Dutch Exam Level A1 Done!

It has been a week. I am still anxious. I've heard horror stories. Speaking was the hardest part.

Last week, I gathered up all my courage and went to the embassy for my Dutch exam. I was very nervous. Well, even now. The room was filled with the cold air that punctures my skin. Though I was just the only one in the room, I feel as if someone's looking at me. One computer, a chair, and a set of headphones. Those are all I had inside.

The lady explained to me what to do. I tried to listen very carefully but the mask blocked her voice that I cannot pick up some of what she said. Anyways, I proceeded. The first part was speaking. I felt a little bit confident on that one. I just wish I spoke clearly and loudly, for I am not in the mood to retake that part.

Then it was reading. That was the hardest. The first two parts were easy, but the last one was reading comprehension. There were some words that I am not familiar with. I was skeptical.

Last was the knowledge of Dutch society. It was okay. I know I had one mistake, which I terribly regretted answering. I know it was not right but I still pursued it.

I have checked all the questions when I got home.

My travel time was only an hour and a few minutes, which normally takes me two or more. There were not many cars on the highway.

Today, a friend shared her results, she did not pass the speaking. My heart pounded again. Thoughts started to enter my head, what if I did not pass the speaking as well? What if I need to retake again? I will be a total embarrassment. I do not want to do it again.

Waiting for the result was the hardest. Imagine spending eight weeks just to know that you will fail. What a heart ache!

Zero Waste Living: Start With Small Things

Hello lovies! It was a nice day again! I hope you find today as how I view it. Anyways, I just want to share with you how I got inspired with #zerowasteliving individuals and how I am trying to make steps on joining them reduce wastes.

As per the quotation says, Things doesn't happen overnight. We need to start in the very basic that we can do. Zero waste? That is merely impossible. Everything we consume is tied up with waste. But, on the other hand, we can at least do something to lower the waste we produce.

There is actually a family from Canada (whom I learned by watching Youtube videos) that are trying to really impose a zero waste living. They have 3 kids and thinking about their necessities, that is just a hard thing to do. By using reusable diapers, and all other stuffs, it seems that they're slaying it.

I then thought of simple ways I can do so I can help those people minimise trash that has been circulating throughout the earth. Recently, I saw another local vlogger who introduced reusable metal straws. It is really inviting. By that, plastic straws will never be disseminated. Remember the innocent little turtle with a plastic straw inside its nose? That would never happen again if we all use recyclable straws.

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So I recently received our set of steel straws and we are happy to start our #lowwasteliving journey. To a greener life! Little things make big things happen! . Purchased these from @strawlph 👍

A post shared by Jobelle F. (@ladymyx) on Sep 22, 2018 at 5:39pm PDT

Aside from that, I always make sure that me, or my husband has an eco/reusable bag with us in case we do a sudden shopping. In the place I live now, it was implemented few years back about the anti-plastic ordinance. Now, all the groceries people do comes in paper (kraft) paper and such a hassle if it break down since it is not that sturdy.

We are also planning of buying reusable spoon and fork that we can carry along whenever we go. It won't only help us help nature, but also our personal hygiene and sanitation.

I am so happy that we both are into one goal and my husband is always a very good support to me. So yeah, why don't you try helping us help the earth as well. Through your simple acts, big things can happen!

Eat, Drink And Be Thankful

For the past months since I got married, I really enjoyed working at night and taking good care of my husband in the morning. There are a lot of errands and blog events to attend too, but I won't let them take away the joy cooking gives me.

For college, I took up a bachelor's degree in Hotel and Restaurant Managing. From its name itself, the course was intended to teach the student to learn on how to manage any account in hotel industry. There were only minor courses within the course to spend for cooking, baking, bar tending, housekeeping and the like.

I always love those subjects. After doing my researches, I will tell my groupmates what will we have in the table for the instructor in an specific date. Then, we are going to work on it. When time permits, I will volunteer to do the grocery shopping, and now, it is one thing for sure that I love doing!

Our family loves food. We do not settle on simple bland dishes but always explore what's new and what's peculiar. That's where I got this passion I guess. My mom loves cooking too. And so, it was passed on me. It is like an anti depressant when I feel tired and stressed. Baking is second. :)

Now that i have my own family, I always see to it that the people who will step on my doorstep to eat at our place will always be satisfied when they get out of the house. Mastering a recipe isn't my forte though. I don't even taste the food while cooking. I just let the aroma tell where it lacks or what it is in excess. Anyways, some of the food I cook doesn't need any adjustment like that.

So last time, I tried making a video of how I make a viand at home. This time, it is Chili con Carne. I first tried it when our friends from the US invited us for dinner. They've served us with minced beef with red beans and corn kernels. after that, I got curious and tried making my own. Well, that's just what I do normally. When I tried something, and I liked it, soon enough, it will be present in my kitchen (my favorite part of the house).


I am grateful that my husband is a food lover too. We have the same mindset about boring and non boring foods as we call them. And he always tells me that he appreciate the food I make, that they taste good. And I am happy with that. It only makes me fonder of cooking. I am also thankful for all the blessings in our table, for the lovely provision of physical food that we consume every day.

Skip The Ordinary

Last Wednesday, I had an appointment to go somewhere at 1 in the afternoon. I was afraid that I will be late so I take the courage and I outrageously brought my husband's bike to the place I needed to be. It is actually not a bike, the one with pedal. It is an electric bike, quite heavy for me, since I only weigh 49 kilograms these days. When I calculated the distance, it was only 1.5km (approximately). So I thought, it is not that far. I can drive from here to there and I can probably go back.

On my way there, I got problems with my stuff so I stopped in the side to arrange it. Unconsciously, I was not pressing the break but instead, steering more the accelerate handle bar. You know what happened next? I bumped myself into a signage. I was surprised too! After few seconds, I came back to myself and I continued driving. It was fun actually, but scary at the same time.

I have drove cars (van and owner-type jeep) before (by the way, I am a licensed driver, though I do not have a car. Haha.) but never an electric bike. While I am on my way, I thought that driving on a bike is really dangerous compared to driving a car. On an e-bike, I do not have any covering for myself in case I will have an accident, compared to a car, which I am super enclosed while driving.

Anyhow, it was a nice experience though. After that, when I was going home, I called my husband to pick me up. I don't want to worry him. I am not that keen on driving so I rather keep on practicing first, most specially on steering, one of the difficult things I find.

But still, I never regretted what I did. It was another experience, and now, no one can take it away from me. I love trying new things. Next time, I will just be very mindful and cautious. Hihi.

Such a Bad Day

It was Tuesday afternoon when I first received their call. It was one of the online teaching companies I applied for since G and I got married. There were only two actually. So then, after picking up the call, I was scheduled for a technical check to see if my PC and internet connection passed the requirements. I was super tired that day and I still went on with the scheduled checking. Time came and I was like five minutes late. My mistake is that I did not apologized being late but then went through the checking proper. There is my husband ever supportive of providing what I need, like the LAN cable for example. Tests did not went well at first (my processor is handling too much stuff so it is slow apparently). So I used another PC, my husband's PC. It had problem with Skype at first so we need to wait until it's good. While doing so, I kept on updating the checker about my status, simply because it got into me that I do not want her to wait for me without notifying her what's happening. And so finally, everything went good. She called me and when we were having the call, she complained that my video image was pixelated. So she told me that she's giving me 5 minutes to fix it. And so we tried our best to see what's the problem. We called others and confirmed that my image quality has improved. I then asked her to call me again. Oh, and she mentioned that she had a Skype problem. An hour passed, and I have not heard of anything. It's then past 2100h when I messaged her that I cannot wait any longer. It is really taking too much of my time just waiting. And it came to the point that I became paranoia, hearing Skype call though there's none. Right after I send my message that it's better to reschedule, she called again and even demanded me to answer her call. I did it, making sure everything from my end is running good, so we can talk better. I might had a good reception for her, but her call was laggy so I complained. She told me that she had a recent call and it was good. That statement made me think, we started at six and it was nine already. She had been gone for an hour and now that I'm telling her that she's in a bad line, she said she had a call and it was good. She did not receive any call while I was waiting, I hope. Because that would really piss me off. That is such a waste of me and my husband's time. And not just that, she sounded so bossy and hanged the phone up before I even say thanks. That time, I wanted to withdraw my application and tell them that I don't want to be a part of a company with that kind of attitude of an employee. She might be having a bad hair day, or having her very first day of her period, but treating someone like that is really not reasonable. Before hanging up, she said that I need to do something then she will call again. I thought, no, I never want to call with you again. She showed me anything but pleasant. And that even broke me out. I was super blessed having my husband to console me. He even made me tea to replace the tears that was lost. Haha.

I turned off my PC and head off to the bedroom. Took my shower and enjoyed the strawberry mango tea G prepared for me.

On the other hand, I am blaming myself for being so sensitive with people's attitude toward others. Although I definitely know why are these things happening. I also thought that I am so weak and I do not have that strong personality to fight for my right.

Can the next 20 days fly by please?

Three more weeks. Three more weeks and GJ will be home again. And from this point, I feel that time flies so slow and that waiting time is actually not running. The first two months, they were a blast. I was able to spend time with friends in Vietnam and waiting and missing did not become a problem. My days seem so short as I enjoy the food and culture of the Vietnamese. They have entertained me so good with their cuisine. From that, missing him was lessen, but it would be nice if he is with me on that awesome trip.

Last Tuesday, I was able to make a request for my Certificate of No Marriage, a document needed when you are planning to get married in the Philippines. There will be a separate post for that like the Birth Certificate that I acquired.

This document will be the last from the required one to have a marriage certificate application. I found out that there was not much information over the internet on how you can process papers if you're going to marry a Dutch citizen in the Philippines. So GJ suggested that I can blog it once we're done. He is just so supportive of what I love doing.

So to avoid this topic from drifting away, I am ending this post with a photo of us.

This is one of my favorite pictures of you and me. 😊 #gjb18th

A post shared by Jobelle Mac (@ladymyx) on Mar 17, 2017 at 11:07am PDT

Things Running Through My Head

I've been inspired by a blogger to write something about how things are going from the serie she's up to every end of her week. Then I thought of making my own too. Aside from just posting nonsense blah's, I think I am going to write thoughts that are running in my head, I mean, my serious thoughts.

TOPIC #1: MATURITY

To begin with, there is this video that I saw on youtube and it talks about one's maturity.


The video helped me analyze myself more. Am I mature or immature? I really love the thought that based on studies, people who tend to defend themselves and react on things are immature. It is not because you age, it means that you're already a mature person. No. It takes time, experiences and self-improvements. It is not on the looks you have, it is not keeping up with what is on trend, trying to copy others and just caring about themselves. Maybe, you will think that maturity is just a label. Yes, it is, and I want to be labeled as a matured gal. That's my personal choice.

TOPIC #2: ASSOCIATIONS

Life is a spawn of chaos so we need to pick whom will be in our lives and who will not. I'm talking about friends here. In my self-evaluation and according to my personality test, I am a person who is easy to talk with, easy to be friends with, and I hope these are true. Hihi. But let's face it. Not all we meet and become friends with, will stay long in our lives. That is why I chose not to be too close with those I know that after a year or two, I will not meet again or worse, will not even leave messages on viber or whatsapp. It's not that I am too stingy of myself. I am just open to the thought of wandering and getting out of the comfort zone, so to speak. I made friends, so many friends. But who will still matter at the end of the day? Just you, yourself and couple of chums.

TOPIC #3: BLOGGING

Please do keep in mind that blogging is not a job. It is just a way for other people to share their thoughts and experiences. It is not that you receive some items from PR's or free products and services, you are financially stable. No. Though these gifts are nice, they don't pay the bills. The real job is those with passive income going in every month. I am not blogging because I am getting paid, I am blogging because I love sharing. I want to improve my conversation skill, my post processing skill, and my confidence.

TOPIC #4: SELF INITIATIVE

From the Facebook group that I joined two days ago, there was so many information coming in. People started giving away freebies about the app we are using for our photography business and it is somehow overwhelming for me. It is like I am in clouds of so many good stuff relating to photography and processing. But before getting into the real thing, I needed to read a lot and even I am in my bed already, I still need to read on my tablet. I learned from my sibling that reading is essential when you really want to live a life. My fiance also inspired me to read and do researches. Like for what happened a while ago, no, just ten minutes ago. My computer turned black or dark gray and all the icons I have were gone. The taskbar disappeared too that I cannot press anything and do anything. But then, I found out that the task manager is still working and I can still run some programs. Everything was retrieved and I was so happy that I didn't give up on that, otherwise, I will be frustrated. Helps, tips and trips and tutorials are widely spread in the web. We just need to take an initiative to do it. I am now used of doing things without asking others. I am not comfortable bothering them if I know that I can do it on my own. But worse case, I am not perfect, I still need help. No man's an island, right?

TOPIC #5: OPPORTUNITIES

Good vibes are attracted by good vibes. When we strive to release positivity, we will receive what has been released. I am not the coolest girl, but I have the coolest people around me. My God is a happy god, my family is the most awesome heaps I know and I have the most amazing man (for my eyes) ever. We are not perfect. Life isn't either. Not yet. But we can make it better if we want to. It is just staying positive. For example, GJ had extremities, but that did not stop him from having the life he has now. He always tells me that he is happy, and I want to be like him too. We don't need to talk about how life has been cruel and how it demanded him to lose a lot of things. We only talk partially of it. And then we moved on. We did not let those things hold us back. Oh well, I think I am not making any sense anymore. I am just joyful of the good opportunities along our way. It seems endless.

Worst Plane Experience; PH to UAE

It has been a year already, since the last plane encounter I had. That of last 2016 was when we went to Boracay and stayed for a week. The first one was when I went to Europe for my fiance's brother's wedding. It was a nice visit I had and the country of the Netherlands had then a special place in my heart.

But let's not talk about the Netherlands, nor the wedding of my future brother-in-law. We can sum it up in another post, if you may. This one is to share with you the experience I had the first time I rode on a plane.

Etihad Airlines, one of the nicest Emirati national airlines. Since it is famous as how it is now, I will not give an intro. I will just tell you why it was the worst flight I had with them.

It was five in the afternoon when my family sent us to the airport. There were so many people that come and go, like everywhere. I was in awe, excited, stressed and everything else. We finished all with the document checking and so. Now, it's our time to board.

Just as a first timer, I was expecting of seating beside the window. Thought of the mandatory window shots all over the internet? Well, basically, I want to have that. But then, I was assigned to the aisle seat. How crazy coincidence is. Haha.

"That's fine", I told myself. A Beautiful scene will never be visible because it was night when we flew. Then it became okay with me. I calmed myself that time.



It was a rough 9 (nine) hours flight. And it was my very first time, so all of the emotions were mixing in.

We finally landed in Abu Dhabi. Another bad thing was, it was night, so I wasn't able to see Abu Dhabi (even the airport itself). But before going out the plane, we first needed to wait for the pilot's instructions. Together with my cousin, we waited patiently while preparing our hand-carry bags with us. As mentioned, I was seated in the aisle part of the plane. That's not just it. I was also sitting in the middle of people (like the third seat in the middle). On my right was my cousin and on my left was other two guys who were friends. (I knew they're friends based on how they communicate the first time they took the seats.)

The guy who's sitting beside me was sleeping so deep that he wasn't able to feel that the plane has already landed. His friend tried to wake him up for several times already but still, nothing happened. I can feel the tense happening around, plus my cousin teasing me that my seatmate had gone somewhere other than his seat like his mind was left maybe in the country of origin. I don't know. That friend started to startle and shook him harder several times. The crew saw him and tried to wake him up as well. She looked at me with a grinning face asking if I'm his friend. I disowned him of course because that's the truth. But I was so nervous thinking that he might fell asleep into death, and the whole time, I was sitting with a dead person.

If you were in my shoe, what will you feel? Sad right? And it will feel worse if it was true.

Happily, after 4 minutes, he finally woke up. It was such a deep sleep. Good thing, the crew stayed calm. And me, I was relieved. My heart pumped so hard as well that I palpitated though I didn't take caffeine (and I never want drinking coffee).

The story was not about the airlines, it was about what I felt inside the plane and not the flight itself. I was happy having them as my very first flight. I commend the crew for all the help and so.

How about you? Did you had some experience like mine?