TS Vinta

image taken from weatherph.org

So, I am heading home for the holidays and it is all over the news about Tropical Storm Vinta expected to have its landfall in the Philippines around the holidays. The weather stations even said to seriously treat it because although it is fast moving, at around 18-20kph, it also brings quite a lot of wind and rain.

I was already feeling a bit anxious starting 21 December when the airline: Cebu Pacific already announced their Travel Advisory about cancelled flights. I felt like I'm a bit of a stalker when I visit the Pag-asa website almost every hour to check on updates as well as the airline's advisory page.

I am writing this post to commend our weather men and women in the office who are working hard to update the Filipino people of this typhoon that comes at a very crucial time: when almost every body is rushing home to the provinces to be with their families and celebrate Christmas with them. I am sure it is not only me who is praying for this storm to move on or be over and allow us to travel back safely to our waiting families. Here's to hoping and praying that all will be okay.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

I am not very sure why I play this song on repeat. It is a bit sad but maybe because of its rhythm and Niall's voice.

Here's the video with lyrics. Enjoy! :)

Our Trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan

I saw a promo flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa which falls on my birthday and persuaded my sister for our annual family trip. She agreed and off we went for my birthday. I want to share with you all how I arranged our trip and fell in love with Puerto Princesa. 

Flights:

AirAsia has 1 direct flight to Puerto Princesa from Cebu daily. This was the flight I chose for our trip and was scheduled to depart 1845 and arrive PPS (Puerto Princesa) at 2000H. Our departure was delayed for about 30 minutes but we didn't mind it too much because we were excited. The promo I got was 990 pesos for 1 person.

Since my sister didn't want to fly back to Cebu late at night, we opted to buy our return ticket with Cebu Pacific. Our flight was supposed to depart PPS at 1230H but was delayed to 1330H and finally left PPS at 1600H. It was an excruciating wait at the airport but we had no choice but to do so. The promo fare I scored was 999 pesos for 1 person.

So for 1 person, the total flight cost was about 2,000 pesos. 

Accommodation

There are tons of accommodation options in PPS. Me and my sister researched for nice hotels near or in the city. I capped our budget and found Inn Greenspace which is at the heart of the city and just a few minutes walk to the center of action. For 3 persons in a room and for 3 nights and with breakfast included, we paid a total of 4,700 pesos. What a great bargain! I also love that they have free wifi and gave us free pick up and drop off to the airport.

Underground River Tour

our tour mates for the Underground River.

This is one of the must see sites  in Puerto Princesa. There are heaps of agencies and hotels that offer the tour which ranges from 1700 pesos to 2200 pesos. One has just to read reviews of these agencies and research a lot. For the three of us, I paid Tripidito Travel a total of 4,800 pesos for the whole day tour which includes pick up, buffet lunch, and environmental fee. 

I will write a separate blog about our Underground River Tour :)

City Tour

I opted not to take advantage of the city tours offered by popular agencies because they cost a lot. While doing my research, I found out that there are tourism accredited tricycle drivers that do the tours. I was lucky that I came across Kuya Ricky's number from another blogger and messaged him if he can do a tour for us. This was just a few days from our trip and he obliged. For our city tour, I paid a total of 600 pesos. You can contact Kuya Ricky at 09157816964(globe) or 09194074955(smart). He is very kind and knowledgeable about Puerto Princesa and we had a great city tour with him. 

I will write a separate blog about our PPS City Tour :)

Some fun things I learned while visiting PPS:

1. Their dialect is Kuyunin or Cuyonon. It is a mix of Visaya and Spanish therefore we can understand some words but they generally speak to Filipino tourists in Tagalog.

2. There are a lot of Opp Shops or Wag-wagan (ukay-ukay) in the city. For me who loves to get nice fashion in cheap prices, this is truly paradise.

3. It is the greenest city in the Philippines and has strict laws about tree cutting.

Our itinerary:

Dec 4: 1915H - departed Cebu City

            2030H - arrived Puerto Princesa. We immediately found our driver waiting for us :)

            2045H - Check in, freshen up, dinner and sleep

Dec 5: 0700H - breakfast at hotel

            0730H - pick up for Underground River Tour

            1630H - back to the city

            1730H - explore some Op Shops (ukay-ukay), dinner, watch news

Dec 6: 0800H - breakfast at hotel

            0930H - start City Tour

            1130H - Lunch at Ka Inato

            1330H - Mitra's Ranch

            1400H - Baker's Hill

            1700H - dinner

Dec 7: 0800H - breakfast at hotel

            1130H - left for airport

            1600H - depart PPS

            1700H - arrive Cebu

This is just a simple itinerary because we now like vacations that are not so busy and with enough time to relax and sleep.

I want to come back to PPS in the future and also try their Iwahig Firefly Tour. Please stay tune for my blogs about PPS Underground River Tour and City Tour. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog! :) 

Defining the Relationship

I saw this quote from Godly Dating101 in their Instagram account which rings very true as a friend also told me about this before. I myself have been kept wondering by a man that I liked and I assumed that he liked me too but he never really said anything about it. There's always peace of mind when someone defines the relationship and doesn't keep you hanging. 

The Tale of BPI and Phishing Emails



Dear BPI,

I keep receiving this kind of email in my inbox. I've only been a client of your bank for 2 months and yet I am experiencing phishing scams like this. Please strengthen your bank security as it is where your clients trust you. I sincerely hope that innocent people won't be lured into answering this kind of emails and God forbid lose their money.



Sincerely yours,

Katmeifucan

Miss Universe 2017

Once again, Filipinos were hooked to the television today: 27 November 2017.


We were all rooting for our candidate, Ms Philippines Rachel Peters to bring home the Miss Universe crown again but this time she only made it until the top 10. Nevertheless, we are still proud of her. Congratulations to the winner, Ms South Africa: Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters :)

image taken from http://images.indianexpress.com/2017/11/miss-universe_reuters_759.jpg

Getting skills assessment from ANMAC

image taken from https://www.anmac.org.au/sites/all/themes/anmac/logo.png

After getting hold of your Australian Registration for Nurses, you can then try your luck at finding a job. It is very challenging as Australian employers are being mandated to hire citizens or Permanent Residents first and only after making sure that there are no qualified persons who have applied, they then can hire foreign workers.

Otherwise, it is best to start the process of skills assessment. Documents can be authenticated by the JP and then sent to ANMAC. Some of their requirements for Modified Skills Assessment are: 

1. Certificate of Good Standing - arrange this to from your country's professional registration body. In my case, I got it from Philippine Registration Commission and it was they who sent it directly to ANMAC. I just had to pay a nominal fee. 

2. A colour copy of your proof of identity. In my case I photocopied the bio statistical page of my passport. 

3. Current Registration certificate from the NMBA program 

4. Professional reference from your paid work experience wherein you had been for at least 3 months and on full time status. 

5.  Completed ANMAC application form 

Waiting time for skills assessment is updated in their website and it usually runs for up to 8 weeks. Usually they send 2 emails: the first one is when the assessment has commenced and the second one when it has been finalized. It is best to lodge an expression of interest (EOI) once the letter has been received as the EOI will ask the exact date of when the ANMAC decision was finalized. This can only be found in the letter.

Some would prefer to have an immigration agent help them from getting a skills assessment from ANMAC up to applying for a visa. I was also contemplating to have this but what set me back was the huge fee so I resolved to read and research the tiniest details online and do it on my own.

I got my ANMAC Letter of Determination 10 weeks after I applied for it. It felt like forever and I did call and email them to follow up. They were very happy to let me know regarding the status so I remained patient and prayed that all will go well - and it did!

For more details about ANMAC skills assessment, you can check out their website: 

https://www.anmac.org.au/skilled-migration-services/registered-nurse

Their FAQs do help a lot too: https://www.anmac.org.au/skilled-migration-services/faq

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!