I'm glad that we've finally come around in setting up that blog and hope to post more regularly through it.
On the personal side, when I got home more than a week ago, the kids have resume with their schooling again. I'm very happy that they have adjusted here in Adelaide. Now the family has its eyes on me asking if I'll ever consider working here or do my business since I spend half of my time there, physically and virtually.
For now, here are some things on my mind just to show that I'm exerting effort on this concern:
I'm planning to launch my e-commerce and Internet marketing e-book in Adelaide and those who buy a copy will be able to attend my tutorial hands-on workshops to be done in one of the libraries this April.
I guess my challenge is that I'm bent on living my life as a freelancer. Partnering with an institution who offers a variety of training is also one of my option but having the need to start with something to build a portfolio is a priority right now.
I'm still inquiring on how to go about payment acknowledgment here in Australia. In the Philippines, I registered as a professional and have been able to issue official receipt under my name recognizing payments received.
I am a person who has two lives. In the Philippines, I am an e-commerce advocate while in Australia, my role is more focused on taking care of the family as my partner has a work contract here up to 2010.
I'll be back this weekend (after being gone for nearly a month) bringing all the wish list items asked for by the kids. To help me lose weight, my partner bought an exercise equipment through eBay so I hope that will work.
There are a lot of things that I need to contemplate and work on when I get back. This includes:
What book to publish? It seems I have a trend of publishing a book every 4 years. I'm supposed to print a blogging book but its content can't seem to stand out as there's nothing groundbreaking that I can offer in terms of insight that has not been said by a prestigious blogger online.
However, the E-Champion award (photos) that I got last Tuesday is providing a much needed inspiration, to work on another idea that focuses on lessons learned in cyber legislation. Although I still need to do some market test to see if it indeed has a demand.
A time to grief My niece passed away more than a week ago. Her operation did not go well as intended and she went through five (or six) heart arrest and eventually gave in.
I'm thankful being in the country during that stage. Somehow, the weird flight unavailability made sense. I'm supposed to return last January 31 but the only one available was February 16 that forced me to revise my schedule.
I got the chance to see Aleah twice prior to her operation. Despite her condition, she was very playful, affectionate, and engages in "repeat-what-i-say" games. The funny one I recall was when we say "pa-a" (which means foot or feet) but she will say it as "a-pa" (which means cone, as in ice cream cone). She also likes to be infront of the computer pretending to be typing something.
My sister, now back to work as part of her coping mechanism, her husband, and the rest of the family are still in grief with our niece leaving too soon. To the point that just thinking about it already makes me teary-eyed.
If plans will push through, my sister's husband will be in Australia within the year to work and my sister shall follow afterwards. Life goes on.
Laketree's Significant Blogger Award What got me into writing this post was when I saw my blog as recipient of this touching award. I've been blogging about my life and observations in Australia for less than a year now. To somehow get noticed, part of what I did was track how Aussie blogs are doing using available measurement tools out there. I'm glad that these efforts are being appreciated. The Aussie blogging community, whom I noticed to be very patriotic to their country and fellow citizen bloggers, are also welcoming of other citizens and culture who are trying to establish some ground to grow on.
Today, Australia is celebrating Australia Day. Although I'm in the Philippines to visit family, club members, friends, peers, and get some work done, my family in Adelaide will get to observe the celebration as it unfolds today.
One thing that I got to appreciate in Adelaide is the accessibility of Henley Beach which is almost like a 10 minutes drive from our home. It is a great place to relax and spend time with the kids (who is usually online in this school vacation season).
Blogging about one's experience in another country and establish relationship takes time. That is why I find the recently launched Aussie Bloggers Blog as a great opportunity. I'm sure that this will help me in discovering new blogs that can be added to Ratified Australia.
Apart from sharing information, there are also collaborative efforts in the forum to promote fellow bloggers such as the creation of an Aussie blogroll, write a guest post or be interviewed. There is also an incentive in participating. Those who make 20 posts in the forum will also gain access to the Events and Meets forum where one can participate.
