Acquiring Bébé's Filipino Nationality

On to administrative stuffs.

Aside from concerns about bébé's health and development, breastfeeding and/or bottlefeeding, and other maman-bébé related stuffs, the administrative side of all these scenarios should be one of those on maman's priority list. Me, being a certified pinay, sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa, pati na rin sa papel, bébé automatically gets dual nationality - French and Filipino. Yes, that's included in the package. All we have to do is to get the necessary papers registered at the Philippine Embassy in Paris, who in return, will forward our papers to the National Statistics Office in Manila.

So for déjà mamans who haven't registered their babies yet and for future mamans, getting the application form for the Report of Birth is the starting point. For mamans residing outside of Paris, just send a letter asking for the said application form with enclosed self-addressed envelope (do you really think they would pay for your stamp?). And don't even bother to call them up, they're almost unavailable and it seems that there's only one person capable of answering your nationality-related questions. The thing is, you would stay on the phone for minutes just to be asked to call up again after so and so minutes...

So to save you from hypertensions, here are the requirements:

- Filled up application forms (3 pages)
- Original and 4 photocopies of birth certificate
- Original and 4 photocopies of marriage contract
- 4 photocopies each of passport of father and mother
- 3 pictures of the child
- Affidavit of late registration for children more than 12 months old (€32.50)
- Affidavit of acknowledgement of paternity for an illegitimate child (€32.50)
- Registration of birth (€32.50) plus (€6.00) for mailing

For applications mailed at the Philippine Embassy, all payments should be made through Mandat Poste only, payable to Ambassade des Philippines.

I just hope bébé could be proud of being a certified pinay..(I was checking on pictures which I could use for her application form, pede na kaya to?)...

Merry Christmas!

Enhanced Natural Defense

Yesterday was bébé's first pediatrique check-up. She was super cool. I thought she will burst her heart out with her loud cries just like every time I give her a bath. To my surprise, she was the complete opposite. In fact, she found another tactic to defy her enemy: she did pipi twice and prout thrice! Laban ka?

Obviously, all these blahblahs bore bébé, my sleeping beauty.

Bébé turns one month today!

getting - to - know - you - co-bloggers

Haze, I know, this is long over due..but better late than never, right?

1. What time did you get up this morning? Woke up at 5am, bébé was calling asking for her milk. Got up at 8:30am to join papa frenchguy for breakfast.

2. Are you a morning person or night owl? A night owl

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? That dates back before bébé, I can't even remember what was it hehe..

4. What is your favorite TV show? Les Infos..and then, kahit na ano. I'm not really a TV addict..

5. What did you have for breakfast? Café au lait, tartines and my vitamines..

6. What is your middle name? Moselina

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Filipino, French, Italian, Spanish...

8. What foods do you dislike? Errr..I like everything e..

9. Favorite day of the week? Weekends!

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Nothing in particular

11.What is your favorite sandwich? I don't like sandwiches...I eat sandwiches when I have no choice.

12. What characteristics do you despise? jealous, insensitive, mayabang, crab mentality, those who cannot feel happy for others, those who never stop comparing themselves to others..

13. What do you do most often when you are bored? I read, I go out, I surf the net, I watch TV...but actually, right now, I don't have much time to be bored, bébé's keeping me busy hehe..

14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Philippines of course. On top of my list is Nepal, just want to have a peek of Mt Everest..

15. Favorite brand of clothing? I was with Levi's, Marithé et François Girbaud, Kamiseta and Giordano when I was in the Philippines...can't afford na yata ako ngayon hehe..

16. Where were you born? Zambales

17. What is your best childhood memory? When I had my first wristwatch from my pocket money.

18. Do you have pets? Nada....

19. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? That bébé could sleep 6 straight hours at night! (she even slept 8 hours once but her pediatrician told me to wake her up, her system is not as robust as ours pa nga naman).

20. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher, like my parents.

21. Different jobs you have had in your life? I worked in the newest power plant of NAPOCOR before joining the company (in the Philippines) where I'm working right now.

22. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Depends on which angle you look at it..

Breastfeeding...

Motherhood is not as easy as we imagine, especially when we are far from our motherland, thus far from the culture and tradition we know, far from the caring presence of our parents and siblings, far from the comforting words of our friends... Unsolicited advices are just everywhere, advices which I filtered with vigilance. They are either contradicting from one person to another, or simply not compatible with my beliefs and culture.

I stayed 6 days in the maternity clinic, not because I or bébé had complications or problems, it's because breastfeeding wasn't well established yet. The first 3 days, my colustrum which should nourrish bébé was, hélas, not enough. Bébé, who was big at birth needed more than I could offer. I was obliged to give her milk complements. My breastmilk started to flow 4 days after the birth of bébé, when breastfeeding was close to impossible. I was aching everywhere due to fatigue - physically, morally and psychologically - breastfeeding became a veritable ordeal. I nevertheless continued breastfeeding. It was a choice I made which I will pursue no matter what the cost. I just wanted the best for my bébé.

On the 5th day, I finally slipped on my normal clothes and dressed up bébé, both excited and enthusiastic to find our very own place. Frenchguy was there early in the morning to drive us back. Bad news, they won't allow us to go. Cause: breastfeeding!

Fed up as I was, I finally decided to try breastpumps, thinking that they will finally allow us to go. Of course, I was dreaming. I again stayed one more day for them to teach me how to feed my bébé, criticizing me of my choice of pumping my milk. No matter how I explain that it would be temporary, just the time for my breast to heal, they nevertheless enjoyed the time talking to me like experts, treating me like a moron, traumatizing my still weak morale, adding to my already-high level of anguish.

Never had I appreciated home... but wait, my ordeal isn't complete yet.

Last week, my excited inlaws drived all the way from their region to see bébé. My relationship with them is very smooth, I could even consider myself as spoiled brat as they do everything to please me - especially in cuisine!

Hélas, my MIL's unsolicited advices just suffocated me! To my surprise, she is a die-hard fan of bottlefeeding! In fact, it was the time when Europe relanced their industries when she had babies. Bottlefeeding was of course prioritized during that time to enhance consumption, to the detriment of breastfeeding!

Imagine her watching me feeding my bébé, taking note of the time, telling bébé to speed up, asking me how I could measure the quantity, telling me I could switch to bottlefeeding, recounting to me her experience, almost blaming breatsfeeding each time bébé cries... I was stressed out! After 3 days of total torture, I talked to frenchguy about the moral harassment I've been experiencing. He talked to her maman and that end up my ordeal. She of course doesn't want any harm, she just wanted to help out, to share her experience, to participate in her own way... but no, thanks!

Breastfeeding is a challenge. It's a choice. It's a sacred moment between a mother and her child, a moment of satisfaction. I'm glad I continued with my choice inspite of the discouraging encouragement of some. It's a moment when I see my bébé change before my eyes, a moment of innocent smiles, a moment of communication... I love this moment!

My bébé at 2 weeks old...

Bébé's here!!!

It was the 8th of November, 6 hours and 3 consecutive painful pushes after they confined me in the delivery room when Bébé announced her much-awaited arrival into this chaotic world. A mix of unexplained emotions - a sense of completeness, happiness, responsibility... - the lack of words just translated to tears. Yes, we're parents now.

A healthy and very tonic bébé just joined us - 3.9 kg and 54 cm, she yells particularly loud keeping us awake till the wee hours. She has my eyes and hair and frenchguy's lips and nose. She also has a somewhat natural tan.

Newbie parents as we are, organization at home still means chaos. We're learning the ins and outs of parenthood little by little, trying to know each other better, trying to adapt with bébé's needs. So far, so good.

Bébé has been monopolizing my time lately and loving it! I won't say goodbye to blogging but my presence in the blogging world will surely be limited. Thanks for all those who prayed for me and wished me well. Bébé and I are doing great!

PS: Tata Bokskie, père Noël est passé très tôt chez nous et il m'a dit de t'envoyer un gros bisous ;). Mwaaah!

Nanny Blues

Frenchguy woke me up this morning with a bad news. I have actually asked him to call up the French Embassy in Manila to get the requirements for a long stay / au pair visa for my sister. We've long entertained this idea at the first stage of pregnancy but with the feedbacks that we received from fellow bloggers and friends (like Philippine Government banning the issuance of this kind of visa), our optimism on this matter just died a natural death. We therefore looked seriously on other options.

We had our application for a crèche municipale (municipal nursery) registered since August but we had no feedback from them yet. The said crèche municipal is just four blocks away from our residence, open from 7am to 7pm, just the perfect comfort that we need. We tried to follow up our application a month ago just to learn that it's not a matter of an equitable 'waiting list' but evaluations are based on the age of the baby (whether they have an available slot for that age or not), the program we will adapt (part time or full time), and the financial status of the parents. Knowing how French Government works, I know that we are far from being the priority on the list. It's just raging to add that frenchguy had been paying taxes for xx years now, I've been giving xx% of my salary for taxes, we are considered middle class citizens and yet, we cannot even access to a minimum aide from the government!

With this, plan B was of course hastily considered. A good friend of ours recommended her nanny to us with whom we finally gave our word of engagement. Reliability is of course an important factor for us. We will not leave our much-awaited bébé to just somebody we don't know, right? The inconvenience of this option is that, the residence of the nanny is 15 - 20 more minutes drive between our house and our workplace.

Now, we go to plan C. Filipina as I am, I would of course prefer somebody I know, preferably from my family to look after my bébé. She'll have french lessons and leave the bébé at a halte-garderie during those times (sort of nursery but accepts part-time guard only). With the nature of my job wherein business travels play an essential part, I would be serene to leave my bébé in good hands. After using my convincing prowess to my sister, we finally started the processing here...till we get the bad news this morning.

I guess frenchguy and I should have 'You and Me Against the World' as a themesong. We cannot rely on French Government, and now Philippine Government just put a barrier on one solution we've been counting on to. Life is hard!

Bébé Update

Inside that big tummy is a 4.3 kg bouncing bébé. Induced labor programmed on Tuesday. Pray for me guys.

The Long Wait..

The countdown started on a per month basis and it flew pretty fast. The first trimester passed by without us really realizing it. No more tired future maman every afternoon but was replaced by an active fella always hurry to do outdoor activities. That was the second trimester - where countdown translated to a per week basis. The last month of pregnancy is definitely the longest one - counting by the day! What I particularly find difficult are the sleepless nights, scary stretch marks growing every second, heavy tummy, backaches, the long shower procedure with all those creams and the late pregnancy diet (yep, still with the less salt, less sugar diet!). I'm really impatient to tag my calendar D Day now.

On Wardrobes

To those who don't know yet, I hate shopping! Another pregnancy problem here in my ever beloved romantic France is that, you cross at least 2 seasons during your entire pregnancy. Luckily, I was able to fit in my normal clothes during the first trimester. The second trimester was another story, I was obliged to embrace shopping whether I liked it or not. The problem was, I didn't know where to go..and don't ever ask frenchguy, he knows nothing as according to him, he was never pregnant, darn!

So there you go, summer preggy clothes were added in my closet...and now, the weather's telling me I have to add up autumn wardrobes in my closet too - barely a month (or even days) before D Day! I guess I'll have to lock myself up inside the house..

For future mamans here in France: you could find preggy collections in H&M, C&A, Vertbaudet and Kiabi. But if you want to invest more, you also have choices in Natalys, Forme and Aubert.

Behind the Curtain Scenes

My aquagym courses will soon end. I've seen future mamans come and go. Now, I'm considered one of the seniors, I could even do pool exercises without my Physical Therapist. Lately, remarks like Toujours là? (Still here?) from other patients just add more weight on my already heavy tummy. Yes, I'm that impatient.

My backache obliges me to stay more for jet massage to soothe those aching muscles, time for other mamans to do their shower thing. Before, I was always the first one to go behind those curtains while hearing other mamans do their preggy blahblahs so I didn't really know what's happening outside. Imagine my surprise when I entered the room and see all the other mamans doing their casual preggy blahblahs totally naked? There are even those who do their shower with the curtains open. So what do you expect me to do? I just went straight behind my favorite curtain and thougt, Ok, I'm not in the Philippines, I'm in France.

Autumn Atmosphere

Autumn is in the air. The season has changed. From hot, sunny, festive summer, now it's more of a gray, foggy weather decorated with a colorful surrounding and a crunchy carpet.

I've been accompanying this season since the beginning, from adapting an autumn color at home to even changing my blog template. Isn't this new kick-off look cool?

If you're wondering who's behind this amazing change, follow him here. It just started with a mignon message on my tagboard:

jeff: my gift to you and your baby... contact me at zchizzerz @ yahoo dot com for details. thanks!

Hmm, not even out but bébé's receiving gifts na...good start hehe..

So, ladies and gentlemen, with open arms, welcome to my newly-decorated house, breath the burgundy atmosphere ;).

Bientôt Papa en permanence avec bébé et moi..

Frenchguy arrived from Thailand last Monday, and as we both agreed, that would be his last business travel till we get to D Day. Prior to that, he was sans cease with his work appointments in the four corners of the planet, leaving me and my big tummy to the mercy of the number 18 in case of emergency.

As usual, we (I mean bébé and I) had pasalubong (he knows this word by heart!) from bientôt papa. I had 5 ripe yummy mangoes and bébé had several bébé stuffs, ano pa nga ba..

After our birthing class last night, we decided to dine out to savour our last moments together before being officially tagged as parents. As usual, conversations were directed to work related topics, the latest news in France, and of course, my pregnancy...and then, he suddenly said that it's amazing how Thailand has transformed itself in a very short span of time. The infrastractures, the tourists-and-investor-happy atmosphere, the people...

That remark had of course made me thought about the Philippines ... what's up? Are we still scaring away tourists and investors? Do our newly grads land on well-paying, career-boasting jobs? Is the cost of living in equilibrium with what Juan de la Cruz has in his pocket? Is education still as inaccesible as before? Or even worse?

Just some thoughts..

I haven't been keeping up for quite a time, headlines about Arroyo impeachment and such kind of stuffs just don't motivate me..

At the last minute ...

My pregnancy countdown's ticking slowly to its end. In fact, it could be interrupted anytime soon for an unexpected delivery, who knows. My maternity leave officially starts today, and I'm glad I took the two-week pathology leave prior to that, it's a big comfort for a semi-insomniac me. At least I could sleep up to 10am without worrying I'll be late...but heck, my agenda is nevertheless hectic, I didn't know pregnancy could get me busy full time...

Aquagym

I still have few remaining sessions. Doing it twice a week surely knocks me off to my bed big time. This afternoon, it was - deadly! The movements I was doing with ease before suddenly became complicated. Among the soon-to-be mamans present, I was the one who gained the most at 13 kg! And I'm not ready for a diet yet. I just had two meriendas this afternoon, before and after my sought after siesta. My respiration is getting better tho, I just hope I could practice it on D Day.

Préparation à l'accouchement (Birthing Classes)

It's funny how some mamans could ask ridicule questions when for me, it's just instinct or simply, logic! It's not a new technology anyway, experiences and stories had already been told - ask your mom. I don't think I'm really learning a lot from this class, the midwife is overly talkative, we always start and finish late..hmm, am I starting to hate her? Next time, I'd rather do yoga classes..

Monthly Visit to the Gynecologist

...which entails monthly blood and urine analysis. This week is more tedious, I had to do pelvic xray too.

Anesthesiologist

Yes, I just opted for epidural.

Room Reservation at the Maternity Clinic

Single room with private T&B + TV. Ok, ok, I have to calm down. Tomorrow, I'll call up my complementary insurance to check my expenses coverage.

Réconnaissance d'un enfant naturel (Prenatale birth declaration)

Done. In fact, we had to declare our baby before birth since we are under legal partnership (PACS). This gives her the legal rights as a daughter of frenchguy and I. Better be prudent with this, french law is just so complicated, better be careful.

Faire Part (Birth Announcement)

Yep, they announce the coming of a new member of the family as though, phonecalls are not enough. So to follow with the tradition, I'm busying myself preparing our faire part. I wanted it to be personal, with maman's touch..so with the scissors, glues, etc, I submerged myself into this new art project ;).

Stretch Marks

I guess I don't need to explain why I stay longer hours inside the bathroom since I knew I was pregnant. Anti-stretch mark creams has long been my after-shower buddy, but heck, yesterday, after close examination of my tummy, I knew my buddy has just betrayed me...barely a month before D Day...

Last errands..

Everything's ready except my...bag! Ok, I'll be throwing all necessary stuffs inside my bag tomorrow..

After that, the real wait for the D Day begins..

Who says 'like parents, like daughter'?

Preggy Conversations

My Physical Therapist arrives late everytime. And I mean everytime! The good side of this irritating habit is that I could chitchat with other fellow future mamans while waiting for that heavenly on écarte les jambes, on monte et on descend, les jambes tendus (legs apart, up, down with your legs tightened) which means that the session has just started.

Conversations are of course concentrated on pregnancy, labor, epidural, ceasarian, due dates, babies, nurseries, yaya hunt, name it! I meet new moms every session so I normally repeat the same stories and the same questions everytime. Boring? Nope, not at all. As they say, every pregnancy is a unique experience so I get new infos each time and learn from them.

This morning, the conversation started like this:

Nouvelle Maman: So, when will be your due date?
Moi: November 24, very soon!
NM (eyes wide open): Oh!
Moi: And you?
NM: November 3. Sooner than you.
Moi (eyes wide open): Oh!

And I thought I was a month or so earlier than her. The thing is, my baby weighs a bit higher than the average. She was previewed to be 4 kg at birth so I must do a pelvic xray to check if I could eventually do it by normal delivery. I try not to worry myself about delivery issues but heck, my weight gain curve starts to destabilize my zen attitude. So what-have-you? Less sugar, less salt!

I'm starting to complete my D Day checklist, and #1 on the list is ICE CREAM! Miss it! Miss it!

Gift Ideas

The countdown is slowly nearing its end. Frenchguy and I, inspite of all the worries of the unknown are of course excited with this brandnew event in our lives. Just a few minor stuffs to prepare while I'm on maternity leave and we're ready.

We have been discussing what kind of gift we could give to our bébé for her arrival. A nice out-of-the-clinic outfit which she could pass on to the next generation? Hmm, baka imbes na matuwa ang next generation e maasar pa. A jewel? Hmm, both of us are not much into this fancy. Plant a tree? Ok, frenchguy will add another one in our garden this November. Hmm, that's all? Oh well, I guess our bébé deserves more than that.

Domaine de Faiveley, Nuits St Georges. The wine cellar of this castle could be visited, dégustation (wine tasting) and wine shopping are the main activity in this area.

Last Sunday, we went to the long coast of vineyards in Burgundy hoping to see live vendange (grape harvest). The deal was: if we cross one, we will buy bottles of wine from that same domaine harvested this year (which will be commercialized a year or two from now). The number of bottles will be in function of the actual birth date of our baby: FYI due date is programmed on November 24, that makes 24 bottles if she arrives on time.

The idea behind was to show to our bébé that she was there, watching the vendange behind maman's tummy. The bottle opening is not decided yet, but we're thinking of her first communion, not a bad idea, the wine is just the right age for the dégustation.

So where were we last Sunday? Our afternoon leisure drive brought us up to Nuits St Georges, Domaine de Faiveley. Click this link to know more. You might want to do the dégustation with us ;)

There was a festive ambiance around the area with the wine gatherers and of course, the nombreuse tourists from almost everywhere flocking around the area (there were even some japanese!). This lady was kind enough to pose for a photo for me. But of course, pahuhuli ba naman ang beauty ko hehe.

So there you go bébé, you will have your gift in two years time, a real Bourguignonne (Burgundy habitant)! Oh well, you're not obliged to finish all the bottles, you could share them with papa and maman hehe. A ta santé!

Buntis Updates

The past days had been too busy for me at work. Here's my to-do-list and proud to say that I'm more than halfway to the finish line.

- Complete technical and validation files for ongoing and future projects
- Submit closing documents for finished projects
- Submit SS file to the HR Dept for proper computation of my daily allowance during my maternity leave
- Submit updated Carte de Séjour at the HR Dept
- Inform everybody in my workgroup about my upcoming maternity leave and have my boss in Cc systematically on all email exchanges
- Transfer all ongoing and future projects to my substitute and train him/her. (S/he hasn't arrived yet. Darn! But good samaritan as I am, I told my boss that I could go back a day or two to finish the job)
- Complete my Declaration File (a file wherein we declare our daily activities - so starting next week, it reads Maternité..)
- Arrange files /Clean my table
- Clean my Inbox to prevent email clogging
- Inform my friends and family to direct their emails to my @yahoo.com account
- Bring home my laboratory gown and used socks hehe..
- Bring my laptop and phone to our secretary
- Bring home all personal stuffs in my drawer
- Etcetera

Now you understand why I was absent from the blogging world. But hey, I'll be back full time starting next week...see you guys!

Legend: in Red = Done
in Green = Work in Progress
in Blue = To Be Done

Rewards at Work

I have received an email from the big boss this morning, informing me and my immediate boss that my project last year will be nominated as Best New Product Project of the Year. How did I react to that? I of course forwarded the email to frenchguy boasting how the big bosses esteem my work. Yabang!

The fact that they thought about nominating my project is already a great compensation for me. Inspite of the technical difficulties we encountered at the start of the project, the final product is playing to my advantage. First, I had an exceptional incentive. Yep, euros! And then, I had a salary increase and that project was used as a means to justify those extra euros in my pocket. I have to add that due to this project, I was able to see my family more often last year (the project was implemented in the Philippines), I was able to dope my mileage giving me access to my airline's business lounge and finally, I was able to bloat my bank account with my travel incentives hehe.

The deliberation will be at the end of this year. I of course hope to bag the title kesihodang magprepare pa ko ng pang Famas na message. Teka, I'm on maternity leave nga pala by that time. Ok lang, I'll just recite it infront of my bébé, pampatulog hehe..

I was tagged!

I was tagged, again??? Eherm, these blogfriends obviously want to know more about their blogfriends..mga tsismosa ba hehe. But since I generally write about me, my life and my points of view, it's just so easy to get to know me. So in case you haven't noticed or known yet, I'm generally a pro-environmentalist, a nature lover, ano fa nga ba, a proud Chemical Gingineer, a soon-to-be but already-super-duper-excited mom, inloved with my frenchguy, a struggling pinay in the wine capital of the world, a serious buff at work and a babaeng bakla all rolled into one..

I guess it would be interesting to read this and this to have a glimpse of me. Pero teka, you're asking 3 things you don't know yet? Hmmm, esep esep...So, vakletang Mildred, here you go baby:

THREE THINGS ABOUT ME THAT YOU DON'T KNOW YET:

1. I only work when I'm being paid. I hate household chores. As in! I hate cooking. As in ulit! So who does all those dirty jobs at home? Of course, my fave houseboy - frenchguy (the only thing I do with gusto is ironing and cleaning the toilet and bath hehe). And how do I survive when he's out of the country? Di po ako nagkakalat, that way, I won't have anything to clean up. I have stocks of ready-to-cook stuffs and a number of telephone numbers for express delivery hehe.

Oh well, I have to change this bad habit, especially now that I'll be a maman!

2. I can't sleep without my pillow. Mawala na si frenchguy sa tabi ko, wag lang ang unan ko hehe..so imagine our bed, surrounded by pillows. And that's for anytime and anywhere, be it on camping, on the plane (I ask the stewardess for extra pillows), on vacation (kasama namin pillow ko sa lahat ng bakasyon, nasa likod lagi ng car hehe).

Magbiro ka na sa lasing, wag lang sa bagong gising!

3. The number 12 signifies a lot to me. If I have to play lotto, for sure, I have this number on the list. It's my birth date, our anniversary date, and my rank on our batch of graduating class. Di po kami 12 lang sa buong batch, mas marami naman po dyan, 13 kami nun nyehehe...joke lang. We were more than 100, so it might not mean anything to you, but still, I was proud of it. Ang yabang ko nun hehe...

Er, do I have to tag somebody else? Don't want to designate anybody...just answer it folks if you think you haven't bared everything on your blog ;)

Home Déco: Need Advice

Frenchguy's out so I took this opportunity to indulge myself into decorating our house - well, just a minor change lang naman - our curtain. It's not at all my forté so if you could honestly give me your opinion, that will be greatly appreciated.

#1: Gray and Burgundy-colored double curtain. Disadvantage is that it partly hinders sunlight to enter into our living room.

#2: Brilliant orange curtain which is à la mode at the moment. It's very thin so it still allows sunlight to enter which is good for my plants. Disadvantage is that we could see through it when the lights are switched on (this door/window gives access to our garden).

Please vote. Thanks.

Vélo en Ville

Since my former post on the increasing oil prices, displays at the gasoline station nearby never ceased to augment. From 1.19€ per liter for Super Unleaded 95, it went up to 1.32€! Since beginning of this week, a little decrease in these prices has disappointed the French community rather than satisfy them. And who wouldn't, they decreased at an average of 3 cents per liter. Tatlong sentimo! Ngek!

So how do we cope up with this pocket-wrecking phenomenon? On the last post, I tackled the substitution of these gasolines by vegetable oils (biocarburants) which are more environment-friendly. Some automobile companies are starting to design some models which jive with the same objective - decrease fuel consumption, therefore save the planet. BMW for example exposed a hydrogen-powered engine while Toyota featured their fuel cell hybrid cars combining both electricity and gasoline. Click here for more info (in french).

Europe is basically pro-environment. You could see this mentality in every corner of their little villages. From waste segregation to depriving themselves from air-conditioning to reduce consumption. Plastic bags are not given anymore for shoppers in big supermarkets, you have to bring your own bag or basket. Oil prices are astronomical to dissuade consumers from using their cars too often. Tax deductions are even given to those who buy clean cars or those which emit less C02 (Liquified Petroleum Gas for France or GPL). Bikes are widely used in the Netherlands and Belgium, and now here in France.

In Lyon, they launched a vélo en ville program (city biking) wherein a commuter could take a bike anywhere and leave it anywhere. Isn't that cool? In fact, the city made available for the public a number of bike stations where commuters could take, leave and pay rentals all in one. It's so easy to use, with an access card, you could roam the city as much as you want.

Why didn't they implement this brilliant idea when I was still living there? Think about the practicality of it. You don't have to buy your own bike, buy your own lock and find a parking space, or bring your car everytime and of course pay for the parking space, or wait for the bus, or the tramway, or the underground train! Imagine how my life could have been so much easier in this strike-prone country!

Décue

Madame,

Après étude de votre droit à la prime de naissance, nous vous informons que vous ne pouvez pas en bénéficier.

Votre Caisse d'Allocations Familiales

Madame,

After study of your right to the birth premium, we inform you that you cannot profit from it.

Your Family Allocations Bureau

Okidoki, not only we don't have the right on the monthly allowance for my bébé, we won't have the birth premium too! Isn't that considered a gift for every newborn child, so why the heck they have to fix a revenu bareme for each household? Kawawa naman ang bébé ko, baka lahat ng magiging katropa nya sa maternity clinic e me regalo galing sa gobyerno, sya wala :(. Ano kaya at fill-up-an ko lahat ng advertisement from different companies who promise to send their free trial products sa maternity clinic for the D Day para naman me maiuwi kaming regalo hehe..sayang din yun ha..

Actually, I try to stay zen but I find it a bit unfair. The bareme is just irrealistic...o sya, I won't elaborate anymore, sabi ko nga, I'll stay zen...before I sound frenchy..

For info:
Birth Premium given at 7th month of pregnancy = 808.31€
Monthly Allowance from birth to 3 yrs = 161.66€

What will I do with her.. Part II

As expected, nothing has been done when I arrived. Since what I explained to her yesterday represented just a part of what I wanted to accomplish today, I prepared a complete launching plan with step by step procedures and sent it to her last night before going home. FYI, she has a fixed schedule so she finishes at 3:30pm everyday which means that I have to synchronize accordingly. On the other hand, she arrives early (and the machine restarts automatically). What I actually expect from her is to launch my trials when she arrives, just after her daily machine and process verification so I could have preliminary results and react accordingly within the day. One production cycle is an hour and twenty minutes, so imagine, I have my first result at around 10am already (since she always waits for me), before I even realize, she has to pack her things up and go home! Darn!

Here's the scenario today:

Before even starting my PC: Ringgggggggg!!!! (I guess she's checking my parking slot to know what time I arrive)

Moi: Oui, j'arrive! - Yep, I'm coming! (I knew it was her, salamat sa caller ID!)

Arriving at the pilot plant (hinihingal pa ko nyan!):

Elle: Ohlala, j'ai plein de boulot aujourd'hui. Je vais jamais finir. Je dois faire ça et ça...blahdiblahblah - Oh my, I have loads of work today. I will never finish. I have to do this and that..etc etc (problema mo na yun, try to organize better kaya).

Moi: Hmm. As-tu imprimé le programme que je t'ai envoyé hier? - Have you printed the launching plan I sent to you yesterday? (obvious ba na wala akong pakialam. nasanay na kasi ako sa endless reklamo nya)

Elle: Ben, non. Je n'ai pas de temps, comment veux-tu? Je n'ai pas arrêté de courir partout depuis mon arrivée - No. I practically had no time since I arrived, I've been running everywhere. (e kung bawasan mo kaya kakareklamo para smoother ang trabaho mo?)

Moi: Ca tombe bien. J'ai imprimé 2 exemplaires pour toi. - Great! I printed 2 copies for you (pang asar ba hehe)

Elle: (after looking briefly on it) Ohlala, c'est très compliqué. Je ne comprends rien. Ca fait beaucoup. On va jamais finir. Hé, n'oublies pas, je dois partir à 15h30, et avant ça, il faut que je fasse ça et ça..blahdiblahblah - Oh my, it's too complicated. I don't understand anything. That's too much, we will never finish. Don't forget that I have to leave at 3:30pm and before that, I have to do this and that.. (di pa nya nababasa yung planning ha, puro na sya reklamo!).

Moi: Attends. Ecoutes-moi d'abord - Wait. Listen first...and so I explained to her patiently while she endlessly butted in para ano pa? e di magreklamo! I was at my explosion limit, honestly.

After a long debate, she finally started to work. Ang itsura ko nyan, maiyak iyak sa asar! Kung nasa pinas lang ako nito, no questions asked, trabaho na kaagad ang mga alagad ko. Maam pa tawag sa kin kahit di ako titser.

Di pa sya tapos. After she's done with her work (actually, she only have to prepare and launch the specimens, then wait till the end of the cycle, that simple!), she started to ignite me again.

Elle: Ca se peut que tous ce qu'on fait donnera rien. Pourquoi on ne remet pas la configuration initiale de la machine? De toute façon, ce produit là ne représent presque rien dans le volume global. - All we do right now might not result into anything. Why don't we work at the original configuration? Anyway, this product represents almost nothing in the global volume.

Naku muntik na talaga akong sumabog, bigla syang naging kuto sa paningin ko na gusto kong tirisin! I won't elaborate anymore on how I explained to her as it's too technical and it involves the strategy of the company. Pero sa totoo lang, I just realized that she doesn't even know why she's working in our department - our goals and objectives. We're not in a production setting where we have the same process the whole day, where everything is already defined. Here, we do developments, we propose solutions, we work on new products, we define what will be implemented on production...so we do trials and experiments to attain results. It's not a monotonous job....

By the way, she's from one of our production sites. But after a year of being with us, do you really think she hasn't adapted yet?...

And by the way part II, I'm from production too...from pinas and proud of it!

What will I do with her..

I arrived early today, expecting I already have results from the trials I am conducting since the beginning of this week. But just like yesterday, I've got nothing!

Do you think I've got problems on anticipation and planning?

In fact, after the definition of the feasibility plan with other partners such as R&D and Quality Dept, I normally prepare the terrain by checking all the materials necessary for my trials. That would mean purchasing the specimens from the Central Dept, preparing/ordering all the chemicals needed, adjusting the machine according to the process required and preparing the launching plan with the pilot plant*.

Last week, I already adjusted the machine and provided the plan to the operator incharged so she could prepare the specimens and launch them early yesterday. Hélas, I arrived at 9am yesterday without nothing launched. Her reasons was that she was alone with the machine, that she just cannot leave, and she had no specimens prepared. Didn't I give her the plan last week so she could prepare everything come Tuesday? Or ok, she had no time last week, but isn't it more logical to prepare the specimens prior to starting the machine? Hmp! If she will remain as organized as that, I will never finish this validation before my maternity leave!

Unfortunately, the results yesterday weren't as I've expected. There were more problems than I thought. But no panic, I quickly geared up to plan B. So before leaving yesterday, I explained to her the program for today while she jotted down everything on her notebook.

Today, I arrived at past 8:30am with nothing waiting for me. She's got every element to start with but she nevertheless waited for me. I haven't even started my computer and my phone was already ringing. I'm fluent in french and I'm sure she understood every single detail but she just cannot work independently. What will I do with her? (I avoid comparing the working attitude between my country and my adoptive country as working culture is different, and they don't really appreciate it - I learned my lessons!).

To avoid excessive exercise between my office and the pilot plant (they're on separate buildings, both on first floor), I brought my laptop and my portable phone with me and stayed with her the whole time. I know her, if I stay in my office, she will make my phone explode by asking questions non stop and eventually ask me to see her!

With devine intervention, everything ran smoothly as I wished and in function of today's result, I then again explained to her the program for tomorrow...and I'm sure, I will arrive again tomorrow with no results..nakakabaog na sya! Di tuloy ako makapag bloghop, kainis! (hehe, isipin daw ba ang blogging!).

Opps, by the way, it's not discrimination, she's like that with everybody else..

*Pilot Plant - a place where we do trials and experiments simulating industrial conditions. Most engineering schools provide such platform for students to conduct their experiments.

Folklorique Dijon

The whole weekend was totally animated in Dijon. As it was frenchguy's birthday last Friday, we decided to while away our time outside, just like the old times. Downtown Dijon was packed with young students due to an open-air concert offered by France Bleu Bourgogne to celebrate the school opening. Yes dudes, back to school! The noise was unbearable (are we getting old?) so we decided to scout a restaurant far from these party people. And the choice was just fantastic. We didn't even notice it before considering we lived just nearby.

Saturday was family day. Oh, actually, we just stayed at home the whole day, doing household chores. Hehe, is that family day for you too? That night, we were invited at a friend's house for dinner..to celebrate frenchguy's birthday!

Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to go out to attend the fêtes de la vigne and to watch the parade of all the countries invited in Dijon to showcase their folklore. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves (if only I could equally capture the ambiance..)

Burgundy, France

Brittany, France

Bulgaria

Ukraine

Poland

Slovakia

Serbie and Montenegro

Italy

Portugal

Israel

India

Futuna Island

Sakha Republic

Brazil - the star of the parade!

It was a 32°C afternoon, so imagine those europeans with their national costumes! Good thing there were these hot Brazilians to change the atmosphere. Whoa!