My absence, I guess, was mostly due to personal issues relating to my work situation, which I struggled to overcome. I tried miserably to take control of a difficult situation but this only led to one disappointment after another. Sadly, this depressing state prevented me from seeing the “brighter side” and from actually realizing how immensely blessed I am despite the setbacks that have come my way.

Thankfully, things have started to improve recently and, while I know that the best is yet to come, I believe that the only way for me to move forward and  be happy is to appreciate and count the many blessings I receive as they come. Hopefully, this renewed outlook will help me get through these trying times and inspire me to update this neglected journal more often. 

So, while I patiently wait for the Big Boss to unfold his masterplan for me and our family,  I want to celebrate my upcoming  1st year anniversary since hopping over here in trying hard true Aussie fashion -   by heading out to the coast and having some fun in the sun!

These photos were taken last weekend at Kings Beach in the Sunshine Coast, where we went for a short holiday during the children’s quarterly term break.

Try to check out our Facebook page for more photos of our recent vacation.  Hope to be able to share more stories with all of you soon.

This trailer looks pretty small but it has a pony, a cow, a pig and a few more cute and cuddly creatures inside.

We thought Marga would look great in plaid – to complete her cowfarmgirl look.

A little hesitation at first…

… but that didn’t last long – thanks to Pinky who bravely pretended to show them how it’s done!

Of all the creatures big and small, who’s your favorite one of all?

Luigi and Marga could not resist petting and feeding their new friends…

… while glamour boy, Rafael, found it more relaxing to be out of the fence and…

… in dear mummy’s arms!

Whether it was meeting new friends or enjoying the company of loved ones, it was definitely a fun day for all of us!

It’s been a few months since I’ve been here in Brisbane and have been eagerly sending out my resumes to various companies so I can finally join the local workforce.  Admittedly, the process has personally been a very humbling experience – with so much disappointment along the way.  I initially started with a lot of eagerness and confidence but these slowly faded away as the months passed and as the rejection letters came in one after the other.  

After a few weeks of self-doubt, depression and fear of an uncertain future, I realized that I just needed to give God enough time to work out his plan for us while I enjoy the free time I had with my family – after all, not everyone is given the opportunity to relax at home and do as one pleases.

Little did we know, however, that Divine Providence was working overtime and that our “pseudo-holiday” would be so short-lived. The week Pinky and I finally decided to resume our job hunt, I immediately landed an offer – a temporary one, though, but one which I hope will eventually allow me to put my proverbial “foot in the door” to help jumpstart my career. 

Admittedly, being offered a job in an industry that is so different from what I’m used to plus the “sudden” changes in our family’s routine threw us all off our seats and made me somewhat go on the deep end for a while.

Now, I still remain anxious about the changes that are happening in our lives - mostly due to the toxic nature of my new job – but remain comforted by the knowledge that God is (and has always been) with us in this journey.

Blessings abound and, though sometimes they come in packaging quite unfamiliar to us and totally unexpected,  they remain blessings and we should still be thankful.

The next few days and weeks – or months – will definitely be stressful for us but we remain strong in our faith that – God willing - things will eventually fall in their proper order and all will be a meaningful whole again.

As for now, I leave you with a brief introduction to our new friend, “Babe”, whom we met in the park recently.  He and his friends were so adorable our children instantly fell in love with them.  Thank goodness, though, none of them thought of bringing them to home as pets cause that would be a nightmare!  

Anyway, more of our friends in my next post.  Until then, have a great weekend!

Thankfully, it is during these trying times when you learn to appreciate the strength of human character.  Inspite of all the hardships, our city is back on its feet and on the road to recovery.  So many things were unfortunately damaged by the floods and it will take a while before the beauty of Brisbane shines through again… but it will happen. As for now, life goes on and we must rebuild.

~~ o O o ~~

One of the highlights for us last month was the smooth transition of our children to their new school, which finally opened a few weeks ago. 

Our children – who have technically been on a very long summer vacation since July of last year – were very much excited to use their new bags and uniforms and go to their newly-built school.

Springfield Central’s school’s motto is “raise the bar,” which I guess is very appropriate as it distinguishes itself as being one of the technologically advanced schools in state of Queensland.

 Hopefully, our children will help the school achieve its target soon.

The primary campus is new and much of it is still being constructed. However, the completion of the initial stages, though, should be over soon - weather-permitting, of course!

Although our family is still in the process of ticking-out more items from our “to-do list”, we are very thankful that God has allowed us to slowly integrate into our new hometown.  We remain hopeful that, soon, all will be in order. 

Everything happens in His own perfect time.

The past few days have been very exciting for all of us specially with all the unexpected blessings that have been coming our way.  God is truly amazing and our whole family can only revel in awe at how He has worked to make our transition to our new home as smooth and as quickly as possible.  Of course, we have still a lot to look forward to in the coming year but that is what makes this whole process so exciting for all of us. Just faithfully waiting in anticipation for God to reveal to us all those pleasant surprises is definitely worth it – somewhat like a child eagerly awaiting for Christmas to open all his presents.

Our exciting family journey has “officially” begun and, while the road ahead mostly remains unknown to us, we continue to believe that God will navigate us through this winding path and help us avoid those crossroads and little bumps on the way.  He has done this before and we know that He will do it again for our family.

Anyway, since our internet connection at home remains unreliable at the moment, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best this Chistmas season.  On behalf of the “Oz Sys” – as my wife aptly puts it – may you all experience a very blessed season of love with your families and may the new year only be filled with God’s choicest blessings the whole year round.

And for a guy like me who, to put it mildly, is very “un-Handy-Man-ly”  – this can be a real nightmare! In fairness, though, it’s not like I don’t even try.  It’s just that my frustration easily gets the best of me whenever I do my darnest best and yet the faucet still leaks or the electrical ballast still doesn’t work even after I supposedly fixed them already.

Anyway, I bought some basic pieces of furniture over the past few weeks and installed them through the help of our more “vocationally-adept” relative, Donnie, who was kind enough to assist me (read: do most of the hard stuff) so I can get settled in our house immediately.  If not for him and his supportive wife, Carrie, I’m sure most of the items I bought would still be boxed-up in the garage.

I’m sure there will be more of these projects in the near future and I am hoping that – once I get the hang of it (and once I have all the necessary, ahem,  “tools of the trade”) – I will be able to eventually complete the projects myself (or at least, with minimal support coming from other people).  In the meantime, please indulge me as I brag about our recent D.I.Y. accomplishments…

For our boys, their room will each have a Japanese-themed single-bed with matching work desk, bookshelf and drawer.  To differentiate the rooms, though, our “tween-agers” will each have either a red-black  or silver-black color-schemed desk lamp, trash bin and chair.

Our daughter, on the other hand, will have her own “pretty-in-pink” study desk and chair…

… and a similar Japanese-themed double bed – which we thought will be perfect – in case some of our friends and relatives decide to visit us in the future.

Since most of our remaining furniture are still awaiting shipment from Manila, we decided to buy a few bar stools which the children can eventually use when they have their morning ”brekkie.”

I am pleased to say that our house is slowly starting to shape up and – in less than a month from now - Pinky and the kids will be here to finally make it into a real home! I am obviously thrilled with this development and am really looking forward to that day when our family will be reunited again and we can finally start our Aussie adventures together.  Until then… more handy man projects await

Anyway, I decided to go to a local salon the other day to get a much-needed trim.  I knew beforehand that a simple men’s cut here costs anywhere between $25-$28.  With this in mind – even though this price was easily ten times more than what I would normally have paid for in Manila - it wasn’t so much of a shock to me anymore when the lady who did my hair named the price of the haircut.

What’s disappointing, though, is how the “hair specialist(?)” performed her task  - she was extremely bored and seemed super disinterested in what she was doing.  It was as if someone just forced her to go into the hairstyling business out of necessity, which, judging from her actions, could have actually been the case!

Needless to say, her lack of passion reflected on her work and my hair – sadly – is even in a much worse condition now than before we started. Had I known that I would arrive at this “sorry state”, I would have just gone directly to Fleet street and asked Sweeney Todd to  strut his stuff on me… Anyway, the end result would have been the same – disastrous!  Thankfully, my hair (and I am hoping, the rest of me, too ) is resilient to adversity and - with just a few touches of gel here and there – can spring back to life in no time.

Okay, I can’t believe I’m blogging about my hair.  This. Is. Bad.  Hopefully, I will have more interesting stories to share with you next time.  Until then.

(Photo taken from www.fanpop.com)

I met some agents a few weeks ago but, so far, they have not yet been able to provide any good opportunities for me – even though the job market here is supposedly picking-up.  One factor seems to be working against me – and other new migrants, I assume - the so-called ”lack of local experience”.  Ironically, though, the only way for you to obtain this requirement is to land a job and experience how it is to work firsthand for a local corporation… so you see now that I seem to be in a “chicken-and-egg” rut here?   

Anyway, despite the occasional moments of fear and doubt, I try very hard to maintain a more positive outlook and believe that God will help us again get through these minor bumps on the road. Everything happens in His own time and I believe this is just not yet the right moment for me.  

As for now, I have decided to focus all my energy on polishing my driving skills so I can obtain my local license as soon as possible. Once I get through that hurdle, my next objective is to buy our car. Exciting! 

So, to all of you out there, I suggest you strap your seatbelts and get ready as I rev up our engine and bring this Australian adventure to a whole new level. Wish me the best of luck  – better yet, continue praying for our family’s intentions – and I hope you all enjoy the ride!

(Photo taken from www.zercustoms.com)

The house is very modest in size but it definitely meets our basic requirements.  Aside from the good neighborhood, the primary selling point of this house for me was the fact that it is only a few minutes’ walk to the school of our children.

Of course, the open living and dining areas, ample kitchen space and small patio were bonuses that we are very much thankful for.

Unfortunately, the masters’ bedroom is a tad too small…

… but it at least has a walk-in wardrobe and ensuite bathroom.

This hallway leads to the three other rooms as well as this built-in linen cabinet.

Our boys will have to choose which of these two rooms they want while our daughter gets the other one by default. 

Of course, they all need to share this common toilet and bath.

My next project is to furnish this place with some beds and a few basic appliances so I can finally bring my family over and make this our home (Oh, if you only knew how much my heart is jumping with excitement just thinking about it!). Anyway, I have to be patient - a few more weeks and we will all be reunited again. As for now, I should be happy that things are starting to fall into their rightful places.  God is definitely good!

It’s been officially a week and a day since I first landed in what we hope will be our new home away from home – Brisbane.  So far, every thing has been great and I’d like to think that – despite having limited access to transportation – I’ve accomplished a lot in a very short time.

I am currently living with some relatives – you know who you are *wink* - who have been more than generous enough to share their time and resources to help us get settled here as soon as possible.  And, thankfully, it is only because of their help that I am able to check most of the items in my “to-do-list” and hasten the process of bringing my whole family over.  If not for them, I would definitely be like a lost Dorothy as she wandered around clueless in OZ in search for the Emerald Palace.

While our future is starting to look clearer and there are so many things to be thankful for right now, I’ve decided to save mentioning this first and just keep it for a later post.  In the meantime, I do hope you enjoy this stock photo of the Brissy skyline, which I took during our vacation last year.