Christmas Letter 2008! [Oops, It's January. Sorry this is late!]

OK, we know it's already 2009, but we can't let go of 2008 without giving some thanks for the truly incredible year our family has had. And it truly was a filled and blessed year for us, which is also our way of explaining why this blog update is so late.

The overriding theme of the entire 2008 for our family is one of bonding. Throughout the many months, despite the pressures of work, social events or school (as the cases may be), we seem to have found time to be with one another, whether on the Valdes side clowning around in our Santa hats or in more formal gear on the Prieto side.

On our own too, we were lucky to carve out trips for ourselves, starting with Easter in Oz, where Ty, Annika and Dennis took surfing lessons and the rest just enjoyed the brilliant sunshine. It's the first time Tessa and Dennis have gone to Australia and not hit a golf ball even once.

But as the kids grow up (too fast!), we find that hanging out with them is far more rewarding. Besides, isn't the beach just like one big sand trap? It's amazing how much more we seem to interact with one another when a half day for a round of golf isn't part of the plan.

We also had many chances to bond in smaller subsets. Annika turned ten and had a major dance party, thanks to Mommy's planning and execution. Tessa needs very little excuse to throw a party and Daddy has learned that the best thing to do when this happens is to just stay out of the planning.

Tyrone and Dennis spent a week scuba diving in Coron, Palawan, during their annual father-son trip. Coron is still fairly undeveloped, where the term resort doesn't imply air conditioning or massages on the beach, i.e., Mommy may not like it. But diving inside a Japanese warship is an adventure for a 12-year-old boy whose major complaint was that in between dives, he couldn't log on to the web.

Perhaps the one thread that kept the bonding going throughout the year though, was Tessa's quest to finish the New York Marathon in November. A 42K run demands a year of training and as part of the run-up, she convinced Dennis and his brother, Robin, to join the O3 Triathlon with her in August. As Tessa only needed to do the 30K run, Dennis would start the 4K swim and then Robin would do the 120K bike. The big joke, of course, was that if Dennis didn't complete the swim, what would happen? With a lot of hard work, our team ended up third among the relay teams in the event, so we got our Olympic medal-biting moment in.

By November, Tessa was fully prepped and finished her first marathon in 5:27. OK, it's not as fast as Oprah, but then again the Sea Princess wasn't gunning for any records. Our family celebrity did make it to the front page, not of the Inquirer, but oddly enough of the rival Manila Standard Today. Tessa is now struggling with whether to continue her running career or add it to her been-there-done-that checklist and move on.

Another fun bonding moment was when the Valdes Family battled the Aguilar Family on Family Feud in late November. Beauty queen Carlene and her family got to 299-0, a point shy of winning, but we regrouped to win the prize for the day despite some memorable lapses. (Q: Anong pagkain ang mabaho? A: Tae!) The Valdeses quickly donated our win to the budget for the our parents 50th wedding anniversary on December 27.

Jess and Cynthia's golden day included a tango performance by the three Valdes boys and their better halves. Over a hundred people showed up at the Forbes Park Pavilion, which none of the three boys had imagined possible, given the RSVP's. (Mental note: your parents are popular and people will go to their parties!) It was a great chance to reconnect with so many relatives and friends that we haven't seen over the years, from our Bacolod days even!

We capped off the year with a complete family trip to Japan, sans yaya Juvy and including Jeanine Buenaventura, Bryan's girlfriend of three years. (His very well written contribution to this blog is on the next page.) It's amazing to see how huge the twenty-year gap is between our eldest and youngest children. But as we traveled around by shinkansen and moved from hotel to hotel, Tessa and Dennis are also very proud of what each of their kids is growing up into, whether it is one taking his first steps in the business world or one making her first forays in her childhood or two at all the different stages in between.

With all of us having had such a wonderful 2008, we can only hope that you, too, had a great year and that 2009 brings more of the same for all of us. Happy New Year!

Bryan moves to Singapore

If you asked me where I thought I would be 6 months ago I would have never thought half a world away in the small country of Singapore.

It all began earlier in the year while I was still working in the US. This was fine for the time being until unforeseen budget cuts caused me exit the marketing firm. I had mixed emotions about leaving but overall I had a positive attitude, especially because I didn’t see myself staying with the company for long. Thus began the long tedious process of job hunting. I searched far and wide, covering all job websites and screening every placement agency I could find. After a month of searching, an interesting offer came up. A company was looking for a management intern to work with them for a period of 6 months. The only drawback was that it was all the way in Singapore. I now had to make a critical decision that would drastically change my lifestyle…

I ran through every possible scenario in my head. I weighed out the pros and cons, imagined what life would be like, and placed dozens of calls to my parents asking for their input. All these helped my decision in one way or another but at the end of the day, the decision was mine. I realized that in 5 years, I would (hope, one can never tell the future) be in a much better position than if I stayed. I decided to take the leap and migrate back to Asia.

The most difficult part about moving is not the change, but saying goodbye to the life I loved. My friends and way of life would have to take a back seat for my career. It was also quite difficult because I wouldn’t be with Jeanine for our 3-year anniversary. Even though the company gave me enough time, that faithful day when I would begin was fast approaching.

Singapore was completely new to me. I had only been to the country once before, but that was years ago and only for a few days. My Dad's friend, Vickie Martone, helped me settle into my new place. It was a room in a small shop house in the center of town, quite the shift from living in a house but something new for me. The morning rush was a new concept for me (I used to drive myself to work), crowded subways and sidewalks filled with people brought a new thrill.

After a few months, I eventually picked up the pace and adjusted quite well. I adapted into the culture and only use the dreaded “Sing-lish” if necessary (if I’m really hungry and the person can’t understand a word I’m saying – this constitutes as a necessity).

The job itself is quite rewarding, I am constantly learning and trying to keep up the pace. It was particularly good because the financial crisis provided me with an excellent method of learning about the industry. Although it’s still too soon to tell, I don’t mind working in the financial sector. The beauty with this experience is that I get to learn about the different businesses of the bank. After the 6-month period, the bank offered to extend my contract for another year. I was surprised because I didn’t think I would be staying longer and yet I found myself wanting more (especially because the price was right).

My family decided to go to Japan for the New Year. I was very excited because I haven’t been back in 10 years and this time we would be traveling with Jeanine and the whole family, including Athena! We made sure to pack light because we would be covering 4 cities in 8 days. It was very cold but Mom bought us all the essential clothing to not only keep us warm but fashionable as well.

Time does fly, sooner or later I’ll be writing a new blog with the experiences of 2009! See you then…