Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Wat Arun, located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River can be reached by boat from Tha Tien Pier - cost 3 Baht (near Wat Pho - Reclining Buddha). The decor, like all the other Buddhist temple in Bangkok is grandious.

I was greeted by this temple with superbly decorated temple guards. Who am I to say no to a quick pose?

Want a closer look? Lol. I look like a real tourist! Who says I'm here for work?

Inside this temple is of course a series of golden Buddhas. There's one detail which I didn't notice the last time I visited - the pictures of, I suppose, dead people displayed at the bottom part. Is this their cemetery? Really don't know. I'm a bad tourist, you see, lol.

The 79-meter high pagoda is of course the biggest attraction. Tourists are allowed to climb for a 50 Baht fee which I didn't pay. They probably mistaken me for a Thai. The beautifully-decorated-attractive structure is being carried by hundreds of Thai dancers and and is being watched closely by temple guards.

It's a sunny Sunday and the weather is really nice. Not a suffocating journey to visit and pictures come out as I want them to be.

Climbing the pagoda gives a good view of the east bank of Chao Phraya river. On the right is the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo view from Wat Arun and below is Wat Pho followed by the colorful roofs of the temples of Wat Arun.

Here's more lovely pictures around Wat Arun:


That last picture made me laugh. That's probably the reason why vendors don't entertain me when I buy baby clothes. I look like a highschool student, lol.

So that's it for my Sunday morning adventure. I still don't know what I'll do this evening tho...

Travel Blahblahs

Departure

Last September, I was still able to travel with my cabin luggage in the plane with me - which means, I had my cabin luggage, my computer bag and my shoulder bag - in economy class. Not today. It seems that cabin luggages shouldn’t exceed 8 kg. Mine weighed 12 kg. I’m just wondering if these cabin luggages around me (from other passengers) weigh 8 kg or below?? Parang mas malaki pa ang mga bagahe nila kesa sa kin. Hmm.

So now, I’m obliged to wait a minimum of 30 minutes at the airport for a 12-kg-luggage. Darn!

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My I-Pass connection isn’t working! Not that I want to blog while waiting for boarding (lol), I just want to check my emails before going to the battlefield (read: work) – kuno!

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I’ll be arriving early in the morning in Bangkok tomorrow – that’s Saturday. A quick shower and I’ll be off for work. .. Hmm, a need to blog is starting to itch my fingertips, really.

Bakit ba ayaw gumana ng i-pass dito?

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I start to believe that my lucky charm doesn’t work when it comes to hotel room designation. The last time I was in the Philippines, my neighbour had this bad habit of clearing his throat very early in the morning - and very loudly at that. Then I had this loud-moaning-Italian-lover in Milan. I wonder what Bangkok reserves for me.

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Uy, boarding na daw. Ciao!

Arrival

Aw, I just love this hot and humid feeling I could only get in Asia (no sexual connotation please). The thought that I'll be meeting my sisters this Saturday just excites me all the more.

The 12-hour flight seemed to be too long. Probably because I didn't sleep a single minute. And probably because the in-flight movies presented were all boring. The residence hotel which would be my 2-weeks getaway is actually a BIG appartment with a king-size bed, 2 TVs and a more-than-necessary living and dining rooms. I just can't complain.

And since I wasn't able to sleep in the plane and the king-size bed was simply inviting.. Saturday work was quickly forgotten. Bad me! I nevertheless called up my colleague and ended the conversation with an I count on you comment. Ang taray ko pang magpasa ng responsibilidad. Really bad me.

At 3pm Bangkok time, I found myself still enjoying the comfort of the king-size bed. With a bit of hesitation and a lot of bad moods, I hauled myself up thinking, I had to move my butt if I want to overcome jetlag.

Since I need to buy some toiletries, I decided to go to MBK Shopping Mall. What I love about Bangkok is that, even if taxi drivers try to drive you around the city before directing you to your destination (and honestly, there are very few of them), the fare still remains cheap. I paid 60 Baht from Soi Suanplu to MBK (it's normally cheaper), not bad.

I love the Siam zone of Bangkok because it's lively. I have never been to this place without crossing to a street show like the one shown.

So from the initial plan of buying only toiletries, I ended up buying some clothes for me and a Winnie watch for Louna. I'm a shopping addict when I'm here.

It's Sunday tomorrow and I still don't know what to do/visit. But jetlag is slowly taking over me.. signing off.

Sunset / Sunrise Tag

Life has been too busy lately, I have a hard time coping up. Blogfriends know that blogging is not in my priority list so when life gets in the way, blogging is set aside. Lately, as a way of getting away from reality, I have been indulging myself with our old pictures - trying to add colors to them thru Photoshop. Photography is a hobby I want myself to get addicted into. I don't have a top of the line camera nor the professionalism that goes with it. I only have eyes attentive to beauty, and that I think, is already a good start.

MegaMom tagged me to share sunset or sunrise pictures to which I am willing to oblige with gusto. Now, if you could allow yourself some constructive criticisms, that would be highly appreciated. Just be careful tho, you have an affair with an un-professional camera mom.

Sunset at the Chambord Castle, France

The inside architecture of the castle is loaded with what seemed to be the works of art of Leonardo da Vinci. One of the favorites is the spectacular double-helix staircase which is very ingenious. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting, avoiding the possible meetings of the King's wife and his mistresses. Galing no.

Grand Canyon

Taking a sunset picture in this legendary site was quite an event. Professional photographers and tourists alike crowded the place to capture what that particular sunset had to offer. I had loads of pictures but this one became my favorite. Trust me, the Grand Canyon is just at the background, lol.

Baywatching at Venice Beach, LA

I was a fan of David Hasselhoff, what else. It was a lazy afternoon at the beach and this cabin became a model for my sunset picture.

Fishing Cabin, La Vendée

Typical fishing cabin in the west of France, La Vendée area. Love this picture.

Bangka

At my hometown in the Philippines. Here is where I spent most of my childhood. Funny it may seem but I live just a few kilometers from the beach but I don't know how to swim.

Marseille, France

Hmm, mas malaki pala ang araw sa France kesa sa Pinas, what do ya think? lol!

Father and Child

Christmas last year. After a grand feast with the family, the two Frenchies asked for a quick dip at the beach. It was a quiet and relaxing family getaway. There was almost nobody at the beach. Look at how sweet my mag-ama were..

Business with Pleasure

I’ll be boarding the plane again next week. To Thailand. For two weeks. Alone. Buti na lang.

When Frenchguy knew I was going to Thailand just before Christmas, he eagerly suggested that I hop and spend the holidays in the Philippines - and bring Louna with me. At first, I thought it was a wonderful idea. My eldest brother, who never met Louna in person, will be in the Philippines for Christmas too so it will be a great occasion.

But bringing Louna with me would mean:

- Managing a toddler on a long-haul flight - alone!

- Asking my sisters to join me in Bangkok so they could babysit Louna while I work (which means they have to ask for vacation leave and two weeks is quite a lot)

- Buying 4 air tickets: 2 for my sisters (MNL-BKK-MNL) and 2 for Louna and I (BKK-MNL-BKK). This is quite a mess considering I changed the dates twice (because of work constraints). And since I buy the tickets at the last minute, I was offered the highest price!

- Buying another ticket for Louna (CDG-BKK-CDG). Our travel agent proposed a huge 850€ enfant ticket on waiting list. I should be insane to accept that!

- Worrying about my daughter while I work. Not that I don’t trust my sisters. It’s just that Louna is quite hard-headed and doesn’t want to give her hands when she’s outside. And though she understands English, she expresses herself in French. Not to add, what if she fells sick while in Bangkok? I just can’t justify an Enfant Malade while I’m on work assignment outside of France because my daughter is sick.

- Spending Christmas with my family back in the Philippines, but leaving Frenchguy alone here in France.

That’s just too much to manage. And too much to pay. So after weighing things out, we finally decided to cancel Louna’s trip to the Philippines – and mine too. Finally, we will be spending Christmas together as a family here in France. There will always be next time.

But my sisters would still go to Bangkok for a week. That’s a promise of great fun and shopping. Girls just want to have fun!


Cebu Pacific E-Tickets

Anybody who tried buying tickets online? Is it normal that I have received the e-tickets by email but no payments have been collected so far (3 working days after)? I’m quite used to online reservations here in France where payments are collected in no time. I hope my sisters won’t have any problem boarding the plane.

Objective: Replace Car by 3Q 2008

Moolah management at home has always been a hot topic. Frenchguy is the kind who would look at his finances closely - I mean, looking at his bank account almost every night, afraid that Alibaba might discover his hidden euros. On the contrary, I hate talking about money matters to the point that I leave Frenchguy manage our finances.

Here's our trick. We have separate and common accounts at home. A certain portion of our salary would be transferred monthly to our common account - destined to pay mortgages, taxes, groceries, nanny and househelp salaries, vacation expenses - everything. Then another portion would be destined to buy company stock options - a good investment as long as the company is in good health. The graph shows the value of our stock options when I started to buy till today. Not a bad progression, right? That makes me virtually rich.

The remaining amount of our salary is considered as our pocket money. And mind you, my finance manager computed up to the last cents that I only have enough to pay the canteen and gas for my car. A bit exaggerated, okay. But reality is almost close to that, lol. So don't even try to borrow money from me. When I say I have no cash, I mean, no cash!

Frenchguy sent me a message this afternoon (he's in the US) saying: You have to start looking closer on your finances now if you want to change your car next year. Huwatt?!!?? Is that some kind of a joke or what? How in the world could I save for a car next year from the few euros left in my wallet every end of the month? And hello, haven't you seen oil prices? It's soaring high but my pocket money remained the same, blahblah here and blahblah there! And why should I pay it alone, aber? I swear, if I pay it with my own moolah, you will never touch it, except for car washing and changing tires. Mokong na 'to, hmp.

So after negociations and another negociation, we settled for a common accord that I contribute less in our account and buy less stock options. It's no way that we borrow money from the bank and pay interest for a product which depreciates its value the moment I turn the key. Anyway, it will be a small, not-so-expensive, most-probably-second-hand car* which I will use to go to work, do the groceries and shopping. No big deal.

P.S.: He still agrees to wash my car and change tires.

*Concessionnaire cars, mostly 3-6 months old, with very few km could be bought at a very interesting rate here in France. It's a widely responded market that, at a certain point, constructors started to offer a large discount for a purchase of a brand new car to compete with this market.

Graph from this site.

Bella Italia = Sad Louna

Tho travelling has became a part of our so-called normal life, it was still funny to prepare 3 luggages for 3 different destinations. One for Frenchguy who left last Tuesday for Mexico and the US, another one for me for my Milan trip, and the last one for Louna who stayed two nights at her Nanny's place.

Time management at home has somewhat became a national sport. We normally try to organize our travels so as not to disturb Louna from her regular routine - which means, when one travels, the other one should stay at home. But work engagements sometimes get in the way and we find ourselves driving 600 long kilometers so we could leave Louna at her grandparent's place - a vacation in disguise.

Since my trip to Milan this week just took me 2 nights out of Dijon, we decided to leave Louna at her Nanny's place instead of bringing her back at her grandparent's place. So Tuesday morning, with her luggage in tow, I explained to her that she would sleep at her Nanny's place and that I won't be fetching her up in the afternoon but two days later. The teary-eyed darling started to cling on my legs and when I looked at her, her facial expression just broke my heart (the same expression in the picture). The little boy sharing the same Nanny with her took her hand to bring her to the playroom. There, she broke out into tears. I said goodbye and took the car. I drove teary-eyed on my way to work.

Tho I know that she would cry for barely a minute, her message was clear and I know, we have to reconsider our organization as soon as we can.


The Journey to Milan

6 hours drive up to Milan, sandwiched between 3 unfatiguable men talking about their ski adventures with their kids and their business travel sagas from one country to another was already an adventure in itself. We didn't really find the drive too long. There were some pauses, unable to find a new topic for discussion, but we were 4 in the car, and a simple remark or question could trigger an hour garanteed discussion.

We took the Mont Blanc tunnel to cross the border and I had a little apprehension and a bit of curiosity to cross this tunnel because of the 1999 fire which killed 39 people. Imagine crossing an 11.6 km tunnel having that image in mind. The temperature inside the tunnel reached 1000°C, a real inferno. But security was well in place and toll-fee was discouraging enough that truck drivers must take another route to cross the French-Italien border (> 400€ for trucks).

We stayed in a 4* hotel at the suburbs of Milan and 15 minutes after our arrival, we were already savouring a glorious Italian beer at the bar. Who says I can't do bar-hopping with the oldies?

After a sumptous meal, we decided to head off directly to our respective beds because tomorrow is a promise of a long day.

We had the meeting the whole day and honestly, at exactly 6:30pm, I was glad to end the exhausting brainstorming we had with the supplier. A dose of aspirin was the only source of energy which kept me going.

Our contact person was kind enough to invite us to dinner at a cozy place in Milan that night. Oh, I love Italian cuisine! After bottles of wine, loads of antipasti, and a mouth-watering main meal, the supplier offered us a free tour of Milan by night.

We just loved that Italian hospitality that after saying our goodbyes, we bid each other See you in January.


Back to Dijon

Louna's stay with the Nanny was A-Ok as always. We had a phonecall from Frenchguy last night and he's finally heading to Mexico City (from our production site lost in the Mexican desert hehe) to meet MY friend. Inggit ako. He would spend the weekend with her before he leaves to the US on Monday. That friend was a classmate in my French classes way back year 2003 and despite the distance, we succeeded to kept our contact. They're surely having lots of fun while I write this post.. while I wait for Louna to finish her siesta.

Hope you're having a great weekend too.



Milan Pictures: 1. My colleagues appreciating the beauty of Milan Cathedral 2. Teatro alla Scala 3. Inside the Galeria Vittorio Emanuel II.

Plant Design

This is probably my most hated subject when I was still a student. And to double the hate, there was Plant Design I and.. tadan.. Plant Design II. Of course, we will not halt the hate at that level. To triple the hate, I was under a terror instructor who happened to be the husband of our department’s dean. That explained, among others, why there were only 11 students during that batch.

If I remember it right (whew, that was 10 long years ago!), Plant Design I was more of a definition of the subject, market research and project preparation. Sounds simple? Okay, here’s an appetizer. During those times, my group mates and I were regulars at the UPLB Library to do some research. Luckily, we stumbled on a preliminary study on what came up as our subject (transforming wastewater to construction additives). We then contacted the authors of the study to get more details, contacted the company where we could buy our raw materials (eg; their wastewater) to check if it is indeed feasible, evaluated cost for building constructions near the company (to zero-out transportation cost), did some market research to draw a forecast of the commercialization of our product.. and so on, and so forth.

Plant Design II was the start of the technical aspect of the project - plant design as the word denotes (you know, technical computations on the defined process), and of course, its finalization. I still remember, we defended the subject before the juries three times. Yes, 3x! I can't remember all the reasons but one of them was because there was a certain discrepancy in our manpower forecast vs volume to be produced. Nothing linked to the technical aspect of the project, ever.

One thing which probably showed my work personality during that experience was that, I was criticized of doing all the work. Very poor in delegation, etc. I was the group leader and I felt responsible. But it's true that some of the members were not working at all or lacked in engagement in the task to be achieved that I almost hated some of them. I had 1.75. They’ve got 2.50. Fair deal.

Well, going on to real life. As I've mentionned in my previous post, I'm a Project Manager on one subject and with it, I get to re-live my plant design experience at a more exciting pace. Tho my stress level is at its maximum level at the moment, I start to appreciate the new function because I'm learning a lot. I get to see the different stages of a project which was not visible for me before. Tho they present as huge problems, the challenge is to find appropriate solutions.

Working with a Project Team is completely different. Here, each work expertise is represented by a team member who would ensure the accomplishment of his given task. So far, at the stage of the project, I regularly work with 6 experienced male colleagues. I talk, dress up and curse like a man now, darn.

This Tuesday, I, together with my 5 colleagues will drive up to Milan to have a meeting with our supplier (because there will be a huge strike in France starting Tuesday, better not take public transpo). We will spend 2 nights there. Exciting sana, kaya lang, their age ranges from 45-55 years old. Dyaheng gumimik at mag-bar hop. Lol.

Two-rific Louna

Celebrate with her here.

Halloween Frenched Style

I was once telling the Frenchies how Filipinos celebrate All Saint's Day and they were quite amused about the story. Don't be surprised why. Where in the world would you see people celebrate this day like a real fiesta? Aber?

Here in France, All Saint's Day is just an ordinary day. Old people would probably go to the cemetery to offer a prayer and a bouquet of flowers. But that's it. No fiesta! Younger generations would not even bother to visit the tombs of their loveones. They would rather spend this holiday vacationing somewhere.

So how did we celebrate All Saint's Day?

My SIL and family drove up to Dijon to spend a 4-day weekend with us. We spent the day doing outdoor and indoor activities (while Louna was having her siesta). We did a lot of eating and sleeping activities. We laughed at all the silly things that Louna did. We took a lot of pictures. We had real fun.

Take a peek:

Here's my favorite:

Here's some picture updates of Louna - the model ;).

Philippines: A View From Outside

I have been bloghopping this weekend and I was caught by SexyMom's entry on Understanding the Bureaucracy - Is There A Way Out and RaqGold's A Call to Unite for RP. Like them, I care a lot for my country too. I want my country to be able to offer and provide opportunities to the Filipinos and to project a good image to the rest of the world.

Working in a central department where major decisions are taken gives me a good view of how potential investors consider the Philippines. Aside from the technical blahblahs, I sometimes work on some economic analysis which provides me better understanding on how such and such products go to such or such country - read: job creation on that chosen country.

Did you know that :

- Electricity is very expensive in the Philippines compared to most of our neighboring countries? Well, we're basically using coal-fired power plants and coals are being bought outside.

- Road infrastructures / Air connections has to be improved if we want to explore other provinces not only for industrial purposes but for tourism as well? There are a lot of islands to be visited in the Philippines but it takes a lot of time, especially for foreigners to organize everything. Travel packages is probably one thing that we have to promote more and more.

- Salary rate starts to be less attractive in the Philippines and Labor Unions scare away these investors too. Other emerging countries like Vietnam are already taking active participation in this new game called globalization. We have to wake up and think on how we could invite more investors and provide jobs to our fellow Filipinos - and better yet, support local entrepreneurs to promote our own products.

- Other countries, Thailand in particular have these big billboards promoting an opening of an industrial park which would certainly catch attention of investors arriving in the country. And comes with it are massive constructions of roads and other facilities to accompany this development.

- It is generally more complicated to establish a business in the Philippines compared to our neighboring countries (at least to the countries where our plants are situated). Admistrative stuffs, taxes, etc... add government stability, corruption.. and we're almost at the bottom of the list.

- Countries like China and India are the investor's haven nowadays. They offer cheap labor and most importantly, they also present as potential markets. With the economic boom they are enjoying right now, buying power is getting stronger by the second. Philippines is 'competitive' in terms of population but buying power is somewhat restricted to a limited percentage of the population.

Me thinks that the government should think about the Philippines for once and find solutions on how we could improve our economy. We could blog all we want but if the government does nothing, nothing will happen. Hey, we couldn't just stay as a Third World country for the rest of humanity. Naman, aren't we tired of being poor? Don't we want to alleviate our situation? Don't we have any politicians out there who have real concern about the Philippines? I mean, somebody who thinks about the Philippines before his own pocket?

Awards, Tags and Whatnots

During my 3 consecutive blogging years, I have been noticing that the more I keep myself silent, the more I receive fabulous awards from blogger friends. Is that a sign that these friends prefer when I’m not talking about my nonsense life? Or is it to say that even during my absence – read: dealing with my busy life, they still think of me? Uhum, I personally prefer to think of the latter.

Want to know more about the awards? Visit Rachel, Feng and Mitch, my fellow PMN mommies for details!

And oh, MegaMom hinted it right and wanted to see what makes me real busy. She wants evidence that I’m indeed busy and wants a peek of my workplace. Ok. Here it is. No cleaning or arranging whatsoever. See the whiteboard on the left? It has already witnessed a lot of brainstorming and starts to be not-so-white.. board, lol. My laptop is of course, my best buddy. The old telephone (yes, it’s old!) gives me direct access to our plants worldwide. And the heater right next to the not-so-comfortable chair helps me beat this early winter we are experiencing right now (yes, the thermometer already displayed freezing degrees!).

Well, if you’re expecting a stylish office French-style, really sorry to disappoint you guys. But engineers generally do dirty jobs in dirty workplaces. Oppps. That’s not a general rule, by the way. That’s probably just me.

Whatnots. Well, nothing. I’m just.. well, smiling less and less. Hmmm, that’s what Frenchguy told me. And he’s probably right. I don’t know. Probably yes. Ewan. Winter na kasi.

I will be going to Bangkok next month (or later) and he thought a little stop-over in the Philippines would do me good. I could bring Louna with me, ask somebody from my family to do babysitting in Bangkok while I work, then go home with them to the Philippines for a little pre-Christmas holiday. That would be a lot of organization to do but..

Why not? Bibili ako ng maraming smiles sa Pinas, promise. (that is, kung matutuloy ako syempre).

She Said Goodbye to Daytime Diapers

Oh yes ! The trick is, we have to remove her diapers at daytime for her to tell us it’s time to do the potty. When she’s with her diapers, most of the time, she won’t even bother to inform us that it’s poo time. So here are the tricks which worked for us:

- Encouragement. Kids love to be applauded and praised – and know what, this doesn’t cost a thing. Louna is just so proud when she does it. There was one afternoon when she wanted to keep her potty because Papa hadn’t seen it yet. And Papa was still at work! So I tried to negotiate to keep the potty chair inside the toilet, without 'flushing’ the content, but she wanted it to be near her inside her playroom. She doesn’t trust Maman when it comes to potty matters. Imagine the odor propagating everywhere inside the house! Panic! I called up her Papa and explained the situation. They talked over the phone and Papa said Bravo Louna. After then, she took her potty chair and headed to the toilet. It was ok to flush her business. Whew.

Continue reading.

If Only..

…all toddlers, at a worldwide level, would be raised in a pro-environment attitude, little by little, at a sure pace, even mother Earth could breath fresh air. The world would be a better place to live in.

It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks so aside from worldwide global warming awareness programs already available, we should equally give focus to these kids who will be the main players of the future. Imagine if parents inculcate this value to the core of their being at their very young age, protecting environment would become a worldwide culture and tradition which could surpass religion, race, nationality, skin color, beliefs or anything categorizing an individual to a group. Environment protection would be as natural as breathing air.. and since it will be a part of the future generation’s core values, it would cross generations to generations. Wouldn’t it be great?

Kids generally imitate what they observe from adults. And the best way to teach them is to show them examples. So you see, teaching kids is a circular logic. Everybody benefits from the process.

Think about this.
- What if, at the age of 2, with the help of their parents, all of these kids don’t allow water from the faucet running while they brush their teeth? Imagine the volume of water saved?

- What if at the age of 2, none of these kids throw anything anywhere anymore but instead, put the garbage in Mommy’s bag when there’s no garbage can around? These kids will surely grow up with the good habit.

- What if, at the age of 2, instead of allowing them to watch hours of tv or dvd, parents set a limit and spend saved hours in playing building blocks or any activity toys to develop their skills? Or why not spend the hours outside smelling the flowers or observing ants? Not only we save hours of electricity but we allow our kids to be closer to nature.

Tiny little gestures, when multiplied a million times become a huge contribution in preserving nature. The list is endless on how we could start our toddlers to be environment friendly. Start now.

Picture from this site.

It’s My Big Day Today

31 years. Wow. When I was still a student, I envisioned my 30th year with a lot of material successes. That’s typical, right? We want to finish our studies and have financial independence the earliest time possible. I dreamt about having my own car, my own house and a debit/credit card which I could swipe anytime without worrying for overdrafts. Know what? I have all of that now.

But real happiness for me is when my daughter asks me when she wants to go potty and does it, when she wipes the table and gathers food crumbles with her tiny little hands, when she requests for nose-to-nose and when she says av-you (I love you) during bedtime.

And now that I’m 31, and to be more honest, I’m happy with what I have, who wouldn’t? But I would be much happier if these freaking pimples stop popping out of my 31-year-old-freaking-face each time I lack sleep because my freaking job stresses me out! Hay buhay.

And oh, by the way. Now that I’m 31, and a responsible citizen at that, I’ve just registered My Hideaway at the Blog Action Day site. You know, I hardly am a member of any web organizations. Or if so, it’s because they really capture my interest. I am a member of PMN for parenting, and now Blog Action Day because I’m concerned with the environment.

So if you want to make me happier today because it’s my birthday, go click Blog Action Day and give it a thought.

Project Management

Evolution in a workplace is a continual process which slowly but surely changes company culture and traditions in a given entity. Current technical and economic pressures drive industries to an increasingly competitive environment which pushes them to restructure and reorganize their work methods to increase productivity.

Downsizing is a famous product of this evolution. The challenge is then to manage existing workload with less people. Competence development within an organization has been industries’ response to attaining this goal – multi-skilling in a high performance workplace. Functional flexibility has somewhat became the standard.

My 2-day training in Paris two weeks ago was in fact an introduction to the ins and outs of project management.

Project management, as described in the Free Management Library is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are needed, and associating budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan. Project management usually follows major phases (with various titles for these phases), including feasibility study, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.

Aside from my normal tasks, the big bosses had this brilliant idea of naming me as a Project Manager (PM) to validate a new machine loaded with new technology from a new supplier – without the salary increase, bien sûr - and before I had the training. At first, I didn’t really give it a budge. I will have a dual role on this subject, as a technical resource and a PM. Easy. I started working on the process conception taking into account the complexity of the new machine - thinking I would restart working on the subject once the machine is installed (I was still thinking like a technical resource and not at all as a PM). Wrong.

Now, aside from my usual monthly report,
- I have to do a specific report on this subject too.
- I have to attend to a lot of meetings – talking about Civil and Electrical Engineering (building conception phase) but never Chemical Engineering which is my line – and worst, write the meeting minutes at the end of the session.
- I have to take major decisions impacting quality, cost and delay – or negotiate everything with the big bosses – and take every blow imaginable.
- I have to monitor that we don’t exceed the 1M€ mark.
- I have to kick butts to get information from different actors of the project.
- and lastly, I have to work for myself because, not to forget, I’m a technical resource on this project too.

This new task is draining the whole of me. I’m a newbie and I’ve always been conscientious on whatever I do. Frenchguy’s out for business travel for 2 long weeks now and handling an active toddler after a long day of work is sometimes more difficult than talking technical matters with experienced men (*$¤#! Just wondering what these big bosses had in mind when they named a Filipina Mom to handle the job? – I mean, I’m the only girl in the team! And a foreigner at that!).

Next week, I will be somewhere around Germany with a supplier followed by Italy before the end of the month - again with a supplier. Then probably, just probably, to Thailand mid-November.

Now, how in the world would my immediate boss think that I’m not loaded? I can’t even blog, lol.

Blog and Earn

I have been seeing a lot of PayPerPost proud members roaming the blogosphere and honestly, I had this growing curiosity on the question Do they really earn something from blogging? How in the world would somebody pay someone for blogging on topics this someone loves? Is there any logic on that?

I started indexing the PPP site on my favourites a few months back. I was always blocked by the fact that I might not have the time. A good friend of mine who is a PPP member, what else, assured me that I could manage my time, no pressure. Then I had this urge to browse the site last week – lazy browsing, you know. That lazy browsing ended up with me signing up, registering my blog.. and some 3 working days checking my emails for a possible good news.

When I saw the subject Your blog has been approved, I excitedly logged in and checked for some opps. Wow, there are just a lot of opportunities waiting to be grabbed and reviewed. And since with PayPerPost, members are encouraged to talk about the things they love, I don’t think there are better ways to motivate and inspire these members to write with gusto.

So what are you waiting for? Get paid to blog. Click on the site and see for yourselves.

Les Bleus vs All Blacks

Allez les bleus! The French Rugby Team has just been qualified for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, 20-18. They will be defending the title next week against England at St. Denis, France. Whew, that was a steal considering that New Zealand's All Blacks Team had always been crowd's favorite. I have always been fascinated by the All Blacks Haka craze which they perform before every match. Watch the video here.

The French President and the Prime Minister were present during the match. What a way to give support to the French Team. I'm sure everybody's proud to go home with the trophy. I could still hear noises outside, people celebrating this victory.

Here's a video of the winning dive which gave way to France's 18th point. Galing!

Check for more action here:

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Well, if you think these rugbymen look trash and push like bulls, check their 2008 calendar here and think again.

Engineers..

If you're wondering what I do at work (or at least know my job description), click on the image for a bigger view then discover.

The Colors of Burgundy

12th century church overlooking the vineyard.

Today is PMN Fam Pics Day and the chosen theme is GREEN. Outdoor lovers as we are, the first thing which came into mind to interprete this month's theme is nature! I have loads of pictures displaying green sceneries of different paysages and I thought, why not show you the colors of Burgundy - the region famous for wine, escargot (snails) and Dijon mustard - where I live.

Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region. The good thing about living in this town is that, we get the advantage of a city while keeping close distance to nature. After a stressful week, it's so easy to unwind and breath fresh air in the nearby wine country which is Burgundy.

Like most of the hike/stroll areas in France, a walk in this breathtaking decor also starts with the direction sign. The yellow and red stripes signify a trail or circuit which could be completed in several days to discover a region. One sole yellow stripe signifies easy and short hike do-able within a day. Longer and more difficult hikes are designated by white and red stripes which not only trails France, but most of the European countries as well. They normally accompany itinerary hikers on their adventures. More on hiker's direction sign here.

The extraordinary part of doing a leisure hike in this wine country is that you could come across old villages and old churches dating back to the XII century (a wine press in one of the cellars dates back to the Charlemagne days!) and end the day with a wine tasting in one of the hundred wine cellars around the area. A festive ambiance is a guarantee during harvest season around August to September. Wine bottles on a barrel are typical displays outside a wine store or a wine cellar where wine tasters/buyers are of course, welcome.

This GREEN carpet is not forever tho. It only stays from Spring to Summer season. Just before the harvest, these green leaves will slowly turn into red, giving another magical atmosphere in the valley. This announces the coming of Autumn. Photographers - professionals and neophytes alike, gather in this area during this season, not only to witness the harvest, but also to catch this beautiful transformation. But like a superstar who gives in to several encores before leaving the grand scene, these leaves turn into golden yellow before they totally wither and fall - to give way to the Winter season.

Note: Dijon is the capital of Côte d'Or, a province of the Burgundy (Bourgogne) region. Côte d'Or which literally means Golden Coast gets its name from the golden yellow color of the wine valley during Autumn. Or so they say. Imagine a valley of these leaves kissed by the sun's rays - you get captivated while you capture its beauty.