubby!

Today is the 11th day of May.  Summer vacation is 3/4 over. Huhuhu! I was getting quite the hang of being unemployed and just receiving money from my hubby without having to work hard for it.

Anyway, we have one last hurrah this week ‘coz we’re going to Boracay! Yay!  It’s been about 5 years since I last went to Bora and I’m looking forward to the vacation.  I was 5 months pregnant with Enzo at that time and I didn’t really get to swim and have fun.  But now, I’m thin enough to fit my swimsuit! Yay!

We’ll be bringing the kids along, though.  I’m both apprehensive and excited.  I can’t wait to see their faces when they get to Bora, but I’m worried about the five-hour drive from Iloilo to Caticlan, knowing how kulit they can get.

Anyway, I just pray for good weather and well-behaved kids!

I had to rush home from Iloilo last Thursday because Nanay got hospitalized for amoebiasis.  We intended to stay in Iloilo until mid-May, but we cut short our vacation to take care of Nanay in Bacolod.  I know she missed the kids terribly, which is partly why she got sick.

We were in the hospital for 5 days, and Nanay responded quickly to treatment.  To be honest, I felt bad that I had to go home so suddenly because it meant being away from Dean again.  I was getting so used to waking up next to him each morning that I didn’t want to give that up.  But I know that duty calls.  My parents needed me back home and so I had to come home. 

My parents are at an age when they really need me and I know that it is a blessing that I am able to be here for them when they need me.  Even though I cannot financially support them, I know that my presence is more than enough to compensate for the money that I cannot give.  I know I made the right decision to stay in Bacolod, even though it meant giving up a better career somewhere else. 

When I was a kid, I thought mothers don’t get sick because I never saw my Nanay get sick.  She was a superwoman who was always on the go.  Nanay excelled in everything she did - as a wife, a mom, a teacher, an administrator, a daughter, a friend.  I know that the love and care I’m giving back to Nanay now is just a teeny bit of the love and care she gave - and is still giving - me.  I’m just grateful that I have this wonderful opportunity to give her back the love that she deserves. 

"Relentlessly swift… genuinely suspenseful… excellent."

"Grip-you-by-the-throat thrills… a hell of a ride."

"A real whodunit…"

I was looking for a good book at Booksale.  I was tired of my usual Patterson, Cornwell, and Connelly when I found this book with the reviews above.  The great reviews caught my attention and I decided to buy the book Broken Prey by John Sandman.

And I wasn’t disappointed.  It’s everything that the reviews said it would be.  My main criterion for a good book is one that I absolutely couldn’t put down, but one with a story that I don’t want to end because it’s just too good to put down. 

The story is about a serial killer that is probably one of the most evil characters I’ve encountered.  And when the cops thought they had him, they found out that they didn’t have him at all.  The twists will just blow your mind! 

Anyway, this John Sandford is actually the pseudonym of John Camp who is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist.  Check out his Prey series… If you’re a fan of whodunit novels, this one’s for you!

I’ve been listening to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad (audio version) over the past few days.  One of the things which struck me was his question, "What’s your business?"  When he asked someone this, the guy said he was a banker.  So he asked the guy if he owned the bank, and the guy said no, he was just an employee at the bank.  The guy confused his profession with his business.  Kiyosaki said that if one wants to be financially secure, he should start with minding his own business.  But one has to be clear about his business in the first place.  So now I’m asking myself, "What’s my business?"

I’m a teacher by profession, but a statistician by training.  Aside from teaching, I accept statistical consultation and data analysis projects.  So I guess I could say my business is statistical consulting. 

My clients are mostly graduate students or doctors in their residency program who need my help with their statistical analysis.  But I’m hoping to extend that network to people outside of Bacolod, maybe even outside the country.  I’ve been trying to build a website on google pages, but I haven’t thought of a catchy title/name yet.

Anyway, to all my friends reading this, maybe you know of someone who is working on a thesis/dissertation or on a research project and needs help with their statistics, I would appreciate a referral.