You are my life

  You are my life

by Michael Jackson

For mein Liebling, 

Once all alone
I was lost in a world of strangers
No one to trust
On my own, I was lonely
You suddenly appeared
It was cloudy before but now it's clear
You took away the fear
And you brought me back to the light

You are the sun
You make me shine
Or more like the stars
That twinkle at night
You are the moon
That glows in my heart
You're my daytime my nighttime
My world
You're my life

Now I wake up everyday
With this smile upon my face
No more tears, no more pain
'cause you love me
You help me understand
That love is the answer to all that I am
And I'm a better man
Since you taught me by sharing your life

You gave me strength
When I wasn't strong
You gave me hope when all hope is lost
You opened my eyes when I couldn't see
Love was always here waiting for me 

Deine Liebe,

Lucy

Obsessive-compulsive disorder? Hand-washing

I make sure that I have my bottle spray of Ethyl alcohol in my bag whenever I go out. It is one of my most "basic" necessity to bring along with me wherever I go. I need it to wash my hands with an alcohol after touching public surface or anything that has been handed over to me. I have this thought that such things like money/paper bills/coins, door knobs, and anything which are displayed and touched by the general public are carriers of germs. And I must wash my hands immediately after to avoid being infected. I also tend to touch my face and rub my eyes so my compulsion to wash my hands every time justifies it. And I prefer washing my hands with an alcohol instead of a hand sanitizer. I don't like the sticky-feeling of gels. However, if hand sanitizer gel is my last resort to hand-washing, then I use it. For as long as my hands are washed!

I love the way you love me

 

I love the way you love me

By Boyzone

 

 

Mein Liebling,

I like the feel of your name on my lips
And I like the sound of your sweet gentle kiss
The way that your fingers run through my hair
And how your scent lingers even when you're not here


And I like the way your eyes dance when you laugh
And how you enjoy your two-hour bath
And how you've convinced me to dance in the rain
With everyone watching like we were insane


But I love the way you love me
Strong and wild, slow and easy
Heart and soul so completely
I love the way you love me


And I like the sound of old R 'n' B
And you roll your eyes when I'm sloppily off key
And I like the innocent way that you cry
At sappy old movies you've seen thousands of times


(Listen to me now)
And I could list a million things
I love to like about you
But they could all come down to one reason
I could never live without you 

 

Miss na miss kita,

Lucy

Checklist before leaving for Germany

1. Passport
2. Ticket
3. Pertinent documents (NSO Birth Certificate, NSO Marriage Certificate, etc.) 
4. Lotions/Perfumes/Facial Care Kits/Make-ups 
5. Jewelries/Accessories 
6. CDs/Tapes of our Wedding 
7. Recipe books 
8. Dried Mangoes (for my dearest Mango-addicted husband) 
9. Souvenirs 
10. Clara Ole Ora Mix Mo fried rice mix (I am a fried-rice addict! I love their Java Rice mix. I have only tried their Java rice and Bagoong Rice. I haven't found their other rice mix yet.)  
11. Jufran Banana Ketsup 
12. Knorr Sinigang Sampalok Mix (I love cooking Sinigang Liempo. One of my favorite Filipino dish.) 
13. Shoes
14. Clothes

            * Dresses
            * Trousers
            * Skirts/Shorts
            * Tops
            * Underwear
            * Tights/Stockings
            * Scarves /Shawls


Hmmmmm missing something else???

Before and After Photos

 

For those who are interested to have their photos/portraits digitally edited or enhanced, please send me a message. 

I charge only Php 50.00 per photo. Just email me the soft copy of your photos. I accept payments via Globe Gcash only for this service. The enhanced photos will be emailed back to you.

I also accept digital scrap-booking request. Kindly check here.

My Everything

To my dearest Sweetie, 

 My Everything

by 98 Degrees

The loneliness of nights alone
the search for strength to carry on
my every hope has seemed to die
my eyes had no more tears to cry
then like the sun shining up above
you surrounded me with your endless love
Coz all the things I couldn't see are now so clear to me


You are my everything
Nothing your love won't bring
My life is yours alone
The only love I've ever known
Your spirit pulls me through
When nothing else will do
Every night I pray
On bended knee
That you will always be
My everything

Now all my hopes and all my dreams
are suddenly reality
you've opened up my heart to feel
a kind of love that's truly real
a guiding light that'll never fade
there's not a thing in life that I would ever trade
for the love you give it won't let go
I hope you'll always know

You are my everything
Nothing your love won't bring
My life is yours alone
The only love I've ever known
Your spirit pulls me through
When nothing else will do
Every night I pray
On bended knee
That you will always be
My everything

You're the breath of life in me
the only one that sets me free
and you have made my soul complete
for all time

Yours,

Lucy

Especially For You

To my dearest Sweetieee pie, 

Especially For You  

by Kylie Minogue

Especially for you 

I wanna let you know what I was
Going through
All the time we were apart I thought
Of you
You were in my heart
My love never changed
I still feel the same

Especially for you
I wanna tell you I was feeling that
Way too
And if dreams were wings, you
Know
I would have flown to you
To be where you are
No matter how far
And now that I'm next to you

No more dreaming about
Tomorrow
Forget the loneliness and the sorrow
I've got to say
It's all because of you

And now were back together,
Together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is
Especially for you

Especially for you
I wanna tell you, you mean all the world to me
How I'm certain that our love was
Meant to be
You changed my life
You showed me the way
And now I'm next to you

I've waited long enough to find you
I wanna put all the hurt behind you
And I wanna bring out the love
Inside you, oh and
Now were back together, together
I wanna show you my heart is oh so true
And all the love I have is
Especially for you

You were in my heart
My love never changed
And now that I'm next to you
No more dreaming about
Tomorrow
Forget the loneliness and the
Sorrow
I've got to say
It's all because of you

Yours always,

Lucy

I miss you like crazy

To mein Liebling,

I Miss You Like Crazy lyrics
by Natalie Cole

Even though it's been so long
My love for you keeps going strong
I remember the things that we used to do
A kiss in the rain till the sun shine through
I tried to deny it but I'm still in love with you

CHORUS:
I miss you like crazy
I miss you like crazy
Ever since you went away
Every hour of every day

I miss you like crazy
I miss you like crazy
No matter what I say or do
There's just no getting over you

I can see the love shining in your eyes
And there comes a such a sweet surprise
If seeing's believing it's worth the wait
So hold and tell me it's not too late
We're so good together, we starting forever now

CHORUS

I miss you like crazy
I miss you baby
Love like ours will never end
Just touch me and we're there again

Just one night
And we'll have that magic feeling like we used to do
Hold on tight and whatever comes our way we gonna make it through
It seems believing is worth the wait
So hold and tell me it's not too late
We're so good together, we starting forever now

CHORUS

And I miss you, I missed you
All the tender love you gave me
A feeling gets this strong
You know the real thing's come along
And I miss you

I miss you like crazy baby
Only your sweet love can save me
I miss you like crazy
A love like ours will never end
Just touch me and we're there again
I miss you like crazy
I miss you like crazy
No matter what I say or do 

Crazy for you,

Lucy

You make me smile

To my dearest Stefan,

"You Make Me Smile"
by JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT

You make me smile
Even the times I'm trying to be serious
You are possessing the quality mysterious
A special style
You, you, you, you make me smile

You make me smile
Even the times our future's looking gloomier
Come through the door and then the room looks roomier
And for a while
You, you, you, you make me smile

You make me smile
That's how I feel, boy
Whenever I'm with you

You make me smile
We're never thinking that it could be so possible
Now on the other hand, It's finally probable
I'll stay a while
'Cause you, you, you, you make me smile

You make me smile
That's how I feel, boy
Whenever I'm with you
You make me smile
That's what you do to me, baby

All the things I seem to feel uptight about
Ain't so devasting afterall
This must be what life is all about
Standing tall each time you take a fall

You, you, you make me smile
That's how I feel, boy
Whenever I'm with you
You make me smile
That's what you do to me, baby

You make me smile
That's how I feel, boy
Whenever I'm with you

Yours always,
Lucy

Excited to be a wife meines Liebling! (to my Sweetie)

Yeah I am already married and of course I am already a wife of my husband. LOLOL But the distance between us is too depressing. We got married last 13th March and he left for Germany on 23rd March. So we were "physically" together as husband and wife only for 11 days. Phewwww...Despite our everyday communications via emails, text messaging, phone calls and ym chats, being "physically" together is a great need for me to be able to take care of him and to let him know that he is my life now. We are 4 months married last Wednesday. One of the greatest gift from God which we have received last week is my German Spouse visa. German Embassy phoned me on that day to inform me that the approval of my visa has arrived. When I was on the phone talking to the lady from the German Embassy, my body started to chill and my hands again were trembling due to nervousness. I think my mind was over-reacting to it, that it sent signals to my organs to function abnormally or above the normal level. LOLOL I was so happy even until today as I write this.

God has never failed me. He never fails! God listens to our prayers and He answers....in His own time!..I believe that what God has given to me and meinem Liebling has always been the best.

A little more time...33 days more to go and we will be in each other's arms again!

Our experiences -- documents preparation before our wedding

Ok. First we needed to look for the instructions/steps/procedures at the German Embassy (GE) website with regards to the preparation of our documents for our wedding. I am a Filipina and my husband is a German national.

On the website of the GE, here is the link for the information regarding marriage between German and Philippine nationals. In that page, you will find four links. Three of them are in German language and one is in English. The fourth link pertains to Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage (or my husband and I call it CLCCM). It is stated that...

The German partner will need a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage independent whether the marriage shall take place in the Philippines, Germany or a third country. This certificate is only issued by the civil registry of the (last) place of residence and information has to be obtained by the German partner directly there regarding which documents have to be submitted. In general the following documents are required from the Philippine partner:

BIRTH CERTIFICATE, issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Security Paper (SECPA)

COMMUNITY TAX CERTIFICATE (original) as proof of residence

PARENTAL CONSENT to the marriage if at least one of the partners is between the age of 18 and 21 (unless he or she had been married before), duly authenticated by the competent Philippine authorities (see further under 'Affidavits/Sworn Statements').

PARENTAL ADVISE for the marriage if at least one of the partners is between the age of 21 and 25 (unless he or she had been married before), duly authenticated by the competent Philippine authorities (see further under 'Affidavits/Sworn Statements').

AFFIDAVIT of your parents (if deceased, of close relatives), stating your present civil status. The authentication by a public notary has to be in turn authenticated by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. For any information contact directly the Department of Foreign Affairs.

PROOF OF PRESENT CIVIL STATUS:
■ SINGLE:
Certificate (original), issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Security Paper stating the non-appearance of your name in the ’NATIONAL INDICES OF MARRIAGE’, not older than six (6) months from the date of issuance.
■ WIDOW/WIDOWER:
Marriage Contract and Death Certificate, duly issued/authenticated by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Quezon City, Metro Manila, see information on the rear of this page.
■ DISSOLVED MARRIAGE:
Marriage Contract with amendment that the marriage is dissolved, Court Order/Decree
and Certificate of Finality, duly issued/authenticated by the competent Philippine authorities.

However, my husband contacted Standesamt (or Civil Registry Office) and he was given a list of documents/requirements which I have to submit to them.

• Two (2) passport-size pictures
• One (1) whole body picture (13x18cm)
• original Baptismal Certificate
• original Elementary School records (Elementary School Form 137)
• Marriage certificate of the parents issued by NSO
  
• Two (2) passport-size pictures of the parents
• Birth Certificate(s) of the sibling(s) (if there are any siblings); in this case the birth certificates issued by the local civil registry office are sufficient.
• Birth Certificate issued by NSO
• Community Tax Certificate
• Affidavit of my parents. (After it has been notarized, I brought it to the Department of Foreign Affairs Authentication Division to have it authenticated or also known as "red ribbon").
• Proof of present civil status, CENOMAR issued by NSO
• Photocopy of every pages of my travel passport, with a stamp of Certified True Copy on every pages.
  
• Any document which has my complete address. I had my Sworn Statements of Assets, Liabilities, And Net worth Annual Declaration form. I also had the two photocopies stamped with Certified True Copy.
• Consent form
• Payment of 80 euros to Standesamt in Germany.
  Paid by my husband.
  

All these (except the passport-size pictures and my whole body picture) must be submitted with two photocopies and translated from English to German language. We hired Orange Translations Inc. to translate my documents. For more info on the list of translators accredited by the GE, please click here.

Standesamt required more than what was stated on the page of the GE website. Actually, most the documents in the list above are found here. This page concerns on the Examination of Philippine documents. But my documents were not exactly for the purpose stated on that page. They were for my husband's requirements for his CLCCM.

After acquiring the complete document requirements, I mailed them to my husband in Germany via FedEx. Within three working days, he got my documents and submitted them to Standesamt. Within a week, he got his CLCCM.

When he arrived in Manila, he brought with him the following necessary documents:

• Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage
• International Birth Certificate (in English language)
• Authenticated Birth Certificate
• Residence Confirmation Paper issued by Standesamt where my husband lives
• Registration card or Federal Identity Card

...and certified true copies of each of his documents. Then immediately on the next day, we went to GE to have his CLCCM translated in English. And after two days, we came back to pick it up. GE is open from 8am to 11am only for this type of Consular Service. So better phone GE first before going there.

And the day after, we went to the Municipal Hall in Marilao, Bulacan where I live. We submitted the following documents for our Marriage License application.

• My NSO Birth Certificate
• My NSO Cenomar
• His international Birth Certificate (in English language)
• CLCCM (in English language issued by GE)
• Photocopy of his travel passport
• Payment of Php 350.00

We attended the whole day Marriage counseling and we were given a certificate of attendance. Then we waited for 10 days until we went back and picked up our Marriage License. Then we gave our Marriage License to our officiating Pastor.

The following documents have certain validity period/dates:

• CENOMAR - 6 months
• CLCCM - 6 months
• Marriage License - 120 days or 4 months
• Community Tax Certificate - 1 year

Time Preparation needed for all these must be at least 6 months.

My visa arrived today!

At 10 a.m. today my passport (with visa) has been delivered to me via Air21. CLAP CLAP CLAP!!! I've checked all the data in it, no problem. Names correctly spelled, right dates... It has a validity period from August 21, 2010 to November11, 2010. Duration of stay is 90 days. I believe that when I will be arriving in Germany, I must immediately go to the City Hall of the town where mein Liebling lives and to the Alien's office. I think there will be some more processing again and this I have to ask mein Liebling to contact the Alien's office for the necessary steps which we need to take. Once too, they told us that I will be taking the Integration Course upon my stay in Germany. I think the purpose of the Integration Course is to determine and or teach the immigrants to understand the German language, orient them on the culture, law, ethical values of Germans and as well to prepare them in acquiring a job.

My visa application was processed really fast! I think it could have been much faster IF I took the A1 exam before June 30 or much earlier. And submitted it together with the visa requirements during my appointment date at the German Embassy, I guess I might be obtaining my visa within a month! Anyway, God knows when and what is best for us!

• May 14, 2010: Phoned the Call Center of German Embassy. Scheduled for visa appointment
• May 18, 2010: Visa appointment date. No visa fee required since I am married to a German national.
• June 30, 2010: A1 Exam at Goethe Institut Manila
• July 1, 2010: Result of A1 Exam
• July 4, 2010: Release of A1 certificate
• July 5, 2010: Claimed my A1 certificate ; mailed it to the German Embassy.
• July 13, 2010: Got a call from German Embassy informing me that the approval of my visa has arrived. And I should submit to them my passport and the departure date.
• July 14, 2010: Personally submitted my passport to the German Embassy
• July 16, 2010: Passport with visa delivered to me

Thank you God for answering our prayers! To God be the glory!



 

Albinoblacksheep during spare time

Mein Liebling forwarded me this link. It is the Fly the Copter online classic web game. Really fun to play yet it is silly too. LOLOL But it made us addicted in achieving the longest distance that we could fly with this cute helicopter. So far, I only had 684 as my best distance played.

This one though needs analysis. And my type of game. Gives my brain an exercise to think wisely. Hehehe.

And I got stuck in this game. I couldn't seem to find a way to fly high or jump high on the block to proceed.

I still have more games to try. Albinoblacksheep.com offers many great games. Find them here.

Attaining a Family Reunion Visa

This is my first experience in applying for a visa. I have never gone abroad nor obtained any visa in the past. After getting married, just having the thought of me in this kind of situation, made me think that whatever the result will be - that is the life that I get to live. For me, visa is a life. I am married to a German national. To have an approved visa application is one of my new goals since I got married. Obviously because my life now is my husband. We are no longer two separate persons, but one.

Here is a summary list of steps which we took towards our goal:
• Passport appointment - I had to renew my passport to update my status and change of surname...without using the "courtesy lane" for Government employees (I am a government employee.) I was able to make an appointment with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) within a week. It was fast and easy for me compared to what I have heard from others. Others had to wait 2 to 3 weeks to 1 month for a passport appointment.
• Documents/requirements accessibility - With the help of my colleague, Chichi, I was able to obtain my birth certificate and my CEMAR from the National Statistics Office (NSO)...within 2 weeks and without having to go there to apply personally for these documents.
• Visa appointment - On May 14 (Friday), I called the German Embassy thru their Call Center or Visa Appointment System via Call center. The Call center agent gave me the option to choose which date I would like my appointment schedule to be. I decided for May 18 at 10:45am. This is another fast move while others have to wait for about 2weeks to 1 month for it.
• Visa Appointment day - The lady officer in the German Embassy was friendly, calm and approachable. Despite that I had to wait for about more than 1 hour because there was a lot of applicants before me which had difficult cases or situations that required too much time with the Embassy officer.
• Examination of documents - I did not undergo such process anymore. Not only it has saved time for my visa processing, it has also saved us from spending...
Php 11,900 - for verification fee including postal charges
Php 2,500 to 5,000 - for the translation of my documents from English to Deutsch
Php 1,500 to 3,000 - for Fedex shipping cost from Manila to Germany
• Proof of basic German Language proficiency, issued by the Goethe Institut Manila - According to page 4 of this file ,

"No proof of basic knowledge of the German language is required if sufficient knowledge is evident (this means that the application in German language as well as the interview in German language must take place without the help of a third party)."

and Page 2 of this file,

"If during the personal interview in the embassy or consulate general it becomes evident beyond any doubt that you have the required knowledge of the German language, no separate proof is required."

and 3rd bullet which states,

Are there exceptions?
Yes. You do not have to prove any knowledge of German, as a
rule, if one of the following statements applies:
■You have a university degree and probably be able to
find work in Germany on the basis of your language skills
(recognisably minor integration requirement).

We thought I would be exempted from this requirement because I have two Bachelor Degrees - Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. OR at least I will be taking a German interview during my appointment on May 18. Stefan and I have been practicing a lot and studying the German language for this big day.

However, during the appointment at the German Embassy, the lady officer told me to enroll at the Goethe Institut in Makati and take and pass their A1 exam to be able to get this certificate. The lady could not give me the interview that I was asking for because according to her, she has no capability to do the interview. A German national officer is the right person to give interviews to applicants. Then again I would find it very hard and I might not pass the interview because it is very difficult to understand. And that most of the applicants prolonged their waiting time for their visa due to failing to provide this requirement.

I got scared and discouraged from taking the interview.

We were very disappointed. We have prepared so much for this interview. And we were expecting a lot from it. To make this long story short, the German Embassy did not stick to what is written on their page. Thus, we decided that I must take the A1 exam at the Goethe Institut(GI) and continue to study more beforehand. The next possible exam date was on June 30. I had at least more than a month for further studying. I have also found out that GI offers a Placement Test for only Php 150.00. And I decided to take it. I got an evaluation report of having a basic knowledge of the German language between level A1.2 and A1.3. Yet, the lady at the GI advised that I buy their books to further study on some pointers which were my weaknesses during the exam. I bought only the Intensive Training book which costs Php 500.00. However, I lost it after 2 weeks of studying it. I don't remember how I lost it. But I was bringing it anywhere I go. I have been studying it even I was in the train or jeepney. So I guess, I did not notice that it fell from me or I have left it somewhere. No idea. Anyway, I registered for the exam at the Goethe Institut and sent the payment of Php 4,000 as the examination fee for outsiders (examinees who are not enrolled in their language course).

On the examination day, I was very nervous. I have never been that nervous ever since. My hands were shaking, I was a bit chilling too. Even during the essay or writing part of the exam, the table was shaking too because I could not control or stop my hand from shaking. LOL. I got worried that the examiner may not understand my handwriting. The hearing part of the exam was extremely difficult for me because the recorded conversations are too fast for a beginner. Out of the 15 questions under the hearing part, I was not sure of any of my answers. Not a single answer! My nervousness have been with me constantly until the releasing of the results the day after. GI releases the result only to the examinee. Two days after, I personally went to GI. Finally I prayed to God and had this comforting thought for myself to have a score of at least 60%, as it is the passing score. I gave my passport to the guy in white uniform and he came back with a white envelope. I gazed at the envelope and it seemed to be empty. He handed it over to me. I opened it and found a cut-out strip of bond paper with

(My Name stated here). 93

I asked the guy what it means. As I was expecting to receive a letter with a message like

Dear ..................,
Congratulations! You have passed the exam....
or
We are sorry you did not pass the exam....

The guy told me that it is my grade. And it is the highest. My tears fell down on my cheeks. It was tears of joy. I was shocked as I have never expected it. He began to ask me questions like "Have you been to Germany?, Where did you study? Did you study at the Sprache school?"...I said, "No, I haven't been to Germany and no I did not enroll at any school. I just had a self-study with the help of my husband." Then he said, "Come back on Monday to get your certificate and we will give you a gift for being the highest passer." I left and immediately phoned my mom, crying and telling her what happened. Then I phoned Stefan too and broke the good news to him. To God be the glory! It was one of the many miracles that God gave me. Many many thanks to my mom, my dearest Stefan, Mama and Papa and everybody who have prayed for me to pass this exam. I believe in God. And I believe that God listens to our prayers! In Matthew 21:22, and whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

To conclude, we were able to save at least Php 18,000 from the enrollment fee at the Goethe Institut PLUS fares PLUS foods expenses.

Last July 5, I got my certificate. And immediately the following, day I mailed it to the German Embassy via LBC courier. Then last July 13, I got a phone call from the German Embassy informing me that the approval of my visa has arrived and requiring me to visit them with my passport and departure date.

Waiting for my Visa

I have just arrived from the German Embassy. I brought my passport with me and surrendered it to them together with the information of my expected date of departure for Germany. Now, I will just sit down and wait for my passport with the visa to arrive. All is going well now. All is done with regards to my visa application.

I am now on the next stage - preparation for my resignation from my job. I feel sad because I will be leaving my colleagues whom I have worked with for almost 7 years(on September). Adding up to my sadness is leaving my mom here. When I informed her yesterday that I got a call from the German Embassy with regards to the approval of my visa, she was already sad because I am finally leaving her. I tried to cheer her up and make her understand that even at our present situation - my mom in Zamboanga City and me staying with my brother in Bulacan is almost the same as me going to Germany and her remaining in Zamboanga City. I said that distance is not a problem. Money is. Money to buy fares to be able to go to Manila or Zamboanga or anywhere else. And we can still send messages to each other via text.

I believe this is one of the big changes or move in anybody's life - migrating abroad and leaving our parents/love ones behind. Yet, it is also one good challenge which we have to learn to accept. Having this kind of sadness is a natural feeling. I guess, giving them the assurance that they will always be remembered in thoughts and prayers would help. As my Uncle Wes told me, "Anyway I am going away for the good reason." This will be the beginning of my new life as married. On the bright side, finally the end of waiting period to be living together with my sweetest husband has finally arrived. This temporary separation since a week after our wedding has been very difficult. We have been communicating everyday via text messaging, emails, ym chat and phone calls. The past two farewells with him has now ended. And this time, nobody is saying goodbye. We will finally be settling down together. All this time, I believe that God has been leading the way...

4th Wedding Monthsary

Today is the 4th Wedding Monthsary with my sweetest Ehemann (English:husband).

We got married here in the Philippines, at the Camayan Beach Resort, Subic, Olongapo City. It was a very beautiful sunny day. It was our dream beach wedding. PLUS our relatives, close friends, and most especially our parents were there to witness and celebrate with us during one of our most important and beautiful moment in our lives.




To my dearest husband Stefan,

Four months ago was my dream come true. A dream in which only God can make it happen. On that day, I placed our love, our lives and our future in God's hands.

From that day on, we have never failed to let each other know how much we love each other. It is not only saying "I love you" everyday, but also by making decisions together, supporting each other especially during difficult and stressful times, and not only celebrating joy together despite the physical distance between us, but also sharing a sorrow with each other. I continue to pray to God for His presence to remain in between us, because I believe on God's love. Our love is a gift from God.

Soon, we will be in each other's arms again.

I love you so much!

Happy 4th Wedding Monthsary mein Liebling!
Ich vermisse Dich so sehr.
Ich brauche Dich jeden Tag.

Forever21 in SM Megamall

Last Saturday, I was so excited to visit the newly open Forever21 store in SM Megamall. It is the first and only authentic Forever21 store here in the Philippines. I had such big expectations after reading the other blogs of F21 fanatics. But to my dismay, most of my favorite dresses-to-buy-in-the-future are not available. I don't know if they were sold out or they don't have it here.


And due to the large crowd of F21 fanatics shopping last Saturday, it was hard to look for the dress that I want. The dresses where no longer in their proper places. Despite the hardwork of the F21 staffs hanging the clothes back into their places, the cycle goes on and on because a lot of new customers came in. So I had to really look attentively and visit every clothes stand to make sure that I did not miss it.

In fairness, the F21 staffs were very friendly and were still in smiling mode even though they were busy fixing and rearranging the clothes from time to time. One main thing caught my attention is the price difference between the selling price in Php and the selling price in US$ in their US website. The prices were estimated to have Php 100 - 300 difference. It is still cheaper to buy online at their US website even if shipping charges from US to Manila PLUS 12% VAT are added, when you buy 7-8 dresses at one time. One more thing, since they bring a lot of stocks out (e.g. 2-5 or more pieces of same size) and hang them on the clothes stand, customers are able to fit them freely. However, if those were the only stocks left and you intend to buy it, then you wouldn't be getting a new stocks anymore. They were already being fitted and no longer be "new and excellent" condition. This could be a problem with clothes that are made of very stretchable material.

Marrying my German national husband

Now this is kinda long story for me to tell. But I will make it short then. And focus on one aspect at a time.

Getting married to a German national isn't easy. However, for the sake of Love for my husband, I have done all. Of course too, with the help and support coming from my family, my friends, God especially, and my husband and his family too.

One very essential note to all ladies who will be marrying their German fiancé or planning to get married with their German boyfriend.

1. Learn the German language. Not an easy task though.

Better start learning their language as early as you can. Ask your boyfriend or fiancé to teach you and help you understand their language. German language is not easy to learn. For me, it is completely different from our language, Tagalog or the international language, English.

This is my main reference during my self-study with the help and never-ending support and teaching of my very strict teacher, my dearly sweetest husband. Follow the different levels of the German lessons on that site. And I am sure, you wouldn't need to enroll in any Language school or hire a Tutor to give you home tutorials, which are for sure will cost really lots of bucks. PLUS you should have more patience, faith in God and prayers, as well as the support from your loving husband.

My husband, Stefan, also have been sending me some of the helpful info on the German grammars, common words, phrases and sentences they use, and giving me some homeworks, exercises, quizzes. It has been so stressful since we are working at same time. (Oh by the way, he is back in Germany while I am still here in Manila processing my visa. I will make another post and discuss about my visa processing). So it has been very difficult to learn alone when he is far far away from me. We communicate via emails, ym chat, text messaging and phone calls.

Here are some important pointers which are very helpful during self-study. Learn these things above all other things.

• Genders of Nouns (Masculine, Feminine, Neutral). Yes, German nouns have genders!
• 4 Grammar cases (Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative)
• Prepositions. This is very very important when you are constructing sentences.
• Tenses of verbs based on the grammar case. Memorize them!
• Pronounciations. This is also very helpful during the A1 level of the German language.
• Buy a German dictionary. I recommend the Collins German Dictionary. I have my one which is just 3 inches x 4.5 inches and approximately 1.5 inches thick. It costs Php 499. You can find it at National Bookstore.
• Buy a German phrase book and at same time is also a two-way dictionary such as this.
  

Practice speaking Deutsch with your better-half/fiancé. This will make you "used" to speaking Deutsch and will lessen your nervousness during the Oral exam. By the way, I have mentioned the word "exam" here because one of the main requirements for you to be able to live with your husband or fiancé in Germany, is the Certificate of proof of Basic knowledge of the German Language. Basic knowledge means the A1 level. A1 is the first level. The German Embassy will ask you to provide this certificate during your visa application. Goethe Institut Manila, I think, is the only Language Course School in the Philippines that the German Embassy recognize. Please check out their courses offer, schedules of exams and other details

In my case, I was not able to enroll at GI because I have a job. I work from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm. And I live in Bulacan. GI is located in Makati. I could not imagine traveling back and forth everyday after office hours. So I decided to have a self-study. PLUS we were able to save at least Php 18K from the enrollment fee with books, fares, foods, etc. If you are in the same case as mine, you may also just take the A1 exam and pay the appropriate fee, Php 4K in my case. But OF COURSE, make sure, you are prepared. On this link, you can download their sets of sample practice exercises. Very very helpful too! Make sure you check their website too for some changes in their practice material and information. The format of the A1 exam is exactly the same as found in their sample exercises. So make yourself used to it also. Good luck ladies!

P.s. I got a total passing grade of 93% in my A1 Exam last June 30, 2010. Highest passer for this batch. Got a gift from GI. :-)