Goddess, I Am.

We’ve seized the day, The Husband and I. We’ve decided to do something that was just a tiny presence between our long-term plans and complete wishful thinking. We’ve decided to buy a house.

It all started when I was leafing through paperwork that my aunt gave me. She’s one of Filinvest’s managers, you see, and we got together over lechon at CnT last Friday to discuss a possible online campaign that my sister and I were planning to put together for her.

As I looked through the gorgeous homes and the price lists, I realized that we can actually afford it, especially since the income coming from one of my projects substantially increased over the past week or so for the long term. The next day found myself, The Husband, and the entire family on a tour through the various Filinvest projects, and we fell in love with the Cypress houses they were offering at Corona del Mar in Talisay. We did some serious number-crunching on the spot, and had a lot reserved for Mr. and Mrs. Young. As of this moment, Mr. and Mrs. Young are going through mountains of paperwork.

From what I’ve seen of it so far, Corona del Mar looks like fantastic neighborhood. The houses and their yards were spotless, the streets even more so. There were no stray dogs doing their thing everywhere, and the people kept themselves to themselves. The entrances were also properly guarded, so we’re not likely to ever encounter grubby people with small brains and an inclination to pee on walls and trees and gutters. And we all know what this means: The Husband and I might actually enjoy some peace and quiet and neighborly harmony for a change, which means that I no longer have to be scared to death of shady characters lying in wait to rough him up on his way home from work. (This also means that my poor, poor heart won’t need a Philips AED anytime soon, no sir-ee!)

The house itself is a Spanish-Mediterranean beauty with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a dining hall, a kitchen, 2 living rooms, an open garage, a balcony, and a HUGE roofdeck. We plan to turn one of the bedrooms into a little study and library for myself and the upstairs living room into The Husband’s home cinema room. I also plan to host barbecue parties aplenty, both on the balcony and the roofdeck. Both spaces are so big, it can comfortably fit about 50 or so people, I believe.

We’re actually quite lucky that we managed to snag a slot in the new Escala phase of Corona del Mar (it’s a huge project with several phases) because we’re within walking distance of the pretty clubhouse, fabulous infinity pool, and – drumroll, please – the beach! It really does feel like being in some sort of resort settlement. But then again, that’s what it probably is!

Truth be told, the beach isn’t that much, this being Talisay and all. We’ve been told, however, that there’s a rehabilitation and clean-up program going on in that stretch of beach, sponsored by both Filinvest and the Talisay government. It’ll never be excellent for swimming, but the pool is awesome enough AND they’re supposed to be planting mangroves, so that’ll be really great for wildlife – something both The Husband and myself are very passionate about. Why, he’s already even told them that he’ll be happy to volunteer in the effort! Isn’t that sweet?

We don’t have upwards of P4M to throw around, so it’ll probably be a couple of years or so before we can move in. Not only that, we’ll both have to do some serious lifestyle cutbacks because the payments are pretty steep. But then, we don’t go crazy on expenses anyway (we ride jeepneys, for crying out loud!), so it’s not that big a transition.

It’s a wonderful, heady feeling, knowing that you’re buying a home before you’re thirty. Admittedly, I do feel a slight twinge of fear from time to time. It’s a huge investment, after all, and the life of an online writer/freelancer/outsourcer isn’t always the most secure. But more than that, I’m excited and giddy and feeling very positive about the whole thing. Most of all, I have faith that we can both see this through until the last drop of red paint in the master bedroom is finally dry. And yes, one can never go wrong with faith.

No, once again, I have not donned my riding breeches and ridden off into the sunset, nor am I letting this blog die like so many others in the past. I simply have much of my time taken over by work – and life, in general – once again, so writing has been out of the question.

I won’t regale you with details of what I’ve been up to these past few weeks or so because I’m writing on borrowed time at the moment, so anyone who might be interested will have to make do with this very quick update.

1. I’ve quit my shitty job because I realized that I get paid for freelance work a lot better than writing a crummy book about government grants. My bosses weren’t too happy, and it was a mess for a while. Now that I think about, it still is a bit of a mess, but at least they’re not threatening to sue me anymore. Now, if only they’ll pay me my money really soon so we can all call it a day. . .

2. My sister, mum, and I have a new online venture. I did mention before that she (my sister) makes clothes, but now she has started to focus on swimwear. Her first few pieces are nothing short of fabulous (and I should know because I am quite partial to everything “beach-y”), and should be ready for sale any day now. That’s one of the great things about the Philippines – summer never ends, even in the middle of the typhoon season.

But I digress. Right now, we have a pretty impressive collection of gorgeous sandals, so pay us a visit at The Innuendo Shop and maybe pick up a pair – or two!

3. Alright, shameless plugging done. Moving on, May is an awesome month for movies, and I’m proud to say that I haven’t missed any of the blockbusters this month. I can’t help it!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pretty cool. I’s not my favorite, but it was extremely entertaining, especially Ryan Reynolds. And I love, love, LOVED the new Star Trek! One of my best friends is a certified Trekkie (she has the uniforms, wore Klingon ears, and even went to that sci-fi convention thingy in Germany last month), and I always poked fun at her. Though I probably won’t be joining her frenzy anytime soon (sorry, Kaye), I still think the J.J. Abrams “reboot” is the most entertaining film I’ve seen this year – so far! Let’s see if next week’s Terminator Salvation will surpass it. The critics have been mean, but I never listen to them, anyway. Besides, it’s Christian Bale, people!

I will probably get a lot of criticism for saying this, but I think the Angels and Demons movie was better than the book, ending-wise. Mind you, this isn’t something that I say very often because I LIVE for books! I love reading Dan Brown, but I did think the book was a bit over-the-top around the ending when the Camerlengo torched himself in front of all and sundry and people were all atwitter over such a “divine” phenomenon (can anyone say, “overkill”?). I’m so glad the movie made that whole bit more low-key. Most of the stuff in the book, particularly some of the history, were missing from the film, though, but that’s understandable and almost negligible.

I also loved that they made Langdon’s new adventure a sequel, instead of a prequel (unlike the book). Did anyone notice that he was no longer claustrophobic in the film? That’s a great touch – Sophie Christ (for lack of a better moniker) actually did successfully cure him (in the Da Vinci Code)! Another thing that I loved was how they kept the same haunting music by Hans Zimmer. It made this skeptic want to go back to church. Okay, not really. Oh, and it was filmed in Rome. I want to go to Rome so bad!!!

4. Speaking of Rome, I now have all seven books of Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series! Weeeeeee! I had to order the missing second and third (The Grass Crown and Fortune’s Favorites, respectively) from a UK bookstore back in April, but thankfully, it made it here in good time AND I didn’t have to pay for stupid import taxes. Besides, I’m still in the middle of The First Man in Rome (the first book) – slow going because of all the stuff that I have to do. But I’m not complaining. The longer I can stay in Ancient Rome, the better.

5. In 20 days, we’re off to Boracay for our late honeymoon. I am absolutely giddy with excitement! Little sister is making my fabulous monokinis and bikinis as we speak! I am, after all, the (shamelessly) self-proclaimed image model for Innuendo. You hear that, little sister?

6. And another thing that’s getting me excited: I am this close to getting my 13-inch Macbook Aluminum! Yey! I intend to get it within the next couple of weeks or so. My mind’s all made up, yes, but I am still looking for the best deal possible. Being the skinflint that I am, I can’t help it!

7. Kris Allen won American Idol, just like I said he would. It just proves that the judges and producers could try to blatantly manipulate people to vote for overrated Adam Lambert with their simpering comments and lavish (over)productions for his performances all they want, but the best man will still win. I feel vindicated.

8. We’re doing great on the home front. We’re settled, comfortable, and very married. As always, we have our little dramas every now and again, but things get too boring otherwise! I am about to buy a cookbook and attempt to cook for my man beyond the usual fry-ups – a prospect that he dreads, and one that I am very much looking forward to, just to see the look on his face.

So that’s life for the new Mrs. Young. I hope to get back to my regular writing schedule within the next few days. Please, oh please, just let me survive this week without drowning in articles!

I’ve finally managed to tear myself away from sweet-talking vampires and hormonal adolescent werewolves to do some serious writing over the past few days. I had no idea just how “out-of-shape” (for lack of better words) I was until I had to practically pull out all my hair and cry hysterically just to get my brain working. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Because this post is my first post for the new year, I’m going to do exactly what everyone else does: nitpick on the year that just ended and make resolutions that I’m not likely to follow (okay, maybe I will…ish). Yes, I’m a conformist like that.

On Writing

This time last year, I wrote article after article without having to struggle. Somewhere along the way I became less of a writer and more of a businesswoman. I became much too engrossed in the money I was making that I stopped finding joy in writing and saw it as no more than a means to pay the bills. The more I looked at writing as a job, the more I found myself hating something that I used to love.

This year, I want to write – and I mean, really write – again. I want to enjoy what I do again, have fun with words again, and essentially be a better writer. Maybe I’ll write a book, or maybe I’ll just blog more often, who knows? Oh, and I’m seriously leaning towards monetizing this blog. That’s as good an exercise in writing as any, though I’m still balking at the idea of writing about things that would be all wrong here. We’ll see.

On My Finances

I probably earned more money last year alone than in 4 years of working put together. So am I financially solvent? The answer is a dismal “I should be.“ I should have enough money by now to allow myself to be frivolous from time to time. I should have a lot more than a few hundred dollars in my savings account by now. But I don’t. I made a lot of mistakes last year. I spent too much, and although it’s for mostly good reasons, too much is still too much. I can’t help but feel cheated.

This year, I’m going to pay closer attention to my finances. I’m going to stop indulging myself and the people I love too often. I’ll spend wisely, live on less, and save what I’ve slaved over. I would like to invest on something and earn a bit of passive income to increase my retirement fund, especially when I’m hell-bent on being able to retire by the time I’m 40. I’m also going to start looking at insurance quotes for myself and The Fiance. I will be looking at several options within the next few months, and I hope to increase my savings many times over by the end of the year.

On Our Relationship

This year was a very significant one for myself and The Fiance. The end of February saw us moving in together when we’ve both never lived with other people (family excluded) before. Months later, he uprooted himself from Thailand and moved back to Cebu with me. Most recently, he asked me to marry him – something that I never expected, considering how he made it clear right from the start that he had an aversion to marriage.

But it wasn’t always happy, happy, joy, joy. We had some really bad fights – fights so nasty that we’ve almost called it quits. But we haven’t, and that matters most. No matter how bad it got (and mind you, the last one had me shrieking like a banshee at the top of my lungs – something that I never used to do), we were both always willing to talk things over and fix things as soon as we’ve both calmed down. I like to think that it has made our relationship stronger and that we now understand each other a lot better.

This year, we intend to get married. I don’t want anything grand, nor do I want a lot of people around. There are very few people who I can still call friends, and I suppose, in this case, it’s a good thing because I won’t be obliged to feed a hungry mob who have all but forgotten about me while I was in Thailand. I want my wedding small, intimate, and preferably costing no more than 20-Gs. (Man, I’m cheap!) Whatever. I just want to be Mrs. Young!

On The Family

Here’s one thing that I realized when I moved to Thailand in 2007: I can’t live without my family. Or I can, but I don’t want to. I don’t think anyone else in the world has a mum as awesome as mine and a sister as adorable, and I can’t remember why I even wanted to leave home in the first place (okay, I was bored out of my eyeballs). Indeed, there’s nothing like being away from home to make you want to go back to it.

This year, I want to build our little family venture into something big to give all of us more financial security, especially my sister and her baby. For some strange reason, we’ve all been hit by the entrepreneurial bug. We’re also studiously turning our money trees every morning and analyzing the feng sui calendar. Is this our minuscule Chinese heritage at work? Not a bad theory, as long as I don’t turn yellow.

On Travel

Last year, I vowed to myself that I will go to Europe this year. Unfortunately, my savings account isn’t going to make that possible anytime soon, so Florence will have to wait until 2010 at the earliest.

This doesn’t mean that I will be putting myself under house arrest. Au contraire! After being away for a year, I realized that Las Islas Filipinas actually has quite a lot to offer. Thailand’s beaches has nothing – and I mean, nothing – on our really good islands – and I should know because I made it a point to visit as many beaches as I could to see what the fuss was about while I was there.

This year, therefore, will see me and The Fiance traipsing through the archipelago and (hopefully) swimming with whale sharks. I also want to visit more of Asia – though I’m definitely not going back to Thailand, even if someone pays me a million baht!

On My Nails

This one deserves an entire section all to itself. After a lifetime of biting – no, eating – my nails like they’re Scottish shortbread, I finally managed to successfully grow them. Admittedly, it wasn’t by choice. I had a toothache so bad that I couldn’t partake on my usual, umm, diet (gross, I know), and before I knew it, my nails were nice and long and tougher than cow hooves.

This year, I’m going to keep my nails nice and long and tougher than cow hooves. I will have them trimmed, buffed, and polished in every pretty color of the rainbow. Who would’ve thought being a girl was this much fun?

So this sums up what I want this year. There are some things I didn’t include, like a MacBook and a vibrator (every girl has to have one, haha!), because they’re trivial, trivial, trivial.

(Belated) Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s to a year of love, trust funds, and French manicures.

For the first time in a long time, I’m breathing. And because I’m breathing, I’m blogging.

Much has happened in the month and a half since I last blogged, and I’m almost embarrassed to post again after I’ve neglected my poor (not to mention, pricey) dotcom. But when the alternative is letting my brainchild die a slow death like so many others in the past (not to mention Chin’s incessant emails of “pag-blog na ba!”), I have no choice but to hunker down and write – not about yoga, not even about getting wayward ex’s back (don’t ask), but about, umm, me. So here goes…

Sometime in September, The Boyfriend and I finally decided that we’ve had enough of Thailand, its crap, and its citizens (might write a long rant about that in the future) and that we should move to Cebu, my hometown, pronto! The rest of the month just sort of passed by in a blur of overpriced cargo shippers, panic packing, and evil landlords (might be included in said rant). Before we knew it, we were on a plane to the Philippines, saying goodbye and good riddance to the country that we just left.

We arrived in Cebu on the first of October, and since then, we’ve moved into a lovely 2-bedroom 2-storey house (no more crappy Thai studio apartments, weeeeeee!), bonded with our neighbors (namely my sister next door and my mum two doors down), and caught up with a few friends. The Boyfriend is adjusting quite nicely to the food (no more Thai shit on a plate), and naturally, I tried to eat everything that I missed the moment we landed, so I gained a few pounds and I’m now desperately trying to find an appetite suppressant that’ll help me successfully lose ‘em. We also spent a weekend at the fancy Alegre Beach Resort (courtesy of mum) where we frolicked in 5-star heaven, and found clown fishes a mere 10 feet away from the beach – you don’t get that in Thailand!

But probably the biggest news isn’t that we left Thailand barely 2 weeks after we decided to, nor is it the idea of The Boyfriend having to get used to a new city in a new country. The big news is – wait for it! – we’re engaged! I won’t go into the details anymore because Chin has done such a good job of telling it to all and sundry, but the fact is, I’m going to be Mrs. Young soon enough. No, we don’t have a date yet, and there’s no rush, really. The important thing is we’re going there, and I can’t wait for the rest of my life!

So here we are a month later – blissfully engaged, very well-fed, and considerably more relaxed than we have ever been in Thailand. I guess no matter how horrible the people are in that country, or how bad the food is, I’m still thankful that I did go when I did. It took a little over a year of living in Thailand to make me realize just how fabulous my Cebu is. Not only that, I learned to travel alone, live on my own, and enjoy my own company. I’ve come full circle, and somewhere along the way, I found the love of my life.

Now that, my dear friends, is what fairy tales are made of.