Visa

I started mom's immigrant petition early last month and I already received a notice from the USCIS that the petition has been approved. No, that doesn't mean she'll get the immigrant visa right away. It's just the start of the process and there's still a few more steps to be done, and I hope there won't be any hiccups along the way. Once she becomes an immigrant, she'll probably divvy up her time between Germany and the U.S. We need to look for low cost health insurance for her while she's here in the States. Germany won't be a problem because she's a German citizen and health insurance is not an issue over there.

ID theft

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the US today. Imagine my shock a few years back when I found out somebody had stolen my husband's SSN and opened up a phone line in Florida. We were in Germany at the time, and by the time I discovered the theft, hubby's credit report was showing a "collections" entry. The crook racked up a $2100 debt in our name. We had every proof that it wasn't us who accumulated the phone bills, but it was our burden to prove it. In cases like these, you are guilty unless proven innocent. It took two years, letters from our attorney, letters and phone calls from me before it got fixed. Needless to say, it was a big pain in the behind. Thankfully, it's a thing of the past. We signed up for identity theft protection. The bank I work for offers it to employees for just a tiny fraction of the original cost. Now I have peace of mind.

School days

It's been more than a week since school started and I still haven't gotten used to the whole routine. I feel drained and tired all the time because I've lost my precious "me" time in the mornings. I used to have at least 30 minutes to myself before I have to wake the kids up, but Junior High schoolers have an earlier schedule, so now Lexi wakes up the same time I do. Little Stevie has the same sched he had last year and is the least affected of us all. He always seem to have the energy, from the time I wake him up, to the time he goes to bed. Now that he's in first grade, he seemed to have matured a bit and behave better in school. He used to get in trouble in kindergarten because he couldn't stop playing on their preschool furniture. I guess he's moved on to the bigger things in life.

Back home

I was 19 when I left the Philippines for good. In a few days, I'll be turning 36. Hard to believe I've been away for 17 years, it just doesn't feel that way. Thanks to the internet, I can easily communicate with friends and relatives back home. I'm also up-to-date with local news and showbiz happenings. I still watch Pinoy soap operas, and I'm familiar with showbusiness' latest faces. Not much has changed. The Pinoys still favor fair skinned skinny people. Even ordinary folks are popping whitening pills and using whitening products regularly, and I won't be surprised if they're also using hgh releaser. Cosmetic surgery is more prevalent. Liposuction, implants (breast/butt/cheek etc), botox and body sculpting have become the norm.

Honestly, with my dark complexion and meaty physique, I'll feel out of place in my own country. Some Filipinos have a way of making you feel like a second class citizen when your skin is dark. Trust me, I know. I've been there. I'm just glad I won't have to deal with that mentality anymore.

FB vs FS

I was reluctant at first, but I know it was just a matter of time before I tried it. One friend had been constantly harping me to join FB. She said it's better than FS. And so I did. I found it a bit difficult at first. I was overwhelmed by the constant status updates. It seemed busy. Hard to catch on. But then I got the hang of it. Now I'm one of those who just about post anything and everything I could think of. The feature I like the most is live chat. FS is trying to catch up, by installing the same feature in their site, but they're still a long ways away from the more active and hipper FB.

So is FS out of my life? Not completely. I still post pictures and keep in touch with my FS friends. The more, the merrier! yay!