Good morning and a Happy New Year to you all! It’s January 5th, and this is officially my first video of the year. I know it’s been a little quiet on the channel lately, but that’s because I’ve been buried in work.
But today, we have some "adulting" to do. We’re heading into the city for a marathon of errands. First up: car registration. I need to pick up the papers to ensure the car is legal for another year. While we’re at it, I’m extending my visa for another six months. The long-term plan is for Jessa, Liam, and me to visit Norway next summer. When we return, I’ll get a Balikbayan stamp that lasts a year, which will give us enough time to finally finish my 13A visa process. We actually started that before the pandemic, but we had to abandon it when everything shut down. It feels good to finally be getting back on track.
Another major mission today is finding a new laptop for Jessa. Her current one is literally falling apart and just isn't powerful enough for the 4K editing we want to do. I found a potential deal on a second-hand machine—a beast of an ASUS TUF gaming laptop with an i7 processor. The seller claims it’s only a couple of months old, and if it’s as good as promised, it’ll be a steal at 55,000 pesos (down from its original 85,000 price tag). I’ve got my own ways of testing it, so we’ll see if it lives up to the hype.
The drive was the usual mix of excitement and "Philippine time." We stopped in Talisay for a very late breakfast around 11:30 AM—call it lunch, really—before heading to the BIR to renew our business licenses. Pro tip: If you’re doing this, bring the papers home to fill them out so you don't waste the whole day in line.
We also made a quick stop at the Bureau of Immigration. Just a heads-up for anyone in Cebu: the immigration office has moved from J Centre Mall to the third floor of Robinsons Galleria. It’s a beautiful mall, but it definitely catches you off guard if you’re still heading to the old location!
By the time we got home, it was nearing midnight. The mission was a success: I got my visa extended, the car papers are sorted, and most importantly, we got Jessa her new "beast" of a laptop. It’s essentially the same model as mine, just with a slightly different graphics card. I’ll probably be up until 2:00 AM setting it up, testing the rendering speeds, and making sure she has the 2TB of storage she needs for her videos.
It’s been a long, productive day, and I’m ready to relax with a beer and some TV while the computers do their work. Jessa is thrilled with her upgrade—though I’m still waiting for that "thank you" hug!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
