The world cup is just a dream now for the SOCCEROOS

But it's a job well done- they have played very well. They nearly got it as the score was nil -nil up to the very last minute then a controversial referee decision for a penaly shot for the Italians.

Oh well, it's just a game and God knows what anyone may speculate.

I bought a book Guus Hiddink going dutch by Maarten Meijer-it's about the biography of the super coach of the Socceroos for David and Ray. I may read it too.

More news here about the world cup

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman tie the knot in Manly Sydney Australia

Australian celebrities Nicole Kidman(Oscar Best Actress)and Keith Urban(Grammy Best Country Singer) will tie the knot on Sunday 25 June 2006 in the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel, a small sandstone church in the suburb of Manly, city of Sydney, state of New South Wales in Australia. It will be a traditional religious catholic ceremony.

I do like Nicole as an actress. I am not really a great country songs fan- although I enjoy Shania Twain's pop country songs- I have yet to hear a song by Keith, although I read that he is quite famous in the country music scene in the U.S.

Here are two Australians who have excelled internationally in their chosen fields. Keith apparently was raised in Caboolture, Queensland, went to school there and used to do country music gigs in the flea markets or in school galas. And this place is just next door suburb from our suburb. Hope they visit his roots and then will take a day off to see them.....and wish them well. Being both Australian, they may have more success in their marriage life as they would think, talk and feel like Australian. I heard too that they will spend more time in Nashville, Tennessee where Keith has a mansion.

images were uploaded from hello magazine

Australia- the FIFA WORLD CUP it's SO POSSIBLE!

My housemates(David and Ray) woke up before 5AM in this cold Brisbane morning to watch the match between Croatia and Australia. This is an important match as it will decide who's going to move on. There is also a big Croatian community down in Melbourne and a lot of them had met at Federation Square to watch it together. The police watch over there was vigilant due to ethnic fights that may occur as the game heats up.

It was a good match. Croatia goaled first. Then Australia. David had to go to work by 6:30 and have resigned that Croatia may win. It was in fact a draw till the 2nd half. Before I had my shower, I walked into the lounge and saw Croatia goal another. So I did my thing then came back for the last 15 minutes.
And Australia kicked another goal -it was 2-2. Why do Australians always shine at the very last? Ray and I had the pleasure of watching Australia qualify for the next round!

At this time, the crowd at Federation Square was flashed on TV and the Croatians and the Australians were both cheering for AUSTRALIA! It was a great scene, being one and united. Even the policemen were jubilant.

Great being an Australian. I am also a pinoy at heart
The next match will be on Monday- Australia vs Italy.

I think that I have the football fever. Of all the footballs (there's a lot of modifications e.g. american football, rugby, afl, and so on), I like soccer the best and I simply admire the foot skills of the players.

I am late for work but my heart is bursting with pride. mababaw lang ang kaligayahan ko.

images by vfa 23jun06

Sample of a personality profile... (mine) you may get yours too

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

The Three Question Personality Test

On Being a Juror

A juror according to Macquarie Dictionary is one of a body of persons sworn to deliver a verdict in a case submitted to them; a member of any jury.

Several weeks ago I received a summon as a Juror in the Supreme and Magistrate Courts.

Being a citizen of this country, it is an essential public duty that people should take seriously. I feel privileged and honoured to be a part of the judicial criminal process in Australia.

It means that I will be 'on call' for the next 4 weeks and upon selection should report to the courts and be prepared to be called upon to join a panel of normally 12 other jurors to decide whether the person/s charged is/are guilty/not guilty of the crime.

It is a pretty daunting task as it affects lives, I think in a very big way. Not only the lives of the accused/victims but also their loved ones and family. I have been a juror twice before while in New Zealand, just before we immigrated to Australia. I take this duty earnestly and always pray to the Almighty to guide me to the fair and right direction.

The verdict is just delivered by the jury (like we see on TV) and if guilty sentencing happens later. If not guilty then the accused is set free, as if nothing happened.

........so help me God most of us still want to be sworn holding the Bible. interesting......

from my Calendar....nobody is a perfect parent, and there are no trial runs at parenting. We just love our kids and do our best- God doesn't demand anything more.

images by vfa

People come and people go

In our time, people come and people go. We say hello to new ones and may say goodbye to old ones because they move on . They go because they wanted to go or they have to go.

In my office, they sometimes hire non-ongoing (temporary staff) people whose contracts may last between 3-12 months. Last time there were about 40 new people to help us during our peak. Out of these, 6 were assigned to my team. For the period that they were there, we got so used to working with them, developed friendships and when it's time for them to go, it's always a sad occasion. After the last lunches, morning teas, presents and goodbyes, when we report to work next and these people are no longer there, we are stricken with grief and feel somewhat sad that we shall no longer enjoy their smiles, camaraderie and even friendly arguments (which is just part of our office interactions) and we speculate- what next or who next? I am not sure whether we are lucky being permanent employees. Maybe out there, outside our comfort zone there could be more opportunities- a more fun and lucrative job or the opportunity of minding your own business. Somehow we are afraid of the unknown and hesitate to leave our comfort zones. Sometimes it takes someone or something to jolt us to make a change.

This month we will be losing 2 people to retirement. One had reached more than the age of 65 but just loves working. The other hasn't quite reached 60 yet but is tired of the work he's doing and wants to spend more time touring Australia and being with family - a new grandchild was born too you see.

We will lose one person to promotion. She was offered a higher position but not in our site but at the other suburb. She said that she had spent 4 years in Brisbane so the Chermside site would be a new experience for her. I do feel very happy for her but I just feel sad as she is one of the merrier persons around and I will miss her stories about her overseas adventures too. But we are just a phone call or an email away, as she said.

To these people, I am thankful that I have shared great moments with them and I do wish them good luck and happiness in their decisions to move on. I shall miss them and I am not certain what the future holds in terms of our friendships. I have seen some friendships being forgotten after closing those building doors.

Midyear Sale, Stocktaking Sale, 50% off, 70% off

End of the financial year sale, mid-winter sale, special sale, whatever sale...JUNE is the end of financial year in Australia. It simply means it's the tax financial cut off on the 30th and everything earned from July 1st last year to the end of June this year need to be accounted for. It's also the time where tax clients (people who pay taxes) hoard on tax deductible items for themselves or their businesses. These items may include books(non-fiction which is related to their job/business), cars(business use), laptop/PC, subscribe to associations, magazines and newspaper (anything that will contribute to your skill in your present job e.g. education, could be tax deductible), donate to charities, pay interest in advance for investments, and a whole lot of other deductible stuff and if you're really interested, you may surf http://www.ato.gov.au

As expected, almost all retail shops big or small have a big sale this month. How did I participate? Actively i guess LOL. The novelty had passed for me though, after observing this trend year in year out, I schedule f my shopping for our clothes this month. I think it's not very smart not to. So- after working overtime today for 5 hours (which is double pay!), I did not go straight home but headed down to Target where they have a 15% off on everything, plus a 60% off the red double- breasted felt winter jacket- that I've been eyeing now for awhile, 30% off pants, winter clothes, 70% off socks, underwears, 50% off bed linen, etc. etc. etc.

Of course I went to buy my red jacket first and there was only one left of my size(the Lord is good to me), bought Ray 2 pairs of pants (he's going to cold Sydney in NSW in July so he needs warm pants), boxer shorts, socks and stockings, underwears for us all and even DVDs of my old favourites- porky pig, popeye, 3 stooges, $2@!. I also put on 'lay by' -you ask them to put the goods away for you and pay it off for 3 months- a quilt cover and 2 queen bed summer sheets- the 500 thread count percale egyptian cotton (which does not need ironing and this feels velvety on the skin- really good quality) kind. Truly our linen sheets needs changing now as they have thinned and some are about to tear- but I kept putting it off but somehow, I just closed my eyes and got them because they were also 50% off.

I nearly got carried away-my shopping was halted when I realised that David is not with me to help carry all the stuff plus I am going home on the train/bus/foot so I put back some, being very careful that I leave with me the most wanted ones (this includes that bulky red jacket of course!). So having done that, I joined the queue at the next available checkout- but when the operator shouted out 'next' 2 big gothic-like creatures from behind overtook me. Someone's tested my patience here- if I were younger I wouldn't care what sort of creatures they are I would have told them off and insist at my rightful time with the check-out, but after taking a good angry look at them I just let them be and just mumbled- ma-karma sana kayo! The check-out operator was polite enough to apologise on behalf of the 2 (actually he had the power to remind these rude B that i was there first), the dalai lama reminded me to say ' its OK' and I actually felt better then. Outside Target, there is KFC and I yielded to the nice aroma of kentucky (mind you it's been 3 hrs non-stop browsing and shopping) so i bought just 3 pcs of chicken wings ( i am trying to lose some weight) then filled my water bottle from the drinking fountain- don't forget that i'm also a very frugal ilocano hihihi. Will not dish out $2 for a coke- not me! when you can buy them at 40 cents per if you buy in bulk (by the box).

Anyway, I was able to catch the 4:23 pm train and headed home. got on the 695 bus and stopped at the school and walked my way home. I showed David (who was working away there- his labour today will help pay for my loot + my overtime pay) my red jacked and he said that I suit it and in fact looked younger ahahay! that made my day so I volunteered to cook the steak tonight, do the dishes and iron the clothes including his. If he made a bad comment- he will do all those chores except ironing my clothes. We're sweet aren't we?

Anyway again the next big shopping spree is for the Christmas Shopping- bet ya there will be a whole lot of other sales gimmick. The consumers - like me- will benefit more so i shall rest my shopping shoes for now.

from my calendar....take a friend to lunch. Talk about all the good things in the world. Or make up with an old friend..... keep on smiling guys..

Thursday- Late Night Shopping

On ordinary days, shops close between 5-6pm, but on Thursdays, suburb shopping centres close at 9pm. David and I usually do our grocery shoppings on Thursdays unless more important things come up. I am glad that he comes shopping willingly with me nowadays (before it was- come or else! it's a fact that men would normally shy away from shopping- i don't know of any man shop-a-holic yet).

Since 3 weeks ago, our Thursdays had been far from the usual. Ray had been invited to join the city orchestra and he rehearses from 7-9:30 at night. He's home from school before 3:30. David is home by 4:00 while I am home by 6pm. So, the issue of what will Ray eat on Thursday before rehearsals came about. 2 things may happen, 1st he may order pizza and have it delivered as soon as he gets home from school, or 2nd David will cook (oh yes, he is now house trained) meat pie and mashed potato and peas as soon as he arrives. We decided that we will alternate the 2. When I arrive, we will serve tea and then we drop off Ray at the rehearsal venue before we go shopping. If he's having pizza, of course he will start eating them as soon as they are delivered.

We try to buy non-perishable goods in bulk, to last us for 2 weeks at least. What do we normally buy? Usually, we buy a week's supply of fruits, veggies, snacks (for work/school), milk, butter, pasta, rice, soft drinks (which we have on the weekends we are home- we try to eat healthy), meat pies, biscuits, bread, chocolates (bite size to limit what we eat), tissue, laundry powder, softener, magazine(australian weekly woman's magazine) or the newspaper. Today though we spent a bit- buying a George Foreman grill, queen bed sheets (we bought a new queen size bed and we gave Ray our old one), even a 'pug' dog (made out of resin)- it will be a playmate to our "labrador"(resin-made too) who is pegged infront of the TV a white bone china serving dish - as i am planning to weed out our colored plates, bowls, serving platters and change them all to white as it looks more elegant. I normally pay with my credit card ( I hardly carry cash around) and i've been pretty good at paying it all off before the due date. I find the credit card better because we are not charged with transaction fees plus I get reward points. No matter what people say, the credit card is excellent if you are disciplined to have the power to make it work for you rather than the other way around.

It was by the way 15% off everything at Kmart so we got that grill pretty cheap plus for more added discount, it had a flag (those little banners that say that they're on specials- so the price was reduced even further).

It's such a chore bringing in at least 7 boxes and bags as we have to climb up the stairs of our 2-level house (remind myself FITNESS!). After everything had been put away, we settle for a warm drink- he has coffee I have my ginger tea with biscuitsand by this time Ray will be coming home from rehearsals- he has either an ice cream or his sustagen.
So we live a pretty organised life (I'd like to think so).

...a message from my calendar " do you have a grouch box instead of a joy box? throw it away and stuff your joy box full"....

Japan- 01 .....Australia 03

ozi ozi ozi oi!oi!oi! only ozzies can create a miracle at the last 6 minutes when ray and david were resigned that it's a draw and somehow i had this funny feeling in my heart that they will hit a goal and they did- not only one but 3! I am talking about the world cup elimination rounds of last night's Japan Vs Australia. Thank God we won! it was worth staying up till 2AM. I nearly went to bed after the first half. David nearly had a heart attack! For me my hayfever became worse today due to lack of sleep... but it was a really an exciting game.

It's a day when I'm proud to be Australian hehehe. balimbing..

On the way to the barrio fiesta we got stuck at brunswick street

David and i planned to go to the Filipino Barrio Fiesta at Yeronga, to commemorate the June 12th independence day celebration. Thanks to our friends Eva and Vicky who informed us about this event as we have not heard about it. Mind you since coming to Australia we hardly socialised and all we did was work, study, work and just ran around the schedule of the kids.

Somehow we did a few things before going and after dropping Ray off at Scarborough before lunch, drove to the train station in Sandgate. While on the train, we felt hungry so we decided to stop at Brunswick Street (Chinatown) to have Yum Cha at our favourite resto.

We had some exotic food like tripe and chicken feet. David ordered a beer and was given a chinese beer. He wanted to order another one but he found out that it costs $6- so he changed his mind.

After eating, on our way back to the train we were held up by some sidewalk peddlers and David was particularly keen on a 1000 pcs jigsaw with ginger kittens. They were 2 for $10 so we decided to buy 2, the other one was a picture of the NYC brooklyn bridge with the Twin Towers still standing up. The vendor reckons it glows in the dark too. Not a keen jigsaw puzzler, i settled with a small $3 japanese cat drawing 500pcs which I said that I will do (on my retirement!)
We kept on going, window shopping mostly browsing at merchandise here and there- then we came across my favourite filipino shop, Best Friend where my friend Imelda works. She was there and we had a chat. Then we scritinised more goods and ended up buying so many other goodies... this place is actually 15 min by foot from my office but i'd rather spend my lunch hour walking or chatting with officemates and in the afternoon i am always rushing to get home. Anyhow, we ended up with so many heavy, bulky plastic bags.

SO- we just decided to buy some beer worth $11 (nabitin siya sa isa eh) which is actually 3 one-liter bottles and just head back home and not go to the Barrio Fiesta with our heavy plastic bags....We saved $12 (entrance fee was $6 per) and we had a restful day at home just the 2 of us (which is rare), eating the chicharon for me the nuts for him and having a nice cold beer- a toast to the QUEEN- for her birthday too. David cooked himself a piece of steak with rice and peas while I had the left over pork adobo. We will just go to the Barrio Fiesta next year. I hope that I'm still blogging too by then, let's wait and see.
I have also updated people and plants ciao.

Friday Night World Cup (Soccer)

photo courtesy of the australian/yahoo news

I am not really a great soccer fan, but I was introduced to it by Ray when he decided to join a club and play soccer during his primary school days. BUT I love watching the opening ceremonies of big time events such as this. The world cup is being held in Munich Germany this year. I do not have any particular team but since I am here in Aussie, I shall cheer for the socceroos. It was a friday night too and Vivian came and stayed the night- Haines was at a Kempo Camp with his Dad. We had Eagle Boys Pizza for tea, which David and I bought after getting some groceries at Coles.

The opening games ceremonies on TV was pretty late, at around 10:30 PM. All 4 of us were snuggled in the lounge and watched the preliminary programs- showing the beautiful tourist spots and attractions in Germany, around Munich - the castles, Berlin Wall, Oktoberfest, those beer served in giant jugs. We all decided too that we will go see Germany ourselves- with bold determination.

The stadium was a one of a kind architectural design indeed. The first part was OK with a green carpet which changed to red - with german musicians , dancers, etc. in their costumes but later, it kinda dragged on and got a bit of a bore. Sorry Germans- I am not all that impressed-I think that the Australians had put on a better show in the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. So let the games begin anyway- In the middle of it, I went back reading, Ray went back playing the piano, David fell asleep on the recliner and Vivian too went to sleep in the 3-seater. I ended up waking them up to go to their rooms after Ray said g-night at around 1AM.

GO Socceroos!

at last- THE RAIN

Queensland- and South East Queensland in particular was proclaimed a drought area- with level 3 water restrictions (the use of hose for any purpose like watering the garden, hosing your car, washing the house, etc. of any kind is illegal and you will be find instantly- and they are not joking too) due to alarmingly dwindling water supply. Australia has a big dessert flat middle and vegetation is located around the coastline. But due to the changing weather conditions we did not receive enough rain this year. They are thinking of copying Aukland NZ by recycling the sewage water to be reused by the residents. I don't really know about that.




BUT TODAY, it rained in the afternoon, not just an ordinary rain but it poured, nearly the whole afternoon. If we only get this kind of rain every other day then we will be fine.

Congratulations RayRay- 2nd Prize for the DUX of 2002

At the high school recital night. Well done to the future showman of the world.
hehe- this guy never failed me whether i go or not to his performances either in music or sports. 90% of the time he is either bringing home a trophy or handing me a trophy to hold while he socialises. This time he got a medal and he is pitted among piano players who had passed their AMEB (Australian Music Exam board) at grade 5-8!. Ray taught himself piano 2 years or so ago practicing using a digitalpiano- upon my urging took and passed with credits the prelim exam (prep to grade 1!)AND YET HE WAS AWARDED 2ND PLACE! What can I say but Thank you for the recognition. The best thing to witness too is that he really enjoys what he is doing and the environment he is at...


This was his medal as the DUX of his primary school. His name is also permanently etched on the school hall as the DUX for 2002. His name was also posted on the school billboard for all pedestrians and motorists to see- but we did not see it and missed a photo shoot as we headed off to the U. S of A to meet his familyas his unexpected prize for an unexpected award. We borrowed money to fulfill his dream(dave, viv and i tagged along of course) to go to the States but credit card debt is now paid off after a year of starvation (haha)You deserved every cent of it Ray plus we all had a good time even the stateside cousins/uncles /aunties- Very well done - we are so lucky and proud to be your parents and share your honours. MORE POWER SON! AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.

News Flash-Dr K had her baby

KAITLYN
June 1, 2006 2:47 pm
2. 695 kg/5.9 lbs
50 cms /19.7 inches
BC Women's HospitalVancouver, BCCanada

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PROUD PARENTS

Eventual contact with Sam the Man!

Enjoying the summer vacation in Orlando FL with lani, beth, sep, lordgene,michelle, sam, samantha and godong- joshua
the lovely couple sam and lani
Pa-limolimosine pa sila- they are really having the time of their lives.
Lordgene enjoying her price- a limousine ride with a VIP
Sammy, Little Sam, Lordgene and Lani

Sometime last week i received an email from Sam from JAX FL. Haven't heard from him for a while now eversince he turned down my invitation to pay for his fare from Manila to Baguio(a made up joke between him and sep) should he decide to join our family reunion in Baguio to cheer Mama up. You see, Mama, Auntie Loring, June, Jing, Mon and all the families out there in Baguio are all homesick of Sam and family- Lani (better half), Lordgene and Samantha.

But he is very well, holding down 2 jobs- in the hospital and in a bank - Lani also doing very well, working in the hospital and Lordgene and Samantha have all grown now getting to be young teenagers na huh. So here are the latest pictures.