Better late than never

August 1, 2017. Ford handed me this postcard the moment he stepped in our apartment. I got confused. I was actually expecting a postcard from my BFF Raxie but not that soon (I just sent her my address the previous night).

When I looked into the postcard, it was indeed from Raxie (who else?). But the card's not from Japan (where she was that time) but from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Huwhaaaat?!?!

I already thought that it could be one of the two postcards from Raxie that 'didn't make it.' But hello, that was two years ago! As in 2015 pa!

I checked on my IG posts and found this:

Itong Chiang Mai post card nga na dumating ang isa sa mga missing. Nakakaloka! Raxie sent it to my Edmonton address in August 2015 pa (I was vacationing in Pinas that time).

TWO YEARS LATE. Posible palang dumating pa ang letter/card after two years! Di ko talaga ma-reconcile sa utak ko haha. Even Raxie was so shocked! I have to idea kung kaninong 'fault' ba ito, sa Thailand o Canada Post. Oh well, better late than never.

----------------------------

So how did this postcard still reach me now that we're living in BC?

I would have to commend my husband for subscribing to Canada Post's mail forwarding service. At first I didn't know na meron palang ganito. Pero dahil uso nga dito sa North America ang pamove-move ng tirahan/province, eto na nga.

My husband subscribed for a year and paid $104.25. It was a good decision because we didn't have to worry anymore about our incoming mails, especially those job-related ones (like T4 from previous employers, etc.).

I was very impressed with the service. Ang efficient kasi. We received our first redirected mail on October 5, 2016 (we arrived here on October 2).

Too bad our subscription is about to expire on September 28, 2017. So I have until that day to wait for the last missing postcard lol.

 ---------------------------------

By the way, I finally received the Japan Postcard the other day (August 9). It only took 8-9 days to arrive.

Thank you, my BFF Raxie, for always remembering me during your travels!

Christmas card from Mels

A couple of weeks ago, I asked (or rather, demanded) my girl friends to send me a Christmas card. You see, those girls are the only persons who give me gifts for Christmas (haha!) and now that I live faraway from them, I miss our yearly gift-giving activity. So for the meantime, sabi ko kung pwede card na lang muna. They happily obliged.

Atty. Mel's card came in the mail yesterday (December 5) and I was surprised kasi ang aga. Wala pa nga akong Christmas tree kaloka! But I was very happy. Ang sarap makatanggap ng something from your friends and from Pinas! It's like receiving a piece of home.

But another thing actually surprised me. When I looked at the envelope, there is no stamp or any postal mark in. As in malinis. There's just a handwritten "85" on the upper right portion of the envelope which I assume is the postal fee. So parang personal na nilagay lang ito sa mail box namin at hindi dumaan sa postal office. Paano kaya itong nakarating dito??? Ni walang date stamp ha.

Too bad, I was hoping pa naman to receive nice Philippine stamps na Christmas theme (may nakita ako nun sa internet eh). And I am sure you will agree that those stamps and marks give a mailed letter its distinct character. That makes a written card much more special. Importante rin kasi ang date stamps for documentation, di ba?

Oh well, I am still expecting two cards from Pinas so sana naman may stamp at mga tatak na.

Ooops by the way, I still didn't open the card. Kapag malapit na ang pasko na lang at may Christmas tree na kami para mas feel na feel ko.

Thanks so much, pare ko! Mwah!

First batch sent!

We finally were able to send the first batch of our Christmas greeting cards last November 29. This first batch will be going to the Philippines, Malaysia, and UAE- hence, we had to send them "early." But I kinda doubt kung aabot pa sa pasko. I remember that we sent cards last year on November 26 and some didn't make it on time (including Mamoosh's). But inasmuch as I wanted to send them earlier for this year, my CS operation hindered me to do so (lol!). I had to wait for a few more days bago ko napilit ang sarili ko na sulatan ang cards.

The 'red' one is for my Mamoosh. :)

I wasn't able to write "proper" personalized Christmas messages anymore. Again, I didn't have the energy (and able mind and body) to do so. Next year na lang.

But I am kinda discouraged in sending Christmas cards anymore. For this first batch alone, Pod already paid $43+ for postage. For a jobless person like me (haha!), that's quite a lot of money already. Yeah, call me stingy, but I can't blame many people for choosing electronic greeting cards na lang instead of snail mail. Not all recipients are appreciative of traditional cards din naman kasi.

We'll be sending the second batch of cards to our relatives here in North America. It'll only take a week for those cards to reach their addresses so we'll wait for a few more days before we mail them. Unlike last year, sana mapadala talaga namin ang second batch haha.

I'll show you how our card this year looks like after Christmas!

From Edmonton with love

When you're a new immigrant, even the most mundane thing like sending a mail can result to some feelings of insecurity. Ahhhmm, paano nga ba uli maghulog ng sulat sa post office?

I've lived in the Philippines for 34 years and I, of course, have mastered the art of living there. Here, I'm like a child... I need to be socialized in every aspect of Canadian/ Edmontonian culture.

Anyway, Christmas is fast approaching so I decided to rekindle my love of sending greeting cards. Ford and I are so far far away from our family and friends so we really wanted to keep in touch. Sa panahon ngayon ng email,  Facebook at Instagram, I know many of our loved ones will still appreciate a tangible Christmas card.

It's still November but Ford reminded me to finish the ones we'll be sending to the Philippines, UAE, and Malaysia. Hay, medyo late na nga yata ang cards namin. Sana umabot sa Pasko.

Canada Post Offices are conveniently located in malls and pharmacies all over the city. For local mailing, you can buy stamps and just drop your letters at designated drop off areas.

There's a post office in West Edmonton Mall and we went there after Pod's work. I loved the idea that you can send mails up until 9pm. Sa Pilipinas kasi hanggang 5pm lang.

The post office shares a stall with a mini store. It's complete with any mailing paraphernalia that you might need - envelopes, boxes, pens, tapes, etc.

Edmonton postcards are also available there.

An elderly woman man the office. Isa pa ito sa gusto ko sa Canada, pwede kang magtrabaho kahit na ano pa ang edad mo basta kaya mo.

After receiving Pod's payment, the lady gave us the "Air Mail" stickers. Then the stamps. Self-service mode, sulat mo - dikit mo!

I enjoyed putting in the stickers and stamps onto the envelopes. Sana may ganung career, tagadikit lang.

I also noticed na stickers ang stamps nila. Hindi na kailangang dilaan para dumikit hehe!

The first batch of the Christmas cards we're sending.

From Edmonton with love!

We sent ten cards for this batch. I realized though that sending snail mail nowadays is no longer cheap. Or cheapskate lang talaga ako?

A stamp for each international mail costs $1.85 + 5% tax = $1.94 or around Php80.00. Whew!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all these letters will land in the hands of their respective intended recipients before the year ends. I have no problem with the efficiency of Canada Post, sa Philpost ako diskumpiyado.