Time flies so fast.

My memory of how I started year 2011 is still fresh as if it was only yesterday. I can't believe it's about to end and another year awaits us all!  

2011 has been a meaningful year to me. It’s a year of my ups and downs, good times and bad times, blissful days and miserable days; most importantly it’s a year of growing up.

This year I:

Worked as a writer. Yes, a completely different path from my career.

Met awesome friends from Marchex.

Experienced the life in an office and not in a medical-related facility. I loved it.

Made the MOST LIFE-CHANGING decision in my life – moving in Australia.

Had so many trips to the beach.

Decided to leave my job as a clinic nurse just because I felt like I wasn't paid enough. 

Made sure each day was spent in a wonderful way for I was due to leave my most beloved country.

Was addicted to milk tea and frozen yoghurt.

Managed to balance my time with friends, family and a special person.

Am grateful to have inspired few people with my blog.

Still can’t believe that I am at The Land Down Under.

Started working as a domestic helper – a cleaner and a kitchen staff.  I am not in any way ashamed of it.

Learned how to accept people for who they are.

Have become more patient.  

Met multi-cultural friends. Not to mention my new set of Filipino friends.

Celebrated Christmas and New Year's away from my family.

Started saying “Love you”, “Miss you” and a kiss sign ( :*) to my mom and sisters. Haha.

Realized how difficult it is to be away from my family.

Learned how to cook rice.

Took IELTS exam thrice. There’s no harm in trying your luck for the nth time.

Made sure I wrote everything in my planner for I have literally POOR memory! :(

Started treating my body with some sorts of exercise – jogging, squatting, playing wii and walking.

Started to watch what I eat. Aussies have all the means to living a healthy life, I guess it’s my turn now.

Am able to resist rice, even when Sinigang is right in front of my face. :|

Decided to be a bit fashion forward. I hope I’m on the right track. :p

Have proved to myself that somehow I can handle the type of studies overseas.

Am proud to say that I am a employed as a personal carer. I realized I have a thing for old people.

Realized how I can miss even the smallest things/routines I used to have back home.  

Got the feeling of extreme happiness every pay day after working my ass off at work. Ang sarap ng pinaghihirapan ang kinikita. It's very rewarding. 

Cried so many times.

There’s a lot to say, so many to remember, so much to treasure. I’m happy to have had a meaningful year that helped me live my life to the fullest.

Now I am so ready to face the challenges 2012 has yet to offer. I am ready to conquer another chapter of my well-written life. :)

2012 is the year of the dragons. It’s my year! Yahoo. Please be good to me! :)

Christmas in Australia. Okay, I must say it’s completely different from the usual celebration that I have had for the past 22 years of my life. In all honesty, I did not feel any bit of Christmas this year.

First of all, the weather is different. Christmas is in Summer here. The sun is up for longer hours and sets down at around 9pm. Feels a bit weird, though. Haha. 

There were no Christmas lights and parols displayed in the neighborhood. I miss our bright and dazzling home that lights up the street throughout the “ber” months. I miss our Christmas tree that my mom carefully puts together. I miss Simbang Gabis. I miss puto bumbongs and bibingkas. I miss those countless Christmas parties with relatives and friends. In other words, I miss the Christmas spirit Filipinos have.  

Looking at the brighter side, I am so thankful and blessed because I did not celebrate it alone. I have my family, Anakat and the Filipino community here to have a good time with. It might not have been the ideal gathering but it still was something to be thankful for.

Here's a simple prayer from me:

Dear Jesus,

Happy nth birthday! You are indeed the reason to be jolly this Christmas.

Thank you for everything. Thank you for the life you have given me. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for keeping my family safe and healthy. Thank you for none of my loved ones are affected by Sendong.

I pray for the victims of this terrifying typhoon. I pray for those who are miserable and seeking for reasons to live. I share to those who are hungry and homeless the overwhelming food I take, and the comfortable bed I have.

Xo, Biancs

On Boxing Day, A and I went to Harbourtown to buy ourselves Christmas presents. We made sure everything was pasok sa budget! 

Let's all find happiness this Christmas. May we all find the true meaning of this season. It's not about the material things we received. Sometimes a heart-warming message, a hug or a Christmas card will do. 

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

PS. I am looking forward to be back home next Christmas! 

Last week I officially started working as a personal carer and have undergone week long training that I can describe as intense. As a carer, our main objective is to assist residents with their activities of daily living. This includes helping them during meals, giving them a shower, supporting them as they dress themselves, and just lending them a hand as they face another day of their lives.

The moment I applied for this job, I have brought with me Sharon Cuneta’s line in her movie Caregiver. “I care about my job, Sir. I care about you!”, was her dialogue when she encountered an insensitive old man that stopped her from performing well at work. I have prepared myself to say this to any of my patients just in case circumstances permit me to. Haha. So far, I am happy to say that majority of the residents are really nice and lovely! :)

Being a carer is tough yet a very fulfilling job at the same time. It’s tough in the sense that it is physically challenging, you need to have the strength to turn and position the residents. Plus, regardless of how weak a resident is (bedridden or fully independent) we are only allotted 20 minutes to feed, shower and dress them. Talk about time management!  

A carer must be passionate of what he/she does. You need to have tons of patience. You need to be compassionate. You must always think that you are dealing with human beings and not animals. Most of all, you must put yourself in their situation and think how dreadful it is to be dependent of others.

This job made me realize that I don’t want to get old. I don’t want to lose my precious ability to eat and drink on my own. I don’t want to be ill and depend on others. I want to be hygienically perfect until I die, and that the last thing I want is some stranger giving me a shower without even properly washing my thing down there. I don’t want my whole room to stink just because I am incapable of cleaning myself. I don’t want to spend the last days of my life talking none sense on my own, or staring blankly at nowhere and fall asleep as I sit and wait for my next meal to come. Seriously, this is what they do every single day! 

I feel so sad seeing these old people. I feel bad that their families neglected them and chose to throw them in an aged care after all their hard work. I will always hold on to my Filipino belief that parents should stay with their children until the day they die. That is why, I will NEVER EVER put my mom in a nursing home.

On the brighter side, my heart melts whenever they thank me for whatever I do or help them with. It just makes me feel good that I am able to help them in some ways. :)

PS. I think ageing scares me.

*Photos from Google. I don't think I'm allowed to take photos at work.*

Finally after 5 months of being here we got the chance to video call. Made me realize how much I’m missing you, girls! :)

I miss our random sleepovers with never ending GIRL TALKS – love life, future plans, wedding videos and chismisan. Hay, every so often I wish that time moves really fast so we can one day go to Paris and buy our Louis Vuittons together.

I can already see ourselves having lunch and people watching down the alleys of Italy, taking photos in front of the Eiffel Tower and triple dating at Santorini. *closes eyes and daydreams* Grabe, lakas mangarap! Hahaha.

We’ve been friends for almost 8 years now. We’ve been through each other’s ups and downs, confided about our past and present boyfriends’ issues, planned movie and dinner dates that are mostly unsuccessful, went to clubs to dance our hearts out, dyed our hair by ourselves para tipid and to just simply enjoy every moment together . Seriously, there are too many treasured memories to mention.

I am looking forward to seeing both of you SOON. For now let’s focus on the present and pray for each other’s success in life.

I miss you, Hanna and Toni! I miss Bebots.

Love,

B

What would you do if the life you've grown comfortable with suddenly changed?

I recently read this book called ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ by Dr. Spencer Johnson after hearing it from a speaker in one of our orientations in Uni. It was a thin book that I was able to read it before I went to sleep.

Everyone is afraid of change. Most of us don’t want to change when things change, some try to ignore it and continue with life as if nothing has happened. Others move on and seek for solutions to adapt with it. But really, what’s the best thing to do when change strikes us?

Unfortunately, no one can teach us what to do with change. It all depends on the person’s attitude. There’s no certain IQ level to deal with it for even the unfortunate people who weren't able to attend school can successfully conquer it. IT’S ALL ABOUT OUR ATTITUDE.

We all live to achieve Cheese (life) that will make us happy. But sometimes we feel so secure and comfortable with what we have that we forget to anticipate change. We often rant and question “Why did this happen to me?” and then we become depressed and realize we haven’t done much to revive ourselves.

The moment we step up and fight for our Cheese proves that we don’t want ourselves to be stuck and one day regret the things we failed to do. Sometimes we have to move out of our comfort zones and adapt to the changes of life. And yes, there will always be times when we want to give up and go back to where we came from but it is during these times that we must imagine how happy we could be when we get what we want in life.

Determination and optimism is the key to a successful life. We don’t need to overanalyze things. Just keep it simple and go with the flow. Remember that life is a constant changing thing. Move forward. Eventually you’ll find yourself embracing change and all the good things that came with it.

Live life happily. Don’t ever let change defeat you!