Our IVF Story -- Part 2 (as Shared by My Husband)

This post is entirely written by Hubby:
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I was sitting beside my wife and praying for a miracle when the phone rang and it was Dr S. ( the substitute doctor while Prof Wong was out of the country ) asking some questions about her. He asked how old she is because apparently out of the 21 follicles only 3 matured and out of the 3 only 2 has the egg inside. This is a very rare case and the doctor was wondering why. Anyway he just said he will do his very best but of course it was long shot.

We were discharged in the afternoon around 5 pm and went straight to my cousin’s place. But before this we had a hard time getting a cab due to the rush hour traffic and rain (talking about bad timing). Anyway eventually we were able to reach my cousin’s unit near orchard a few blocks from Shangri-la Resort Hotel. We had a great dinner and we talked about all the details while my wife was asleep. My cousin and his wife were very supportive but I saw in their eyes the worry on the outcome of the number of follicles.

The next day I asked my mother in law to look after her while I took the time to go to the nearest church. I was praying for a miracle but then again I thought also that if it turns out the other way I had to be strong for my wife after going through the long and tiring procedure. After the mass while I was walking towards the bus station to return to my cousin’s place when I noticed that I had a recorded missed call from the hospital. I suddenly dialed the number and I was connected to the Embryologist Doctor from the hospital. I asked her what the call was all about because I was expecting a later call from them when she bluntly said that it was not successful. She explained that the two eggs they extracted did not fertilize. Part of the procedure was for the egg/s to be fertilized with the sperm extract to create an embryo. Then the embryo would be injected to establish pregnancy.

Even if I was expecting the worst it was still shocking and depressing to hear the bad news. It was the very first time when I could not control my emotions and so I had to sit down on one of benches in the streets of Singapore under the heat of the sun. I think at that time it was more than 34 degrees Celsius because it felt like my shirt was drenched in water. I even saw some local Singaporeans looking at me strangely and wondering what had happened.

Anyway after that I had to think of the best way to tell my wife and so I was composing those words while I was inside the bus. I even missed the station I was supposed to disembark due to my quest for the right words. Honestly it was difficult but I had to do it and so I decided to call my close officemates to hear some suggestions from them. They both suggested telling my mother in law first so that we can both tell my wife at the same time. And so 10 minutes before reaching the place I thought of calling my eldest sister to ask her opinion. She said to be strong and just tell her directly.

Finally when I entered the room my wife was awake while my mother in law was in the living room when I decided to go straight to her side and tell her that the procedure was not successful and for her to be strong and to pray more to our Creator for giving us at least the opportunity to try.

I am very proud of my wife for having the courage to undergo this procedure and for this I love her so much more than ever.


Looking at the positive side at least we get to go on with our lives with less pressure on raising a child especially with all those tuition fee problems during the enrollment season which I always hear from friends and relatives. We get to go out anytime and enjoy our income on whatever we can afford without hesitation. My wife loves bags …and mind you these are expensive ones. Talking about stretching my Citibank credit limit. And of course we get to eat at different restaurants which we both love to do from the cheapest places such as Yoohoo at Metrowalk ( PhP 100 for two),Bonnie’s barbeque at Tiendesitas and Tapa King and to the expensive ones such as Seven Corners, Circles and Brazil Brazil.

Finally just to share, my philosophy in life is that LIFE IS SHORT and so enjoy it with your loved ones.:-)


From HUBBY

Our IVF Story

Hubby and I have been married for quite awhile and we have not been blessed with children. After consultation with a LOT of doctors, the only option for us was In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). It took us more than a year to finally decide to do it, mainly because of financial constraints, but also we were taking our time and hoping for a miracle. This happened last year, March 2006.

This post will be about our stay in Singapore. This was my journal:

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March 16, 2006, Thursday (Day 1)

Left the office at around 3:15 PM, arrived at the airport after only 30 minutes. Paid the travel tax and went straight to Priority Check-in. Hubby’s Gold Elite membership at Singapore Airlines worked for us, almost no waiting time. Went straight to the SQ Lounge to take advantage of the privilege. Ate merienda there until boarding time. Flight was 15 minutes delayed, finally leaving at 6:30 PM. Dinner was pork adobo and tuna vegetable salad. Was able to browse several movies on the plane. Pride and Prejudice, Derailed and Elizabethtown. Arrived in Singapore at 9:40PM. Changed some money at the airport and then took a cab to go to the hotel. Arrived at the Marriott Hotel at around 10:30 PM. After checking in, ate a snack at KFC Far East Plaza. Di masarap. Sobrang iba from the KFC back home.

March 17, 2006, Friday (Day 2)

Woke up at 6:30 AM and ate breakfast at the Marriott Café. Buffet. Dimsum, bacon, smoked salmon. Left for the hospital at 7:45AM. Arrived at the hospital at 8:15 AM. Went straight to Women’s clinic to see Dr PCW. Saw Dr AA and had a chat with him. Ultrasound by Dr PCW with Dr AA assisting. Dr PCW commented that fallopian tube still there and there was a cyst in the right ovary.

Blood test at the Center for Human Reproduction for both Hubby and me. The blood tests cost SGD239 for me and SGD117 for Hubby. Were given instructions to call back for additional instructions at about 3PM.

Went back to the hotel

Went to Ngee Ann City. Had lunch at Pepper Lunch. Browsed at the Kinokuniya Bookstore, bought some magazines.

Bought SIM card for M1 at 7-Eleven, it costs SGD18. Went back to hotel to call CHR for further instructions and to give our local number.

Met hubby’s cousin TS and wife GS with Baby Noah at Starbucks Wheelock Place and walked to their place at the Avalon, Anderson Road.

TS and GS brought us to Jumbo Seafood Clarke Quay. TS brought us here a year ago and we remembered that we loved the food especially the crabs and the prawns with cereal.

March 18, 2006, Saturday (Day 3)

Had breakfast at the Marriott Café. Left for the hospital at 11AM. At the CHR Clinic, we were taught how to inject the Gonal F. We were given the 900IU box which should last us until Tuesday, March 22.

Listened to the IVF Orientation conducted by CHR from 2PM to 4PM.

Went to TS’s place for merienda and stayed there for the evening. Walked to Big Bird for dinner where we ate Hainanese Chicken Rice. Really good!

March 19, 2006 (Day 4)

Woke up at 9AM and had buffet breakfast at Marriott Café. Left at 9:45 to catch the Sunday mass at Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. Went to Raffles City Centre after to meet the Salazars. Had lunch at the Food Court, fishball noodles, yum. Then had coffee at Coffee Club.

March 20, 2006

Woke up at 8AM. Had lunch with my friend AS (friend from Citibank Manila who now works for Citibank Singapore) at Sushi Tei, Millenia Walk. Took the cab from Millenia Walk back to the hotel.

Went to Auntie CM’s place at Chuan Park to accompany her to pick up my Mom from the airport.

March 21, 2006

Woke up at 9:30 AM and had breakfast. Met Mom at 12 PM. Ate lunch at the Food Republic. Checked out from the Marriott to stay with Auntie CM

March 22, 2006

First day without hubby (Hubby had to go on a business trip to Kuala Lumpur). Am so depressed. Have to go to hospital for blood test and ultrasound. Woke up at 6:15, Auntie CM brought us to hospital Had to be in the hospital at 8:30AM. Went to the CHR first for the blood test. Dr. PCW scanned me and said the cyst was still there. But there were already 11 follicles which was very good daw. Went back to CHR, where they gave me additional Gonal F. They said to wait for further instructions.

Got a call from Ms. T to reduce Gonal F dosage to 150 and said that my next appointment would be Saturday at 8AM. Hubby would not be in Singapore yet.

March 23, 2006

Had breakfast at a Hawker Center in the Housing Estate in front of the Seranggoon Bus Terminal. Wonton noodles, sarap! Then went to MacRitchie reservoir and had a stroll. Reminded me of New Zealand so much except for the heat and humidity. Had lunch at the Alexandra Hawker Center this time for Fishball Noodles. Super sarap! Also had sugar cane juice, reminded me of when we were kids spending summer in Singapore.

March 24, 2006

Stayed home the whole day. Uncle G brought us to the Serangoon Gardens for dinner at the Pow Sing Restaurant where I tasted the best Hainanese Chicken Rice. Very tasty.

March 25, 2006

Had to be in the hospital at 8AM . Woke up at 6AM. Auntie CM brought us to the hospital again. Went to Emerald first for the ultrasound scan. Dr AA and Dr. PCW saw me. Dr AA said there were now 16 follicles! Went to CHR for the usual blood test. Was given two new boxes of Gonal F. Had to pay for the Gonal F (450IU) amounting to SGD409.50

Went to Orchard after. Had lunch at Takashimaya Food Court and then bought shirts at U2 at SGD 12 each. Went home after.

Hubby arrived at 9:00 PM from Kuala Lumpur. I was so happy that he is back.

March 26, 2006 (Day 11)

Left the house at 9:40 AM to catch the 10AM mass at Toa Payoh. Took the 105 bus. After mass, took the Toa Payoh MRT to Orchard Road. Had lunch at Pepper Lunch at Takashimaya. Looked around and saw cheap tshirts at Giordano for SGD12.


Left at 5PM to make it to Orchard for my dinner appointment with LH, friend who used to work for CLSA Manila and now for JP Morgan Singapore. We met at Takashimaya. He brought me to the Crystal Jade Korean Restaurant that was grill your own. Really good!

March 27, 2006, Monday (Day 12)

Left the house at 745 AM for the 830AM appointment at Emerald. Was scanned by Dr. PCW. Dr. PCW says I now have 21 follicles. Dr. PCW says that egg pick-up will most probably be on Friday, March 31. Had my blood test next and a briefing by Ms. T.

Went home after breakfast at the NUH Kopi Tiam. Left the house again at 2PM to have money changed at Lucky Plaza then went to Wheelock Place to check out Borders Bookstore. Bought books that were on sale to prepare for the succeeding days since I knew that I was going to be home most of the time after the egg pick-up. Had coffee at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf beside Borders.

March 28, 2006, Tuesday (Day 13)

Left the house at 9:45 AM for the 10:30 AM appointment at the CHR. Ms. C prepared the two remaining Gonal shots for today and tomorrow. She also showed us how to use the Ovidrel to be injected on Thursday at 12:30AM. I also told her that I was experiencing some abdominal pain. She insisted that I be seen by the doctor. Dr PCW scanned me and said that it was just because of my enlarged ovaries. He sees no danger naman even if I already had 21 follicles. Just said that my Gonal F be reduced from 112.5 to 75 for today and tomorrow. Went back to CHR. They said that we didn’t have to pay anything that day, and we should just settle everything on Friday after the Andrology Clinic.

Tried the NUH shuttle service to the Buona Vista MRT Station. Rode the MRT to Orchard Road. Had coffee at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Wisma Atria. Then went to Isetan to look for pajamas for my hospital stay. Instead found underwear that were cheap. Tried Takashimaya. Found a pajama set for SGD17.90. Went to Isetan Shaw Center for groceries and some breakfast items. Had a snack at MacDonalds. Went home after, took Bus 105.

March 29, 2006, Wednesday (Day 14)

Left the house at 12:30 PM to have lunch and change money again. Had lunch at My Mum’s Place at the Paragon. Boring chicken rice as they had the chicken skin removed. It wasn’t as tasty as the ones I’ve eaten in the past. Also ordered beef satay. Wanted to test wifi, seems like paragon has when we tested it near Starbucks but it was crowded. We went to Coffee Club at the 3rd floor, but there was no wifi available there. We just wasted SGD15. Had a snack at MacDonald’s Shaw Center and saw a lot of people using their laptops. Hmmm, there must be wifi there. Turns out yes there was ,and for free!!! Stayed for an hour to check and answer email. Went home after that.

March 30, 2006, Thursday (Day 15)

Stayed home the whole day. Hubby cooked lunch. Listened to a Conference Call for work at 2PM.

(This was my last post from Singapore, below is the continuation, written today, July 28, 2007, more than a year after)

March 31, 2006, Friday (Day 16)

I don’t remember much about this day. I just remember that we woke up very early. I checked in at the hospital in the morning. I remember that almost all of the nurses who took care of me were Filipinos. I felt at home right away J I also remember being wheeled in from my room to a small “operating room” with spotlights and machines around us. The anesthesiologist was also a Filipino! Dr. PCW was not doing the procedure as he was in China with Dr. AA, it was another doctor, Dr. S. who did the procedure. I also remember watching the Filipino doctor inject the anesthesia into the intravenous thing on my arm.

The next thing I knew, I was already being woken up by Filipino doctor. Apparently the procedure was finished then. I was then wheeled in again into my room where hubby and my Mom waited for me.

I was still half asleep when I heard the phone ring. Hubby took the call and apparently it was the doctor, they talked for a few minutes and I remember hubby asking the doctor if he wasn’t going to pass by. How impersonal and rude, I thought. In Manila, you would at least see the doctor after any procedure. Here, he didn’t even bother to explain to my husband personally.

I will now let Hubby take over from here, because I cannot find the words to describe what happened after, and he knows the whole story…

Ten Years!

My husband and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary last December. We didn't really have the budget to celebrate in a big way, but we wanted to celebrate it nonetheless. It's been ten years, and where did the time go? I can still clearly remember struggling in the early days. We didn't even go on a grand honeymoon, we just stayed in a hotel for one night. And I still remember when our home mortgage was already 50% of our combined income! I don't know how we survived but I don't remember feeling sad or deprived then. It was exciting, living on our own and experiencing independence and responsibility.

I started going to grad school before we got married, but my hubby was very supportive and allowed me to complete my MBA even if it meant waiting for me till classes finish at 9PM and picking me up from school (which was by the way a one hour trip from his work, and a one hour trip from our home). When I finished my MBA, I wanted to specialize in Finance and I then decided to go for another masters degree, this time in MS Computational Finance. That meant that for the first five years of married life, I was working AND studying. I wasn't able to give 100% of my time to my husband, but he was very understanding and supportive about everything that I went for. For that, I'm truly very thankful.

I knew that hubby was a neatness freak because their family did not have household help most of the time, but when we got married, I realized that I should also learn to be one. It was a lot of pressure for me because I wasn't used to cleaning up after my mess (I on the other hand, was spoiled to death, having household help all the time). I'm still not perfect but I try to be more like him. Now that we have decided not to have household help anymore, I'm glad that I am now more like him and have learned to do household chores and enjoy it too!

I learned a lot of things from him, complete trust in God, patience, understanding, hardwork and a positive outlook in life. Yes, I am lucky that he found me:-)

We have gone through a lot together (a major crisis at work, sickness and death in the family) ,including a heartbreaking experience last year (which I will write about soon). But, we look forward to a lot more years together, and we know that as long as we have each other and God in our lives, we will continue to be blessed and we will be able achieve our hopes and dreams.

Entertaining at Home

My husband's officemates

Family

My college friends

My husband's officemates, on another occasion

More and more, my husband and I find ourselves entertaining our family and friends at our home. We definitely enjoy the company, and we find that people are more relaxed and are able to interact better.

Entertaining at home does not always mean major preparations (and major stress). We usually prepare simple dishes like pasta (puttanesca, pesto, carbonara), salads, grilled meat such as steak, burgers, pork chops and pork bellies (liempo). On one occasion, we decided to go Filipino and served nilagang baka (boiled beef with vegetables) and fried bangus (milkfish) from Dagupena. On another occasion, it was Mediteranean, and we served beef kebab. Dessert would usually be store-bought cake from Conti's or Red Ribbon.

We make sure that we have music and aromatherapy candles to enhance the ambience. We have guests usually stay in the dining area since we have an open kitchen that permits us to interact with the guests as we prepare the meal. We also have a lot of chips and drinks. Drinks would be softdrinks, wine and beer. We just make sure that we have enough to sustain us the whole afternoon or evening.

Family and friends tend to stay a bit longer because they feel at home. This means more quality time with them, and we love it!

Stress!

The past few days have been toxic, both at work and in school. At work,I had a presentation to our Management Committee, deadlines in relation to several financial transactions that we are working on, meetings and calls from investors. In school, Midterm grades were due and I had not checked quizzes and midterm exams... I had to do everything in the span of two days!

Sometimes, I wonder what the best way to handle stress is. I find myself turning to junkfood (Lay's potato chips), coffee and coke to keep my energy level up. In the end, yes, I am able to do everything, but I'm sure, my health suffered tremendously.

This weekend, I have a seven hour lecture to conduct, and I have not completed all the materials that I need... More stress!

I love what I do, but I would have to find a better way to manage the stress!

Travel Buddies

Travelling with other people makes the trip more enjoyable and memorable, especially when you travel with very good friends. When I went to the US without my husband, I was a bit apprehensive at first. It was going to be my first time in the US and I didn't really have any idea how I could manage everything if I were alone. I'm lucky to have had PZ, one of my very good friends from college as my travel buddy then. We were going to be bridesmaids to another very good friend DL in New York. PZ has been in the US several times and so I felt very secure that I was going to travel with her.

We were roommates at the Da Vinci Hotel in Midtown Manhattan for three nights. We also spent one day at the Woodbury Commons. We weren't able to go to all the stores because we had to leave at 8PM to catch the bus going back to Manhattan. It's really funny because we were in New York but didn't get to see the Statue of Liberty and the remains of the World Trade Center...

We shared many funny and memorable experiences. On our way to Washington D.C., we went to the wrong train station -- we went to the GrandCentral Station instead of Penn Station. We thought it was easy to get to Penn Station from Grand Central and so we decided not to take a cab anymore. What we really forgot was that we were carrying very big (and heavy) luggages. By then, we already had a lot of things with us because of our Woodbury Commons shopping trip. We had a hard time carrying our luggages up very steep staircases (nope, no escalators). Our conclusion then, we missed our husbands so much!

PZ and I stayed with another good friend, VA, in Washington D.C. for two nights. We spent just one day going around and were able to go to all the must see places on foot! Something that we could not imagine doing in Manila. Another funny incident, on our way back to VA's house, we wanted to pass by the Pentagon Mall. While in the subway, we heard the Pentagon station being announced, so we got up and got out of the train. When we got down, it wasn't the Pentagon Mall. We went down the wrong station. There was a Pentagon station AND a Pentagon Mall station. We had to walk to the Pentagon Mall. Although the walk was not very far, at that point we were very TIRED already :-) Well, the good thing was, we got to see the WALLS of the Pentagon!

We continued on to Pennsylvania to visit PZ's sister and stayed there for a couple of nights. Another memorable adventure, PZ driving to the Lancaster outlet shops from Middletown where we were staying. It was her first time to drive in the US and we had to go through the freeway! All of these during a storm! Well, she did very well with the help of GPS :-)

Reflection Pool, Washington D.C., November 2006

Roosevelt Memorial, Washington D.C., November 2006

New York City, November 2006

Tavern on the Green, Central Park, New York City, November 2006

We had a lot of fun together. I'm really glad that she was my travel buddy. Thanks PZ, for being patient with me and taking care of me, and most especially for a wonderful time indeed!

On my husband's and my trip to Europe in 2004, we were joined by my husband's cousin TS and his wife GS in Berlin, our first stop.

Berlin , April 2004, with TS and GS feasting on Pork Knuckles

They were jaded travellers and have gone around Europe, being based in Amsterdam at that time. TS and GS were the experts, being used to just having a Lonely Planet guidebook to get around. They had a really long list of the places to visit and so all we had to do was follow them :-)

My husband and I are really thankful to them. They really led the way throughout the whole trip and so we were able to maximize the time we had there and were able to visit a lot of places. After Berlin, we stayed with TS and GS in their lovely home in Amsterdam. We also had a great time there, visiting all the must see places, especially the red light district. TS and GS were the perfect hosts. Thank you TS and GS, for a wonderful Berlin trip and having us in Amsterdam. As you will find in this journal, even if the European trip happened three years ago, it still is the most memorable time for us, and so we thank you for being a very big part of it :-)

The New Seven Wonders of the World

The New Seven Wonders of the World :

1. "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro

2. the Colosseum in Rome

3. India's Taj Mahal

4. the Great Wall of China

5. Jordan's ancient city of Petra,

6. the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru

7. the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico

We have only seen one out of the seven...

Time Out

I'm really glad that I got to spend some time with friends the past two days. It is indeed refreshing to be with friends after getting involved with work and teaching during the week. Thursday, July 12, I had lunch with my two best friends at work AC and MV. We had lunch at Pancake House, our favorite hangout for comfort food. It was our time to update each other about our work and personal lives. Eventhough we work in the same company, we are in different departments and so see each other only once a week. However, I always find comfort in the thought that they are always there for me and that I can just call them anytime =)

That same day, I had dinner with my good friend CG, who is being reassigned to their New York office! CG and I were classmates in college, but got really close when we became classmates in the MS Computational Finance program. Small world, we also found ourselves frequently interacting at work. I'm really very happy for her, this is indeed a very big leap forward for her. We had dinner at Tsumura at the Corporate Center in Salcedo Village. Really good Japanese food, and I love the ambiance. We had the sushi platter, ebi tempura and the smelt fish. Yummy! I'm gonna miss her, but hopefully we can see each other soon if our US trip pushes through.

Friday evening, July 13, was the get together of my high school barkada FC, JB and JM at Super Bowl of China in Gateway. It's always good to see them. We would always reminisce about our high school days, undoubtedly one of the happiest times in our lives. Something exciting is happening to our friend FC, who is a doctor. She is setting up her own venture and we are really very happy for her. FC's husband AC and my husband also joined us in this get together.

Hopefully, I can spend more time with my friends. I just love being with them =) I haven't seen my college barkada in a month, but thank God for technology, they are just an email away...

Finance for Marketing Practitioners

Today was the first day of the course that I will be facilitating for the next six Saturdays. I have been asked to handle this course for the past three years. Participants to this course are typically marketing and brand managers, but I have had a couple who are business owners. Honestly, it is more difficult to handle this course because of the diverse backgrounds of the participants. Nevertheless, I find it very stimulating because I learn about the different companies from the perspective of Marketing people and entrepreneurs.

Few people in the corporate world could deny that there often exists a conflict between Finance and Marketing and Sales people. And I attempt to provide a framework by which everyone can work together harmoniously.

In this course, I emphasize the big role that Marketing and Sales people play in determining the profitability of a company. I share that the term "topline" refers to the Revenues or Sales line and all components of this Income Statement item is really Marketing and Sales driven. Everything starts from the number of products (or services) that the company is able to sell and how these are priced. Without the revenues, obviously there won't be any income.

I also share the perspective of a Finance person. One of the responsibilities of the Finance person is to ensure that financial resources are utilized efficiently. Typically, he would like to make sure that money is used as planned and the use of such funds will bring benefits to the company, thus the importance of the Marketing person having some knowledge in preparing a Cost Benefit Analysis. The Cost Benefit Analysis is an important factor in presenting a good Marketing Plan that would ideally include advertising and promotions costs.

Some of the topics that are included in the curriculum are:

1. Understanding and Analyzing Financial Statements ( how problem areas can be detected just by analyzing the financial statements)

2. The use of financial and accounting tools in marketing decision-making: breakeven analysis, setting sales quotas, pricing, deciding on product mix, deciding on which product lines to maintain or drop, etc.

3. Financial forecasting

4. Working capital management and the role of marketing and sales : for example, their role in good inventory management and credit and collection management.

5. Time Value of Money

6. Capital Budgeting , which includes Cost Benefit Analysis

I encourage that Finance and Marketing and Sales people interact frequently to be able to understand each other's perspectives because these people play an important role in ensuring a company's profitability and long-term sustainability.

Household Fun

I never imagined that I would enjoy doing household chores. My husband and I had a household helper for seven years until she graduated from college. We provided for her schooling, the right thing to do after she graduated was to allow her to find better opportunities for growth. That was a year ago. Today, we are still without a maid, and we really don't miss it. We have found a new way of bonding!

When we don't have to work on Saturdays, my husband and I do the cleaning in the morning. I'm in charge of the bathrooms and the rooms on the second floor, he takes care of the kitchen, dining and living rooms. My husband is also the expert in running the washing machine (yes, I am very lucky to have him!) I'm now an expert in using the vacuum cleaner and the mop. I also now love cleaning the bathroom floors and toilets=)

Lunch will be usually something simple. Adobo or bistek and a simple vegetable dish such as a salad or steamed vegetables with rice (of course) is the usual fare. My husband would usually cook, and I would wash the dishes and clean up. In the afternoon, we would just spend time relaxing by watching DVDs. We were hooked on Heroes and Jericho. Sometimes, it would be CSI. But if we want different movies or TV shows, it would be Grey's Anatomy for me.

We both treasure the time we have together in our home on weekends. Last Sunday, I didn't enjoy malling at the Glorietta. I think the aircon is really not enough. IT WAS SO HOT! And I thought, I should have just stayed home! Unless necessary, I will never set foot in that mall again.

During the week, my husband would cook dinner if we get home early or on nights that I have classes. Otherwise it is take out or something that is easy to prepare like cold cuts, cheese and bread (like a light European meal ) that we buy from Santi's. Lately, we prefer eating at home than eating out. We are more relaxed, and... it's a lot cheaper! Just an example, I bought three kinds of cold cuts and two kinds at cheese, all at 100 gms each, a vegetable salad (the Goolai brand bought at Rustan's supermarket) and bread -- and it cost me around P500. These would be about three or four meals for us (except for the vegetable salad of course)! The last time we dined at Cafe Mediteranean, it cost us around P700! In addition, we had to pay for parking, now at a minimum of P40.

Now that we are saving for our trip, this is indeed a wonderful realization. If we stay at home, there is no temptation to shop, no need to dine out and no need to pay for parking! Plus, we save on gas =)

Why I Am a Teacher

Few people would think of having a second job. I never imagined it, but here I am, rushing every Monday and Wednesday after work hours to go to my second job. I have been teaching at the college level for three years now. Although I always feel exhausted and stressed, I keep coming back term after term...

When I was asked two years ago in a faculty event why I love teaching, my response was actually "Well, I'm not really sure if I love teaching". I was being honest. There were actually a lot of things not to love about it especially if you are already a working professional. When I started teaching, I was already head of a division in a company. I had a very lean staff and we always had to work under a lot of pressure. In addition to that, I have to attend a lot of management meetings. By the end of the day, I was usually exhausted. The commute to the university also took an hour.

When I get to school, I'm also pressured in terms of time because the university has so-called checkers to make sure that teachers are in class on time. It used to really bother me. Not only that, some students would not be really interested in what I had to say! Worse, I had to prepare lecture materials, prepare and check exams, grade research papers, etc. I had a lot of reasons to actually hate it.

However, I think what keeps me coming back are the students who have actually valued what they learned from me. A lot of my students dream of being their own bosses and they all understand and appreciate that learning about Finance is key to being an entrepreneur. They understand that the numbers are important in selecting a business they would like to start and most especially in running the business itself. I think of myself as a "mentor" to these future managers and entrepreneurs. Hopefully I can inspire them to be good managers and business owners.

I start my Finance class with current events reporting. Through this, I try to approach Finance in a practical way, how Finance works in the real world. The students report on developments in the national economy, major corporations and the business environment in general. We try to engage in discussions especially on how these developments affect our country. We have had a lot of discussions about the peso-dollar exchange rate, the call center and business process outsourcing boom, the property boom, etc.

Thinking back to when I was a university student myself, I realize that being in the corporate world helped me become a good teacher. Because I have the experience, I am able to discern the relevant learnings and I am also able to share a lot of stories about corporates, financial institutions and the financial markets. I am also teaching my students how to use the financial calculator and Microsoft Excel in doing their calculations, something that was not taught to me when I was a student.

Teaching also strengthened my communication skills. I am forced to explain concepts in a simple manner so the students can easily grasp them.

There are really a lot of things I enjoy about teaching. As to the things I hate about teaching, I have slowly adjusted to them (if students have their own private discussions, I ask them to step out of the class). Besides, I don't think I can survive all the pressures in the office without this distraction . Teaching is my own form of therapy.

Planning the US Trip

Washington D.C., November 2006

Our latest obsession is planning our U.S. Trip. Even if we have not really set the dates yet, just thinking about the places we will visit excites us and pushes us to reach our goal of saving enough so we can really enjoy our trip. One of the most valuable things we have learned is that planning way in advance actually becomes more cost efficient for us. We can already book plane and train tickets from here. When we travelled to Europe in 2004, we travelled First Class but paid Second Class via Eurail. During my U.S. trip last year, I spent about P100,000 excluding airfare--- I used airmiles =) This amount included 3 nights of hotel stay in New York, meals, train tickets to Washington D.C. and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, shopping at outlet shops in Woodbury, New York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. But since I only visited three states, all in the east coast, a more conservative estimate of the amount that we would have to spend while we are there would be close to P200,000 each if we want to go to other places as well.

And one of the greatest pleasures of travelling would be seeing family and friends. Planning early would also allow us to contact all the people we want to see during our trip.

We will definitely go to New York. My husband has not been there and he insists that this is a must. Of course we will go there. One of my best friends live there now, and the reason why I was in the US last year was to attend her wedding. We will also be in New Jersey to visit relatives. Washington D.C. is also on the top of the list. Everything about D.C. was beautiful. I enjoyed my stay there... just walking around the city was so breathtaking. One of my closest friends also live there now, we will definitely catch up.

Other places we are thinking of visiting are San Francisco,Los Angeles, Ohio, Dallas and Houston, simply because we have family and friends to visit in these places!

Why Midlife Bliss?

Florence, March 2007


Hongkong, January 2006

Washington D.C., November 2006

Berlin, April 2004

I turned 37 this year. I am neither young nor old. At this point in my life, I think I have accomplished enough to be proud of what I had become, but I still want to accomplish more so I can be the person I really want to be. My journal will attempt to document all things I am thankful for as well as things I still strive for. My journal will also be about my life as a career woman, a college teacher, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and of course as a friend.

To start off, I have to list all the things that I am thankful for:

1. A loving husband who has supported me in all my endeavors. In the 15 years that we have been together (10 years as a married couple), he has seen me through my journey to be an accountant, an MBA, a Master of Science in Computational Finance, a college teacher, a lecturer and a full-time career woman. I will never be thankful enough for all his support and love.

2. A wonderful family and in-laws.

3. A nice home.

4. The right career breaks, a challenging and stable job.

5. Wonderful friends

6. Opportunities to share my skills and knowledge with young people.

7. Opportunities to travel


I'm sure that I will be able to think of more things to be thankful for. Meanwhile, I would also like to use this journal to do something that I have always wanted to do but never really knew how...until I discovered blogging... and this is documenting our travels.


My husband and I love travelling and we are lucky enough to have travelled together over the past 10 years of our marriage. We never really went on a real honeymoon when we got married in 1996 as we were building our house and we didn't really have enough resources for a grand honeymoon. The first time we travelled was in 1999 when we went to Hongkong. We would go to Hongkong once or twice a year after that. It would be something that we always looked forward to.


Our first grand vacation was in April 2004 when we went to Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Lourdes, Milan and Rome. We had the time of our lives. In 2005, I went to New Zealand without him. In 2006, he went to Italy and Israel without me and I went to the United States without him. In March of this year, he again went to Italy without me.


We did enjoy our travels even if we weren't together but we both realized that nothing really beats travelling together. Three years after our European vacation, we still talk about our adventures, and in fact filled our home with our travel photos. Our goal right now is to travel together to the United States this year or early next year. The challenge is to be able to save given that our favorite activities are shopping and eating out =).