Trying to get by

Money has been frequently dwelling on my mind the past few weeks. It probably started when me and hubby decided to manage each of our own monies and split on every household bill. Although I bring in less bacon than he does, which means there would be so little or even a virtually negative amount left for me after paying the bills, I think it’s generally a good thing. This set-up pushes me to aim high, do more, and become the person I want to be. In my pursuit to develop my writing skills and earn from it, I recently subscribed to a site where I could bid for freelance projects. I’m still at the building-my-profile stage, and just a minute ago I received an email from the site reminding me that I need to get my butt in there and contribute to their business. I’m planning to spend a few more hours tonight to polish my profile and maybe start bidding for jobs. I need to earn an additional 4k a month (at least) to pay my extra bills. I hope this thing works for me.

On the other hand, I feel so fortunate that despite my being broke, I have a family to make me embrace life’s beauty. My son’s fast becoming a “big boy”, as he says it. He’s becoming very assertive, observant, funny, independent, inclined to eating fish than pork, beef or cold cuts, and … really obsessed with trains. His dad bought him another set this weekend (in lieu of the time he spent at the office on a Sat). The kiddo was so into it last night he went to bed a little more late than he used to. And of course, the unsceasing playback of The Polar Express for the entire weekend, and Youtube's Thomas the Train episodes, which added to the spirit. He never gets tired of anything trains-related. What concerns me though is his dad being too glad about his son’s obsessions. I used to see those beaming eyes from my dad’s friends when they see their sons do something naughty. And those eyes always made me feel like they seem to pose potential trouble. But, anyway, hubby says he sees himself in our son the obsession, or to put it better, the passion he had for something. He thinks the little tyke is likely to succeed in life just like daddy. I think so, too.

Broke-back

Today was the first time I was able to actually feel that I own what I earned. I withdrew some money to hand my brother his tuition fee, had a yummy ramen for P85 at a Japanese resto, and was able to buy a toiletries purse by cash. I thought it was the most liberated thing I have ever done for the last few years. The moment I browsed into the shelves of purses, I realized I need to find the right item – not-so-expensive but really useful. And I’m glad I did. I paid it in cash. And the moment just brought me to those days when I was single and had the opportunity to think ahead, think of the consequences of this purchase. Hell, I felt so alive! And yes, broke.

Japanese TV series

After having finished two Japanese live TV series (Hana Yori Dango and Oniyome Diary), I decided to purchase another DVD to again immerse myself into Japanese culture, and yes, the language. It has been four years since I started learning nihongo and until now I still haven’t acquired any JLPT license. I flunked my JLPT 3 last 2006. Then I missed my JLPT 4 in 2007 to attend a business trip in the US. This means I need to get back on track. I’m taking this year’s JLPT again, though. And yes, I’m taking JLPT 4 as I realized taking JLPT 3 is far too ambitious.

And so, after I digress, let’s get back to the supposed main topic. I was so delighted by the last two DVDs that I watched both whole seasons again. And yes, I have talked about and introduced and recommended them to my family and friends as well. Hana Yori Dango sort of revives the romantic in me. It’s one of those romeo-and-julietesque stories we see on TV. But what I liked most about this teen-oriented drama is that it gave me some idea on how the poor and rich live in Japan. I have been a long time anything-about-Japan fan, but I never thought there were still poor people living in 35sqm homes and on fried chicken skin for dinner, in a first-world country with the second-largest economy in the whole living planet! Weird, but it was enlightening. Having researched about living expenses in Japan days later, I realized it isn’t really easy surviving in Japan. Everything is sky-rocket expensive. I remember checking for capsule hotel prices. The cheapest I could find starts at 3,000yen for a night. Wow, that’s about the same price as a nice 2-star hotel for a night here in Manila! And that a yummy bowl of ramen costs around 850yen. That’s like eating for three in a comfortable restaurant here in Manila. By the way, I got the latter info from this other DVD that I was gaga over – Oniyome Diary. This one, on the other hand, shows the daily lives of mid-income married couples in Tokyo. I like this DVD more because as a wife, I can easily relate to the scenes. It’s about a timid, but scheming husband who maintains a blog where he can express all the misery he feels about his wife. The wife, although a little too strong-willed, I think isn’t so bad. She always has a reason for everything – damn good reasons. That’s why the hubby continues to be submissive, and resorts to his blog as his confidant. Besides its being very rich in Japan’s cultural exposure, the actors were superb and everything is well-thought out and very comic. Every time I watch it I’m giggling and laughing I almost fall from my seat. Well, maybe because I could relate to the story lines, too.

The new DVDs I bought are titled Oishii Proposal and Saito-san. I have already started digging into Oishii Proposal, a story about an independent, strong-willed, single woman in her late 20s. I’m still trying to finish the second episode. I chose it from among the flock in the DVD shelf because I have a friend who’s also in the marriageable age and is also very independent. So far, it’s okay. But based on ratings, this one rated well on its first run. Numbers spiraled down in the second up to the last then went up again in its last run. It’s drama, so I guess I won’t expect more giggles when I watch it again maybe some time this weekend. I guess I’m just not really into drama. Saito-san, I haven’t started yet. What got me to buying it is because it’s about a single mom – it has truly different story lines (I hope) from the ones I watched. For a change, I’d like to know how single moms do it to raise kids alone in a very expensive and industrialized country like Japan. So, my weekend’s already booked. Maybe I’ll have those ripped and converted to iTunes video so that I could watch them while commuting. Hmmmm…

win-win situation

After all’s been said and done, hubby and I came up with a few realizations. One of which is very new to me is splitting the payment of our bills. He actually came up with the idea out of rage, when he was so mad about something he missed to understand. It has been more than three years of our marriage of combining both incomes, and spending it as one source. But now, we both realized we need to try this new system as well. And I redefined it – it’s not “yours will be mortgage, tuition, gas; mine will be allowances, electricity, water bills”. Instead, each bill will have to be split in two for both of us to pay in halves. I thought it would be fair. Hubby was delighted by the idea, given I have absolved him of the responsibility of sending my brother to school, and that he earned way more than me. I thought it was win-win because it had been really unfair for only him to absorb all the financial pressure. What I did was just earn and put my income in a common place, and I had no idea how my income was spent. I had no idea of my worth, of my value. I had no idea on how to manage my income. I had no idea of the financial pressure that hubby has been going nuts about. This time, I’ll learn, and he will enjoy his money. Win-win, alright.

ruthie

It was memorable last night, when me and my office buddies spent our after-office hours at a place called Pilange. Pilange is a videoke place that is dirty cheap, but their offering is something you would want to write about in your blog and say nice things about it. I would want to recommend such a place for budget-conscious groups who just want to have fun with the company of their friends. Local beers are almost free, for only P38 per 280ml bottle. Food, price-and taste-wise, isn’t bad either. The pancit canton that disguised as something that crawled from a creepy karinderia turned out really superb! The only downside there is that its list of songs is not that updated. But if you’re the type who’d wail for the oldies, then this place is your own nirvana.

The gathering was to celebrate, or should I say, grieve over the departing of one of our girl friends. She’s leaving the company and country tomorrow to try her luck in Singapore. I wish for her to be lucky, safe and happy in her new journey to success. I’ll miss that kiddo, who sat beside me for the last 10 months of my stint with ENP. She was the little girl who would ask me about her lovelife woes, and we could talk all day about 90’s alternative music. Although we never got to make our band happen, wherein she’s our rhythm guitarist and I’m on bass, we were crazy excited about it we were daydreaming of what it would be like to be on stage with those big guitars. I’ll miss the girl, alright.

Nth nostalgia

Okay, so nostalgia hit me again today. In the morning, it seemed like I'm missing my previous job – editing stories from Chinese writers – one major feat you’ll never forget in your lifetime. I miss my old boss, that brilliant Singaporean whom you’d like to work with all your life. I missed both work and boss. However, I wouldn’t want to go back to doing that ultra-tedious job anymore. Well, I guess I could do it once in a while, for a change. In the entire afternoon, I was listening to Bread’s Make it with you on my computer’s media player. I’m truly a hippie, I guess, even if I was born a decade later. Then I remembered the high school boyfriend who gave me a The Best of Bread cassette tape, which featured the said song. That was the first gift that I have truly treasured. I kept the until, maybe college, when it broke down and cassette players have become scarce. I guess it was the sweetest gift I have ever received in my whole life. The guy chose it as a gift (for no occasion at all) because he has seen me unceasingly borrow a similar copy from one of our classmates. Well, I think that was sweet. He was really a sweet guy. No other boyfriend has topped that of his, not even my hubby. It didn't work between us because maybe, when you’re 16 and ready to take on the world, sweet guys aren’t the most important thing in the world.

Fountain-frolicing at the Market! Market!

That Saturday get-away of ours got me red-nosed and sniffing since Monday morning. I guess really could not stand the heat of the sun for too long. Taking open-door/window rides on a very humid and dusty day pisses my lungs. But it was fun, really. My son had his metro-train ride the second time. The funny thing is, the little tyke expected the train to go up a mountain and reach North Pole just like what he saw in the movie The Polar Express. He has seen that movie like a gazillion times! But luckily, he didn’t make a fuss out of it. We simply explained to him that this train will only traverse the “road”/Edsa. He quickly nodded, “ah…” and rolled his eyes and probably thought how long that “road” is, or what it’s like way further. We just let him wander for a moment in his imaginary train world.

After lunch, we dropped by the church only to find out that office hours start at 3pm. We proceeded to Market! Market!, a shopping mall, park, playground and a whole lot of everything in one place. When the little tyke saw the dancing fountain, he was amazed by it that we stayed only at that part of the mall the whole time. He was running around the grill that surrounds it - “railways” as he calls it. He probably made twenty loops, yelling “chagga chagga choo choo! chagga chagga choo choo!”. Being an only child, my son is used to playing alone, in his own wonderland. While my son frolics and later joins other kids, me and hubby zip our frappucinos to keep our eyes open while the kiddo joins a battalion of his kind.

Hubby left by 2:30pm to go back to the church and get the document. The little tyke is still restless, finally deciding to get his clothes wet and really enjoy the waters. Some bystanders were amused by him because he was like “the last tyke standing” there; the rest of the kids have already given up, or were already tired. Good thing, I brought with us a set of changing clothes. I explained to him that after changing into his fresh clothes, he can never go back to playing at the fountain again, some other day perhaps. Am I surprised that he didn’t again make a fuss out of it. Oh my gosh, my son is maturing! He’s not anymore the bratty terrible-two who tested the hell out of me several months ago. However, when we were about to leave the mall, we have a little bit of an argument. I said we have to ride on a jeep to get to the train. He said he wanted to ride the train – right away. So I had to explain to him that the train is way too far we had to ride on a jeep first to get to the train. It took me around 10 agonizing minutes to make him understand that. Finally, I used an easier technique. I told him, I’m going to the train, I’m gonna ride the jeep and then the train. He was teary-eyed, then later took my hand and told me he will also take the jeep. I know it’s a little bit of blackmail, but talking logical with a (almost) tantrum-stricken toddler is not the greatest solution at that time, either. It took a whole lot of patience and courage. But, whew! That was such a relief. And so we met his dad later at the train station with a cheerful mood.

And you thought he was already dozing off at the bus on our way home? Not a slim chance! Despite the heavy traffic along the coastal area, my son was very excited to talk about his experience earlier that day. And he was prancing here and there and singing his fave songs “Hot-cross buns, ABCD…, and Twinkle, twinkle, little star”. Although it was a little exhausting, that get-sway was such a very happy experience for the three of us. Later on, I got a headache and never got to join the poker game at our cousin’s that night. The next day, I’m having a stuffy nose.