Noel & Via

Today we had lunch with a very good friend, Nor and her husband, Tony. Nor just got back from New York and had many new adventures (and goodies!) to share. It was great to see them both again. We stuffed ourselves with wonderful baked mussels and pasta at Cafe Papemelroti in Roces Avenue and capped our afternoon off with coffee at UCC Cafe. We were laughing about how I would be like someone out of the Matrix with my black trench coat that I was dreaming about- except that I'd be climbing onto a bicycle in Italy instead of a cool Vespa! (Complete with the tacky bicycle ringing from a distance) But Tony does the impersonation so much better than I can describe it! They are both very excited for our move as well. :)

Back home, Noel and I began sorting through our things and making the difficult decision of which items to sell. Sigh. I had to take a breather every so often because it was quite overwhelming. So many memories to deal with in this cozy little home that we have been so lucky to have even for just a little while. Each video we sorted through brought back a whole myriad of emotions as well. We will be posting our list of goods in a few days so watch out for that! :)

Tomorrow we make our reservation fee payment for Noel's slot in Ivrea before we celebrate the first year death anniversary of my Abuelito. And we will be one step closer to our new life in Italy, with so many blessings in tow!

Posted by Via at 10:31 PM | Permalink

Finally, the acceptance, confirmation, & financial aid papers have arrived straight from Ivrea, Italy. Woohooo! And just right on time, since as of our last count we have a little more than a month left to process our visas. God help us.

So, still haven't figured out what I'm planning to take up? Well, the school is having their graduating batch thesis exhibition right now. You can see it online. And here is the definition of Interaction Design, according to their website.

Posted by Noel at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Before we received the scholarship results, I had a lot of petty concerns on my mind about our possible move to Italy:
the 30-minute distance of the nearest grocery, the "paper-thin" walls of the student dorm, (they are called modules in Ivrea), the freezing winter (we have both never seen snow before :) ), the fact that my name is all over Italy as it means street or way (I am afraid the Italians will be snickering at "Kalye" Perlas), missing Cosi-Cosi so much that I've been threatening to adopt a gelato-sounding companion, the Spinone Italiano - cheesy music included! :)

Of course there were some pretty major concerns too like how we would earn, what would happen if we got sick, and the most I personally hate to confront, missing all of you very much!

Then I realized that the realist was making too many gray assumptions, I wasn't considering all the great possibilites as we were going to explore unknown territory. I remembered what Gretch put so beautifully that I must quote her : "It's whether you trust God enough to lead you to where He wants you to go." It will mean giving up a lot of comforts back home and not being 100% certain of the end-result. It is really total surrender to something which is much bigger than we are, and we can only hope to grasp some part of it...

I think this is also what being married is about- taking prayed-over risks together and holding one another's hand through them. This will be the first time that we will be totally on our own, at least geographically. :)

So even if the move is something which holds a great deal of the unknown, we feel extremely blessed to have a crack at an opportunity of a lifetime and to have all of you to share it with us!!!
And there is one more thing that gives me a kick to think about: At least my big hair will be en vogue in Italy! :)

Posted by Via at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

After much thought and deliberation, we have finally reached our decision. We will push through with moving to italy and take the masters program at Interaction Ivrea. This is a major change for us and not an easy one at that. If all goes well with our visas and other paperwork, we should be leaving by late August.

Thank you for the overwhelming support. I really appreciate it. I did not realize how much of a blessing I had until you guys told me. And I agree at what Nick said: “the worst thing is to be haunted by regret.” That was actually one of the major reasons we decided to push through with it. I would never forgive myself if I had not taken this chance of a lifetime.

All we need now are my acceptance papers from the school… which I was told is on its way.

Posted by Noel at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For as long as I have known Aids (Adrian), he holds a party every year without fail to celebrate his birthday. And every year it is very well attended. It is like a reunion of sorts. Where we see our past, present and maybe our future. Some of the best times of our lives we spent in that house.

So I am just wondering, will there be one next year since he will be moving to the US to study? Will this permanent event, just like RJ's christmas cookies, miss next year?

Posted by Noel at 02:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So it finally came in, the email we've all been waiting for. And it turned out to be anti-climactic. I sat there in front of my PC and just stared at it. Apparently, Via had already read my mail and didn't tell me about it.

And the email read: The Financial Aid board just finished the students' scholarship requests and after careful review we can offer you a scholarship of 75% of the tuition fee.

Ok, normally I would be jumping up and down after reading this email. But this time I didn't. Why not? I'm not sure if it was the fact that I told myself I would not go if the scholarship was lower than 80% or the fact that the professor that conviced me to apply in the first place will not be there next year. It can also be because Via and I are not feeling well and that we might be catching a flu or simply because we had just come from a very mournful wake the other day.

In any case, we have not decided yet whether to go or stay. This is a major decision and we have to consider all of our options. We have to think about the cost of living there and what we have to give up here. Is it worth the change? Please convice me or not and post on the comments.

Posted by Noel at 03:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Just downloaded Noel's email while he was in the shower. Ivrea emailed finally!
Am holding my breath as I click on the email that has kept us in painful suspense for these past few days. 75% percent scholarship has been awarded to Noel. Am not sure how to react as I know he was hoping for at least 80%.
I chat frantically with Gretch (she is the first other person to know), and we desperately try to hide the topic when Noel enters the room!

He asks me if there's any new email. I mumble something, because I don't want to influence his reaction. This is his big moment after all.

Strangely, he is not as excited as I imagined him to be. Suddenly we are scratching our heads. Could this be the after effects of waiting too long?

We are thinking of appealing to the school or seeking the additional aid elsewhere... Of course we are incredibly grateful that we have come this far. A scholarship is a scholarship. Thank you God, thank you Daddy, thank you to our families and friends that have been extremely generous with their prayers and encouraging words. The real journey is just beginning! :)

Posted by Via at 01:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

To those who posted comments on my previous message. Thank you for the support and prayers. :) And to those who do not know, I actually applied to Interaction Design Institute Ivrea

What is it? Here is an excerpt from their website: "Interaction design is a new discipline: a fusion of aesthetics and culture, technology and the human sciences. It concerns the design both of the services these technologies might offer, and the quality of our experience of interacting with them."

Maybe you can visit my website and take a look at the dr. designer project which is what I think interaction design is all about. Or visit one of the projects of a student from IDII. So if you know of any company looking for someone with this specialization please let me know.

Posted by Noel at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

No, no email has arrived yet from the financial aid board. The deadline for the scholarship has passed and I could not help but be worried about the results. Even Via could not sleep last night, dreaming that she was going to check my email every hour.

So this morning I decided to email the admissions officer about this. And luckily I got a quick reply. This was the reply I got: "The financial aid board is still at work, it took more time than expected to set a policy for financial aid this year. I understand your anxiety, that's why I'm replying to reassure you even if it's saturday and I am home. Just be patient few more days..."

So, I will be patient.

Posted by Noel at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today I woke up at around 1am to see Noel sneaking inside the room with two oddly-wrapped parcels. He mumbled "Happy Birthday" and I smiled sleepily before dozing back off.

I opened my presents this morning. A very happy stripey birthday to me indeed! I got the striped Esprit umbrella and matching carry-all notebook (in preparation for studying in Italy!) that I wanted! What a great husband I have.

We left early to make it to our 9am meeting. Another surprise awaited me before that! A huge present wrapped with a fushia bow greeted me in Mommy's condo. "A house for Cosi." She said. Underneath the wrapping (which I excitedly ripped open) were 3- not one red Samsonite pieces of luggage! Wowee! It was like opening a Russian doll- there was more inside! And the red was a beautiful cherry red not a tacky red-orange kind. The card attached made me want to cry- it was so beautiful.

On to lunch at one of our favorite places, Il Cartoccio. Signor Antonio Saba greets us as we are regulars. Abuelita and Tita Cay joined us for lunch too which was nice. :) Tita Cay vows to bring her friends over as well as the rest of our family to help his business thrive. We had an excellent meal capped with a digestive called Mirto di Sardegna. It was served in these frosted almost Erlynmeyer type flasks that were pre-chilled. Apparently Mirto is a berry found only in Sardegna where Signor Antonio is from. Whooh! It was pretty strong stuff- the type that knocks out. But it was good, kind of sweet. My Dad turned very red and after a while said: "Naku, tinatamaan na ako!" Hehehe.

And my phone kept beeping and ringing all throughout the day with well-wishers. What a truly magical day! :)

Posted by Via at 12:21 PM | Permalink

Welcome to noeluvia.com.

For those of you who do not know noeluvia simply means Noel (that's me) loves Via. This site was created for our wedding RSVP. Now it will be a magnifying glass into what's happening in our daily lives. We are expecting a lot of changes this year. We are excited to share with you, our family and friends, our life and our experiences. Thank you for reading this and be sure to come back soon. :)

Posted by Noel at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)