Walktober Challenge

I was walking to and from work for more than a year until hubby got his licence a month ago. For a month now, I have the luxury of staying a bit more cuddling and playing with Kimi in the morning. I must say it is very difficult getting up when your little one is hugging you dearly for you to stay in bed. That’s the problem with co-sleeping with your bub. But, on a brighter side, that is also the benefit since you get extra bonding moments - a big plus for a full-time working mom like me who only gets to spend a few hours with the little one each day.

This week is different though since I had to get up earlier again to walk to work. Yes, you read it right – walk to work. I signed up for the Walktober Workplace Challenge. The Walktober Workplace Challenge, which run from 26 to 30 October 2009, encourages participants to substitute car or public transport journeys with their feet. The participant may walk all or part of the journey to and from work or meetings during the day. Points are given for each trip made depending on the time spent walking regardless of the length. A 10 to 20 minute-walking trip earns 1 point and any walking trip over 20 minutes earns 2 points. The key is to reduce the number of car trips made to, from and in the workplace.

It was a struggle. It could have been easier if I were still religiously walking to work and I were not suffering from hay fever. However, despite the regular errands and commitments too, which is now easier with the car, I managed to make 8 points for our team and win myself a basic pedometer for use in my plans to regularly walk again. I wish I could do that soon.

Office Surprise

During morning tea, which I usually take at my desk, my manager asked me if I was busy as the other section of our business unit invited us for their group meeting's morning tea. I enthusiastically replied, "Not really. I can continue this report in a while."

There were fish and chicken fingers, meat pie, fried dumplings and other finger foods plus cakes. I was enjoying the fish and chicken fingers and a little chit-chat when our business unit’s manager came back from somewhere and started his spiel. I initially thought he is going to announce something related with the business unit’s recent restructure. My mind turned 360 degrees from enjoying the fish and chicken fingers when I heard the word “driving.” I just felt it was about me so I started laughing especially when he said that in the past few weeks there’s drama (a favourite Aussie word) happening in a little corner of the office over getting a driver’s licence. To make me laugh even more, he even enumerated the different instances I failed the exam. It was hilarious.

To congratulate me and acknowledge my perseverance, he picked up the contents of a small bag and explained each of them before handing to me: card (not just an ordinary congratulations card, but specifically for passing the driving test) for their messages, a little horn to honk, a first aid kit when I ran into something, and a box of chocolate to appease me when I get speeding tickets. How funny and thoughtful was that?

Something like this is what make employees happy and in effect stay. I find it really sweet and thoughtful as the flexible schedule we have at work to attend to the driving exam is more than enough incentive. The effort and gesture of coming up with this despite of my supervisor and manager’s busy schedule both at work and at home really touched me.

Who would not like to work for such a supportive company with lovely managers?

Overdrive

I listened to Eraserhead's Overdrive song all morning to celebrate my passing the P plate driving test (well, apart from celebrating with pizza overload from La Porchetta last night). Yes, finally, I nailed the exam. It was not the best drive I've had as I was still frantically nervous. But, I did not have a major boo boo. After failed exams, it was a relief - one goal out of the very long list. In fact, I can smell freedom.

My journey to getting the licence was no big joke. There was no easy route or shortcut I could have done. I have no relatives to teach me and driving lessons with an instructor was very costly. Fast-tracking my learning was a juggle of budget and time. Thus, if you are intending to migrate and have no driving experience, it might be worthwhile to learn to drive prior to coming over as knowing the basics will save you time and money.

Getting your driving licence

Each state has different processes, policies and parameters in implementing traffic management and issuing licences and registrations. In the state of Victoria, Vicroads is the authorised institution for these.. I listed below the steps from being a learner to getting Probationary driver’s licence based on my experience and circumstances:

1. Book the exam for learner’s permit with Vicroads. You may book online, by phone or by visiting their nearest branch. The fees payable may be found here.
2. Read the “Road to Solo Driving” handbook.
3. Do the Practice Learner Permit test. The more practice tests you do the better.
4. Take the Learner Permit Test and make sure you have the identity documents required as discussed in Vicroads website.
5. Start learning to drive with full licence drivers (relatives or friends), with a driving instructor, or a combination of both. Note that recorded driving experience of at least 120 hours is required in the log book if the learner is under 21 years old.
6. Book and take the Hazard Perception Test when you have completed the 120 hours of driving if you are under 21 years old or when you are confident enough to drive if you are over 21 years old.
7. Book and take the actual driving test for your P plate. The Probationary licence is to be held for 3 years before a full licence can be issued. If you are under 21, a red P plate or P1 licence is issued to you to be held for 1 year before you graduate to the green P plate or the P2 licence to be held for 2 years. If you are over 21, you will be issued a green P plate or P2 licence to be held for 3 years. If you are a holder of an overseas licence for at least 3 years, you may be issued a full licence. It is best to ask Vicroads about this.
8. Drive safely.
   

Since I failed the driving exam a few times, I repeated step 7 a few times too. It was frustrating and heart-breaking. It felt like our life was put on hold. But, it did not stop me from attempting again. Eventually, persistence paid off.

Lesson: Never quit especially if you can see a hint of success.

Interest Rates on the Rise

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced a cash rate increase of 25 basis points to 3.25% effective 7th October 2009. This is the first rate increase since the global financial crisis in 2008, when interest rates gradually plummeted from 7.25% in March 2008 to 3.00% in April 2009.

The RBA believes: “…With growth likely to be close to trend over the year ahead, inflation close to target and the risk of serious economic contraction in Australia now having passed, the Board’s view is that it is now prudent to begin gradually lessening the stimulus provided by monetary policy. This will work to increase the sustainability of growth in economic activity and keep inflation consistent with the target over the years ahead.”

The interest rate is still at a manageable level compared to where it was in early 2008 -- still a good time to pay off as much in your loan and mortgage to help decrease the principal. Good times are coming for the savers and the retirees who depend on their interest earnings.

Say "Puno"

Tatay and Kimi picked me up from work. About 200 metres from my work place, Kimi blurted “puno” (Tagalog for trees) out of the blue while pointing to the trees on the road. Again, I was the surprised mom. Apparently, Tatay was casually telling Kimi about the trees on their way back after giving me a lift in the last couple of mornings.

I guess this is the tipping point of more words to come. He will learn them in time as my sister said. I am just too excited and a bit impatient. I know that boys speak later than girls and kids in bilingual/multilingual households tend to speak later too even if they can understand both languages. This, however, did not stop us from speaking to Kimi in both Tagalog and English as it is the best time for him to learn with no difficulty. We speak to him more in Tagalog though as he will easily learn English when he goes to school.

Fishy, fishy

During nappy change, I give Kimi a little book to pre-occupy him and minimise his wiggly movements. I also talk to him, asking questions, telling stories, to pre-occupy him even more. I used to sing nursery rhymes but it no longer works to keep him still. If I don’t pre-occupy him with other things, nappy change can be very difficult and messy especially if there’s poo involved – imagine him reaching his bottom, getting his soiled nappy, and walking on top of the bed as quickly as he could.

The past few days I’ve been using the same book, “My Very First Book of Words” by Eric Carle, which I’ve read it to him a few times with matching actions and associations a few weeks ago. I focused on the sun and the star as I can easily act them out and describe while I change the nappy. After 3-4 of days of looking at the sun and star, he probably got bored and flipped the pages. He suddenly put down the book, joined his hands together and wiggled it while saying “fishy, fishy.” I was surprised, stopped what I was doing with the nappy and looked at the book. Yes, he saw the illustration of the fish and he remembered what I acted out a few weeks back. I called on his Tatay to see it himself. We were both excited.

One realisation: kids are really like a sponge. They may not show or manifest that they’ve picked up what you said or did straightaway. But, it is surely there to be seen later. The more you stimulate them, the better.

A Walk to Work (Remember?)

Walking is a usual thing downunder especially if you rely on public transport. I have my fair share. I started walking to and from work since I started with my current employer 15 months ago. Remember I shared with you in a previous post that I liked the office location when I first saw the job ad?

The office is only 2 kilometres of residential and industrial roads from home. There is no bus heading that way though so I need to walk for about 25 minutes, one way, except when someone gives me a lift home or when the weather is so bad that I had to take a cab. I must admit there are times that I hate I'm walking especially during the winter season when it's so cold and frosty. But, there are more instances that I love it as it gives me time to think and reflect especially when the sun is up and the breeze is nice. The regular walk was also an efficient way to exercise and loose the baby weight I gained during pregnancy.

However after having 2 broken umbrellas to wind storm and losing 10 kilograms of weight, the routine changed this morning when hubby drove me to work (he got his license the other day and already secured the car insurance). I know I should think about the benefits of walking but I also want to enjoy having a cutie chauffer in the meantime. Who would not like one?

Bye bye Formula!

In mid-August, a very close friend, Carla, made an entry about her experience in finding the perfect growing up milk for her daughter Simone (my goddaughter) who is barely 3 weeks younger than my son Kimi. It was a very good read especially for new mums who have no idea what milk to give their babies when either their breast milk supply is already dried up or when it’s not enough and they need to top up. Of course, I can't help not to comment and share my experience as below.

Finding the right formula is indeed a nightmare for some moms who can’t fully breastfeed due to insufficient milk (like my case) or another reason. I was decided to give Kimi 100% breastmilk during the first three months that he is staying in Geelong, I did not buy any formula prior his arrival. But he was not sleeping very well during his first three days and he seemed to be very hungry so I decided to top up with formula. Choosing the right formula was tricky.

Doctors and maternal child health nurse down under do not recommend any formula milk as much as possible. When asked they usually say that formula milk is just the same for any brand. So, I limited my choices with the brands that I also saw in Manila – it’s either S26 or NAN. My niece and nephew were on NAN HA before so it was easier to decide. I just opted though for the regular NAN 1. Good enough that Kimi doesn’t have allergies. He gulped his first bottle like there was no tomorrow and his tummy liked it too straightaway. Breastmilk and formula took turns in fattening Kimi for the first month. When supply dried up eventhough how much hot soup and hot compress I had, NAN 1 was still reliable to keep Kimi happy.

We moved him to NAN 2 at 6 months and to Neslac Toddler Gold at 13 months as NAN 3 was only being introduced in the market at that time, a bit difficult to find NAN 3. At 16 months, we introduced him to drinking fresh milk from a sippy cup with Neslac in between. He is alright with the fresh milk but he still loves his formula in a bottle. I plan to reduce his bottlefeed to 2 when he turns 18 months — one when he wakes up and one before he sleeps. Ultimately, I want him to love his fresh milk more than his bottle. No flavoured milk though. Not even my favourite strawberry milk.

Yes, it was my intention to put Kimi on cow's milk as advised by the Maternal and Child Health Nurse but not 100% this soon. He just turned 18 months. However, when we went to buy another batch (I usually buy 4 cans at a time) of Neslac Toddler Gold, there was nothing on the shelves at My Chemist, where I usually buy it. I immediately called the attention of the sales assistant to check if they got something in their stock room. There was none. I requested him to phone their other store. Again, nada. In fact, it's no longer in their computer system. It was hopeless as it was already difficult getting a can a few weeks back. A friend even checked in Melbourne. It's indeed already phased out to fully introduce NAN 3.

The battle of choosing the right milk again started and it caught me off-guard. There were very few choices and the brands I'm familiar with are both in vanilla flavour -- NAN 3 and S-26 -- which is not an option. Hubby and I compromised to put Kimi back to NAN 2. Hubby was not keen to moving to another brand as Kimi's tummy may react differently. I bought 1 can of NAN 2 and 1 small pack (good for 4 servings) of Karicare to try. He instantly liked Karicare but he was passing wind throughout the day so hubby was not happy with it. I gave Kimi NAN 2 but he rejected it straightaway - maybe not sweet enough like Neslac and Karicare. Because of that, we decided on giving him cow's milk. I cleaned and packed the bottles, steriliser, and the glass pan exlusively used in boiling water for safekeeping.

The story did not end there. Almost 2 weeks after, I observed that Kimi was losing weight or I just thought so. Out of the blue, I grabbed his bottle from the top of the cupboard and prepared him 60 ml of NAN 2 to try again. He was ecstatic to see the bottle of milk. But when he had a taste, he gave me back the bottle. I tried to offer it to him again and this time he just blurted out "nah." I was still worried he was not getting enough so I decided to buy a can of Karicare 3. I was almost sure he would like it again until I offered it to him. To my surprise he rejected it.

This time instinct tells me that Kimi is alright with the cow's milk. There are just days that he will look thinner when he has not slept much during the day. To other mothers out there, don't be a worry wart like me. Just compliment your kid's cow's milk with healthy food and your child will also be alright. Kids need only 3 servings of dairy food anyway to meet the calcium requirement.

All Day Sneezing!

Yeah, hay fever hit me. I was sneezing at work most of last week including the weekend. My eyes were itchy like there were little grains inside. I can't even control myself from rubbing my eyes, which a colleague from my AIM days strongly discourage. She says it can bring in the wrinkles. Sorry Mia I really can't help it. My head felt really heavy too and my nose was really stuffed.

This is my 3rd Spring season and I still had not figured it out myself that I could get hit by hay fever, which is rarely experienced in Manila, until my driving instructor pointed out that my symptoms were hay fever and not something else. He was right. One tablet of Telfast 120 did the work. Straightaway, I felt relieved without feeling drowsy.

For new migrants and tourists coming over during Spring, hay fever is one that you need to be prepared for especially if you have allergy history. Stay away from areas with high pollen count as this triggers the allergens. Bring with you an anti-hay fever tablet or anti-histamine so you will always be ready if you have an attack. It can save you from ruining your day and vacation.

How I wish I am not prone to allergies but I am already thankful that my son does not have it.

It Takes Patience

Finding work in Australia is more difficult nowadays especially in regional areas and even in city centres compared to the time I arrived in 2007. The global financial crisis caused unemployment rate to increase by 1.6 points from 4.2% in Aug 2008 to 5.8% in Aug 2009. It is comparably lower than the earlier forecast of 8.5% to 10% but the underlying underemployment is a concern. The reduction of hours worked instead of outright lay off best explains the case. More and more companies are shifting their employees from full-time work to part-time or even casual work just to be able to make ends meet without losing the talent they've developed for many years.

This is a better set-up than what happened to a few friends who lost their job with just an hour or two notice. I know it was devastating and frustrating as I had a fair share of the same fate when my previous company, where I worked as an analyst, closed down the very same day I went back to work from maternity leave in 2008. No notice, no redundancy offer. The only saving grace is that I could stay with my son a bit more. But, I have a visa condition to fulfill, bills to pay, and formula milk to buy. So, I had to hit the road straightaway and look for job. There was no time to cry over spilled milk so to speak.

With the support of my husband and in laws and the contagious giggles of Kimi who was barely 8 weeks old then, my spirit was high and my outlook was optimistic. I did not waste any time. When Kimi was asleep I was scouring http://www.seek.com.au/ and http://www.careerone.com.au/ for jobs and tips to hurdle the job hunt. I practically applied for any job that I believe I can do or I can learn to do from waiting and cleaning jobs to research and analyst work. I prepared several CVs to fit the job description, customised application letters addressing the selection criteria, and answered online essays required for the application. I also kept all files I sent out with file names for each job to easily see which CV, application letter and selection criteria I used for which job. Before interviews, I read through the files to make sure I do not mix up the information especially the essay part.

I made sure friends and acquaintances know that I was looking for work. I also emailed the recruitment agent who hired me with my previous (first in Australia) job to share what happened and to seek her assistance in considering me for job vacancies with their clients. She was kind enough to forward my CV to her colleague who interviewed me for a full-time casual work in a customer service and logistics capacity. All throughout I kept an optimistic view. I took action and prayed keeping in mind to ASK, BELIEVE, and RECEIVE. My strategy worked -- I got the job and started working again when Kimi was barely 10 weeks old. Since it was only a casual work, I did not stop looking for other more permanent opportunities.

I prayed more. Then, an answer came when I got a call for an interview for the job that I was really wanting when I was just starting the job hunt (Yes, it took them more than a month to shortlist applicants). Actually, it was the location (2 kilometres walk from home) and the company that I liked from the moment I read through their website -- I got the feeling that they look after their people and welcome multicultural diversity. An important consideration for a migrant in the long-run. I dressed up well for the interview to exude the right impression and confidence as well as feel good about myself. That inside feeling matters as it is quickly sensed by the interviewers. Again, the strategy worked and I am already working with them for more than a year. Being new to the industry, I still have so much to learn, jargons to comprehend, and processes and policies to understand. As long as I continue to pray and believe, there will be opportunities for career growth to be received.

Lesson: It takes patience and strategy for new migrants to get a job these days. It's better for your health to be optimistic than stress yourself and worry.