Baguio City - Going Back Home.....

December 4, 2006

The day I have been waiting for all these times...... actually 1 year, 2 months, 30 days, 1 hour and 50 minutes to be exact from this day till December 4th....

I have been so far away from home that it makes me more excited to finally be back home to where my heart belongs. I have been so far away for so long that at this very moment memories of way past when before I have set foot on this foreign land comes flooding my head and it feels so good.

Home is where your heart is and thats the very reason that I have endure this long and waited for this day to come and finally be where I belong. Albeit its just for a fleeting moment of time, its worth the wait, pain and grief, hardwork and sweat, and wanting to realize that come December 4th will be a special day that I anticipate for the next few days counting to that very day.

Home is where my heart beats and come this December 4th, I will be where my heart belongs. To someone who means more than what I can even imagine. Home is where once I have felt what its used to be a haven for all my being,my thoughts, my dreams, my aspirations and specially, where my other half of my very essence I have left for this journey in this foreign land, I'll return.

Home is where my heart feels welcome and loved. Close to the people who are as real as you can ever imagine. Home is where friends and family comes together to celebrate the spirit of oneness and unity. To celebrate life as it should be, where old kindred spirit and fire comes to relieve old memories and times passed by, where distance is bridged, where everyone welcomes far away souls to their loving embrace.

Ah, how happy it is just to think of the anticipation of finally coming back to where your soul and heart belong, that is home, my Baguio City, my country, the Philippines....

And I continue to count the remaining days till my journey back home begins...... again...
1 year, 2 months, 30 days, 2 hours and 5 minutes and the seconds just keeps on ticking until then..........

From O.D.O.C. to O.Y.O.C. (1st Year In Canada)

Wow, its been so fast..... Time flies so fast you don't even notice that one year has past me by.... Probably you are wondering what's ODOC and OYOC means? Well, ODOC stand for One Day Old Canadian, which was last year, the very first day I arrived here in Canada, August 9, 2005 and OYOC, you guessed it, One Year Old Canadian, which is today, August 9, 2006. Actually it will be official come 8:00 pm because its the exact time that I really arrived here in Canada....

What can I say, I survived my first year here in Canada; my first summer (now its my second summer, whew its hotter compared to last year!), my first fall, my first winter and lastly, my first spring..... Time really flies so fast......

A lot of things happened so fast during the past year for me here, a lot of ups and downs at the same time but in general, I think and feel, that all that happened and are happening are according to what I expected and hopefully will continue so according to what I have planned ahead for my next year here.... Ah, time really flies so fast....

The last thing I remember was that very sad and at the same time happy eve of my departure to Canada..... Happy because I finally will go to Canada after five agonizing years of processing my papers and finally being with my mom which I never had the chance to be with for a long time then....... And sad, for so many reason..... It's more on the sentimental sort of sadness, like leaving your friends, the habits, the place you love, the work, your home country, etc.... But the most saddest maybe for me is leaving my love behind.... It was truly a sad and gloomy eve for me but I have to be strong and show my love that whatever happens what we dreamed of and planned will push through and I guess the only testament I have is that we are still pretty much together and in love with one another which makes it a happy first year for me here afterall..... Times flies so fast.....

My first few months here in Canada was very frustrating, having no work for almost three months. Although I tried finding one before, I always end up finding no job in the end..... There's a lot of bruhaha in this new country of mine that you have to have this and that and that you must be this long in this country before you can have this job or whatever insane and mundane reason that you cannot have a job that is decent if you are just a new immigrant here.... It was frustrating at times it makes you breakdown, I did before but I have endured it somehow with so much help from those people who mattered and cared for me.... A lot of thanks goes to my love and for the new friends I have met in my transition here in Canada.... I think without these people, I wouldn't have survived this far, maybe I would have packed my bags and things and went back home to the Philippines but thankfully I didn't..... And now, its been a year since then..... Ah, time flies so fast.....

My first jobs that I took before were: factory worker at Thorncliff for a veneer blinds manufacturer which after just two days, I quit because by the second day, I couldn't even get off my bed, arghh, it was painful and backbreaking work then....... So my odyssey of finding work begins after that first job...... I did a lot of odd jobs back then, a handy man for a production outfit which pays well then..... tried to apply in restaurants and light duty jobs..... applied as cook and was finally got one job as a food handler and service crew at Burger King which up to now I still do (they're great people to work with thats why I lasted this long..... and then I got a second job as a cook in one of the famous chain of restaurants here in Canada which is Pizza Pizza Inc. which only lasted for 3 months because the outlet where I work was sold to a very $%^8*&* guy and he laid us out..... it was a bad and a good experience for me and I think I learn some lessons from it..... I did pursue a lot of opportunity before but I always ended up being short handed by the employer......... Oh, my, time flies so fast....

Until one day I decide to go to the next level of my plans here in Canada and that is to pursue the job I have left behind back home, the job I have learned to love and that is to be a certified Medical Technologist here..... And so I took the first step and that is to become a Medical Technician first and take that certifying exam..... I did that last February 2006 and now I'm proud to say I'm nearing to finishing it, just 3 weeks away..... This year also I met some new friends and old ones here..... Some new ones worth keeping and some new ones worth just knowing them.... Well, people ar people.... By november this year, I'll be sitting for that certifying exam which is the OSMT for Ontario Society of Medical Technologist...... Ah, time flies so fast.......

And now, August 9, 2006, its been a year and what a fast year it was.... I can't even remember what are the other things that happened to me here during that fast one year that went by.... Until tomorrow, I'll be looking forward to another year and I pray and hope that this coming year will be much better than the last..... Ah, time flies so fast......

This coming year would be better I know so I'm on the next level of my plan and that is to assimilate myself here in Canada. Starting to finding a work as a Medical Technician and then bringing my fiancee here...... Afterwards who knows, I'll be going back again to school to bridge my credentials to finally attain and be eligible to sit for the certifying exam for Medical Technologist..... And I know, I can do it....... So wait for the synopsis of my second year next August 9, 2007. Till then, its been a roller coaster year.... Ah, time flies so fast.....

Cry (James Blunt)

I have seen peace. I have seen pain,
Resting on the shoulders of your name.
Do you see the truth through all their lies?
Do you see the world through troubled eyes?

And if you want to talk about it anymore,
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder,
I'm a friend.

I have seen birth. I have seen death.
Lived to see a lover's final breath.
Do you see my guilt? Should I feel fright?
Is the fire of hesitation burning bright?

And if you want to talk about it once again,
On you I depend. I'll cry on your shoulder.
You're a friend.

You and I have been through many things.
I'll hold on to your heart.
I wouldn't cry for anything,
But don't go tearing your life apart.

I have seen fear. I have seen faith.
Seen the look of anger on your face.
And if you want to talk about what will be,
Come and sit with me, and cry on my shoulder,
I'm a friend.

And if you want to talk about it anymore,
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder,
I'm a friend.

It Can't Rain All The Time (Jane Siberry)

We walked the narrow path, beneath the smoking skies.
Sometimes you can barely tell the difference between darkness and light.
Do we have faith in what we believe?
The truest test is when we cannot, when we cannot see.

I hear pounding feet in the,
In the streets below, and the,
And the women cry and the,
And the children know that there,
That there's something wrong,
And it's hard to believe that
Love will prevail.

Oh it won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
Your tears won't fall forever.

Oh, when I'm lonely, I lie awake at night and I wish you were here.
I miss you. Can you tell me is there something more to believe in?
Or is this all there is?

In the pounding feet, in the,
In the streets below, and the,
And the window breaks and,
And a woman falls, there's,
There's something wrong, it's,
It's so hard to believe that love will prevail.

Oh it won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
Your tears won't fall, your tears won't fall, your tears won't fall
Forever.

Last night I had a dream.
You came into my room, you took me into your arms.
Whispering and kissing me, and telling me to still believe.
Within the emptiness of the burning cities against which we save our darkest
Selves...

Until I felt safe and warm.
I fell asleep in your arms.
When I awoke I cried again for you were gone.
Oh, can you hear me?

It won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
Your tears won't fall forever.
It won't rain all the time
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
Your tears won't fall, your tears won't fall, your tears won't fall
Forever.

My Immortal (Evanescence)

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave I wish that you would just leave

'Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have

All of me

You used to captivate me

By your resonating life

Now I'm bound by the life you've left behind

Your face it haunts

My once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away

All the sanity in me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me

I've been alone all along