life for a UK - Philippines family

A few people have asked me about Dracula and the fact he moved by ship to the UK. I can only tell you what I know from experience.

The vampire community in the UK seems to be fairly small, they can move around during the day due to advancements in medicines to do with Albino people who also suffer with the suns rays. New types of skin cream have been put onto the market which allow them to move around during the day. They seem to be mainly in service work as they need to be granted access to your home to be able to feast. So it could be the cable guy, Telephone, Locksmith or even the Police who are in the area who will ask can they come into your home. Once allowed in once they can come and go as they please. One thing that seems to have changed over time is the fact they prefer foreigners entering the UK from far away countries especially if the vampire is within the city boundaries. The Blood for the average person in London for example has absorbed a lot of lead from motor pollution so finding someone who has entered from a far flung province or even from the countryside has a warm refreshing blood smell that feeds the crave of a vampire.

You probably wonder why i know a lot about this well the truth is im not an ideal candidate for a vampires feast due to my blood impurity. Anyone who has met me will realise i like a bottle of wine or beer regularly which taints the blood and is as attractive as drinking sewage water to a vampire. I believe the vampire community is unlikely to harm too many people as each vampire only needs to feed on a person once a month. Does Dracula still exist? I think its an unwritten rule within the community of vampires that even discussion of Dracula could result in theyre death so i believe he still exists but where who knows.. maybe deep within the victorian waterways that run under London itself allowing free movement without being noticed over the whole of the city.

I sat and thought about this before posting.. and came to the answer of that the greatest way to show my wife what she means to me is to do it in public so here it is!

I just want to thank you for this first year of marriage and although ive been working away from home, every day my thoughts were to get back home. Life has thrown many things in our way since we have met but i just cant say i dont have regrets because that would just be part of it.. I dont have any regrets but on top of that this has been the happiest year of my life. You brought a young daughter into our world and our family is almost complete. You have been a shoulder of strength when work was crazy and not only do you make me happy, content, loved and wanted. But also im proud to have you in my life.. your a great mother, wife, friend and lover.. there is only one April… and i thank god your mine..

Love you lots.. happy anniversary my love.

The end of our first year of marriage is almost upon us and im doing everything i can to be home for our anniversary..

So whats it like ?

We have spent many months apart over this year with work and beginning to build our future. We knew at the beginning things would be hard. But how hard could it be? Its undescribable… holding the woman you love close to you with the smell of her hair as you drift off to sleep together that moment lets you know there is no better place than home.. the small things are what get treasured most. We see each other each day online and we are in constant contact but there is nothing like touch.. feeling Aprils warm hugs and hearing I love you. Seeing my wife smile.. everything is missing when your away from home but the moments you did share become locked within you.. giving you constant thoughts of returning home.. There is happiness and sadness but like anything in life you need something to drive you forward.. I have a wonderful wife and wonderful daughters.. I couldnt ask for much more in life except to see our kids turn to adults and grow old with my wife.. Is the first year hard?? More than you know.. but i would do it all again because there is no one else who makes me happier than my wife.. and noone else i would rather be with.. Months away give months to realise how much you love each other and when your together you love each other that little bit more and go over the things that make you love each other.. the smiles.. the chats.. the being a family..

Ive spent many years chasing the money.. cars and being able to literally do what i want in life.. but whats it really worth? Its times that ive experienced in the last 2 yrs that really let you know what life is all about. As i type this my daughter Nicole is asleep on the sofa beside me and seeing her all weekend is so important to me. But in sat at 2.30am one daughters feet resting on me.. and my other daughter is 1000s of miles away with my wife. I browse through our photos and there isnt one unhappy moment in them. Every time we are together regardless of what is happening around us we are happy.. That is the real value of life. Having good friends, a loving wife and children to be proud of. Everything else doesnt really matter… A Ferrari or a Multicab will get you from A to B. A job pays the bills if its a retail assistant or a managing director.. the truth is family should always come first. Im well aware i cant always be here for Nicole as she grows.. but one thing is for sure  she knows I love and care for her and thats more important than anything… April and Zoei know the same aswell as the fact ill be home for Christmas… I have kids who love me and a wife that loves me and makes the world go round.. what else could i ask for in life?? I really have found happiness in the people around me and i hope you can to. So what is the value of life?? its to appreciate the people who surround you and for them to appreciate the person you are..

As the winter draws closer and the desire to go home grows.. i look at others photos and smiles.. and begin to miss home. Its funny how the arrival to the UK is like staring into the gates of hell but once you arrive and begin to work your priorities change to getting enough money to go home… get some money in savings and just bidding your time..

A few more weeks and the return journey begins once more. I look at the things we achieved this year and our wedding annivesary and Christmas is upon us. A happy time where we can cherrish each others time being together. But at the same time Nicole will be in the UK with her mother and her mothers boyfriend. I think its the fact i try to make Nicoles birthdays special as christmas will be in the Philippines like last year. But my ex has decided to take Nicole out on the evening so i wont even see Nicole on her birthday. For fathers out there in the same situations i really do feel for you guys..

But next year is nearly upon us and a year to build on the last.. happy times ahead.

consumerism and westernisation has led to the dimense of family life in the West. But the truth is you need to value the people around you and they need to value you. Greed and excess expenditure  ruins what once was a family. I stand by the people around me and stand by my family. Those that betray us or me will be outcast but those who stand with us will always be protected by us. If you have no value of family you have nothing in your life.

After a lifetime of seeking love.. i found love happiness and joy all in one person. A world shaped round "family" and building a content life. A woman that made life worth living and a life to be proud of. We have had difficult trials in the first year of marriage but i love and proud of the woman i call my wife who is also a woman im proud to have in my life.. with a kind soul and heart and a smile that warms my every day. Finding a person who is the one person who completes you in life is difficult to find and maybe only ever one in a liftime. But i know like love birds that a matched pair is what we are and without the other we are lost. We have guidance and  can confide in each other with the knowledge that respect and value in each other is paramount. A love that has grown for every day we have known each other and  a world we want to only spend together. I love my wife with all my heart and always will..

The one woman i call April but inside me means more words that can be written and spoken. Simply my soul mate, my confidant..my life long partner and love.

Well im back in the UK yet again and ive been lucky to get work straight away. Rang my boss and within 30mins i had my first job starting Monday. Its been an interesting time in Cebu and being back in the UK being the grim reality that it is gives me time to ponder over things. Aprils aunt yelling and making a scene made it a colourful last few days and had a lot of new fond memories. Its hard not waking up next to April each morning but also the time i was ill i got to spend a lot of time with Zoei which was great. Seeing the smiles and making her laugh are priceless moments that im lucky enough to be able to treasure. Shes growing and starting to flip on her tummy so wont be long until crawling around and eyes in the back of the head are needed. Unluckily ill be here in the UK for her first crawls just hope im there for her first steps. We moved house after the issues we had and to be honest its like a dark shadow has been lifted. Although i didnt tiptoe around everyone it seemed that most people were avoiding us. Not sure why.. Aprils aunt is one person doesnt mean it has to effect everyone. But all in all the new place isnt any bigger but a better layout. With its own deep well and we had security shutters fitted to the windows. It seems to get a lot more air due to the fact thats is got a second floor kitchen is slightly smaller but we are getting by and thats the main thing. Location is better and everyone is happy. Most things in our life seem to be heading in the right direction and one of the next headaches for the list is the construction of our house. Which maybe more expensive than i originally set a budget for due to the costs of materials going through the roof. But hopefully we will get stage 1 completed this year and stage 2 next year. Give it 5 years and we should be setup pretty well. Its strange how much being away from April really effects me because im only content when we are together. I left my other laptop with April due to the first one needing formatting "again" so ive had to buy another one to keep us in touch which although a bit expensive it makes life easier and most importantly keeps us together even when we are apart. Im lucky to have April in my life and couldnt ask for a better wife and im even more lucky she feels the same way about me. I know the next few years will be the hardest for us but hopefully we can enjoy as much of the time as possible together. Well im off to sleep for a bit after still recovering from Dengue which has effected me more than expected so bye for now.

A funny start to August but something we had seen coming from a long way. We had spent money renovating a house in the family lot which was planned to be our temporary home until our own house was built up on one of the hills of Minglanilla. Idea being that i would help the family renovate that and the larger house to make them easy to rent out in the future to generate an extra income. Which i believed wasnt an issue. We already pay the water and electric bills for both the houses and assumed once we moved the house we left behind completed would easily be rentable for the family. Aswell as helping other business ventures expand or develop. That was until earlier this year when i suddenly got stung for a P5,000 a month rent with P10,000 deposit (3 months rent in advance!) for a house we had only recently completed the construction of. To say i wasnt happy was an understatement, but i put up with it because i was told the rent money would be used to renovate the main house. Which very little seems to have been done. But hey who cares.. its only money. Now i dont know if its because im a "kano" and the assuming im stupid got the better ill probably never know.. but over 9 years of college aswell as my background in business and engineering anyone who really knows me will tell you im neither stupid or ignorant and definitly not a push over. So when Aprils aunt complained about a septic tank that was constructed by Aprils parents complaining "we" financed it. Which not only really annoyed me for the following facts :-

1. We didnt finance any of it.
2. What is the real problem with Aprils parents trying to develop a business.
3. Aprils aunt and uncle confronted April about it rather than Aprils parents.

Im not bitter or twisted about what happend because its small fish. I had expected things to go wrong somewhere along the line and it did earlier than expected. My interests where only to help the family and my friendship and trust has been abused for trying to help. I wont be so forthcoming in the future. The stupid Kano understands more words than he admits in Cebuano although says little and listens lots.

We have now moved and had to put up with an Aunt complaining about things but at the end of the day shes kept Augusts rent and P10,000 she took in advance. So i cant see what she is kicking a fuss up for. The house doesnt need much completing to rent out but then again we did pay nearly double the market rental value.

We are neither boastful or forcing ourselves on others.. we just wanted to help lift people a bit higher and make life easier on everyone. I just wanted to post this to clear up the facts when in the future anyone asks for assistance and we are no longer prepared to help. We have lost approx P100,000 on the house so if it was seen as a debt owed for some reason then i can say its been paid.I count no one as my enemy but i count some as no longer my friends.

One thing that you learn as you get older is money isnt everything. Yes its nice to have a new car, wear new suits, go out for dinner regularly.. But without the smaller things in life its worthless. A childs graduation is priceless and in comparison none of the other things would come near. Being at the birth of your children. Your wedding day. All these things can happen on low budgets but the memories stay with you, can you remember what you ate at the last restaurant you went to? If not its likely the occassion wasnt that important. My point being its the things around you now that matter. If you have an ongoing feud with a relative that you want to solve just pickup the phone and do it now. Otherwise you may never get that opportunity in the future. If your unhappy in your job look for a new one.. dont keep putting it off. Set yourself goals of what you want in your life and where you want to be in 1 year - 3 yrs - 5yrs and 10 yrs and try to keep to the goals. Value the people around you who value you most, many times work gets in the way of good relationships. Tell your wife/husband you love them at least once a day and mean it. You will have a moment everyday when you think thats why i love her/him and thats the perfect time if no other. Try not to argue there is always a solution to a problem find it, this is something i do a lot of and you find if you find the solutions regularly people stop arguing and respect your thoughts and already know you have a solution or if you havent youll find it. Dont put up with people abusing you at work or home. Money is a privilige not a right. But you being a human being is a right not a privilige. If you can help someone do it. Not only is it likely the person will appreciate it but you will also feel good within yourself. Spend 5 - 10mins a day thinking of happy thoughts. Can be looking at a photo of your kids, watching the sunrise or simply laying on the lawn. But that time is yours… and if something stresses you later in the day take your mind back to that moment which left you happy and relaxed. Most importantly take care of yourself. If you have something that is ruining your life look at ways to change it. Take your time and the change is likely to always be for the better and always remember you are loved and wanted by someone, you will always be missed by someone and someone will always be happy to see you. Not all things in life are so black and white and things may become blurred.. but if you spend a bit of time making your life better then it will happen. If you want help doing it email me!