Planning and having our wedding here in Canada made me see how culture and the social circles really play a huge influence on the kind of ceremony and reception people expect to give, and expect to see. Despite maybe looking grand at first glance, our wedding was actually very simple when stripped down to the elements. Initially, I did not expect to enjoy the big day (because I really do not like being the center of attention) but I was surprised that I had so much fun! There was so much love from our family and friends, beauty all around us, good food (ugh I still crave for our wedding cake…) and dancing!

I am truly so very grateful our loved ones were able to celebrate with us as we pushed for a small wedding. We were in a beautiful, heritage venue rich in history, on a perfect Spring day filled with magnolias and roses.

Hot tip: strategically match your color theme to the flowers in your wedding venue to save on flowers and decor. Haha.

I write this post actually nearing our first anniversary, which wow – time flies so quickly, doesn’t it?! I think we’re still in our honeymoon phase just as well, where I constantly feel never-ending gratefulness and joy for our union. I feel like we do get along very well and I attribute some of that to the friendship we already had before dating.

One time we were on a road trip on one of those long weekends and I was looking out the window, I turned to Chad and said, “I really like being married.” to which he replied, “Me too. Me too.” We kind of wish we got married sooner. But looking back, everything panned out already as serendipitously as possible. If I really think about it, we only dated for like a year and a half, and then engaged the next, and then got married the following year.

• Read “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and “Baby Signs”. Allot a time to read periodically
  • I’ve started reading these books but stopped reading “Baby Signs” because, as much as I wanted to prepare myself, I just couldn’t relate to it yet!! I’m still on 7 Habits, but I’ve finished two other books, namely: “Love & Respect” by Dr. Emerson Eggerich and “Smart Women Finish Rich” by David Bach.
• Continue to regularly exercise, like doing 7-minute workouts every other weekday
  • This is a failing mark. I exercise in the morning but it’s barely a 7-minute workout! Carrying on for 2019.
• Finish the wedding planning so we can actually start working on our marriage
  • Now that I read this, I feel like this was just to give me at least one check off the list! LOL
• Aim to get a raise at work, or an equivalent
  • YASS. This was not easy to ask for, and it took a big leap from me but this actually happened! I am now a Senior Software Developer, still working remotely.
• Attend an enriching conference (?) / any learnings-based goal / or a yoga retreat
  • No : ( But this year Chad and I will be attending another TedX talk in Calgary which I’m looking forward to! I still want to go to a yoga/wellness retreat someday.
• Start volunteering again
  • Yay, finally! I will soon start volunteering for Kids Ministry again at the church I currently attend (SunWest). After getting my police clearance I should be good to start shadowing and look forward to being on the roster.
• Continue learning Spanish
  • My phone is now back in Spanish, but I feel like I did not progress much compared to last year. Maybe I should start watching Spanish dramas or something… 
• Cook more, juice more, and get a blender to make healthy smoothies!
  • We received a blender as a wedding gift from my awesome sister and her family! This goal will have to carry on because I do not cook, juice or blend as much as was intended when writing that goal.
• Experience a new activity such as free diving or scuba diving
  • Nada, lol. Maybe when Chad and I are in Palawan on our anniversary weekend this year.

If you notice in our engagement and wedding photos, I made sure to choose hybrid (film/digital) photographers. I am still enamored by the timeless beauty and unique characteristics only achieved via film. I think this can look backwards because film photo quality just can’t compare to what you get from digital nowadays, but I think it is fine. In the end, we print the photos and I love how they look very raw and organic. Out of all the elements in our wedding, choosing photographers was the most stressful for me! It took me countless hours searching and inquiring, until I finally found Muguet Photography and Emily Michelson who are both immensely talented artists. After finalizing photographers, the rest of the wedding I was more chill about lol. Guess its like that when you’re a photographer yourself.

The following are a few photos from our wedding, with the last photo being a group shot of everyone.

Our family and friends flew all the way to celebrate with us, and we couldn’t be more happy and grateful. Having the wedding in Vancouver was also a great reason for them to go sightseeing. The day after the wedding, some of us went to Grouse Mountain and a few hiked the Grouse Grind. I felt like having our friends and family over in a new place made for special and unique bonding moments.

We then flew to Cebu for a banquet/wedding reception to celebrate with friends and family that couldn’t join us in Canada. It was at an iconic Chinese restaurant called White Gold House. We have some funny memories of this place. Chad and I were part of a dancing group back in high school collectively called the “choir”–we were a group that did mostly dancing, not singing, for school presentations in and out of the campus. I recall we did a few performances to celebrate Double Ten at this specific Chinese restaraunt.

Here’s a really old photo of one of our performances! This was way back between 2004-2007.

I would post some photos of our Cebu wedding reception here but I don’t have digital copies of it! For posterity’s sake, I remembered my new Dad calling up each of the family members, introducing me as one of his daughters for the first time, and finally honoring Chad’s ama. I was really touched by this gesture. You maybe can guess–I love my in-laws a lot!! 

When we returned to Canada, the next 6 months were newly married bliss.

We went on road trips across the border on long weekends, explored new restaurants and cafes around Calgary (the food scene here is surprisingly great!), snowboarded together for old time’s sake, went on a group camping trip in Banff, went hiking and strolled around parks, watched a couple of Broadway shows at the local theatre, checked out Calgary’s Stampede shows and carnival, binge-watched House on Amazon Prime Video, Chad (mostly) and I cooked and enjoyed dinners together after I finished work, Chad got a job for a few months, we watched a Cirque de Soleil show in Lethbridge, routinely shopped at Costco/Superstore/Walmart for grocery, etc – basically got into the slow routine of everyday married life. Chad and I look back at this and are grateful for those foundational 6 months which we jokingly call “our perfect life”.

 

 

 

 

 

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Honeymoon stage is real! Pretty impressed with my husband’s weekend getaway planning skills, and really all he has been these past few months. I enjoy the everyday mundane married life together, while long weekends are the icing on top of the cake. It may be optimistic to think we will always feel this way as new challenges arise, but this is why I want to take a moment to write this, in order to reminisce and remember how it can be going forward – overall to remain thankful for this gift. #chadgotsanne #lakelouise #banff @fairmontcll

A post shared by Anne Lorraine (@anne_gots) on Nov 11, 2018 at 1:29pm PST

By the end of the year, we flew back to the Philippines to spend Christmas with my new family. Before that, we went to Taiwan together as a big group with all the cousins, aunties and uncles! That’s where I got to really spend time to get to know them individually. It can be intimidating to join a huge family like Chad’s–but they were very warm and welcoming so I was happy.

Afterwhich we went to Dumaguete to celebrate Lee Plaza’s 10th year anniversary with the Lee side of the family. That was a lot of fun as well!! We even did a side trip to Siquijor.

To cap the year off, Christmas eve was spent quietly at home watching fireworks from afar with ama, dad, mom, Chad and Ahia Clement. And then on the day, Chad and I went to Timezone to play arcarde games!

Now I’m going to cut to …

• Read “The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)” by Philippa Perry 
• Start exercising again more regularly
• Start seeing a naturopath again
• Use social media less
• Write a little more
• Build a Smart Mirror
• Develop the Gothong shipping website
• Go on a beginner’s sewing course!

This is the first time I’ve delayed a birthday post since 2009. (Which is what I would have wanted to say, but I just realized I actually missed writing for my 27th and 28th birthday too). Wow, by August this year it would have been 10 years since I first started this blog. Ten years! A lot can and did happen in a decade. When I passed my birth month last September without the annual birthday post, I thought – maybe this is a sign that I finally give up blogging. I’ve already lagged and lost momentum a very long time ago, but I still do think about writing every so often instead of spending time on social media (of which quitting it entirely I’ve often ruminated on…). I give myself so many excuses. Ultimately, instagram and facebook are actually lazy versions of my blogging. I like to write and make visual engraving thoughts, photographs and memories – this is mainly why my instagram feed isn’t artsy or trendy.

So why, at the beginning of March, basically almost half a year later, did I sit down and write again? Well, the very reason I didn’t do so in the first place – my husband! He remarked how I’ve missed a birthday post and I thought, “Yeah, because I was honestly enjoying real life more, together with you.” Which is true, I find that I am less active on social media when I am with him because I find Chad’s company more interesting (well thank God for that since we are married).

Chad encouraged me to continue writing and I couldn’t help but ask why. Nobody blogs anymore really, bloggers I used to follow seemed to have moved on and gravitated towards Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook. And then he said something I never would have expected. Something like, “Because when we have a daughter someday she will really benefit reading about what you’ve done and where you’ve gone these past few years of your life.” Oh.

You know what, if I was in our future daughter’s (or son’s? Chad did remark how he’s not sure if a boy would take much from my writing and I think I would agree, haha) shoes I would love to read about my mom’s life before I was born. Isn’t that cool? To be able to read your mother or father’s journal growing up and seeing photos of her or his life before getting married and having you. I think I would love and learn from that tremendously.

I believe I have changed a lot since 2009. I was 19 and idealistic. My dreams and goals have evolved throughout the years. They have deviated from aspiring to be a professional advertising photographer/artist to just being happy by having a simple life while being able to work on my hobbies. Ten years ago Chad and I wouldn’t have dated at all given the individuals we were back then, but yes we were always friends since we went to school together. Without this blog, the evolution of me would have faded or even disappeared given my less than desirable memory. Reading back makes me feel so grateful to the Lord for protecting me throughout, and guiding me in this journey of life. I enjoyed my 20s immensely and sincerely – and to think all of it was wholesome fun and drive. Lately, I’ve been telling my sister how I’ve been feeling “really happy with my life” and I am still in the process of introspecting and breaking down the reasons why. God has been gracious and it is especially crystal clear when we make it a habit to count our blessings. There are many things relating to a positive mindset that I can talk about – maybe that will be a monologue for another day. So far I feel like having this life right now and being alive to experience it all is a grand privilege.

To our future child/children,

If you are reading this right now, know that your father and mother have always been thinking of you, even before you were born. Which is quite funny because that is one of the reasons why your mom and dad clicked. You will be so loved, and hopefully by God’s grace we will meet you in good time.

P.S. to any friends and family reading this – I am not pregnant OK. Just putting it out there for clarity. XD

In the spirit of new beginnings, hello 2018, have you noticed anything new around the house? *ding ding* New blog theme! Cleaner, finally mobile-friendly (lol for a web developer I was massively neglecting my blog for years, SHAME), and more organized! Another big housekeeping effect was reverting to my old blog name “Her Soliloquies” because apparently “I Will” was not SEO-friendly. Perhaps this new shiny lewk will encourage me to photoblog more

Anyway, let’s get this started.

I immensely enjoyed exploring the city of Portland. I think it is my favorite U.S. city now I have a lot more to say about PDX so maybe a separate blog post is in order!

4. Visit Cebu, PH for our 10 year highschool reunion and visit friends and family.
– Totally. We flew to Boracay and stayed for a couple of nights. It was fun to reconnect and bond with my high school classmates. We made good memories from this trip lol I wish I could dedicate a blog post about this with all the great photos but I barely remember most of what we did. XD Still, soo thankful I flew back to Cebu for this. <3

5. Meet and get to know my boyfriend’s family in Cebu! ^^
– Yes! And they were a pleasure to meet I regret not having photos now though. Chad and I are always trying to remember to take photos whenever we’re out with people because #memories but its been fail half the time! lol

6. Take more photos when traveling. Maybe video making takes too much time for me right now.
– I have taken photos, probably not as much as I want to. Haha. The iPhone makes for a lazy photographer. I love having the portability of my Fuji X-T10 now though, despite missing the colors and quality from my Canon 5D Mark ii. Someday, I hope to have a Leica cam… Yes. That is the dream.

7. Get an AB driver’s license.
– Yipee! This is a Big Praise the Lord Almighty for His Grace and Mercy!!! I am not the best driver, but I passed and finally have a Canadian license! This was an absolute relief for me, you have no idea. Big thanks to my brother-in-law for helping me practice and lending me his car during the exam!

8. Continue giving my tithes to IJM and other organizations, or a home church in the SW.
– I’ve done this regularly for a little over the year, and then lost the momentum later. Thankfully it is very easy to get back on this train since giving tithes here in Canada is as easy as an online payment or Paypal transaction.

In the back of my mind, I periodically have a little voice telling me I’d want to get back to serving at church or volunteering at a charity. It was so much easier to do this on a regular, scheduled basis in Vancouver since public commute didn’t take at least 1.5 hours (including wait time) to places. It also wasn’t freezing cold most of the year when I did walk outside. So when I do get a car, this is one of the things I want to move if given the privilege.

It really warms my heart remembering the times I taught Sunday school at Willingdon church and when my girlfriends and I from Bible study went to volunteer at The Salvation Army (if you happen to be reading — Hi Jenny, Sally, Grace, Jina, Esther and Jessica I miss you guys so much). I feel like when I serve others who are in need without expecting anything in return, it really fills me with a different kind of energy. A more meaningful and purposeful energy that I’d never get if I just lived for myself on a day to day basis. Perhaps its because it is so easy and human to become fixated on our own problems that we get blindsided and miss out on the big picture. That is why remembering the goodness of the Lord really opens up my eyes. “There are so many things to be thankful about!” Lately, I can’t help but exclaim this every weekend! lol. Anyway, this section is getting too long I might as well write another blog post and ramble there about the many things my crazy mind has been thinking about. Like how being kind to others can actually be an act of kindness to yourself as well.

9. SPLITS
– Did this consistently for the first quarter of the year only, and just got back to it using my yoga wheel. This is like one of those forever irrelevant to life goals that I have. Hahaha!

10. Continue to learn Spanish. Como estas?
– Yes! Did this for 3/4 of the year, but a few months ago had to stop. With the wedding planning in full motion it’s just faster to work with an English phone than a Spanish one. I’m sure you get me right.

Which is a perfect segue to…

– Although Chad and I planned to get married before he actually proposed (one reason for which is kind of funny), I had, now looking back, absolute false confidence that he couldn’t surprise me! But he really did and I was honestly so impressed with everything. He collaborated with my sister and our mutual friend here in Calgary and it ended up happening at the Coutts Village in Nanton. It was a surreal moment. I think it would be quite entertaining to actually recount my thoughts leading up to this cute cabin because I was in the state of disbelief for so long. I pinched myself and even had to hold Chad’s face to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I paused and thought deeply, “Am I dreaming? Why is Chad here? He’s supposed to be in Hong Kong!”. So yes, it was well played indeed, my ninja love. Thank you for the wonderful proposal. You have no idea how much you make me happy!

One of my favorite candids from the video

I can’t help but get a kick out of this and laugh every time! This was when I was like, “Hey you!” as I spotted Ian running around the cabin taking photos, while my excited brother-in-law and niece in full view of the camera opened the door ajar to video the moment for us. Sweet Chad in the middle of his speech looking so loving but oblivious to the ruckus. Ahh so many feels, everyone was just in on this. It was so special. Excuse me for the cheese but I felt so loved!

– Visited Edmonton with #barangayCalgary for the first time to check out the magnificent and very photogenic Ice Castles. Met up with our high school classmate who lives there too, hey Brett! By evening, I hung out with Ingrid and Gabe and karaoke-d the night away.

– Edited a video from our sightseeing around British Columbia back in 2016. I used the iPhone app Splice from GoPro. Sadly, I can’t do heavy processing tasks like this on my phone anymore ever since the iOS 11 update.

– Fernie, BC with the gang! Had a family barbeque party out in the cold.

– Flew to Cebu for our 10 year high school reunion and coincidentally introduced Chad to mummy for the first time. My uncle sadly passed away that time. Fortunately, my trip was timely enough that I was able to attend his wake and meet up with my mum’s side.

– Visited Calgary’s Farmers Market. Quickly became my favorite place!

– Visited the Ukrainian Heritage Village in Tofield, AB when we visited Edmonton again for Ingrid’s birthday. Wish I had better photos from there. It was beautiful and very educational! This was also the place where I did the most instastories in one trip, ever.

– Visited Seattle, WA again and spent time with my good friend’s family and godchild. I assisted Allie during her nannying jobs and it was a lot of fun! Baby Ellie isn’t a baby anymore. This pretty toddler is growing up to have such a kind heart, just like her mama.

– Checked out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room, the fanciest and biggest Starbucks I’ve seen so far.

– Resigned from Shoal Games and started working for Farmers Edge, still remotely. The ability to work anywhere and have semi-flexible hours are definitely some of my favorite perks of being a programmer.

The app I’m working on is featured on Garfield.com! Rooplay is a Google Play exclusive app where your child can play 500 (and counting) curated, safe, parent-approved games. #reactnative #mobiledeveloper #rooplay #childrensapp #familyfriendly

A post shared by A n n e y (@annelorraineuy) on May 4, 2017 at 8:56pm PDT

– Hiked and biked in the summer! Last summer was great. It made me value Canadian summers on a whole new level. Haha. Parks are so nice to have especially when you have family and friends who want to enjoy the outdoors together. I don’t like being under the sun very much but hiking in the late afternoon gives spectacular views.

– Started my Invisalign treatment! First had a Carriere appliance so I spent half the year looking like Wolverine’s daughter, but now I’m on the more discreet Invisalign stage.

– Watched The Phantom of the Opera at the Jubilee Theatre. It was magnificent. The songs, the set… I’d watch it again if I could. Chad hasn’t seen it yet, so maybe we can watch it together this year.

– The 2017 solar eclipse happened. These are photos of evidence for my witnessing it in this lifetime.

– Practiced putting on makeup more. I wanted to save money by doing my own makeup instead of getting a makeup artist for our engagement photos. I honestly also think this is a useful skill to learn as a woman. You’d save $$$ as the call to attend weddings and special occasions become more frequent in your life. Unfortunately, this very act took a toll on my sensitive skin and now I’m nursing some acne cosmetica. I’m pretty sure it’s from using makeup. Its only in the area where I put my contour powder on. Also – unwise brush care. I left my brushes on a stand to collect dust, not inside a case. #lessonlearned

Made-up for our little rascal’s birthday party #September #selfie

A post shared by A n n e y (@annelorraineuy) on Sep 9, 2017 at 10:08pm PDT

– Designed our wedding Save the Date invitations. I’ll post them here when the wedding is over. I want a more artsy fartsy photo of it with my wax seals and stamps

– Mummy visited us in Canada for the first time. We flew her here from Australia for her first snow experience. It was a wonderful time and we made lots of memories!

– Visited Spirit Hills Winery, a honey winery. They have a delicious warm wine (always thought this was weird until I actually tried it).

– Shot our family photoshoot. The last time we did this was way back the first time we visited Australia, I think around 2007? I bought 2 second-hand continuous lights which are super! Good quality lights without breaking the bank from Strobepro. If you’re from Canada, check them out. These photos are from a simple setup using 2 Quadstar 1000W Continuous Lighting Kits ($189 CAD).

– We didn’t travel very far to snowboard this year. There’s Winsport just within the city, otherwise known as Canada Olympic Park (COP), which was used during the 1988 winter Olympics.

Winter is complete! @annieloiese

A post shared by A n n e y (@annelorraineuy) on Jan 22, 2017 at 7:04pm PST

– First time I drove a snowmobile! Chad and I took turns being driver and passenger. This was in Invermere, BC, by Toby Creek Adventures. Our package included lunch, snacks, and a time to drive around freestyle and solo aside from driving through the trails. Chad was really good at this since he’s always been a great driver. Definitely an experience for the books!

– I finally became a Permanent Resident of Canada! Oh man… I was ecstatic, and I couldn’t help but tear up as I remember all the time spent planning, researching, coming here on my own and just doing as best as I could for a self-sufficient future. Have to admit – I enjoyed every minute of my journey to here.

– Chad and I attended Discovery Weekend last December. Its a three-day marriage preparation retreat, and I highly recommend it! Funny story. Since we were flying to Manila for it, Chad mentioned it would be cool if we met a celebrity but what were the chances right. Turned out we were in the same group as Maxene Magalona and Robbie Mananquil. I think they just recently had their wedding actually, so God bless them!:)

– Finished the book “Spiritually Emotionally Healthy” by Peter Scazzero. This book was recommended to me by my Pastor-businessman friend. I recommend this book.

– Spent Christmas and New Year with the usual gang. Wow, the party setup was a level up last December. Our theme this year was “Great Gatsby”.

• Read “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and “Baby Signs”. Allot a time to read periodically
• Continue to regularly exercise, like doing 7-minute workouts every other weekday
• Finish the wedding planning so we can actually start working on our marriage (which I am more excited about haha)
• Aim to get a raise at work, or an equivalent
• Attend an enriching conference (?) / any learnings-based goal / or a yoga retreat
• Start volunteering again
• Continue learning Spanish
• Cook more, juice more, and get a blender to make healthy smoothies!
• Experience a new activity such as free diving or scuba diving

This year was overall more chill compared to my previous years with the major thing being busy with wedding planning most days. I was really happy I was able to jump the gun: invest and travel to Portland for Chain React 2017 (first ever React Native conference in North America). It was my first time actually attending a tech conference and staying at an Airbnb by myself. I have no regrets despite me having to quit my job at that time and leave the mobile games industry just so I could go without any worry (plus I had no more vacation leaves after Boracay hahaha!). The ticket ended up more expensive than I expected since the CAD was weak that time (converted to $600+ from $365 :(), but I believe in investing in education so I had to do this.

I’ve always assumed wedding planning was super stressful, and on the rare occasion, I do feel that way. However, I feel like Chad and my sister (a.k.a maid-of-honor) do help me enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Looking back, it was quite challenging for me at the beginning when Chad told me, “Okay, start thinking about what kind of wedding you want already” mainly because I never really had that fairytale daydream about my future wedding. I had no idea what I wanted and it became frustrating because I am so picky about style and color! I’ve always thought about my future children (one of the big reasons why I came to Canada), what I want to teach them or how I want to raise them – but everything before having children I never really gave much thought! So that was quite silly of me. Actually, funny story – when Chad and I were still friends we had one of those life talks. This was about one year after me and my long-time boyfriend broke up. I revealed to Chad and Ian that I wanted to adopt a child by 31 since I was comfortable just being alone and they, just like my family, convinced me otherwise. This was one of the mental roadblocks Chad had to go through when he was considering me, he said. Haha! I was mentally dead set on it for a long while so fast-forward to planning a wedding was like whoaaah okay I need to dive into Pinterest right now because I kinda wasn’t expecting to get married!

After much thought, I knew in my heart I wished for an intimate ceremony. Perhaps a reception small enough that we could talk to everyone. Fortunately, Chad wanted the same. And I was proven wrong, life is so much more fun a journey with someone who loves and understands you truly. So I kindly ask that you please pray for us as we embark on this new chapter of our lives..  Let’s go 2018!

In six days I would be residing in Canada for about four years. Four wonderful years filled with self-realization, careful open-mindedness, character stretching, and some growing pains. Five years ago I planned to immigrate to a country I’ve never been, to make my own living and future. I must admit, the end goal towards my plan seemed a little out of reach. It felt like I was taking forever… thinking, “Will I ever finish this through? When?” But lo and behold — just a few days ago I received the privilege to stay in Canada as a permanent resident. I was over the moon. Thank you, Jesus.

I landed with a study permit in 2013 in Vancouver, BC (beautiful place), and wrote a how-to about the study visa process for Filipinos. Apologies for not having replied to some comments and emails. It’s gotten a little overwhelming for me (sadly I am a lazy blogger) and most of the questions are either too relative (this lady has no idea about the extra process nurses or pharmacists go through, I’m in IT) or subjective (do you think x is a good school?).

But good news is, most of the information you need is a Google search away. It is honestly very easy to gather the required information online. *pep talk coming* If you really want this, you will spend the time to obsessively read through government infosites and forums.* pep talk ends* The best source of all info I had was the IRCC website itself. Totally commend the Canadian government for providing accessible straightforward information! I’ve applied online for both my study visa and PR myself and of course, so can you. Only get an agency to do this on your behalf if you are willing to spend $$$ for convenience and their expertise. I understand that some people don’t have the time to research all these things through.

Overall, I’m hoping this post continues to help people. Specifically those who also came on study visas and want to move on to the next step, if they so wish to stay. (Also thanks to Chad for encouraging me to write this or else I wouldn’t have thought to)

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, AB

KNOW THIS FIRST: You do not apply for Canadian Permanent Residency immediately, specifically in Express Entry. You create a profile and get assessed a score. Based on your profile, you will also find out which streams you are eligible for: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker, and Federal Trades Worker. You are then put in a pool against other candidates. If you reach the minimum score on a draw, you may then be invited to apply for permanent residency. You will have 90 days to gather requirements and submit application. Click me for more info.

Helpful links:

• Canada’s official website
• IRCC’s Help Centre
• IRCC’s Twitter – try sending them a tweet!
• Processing times
• FAQ
• Become a Candidate for Express Entry
• Express Entry invitation rounds – refer to this as your baseline score
• Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Criteria – scoring criteria
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) – know your occupation’s NOC code
• What you need to know before you start

Note: I did have a friend who already went through the old (paper) process of PR and he was extremely helpful, especially when it came to questions about the forms and documentation. I believe I wasn’t too annoying because currently, the Express Entry online application is very streamlined – so yay for us!

Disclaimer: Canada updates its immigration rules fairly frequently. It is possible that by the time you read this, this info would already be outdated. Again, best to refer to official website.

This post is personal experience specific to Express Entry – Canadian Experience Class (Filipino citizenship).

Start an Express Entry profile with a valid work permit:

1. See if you qualify for PR and reach minimum requirements. The big thing for me was to have at least 1 year Canadian work experience. Know your NOC. Ex. at the time of application I was a web/mobile programmer for games so my NOC is 2174.
2. Take the IELTs or an accepted language test. Make sure there is a testing centre near you. IELTS cost $300. The higher your score the more points. You also have to meet the minimum required for your NOC. Make sure to put mother tongue as “Tagalog”, not English. To be safe, aim for at least 7 (IELTS).
3. If you didn’t apply for your study permit online, create an account and within it, apply for Express Entry online. Otherwise just use your old CIC credentials. You will get a list of required documents to upload based on your answers from the wizard.
4. At this point, you will only input data such as basic personal info, contact details, employment history, travel history, etc. You will later need to provide proof for everything you’ve declared if you get invited to apply for PR. So make sure you can support your profile.
5. Plus any other requirements they ask… Submit entry for express entry! You can update your profile anytime, and your score will change according to your current circumstance. Ex. you could lose points for aging, or gain points when you add foreign work experience.

Is there a guaranteed way to get an invitation? Yes, kind of. Apply and be approved under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). This earns you 600 points, consequently skyrocketing your profile up the ranks. If you graduated with a Masters or PhD, you may be eligible to apply for PNP right after graduation.

To give you an idea, the following is a list of documents you might be expected to prepare.

Upon receiving an invitation to apply for PR:

1. Medical Exam – I waited until I received notice to do it. You will have the option to go for an “upfront” medical exam. This is the quickest and easiest! Call an accredited CIC doctor, book an appointment and bring your papers. The results are valid for 1 year. It cost me $220.00.
2. Gather necessary employment documents – Certification/Letter of Employment stating salary, hours, start date, paycheques, boss’ contact details, etc. from current and past employers.
3. Make sure you have your education transcripts and proof of diploma/degree/masters.
4. Police check – get an NBI Clearance. Plan this out! The easiest way for us to prove a clean record is to get this by visiting the Philippines. This could potentially delay your application especially if you get “hit” so plan ahead. I’ve heard there is a way to get this clearance from Canada but apparently it takes long.
   • you need police clearance from all the countries you’ve lived in (for more than 6 months)
5. Prepare proof of funds – bank statements of all accounts, investments portfolios, RRSP, TFSA, trading accounts, credit card statements (given you have good credit score), and any financial agreements.
6. Relative or host’s scan of PR cards and proof of relations (birth certificate, marriage certificate, proof of common-law partnership) – only if you have a relative/partner who is a citizen or PR. (optional – just extra points)
7. Know your travel history – this can take a lot of time if you travel a lot. You’re going to scan all pages of your passport showing stamps and visas. Having a valid US visa, I feel, seems to be advantageous. You might need your old passport.
8. Digital photos – head to a Walmart Photo Centre, London Drugs, or any studio that takes ID photos.
9. Letter of Explanation – optional; only if you need to provide more information.
10. Pay the fees and keep the receipts:
    • application fee: $550
    • Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF): $490

At a later point, you may receive correspondence via email and not from the IRCC account. Make sure you declared a current and working email address.

Call for interview: Bring the documents outlined on your notice. It’s a formality, and hopefully you will get your Landing paper today!

First come, first serve – maybe 8 people or so had the same schedule as me. I was second in line because I thought to arrive early not being familiar with the place. Went in, lined up as if we were waiting to pay at a teller. Someone called my name and asked for my passport, RPRF receipt, and photos. She asked me a few questions, I signed a few papers, and she stamped my passport. PR card would come in the mail maybe 3 months from now, she said. That’s it!

The process for Express Entry was quicker than expected. How fast your application moves may depend on how quick you submit the right documents, or your specific circumstance. For processing times, check here.

My experience may differ from yours. Nonetheless, pray fervently, try not to get into trouble, keep your finances in check, and you will be fine! Hope this helps you. God bless.

I remember at the beginning of the year, I prayed for God to help me grow. Little did I know that meant for me to experience a series of hardships and circumstances beyond my comfort zone – one after another. It took a while for me to connect the dots, after wondering and crying and questioning the deluge that came about. And then one night it hit me: “…I asked for this. I asked for all of this, because I asked to grow and become better.” So post-confusion self-realization, I was at peace. I thanked the Lord for the opportunities and faced those adversities with renewed strength. Coincidentally, everything actually became easier to deal after that point.

As the clouds cleared up to reveal the glorious snow-peaked mountains, the climb was much more enjoyable and exciting.

I realized this year that God knows me much more than I credit Him for, and despite (semi-strictly) self-imposing a certain path of a future for myself based on a matter of independence (a certain nazarite vow), He has showed me a far better plan than what I laid for myself. When I think I got things figured out, He shows me ‘Noop! You need me! I know much better than you.’ Of course.

Before I tackle my list, first things first. There’s been a change in the geographical context of my life. Thanks to much indispensable help I am now able to say…

Good bye Vancouver, BC… Hello Calgary, AB!

So on to my yearly round-up – here’s the list from previous annual post.

1. Get a BC driver’s license
– This is definitely one of my longest put-off goals. I’ll be honest to say I failed thrice. The last one was an instant fail when I was 10km/h above a school zone (I missed the sign). I couldn’t help but tear up at a Starbucks post-test, thinking to myself, “Am I really that bad of a driver?”. I’ve been driving in the Philippines for years. Before this year I drove quite well on the road in Cebu. While I was talking to a dear friend on the phone, a lady came by and asked me if I was alright, gave me a hug and a bottle of sweet juice. Shortly after a Starbucks barista gave me a matcha frappuccino for free. Such kindness from strangers I wouldn’t have experienced if I had not been defeated by my road test.

Remedy: To earn an Alberta driver’s license this coming 2017. Altho I am resolute in laying off getting a car as long as I continue to work remotely.

2. Do the splits (since 2013..)
– There’s been progress for sure, but I still haven’t achieved this!! If anything I’ve felt less time to work on this. Anyway, I’m keeping this mini-goal.

3. Learn how to cook better, and consistently make raw vegetarian food. This will be merged with ‘Continue to eat healthy’.
– I am proud to say I can cook (veggies and fish) well enough for me not to feel deprived. Level up, baby. Woohoo

4. Take more photos and actually make videos.
– I’ve been taking more videos and photos which I haven’t posted. I hoped to edit a video as a year-ender but ohman artistic laziness cripples me…

5. Write more so that I can learn how to express myself better.
– Fail! This should be better after I create a new blog layout this year. (C’mon Anne!) Plus I’ve deleted my Facebook app to avoid mindlessly scrolling the darn newsfeed.

6. Concentrate on developing the fruits of the Spirit.
– Forever and ever and ever and ever…

7. Read more books and watch more documentaries.
– Watching documentaries has become one of my favourite pastimes!! I think I can check this off as it’s already part of me. Someday I will get a portable-sized Kindle and read my books there instead of the Kindle app on my iPhone. It took me many regular commutes to finish “Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus” and it was insightful – I am really enjoying learning about the fundamental psychological facets of people.

8. Save enough money for a good investment, and regularly save at least 20% of my salary.
– This is much more achievable now that I live in Calgary. Thank you Lord. It’s a very humble amount of savings but I am happy to be able to have some.

9. Continue to exercise regularly.
– Semi-regularly… But will become more regular this 2017! I will be doing more yoga and spin classes with my sister.

10. Move out to a cheaper place before the end of the year!
– Woohoo! Check! I finally have my own place. What a dream come true, a check off the bucketlist of my life.

11. Work on my wisdom wall.

Things I want to accomplish in 2017:
– Develop a new blog theme using the WordPress REST API.
– Join a Contiki tour!! Setting my sights on the Spotlight on Greece tour.
– Fly to Portland, OR for the React Native Conference this summer 2017.
– Visit Cebu, PH for our 10 year highschool reunion and visit friends and family.
– Meet and get to know my boyfriend’s family in Cebu! ^^
– Take more photos when traveling. Maybe video making takes too much time for me right now.
– Get an AB driver’s license.
– Continue giving my tithes to IJM and other organizations, or a home church in the SW.
– SPLITS
– Continue to learn Spanish. Como estas?

Everyone’s new year’s cliché – Let’s get fit!!! Metabolism isn’t what it used to be.

Things that happened in 2016:
– The highlight of 2016 was moving from Vancouver to Calgary! Thank you Chad for flying to Canada to help me drive a U-Haul. I wouldn’t be able to move as smoothly as I did without you and my sister. You’re the best.

Chad took me sightseeing on the way from British Columbia to Alberta and it was wonderful (autumn is my favorite season). I was so happy. Canada is ever beautiful, and every year I fall more in love with this country.

Throughout my life in Vancouver, these Hongers have been my friends in this foreign country. My life wouldn’t be the same without them. Will definitely miss them all. 

I always looked forward to bible study and bonding with these lovely girls! Thank you for the super sweet scrapbook you all took time to make for me. I love it so much.

– The first game studio I worked for sadly closed down. It was quite an experience to go through my first layoff and company bankruptcy. People in the industry said this is common – the cyclical nature of working in the games industry.

My station at Roadhouse, beside Camila who became my Ecuadorian work BFF! I developed the front-end engineering of the in-house game admin tool while she did UX design.

(L-R): Gui, Leto, Bryan, Jani, Nick, Ligia, Sarah and me.

Camila and Helen! Oh how I miss eating lunch and talking with you girls in person!

– Started working at Shoal Games as a front-end engineer. Guess what? I work from the comforts of my own home!! Way earlier in my career than expected. I am officially a mobile app developer thanks to Facebook’s React Native language.

– Toured around Banff and Calgary when Ken visited Canada. We had a mini Bethanian reunion. What a small world.

Holding up the years our batch graduated from Bethany – 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Beautiful Lake Louise, ever changing throughout the seasons yet consistently a sight to behold. Surprisingly I never tire of it.

– Traveled to the UK and toured around London, Thrapston, Bath, Oxford, Oundle and Wales. It was absolutely enchanting. I loved learning about the history and marveling at the classical beauty of the UK and France.

Met up with my friend Candy who’s now a nurse living in London. Lucky girl!

Didn’t expect Big Ben to be so beautiful, much more in person.

At Cottswold, England with Achi and Aunty Zeny. Dreaming of retiring here someday, maybe.

– Took the Eurostar train to Paris. Wow, the city is a dream… No wonder they say Paris is always a good idea. They are so extravagant. All or nothing!

Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral

Chateau de Versailles

Chapel inside the grand Versailles

All of my Europe photos need a blog post of their own!

– Photographed the prewedding of Ryan and Christina.

– Flew to San Francisco, ate the best chocolate fudge sundae at Ghirardelli, toured the infamous Alcatraz Island, rode the cable car around the bay area and played at the Musée Mecanique. I met up with my close friend who just finished law school. Congrats Jai!

– Finally got to attend the TEDx Stanley Park event at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Bucket list – check!! This was a treat for the mind.

– Made a friend while waiting at a bus stop. We went out together, and even did a spin class together (the best spin class I’ve ever tried thanks to Ride Cycle Club). Hello, Kyna! You are one of the nicest and friendliest girls I’ve ever met.

– Volunteered at the Salvation Army’s soup kitchen for the homeless in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

– Made almond milk from scratch!

– Watched an opera for the first time – Madame Butterfly.

– Ran my first 10K – the Vancouver Sun Run. Wow, that was a great experience!! I was sore all over the next day.

– Attended the Sol (Latin) festival.
– Listened to a Disney x Broadway orchestra at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts.

– Toured around Victoria and went whale watching~ Although whales were MIA that day Lots of seals and seagulls though… I won’t give up! I need to do this again!

– Toured Chad around Vancouver and brought him to Whistler Blackcomb’s gondola – the longest gondola in the world.

– Visited Drumheller and the Royal Tyrell Museum (I think this is my favorite museum in Canada so far). Who doesn’t love dinosaurs?!

– Photographed the Vi family portrait.

– Photographed the Kwok family portrait.

– Visited my godchild, Ellie Managbanag, in Seattle, WA and shot their family photos.

– Drank glacier water at the Athabasca Glacier / Columbia Icefields and rode the Columbia Ice Explorer.

– Took a ferry to Spirit Island, Jasper AB. You can go around the island in just an hour.

The water around here was a beautiful aquamarine due to it being glacier-sourced.

– Spent Christmas and New Years with family and Barangay Calgary! Imagine free ice skating and hot chocolate as we countdown the NY with fireworks and a romantic french song in the background. Calgary is such a family-friendly city. It really is growing on me.

This year has been eventful and at the start, quite the rollercoaster ride. It felt like I was constantly in flux, and that’s okay. I did ask for growth and the Lord was kind enough to carry me through it all. A special note: I got to see a long-time friend as the unexpected love of my life. Getting into a relationship was the last thing I ever thought of this year especially since I initially started off 2016 on a vow of singleness. Nevertheless, there are no regrets. I’ve never been a happier girlfriend. Thank you Jesus for knowing my heart and for the blessing of Chad. Twelve midnight and later today I will be back to work – here’s to 2017!

P.S. there is a bug in the WordPress image uploader that flips some iPhone photos upside down. I will fix this soon.

I wake up so early these days it’s so unlike me, but I don’t mind.

I tell myself I had a beautiful year; 2015 was sweet. I finally graduated from BCIT, with distinction and academic awards I didn’t seriously think I could achieve (thank you Jesus). I look back and realize it’s because of a disciplined attitude I chose to keep way back in high school after reading this verse in the Bible: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23). That, coupled with my love for learning. I’ve always been enthralled by the process of learning new things and skills. Over the years I’ve developed a growth mindset, meaning:  1.) I don’t mind making mistakes or constantly falling (it’s really not that big of a deal if you don’t make it out to be)  2.) I concentrate on enjoying the process and compete with myself instead of others (because I am not comfortable competing against others anyway…)

I find these things so important not just in the pursuit of happiness, but also in the maintenance of psychological and emotional health. I hope to someday nurture this same mentality in my future child/children! I want them to grow up as independent-thinkers, in addition to of course being firm believers in Christ, who believe they can do anything they want as long as they don’t give up. Now maybe some of the skeptics and naysayers might say “Aren’t you encouraging idealistic ambitions in a harsh ever-degrading society? The world is not all sunshine and rainbows.” Yes, I know. But there’s a difference when a child believes he can shoot for the moon, because, yes now you know it, he might land amongst the stars!

However, there’s an essential ingredient to that mix: The ability to accept disappointment.

The more we shelter children from every disappointment, the more devastating future disappointments will be. -Fred G. Gosman

Okay, major sidetrack! Getting back to the round-up of 2015. From last year’s annual post, here’s my checklist:

1. Get a good job that will make me want to wake up early from Mon-Fri.
– Wow. This one is really something… The year before I also prayed that I may get a job I truly enjoy. I honestly thought it would just be wishful thinking, almost impossibly too idealistic, but guess what. I am now working… at a mobile game studio… doing front-end web development work… which I love! I *actually* enjoy my work. It’s crazy I know, but that’s grace!

2. Get a BC driver’s license (commuting wastes so much time huhu)
– I took the road test last Monday but failed But rightly so, I took a left on a green light in the intersection and assumed the opposing side was red, which now I realize is from an instinct driving in the Philippines. But it’s alright, I will try again next week! No plans to get a car yet though.

3. Live by myself or with another female housemate in an apartment, preferably in Burnaby or close to my future workplace.
– Wow wow, double wow. This is spot on! I live with a sweet Scottish-Indian roomie downtown, right next to BC Place, Stadium-Chinatown Station and Roger’s Arena. Although it’s not super close to my office, the commute isn’t bad and the location is amazing. I love it when I live somewhere walkable. One time as I was making granola, I realized I lacked oats… Granola without oats, say whaat. So I grabbed my coat, ran down to the nearest grocer, picked up oats and walked back to the apartment, all in 10 minutes? I love it. City-living convenience at its finest.

4. Do the splits (hahaha! This was a small goal I made at the end of 2013. It’s much harder than I thought…)
– This is a goal that I am unexpectedly taking waaay longer to achieve. Postpone.

5. Learn how to cook better, and consistently make raw vegetarian food. This will be merged with ‘Continue to eat healthy’.
– I can cook vegetarian food better in a sense that they don’t taste as bland anymore so yipee! I have discovered the secret: spices spices spices. Next I should learn how to make real dishes instead of roasted veggies and fried rice/bibimbap style meals.

6. Take more photos and actually make videos.
– Nooope. This has gone downhill. I am planning to sell my Canon 5D Mark ii soon in exchange for a more compact, convenient DSLR-quality camera, such as a Fujifilm XT-1. This is going to be a very difficult breakup for me though… The quality and colors of the 5D are too beautiful to let go.

7. Write more so that I can learn how to express myself better. Hopefully after school I’ll have more time to blog. I really wanna make more helpful blog posts if not creative ones.
– FAIL. lol. I will just take this out entirely and concentrate on making a new blog theme… Now that WordPress has launched its own REST API! I am less apprehensive about the time consumption of making this new theme. Woohoo for ajax calls, good bye PHP-driven WordPress codex.

8. Concentrate on developing the fruits of the Spirit.
– This process is actually perpetual, until the day I die. So I guess this will be a sticky-goal. *marked* I think this year I need to work on my forbearance and gentleness.

9. Read more books and watch more documentaries.
– Hmm. I am currently reading 2 books. I guess progress wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Not great either. Documentaries were less than the year before but I’ve ended up watching for TEDx Talks and classical movies. Whenever I feel meh watching Audrey Hepburn instantly makes me forget the meh-ness.

10. Save enough money for a good investment, and regularly save at least 20% of my salary.
– This starts this year I will do my best. In addition to my tithing~

11. Continue to exercise regularly.
– Once I recover from this cold I’m going to enrol myself at…

Things I want to accomplish in 2016:
– Get a BC driver’s license.
– Do the splits (I won’t give up!!)
– Learn how to cook better, vegetarian quick meals. I want to master this type of cuisine.
– Develop a new blog theme using the WordPress REST API.
– Continue developing the fruits of the Spirit: “…love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
– Read a book every night before I sleep instead of staying on Facebook (ok, cut-off is 8:30PM) and watch more documentaries.
– Have at least $10,000 as savings. Save 20% of my salary. Although I want to save more, my rent is already almost 40% of my salary /cries
– Move out to a cheaper place before the end of the year!
– Exercise regularly and have fun with it! Run with the girls every Sunday, go the gym/studio after work to de-stress.
– Continue my wisdom wall until the very end:

Every morning and night I write Scripture from the Bible so I can instil or somehow remember them into my life. It’s a great thing to do. My sleep is much better when I end my night doing this. Hopefully by the end of the year this wall will be super full of post-its yipee.
– Most prominently I have decided to dedicate this year to the Lord in singleness. I am on, what my friend calls a Nazarite vow. I want to concentrate on growing in my faith and as an individual this year.

Things that happened in 2015:
– Visited my sister, her family and my friends in Alberta! It was so much more fun than I ever expected!

I got to experience dog sledding, snowboard with my friends, see my sister and her family try the snow sports for the first time (I’m so happy the kids had lessons!), go snow shoeing, ice skating….





I am soo happy! Heehee. God is so good. I feel the love and grace overflowing.

– Internship at Flowmarq Creative Inc together with Christina. Thank you Pastor Brian Ho, Jeremy Kwok, Rachel Poon and Alice Huang!

– Developed a digital marketing micro-site, My Mercedes Experience

– Designed and coded my own WordPress-based digital portfolio at www.anneuy.com

– Graduated from BCIT with distinction and academic and achievement awards for Digital Design and Development

– Toured the Electronic Arts (EA) headquarters in Burnaby. I used to be so addicted to The Sims!

– Photographed my first freelance wedding gig at Grouse Mountain

– Photographed my first family photoshoot in Richmond

– Photographed my dear friends, Christina and Ryan’s civil wedding

– Spent my summer in Cebu with family and friends
– Trekked all the way up to Osmeña Peak with my high school classmates. The view was amazing! You could see Cebu from east to west!
– Traveled to Manila with Natalie and stayed with our dear friend Karla. Had a blast doing a horror Escape room with the girls and Hazel

– Joined Living Word church’s Young Pro camp at Talamban. It was so fun!

– Toured around Vancouver with family

– Toured around the beautiful city of Victoria (with a sunburnt face)

– Toured around Calgary and Banff with family and Chad + Ian

– Visited Allie in Seattle in the summer when she was still very much preggy

– Attended a Paint Nite social session

– Went up to Agassi to see the tulip festival with Kryz Uy, her sister, Jacklyn and their beautiful mom


– Went to Whistler with the ladies from my small group at Willingdon. First photo is epic-level blurry but I think its the only one with all of us…


– Moved out of my dorm… It was so bittersweet

– Moved in to an apartment downtown with my roomie, Rittu Berman. Check out the view from my room!

– And finally, the most impulsive thing I have ever done in my life…. Helix piercing on my right ear.

Okay, quick story and the deal about my piercing. Just a week ago I was attending C3 Church (Sundays 10:15AM at Cineplex Odeon Cinema 8, International Village). All throughout the service there was a mother (one of the many) carrying and soothing her baby in a tula in front of me. She passed me a smile, and I instantly felt a connection with her. As she sat with her head back in front of me, I saw the beautiful blue stud on her helix piercing. I don’t know why, but it made me reflect on SO many things in my life–changes, goals, events, feelings, thoughts… And then it hit me. I want to dedicate 2016 to the Lord and to concentrate on growing as an individual. Just myself and the Lord this year… No potential of a distraction for dating/relationship or any of the sort. Someday I want to be a mother, and I seriously want to prepare for that because in my heart and mind I know raising a child does not come easy– it should be treated very seriously! As of today, I am honestly not sure that marriage is for me or on my radar (if it is God’s will for me then I will receive the blessing gladly), but I am sure that I have been impressed to adopt. Writing this out publicly is now like an unofficial declaration of my intention. All I know is this: I want to give a child a second chance at life, and then when she/he grows up, I hope she/he might be compelled to adopt as well as a way of giving back.

My realizations were so heavy that I felt the importance of solidifying it permanently, and so came the piercing. This way, I will always be reminded that I am no longer the same person as before. I want to be more courageous and strong, but at the same time become kinder and more gentle.

My whole summer in the Philippines was my very last stretch of an afforded vacation. I knew I wouldn’t be able to spend a whole season once I started working. It was a blessing to be able to spend time with my family and friends. I went out almost everyday! That’s crazy draining for an introvert like me, but well worth it as I look back on all the memories I’ve made (board game nights were the best). Although Fritz and I aren’t together anymore, I am glad we remain friends. Despite the love and care we have for each other, our priorities have caused our paths to diverge into an incompatible future. Last summer we already called it quits, but he treated our last months together in friendship as nothing but self-less. He killed me with kindness. For that and more, he will always have a special place in my heart. I have grown and learned so much in our four years together and I will always be thankful for meeting him. If ever you are in Cebu and get to hear of his catering or cooking, you’d be wise to give it a try. He is a very talented chef and that’s no bias.

Nat and I celebrated our birthdays together at the BIG Hotel, owned by our good friend Kate Ngo. We had our high school classmates and their significant others join us for dinner. A few birthdays ago I had the idea to make a time capsule for us. All of us wrote our goals for our 25th and 30th birthdays and when it was time, we’d open our papers together to reflect on our life progress. Charlie said we should read our goals out loud to each other when we hit 30. I’m not sure everyone would want to but that would be really interesting!

If I could be painfully honest, I now feel more at home here in Canada. If I could have any crazy one-time wish it would be to bring all of my family and friends here. I can truly testify how much God knows my heart because he’s brought me to my own paradise here on earth. Even a routine walk to work brings me so much awe as I pass by pigeons flying towards the North Shore Mountains. I am not sure if my future lies in this country, but for now my heart is.

It’s now 2015. Wow… Somehow I have an unshakable feeling that this year will be very different for me. I’m both excited and a little nervous, but definitely more excited. Throughout the years, I’ve learned it’s healthier and lighter to my heart to be optimistic about the future and people in general. This year I’ve grown as a young adult and learned more about myself than I have ever before. Living alone and learning to be independent gave me a lot of personal time and space to think about who I really want to be: the values I want to hold and the beliefs I want to keep. I choose to be happy and contented. I have and made real friends, went places, learned about other cultures and witnessed beautiful things I never thought I’d have the opportunity to. I can’t ask for more. God is really really good, and in my life I am blessed to say I have no regrets thus far.

Watching eagles and birds flying freely in their natural environment.

I wish for every young adult to find the same peace as I do now. Nowadays identity crisis seems to be a common experience for people my age. The media is so strong about what they want you to believe in, to make you think you should be this and that, to want and need these and those, to look like him or her, but what do you really want to be? If you were to look outside of yourself for a day, would you be happy about who you’ve become? Maybe on the inside you’d actually want to make a difference by helping others, being extra good to your friends, learning to appreciate even the smallest things, or becoming sweeter and more comfortable with your family. We all wish to become better versions of ourselves. That’s why there’s such a thing as New Year’s Resolutions. But why can’t people just choose to become better every moment they realize they should? Just try and try again, make mistakes, learn from them, be careful next time, and apologize when due no matter the excuses your pride makes.

I’m only human. I make mistakes, but I have only one life to live so I’m going to shamelessly live it to the fullest. Do what I want to do as long as I don’t intentionally hurt people, share beautiful things, make people laugh, let petty offences slide, brush off other people’s unconstructive negativity, and forgive others easily. There’s a saying that always stuck to me since I was a teenager. It went something like this: “You are who you define yourself to be.” If someone keeps saying he’s a loser, he will end up being one and will probably live a “sad” life. Quotations are there because he’s not really living a sad life, he just makes it up to be. On the other hand, if someone believes so strongly that he will succeed in life, he eventually will because that mindset will exhaust everything it takes to get there.

Anyway, I’ll stop here. It’s getting to be more of a reflective post than my annual blog post! Haha. Ok Anne, here were your goals set last year:

1. Graduate from BCIT with honors (if there is such a thing? if not, I’ll settle for just good grades)
– Hmm… Why did I write this? I’m still graduating in June of 2015 not 2014, but I’m marking it as accomplished because I got 2 scholarship awards last month (The BCIT Faculty and Staff Association Scholarship & The BCIT International Student Award)! My teacher said I got the highest GPA in the School of Business so I’m pretty stoked. Surprised and really happy! It truly doesn’t seem like a lot of effort when you study what you’re interested in.

2. Get a job here that I’ll actually enjoy! Wishful thinking… But *OPTIMISM*..!
– Nope. No job yet. Not even legally allowed to work here.

3. Become stronger physically by developing a habit for exercise.
– Wow finally. I feel like this has been a goal for sooo long. Hahaha. I now do pilates every week! I found it’s easier to make a habit by actually scheduling it on the calendar.

4. Continue to eat healthy.
– I won’t mark this off coz I want to keep doing it, and I actually feel like I can still do better.

5. Learn how to cook better, and make raw vegetarian food.
– In all honesty, my cooking is still bland Need more practice.

6. Take more photos and learn how to make videos.
– I kinda take more photos than last year… Definitely a slight improvement. Editing and uploading them weren’t consistent in the middle of the year, but at the end I caught up. I need to blog more though. I learned how to make videos in class but I never ended up making one for myself! So moving this again to next year’s goals.

7. Write more so that I can learn how to express myself better.
– FAILED. SO BAD. I need to write mooooooore blog poooosts. The struggle for clarity in my speech is real.

8. Concentrate on developing the fruits of the Spirit.
– Need to work on this more. sigh. Thankful that the Love of Jesus overflows and I can keep on going.

9. Read more books and watch more documentaries.
– I haven’t read as much books or watched as much documentaries in 2014. The last documentary I watched was “Hungry for Change” which I highly recommend!! The last book I read was “How to Pay Less and Keep More For Yourself: The Essential Consumer Guide to Canadian Banking and Investing” by Rob Carrick, recommended by a wise friend.

Count: 2/9. Not impressed with myself at all. LOL. Let it be a lesson though, don’t take yourself too too seriously. I’m still pretty happy with all the general improvement. XD

 Things I want to accomplish in 2015:
– Get a good job that will make me want to wake up early from Mon-Fri.
– Get a BC driver’s license (commuting wastes so much time huhu)
– Live by myself or with another female housemate in an apartment, preferably in Burnaby or close to my future workplace.
– Do the splits (hahaha! This was a small goal I made at the end of 2013. It’s much harder than I thought…)
– Learn how to cook better, and consistently make raw vegetarian food. This will be merged with ‘Continue to eat healthy’.
– Take more photos and actually make videos.
– Write more so that I can learn how to express myself better. Hopefully after school I’ll have more time to blog. I really wanna make more helpful blog posts if not creative ones.
– Concentrate on developing the fruits of the Spirit.
– Read more books and watch more documentaries.
– Save enough money for a good investment, and regularly save at least 20% of my salary.
– Continue to exercise regularly.

Things that happened in 2014:
– Traveled solo to and from Vancouver and Seattle by train (Amtrak Cascades) and bus (BoltBus). I felt like I was going on an adventure!

Spent a great Christmas with old friends in Washington.

– Went to Whistler to snowboard with Honger friends.

I’m the only Filipino-Chinese girl who can’t speak Cantonese tagging along lol.
I owe one of the best couples in the world, Christina and Ryan, for most of my awesome experiences here in Canada!!

– Created my first hybrid mobile app using Intel XDK. Programmed by me and designed by Christina Chan.

– Invited to speak to the students of St. Theresa’s College (STC), Cebu about my passion for storytelling in photography.

– Completed my first year of studies in Digital Design and Development at BCIT. One year more to go!

– Learned how to create visual special FX (told you I learned how to make videos :P)

– won prizes from a contest by Study in BC 
– visited my dad’s hometown in Dipolog since who knows how long. For my cousins who are reading this, I owe you this album I’m so sorry for the late upload!!

– visited my hometown in Cebu for 3 months. Made warm memories with family and my boyfriend, and played lotssss of boardgames with my close friends!

Cheers to 2015, looking forward to all the goodness and experiences ahead!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Pretty teacup roses from my mom.

I know I’ve not been a very diligent blogger for the past 2 years. Getting digitally lazy because real life is so much more fun. Nonetheless, I will always try to make my birthday and new year posts!! I know there are some followers of my work who look forward to my blogging, and I want to apologize to you guys specifically. I know how it feels to like a blog and get disappointed that the blogger suddenly fades away~ I appreciate the facebook messages and comments you leave me. Always know you touch my heart with your generous words!

Yesterday I had dinner with a few of my friends here in Canada. We dined out like pigs at Sushimoto (pretty good Japanese restaurant!) in North Burnaby. I was really excited to treat my good friends to this wonderful dinner but… Christina hid my credit card so I couldn’t pay! T_T Turns out the custom here in Canada is if its your birthday, your friends pay for you! They did it for me last year but I only thought it was because I was FOB– fresh off the boat (or should I say plane) and they were being nice by welcoming me here in Canada. Back in the Philippines, the birthday celebrant treats all his friends not the other way around!

Matcha green tea and red bean cake with raspberries cake. Divine.

Well. Have to admit I was really uncomfortable with the tables turned, I felt uneasy like I totally didn’t deserve the treat and the veryyyy yummy matcha green tea and red bean cake!! Can a cake be anymore my type?! It’s funny coz Fung was “obviously” carrying it from the car to the restaurant but I NEVER even noticed. Actually can’t believe I didn’t suspect a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I have fooled myself to believe I’m really receptive and sensitive to things but turns out I’m not! Haha. When the cake arrived I was thinking “How does the restaurant know its my birthday?? :o” But wow my friends are great T_T Never even suspected one bit they would do these sweet things for me!! I’m so thankful! Don’t you think I have awesome friends too? Can’t wait until their birthdays come so we can all have a great day like mine!

Happy girl being posed and dictated on how to slice the cake.

More pictures of the cake coz its AWEZUM.

Diane made that sweet gift and letter for me and Christina gave me those instax photos! These two girls are really sweet and thoughtful T_T My heart is really swelling now. Lord please bless all my friends so much. I’m asking you because I don’t think I can really give them as much as You can! On a side note, my hair is getting extra curly like mad, especially when it rains. The frizzzz… If you guys didn’t know, I’m trying to embrace my wavy hair so I’ve stopped rebonding it since last year.

After stuffing ourselves with Vancouver sushi and birthday cake, I told my friends that I want to treat them out somewhere else if I’m not allowed to pay for dinner. So we walked over to a bowling center nearby, but again my card was still confiscated. So OK, you know what… I won’t tell my plans but I will make it up to them for sure. If you guys are reading this right now I just wanna say how thankful I am to have you as friends. T_T I’m afraid this blog post is getting too emo so I will stop with the cheesy overflows now.

I haven’t played bowling in a very long time but its actually more fun to play with people my age. I used to bowl with my Aunts and Uncles and struggle with the bowling ball weight… Well that part hasn’t changed. Kiddie bowling ball is still my choice of weapon!! We all had lots of fun. I’m happy that my friends enjoyed my pre-birthday as much as I did

Check out Christina’s instax frames!! So cute. I think these pictures also make up for my lack of posting on Facebook. Haha.

So that was yesterday night. What did I do today on my actual birthday?

I attended the EMPOWER Kids Ministry training at Willingdon church! This is in preparation for my volunteering every Sunday to help take care of the kids at Willingdon Sunday school. In the past when I would volunteer for DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible Study for kids) I would always know at least a handful of people already and feel familiar with the environment. This time was totally different. Everyone was a mix of races and I was technically alone. This definitely helped me step out of my comfort zone to talk to new people, introduce myself and listen to their stories. After my interview tomorrow I’ll know what Grade level of kids I’ll be taking care of, I’m really excited! My heart swells as I think of the children that are and will learn about Jesus’ love for them. In the past year I’ve seen how important it is to be mindful of my actions and words when kids are around because it REALLY shapes their being. Believe it or not, kids see us adults as their HEROES! Its up to us to choose if we want to create a positive impact on the next generation.

Honestly, I feel that the church still needs more help than there is so if anyone reading in Vancouver finds it in their heart to help out, please email Amanda Ponte.

Off I go to eat what’s left of my birthday cake! Birthday cake for dinner oh yeaaa

Making my calculator project in Animate Edge

Almost every week we had to program something based on Henry Leung‘s specifications. When we were learning key listeners, I made this…. What can I call it… Interactive media for key down listeners?

Say Hello to Chibi

I’ve also learned Illustrator this term, so I took the opportunity to practice vectors and experiment with SVGs!

Want to know the secret trick of Chibi? You can try Chibi’s World here. But please be on your desktop when doing so. This totally won’t work on mobile or tablet devices since I’m using keyboard listeners.

You’re probably going “What kind of game is this?! It’s not even a game.” *rolls eyes* (my bf laughed when I showed him this!)

So ok, for the next assignment I was finally able to *attempt* making a simple mini game!

 Recycled my background. I guess that makes Bubby from Chibi’s World too. They’re probably best friends or something.

Apologies if my “style” is very cutesy/chibi. Honestly it’s just the easiest kind of graphics to make!

The gameplay is simple. Bubby’s ONE and ONLY egg falls from the sky, and it’s up to you to help Bubby catch it! I’ve drawn a soft nest for you to catch it in already, so use the power of left and right keyboard keys well. You can play Bubby Egg Catch game here.

After a while we got into more complex programming. For our latest assignment, we were supposed to head to a park, experience a problem, and create a solution in Edge. I went to Deer Lake Park which was the nearest park to BCIT, and realized that it would really be handy if I could have a map of where the washrooms and snack bars were. I tried to search online for an app because map apps are the most convenient, but couldn’t find one. I’d also like to add that I’m a Google Maps generation girl, and I heavily rely on Transit and Google Maps to get around.

Thus, the creation of my application “Deer Lake Park Map“. I wanted to try another style and make the app look more serious/professional, and since flat design is all the rage now, I went for that.

I even added a fancy iPhone 5S frame for my app just to give me a better feel of it. I used jQuery UI for the page transitions, AJAX and JSON for the weather info from Forecast.io, and Google Maps custom maps for each of the categories. I created my own weather symbols, but I lacked time so as you can see, it’s super simple. I’m really happy that it works like legit tho (even though some of the info there is fictional, like Baby Changing Stations)!! So yay. I’ve always wanted to learn AJAX and JSON, and there’s still a lot for me to learn, but I’m so psyched that I actually implemented it successfully.

I really enjoy programming when I’m given a problem and I have to create a solution for it. Hooray for logic-based problem solving~ /geekhatON