Saturday, June 30, 2007 

I'm now LPN II...for now...

It took me a long-ass time getting all my final documents ready for submission to GMH (you know, the mandatory police and court clearances), but I finally got 'em done this past week.

So, my official position at GMH is now LPN II. And at the end of July, I will be able to apply for the SN I position (staff nurse I). I so look forward to that time. I shall be making big bucks...to pay off my big debts :-P

I think the promotion to LPN II will also give me a slightly higher pay wage, but I'm unsure of the exact amount per hour I will be making. *shrugs*

In other news...

I'm on sick leave from work for a couple of days - I've got a nasty upper respiratory infection - I'm taking a 5 day course of zithromax. So far the antibiotic has at least decreased the purulence of my nose and throat drainage, but I still have a bad sore throat, stuffy head and forever leaking nose >_<

Mou sukoshi dake... (a little bit more...) June 30th - my 1 year anniversary with Arnold. I'm sending him a cake and some balloons thru some online store that sends gifts nationwide in the PI - hopefully it gets to him tonight, but if not, there's always tomorrow ^_^

6/30/2007 11:17:00 AM | |

Friday, June 29, 2007 

I've a little sparkle in my life; TiCo is back from vacationing in New York!

Sorry about the long title...

I'm generally not a jewelry kind of gal. I grew up with Gramma always dolling up with makeup and jewelry and all, but I just never liked doing those things. I think Chet really takes after Gramma in that respect. As for me, I take after Gramma's love for things of brand-name fame. Granted, I don't own many brand-name things, but if I had my way, I would buy brand-name all the way. My opinion is that brand-name products are of higher quality, will last longer with proper care, and are more rewarding to own as you have to work harder to buy them.

So, as you know from the previous post, I ordered and am paying for a brand-name piece of jewelry - my engagement ring.

Just a couple of days ago, my Tiffany and Co. sales associate, Helen, rang me up and told me that "TiCo" (my adorable new name for the ring) had just returned from New York, where she had been resized to fit my huge finger.


TiCo is now in my possession - her vacationing days are over - she is now mine, and she is working hard for me everday, showing sparkles off of my finger ^_^

She's a little itty bitty thing - rock and setting and band and all, but she is on fire when light hits her - so much on fire that I tend to get distracted with her while driving! The sunlight causes her to sparkle so much rainbow and flash in my eyes. I find myself wanting to gaze at her whenever I have a free moment. I can't stop looking at her, actually :-P

The crazy thing is, I never cared for diamonds. I actually didn't care if my engagement ring had a diamond or not - I was even thinking of what other rock to have put on a ring. BUT...after being mesmerized by my TiCo, I cannot imagine not having a diamond as the rock :-P

So, since I first got her, I've been snapping many photos of her...I think I've figured out how to get less blurry, up-close pics of TiCo, but I'm still working at it...I just can't seem to get THE perfect shot of her. Thankfully, TiCo is not camera-shy:



me and TiCo


TiCo closeup


TiCo goes sparkle


enough pics for one night :-P

NOW...on to something else....

I've been thinking about my engagement ring...in our society, it's supposed to be the man to give the woman this ring, right? And, I've read somewhere that the ring should cost the man about 2-3 months salary. And I've also read that the more expensive the ring, the more concrete the man's intentions for marriage are.

So, was I wrong in buying this ring for myself? Honestly, my fiance cannot afford such a thing. But, I wanted it. I wanted to have this engagement symbol, and I wanted it to be something worthwhile. Sure, my fiance gave me a ring when I was in Baguio, but it is completely different in quality than TiCo. I'll just say it...it's completely inexpensive/cheap/not real. BUT, that's all the man could afford, so it's good enough....or it should be, right? And, I don't remember him telling me that the ring he got me in Baguio IS my engagement ring officially. So, I guess I took it upon myself to get me an OFFICIAL engagement ring. And, I'm assuming the ring he gave me in Baguio is like a PROMISE ring.

I guess what I've done here is a role-reversal. Or something like that. I believe, if I want something bad, I will work hard and get it myself. I don't want to wait on or depend on anyone else to do so. I knew what I wanted. I went out and got it.

Another thing I've noticed - I've probably resigned myself to the fact that I do make way more money than he does, and even when he's here on Guam and has a job, I still will make more money than he. I'm anticipating on footing the bill for our wedding expenses. I don't expect him to pay for anything wedding-related, 'cause I know he just can't.

Now...is this a bad thing to do and be? Or is this just the way it's got to be because of his circumstances?

I don't know.

All I know is that I love this guy, and he loves me. I guess we'll work out the money issues in time. But for now, I'm moving along with our future in mind.

6/29/2007 01:12:00 AM | |

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 

Pardon me

I've been in a super depressive funk for the past few weeks, as evidenced by my last post.

BUT...I'm over it for now ^_^

Work's been a bitch to handle lately, but, I guess any job is like that, right? There is no perfect job. I just take what I have and find a way to work with it, and I try so hard not to get so stressed out over everything.

ANYHOO...My funk may have officially ended when I had a dinner outing with Val and Lani. I stopped by the brand-spanking new Lacoste at the Tumon Sands Plaza - I like the style of clothing there - it's mostly shirts and tops, but a few other things - and the prices are scary...

But I bought my future father-in-law his father's day gift there - he apparently loves Lacoste polo shirts, so I got him one - it cost $70+ bucks - for one shirt.

Then, my eyes ventured over to Tiffany and Co.

You see, I've been doing research on engagement rings, and styles, and wedding ring sets and the different metals being used...and for maybe 2 weeks or so, I caught myself checking out the Tiffany website. They have a style of engagement ring that is PERFECT for ME. I swear.

It's a ring that doesn't have the rock nestled in a pronged setting and sticking up in the air. It's a more low-profile kind of ring. The rock is nearly within the band itself, so it doesn't stick out so much, and I realize that this is exactly what I need, as I don a pair a gloves probably every 10-15 mins while at work, and I don't want the ring to catch on the glove and rip it and shit.

*phew* what a run-on sentence that was :-P

Ladies and gentlemen, I now introduce you to Tiffany and Co.'s very own line of rings called "Etoile":




Isn't this beautiful? It's a very simple, yet elegant thing ^_^
Here's the link to the site: http://www.tiffany.com/expertise/engagement/engagement.aspx?style=etoile&ring=platinum#

I applied to also get the wedding bands - but the down payment ended up being too much for me at this point, so I only ordered my engagement ring for now - it's gonna be platinum with a 0.26 carat diamond. It's a small, but cute little rock. I don't need anything overpowering my finger. Just a little sparkle is enough ^_^

Man...I tell you, shopping is a great ANTI-DEPRESSANT. An expensive anti-depressant, that is :-P


IN OTHER NEWS...

Chet and Vic and growing baby are fine - Chet posted up her ultrasound pics on her myspace page - but I don't have the link to that right now. All I can say is that I'm proud of Chet, and I'm so happy to welcome this baby into our family. They know already that it's gonna be a BOY ^_^

Yo, I think Chet and Sabete might be giving birth around the same time ^_^

6/12/2007 11:01:00 PM | |