Life, as of the moment
We’ll be flying to the Philippines this Friday, so I don’t think I’ll be able to do a year-end post by actual year’s end. So let’s do this now.
2018 was quite eventful. I started blogging again — one made with Wix and this one. The Wix one is flashy, and cool, and artsy, and with lots of bells and whistles… and I don’t know how to tweak the template. It’s faaaaaar too complicated. One of these days, I’d find the time to take down the thing.
This one, on the other hand, is simplicity itself. I write, I publish, that’s it. It’s supposed to have some social media component, but I don’t even bother. In a way, it’s even better — there’s less time for me to fiddle around, and more time to actually churn out content.
I really got on the Dresden Files this year and I cannot oversell this series. It’s been described as ‘low fantasy’ because it uses real-world setting and Book 1 is just this run-down, gun-toting, tech-challenged, everyday wizard/investigator trying to solve a murder, but it grew. It grew a lot. Now we have our wizard pitted against Faerie queens, a monster island, old gods, and archangels. If you’re looking for the next thing you can bite into, now’s the perfect time to get into this series — just before the author releases the 16th book ‘Peace Talks’.
The wife and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this year, and we went back to Paris to celebrate. And because we were with Mito this time, it was a different Paris trip — Disneyland instead of museums, Aquarium instead of the usual romantic places. Having a child changes you, and the wife and I are richer for it.
Aside from Paris, we were also fortunate enough to visit Amsterdam and Panama this year. Amsterdam because the wife wanted to try some ‘fun’ brownies (which we weren’t able to do), and Panama for Mito’s first stem cell therapy.
Then, the wife’s sisters (and one niece) visited us in Switzerland. Now, the thing to understand is that I’m lazy at going around places. I usually prefer to stay at home. When the sisters came, we toured them around Switzerland and I discovered something —
— it’s crazy ridiculous how bat-shit beautiful this place is. I won’t bother dumping all the photos here. One — I’m just getting them from the Facebook accounts of The Sisters anyway, and two — no picture does the place justice. Seriously. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Switzerland, don’t even hesitate. It’s really something else.
We also drove to the French Riviera, specifically, Nice (France), and Monaco.
2018 was also the year we left Switzerland and moved to Malaysia. The wife got a promotion again and it gave us the chance to get closer to home — which was what really sold us. Plus, now, real Asian food (unlike the westernized crap they sell in Switzerland) is finally readily available again and bidets are in every toilet.
Believe me, after living for more than two years in Europe, bidets are a big deal.
Our new house is far posher than we are. The wife and I regularly find ourselves remarking that we are too jologs for our unit — with its six toilets, five bedrooms, a home office/den, two kitchens, sauna, and jacuzzi. But hey, it’s here. We’ll take what we’re given.
I also got a new gaming rig… which is significant to me alone, I suppose. My old rig, while still working, was a bit dated, and the opportunity to get a new one presented itself so I took it. Also, we are fortunate to have fiber internet available in the condo, so I’m enjoying 1GBPS internet speed at home. I know, I know. God help me when we go back to the Philippines.
I’ve already written about the new things about my health. My hope/intention is for it to be a life-long endeavor. Aside from that, the only other event of significance in 2018 is that I got fired from my writing job at Manila Bulletin.
Now, onto the serious stuff.
The wife and I are in a really good place right now. Laughter and love abide in our home. We have our challenges but we get by. It only took us 10 years to learn to fight together instead of against each other.
Mito is doing well in his new ‘school’ (therapy center). We’ve recently switched to a half-center/half-home model so that he can generalize his behavior across different venues. He has school from 8:30 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. Structure helps him a lot. His main cognitive block — his inability to speak — is still there, but he’s far more focused now and able to follow instructions more. We also want to do a second stem cell infusion so we’ll be researching options closer to where we are right now (probably in India).
It’s hard, but we don’t dare let go of hope.
One of the major drawbacks of moving out of Switzerland was that we are no longer able to go to The Westlake Church Lausanne. These are the people who opened up themselves to us and even built a new group specifically to be with and take care of Mito while the wife and I attend church. They’re the best.
And we left right when we’ve been slowly integrating into the larger body too. Leah’s finding time to join the women of the church and I’ve been joining the morning set-up team. We have to find a church to join in Kuala Lumpur real soon. Somewhere where we can be a part of the community.
In my mind, I miss hanging out with friends (in my heart, I can’t bear the Manila traffic and would rather stay at home). I wish we were still going to Joy Christian Fellowship, but life has steered us another way.
2018’s been big, and while I can’t say for sure, I have a feeling next year would even be more so.
May God bless you and your house in 2019.
