El Pooch-o

Yeah, yeah. I know that's not how you say dog in Spanish, but that is how my husband likes to call them anyway. And yup, we have a new little pooch.

I never thought I would like small dogs, but when we moved into our new place last month, we were surrounded by little doggies. We wanted one then too, especially since both my husband and I are dog lovers. We didn't have enough space for a big dog, and a puppy was out of the question since our landlady wasn't too keen on us having one, so we looked at adopting a small, adult dog.

I can't believe we found our Curly through Kijiji. For those who don't know, Kijiji is like Craigslist to Canadians. It seems totally random to adopt a dog through Kijiji, but that's what happened to us. His old family had to find another home for him because they were now only allowed two dogs at their residence, and they had three. Luckily, out of all the people who expressed interest in Curly, his previous owners chose us, and we couldn't be happier.

Curly is said to be a Bichon Frisé and Shih Tzu cross. This mix is also called a Zuchon or a Shichon. He doesn't shed pretty well at all and is such a good little boy. He's happy and well-behaved and loves to cuddle. He's absolutely adorable!

We take Curly everywhere. We just took him to Banff National Park last week and that was pretty awesome. We're can't go everywhere now because we have him, but we don't regret it. He has been such a wonderful addition to our lives.

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(Almost) Dream Car

I've always wanted to own a sedan. To me, they look so chic and sophisticated. But of course, my parents never wanted one, so we never had one in the Philippines. They were either too small, too low, too long, too impractical... so I drove an efficient hatchback, and then a big-ass SUV. Fast forward to small town Canada, I found myself in need of a vehicle.

Owning a sedan has always been big on my list. Back home, that is. It's even on my bucket list. So you'd think it'd be my first choice of vehicle in this new search. Actually, not anymore. In Canada, Alberta especially, people love to drive big vehicles--big SUVs, big trucks, you get the picture. So if you drive a not-so-big vehicle, you seem to be at a disadvantage.

Now since my husband and I are just starting out, we found that we could not afford another SUV (he already has one), not to mention a truck. The Hyundai Tucson, a dream of mine for the past few years, was just a little bit out of our financial reach, so we looked at sedans. My first choice was the Chevrolet Cruze, mainly because of its 5-star safety rating and on*, the amazing communications technology that is available on all vehicles made by General Motors. But the more I looked at the Cruze pictures online, I realized that the body on this car was not my type. Then, I remembered the Hyundai Elantra.

I almost smacked myself on the head. Why did I almost forget about the Elantra? When I looked it up online, the decision was immediately made. Sleek, fuel-efficient, 5-star safety rated, multi-awarded, and with sexy curves all over, this was the car for me. Two days later, I drive one home, and it's a dream. In fact, even if it's not classified as a luxury vehicle, it's amazing. It's almost my dream car. If it had navigation (like the limited edition) and a rear camera, it certainly would be. Of course, there's the slight issue of having to pay for it for the next eight years, but I think it's worth it. And yes, with this purchase, I can finally cross out one more item in my bucket list: own a sedan.

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Habemus Papam

We have a new pope, and I'm so excited for the Catholic church!

After the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis I, the Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, has been elected as the new pope, after just five ballots in the conclave. He's the first Jesuit pope, and the first pope not born in Europe since the 8th century.


People say Pope Francis I is a very humble person, and his first message to the people after being chosen clearly shows that. He is a moderate, and seems to be just the kind of modern the church needs. It's certainly a beautiful time for our faith, and I have a feeling a lot of positive things will be coming to the Catholic church in the near future. I'm looking forward to that!

If I could sum up this choice in a word, I'd say, "perfect." His background, his papal name, the man himself--this is clearly a work of the Spirit.

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The Landing

When you come to Canada as a permanent resident, you're often referred to as a "landed immigrant". It doesn't matter if you've visited the country before on a tourist or work visa, you're only "landed" when you enter the country as a permanent resident. This status is coveted by a lot of people, especially Filipinos.

Because my husband is Canadian, acquiring the permanent resident visa for me was relatively easy. I say relatively because all I needed to do was prove to the immigration officials that our relationship is real. I didn't need to speak French, have amazing work experience, or come up with "show money" to get my visa. Despite that, the application was not without difficulty. It was still a long and painful process.

It took exactly 9 months  from the time Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) received my application to the time I received my visa. This time frame excluded the more or less five months I needed beforehand to come up with all the required documents. When your life is on hold and you're away from a loved one for this amount of time, it isn't easy. It was probably one of the most stressful times in my life.

When I received my visa on November 29, 2012, the stress wasn't over. My medicals were set to expire on December 19, and as per Canadian immigration regulations, your visa expires when your medicals do. That only meant one thing--I had to land in Canada on or before December 19! My husband quickly purchased a ticket for December 11.

I crossed the Pacific on Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 106, flying direct from Manila to Vancouver. It took all of eleven and a half hours. Holy crap! I thought that flight would never end. It wasn't really bad, it was just boring. The plane was an older Airbus A340 that didn't have Audio/Video On Demand, so I basically just sat there, trying my damnedest to sleep because that seemed to be what everyone was doing. Of course, I came ready with a netbook + movies and books, but when the cabin is dark and everyone seems to be asleep... let's just say I didn't have the heart to turn my reading lights on.

Thankfully, despite some major turbulence over Alaska (hello, Sarah Palin), we arrived in Vancouver safe and sound, and even twenty minutes ahead of schedule. When the airplane's wheels touched the runway, I had tears of joy. It was only then that I finally allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Vancouver International Airport is beautiful. It's new, not crowded, and well laid out. After I got my luggage, I had to go through the border guards. This was the most important step of all--these guys had the power to allow or deny my entry into Canada. Fortunately, it was a breeze. There were no lines, the immigration officer got impressed with my English, and even spoke to me in Japanese when he learned I once lived in Japan. It took all of five minutes. I was finally landed!

My husband was right there, waiting at the greeting area. Finally, we were together! And then, for my first meal in Canada, I had a sub from an airport branch of the Canadian icon, Tim Hortons--a very, very fitting welcome meal, I say.

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Home Away From Home

For the longest time, I felt like I was born in the wrong country, that I was meant to be somewhere else, and meant to be with someone who was not where I was. When I met, and then married my husband, it was an unexpected yet somehow fated falling into place.


Now, I live in Canada. Alberta, to be exact. I arrived on December 11, 2012. It's been less than two months, and I'm thousands of miles away from what used to be my home, but being here already feels more like home to me than any place I've lived in. It's not even because the place is beautiful (I know it is but I can barely tell right now because of all the snow covering everything), or that it's glamorous (because it's not really), or that it's easy-breezy to live here (because it's also not), but it just... fits.

I remember when I lived in Japan. I never felt like I truly belonged. I always felt like an outsider, especially because of the color of my skin. Canada doesn't make you feel like that at all. It's very multi-ethnic, and most of the time, I don't even remember that I'm not of the same race as the locals. Canadians are also very polite and humble people, and that makes living in their country even more desirable.

I'm not surprised that I don't miss home at all. I wish I could share this experience with my parents and my close friends, but that is all. There's no pining for my motherland and it's eccentricities just yet, and I don't know if there ever will be. For now, I'm just happy to be with my husband, in this province, in this country. I don't want to be anywhere else.

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One Does Not Simply Fly Into Mordor

Ever since I saw the movies and then read the books, I have loved The Lord of the Rings. In fact, maybe love is not even a strong enough term. I am obsessed with it. I love everything about it. It makes me happy. I've read the books, seen the movies... I even play the online game! I want to visit New Zealand even more, because, well... it's Middle Earth!


And how do you fly to Middle Earth? On Air New Zealand, course! Check out this safety video they just came out with for the new The Hobbit movie (prequel to the LoTR trilogy) coming out next month. It is absolutely brilliant, imho. This is how safety videos should be. I can't get over it, really.

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A Taste of Opulence at the Heritage Hotel

I've wanted to stay at the Heritage Hotel during my visits to Metro Manila, just to see what it's like. The place seems to be an icon, after all. During a quick trip last month, I was finally able to do so.

It was perfect timing. I'd known only two days prior that I had to make the trip, and upon perusing Agoda, found out that the Heritage Hotel was having a last minute sale. I jumped at the opportunity, especially because my destination was the Japanese Embassy, just two buildings away from the Heritage. It was still more expensive than average, but it was 25% less than their regular rate.

My first impression of the hotel was that it's old. The hotel makes me think of a book with frayed edges. I was assigned a twin room, and although it had all the little things I needed (toiletries, slippers, robes, a well-stocked mini bar, etc.), the room was just okay, and my TV was old... it was a CRT! I've definitely been to better and cheaper hotel rooms.

My disappointment did not end there. The hotel does not have a lot of items on their room service menu. Is it because they have a casino, and they'd rather people went there than hang out in their rooms? Food in general at the hotel was okay, but was nothing special. What I found incredulous was the P300 per hour internet connectivity. In this day and age, that just feels to me like an abomination, even in a 5-star hotel!

The one good thing about Heritage Hotel: it's location. Other than that, there's really nothing special about it at all. No wonder it's not that highly rated on Agoda. If you want that real taste of opulence, you might want to look somewhere else.

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New Puter

The last time I owned a desktop computer was in 2006. It's been so long! Ever since then, it's been laptops and netbooks for me, but not that I prefer them! It's good to own one to bring around, but really, your computer at home should be a desktop. They're easier on the eyes, wrists, and even on the budget! So I'm very happy today because I have a new computer. I got tired of peering into my uber tiny netbook. I couldn't handle it anymore! My Android phone and iPod Touch do not help in the size department either.

My new puter isn't exactly high-end, but it's the best I've laid hands on in years. If you can peer into the screenie below, you might be able to make out the specs.

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Custom Cakes and Cupcakes

It was the birthday of one of my closest friends, Daphnie, the other day. I decided to order cupcakes for her (which Lyn also helped me pay) from another friend of ours, Bernice. Bernice makes custom cakes and cupcakes that look absolutely amazing! I've waited forever for an occasion where I could order from her, and I finally had the excuse!

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A Pilgrimage to Simala

After being stagnant for months, I'm finally able to cross out another item on my bucket list: go on a religious pilgrimage.

The Monastery of the Holy Eucharist in sitio Lindogon, barangay Simala, in the town of Sibonga, Cebu was our destination. It is there that the Virgin Mary has been performing miracles since 1998. Over the years, the Birhen sa Simala (Virgin of Simala) has either shed blood or tears, with most of the miracles taking place during her birthday, September 8, which is also the feast day of Simala. Once, while her statue was on procession, the forehead hit an electric wire, which resulted to its bleeding. Because of these miracles, people have started going to Simala in droves, and what started as a small chapel run by the Marian Monks of the Eucharistic Adoration, has veritably become a castle that is starting to look like popular pilgrimage sites in Europe.

It was my first time to go to Simala. My mom and I went with the Diocesan Dumaguete Pilgrims, whom a number of family friends are members. The pilgrims of Dumaguete have been going to Simala for 12 years, and recently, the group has become a very important part of Mama Mary's birthday celebration. The group is now in-charge of feeding 500-1000 police personnel and security guards who maintain peace and order during the three days leading and up to September 8. It is a difficult task, but the group is able to do it through donations.

We were in Simala from September 6 to 9. We attended a lot of masses, a couple of them celebrated by Cardinal Jose Palma, Archbishop of Cebu, and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, Archbishop emeritus. We were also able to witness a miracle. Yes, Mama Mary cried again during her birthday. It happened during the coronation mass in the afternoon of September 8. I was in front of the church, literally just a couple of feet from her statue when it took place. If you can see from this video I took, the monk has to keep on wiping her tears, and people were crying and sobbing in the background.

Simala has truly become a wondrous miracle site. The hills of Lindogon, once barren and desolate, is now lush and beautiful. Being there gives you a sense of serenity, and the presence of the Virgin Mary makes you feel that you are in heaven. Devotees go there to ask for favors, and of course to give thanksgiving, as evident in the seemingly thousands of testimonials sent by people.

On September 9, the Dumaguete pilgrims were given the chance to get close to the statue of the Virgin that shed tears the day before. Below is her picture. She was no longer crying openly then, but as you can see from the image, her eyes were watery. We were not allowed to touch her face because the monks were still waiting for a bishop to verify the recent miracle. It was a very humbling and touching experience.

Simala is approximately one and a half hours by bus from the city of Cebu, 

and a 20-minute ferry and 2-hour bus ride from the city of Dumaguete (via the port of Sibulan). 

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