getting started

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Marjorie

As what Hubbie posted previously, we’re now together, and we’re so thankful for it. Now I just have to secure my reentry visa and hope there’ll be no hitches so I’ll be able to return to Manila to do the last minute preps for our wedding. Both Japan Embassy in Manila and Japan Foreign Affairs here already assured us there’ll be no hitches but still, I want to be on the safe side… 😀

Will try to post next time all the documentations involved with my migration and hope it’ll be of help to those who are also processing their papers. And I have to make time as well in making a feedback (and I have to find that feedback paper as well for their contact details!) to CFO’s PRISM. The way they handled and have handled Japanese spouses deserve setting aside some time to give my feedback. Please do expect a 2 page letter or so from me. When..uhm…until I have everything settled here.

Now, on to happy things. Hubbie welcomed me with one of my favorite things. Now, already 5 days after, they’re still as beautiful and fresh-looking as on the first day. Atsushi really did treat me like a pricess on my birthday. 🙂

i'm already 5 days old!

We’re trying to get our home organized and styled and it sure can be quite overwhelming!! But I am having a good time so I sure am not complaining. My most notable changes so far are the kitchen area along with the counter area and the bathroom sink (two places in the house that I am most particular with along with the toilet of course – they should be clean always, as much as possible!). Tidy frog can help me do the job.

Yesterday, I went to Maita Ward Office for my alien card registration. Walked from Gumyoji to Maita to try explore the place. Came along a furniture shop and finally found the dining table that I’ve been looking for. Eureka moment, yes! It’s wooden and it has chairs that has a slim, elongated back, which would help us exude the effect of having a bigger place than it really is. The wood color is quite dark but the chair upholstery is white so it’s just perfect. We can also have a light-colored table runner to, again, help us in bringing the effect of a bigger place. It’s quite interesting that the store people used a malong (traditional in Mindanao) as a table runner. It’s a sign?? hehe. It’s quite expensive though! And so of course, I asked for a discount – me in my broken Japanese (or more like one Japanese word at a time) and the store clerk in pure Japanese. We somehow understood each other though. He said that if I buy the one on display (it is in very good condition actually) and not have a new one made, we can have 30k yen discount (we can already buy two cabinets with that discount!). They’re open on saturdays so I can bring Hubbie along this weekend and hope he’ll like it as well so we can have a dining table already.

It’s just funny though, my audacity to do some haggling even when I only know a smattering of Japanese words. haha. Well, bringing along a calculator, or using your cellphone’s calculator is the only secret actually. All store owners, in any language probably, knows the english word “discount” 😀

The washing machine-dryer takes 6 hours to finish though, using the automatic mode. Totally not electricity efficient and not environment-friendly. Have to experiment using the washer only and try hanging the clothes outside. I worry about environment yo…

Together eventually

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Marjorie

Marjorie has visited Japan eventually and start new life together. We have waited long time for various document processing that is so complicated, but we overcome everything and furthermore, we can celebrate her birthday together on March6.

I am thankful that Marj could come just in time for her birthday.

Thanks for God’s blessing.

We’d like to enjoy new life and thankful for us to spend rest of our life together.

~Atsushi

thankful at chicboy

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Marjorie

Chicboy’s Cebu Lechon Liempo sure is not healthy. And it sure is one dish that bride-to-bes and groom-to-bes need to avoid.

But I had one of my best meals yesterday as i was having Chicboy’s Cebu Lechon Liempo. It’s not only because the liempo is so flavorful and tasty. But as I was having my very late lunch there yesterday, I also received one of the sweetest news that i’ve been waiting for for eternity (technically 6 months, and more excruciatingly, the last 3 months. 🙂 ) Yes. Visa!!!

Would always remember that meal. And how funny and embarrasing it was haha.

And we’re thankful. So thankful. 🙂

cartoons!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Marjorie

Erika set the end of February as the latest that we should submit our designs for our wedding favors. Friday, Feb 25 rolled by and I still have no design at hand. I sure am in a fix. Hence, Anna’s (nutatafish) post in W@W saying she can do cartoons for some co-w@wies was really an answered prayer.

An answered prayer that’s so pretty and creative and very much in line with our theme that I can’t stop feeling hoity-toity when I look at it. There was some crazy point during the weekend wherein Hubbie and I can’t agree yet where to use it in that Anna made a couple other designs so that we won’t have any difficulty matching the cartoons on wherever we plan to use it on our other wedding details.

Anna barely knew me. But she has been most generous with sharing her talent and design inputs. Anna, thank you so much! You’ll be blessed even more. 🙂 Thankful for W@W as well for being the venue of such love sharing. 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

going the extra mile

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Marjorie

Was really happy when Dhonna told me of the happy news that she and her husband Ghepoi will be doing our wedding cord. Was even happier when Dhonna told me our cord was already finished. So imagine my happiness when Dhonna told me that they went the extra mile – they are making us a container for our cord! 🙂

This was the first take.

But after talking it out with Dhonna about the pearls being avoided if at all possible on weddings, they revised it to this one. Tada!

Thank you much talaga, Dhonna and Ghepoi! You’ll be blessed, even more so. 🙂 Am thankful of the gift of friendship that even distance and time can’t overcome.

Container and cord will be making their journey from US to Japan then to Manila. Buti pa sya. 😀

31 in 1

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Marjorie

I don’t need to hide the facts. Yes, i’ll be 31 in exactly 1 week!! I am excited with this birthday (as I always am with my birthdays haha) because this is the first time I’m gonna celebrate it as a missus. And yes, my last year to hang on to a calendar number.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that I celebrated my “great crossover”? Haha, yes, I called it “the great crossover” as I crossed from the tweeties into thirties. Ugh, “thirties” does sound old. Haha! At the time that I was calling it “the great crossover” I didn’t have any inkling that it really was a crossover in many ways than I would have anticipated.

As a 30-yr-old, I really did cross the status boundary from a miss to a missus. I was almost reeling when I remembered how I said out loud back when I was in university that I WILL get married at the age of 30. And then I actually reeled when I realized that I really got married to a man whose qualities I have imagined way back in university days. Answered prayer, eh?

I celebrated my great crossover pampering myself in Makati Shangri-la, yes, by my lonesome. Singles out there, there should be times when you’ll treat yourself and have some pampering, albeit all alone. I hold those “me” times precious to me.

The night before I checked in, I had dinner with groupmates from the office, who suprised me in the manner I like – they gave me their flowers, cake and wine one moment at a time (flowers were sent at the office, cake was during dinner in TGIF, wine was after dinner). I just love the groupmates. Kat and Rey also gave me flowers and treated (?) me to lunch. And Hubbie serenaded me for 3 hours haha! Let’s reminisce, shall we? (Pictures courtesy of Gali Montalbo)