8 Years of Marriage

Photo by Lito Sy.

I celebrated eight years of marriage with my wife today. And after all this time I still believe that marrying her is one of the best decisions I ever made. I think that is one of the thoughts in my mind that will remain the same, always and forever, no matter what.

I always had the necessary strength to get through the hard times and I am lucky that like me, Emafe also had the strength to make it through the rain when things got rough. Now it's 2018 and we have been married for 8 years!

The biggest lesson I learned from being married to Emafe is that health is certainly wealth, and that all things worth having are healthy. Everything else that's unhealthy leads to suffering in the end, one way or another.

So Emafe, Love... thank you for teaching me the value of health. And thank you for learning with me side-by-side. I will do my best to focus on health and I will try to get better at being and remaining healthy. That way all of us can live a long and happy life together. You, me, baby Zac and all of our loved ones. Thank you for being nice to me and Happy Anniversary to Us!

I love you. (and baby Zac)

The food that was cooked for the celebration.

Some of the friends that visited us for the celebration.

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Ford Ecosport in Mars Red

Ford Ecosport in Mars Red.

From this angle, our new car might look like a Honda Fit but it is a Ford Ecosport. It's the car Emafe and I just purchased in order to prepare for Zac's arrival. It makes me happy since it isn't too small but not too big either. I don't understand the validity of climate change and global warming but if any of the claims made by environmental scientists are true, our Ecosport will probably harm the environment less than other cars would.

I didn't think I could ever purchase a brand new car but Emafe helped me do it. That is one of the reasons I am happy to be married to Emafe, the two of us have different strengths. She is industrious and I am good at staying calm. I let her know that it is okay to feel stressed and she instructs me in areas that I am too simple minded to understand on my own.

Thank you for helping me purchase our car Emafe, I love you :)

Emafe and I before going to bed.

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Condo Unit is Ready XYZ

Nottingham Building in Camella Northpoint

I visited Camella Northpoint yesterday with Emafe to pick up the keys to our condo unit. It was an investment we made in 2012 to help us save money. But now that I am older and have lived in the Philippines for over 7 years, I am no longer interested in purchasing real estate. Paying the taxes is a hassle, maintenance is a hassle and renting it out to someone else would be a hassle. That is one of the reasons why Emafe and I sold the house we purchased in Davao City (too much work with not enough benefits) but that might be related to my personality or diagnosis.

Since I wrote about my diagnosis a lot has changed. I have come to accept that I experience avolition and my wife has accepted it too. So things are smoother now. I sleep a lot, help when I can but I don't worry about the things I am not good at. I still do my best but I learned that I cannot force myself to be better than I am. I either can or I can't, and I understand now that it is good to do my best but that my best is all I can do. I guess I am trying to say that I know my limits now (on a moment-to-moment basis) and I think that is a good thing.

Liverpool Building of Camella Northpoint

The building of our condo unit is nice. There are big windows on the side of the building that lets in fresh air during the day. And even though I haven't visited the building at night I am almost sure it has a pleasant cool breeze then too.

One of the best parts about the condominium complex is that the community is covered in pine trees. I love plants so I am happy that I have a place to relax and view some nice trees. The trees are especially pleasant to view from the clubhouse and the doorway sized windows. I think I will bring plastic chairs when I stay there so I can sit outside with Emafe and look at the view. I am happy to say that the air was fresh too, at least during our last visit.

Emafe and I visited the OBGYNE today for one of her regular checkups.

On another note, I wrote a letter to my son but I never updated the news that Emafe is pregnant! At least not on my blog. So now it's official, Emafe is over 5 months pregnant and soon, at the perfect time, Zac Lucas Rice will be born and the two of us will be first time parents. If you remember, I was big about .XYZ domain names a little while ago. But coincidentally, Zac has XY chromosomes and Emafe nicknamed him 'Z' on her Instagram account. So somehow, someway, I got exactly what I asked for. I just didn't know at the time that Zac was my dream, Zac is what I was waiting for, and Zac is what my wife and I were waiting for together.

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4 Year Anniversary & Finding Happiness

This is one of my favorite birthdays and it is also one of my happiest. I can feel how much I am loved and cared for and I also have the support of my wife to do more than what I am capable of doing myself. This is our 4 year wedding anniversary and it is also my 29th birthday.

We have been through a lot of mental and emotional trials but through it all I have become a better person, and through it all I have grown to love Fema more and more. And through it all I have felt more loved and cared for than I ever have.

This is an official thank you to my wife, Emafe Rice (Fema) for standing by me.. for loving me.. for sacrificing and suffering through my own weaknesses and hardships. This is a letter of happiness for finding the person of a lifetime.. for falling in love and finding happiness.

I love you Fema. Don't stop believing in your dreams and remain happy with me and your loved ones. We are in this together!

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What Have I Accomplished in Life?

Photo Credit: TranBC

Further in Jack Canfield's book, he outlines an exercise aimed at acknowledging one's past accomplishments. The theory is, if you embrace the success from your past, you'll be more equipped with confidence to continue succeeding in the future. In other words, if you've succeeded once, you can succeed again. 

My goal is to record 100 accomplishments dating from my birth to present time. If your not busy, take some time to do it too. Realize your success and write it down. It's well worth it.

Here are my favorite moments of success: (share your success list with me)

Birth to 9 years old

1. When I was 5 years old my kindergarten teacher showed my class a jar full of pennies. Who ever could come up with the best guess as to how many pennies there were in the jar would take the jar home as a prize, pennies and all. I counted a group of 5 to 8 pennies then visualized how many groups it would take to fill the jar. Call it math or call it luck, either way, I was able to win the grand prize. It felt good to make my teacher proud.

2. At the age of 7 I decided I was ready to ride my bike without training wheels. In taking initiative I grabbed a wrench from our garage and went to work on the side of the street, right next to the sidewalk. It almost took an hour but soon enough the training wheels were off. I then, got on my bike, looked ahead and rode it for the first time on two wheels.

10 to 17 years old
1. At the age of 14 I scored my first job at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

2. At the age of 16 I graduated High School as a junior, a year ahead of my class.

3. At the age of 17 I joined the US Navy under Aviation Electronics. After finishing boot camp I was flown to Pensacola, Florida for A-School. I finished in the top 5 of my class for common core and after negotiating with my chain of command I convinced them to change my course from Aviation Electrician to that of an Aviation Electronic Technician.

18 to 25 years old
1. At the age of 19 I had $25,000 in savings and investments. This was a landmark of what I envisioned before joining the military.

2. In February of 2006 I made $10,000 in a 1 month stock trade with a $1,000 investment. In the long haul I was not so successful with my trades and investments but it was nice to experience a few good wins.

3. At the age of 22 I bench pressed 215 lbs. This was a long time coming as I had been working out off and on since I was 16 years old.

4. In 2007 I founded Shelter Listings, a 501c3 nonprofit in California. I did the administrative work, web work, and developed the online housing database. Shelter Listings' database consists of over 3,000 listings and many of them include crucial information such as length of stay.

5. In April of 2009 I bought my first car and learned how to drive. I already had experience driving with a driving instructor and friends but I wasn't good at it yet. I also learned how to navigate across the bay and had a new found freedom to go where ever I pleased. 

6. On March 5th 2010, I married my beloved wife on my 25th birthday. 

Thanks for reading :)

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Our Big Day! We're Now Married!

Our time with Ayvee and Aunt Maya went by fast but it left us with a lasting impression. They were there when we read our vows and they were there when we celebrated our reception. This brings me to my next point. . . the reception was absolutely fantastic!

We had an MC coordinating the event as we walked in, there was music, there was dancing, there was speaking and a whole lot of eating. The day was filled with laughter, joy and even tears. Two of our family members sang songs and three of them gave mini speeches. We popped a balloon full of candies, we threw the bouquet, the garter, cut the cake, drank non-alcoholic wine and released two doves as a symbol of love.

Let this be an official thank you to everyone who made it in spirit or in body. Thank you!

I love you Fema :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

I love you Fema. Thank you for all of these years! (note added later on August 21st, 2012)

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I'm Happy With the Car I Bought!

Getting my first car was most definitely long over due. I waited so many years for this and I think it stressed me out. It may have even hurt me. Driving by myself for the first time was a healing experience and it will be healing over the next 6 months.

For years I felt trapped and lower then the common person who could drive and have their own car. I wasn't able to go where I needed and I don't think many people understood how big of a barrier it was for me.

Life is good... thank you God, Buddha, Higher Power, No Power, This Power, That Power or what ever it was that granted me one of my deepest wishes.

I owe a lot to my friend Ben who helped me find the right car for the right price. He spent 2 days helping me and this was the fourth car that he checked. He valued each car by checking their breaks, exterior, interior, engines and transmissions. Had he not been there, I would have never been able to negotiate for a lower price and I may have even bought the first car I looked at. I'm clueless when it comes to cars. Thanks Ben! I'm happy with the car I bought. 

I love it!!!!!! 2001 Crown Victoria with 90,000 miles in good condition for $3,000!!

'

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