it’s hard to believe it’s been a decade already since the turn of the new millennium. it seemed like it was only yesterday when the Y2K bug scared the whole world and yet here we are, we survived it and more. personally, so much have happened to me in the course of ten years and now i write them down in remembrance:
my first job ever. it was in october 2000 when i took the big plunge into the real world. a few months after leaving my dearly beloved university of the philippines, i landed a job as a junior writer in a small, family-owned public relations firm. it wasn’t exactly the type of first job that i wished for. i switched majors from journalism to film because i was a sporadic writer and i couldn’t count myself to produce quality writing under pressure so to work in a public relations was irony at its best. i wanted to work in the film industry and maybe become a highly respected editor or a critic, but such wasn’t the universe’s plan for me. my job as a writer wasn’t challenging nor was it financially rewarding per se. however, i was able to score a couple of gigs through this job which i was truly grateful for. in addition, i had the opportunity to meet influential and popular celebrities in those years i wouldn’t have the chance to be in contact with otherwise. i lasted two years in this job.
further studies in japan from 2002-2005. a couple of weeks after i left my job, i flew to japan to study at asia pacific university in beppu for three years. this trip to the land of the rising sun was the realization of my childhood dream, although i soon found out that it wasn’t exactly the ideal life that i hoped for. living in japan meant leaving behind the comforts of life that i enjoyed back in manila. luckily, i had raj and our friend bong to share with the excitement and travails of being in a foreign land. in addition, i got to meet many of my international friends and a caring support group of filipinos who became my instant family in japan. on the academic side of things, the japanese classes were extremely laborious as we had them everyday except wednesdays and then at the end of the day, we still needed to study for the following day’s quiz. come to think of it now, i can’t imagine how i pushed myself to work that hard. japanese aside though, all the other classes which were conducted in english were manageable, some of them effortless even. but one of the best parts of this whole experience was that i got my first taste of living in an international and multicultural setting, not so much in japan as it was a homogenous society at least back then, but more in the school where there were about 60 different nationalities amongst the students. later on, this personal awareness and understanding of cultural diversity would play an essential role in my current job.

With APU Filipino Community
![123e[1] Celebrating cultural diversity with APU Bayanihan girls](http://gladyz.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/123e1.jpg?w=214&h=300)
Celebrating cultural diversity with APU Bayanihan girls
receiving scholarships. after a semester of diligence and of course due to my innate cognitive abilities (ahem), i managed to get a scholarship from the local prefecture. it was only for 30,000 yen every month or roughly $300 but it was a big help. it meant 2-3 weeks of meals thrice a day and a few to spare for karaoke. i also got the dean’s award for pulling a GPA of 1.8. on my second year, i was awarded another scholarship from a japanese civic organization and it was a monthly stipend of 50,000 yen or about $500 this time. the combined monthly allowance covered all my basic necessities and more while in japan including house rent and utilities, meals, cell phone plan, toiletries and some luxuries every now and then. life still wasn’t a bed of roses as i wanted it to be but at least i had a soft bed to sleep on every night. but more than the monetary value, it was the prestige and honor which came with these scholarships that made it all the more significant to me.
travel galore with raj. i am truly grateful for the many trips that raj and i were able to take together for the past 10 years. as i said earlier, we went to japan together and filled our time there with happy memories from beppu to oita to fukuoka to osaka to tokyo. apart from the bus and the train rides, we also took the boat, the domestic plane and the bullet train to get to places where we wanted to go. raj’s first trip to the US was back in 2003 when my grandfather died and he accompanied me in the interment in hawaii. in the summer of the same year, we got to visit atlanta, new york, chicago and other nearby states for the first time. apparently, it was love at first sight for new york that we traveled back to the state multiple times and even lived there for a while. we had our vacation in the philippines twice in 2004. and then in 2005 right after we finished our studies in japan, we decided to move to the US for good. we’ve been nomads for the most part of the decade; traveling through various places for thrilling adventures; temporarily residing from one country and/or one state to another in pursuit of better opportunities. and yet through the pleasures and mishaps in our journeys, the absurd accounts of lost suitcases and missed flights, the excitement of packing, usually last-minute, and the woes of unpacking, the search for the perfect home or for cheap but fabulous furniture, all these and more, raj and i have been together hand-in-hand and laughing, as always.

Hawaii 2004

Washington 2005

Boston 2008
discovering the world of harry potter. i have said time and again that the wizarding world is my alternate universe, thanks to j.k. rowling’s harry potter series. i discovered the first 3 books at a time when i thought I was about to enter the threshold of adulthood. but harry potter came to my life and it pulled me back to a place that i knew better as a child, a world where magic exists and where the good always triumphs against evil in the end. since then, harry potter has become my elixir of youth. not only because it brings me back my childhood fantasies, but more importantly it has taught me many valuable lessons as an adult which makes life less difficult like it was when i was younger. harry potter was with me for the past decade. it’s more than just a book or a series now, it has been, and always will be, a loyal companion and friend.

Friends from Hogwarts
getting engaged. raj and i had been dating for 6 years when he popped the question to me, and at times square at that, in front of our friend april who was able to capture the moment with a camera and many other passers-by who stopped to watch the proposal unfold. as expected, i got a wee bit emotional, shed a few tears (a-ha), before i said yes. i knew he was up to something because he insisted on us to go to the city even though it was raining earlier that day. i initially did not want to leave the house but my sister, who was a co-conspirator, called me and egged me to go out with raj. meeting april was not part of his plan though. we chanced upon her on our way to central park where raj originally wanted to propose and she tagged along with us so raj had to think of another way of doing it. i’d say april was a blessing in disguise because without her, we would not have the pictures to document this important moment in our lives. and the camera whores that both raj and i were, we were truly thankful for those photos from october 11, 2005.

Of course, I said 'YES!'

After the proposal
civil wedding. it was december 5, 2005 when raj and i pledged our wedding vows in a simple ceremony at new york city hall. my elder sister gretchen and our friend christine bore witness to the occasion. no one else from raj’s or my side of the family was able to come because it was more like a rushed decision, but definitely not regrettable, for us to do a civil wedding in december. the actual wedding itself took less than ten minutes. one of my friends was so sure i would get teary-eyed on my wedding day but i didn’t and neither did raj. we were grinning all throughout like the happy couple, or maybe the happiest in the world even, that we truly were. there was no grand reception either. the four of just went to cheesecake factory for a late lunch after the ceremonies. indeed the wedding was quiet and simple and yet the absence of fancy-schmanzy details did not make it any less special. it was the continuation of our beautiful relationship that started many years ago but at the same time, it was also the start of a wonderful marriage. perfect despite its imperfections. what more can I ask for?

The simple civil wedding
my first job in the US. after graduating for my university in japan, i was hell-bent on getting a job in the field of tourism and travel so i opted to move to hawaii. finding a job in the industry proved to be difficult though as i was competing with more experienced workers and i had nothing under my belt but a degree and a basic knowledge of the japanese language. raj and I then decided to move to new york for more and better opportunities. true enough, i found a job in new york in an ESL company but was asked to be relocated to the sunny city of santa barbara where i started working from January 25th, 2006. transferring to california was a big leap of faith that raj and i took, one of the biggest decisions we took in the decade, as we didn’t know anyone in town and i wasn’t sure even that i would like my job. it was like gimli the dwarf going to rivendell with his eyes blindfolded. but like gimli, it turned out to be one in a lifetime experience. i have been with the company now for almost 4 years – transcending mergers, surpassing adversities, getting promotions, traveling out of the country twice, managing a small team of my own, allowing to work from home here in hawaii. my job as a sales advisor is tailor-made for my skills and qualifications. i continually work with people of varying cultures, languages and ethnicities. i have had the best superiors and mentors who believed in my capabilities and honed them further to be what i am now. but the best part of the job is knowing that at the end of the day, i have helped students fulfill their dreams of studying abroad in one way or another. and being once a student of a foreign language myself, i do connect to this people in a personal level. i am truly grateful to my lucky star (which incidentally was the logo of our former company before the merger) that i have lasted this long on my first job and I look forward to more years in the coming decade.

Cheers to my lucky star
first own apartment. raj and i had lived together in the same apartment while students in japan but we shared it with our friend bong and a couple others at different times so we can’t exactly call it our own. our first one would have to be our apartment in santa barbara when we had to move there for my job. this was another milestone for us because it truly meant freedom and independence from our immediate families. because the apartment was unfurnished, it also marked the first time that we bought furniture, appliances, decors and what-have-you together as a married couple. raj mostly did the decision-making which i don’t mind since he had an impeccable taste in things. our apartment was a haven after a long day at work; a lover’s nest whenever we were there; a shelter when we needed it, both literally and figuratively. but more importantly, it was where our hearts were. it was home.

Chillaxin' in front of our apartment

Inside our humble abode
church wedding. if our civil wedding was devoid of any festivities, our church wedding held on December 15, 2007 at fernwood gardens in manila was the complete opposite. it was a lavish celebration of pure love and happiness. the long and tedious preparation culminated into a beautiful church wedding that i wished for, with the same man i vowed to love ‘til death do us part two years ago in a civil rite. how many brides could say that their married the same guy twice in a span of two years? what made the event even more memorable was that we were in the company of our loving families and good friends, some of whom even flew to the country to be with us. our wedding provided the perfect venue to thank these people, who in one way or another, have become a part of us whether as individuals or as a couple and to welcome them as we went on to the next chapter of our lives together.

The fabulous church wedding

And we live happily ever after
changing nationalities. after years and years of waiting, i finally got my american citizenship. it was funny how the previous decade ago, i was adamant in staying in the philippines that immigrating permanently in the US was not an option i would have considered. but i came to learn that idealism dies and it did for me when i left the university. the tiny hope for a social change that i fought for in my early youth and that i held on to left me after i got exposed to the reality of life in my home country. so i went to seek greener pastures as many of my fellowmen did and while looking for better opportunities, i also realized that nationality does not equal patriotism nor it changes your ethnic lineage. in fact, i am now a naturalized american and a citizen of this borderless world. and yet, it is literally my journey to different countries that made me appreciate my filipino culture, embrace it and experience a unique sense of homecoming.

Waving the American flag after the ceremony
the past 10 years are indeed my first decade into adulthood. it was frightening and exciting but as it nears the end, it has proven to be a wonderful and remarkable journey. and through it all, i am truly grateful and blessed that raj was with me every single moment of it.