My IUI Experience

It's 2016 already, meaning I have been married for over 3 years now and still no baby. :( When I got my period in February, my husband and I decided to see my RE to seriously try again. I went in for a consult on Day 1 (first day of my period). I was given Letrozole 2 tabs a day for five days starting on Day 3 and was asked to come back on Day 10 for follicle monitoring. On Day 10, my follicles didn't grow much so I was injected with Gonal-F 150 iu and another shot on Day 12 with the same dosage. On Day 13, I was given another Gonal-F shot but with 75 iu this time and was given a trigger shot to be self-administered on Day 15 at 2am. IUI was scheduled on Day 16 at 12noon.

My husband and I stayed at an Airbnb accommodation which was near the hospital where our IUI will take place. It was a 15-minute walk away so it was very convenient for us. We came in at 10am for the semen collection and sperm washing. To my dismay, my hubby's count post wash was only 550,000. For higher chances of IUI success, we needed at least 5million. I was devastated. My doctor ordered a double IUI and my husband had to collect again at 2pm. This is when I experienced a miracle. After just 4 hours from his last collection, we were able to collect 10million post wash. I cried buckets. This time, I felt more hopeful. So we did the 2nd IUI at 3:15pm and my doctor told me that my uterus was more cooperative this time. I had to lie on my back for an hour after each IUI. The procedure was very quick but was also very uncomfortable and quite painful. A few days later, I saw on Youtube that there's this couple who did IUI and was successful with only 6million. I had 10,550,000 in total so more chances for me, right? :)

After the procedure, I went home. I was instructed to insert Crinone (vaginal gel) everyday for 15 days starting from 2 days after my IUI. I think this would help the baby stick to my womb or something. I was told to take a pregnancy test on Day 14 which is on March 18. Being the paranoid and impatient person most of us women trying to conceive are, I tested out my trigger shot (to see if the HCG trigger is out of my system) at 7 dpiui (days past iui). I tested again on 8&9 dpiui (yesterday and today), still negative. My friend tested positive on 10 dpiui but I am afraid to test tomorrow. I will try to wait until Day 14 because I don't want to expect a positive tomorrow and see a negative. I know it will break my heart, so let's just prolong the occurrence of my heartbreak for a bit.

I have been praying for a baby for over 2 years now. I keep telling God that I'm okay with whatever plans he has for me. If a baby isn't for me, then at least I have tried my best and showed Him how much I want it. A friend told me about the positive effects of visualizing your dreams and I have been doing that since last week. I am just so excited to find out if we're successful. But I'm also scared to know in case there is really nothing in here. I believe miracles can happen if I just believe. I know that God only has the best intentions for my life and I just have to trust Him. Whatever happens, I will be glad because it is what God wanted.

I hope I can come back to post another blog saying how happy I am for a BFP (big fat positive), but until then, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and continue to pray for our miracle. :)

How to get a multiple entry visa to Japan for the unemployed

Hi. I just want to share my experience in applying for a Japan tourist visa despite being unemployed at the moment. I was issued a single entry visa for my first trip in 2014 while I was still employed at a Japanese bank. This year, having been unemployed for over 10 months, I tried applying again. Please refer to the following list of documents I submitted this time:

1. Application form
2. Id photo
3. Passport (still using my maiden name)
4. Affidavit of support (notarized) from my husband stating that he will be the one to shoulder my travel expenses since I am now just a housewife.
5. Original Certificate of Employment of my husband.
6. Original Bank Certificate (I submitted one under my married name and not under my husband. I did not want to go through the hassle of transferring funds back and forth from my account to his)
7. Photocopy of my husband's 2014 ITR
8. Daily itinerary

Although not required, I also submitted the following supporting documents:

1. Photocopy of my Certificate of Employment from my 2 most recent employers (including the Japanese bank)
2. Photocopy of my ITR from my 2 most recent employers (including the Japanese bank)
3. Copy of round-trip plane tickets

I also prepared to submit a photocopy of my birth certificate and marriage certificate but the lady at the travel agency returned it to me saying that they no longer need them since I have already submitted originals of such documents during my first visa application. For first time applicants, you must submit originals of these documents. Also note that these documents have a 1 year validity period required by the Japan Embassy.

I paid 1,200 pesos for the visa assistance offered by Reli Tours in SM Southmall as I have done with my first application. I submitted it on Saturday and was ready for pick-up on Thursday morning. I was so surprised that they gave me a multiple entry visa valid for 5 years since I'm now just a plain housewife. Maybe my employment in a Japanese bank helped, I can't really say.

If you read through the requirements from the Japan Embassy website, they require interested applicants to submit a letter of request for a multiple entry visa. I did not submit one. The lady at the agency said that it is not necessary since it really depends on the consul whether or not he will issue you a multiple entry visa based on the documents you submitted even without the letter of request.

So there goes my happy story on how I managed to score this 5 year multiple entry Japan tourist visa. Hope it helps anyone out there who's worried about not getting one because of the sad reality of unemployment.

Btw, I'm coming to Japan next weekend! Yey! :)

Ryan's Birthday Cake

I started learning how to bake last April and it is expected of me to bake my husband's birthday cake since I have been posting a lot of photos of my baked goods on social media. I don't always achieve the desired result each time I bake. Sometimes it would be awesome, some are epic fails. Haha! It's a good thing my family devours even those that I consider as "rejects". My husband requested for a chocolate cake on his 30th birthday. His party is scheduled on November 8 and I plan to make him a better looking cake. For his real birthday tomorrow, I baked a simple chocolate cake with a design coming to mind just as I was spreading the icing. My creative ideas come when I least expect it.

I got the chocolate cake recipe from this link http://bakehappy.net/2011/05/how-to-bake-a-perfectly-moist-chocolate-cake.html#.u2cubogszng and it had a lot of good reviews so I decided to use it. The blogger used an 8 inch round pan but what I had at home was an 8x8 inch square pan which I also use for my cinnamon rolls and special ensaymada. The entire batter fit in my pan to my surprise. I am still adjusting my baking temp and time with my new electric oven. I have been using a big gas oven since April and just recently, my husband bought me an electric oven for small orders and family consumption.

I like baking with the electric oven but the temp is very hard to monitor. If I set it at 150 degrees, the thermostat which I bought separately reads past 200 degrees. I'm going crazy with the temp and all. With my gas oven, once it reaches the desired temp, I place what needs to be baked inside and the temp will go down a bit and will slowly go up again but will never really exceed the desired temp in the beginning before I even place the pastries inside.

Anyway, last night, I watched my oven carefully to make sure I don't burn my precious cake as I have done with my first attempt of baking chocolate chip cookies last month. The cake looked done at around 50 minutes so I took it out and let it cool and designed it just this morning. I still haven't tasted it because my husband's birthday is not until tomorrow. I'll have to wait a few more hours to make a review of the actual taste of the recipe I used.

Here's a photo grid of my cake which I call Triple Chocolate Cake because it has cocoa on the actual cake batter, chocolate ganache and chocolate chips for the toppings to cover up my imperfect and obviously unskilled icing spreading technique. I improvised and used a fork to make horizontal lines on the icing. I wasn't sure if the ganache is pipeable so I decided to make it simple. I don't even have a cake board so I just placed it on some parchment paper and used the only box I had which was too big for the cake since I use it as packaging for my custard macaroons. It looks promising though. Hahaha. I will update this post tomorrow once I've had a slice. :)

November 2 *update*

I had to wait the whole day for us to finally eat the cake I made. We woke up late and Ryan said to have lunch first and have the cake in the evening. Finally, we gathered around the dining table and sang him a birthday song. Right after the blowing of the candle, I eagerly sliced the cake and gave each family member their portion. Everyone said it tasted great and my mother in law said that I could add it to my list of baked goods to sell. I was so happy that finally, I actually appreciated my work. Most of the time, I would feel sad about not achieving my desired outcome. But this cake recipe is fool proof. This one is a classic moist chocolate cake that my family will enjoy for decades to come. I'll make sure that this recipe gets passed on to the next generation. Thanks to the person who shared this family recipe on her blog.:)

My very first AIRBNB experience

Howdy! Here's my review of Sue's flat #2 located in Gongdeok, Seoul :)

Booking her place was so easy. It had everything my family is looking for. It’s very accessible coming from the airport. Just take the direct train to Gongdeok Station. We easily located the building because it’s connected to the station via B2 level. The room was even better than the photos and also very clean. You can tell that they really thought about the layout because they maximized every inch of space and even had a built in refrigerator. It had everything I could ever need, except for a weighing scale. I think Sue can add that item in the future.

We used almost every item in the room. We cooked a lot and used the vacuum to clean. We used the washing machine too! Sue prepared 2 hairdryers which is ideal if you have more than one girl in your group. Everything was easy to use because of Sue’s detailed manuals. Sue prepared complete toiletries. Just bring your toothbrush and a big towel. The beds are very comfy, even the sofa bed!

We went to E-Mart just across the street to buy everything we needed from groceries to other items we wanted to take back to the Philippines, even a Happy Call pan which you can cook with even without cooking oil! Sue had a similar pan in the room so we looked for it at E-Mart.

If you like kimbap, you can never go hungry because there’s a 24 hour kimbap restaurant on the first level of the building. There are a few shops in Gongdeok station so if you need make-up or cosmetics, you can just look around there. There are also some bargain stores where my mom got some shoes and a bag. Gongdeok Market is also nearby where you can buy fresh seafood and veggies and other food items.

Check out time is at 11 am so we looked for coin lockers at Gongdeok station big enough to fit our luggage so we can still roam around Gongdeok. Sadly, there are only limited lockers and none were vacant. Sue was kind enough to allow us to place our bags in her car. Her husband met with us at the parking level and placed our bags inside. We went back to get our things at around 5pm.

The train from Gongdeok to the airport terminates at Geomam station (I think) and you have to get off and take the next train on the same platform. Sue’s flat is quite a long walk from Seoul station but everything else makes up for it and you can also use other lines to get there. I would definitely come back to Sue’s flat in my future trips to Seoul and recommend it to my family and friends. Thank you Sue and husband for giving my family the best accommodation out of all the 5 places I tried in Seoul during my trips in the previous years. It is my first Airbnb booking and I am very satisfied with the experience.

Ovulation Predictor Kit

I haven't blogged in a very long time because there's really nothing much to share but today I just wanna share positive vibes on the results of my recent ovulation tests. Here's a quick background of my TTC journey: I have been on fertility meds since March 2014 due to PCOS. I was on it for about 5 months and decided to stop because it just isn't working with my body. While on the meds, I would ovulate on some months, and not ovulate on other months so I really think that the meds aren't helping me much. Some women find it effective but for me, I think they just regulated my cycles but did nothing to help me get pregnant.

During the first cycle of my meds, I had a transvaginal ultrasound and found out that I was ovulating. The doctor didn't ask me to do the procedure each month since it worked the first time. However, being paranoid, I bought an Ovatel which predicts your ovulation period through viewing saliva samples on a small device similar to a microscope. It's very expensive for me and I never got a ferning pattern or a positive ovulation on it. I stopped testing with it because it just gets me depressed with all its negative results. 

Then I saw a video on Youtube and the girl talked about the OPKs bought from ebay helped her identify her days of ovulation which in turn resulted into pregnancy despite her PCOS. It's basically a test strip which you must dip in urine to check for your LH surge. I immediately bought a pack with 60 ovulation test strips with free 30 pregnancy tests at only Php445! I just had to pick it up from the post office and pay a Php50 tax on a parcel.

While on the meds, I didn't get any positive results from June-August 2014 using the test strips from ebay. I began to lose hope so I stopped my meds after my cycle in August. I started exercising daily but kept my normal diet. To my surprise, I ovulated on September 6 even without meds!!! You can just imagine how happy I was, I felt like I actually have a chance to get pregnant now! Sadly, we still didn't conceive that cycle. 

I didn't lose my positive vibe because now I know that I can ovulate even without meds. Yesterday, October 8, I got another positive ovulation at 12noon and at 9pm. And today, another positive at 12noon. I am feeling so positive that we are going to finally conceive this cycle. We have been married for a year and 9 months and have been seriously trying to get pregnant since the beginning of this year. 

We have waited for quite a long time but I know that some couples had to wait for years up to a decade. I just wanted to share my experience because I know that I'm not alone in this journey. I may or may not have a child of my own but knowing that God blessed me with a very loving, supportive and understanding husband is already a huge blessing that I will forever be grateful for.

Japan to Remember

It was an ordinary day in May 2013. I was on sick leave due to asthma when I felt a sudden urge to check the website of Cebu Pacific. And there it was, a seat sale. I would usually check ticket prices to Incheon because Korea is my favorite place on Earth, having been there three times since March 2010 and another trip booked for July. However, I wanted to try something different, and a bit risky (knowing that a Japanese visa is hard to obtain). So I checked the ticket prices to Japan which were almost the same price as the ones to Korea. I called my husband to ask for his permission to book the trip for our first wedding anniversary in January. At first, he was a bit apprehensive knowing that we were having a tough time making ends meet and booking a trip to Japan would definitely leave a dent on our budget.

I pleaded and of course, he gave in. I'm just too cute for him to resist. Hahahaha! So there. Fast foward to October, we submitted the documents for our visa applications one Sunday afternoon and on Tuesday night, I got a call from the travel agency saying our visas have been approved and are ready for pick up. I was beyond excited. The following day, I left work really early and rushed to the travel agency to claim our most precious visas.

Fast forward to January 15, the night before our much awaited trip. I hurriedly packed our stuff and felt eager to get to the airport the next morning just to confirm if our visas are authentic and that this isn't a dream. Then we were off to Japan on January 16.

We arrived at around 8:30pm Japan time and realized there weren't many Filipino tourists like us. We hopped on the Nankai Railway train to our hotel in Namba. I would definitely recommend Swissotel Nankai Osaka Hotel for its superb location, comfortable rooms and facilities.

The following day, we made reservations for breakfast at the hotel. We decided to try it despite the expensive price tag. What the heck, who knows when we'll be back in Japan, right? YOLO! We took a train to Shinsaibashi. It's a very long shopping street. We also went to Tokyu Hands, a huge department store. We walked back since it was only one station away from our hotel and realized we were already walking along Dotonburi - the place with lots of good food.

The next day, we tried a Katsudon place near our hotel as suggested by our Osaka tour booklet. It was definitely yummy for 680yen per serving. Paying for this meal was so fun. We had to insert bills in a sort of vending machine and select the meal we want. Choose a vending machine with pictures because if it's written in Japanese, you'll never know what you're going to eat!

Then we went to the Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN and took lots of photos of the beautiful sea creatures. Afterwards, we headed to the Osaka Castle. Take your photo in front of the castle because some floors inside won't allow you to take pictures.

We had our dinner at Yoshinoya. Ryan didn't enjoy his first raw egg experience while I had a salmon meal.

The next day, we met up with Ryan's cousin from Canada who also happens to be in Japan. She treated us to lunch at a kaiten sushi along Dotonburi where we experienced our very first snowfall! Then we went to BIC Camera to search for the Casio watch that Ryan's officemates asked him to buy. We saw camera prices were really cheap in Japan and Ryan almost bought one if I hadn't convinced him that the money we had was only borrowed from my mom and to be used only for emergency purposes. Buying a new camera is definitely not an emergency!

Our two companions had to leave for a concert then we headed to Denden Town - the little Akihabara of Osaka. Here we bought Japanese porn as souvenirs for Ryan's barkada. We also went inside lots of stores not to shop but just to check out what they were selling. After a tiring day, we were hungry again and decided to have a second lunch at Matsunoya located just between Denden Town and our hotel. It's a popular restaurant, I think, because lots of people ate there when we went inside. It's similar to Yabu here in the Philippines. On our way back, we saw a long line of people trying to buy Rikuro's Hot Cheesecake. We thought this must really taste good because lots of people are lining up for it. We fell in line and bought one for ourselves. It tasted okay. Just okay but not for me to line up again. It's super moist and I didn't like it that much. Ryan and I had the same sentiments. We didn't finish the entire thing. After resting a bit, we went out again and had dinner at another kaiten sushi which Ryan didn't want to try at first because he's worried about how eating raw fish could make his stomach act out. But after our first kaiten sushi experience, he was willing to try again. And we did at Nipponichi, just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel.

Just to explain what a kaiten sushi is, it's a conveyor belt sushi place. Every plate is fixed at a certain price and you will be billed according to the number of plates you have gotten from the conveyor belt. Generally, the price ranges from 120-170 yen, depending on the kaiten sushi place. Normally, the price is indicated in front of their stores. We chose the ones with many people inside which means the food they are serving must be really good.

The following day, we had to move to Kyoto. But since people suggested not to go to Universal Studios on a weekend, we took a day (Monday) which we have dedicated to Kyoto and spent it on USJ. What a waste of time and money. We could have just spent our day in beautiful Kyoto instead of as if paying only for the entrance fee to the theme park because we got to ride only four attractions. There were just too many people inside and lines would take you from 1-2 hours per ride. We got there past 10am and with the long lines of people trying to buy tickets, we were able to enter the park past 11am. The park closes at 5pm so imagine how much regret we felt for allocating one precious day in Japan for USJ. We returned to our hotel to collect our luggage and travelled to Kyoto that night. We arrived at Shijo station and had to ask a man in a black suit for directions as to how to reach our hotel. He didn't speak English much but he took out his iPhone and searched for our hotel in the maps. He told me that I must cross three traffic lights before finally reaching the hotel. True enough, we got there in probably 5 minutes which seemed a bit long because we were pulling our heavy luggage along and it was raining which made the cold weather worse!

Hotel Mystays Kyoto Shijo seemed a bit of a downgrade from our previous hotel but since I paid for this place for only 4,200pesos for 2 nights, I could not complain. The room was small considering the size of our luggage but it had everything we needed and of course, a comfy bed and internet connection (LAN cable only). All their wi-fi devices were being used by other guests, meaning, they didn't have enough. Upon check-in, a package was waiting for me containing our Shinkansen tickets to Tokyo which I have paid for in advance through Japanican.com.

The next day, we woke up early to maximize our shortened stay in Kyoto, big thanks to USJ. We bought an unlimited bus pass around Kyoto for only 500 yen including the bus route map. I didn't know that roaming around Kyoto was that easy just by using their bus system. Sadly, Nijo Castle was closed when we got there and we had to make our way to another must-see place which is the Kinkakuji Temple. Then I fell in love with Kyoto. The place was just so beautiful, serene, and being there made all my worries disappear. We also went to Gion district and saw the old-style Japanese houses. We had to leave right away to have lunch. Ryan was so hungry that time and food places there were really expensive and beyond our budget. 

After eating, I went inside a BTMU branch to exchange my US dollars for yen then we hopped on another bus to Ginkakuji temple. The same peaceful ambiance welcomed us. We took a lot of pictures before hopping on another bus to Nanzenji Temple. It was getting dark and we had to go back to our hotel. We didn't want to experience a true Japanese ghost story so we hurriedly walked back to the bus stop and went back to our hotel. Generally, people in Kyoto are nicer as compared to people in Osaka. They were proactive in helping us out when we seemed lost. They initiated conversations and told us the right way to go. We have encountered three good souls in Kyoto. One old woman who seemed too old to still be going out all by herself, one middle-aged lady and one school boy. Thanks for your help!

We rested for a bit and went out to search for a place to eat. A restaurant called Yayoiken looked appealing so we went in and ordered our food through another vending machine. People were standing up to get themselves extra rice, so we thought, maybe rice is unlimited here! We were right! Soon after finishing our rice, Ryan stood up and made his way to the rice refill station. I refilled mine too! The rice cooker was filled with tasty-looking Japanese rice, making you want to get some more! After dinner, we went to a grocery store nearby to buy chocolates and other food items for consumption in the hotel.

The next morning, I woke up at around 4am to get ready for our trip to Tokyo. I looked like a maniac trying to pack everything in a hurry. I woke up Ryan and asked him to get ready as well. Check-out went super fast and before we knew it, we were at Kyoto station trying to get tickets to Shin-Osaka station. Unlike the other day, I had to line up at a ticket booth to get the tickets instead of purchasing it from the ticket machine. We took the 7:25am train and in about 40 minutes of standing inside the train, we arrived at Shin-Osaka station. We were too early for our Shinkansen train schedule at 9:13am so we had breakfast at an overpriced coffee shop outside the Shinkansen gates. We shared one sandwich and one cup of hot chocolate priced at 980 yen!!! I could buy this set in the Philippines for only 200 pesos! We stayed there for a few minutes before going to our designated platform to wait for our train.

Since we were so afraid to be left by our train, we left the coffee shop and went to our designated platform. We waited for another half an hour until we saw the train staff waiting with us which meant, we’re about to board the train. True enough, the train arrived and we hurriedly got inside our car and found our seats. Sadly, we were seated on the right side. Mt. Fuji is best seen if you’re seated on the left side, Tokyo bound. The train staff told me that our train will pass by Mt. Fuji at 11:21am and so I set an alarm to wake me up in case I fell asleep. At 11:15am, I stood up and went all the way to the back of the train which had a bigger window. The train moved so fast but I think I was able to see parts of Mt. Fuji. Soon enough, we arrived at Shinagawa Station, the nearest station to our hotel.

My research told me that the hotel is located only 5 minutes from Shinagawa Station but I was dead wrong. It was all the way up a steep road with lots of other “Prince” hotels. Ours was at the farthest part and pulling our luggage all the way up to the hotel was really tough. We entered another “Prince” hotel and were greeted by a very polite middle-aged woman who guided us to our hotel passing through the garden shared by all the other “Prince” hotels. To our surprise, the hotel was huge! Check-in time was originally at 2pm but we were given a room as early as 12:30pm. We loved the room! It was gigantic compared to my expectations of Tokyo hotels. The room had a balcony!!! I was super happy! Walking up that steep road made it all worth it. The front desk staff said that they offer free shuttle bus service to and from Shinagawa Station. I was relieved! We rested for a few minutes and before we knew it, we were on our way to explore Tokyo for a day!

Due to our budget constraints, I never imagined I would be able to come to Tokyo. Cebu Pacific previously didn’t offer direct flights to Tokyo so we booked tickets to Osaka instead. I learned that Shinkansen tickets were expensive so I tried to research on buses from Osaka to Tokyo. I found out that it will take so many hours for us to reach Tokyo so I crossed it out. Thanks to Japanican, they offered a 30% off on hotel and Shinkansen packages so I immediately booked it for only 16,200 pesos for 2 persons including roundtrip Shinkansen tickets from Osaka to Tokyo with one overnight stay at a prestigious hotel, Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa.

We started our day in Tokyo with a late lunch. Our lunch cost around 2,700 yen for 2 at a restaurant in Shinagawa Station. It was expensive but we were really hungry and we didn’t want to waste time picking a restaurant. We then took a train to Asakusa. We entered a tourist information office and met a very accommodating tourist information officer who provided directions to all the places we wanted to see and even called shops to confirm if they had the products we needed to buy. I asked Ryan to take a photo of us so I would never forget her. We went to the viewing deck on the top floor of their office and saw the new Sky Tree. I was actually looking for a real tree when I realized that it was a tower. Hahahaha! Stupid me. We roamed around Asakusa and bought some souvenirs for ourselves then we headed to Don Quijote to buy a few bars of Tokyo Love Soap.

We took a train to Shibuya and finally, I was able to cross one item off my bucket list, and that is – meet Hachiko! I watched the film and I knew in my heart that my life could not end without visiting his statue. Then I entered Shibuya 109 only to feel bad about not being slim enough to fit into the cute outfits only meant for really sexy Japanese body frames. I really wanted to buy a coat but nothing fit me. I went out of the mall empty handed. We then went to Harajuku and walked all the way to Shinjuku. We walked along a very long and boring street but it was a good opportunity for Ryan and I to enjoy our walk and talk without distractions. We finally found an area packed with restaurants. The challenge has always been deciding which to choose. We ended up eating at a place similar to Pepper Lunch. We sat next to a middle-aged couple with a young girl who burnt her finger with the hot plate. She cried a lot while her dad laughed discreetly.

Time was running out and we had only a few hours left for the night. I wish we had more time in Tokyo but our tour package didn’t give us any option for an extended stay. I wanted to squeeze in a visit to the Tokyo Tower because I remember my mom telling me how cool it is. We got there in less than an hour before its closing time. I was relieved that we were able to go up the tower and enjoy its night view. My palms were sweaty looking down at the glass floor, similar to the one in Macau, but that one is much bigger. Ryan even stepped on it! I would never dare to try it myself. Soon enough we were on our way down and there it was – Tokyo Banana! We bought four boxes and walked to the nearest station to return to our hotel. We were dead tired.

On our way back, I asked directions from a couple standing next to a vending machine, only to realize they were super drunk. They were overly friendly and asked a lot of questions about which hotel we’re staying at saying Shinagawa area has all the expensive hotels. I felt awkward because they might be those kinds of people who take advantage of clueless tourists. I even thought they would come with us to our hotel. I was beyond scared. The woman gave me a bottle of Yakult saying it’s good for digestion. I didn’t drink it. I was paranoid. But in my mind, I felt they were just drunk but genuinely nice. We finally arrived at Shinagawa station and to my relief, they bid us goodbye with big smiles. I ran off with Ryan still making sure they weren’t following us. We reached our hotel at around 11pm and ate Tokyo Banana. It was the perfect way to end a very hectic day. One day in Tokyo will never be enough. I was snoozing before I knew it.

The following morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and took some pictures in the adjacent garden. We had only two hours left so we hurriedly got ready, packed our bags and went ahead to check-out. We reached the station an hour before our departure time back to Osaka so we waited and bought ourselves a Starbucks tumbler with a free drink. As we sat waiting to board our train, an old lady stood beside our seats. Ryan got up and offered her his seat and she repeatedly thanked him. I love her!!! She seemed to be a really lovely granny so I took a picture of her as a souvenir.

After three hours, we reached Shin-Osaka and hopped on another train to Namba where we will be taking another train to the airport. Ryan had to buy something and I waited at the station. It took him a long time to come back but the wait was worth it because in his hands was a box of my favorite Takoyaki.

We reached the airport and lined up to check-in our baggage. We met a nice Filipina while in line. I spent all my remaining money on chocolates. Royce is really cheap in Japan! Ryan wanted to buy a drink from the vending machine but I had no more money. The nice Filipina we met in line offered us coins and bought us drinks. We were asked to board the plane a few minutes earlier than the original schedule. By this time, I knew that our vacation is over. We will be back to our original lives not as carefree as the week we spent in Japan. Back home, we have real responsibilities and new challenges to face – especially for me since I will be taking on a new job. I was scared to go home but this is my reality. I could always escape from it by going on vacations like this but we still have to save a lot for the next one. Japan is a beautiful place. I had an unforgettable trip following the end of my career in a Japanese bank. I will definitely go back, hopefully with a baby girl in our hands. J  

Daddy Said Yes! YES!!!

Today, I emailed him to tell him that I just got engaged and attached a photo of THE RING. I was really feeling nervous as I typed the words. I expected him to be a bit angry/upset about my decision to get married. I checked my inbox and there it was. His reply. It felt like opening a letter of acceptance to a scholarship or reading a job offer stating that I have succeeded. Hahaha. I felt butterflies in my stomach. He said he has no objections but he just wanted to clarify that I'm not doing this because of Adjie.

Well, it's partly because of my brother. But really, who would get married just to run away from her brother? I'm just using it as an excuse so that I could be with Ryan forever. :) There's no one else I'd rather be with. I love my family and that's why we'll live just 5 houses away. Hahaha.

Thank you, Daddy, for accepting our union. :)