8 more posts to go......

I can’t think of a good title so I just went with the countdown....

Life is pretty much the same here in the Land of Oz.... quiet but busy, just the way I like it.

There’s nothing much to update since the last time I wrote here. Hmmmm...... I applied for my citizenship the other day. I might get that end of this year. There would be an interview wherein I have to recite the duties and rights of an Australian citizen, then an oath-taking ceremony a few weeks later.

My thoughts on becoming an Australian citizen.... I guess this means that I’ve been here too long! Hahahaha!
Seriously, living here in this country has taught me that race does matter. I’m not saying that I’ve been a victim of discrimination, but it can be seen with the way white people treat us. They have all these different stereotypes in their minds and they make it known to us what they think. I guess in retaliation, immigrants don’t really make an effort to integrate ourselves (I’m one of them now) in this culture that we deem bland and still immature. We still hang out with people from the same country of origin and don’t really care if we make ourselves unavailable to their overtures of friendship. Of course developing acquaintances would be inevitable, but the deep friendship that seem so easily developed between people of the same country (especially Pinoys) is hard to achieve.
There would always be exceptions to this generalization. In fact, some of my friends are testament to this. Shaui is marrying Nic next year, Dorothy is getting married to John next week, and then there was Evelyn who married Bruce last June. Spending the rest of their lives with their partners is a great confirmation that some Australians are open-minded enough to accept and love a culture so different from their own. Having said that, I still notice that the friends that they (meaning the wives or soon to be wives) keep are still the same ones they had (which was mostly Filipinos). They have the best of both worlds , don’t you think?

Next thought..... CPA exam on Oct 26. This would be the first of 6 tests taken over a period of 3 years. My subject this term is Reporting and Professional Practice which centers mostly on ethics. How do you test if a person is ethical? I can learn all these materials and still not be ethical in my everyday life. Of course the aim of this is to instill an awareness of our actions and it’s impact on society, what you do in everyday life is another question.

Next thought..... Exercise..... extremely tiring, supposedly good for me and it takes awhile to actually enjoy it (if ever). I remember the time when I was able to exercise almost everyday without complaint. There was the early morning run at UP, the afternoon run in the Blue Eagle gym, the 3-hour judo training and all that walking inside the campus. It’s so hard to believe that happened almost a decade ago. But I did do that and enjoyed it a lot. But now I forget why I stopped... then again I think I have an idea not the why but the who. Best not to be reminded I think. Now, I just have to build it up again. Not as much as I did 8 years ago, but a regular routine that I won’t get sick of. Thankfully, Loren is enthusiastic about it too. I just hope that we could continue forever? I think that’s a bit too much ask especially when winter comes.

Next thought... Emails.... I just finished reading my emails from friends. It’s always fun to be updated in their lives. I guess now is my turn.

Next thought....Going Home..... It’s been a year now since my last trip to the Philippines. This time last year I was in Manila looking forward to seeing my friends and catching up. It will be another wait before I can do that again.

This post turned out to be much longer than I expected. Have to go now, need to get ready to go home.