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Sydney Opera House |
| To Name A Few: |
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| When I Have Time: |
24 - Fox
Beauty and the Geek - CW
Lost - ABC
Family Guy - Fox
The Simpsons - Fox
I Love Lucy - Fox
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| Announcement |
| Tuesday, September 01, 2009 |
Hey everyone. Just a quick announcement to say I'm back from Sydney, and I'm engaged. Woohoo! Sorry that the news is coming via blog, I'd love to call each and every one of you, but this is the quickest way.
Much love,
Daphne |
posted by Daphne @ 1:42 PM   |
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| Off to Sydney Again! |
| Monday, April 06, 2009 |
Hey everyone. I'm leaving for Sydney again to visit Aussie Man. I'll be gone for about 2 weeks beginning this weekend. Work has been so hectic that I'm more stressed right now than excited. I don't think I'll be able to relax until I'm on the plane or when I land in Sydney.
We had some layoffs at work recently. It's been sad to see some of my good friends leave, and there's pretty much only me and two other guys left from my group that started oh, almost five years ago. Crazy. I remember starting with 20 or so people, and although I'm used to seeing many trickle out of the firm, it's never been because of layoffs. These are scary times man, and my thoughts and prayers are with all my friends and family who have lost a job recently.
I really hope I have a good time. I can't wait to meet Aussie Man's family and friends. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to stop by my firm's local office in Sydney to get an introduction and get more information on what I need to do to move there. Oh but I don't think I've updated you on the latest. So my dearest friend Natalie was supposed to accompany me on this trip. Well she's going through a tough time at work, and couldn't get the time off needed (even though our tickets are non-refundable, her witch boss wouldn't let her go). So guess who invited herself to go instead of Natalie? My mother.
Yes, that's right, my mother. I know I know. Trust me, I did NOT invite her. She sorta invited herself in her usual signature passive aggressive mom-style. Admittedly I was being a brat about it at first. Because umm, hello, how are we supposed to have any alone time while I'm there? Sigh. Well, Aussie Man, being the patient and understanding man that he is, talked it through with me, and he seems to think this is really a blessing in disguise. He said she can meet his family and feel more comfortable with this whole moving to Australia idea I'm determined to pursue. I guess when I put myself in her shoes, I can't be upset anymore. How would I feel if I had a daughter who lived at home all this time, then all of a sudden meets some guy halfway around the world and announces she wants to move there? I'd be pretty sad, which is how my mom must be feeling. So, I've decided that I'm going to make the most out of this situation, and not just think "don't let this ruin your vacation," but see it as a way to make mom happy.
Anyway, I hope this blog finds you well, and that you are healthy, happy, and peachy keen. Ciao!Labels: Aussie Man, Family, Travel |
| posted by Daphne @ 10:02 PM |
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| Should I be Worried? |
| Wednesday, March 25, 2009 |
I'm unassigned for a few days this week. I can't recall ever being unassigned at work since my staff year four years ago. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise, given the economic turmoil, but honestly, it IS a surprise to me. And it's frustrating. I hope this isn't sounding like complaining, because I thank God every day I still have a job. I just dislike that everyone is on pins and needles right now, wondering who is going to get cut soon. If the firm is smart, they will cut people based on performance, not recent chargeable hours. Because believe me, I've been begging for work to do. Yes, begging. Even begging people in the LA office for work. And apparently I'm not the only one. We have so many people wandering around the office unassigned, trying to beat their high score on minesweeper. So basically I have to get in line. Then there was that talk I had this morning with HR re: my possible transfer to Sydney. This is the response I got. "I contacted someone from that office and she said they're going through the same thing as we are, so I'm not too optimistic about getting a transfer soon." Well spit. Now what do I do? I really really don't want to have to move to a new country AND get a new job outside the firm. That's too much change for me to handle. I'm not ready to leave, not when I'm this close to making manager. And I'm not a risk taker. My cousin recently moved to another state without having secured a job first. Thankfully she did find a job within a month, but man, talk about being ballsy. I can't see myself doing that. So here I am, sitting in the office, doing my ethics exam. Another disappointing and frustrating task. It's a freakin take home exam, 50 multiple choice and I needed a 90% to pass. I just got an 82%. How lame is that? The worst part is that the results don't tell you which ones you got wrong, so what if I go back and change answers to questions that were already correct? Oh man. That's it. Screw this worrying. I'm going to yoga. Labels: Work related |
| posted by Daphne @ 5:30 PM |
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| Book Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning |
| Tuesday, March 17, 2009 |
Maybe it's been awhile since I've read Darkfever or the fact that I haven't read paranormal in awhile. Maybe I haven't read any reviews on this so I'm out of the loop. Because I just read Bloodfever and I'm so lost. Lost and confused and frustrated. What the heck is going on here? I'm too lazy to look up the summaries on Darfever, but from my recollection, MacKayla went to Ireland to find clues about her sister's death. She meets some random guy Jericho who owns a bookstore but who also knows a ton about the Fae world. We don't know much about him and the guy barely talks. They're both looking for this Fae book that holds some kind of power. Mac runs into a death-by-sex fae while trying to escape these shadow things. Then she faces the Lord Master or whatever he's called at the end of the book, Jericho saves her, and that's where Darkfever ends. Right? So now Bloodfever picks up right where DF left off. As far as I'm concerned, there wasn't much progress made since the last book. MacKayla is still wandering around looking for clues on her sister's death. Jericho won't tell her anything and she's still running away from shades and creepy Irish men. I'm sorry, I'm trying to get into this series, really I am. I just can't. It's moving so slooooow. I don't even really like Jericho much. Isn't there supposed to be some intense sexual build up between the two? I don't really see it. She's too young for him and he just does whatever he wants with her, making her go with him to shady auctions and tattooing her while she's unconscious. Bleh, that's all I have to say. I'm not feeling it. Again, maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think I'm totally crazy and this book is super fabulous? I'd love to know. Labels: Daphne's reviews |
| posted by Daphne @ 1:02 PM |
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| It's Happening |
| Monday, March 16, 2009 |
I've been having some pretty serious conversations with Aussie Man lately. Before I go on, I want you to know that I've been praying a lot about this as well. Not the kind of prayer where I'm saying "God, please make this happen, find a way for us to be together." More like asking God to help me follow what He has planned for me, asking for strength to accept His will if it is not the same as my desires, and praying that I will not be tempted by fantasies and projections in this relationship.
So as I was saying, these serious conversations all have to do with who will end up moving where. I know it's a big move for me to go to Australia, considering all my family lives here, but without going into too much detail, I've decided that I want to make this work, I need to be close to him, and I want a change of scenery in my career. So yah, I told my parents about this some time ago, and yes they're a bit sad but I think they support me. Okay, that's fine. Up until today this was all just talk and ideas floating around.
Well I spoke with HR this morning. To my surprise, people here are very supportive of me making the move and in a matter of less than an hour, I've been given instructions on what I need to do to get this ball rollin. I need to a) update my resume b) get in touch with someone in the Sydney office who can meet with me while I'm out there in April c) find out what the opportunities are and d) see what my alternatives are if I can't make a transfer with the firm. Obviously I'd like to stick with the firm, so I can get sponsored with a work visa, but who knows with the economy if they even have opportunities there.
Anyway, after I got out of that meeting with HR, I felt both excited and scared. Like wow, is this really happening? I could potentially be moving to Sydney within the year, how crazy is that?Labels: Aussie Man |
| posted by Daphne @ 2:55 PM |
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| Wedding Fever |
| Sunday, February 15, 2009 |
My brother got married yesterday. Well, technically he was already married on paper since last August. So what I'm referring to is the actual church ceremony. Which is great news, considering my parents didn't want to acknowledge he and his wife were married until it was by a priest.
It's been a roller coaster of emotions in my family for the past several months. First, there was the announcement back in August 2008 that they were getting married. The setting: after dinner in a Chinese restaurant. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal to see my family in a Chinese restaurant. But you see, my brother never takes us out to dinner. So when he and my sister-in-law (hey, I might as well get used to calling her that now) randomly announced that they wanted to take the family out to dinner, we were all very suspicious. Oh, and by "family" I don't mean just the five of us. I mean like.. cousins, grandparents, you know... a small gathering of about 20 people. I remember the week leading up to the dinner my mom made a comment to me along these lines.... "I hope they're not planning to make some crazy announcement like they're getting married, because I'll have a heart attack in public."
Yah, not exactly the way I'd want my parents to react if I ever announced I was getting married. Judging from that statement, I advised my brother to tell my parents in private first. Shortly after that, I found out that they had actually eloped and got married in the courthouse, oh about.. a year ago. I won't bore you with more details, but let's just say that I talked my brother into telling my parents the whole truth, and well... I don't think I ever want to see my parents that upset again. To make amends, my brother and SIL decided to go through the marriage course at our church. After a few months of these courses, answering questionnaires about their views on marriage, raising kids, finances, etc. and meeting with the priest, they finally set a date. January 2009 they announced that they wanted the wedding to be February 14th, Valentines day. One month. That's all we had to put together this wedding.
I must say, I was expecting it to be a disaster. Let's face it, one month in wedding time is like a blink of an eye. I was a bridesmaid and normally I would've loved to help with wedding preparations, but work is so busy right now. I barely made it to David's Bridal on the weekdays since it closed at 9pm. So really I had only a few assignments. Try on dress, order dress, try on shoes, order shoes with dye to match dress color, show up at wedding. I really didn't get to see the rest of what SIL was planning for the big day. The wedding ended up being really beautiful given the time and budget we had. Friday night, right after the wedding rehearsal and before I went to bed, I had a good cry. I think I was finally able to let go....of.... I dunno. I wouldn't say it's anger, or bitterness. But I'll be honest, there was always something about their relationship that I didn't like. I was really judgmental of her, of their relationship, of their secrets they kept from my parents. It's something I'm not proud of. I mean, who am I to judge? But I think that night as I cried myself to sleep, I think I finally made my peace with all this. Instead of being sad (which of course a part of me was) that my brother was leaving us, that he would never sleep in this house again, I felt this great abundance of joy in my heart. Joy that my brother was happy, that he was able to make peace with God, my parents, himself.
So I am happy to report, that the story has a happy ending. It was a great celebration, and I'm blessed to have been a part of it. Now of course the relatives are all taking bets that I'm next (my brother and I are the oldest of the cousins from both mom and dad's side) and since I'm a girl, I can't help but get all excited at the thought of my big day. God willing, I hope that I can have a beautiful wedding with all my loved ones present. When I was younger, or even not that many years ago, I always envisioned my wedding to be this big grand thing. Very fancy, very elegant. Now that I'm older and gaining more perspective in life, I realize that while those things would be nice, more importantly, it's the family and friends, and God's presence that I want most. In the end, nobody really cares about how much you spent on your dress, your hair/makeup, your table centerpieces. I want the focus to be on a marriage, as opposed to a wedding. Still, it doesn't hurt to start putting together pictures for my slide show. :)Labels: Family |
| posted by Daphne @ 10:24 PM |
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| The End of an Era |
| Friday, December 19, 2008 |
If any of you subscribe to my blog, you're probably surprised to see me blogging again. That is because I have some very important news to share.
The "End of an Era" in the subject line is simply this: After four long years of work and study, work and study, I am happy to announce that I finally PASSED all my CPA exams! Yup, I just checked my last score this morning, and I can't tell you how happy I am that I've passed.
Actually, I can tell you. I was shocked. Completely speechless. I thought I had majorly bombed this last exam. It was with a shaky hand that I scrolled down the webpage to check my score. I probably stared at the number for a good 10 seconds before it sunk in. Then of course I did the only thing I could do to express how I was feeling. I cried. Simply balled my eyes out with tears of happiness.
Do you realize what this means? It means I can blog again, read again, play games again, see my friends again, have a freakin LIFE! And of course, I need to say THANK YOU to all my friends and family who have supported me, put up with not seeing me, given me emotional support, etc. So yes, this is an end of an era... the era of Daphne being a hermit and studying her ass off. And the beginning of a new era.... Daphne gets her life back!
It's great to be back!
-Daph Labels: Good News to Share |
| posted by Daphne @ 11:23 AM |
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