$300-Ayuda from the Government

We're fortunate to be living in a first world country during this pandemic period. Maraming naging tulong ang gobyerno para sa mga nawalan ng trabaho, business owners, renters, students, etc. Kapag nababasa ko ang hirap ng mga Pinoy para makakuha ng ayuda sa gobyerno ng Pinas, di ko maiwasang maikumpara syempre sa naging sistema dito. May program nga dito na tinatawag na CERB (or Canada Emergency Response Benefit) kung saan makakapag-apply ng financial assistance ang sinumang nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa Covid-19. That's $2,000 per month ($500 per week) for up to 4 months. Anyone, as in ANYONE, who applies will be approved. Kahit obviously hindi eligible ha. Kasi nga wala na raw silang time magcheck at magverify, gusto na nilang maiparating agad sa tao ang tulong. Honor system na lang muna daw, later na sila mago-audit.

Luckily, hindi naman namin kinailangan talaga ng tulong mula sa gobyerno kasi hindi naman nawalan ng trabaho ang asawa ko. Sa totoo lang, noong bandang March-April ay nag-worry rin ako kasi nga baka magclose din ang office nila temporarily kasi hindi naman talaga sila "essential" business eh. Thankfully, hindi naman nga. 

The only "ayuda" that we are entitled to during this pandemic is the one time Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment increase of $300. Dito kasi sa Canada, we receive a monthly child support from the government, depende sa income ng parents. They decided to give an additional $300 per child for the month of May to help families during these difficult times.

Noong una nga akala namin hindi fixed na $300, na maximum na yun at hindi namin makukuha ng buo. Katulad ng sentiments ng middle class sa Pinas, may bitter feelings din kami paminsan (normal naman siguro yun) na puro na lang lower class ang pinapaboran ng gobyerno samantalagang ang laki-laki ng tax na binabawas sa sweldo ng asawa ko. One income family lang kasi kami at marami ring gastusin buwan-buwan. Pero buti naman nga at across the board naman pala ang $300. Kaya ang swerte nung maraming anak haha (4 kids x $300 = 1,200!).

Anyway, I just checked our account online kanina at pumasok na nga ang $300 (every 20th of the month ang CCB payment). I am so happy!

Anong plano ko sa $300? Actually nagastos na namin siya kahit hindi pa dumarating lol!

We badly need a colored printer kasi nga nago-online schooling si Nathaniel ngayon, syempre may mga kailangang iprint. Bibigay na ang 6-year-old laser printer namin kaya kailangan ng palitan.

Pero ang mahal nito ha, inabot ng $337.67 (tax included) kaya paluwal pa kami kaloka.

Salamat sa ayuda, Canadian Government! Malaking tulong rin ang printer na ito for my sanity! I have a lot of projects in mind na sana magawa ko hehe.

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Ayuda = assistance

Hello!

Yey, I am back! I really am, promise!

I can't believe it's almost a year na since my last entry post. Grabe! Sa totoo lang, gustung-gusto kong magsulat, lalo na ngayon that we're in the midst of Corona virus pandemic at stay-at-home lang kami all the time, pero one thing hindered me -- my very slow laptop! Nakakainis siyang buksan kasi ang bagal-bagal nya. We really regret buying it sa totoo lang. But anyway, more than 4 years na rin naman yun (although it still looks new ha, bihira nga kasing magamit) kaya ayos lang na palitan na. The other big laptop that we have is already 8 years old kaya matitigok na rin soon.

Kaya eto na nga, bumili na ang asawa ko ng bagong laptop. Sayang, we were deprived of the thrill na pumili sa store. Ford attempted to go to Costco last night pero sobrang haba raw ng pila kaya hindi na lang. Nag-online purchase na lang siya sa Best Buy tapos pinick-up niya sa store.

I am so happy! Ang laki ng laptop na ito kaya ang bilis! I swear, makakapag-blog na uli ako nang madalas nito.

Ooops,  by the way, this book was my Mother's Day request from Ford. Maganda ang feedback sa book na ito, sana magustuhan ko. I have so many bad habits that I want to break eh.

O siya, it's almost 1am and I need to put Nathan to bed na. Yep, dahil walang pasok, back to being night owls uli kami. Another bad habit tsk.

Bye, for now! Please come back again soon because I'll be blogging a lot again from now on. Ciao! =)

His New Phone / Her Old Phone

Dad went home last Friday with a bad news -- nabasag daw niya yung phone niya. Umakyat agad ang dugo sa ulo ko, naisip ko ang mahal magpa-replace ng screen ha. More than a hundred bucks. Saka ang bago pa ng company-issued phone niya, hindi pa nasusulit talaga.

After relaying the unfortunate news, biglang bawi siya. Ang good news daw is that he has a new iPhone! Ha? Ambilis naman kako. Ang sabi niya, he told one of his bosses that he broke his phone's screen. Ayun he's lucky daw because he's got a spare iPhone 7. Inabot na agad sa kanya.

And just like that, he's got a new phone! Waaah. I was so bitter. Ako itong nagko-contemplate na magpalit ng phone for several weeks now tapos siya pag-uwi galing trabaho eh meron na. Swerte rin talaga sa buhay itong asawa ko lol.

Ford said he'll return the broken phone to the office tomorrow. He'll ask daw kung ano ang gagawin, kung 'itatapon' na daw eh hihingin niya na lang. Kaso ano naman ang gagawin namin sa phone na yun? We have two extra 'old' iPhones already, kay Nathan na nga lang yung isa. Kaloka, first world problems.

Sa totoo lang. it's so easy to have nice phones here. Kung masuwerte ka, mafi-free mo lang yan sa mobile network mo. Or pwede mong isama sa phone plan mo, minimal na dagdag lang. Kaya halos lahat dito maganda ang telepono, hindi ka magwoworry na may magi-snatch ng sayo.

By the way, my iPhone 6 plus is already 3 1/2 years old. Nagi-isip akong palitan sya kasi feeling ko hindi na maganda ang camera niya. Parang malabo at grainy na. Overused na yata. Kidding aside, million shots na siguro ang nagawa nito. Except for calling, text messaging, and web browsing, pagkuha lang ng pictures ang major function ng phone ko. Eh lately nga, parang di na ako happy sa quality ng pictures niya.

Bumili na raw ako sabi ni hubby. Palibhasa sila ni Nathan ang nagbe-benefit sa kakakuha ko ng pictures kaya supportive siya. Kaso nanghinayang ako sa pera, eh di ba lilipat pa nga kami? We could spend that money sa mga bibilhin naming ibang gamit sa bahay. Saka yun nga, ano na naman ang gagawin ko sa old phone? Sa Pinas ang daling magbenta ng lumang gamit kasi maraming sasalo, dito itatapon na yan. Hindi ko rin naman yata pwedeng ipadala yan sa Pinas kasi pang-Canada siya. Pero sabagay, lahat naman naa-unlock sa Pinas. Pero kahit pwedeng ipamigay, wala naman akong maisip na pwedeng bigyan nito sa Pinas na karapat-dapat lol.

O siya sige lang, while Dad is enjoying his new phone, I am stuck with my old. Life is really not fair huhu.

Camera dilemma

I thought I'd never (badly) want a camera again --- well not until the super blue blood moon phenomenon last January 31.

That day, I went to SM Marilao in the afternoon and when I came home and it's dark already, I got mesmerized with the beauty of the moon. Ang ganda grabe. My very first impulse was to take a picture syempre (because I love documenting and preserving memories through pictures) kaso hindi kaya ng phone camera ko (I am using iPhone 6 Plus).

Later that night, nung nag-red na ang moon, naisip ko: "Bakit nga ba wala akong maayos-ayos na camera?"

You see, I first had a digital camera in December 2001. Binili ko from my 13th month pay (parang Php12k yata). It was a Sony and it really served me well. Ako ang naging official photographer ng barkada. I was able to document all events, lagi ko nga kasing dala. I've had several other digicams after that, the last was a Canon Powershot G3 which was given to me by my then-fiance Ford. I brought it with me in Canada when I migrated in November 2013 but I never got to use it there even once. Kasi nga may phone camera na.

Una akong nagka-iPhone 5 in May 2013. Prior to that, I was using blackberry na malabo ang kuha. Kaya nung nakatikim ako ng shots sa iPhone, my life changed forever. Sobrang nagandahan ako sa quality pagkatapos ang dali pang iupload (and edit) ang pictures sa social media. Maka-capture mo pa talaga ang moments kasi nga hawak mo palagi, unlike sa camera na kukunin mo pa from the bag etc. etc. Since then, hindi na yata ako nag-take ng pictures from a camera.

Actually, there were times naman in the past na ginusto ko ring magka-DSLR. Sino ba ang ayaw nang mas malinaw na pictures (lalo na at ang photogenic ng anak ko)? Kaso tamad akong magkalikot, hindi nga kasi ako techie na tao. Masipag akong magtake ng shots pero wala akong interes mag-ayos ng camera settings. Lalo namang walang interes sa pagkuha ng pictures ang asawa ko kaya wala akong maasahan dun. Kaya hindi ko na nga pinursue ang pagbili ng camera. Tutal solved na naman ako sa iPhone. Saka magpapalit na rin naman ako ng iPhone soon (3 years old na nga kasi ito) kaya for sure mas maganda ang camera quality ng bago.

Pero yun nga, dadating pala talaga sa point that you will have a change of heart. Na-trigger nga kasi noong super blue blood moon. Tapos nabasa ko pa sa IG ni Neri Miranda na meron siyang bagong camera na ganito from Chito. Lalo akong na-agit lol.

Picture taken from the net (credits to the owner)

I sent a picture of this camera to my husband last night and asked him to research on how much it costs in Canada. And when we talked this morning, he said it's around CAD800.00.

CES -- $800?!? Ang mahal naman!
FORD -- Ganun talaga ang presyuhan niyan. Ano ineexpect mo, $400?
CES -- Akala ko nga mga $200 lang kaloka.
FORD -- It actually has very good reviews. Gitna siya ng digital camera at DSLR. Mirrorless siya.
CES -- I don't even know what a mirrorless camera is. *kamot ulo

My husband is actually just waiting for my instruction if he will buy one. Ganun naman yun, madaling kausap lol. Lalo na kapag gadgets, bibilin niya talaga agad.

But I find $800 too much. Well it's actually not that much if we are not planning to buy a house soon. Ford has just booked an appointment to view a townhome in Aldergrove so medyo alanganin talaga ako. What if magustuhan namin yung bahay? We'll be needing a lot of cash for downpayment saka sa paglipat. Saka sana kung talagang masusulit ko yung camera, baka mamaya tamarin din ako lalo na at pagod na ako sa pagsunod pa lang sa very active kong toddler.

On the other hand, maganda rin naman na may maayos na camera sa paglipat namin, di ba? Saka what if mag-enjoy ako sa photography? Mas magandang libangan yun kaysa shopping lol. Once kasi na makabili kami ng bahay, we'll be on a very strict (my imposition) budget na kasi nga doon na mapupunta ang bulk ng sweldo ng asawa ko waaaah. So baka last chance ko na ito na magkaroon ng camera for now.

Dilemma. Dilemma. Kasalanan ng buwan yan eh haha.

O siya, pag-iisipan kong maige. Kapag sa Mother's Day o sa birthday ko ay gusto ko pa rin, I might as well give in na nga rin.

Random Chika # 4

1. Siomai Addiction. Ford and I have been eating siomai for so many nights now. It started when I began craving for it last week and my friend Mylene suggested that we buy from T&T. Yung frozen.

At first I wanted to eat at Jumbo Dim Sum and Dining where we had lunch last Christmas and I tasted some delicious pork siomai. Pero ang mahal kasi doon, almost $5 for four pieces. Tapos tax and tip pa. Best option na nga ang mag-steam ka ng sarili mong siomai.

Funny because I never ate siomai in the Philippines. Dito sa Canada, marami akong pinag-aaralang kainin dahil wala akong choice. I have to broaden my palate or else wala akong makakain.

2. Starbucks Edmonton Mug. After dining at Tony Roma's last Tuesday, we proceeded to Starbucks for "dessert" (i.e. venti mocha frappucino). Ford had this Starbucks card that was given to him by a person who did some demo in their office. We've long been guessing kung magkano ang laman, $5 lang pala. I was taken aback when the barista told me that I still have to pay $0.72 for my frapp. Kaloka!

Anyway, while waiting for my drink, I noticed these mugs on the inside shelf. Aba, may Edmonton mug na, hindi nga lang yung old version.

Ford gave me an Edmonton city mug (like the one below) in 2010 noong unang uwi niya sa Pinas from Canada. Since 2012, naghahanap na ako ng ganito to give away to some friends who also collect kaso wala na. Na-discontinue na yata.

Picture taken from the net (credits to the owner)

I find the second version of city mugs nicer. I already have one, a Chicago mug, which was a pasalubong to me by my cousin Cha when they visited us last September 2014.

O sige na nga, kakaririn ko na ito. I left my Starbucks city mug collection (the older version) in the Philippines kaya gagawa ako ng bago dito sa Canada. I already asked my in-laws from Qatar who will be visiting us by the end of the month to bring me one.

3. Nathans' Haircut Certificate. Ang arte ng mga bata ngayon, may pa haircut-haircut certificate pa!

We had Nathan's hair cut last November 13 (Philippine time) at a kiddie hair salon in Trinoma. Pamahiin kasi na bawal pagupitan ang bata ng wala pang one year old so we followed that.

We were asked if we wanted a souvenir certificate for that "momentous event" and of course we excited parents willingly agreed. For an extra cost, syempre pa.

It will take two to three weeks daw before the certificate becomes available so hindi na namin nakuha. Binilin ko na lang kina Mamoosh na kunin. Joanne (our staff) was only able to claim it two days ago.


4. Dinner at Panda Express. I finally got to eat at Panda Express last Sunday (January 10). Ang tagal ko ng gustong kumain dito. Pero parang foodcourt food lang pala. I was disappointed because malamig na ang food at konti na lang ang choices nang dumating kasi (it was only around 6pm).

A plate with two entrees plus rice/noodle is almost $10. Plus tax pa. Not worth it.

5. Edmonchon. My brother-in-law, who is based in Qatar with his family, is requesting for a lechon when they come here by the end of the month. Hindi kasi sila nakakakain ng pork sa Qatar.

A whole lechon costs $250-300 at hindi naman namin mauubos yun (we're only 7 adults and 2 toddlers) so the best option is to buy a Cebu-style lechon belly na lang.  The one being sold by Jeepney Jaytee is "small" and pricey so I looked for an alternative.

Enter Edmonchon. Bago lang, wala pang feedback. I inquired for the price and immediately got a response. $80 daw, good for 10-15 pax. Haha, baka kulangin pa ang slab na ito sa Blanco siblings! Anyway, we'll try it. I'll post a review soon.

Picture taken from Edmonchon's FB page

6.  New Laptop. Ford bought me a new laptop last Black Friday. We disposed our hardly-used desktop (i.e. donated it to Roadlink) because it was so slow. Our other laptop is big and heavy and I couldn't bring it with me anywhere.

I've tried so many laptops before but I always go back to Acer. The very first laptop that Ford gave me so many years ago was an Acer and I loved it.

The color is so nice, noh? And it's a touchscreen! Maliit lang din siya (parang netbook size) so madaling bitbitin (lalo na sa Pinas). I wish though that I could maximize its use. Sa ngayon kasi bihira na akong makapag-computer kasi inaagaw ni Nathan (hay, toddler stage!).

New iPhone for Peechur Peechur

It all happened so fast. I am now a proud owner of  iPhone 6 plus!

Ford 'fell' in the snow a couple of days ago which resulted to the broken screen of his one-year-old Nexus (because it was on his pocket). Having it fixed is not an option really because it would cost a lot, probably $200.

He has long been telling me that he wants an iPhone. You see, my husband gets tired of gadgets so easily. And now he's got an excuse to get a new one.

But a good father and hubby that he is, he just let me have the new iPhone. He said it's me who needs it more because of Nathan. So that I can take better pictures of our son. He insisted on just using my Moto G phone.

January 24, 2015 (WEM)

I actually do not need an iPhone 6 yet. My iPhone 5 is still quite reliable in taking photos. I bought that iPhone six months before I migrated to Canada but I wasn't able to use it here. It's not compatible daw with their system, even though it's open line (that is why I advise people who are coming here to just get a new phone unit here, wag ng magdala). I ended up having the 'cheap' Moto G for my mobile services kasi sayang naman kung dalawa pa ang iPhone ko. I used my iPhone 5 na lang solely for taking pictures, instagramming, and surfing.

I am contented with the quality of photos that iPhone 5 brings and I am not even tempted to replace it yet. But who am I to refuse an iPhone 6 plus? Hahaha!

I am not a techie person. Hindi ko namamaximize ang features ng iPhone sa totoo lang. I don't even play games. Pero susulitin ko talaga sa pag-peechur peechur kay Nathan! =)

By the way, I'll still use my iPhone 5 syempre. Saka iyon din ang gagamitin kong phone pag-uwi sa Pilipinas.