Living and Loving the Bum Life!

My previous post is a pain to read. I've read it earlier today and kind of winced a little bit. My thoughts were tangential and truth be told, even I can't tell what the post was trying to say. Well, so much for wanting to be a writer. A writer has to be purposeful and coherent, two things that I am obviously not! 

Anyway, it has been a while since my last day at work. The paperwork for my big move to London is proving to be quite a tedious process and a long wait. Not that I am complaining because to be honest, I really am enjoying my short stint as a bum right now. It's quite amazing how alive and happy I feel these days with the pressures of work taken off my shoulders. I feel like I'm in this frenzy (the good kind) all the time! I want to do so many things! I wonder if I can accomplish everything I want to do, though. The internet is such a major semi-welcome distraction. It beckons to me in the morning with a tweet here or a message there and I am left at its mercy all day long. But I digress.

I've been out and about, catching up with friends, going out with my family, eating to my heart's delight, shopping for travel essentials, and watching films and productions. I never expected bum life to be this expensive! The wallet damages have been severe, but well, I am as happy as I can be. Besides, my last few months in the Philippines must be spent well. Saving up for the future will follow soon, I promise!

Here's a photo collage showing the highlights of my bum life:

Movie night (The Vow, Hunger Games) with friends. Fuerza Bruta (great show!), The Legends and the Classics (1 stage, 2 shows, 3 icons and 4 standing ovations. Can I say, wow?! Best money I ever spent!), Les Miserables school play, and lots of eating out and catching up (Almon Marina, Bizu, Papa John's, National Sports Grill, Yakimix, Mercato Centrale, ChaTime, Gong Cha, and Singapore Food Republic, to name a few).

Life is sweetest with a great family and an awesome set of friends! If I could just stretch this short bum stint some more without the threat of poverty looming overhead, I most definitely would!

Blessed, happy and grateful.

See you soon, London! Be good to hopeful, not-so-little me!

Random Thoughts on Leaving the Philippines Part 1

Not so long ago, I wrote a very lengthy post on my career options abroad, or rather the lack of them. I was tired, under compensated and basically swimming in hopelessness at the time.That was just a couple of months ago, and now, here I am, waiting for my visa and flight date to The Land of the Balding Prince. Great things truly come to those who wait. He is unbelievably good, this God! 

I am terribly excited and scared at the same time. Regarding living away from my family for longer than a week or two -- this would be a first and in a country far, far away from my beloved Philippines, no less! Sure, that's a scary thought, but I think it's time that I break away from my comfort zone and put myself out there, on the road where nothing is secure and every day is another adventure.

In many ways, this opportunity is the realization of several life-long dreams. For instance, I always say to anyone who cared to listen that I would like to go to Europe before I get married. I get asked a hundred percent of the time why I would rather see the continent alone and not as a part of my honeymoon or anniversary celebration. Well, I can't quite explain it either, folks. I just know that this is something that I want to do for myself and with myself first. Oh, the mere thought of being able to actually do this is just exhilarating! 

For some reason, living alone in foreign city is also on my bucket list. I have always had everything I needed within my reach while I was growing up. I had overprotective (but amazing!) parents, you see. I had a driver at my beck and call until I was in third year college. I learned to commute only during my senior year. I don't do my laundry or cook or clean. Heck, I don't even wash the dishes! I have lived the life of a pampered kid, yes, but I refuse to be stereotyped as such forever. I know that I have to work really hard and be strong though, no delusions there. 

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On a lighter note, one of the things that I am really, really looking forward to in London is the West End. Theatre, oh sweet, theatre! I'm just soooooo excited to see LES MISERABLES live! I'm such an obsessive fan. How can I not be when the songs are nothing short of amazing works of genius? If the heavens conspire to make another dream come true, Alfie Boe, Ramin Karimloo, Matt Lucas, Norm Lewis and Lea Salonga will again perform together for a Les Mis production and I'll have front row seats! Gah, I'm so giddy at the thought! Speaking of Lea Salonga, I never really knew just how incredibly talented she was until I watched her perform in Les Mis and eventually, Miss Saigon via YouTube. I've been living under a rock, I know, but my, I never looked at her the same way ever since! Such a talented, beautiful and smart (and I really do mean smart!) woman!

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Wordy, wordy, wordy... that is what this post has become. Well, I just wanted to share a thing or two, but I kind of got carried away. I have a lot of jumbled thoughts and I am itching to write them all down to clear my head and help me think. Part 2 soonest! <3

Our House in Canada

... is not really ours yet, but we are hoping and keeping our fingers crossed that it soon will be! The boyfriend and I were chatting a while ago, and he showed me a photo of the house that he is planning to buy for us once he saves up enough money.

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Gorgeous, isn't it? It has a spacious front room punctuated with a cathedral ceiling, three bedrooms, walk-in closets and a basement, which we can use as a library. A library!

Soooooo excited! I wish I can get to Canada sooner so that I can help save up for our lovely home!

I'm Off to Seek a Great Perhaps

I need some advice, people! Please be kind. Commenting is free and fairly easy.

First, a short background on my dilemma. 

I am a Registered Nurse (Surprise, surprise! Who isn't these days?) and I am looking at my career options abroad because, well, I'm tired of working my ass off only to be one paycheck away from homelessness! It's not a fair game, going to the university and going through all the thingamajigs of getting licensed then living in poverty thereafter, I tell ya. (I know, I bring shame to my beloved UP!) So anyway, before I bore you to death with the drama, here are my options:

1. Australia. I am eligible to apply for registration, but I have to take the bridging course first to become a licensed nurse. The cost? A whopping Php 500,000 (around 12,000 USD)! Add the costs of transportation, food and accommodations to the mix and that's Php 700,000 I don't have! ) I can loan some money (with compounded interest, of course, as finance people are way too smart), but after computing everything in my head (I kid, lol), I figured I would have to pay the loaning company double the amount I borrowed from them in 18 months. That's roughly 1.4 million pesos if I did the math right.  After getting registered, I would have to begin searching for a job and a hospital that's willing to sponsor me. (Ah, screw whoever invented VISAS, the bane of my existence!) Therefore, the Php 700,000 is like a business investment. If I don't find a job that pays well fast enough, I would be six feet under the ground in debt before I turn 25. Had I only known that Nursing involved such risks, I would have taken Business Ad or Actuarial Science instead!

2. UK. I am currently in the manpower pool of Drake International/ASC along with many others who aspire to work in the land of the Balding Prince. Well, there really is  not much to the tale, except that I have to wait for the NHS to actually employ me and sponsor my visa and bridging course fee (Oh, screw the person who thought of expensive bridging courses, too! I'd rather take a bloody exam if that's gonna cost me less!). I don't know yet how long I have to wait, but last I heard, immigration policies in the UK have changed yet again, so the wait is probably gonna be a long one. 

3. Canada. I want to go to Canada for obvious reasons, such as the boyfriend being there and... the boyfriend being there. Kidding! I want to go to Canada because I can see myself settling there. The Healthcare System is amazing, at least, that's what I heard from a doctor friend who had her internship there last summer. Now, the only option I have to get there is to become an immigrant. Nursing is among the priority occupations listed by the Canadian Immigration so I am qualified to apply. The problem is, I don't have a million pesos in my account for the required settlement fund. (If you're a 24 year old working in the PH and you have a million pesos in your account, hands in the air, please! Really? Well, you must have robbed a bank or won the lottery or have really rich parents!)  Also, the average processing time is about 18 months. (I cry and moan and wail when I think about 18 more months of being a paycheck away from homelessness!) To my friends, please don't ask me to get married for sponsorship! The boyfriend is a student there. He cannot sponsor me or anything. Besides, who wants to get married for papers? I'm a hopeless romantic, though I don't look the part. (Again, I kid!)

4. Qatar. Well,  I already have an offer of employment. The salary is not that high, but way bigger compared to what I earn here. All I have to do is process the necessary documents and in a couple of months, I'll be off facing sandstorms and riding camels, extremely fascinating creatures they are. The thing is, Qatar doesn't feel right. The opportunity is within my grasp, yes, but my heart is elsewhere. When I think of Australia and the UK, I feel like I'm going off on an adventure. When I think of Canada, I think of home and family. Qatar doesn't make me feel any of those things. I know, screw these complicated feelings! Sometimes, I feel really guilty. A lot people at work wanted this post so much but didn't get it, and yet, here I am, very close to letting the opportunity slip from my fingers. Even I don't understand the inner workings of my brain. Should  I do something that doesn't feel right for whatever reason? 

Gosh, that was one long post! Soooo many things are going inside my head. It's one big mess, really, and I just can't decide. Should I grab what's right in front of me even if it doesn't feel right?

Help? Anyone?

Cash, pretty stuff and advice are most welcome! And oh, if you are willing to lend me money without much interest, that would be great, too.

DISCLAIMER: Please don't take me seriously. I was merely writing down my options because I want to see them on paper, or on screen, rather. Writing stuff down clears my head. That's just the way I roll.

Ten Things I Love

One of my favorite bloggers, Tisha Angluben tagged all of her followers to write about the 10 things they love. I have been meaning to write about a crapload of things, but I figured that I want to do this post more than all the others because writing about the things I love is a foolproof way to make me happy! Without further ado, here goes my love list for good vibes:

1. Traveling. Traveling will always be my one true love. Nothing excites me more than the prospect of visiting another place,  getting lost in a foreign city, immersing myself in a different culture and trying out all sorts of specialties from different countries and localities.

I guess my favorite memory would be the time I visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona way back in 2004. I remember standing before what seemed to be a huge canvas and staring in awe at the interplay of colors come sunset. Oh, I will never forget that glorious moment! 

2. Good Food. Now, this is the reason why I am super overweight (well, aside from my hormonal problems and my sedentary lifestyle)! I don't really spend much on clothes or shoes or bags or whatever people from my generation spend on these days. I deprive myself of a long list of things, but I don't think twice about spending a lot of money on food. I guess that's something I learned from my good old dad who once said that he works very hard not to buy us new things, but to put good food on the table. He used to say that he can buy us all the food we want, but not all the toys we want! 

3. Books. My love affair with books started way back in second grade, when I learned about the wonderful world of Sweet Valley  tucked in the shelves of our modest library in Colegio San Agustin - Makati (yup, this girl isn't ashamed to admit that she once read Sweet Valley in all it's cheesy glory). From then on, my relationship with books blossomed and waned depending on the amount of free time I have. I remember when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I read about 4-5 paperbacks a week and my mom would constantly complain about my reading habits. She said that if I continue to devour books at such an alarming rate, I would send my family to the desolate lands of poverty in no time. Ha!

4. Writing. I must admit, my relationship with writing is way, way different from that of my relationship with books. There are times when I am absolutely smitten with writing and the giddy feeling I get after finishing a piece, but there also times when I feel like it's a long lost love I'm hesitant to meet again. Given the chance though, I would leave my current profession to pursue a career in writing. 

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5. Patronuses. For all non-Potter fans out there, Patronuses are animal protectors that drive dementors away. These dementors are absolutely horrible creatures that suck hope, peace, happiness and good memories out of people. I have a long list of dementors in my life (financial issues, horrible people, violence, cancer, etc.), so I am very grateful to God that I have not only one, but three Patronuses that give me strength, hope and love all the time. As Frances Sales said, our Patronuses are the magic in our lives!

6. Lazy days. I absolutely adore lazy days at home spent with my family in my parents' bedroom watching movies, exchanging stories, reminiscing memories and having room service (yep, we have meals in our parents' bedroom sometimes!). Although my family is quirky beyond description, time with them is always something I truly treasure. 

7. Theatre. I was never a graceful performer, but I am very appreciative of musicals and plays. When I go to New York, the first thing I'm going to do is to watch a Broadway Production!

8. Cold weather. I was never a fan of the beach because I hate extreme heat. Uncomfortably warm weather makes me ridiculously and unreasonably cranky. I love cloudy days and drizzles because they allow me to curl up comfortably in bed with a good book and a cup of hot choco. I'd like to live a particular scene in the movies - snuggling in front of a fireplace. How romantic! 

9. Spas. Nothing relaxes me more than a day at the spa. Pampering myself with a massage or a body scrub every now and then keeps me sane. 

10. Photography. I cannot paint to save my life, but with one click of a finger, I can capture scenes and moments through photography. When I grow up (not bigger horizontally, but well, older and richer!), I'm gonna buy a good camera and do travel photography. You'll see!

Wow, writing about the things you love sure is fun! I'm tagging everyone!:)