Stress: How do you deal with it?

I was tagged by Isabela, this one's kinda cool...let me tell you my style!

What are the things you enjoy, even when no one around you want to go out and play?

I love reading a lot, does that count? That's my way of forgetting where / who I am and transforming myself into somebody else, most of the time, a detective (obvious ba that I'm more into suspense and detective stories?)....kasama na dyan yung reading other people's blog (and learning from their experiences)...

I enjoy taking pictures too...tho I'm not at all a professional one, haven't even read the user's guide of my camera.

I like listing all our expenses at home. Yep, I even have consumption bar graphs, repartition of fixed and variable costs, percentage of each category in my expenses list, etc...di po ako accountant, inhinyerong pulpol lang po!

What lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level? Make a list, post it in your journal…

I'm normally a super cool gal, I hate being under pressure. Life is beautiful, so why waste my time worrying, right? But di naman po ako manhid, there are instances when I, too, am subjected to different stresses na nakaka-high blood which end up on sleepless nights due to anxiety. The main reasons are:

Stress: Most often due to my work. Kung pwede lang mag work without responsibilities and yung di ginagamitan ng utak, ginawa ko na!

Blood Pressure: Kadalasan, due to shopping. Those who know me are aware that I hate it! Nakakahigh blood kasi minsan yung ibang sales lady na di man lang palangiti, lalo na dito sa France, siguro dahil I frequent yung mga chipipay na shops hehe...e di ko na nga feel, tapos I can't even get the necessary infos that I want, darn! Sa Pinas naman, dalawang klase yan, me sunod ng sunod sayo, mukha ba kong shoplifter? Meron namang ni hindi ka papansinin (lalo na sa mamahaling shops)...hello, di ako nagwiwindow-shopping no!

Anxiety: When frenchguy's out of town / country, first thing he has to do is to call me up, di kasi ako makatulog sa kakaworry! He's complaining tho, pag ako kasi yung out of town / country, I don't return the favor, e alam ko namang safe ako e hehe..

So how do I manage?

I communicate: I talk, write emails, blog. I feel better after that.
I clean the toilet and bathroom: Yun na lang ang pinanggigigilan ko, try nyo, effective!
I cut my hair short: Yep, kadalasan kasi nai stress ako dahil late na ko pumasok, cutting it short means isang suklayan na lang. But judging by the number of times per year I visit my coiffeuse, I could be considered a certified super cool gal nga hehe.
I look myself infront of the mirror and say, 'you're not that bad after all!': It's because of my weight, super payatot kasi. So that's my way of consoling myself hehe..and hearing my friends with their weight problems and how they restreint themselves in eating what they really want, naiisip ko, maswerte pa nga ako e.
I read: Sabi ko nga, I forget everything when I read.
I watch a movie: Yung comedy at nonsense ha.
I walk: Normally, I invite frenchguy on a weekend and do a little hike. I love being with nature, parang walang problema ang mundo if you're surrounded by the trees, the birds, the cows hehe..
New!!! Watching my baby move: Ah, sarap!

…and then tag 5 friends and ask them to post it in theirs.

Francesca: I know she's always cool..is she just hiding her stress or she just knows how to deal with it?
Schatzli: She's got a hectic schedule, so how does she cope up?
Airwind: A cool pinoy. Let's see how a young ambitious pinoy deal with stress sa Pinas Ngayon.
Naomi: Hmm, want to know ya better. So how is it there in Canada?
Baby Chatter: A mom in Paris. How does she deal with stressful parenting in France?

Fête Nationale

14th of July, the Fête Nationale in France or Bastille Day was celebrated last Thursday, occasion for most of the Frenchies to have a long 4-day weekend (they normally take their Friday for vacation in this case).

Instead of enjoying the feu d'artifice (fireworks) in Dijon or in Paris (saw the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower on TV, it was awesome!), we headed to the west direction to enjoy the tranquility and the cool breeze of the countryside.

We found this little paradise just perfect for us, where I could read my book far from the loud tourists and where frenchguy could nap without any problem. Next time, we will definitely bring our bingwit hehe..

Malayo ang tingin...nope, he's not doing yoga..here, frenchguy tries to have a feel of the water..then off he went to cross the lake..his favorite water activity...







After a soothing cold water massage at the lake, a little walk around the area normally completes our itinerary. This lovely 13th century castle adorned the little village where we started our buntis-friendly hike. Noticed the colorful tiled roof? Aside from the wines and mustards, that is one of the many signatures of Côte d'Or.

Now, back to Dijon...

Halfway to Hands-on Motherhood

Time flies. From the moment I knew it till the very moment I felt his first movement, I was like a neophyte scientist on his very first experiment, savouring this priviledged moment, patiently waiting for each little change, each overwhelming little change that only mothers could precisely explain.

5th month, whoa, that was pretty fast.

We will start preparing the room for the new family member and start completing the necessary gadgets for the much awaited arrival. Get excited with me, I've just changed my baby's diaper, please scroll down!

The excited parents...

UPDATE!

Some friends sent me an email asking Ano? Girl or Boy? It seems that my visitors aren't scrolling down enough so they could check my calendar...so there you go..

Filipino Time?

Honestly, I hate it! I don't like waiting for hours as if I have all the time in the world and got nothing else to do but to wait for Mr or Ms VIP! In return, I try to be on time all the time....ok, I have to admit that way back in my Philippine escapades, I practiced Filipino time too, and who wouldn't? Everbody arrives at least 30 minutes late so why the rush, right?

Filipino Cramming?

Oh, I hate this too, pero likas na Pinoy yata ako, I could arrive on time...but really on time, at the nearest second! I hate cramming before the exam when I was still a student, but I actually survived like that, reviewing till the wee hours the day before the exam!

Till now, cramming remains my game, more often to my disadvantage of course. This morning, I had an important meeting in our Paris office and I had to catch the train at 6:51am, no less. I swear, I had all the time, but heck, I still left home at the last minute thinking it would be easy to park my car and the train station is a mere 5 minutes away from home. Susmaryosep, I had all the traffic light RED yata! Ayun, I was one minute too late...the worst is that, I even saw the train leaving...kainis!

At around 8am, I started bugging frenchguy to reserve a taxi for me as I know, our secretary arrives around 9am (Heck, I don't even have the number of Paris Taxi to begin with!). Paris traffic especially when you're hurrying is not agreeable at all! Luckily the taxi driver understood that I have a 10am super duper important strategic meeting with the big bosses and not a Pinay Engineer in France should delay that! Whew, I nevertheless arrived ON TIME!

Lesson learned!

Coucou, I’m here…

At 19th week, mon bébé started to announce his presence. A tiny kick here, a sudden push there…hmmm, life…enjoying this magic moment.

Contente Maman

Hey, nasa France ka ba?

After a month long trial and validation (naks industrialization ang dating a hehe), just want to share how you could burn your phones doing endless chika to anybody around the planet without exhausting your bank account. Click here.

The thing is, from France, you could call up Philippine mobile phones at a local cost! It's like I'm calling around Dijon! Whoa! Just can't keep this good news just for myself..

End of advertising..

Do-It-Yourself

After a week-long stay, my in-laws left Dijon leaving our enclave as good as brand-new!

My mom was surprised to learn that house reparations and renovations or even house constructions here are being done by the proprietors and their family and/or friends, unlike in the Philippines where even small reparations are being subcontracted. I'd say that they are artists at heart, DIY enthusiasts, handymen / women, manual labourers with plenty of ideas and imaginations...they really take pride on their oeuvres (works/achievements)! It's not surprising that when you visit a friend's house, the house visit would include explanations on how they did such and such and on what nouveautés they ventured their creative minds into.
Frenchguy's favourite hideaway these past days/months is our little garden. Good thing we're not at all hacienderos, otherwise, he will probably spend all his afternoons outside the house. In giving way to my caprice, frenchguy agreed to buy a house within the city centre, compromising his desired tranquillity in the outskirts of Dijon. In consequence, he wanted to hide himself from the noise of the city and the scrutinising regards of our neighbours by transforming our garden in a little forest hehe.

Big shops like Leroy Merlin, Bricorama or Jardiland (for gardening) facilitates a lot on these menial tasks. A lot of do-it-yourself stuffs could be bought and even neophytes like me could venture into something constructive. Here's my little garden proving how greenthumb i am. ;)

Code of Ethics

Working with people of different nationalities is fun and enriching because you learn another culture and opens your eyes to another mode of life. There's more to that tho, it could be raging too...

I have this Asian colleague whom I trained in the Philippines last year for a certain chemical process, a new process which we started in that particular production site. She was fun and probably technically capable (it wasn't flagrant for me!) so I gave her all the do's and dont's so she could troubleshoot if ever a problem arises. At first, it was normal that she didn't have any input whenever we did brainstorming, she was new compared to our years of struggle to validate this process and have the final product accepted by our market.

After a few months, a problem arised and engineering intervention was called to the rescue. She was equally sent there so she could familiarize herself with the ins and outs, and of course to help. Would you believe that in the middle of all the problems and several production days lost, she would have the guts to ask me at 4pm at what time would we be able to go home and which restaurant would we venture our hungry stomach into, and which bar would I prefer to drink my favorite long island ice tea? Ang sarap tirisin! While I was receiving all the pressures from the big bosses, she was dreaming of sipping her cocktail in a cozy bar??

Another intervention, this time, we assumed that she's fully trained to be able to play with the process. Anyways, that was the objective of her being there, to be able to respond to technical needs asap and not 'france' going to 'asia' each time. We let her do the move with our emails (action plans) as back-up, at that time, I declined the assignment as I was already pregnant.

Today, I received an email from her, sending to everybody two documents which I originally written, and on which she modified 3 lines, 3 lines which came from us (I don't even have a thank you email from her!), and now, she listed her name as the writer, erasing my name, not even adding it to the list of verifiers. Is that considered plagiarism? Or just a simple non-respect of other people's work?

Next week, she will be here (ano, titirisin ko na ba?). I will train her (na naman!?!?!?) to the same process which I've been optimizing since months now. I couldn't travel and have this process set-up in Asia in the coming months so she will do the job. I will revise the document and hopefully, after my maternity leave, I still have my name on this document...respeto lang po!

Anniversary Treat

One thing that clicks between us, that keeps us together after all this years is that we really enjoy each others company. No dull moments, ika nga. Aside from serious stuffs to kulitans, we also love doing outdoor activities together.

For our anniversary activity last weekend, we decided to give way to each others caprice.

After cancelling his yearly week-long kayak with his friends just to accompany me on my lantang gulay period of pregnancy, he's been targetting to do a weekend descente in a river nearby, always keeping a close watch on the water level on the web. So Sunday morning, with the kayak and picnic gears, off we went to Morvan (le Chalaux). As usual, the river was crowded with kayakers, canoe-kayakers, rafters and hydrospeeders so I was assured with his security. He won't be alone navigating. A born worrier, if only kayak is not his first love, I would say NON to this dangerous sport, but he always tells me that le Chalaux is for beginners and retirees hehe (humbly enough, the 2005 Canoë-Kayak European championship will be held there, check here). Now I'm wondering in which classification he belongs??

My role in all these? The official driver and official photographer - dropping him off to the starting point, bringing the car to the arrival point, escalading the pathways up to the fall/passage (oppps, on-leave muna while preggy) and gearing myself for the best shot of my life (?).

Ok ok, I'm not at all a good photographer, proof is...
It's either I got him on the picture...
without his kayak... (see, it's floating!)
or the whole scenario...but no objective at all..
or him...but unrecognizable...
or this, on the passage for kindergartens as he considers it!

The only time I had him 'live' was here.

After the kayak session, we devoured our 'energy-filled' lunch in preparation for our second activity, my choice: hiking!

I'm not a high-endurance hiker, my backpack shouldn't exceed 10 kg in case of itinerary hike, elevation gain shouldn't exceed 1000m, and distance should be limited to less than 20km. That's my best record so far. More than that, I'll surely be dead.

This weekend, we did a 12km hike. Not bad for a 4-month Buntis. We started with a yellow trail (easy level) and ended the hike with a red and white trail (difficult level).

Occasion for us to be closer to nature and closer to each other...

shhh, je t'aime...

Inlaws at Dijon

Mes beaux-parents (my parents-inlaw) will be in Dijon tomorrow and that's for a week. Whoa! They'll be here to help frenchguy fix some house errands (painting, varnishing, repares), yep, they don't pay here, they do it themselves. Expect cleaner house, better garden and palatable dishes prepared by maman! I call it parent slavery!

3 years and counting...

Parang ang bilis naman yatang lumipas ng panahon..while feeling ko highschool pa rin ako when I chat with my highschool friends, my white hairs cannot deny the fact na, yep, indeed, ang bilis ngang lumipas ng panahon..

3 years na since I signed the PACS with frenchguy, yep, it's official, we're legal partners! 12th of June, Independence Day sa Pinas nun, but for me, it marks another milestone in my life. Of course maraming nagtatanong kung bakit di na lang kami nagpakasal? Oo nga naman, bonne question! E kasi naman po, dami kayang papeles that I have to provide from the Philippines, wala akong time, and besides, it's not your business anymore di ba, so leave me with my decision alone hehe.

Since anniversary daw namin this weekend, at sa panahong ganito masarap balikan ang nakaraan, eto na ang aking top favorites sa aking memory disk..

Year-end 1999, First contact: Set-up ng buong department namin. 4 pa lang kaming pinoy employees nun. Sa lahat ng nakatrabaho kong Pranses, sya lang ang di formally inintroduce sa kin, don't know why, probably because we didn't work together directly. Anyways, he introduced himself directly to me minsang nagkabanggaan kami sa stairs, and called me Monalisa from then on. But not because of my mysterious smile..but of my rare smile..

First date???: He was constantly inviting us out (me and my colleagues) every weekend he spent in the Philippines. And me, doing the same route (Manila - Laguna and vice-versa) on a Sunday was the last thing I would certainly do. I said yes to his invitation once, obvious kasi na nagtatampo na sya, but as usual, I never showed up hehe. Bastos ba? Then came my french counterpart, panahon na kasi para i-train ako. There, he hit the joker! Come weekend and I finally went out with them, user kasi ako, I wanted to extract more technical informations from my counterpart. Ayun, I discovered that he was a funny guy, that I wouldn't mind going out for another gimik...

Job assignments: Do I have to explain why he monopolized all Philippine projects at that time? ... Well, after he kidnapped the charming Chemist, he was never again seen in that Phil production site. Wanted!

What's with french kiss?: Wala lang, curious lang, sawa na kasi ako sa pinoy imitations e nyehaha..and it was before he left Pinas for his last project..when he came back to his native land, it was funny to know that he was projecting a future na with me, now, what's with pinoy kiss?

Filipino hospitality at its best: He came back to Phils after months of LDR and went direcho to our Manila appartment but nobody was home (my sis are still at school and I was caught in the congested roads of Manila), he thought, 'Everybody's really excited to see me.' After minutes of waiting outside, he decided to play basketball with the street tambays hehe. That's my guy! Mapasensya!

A funny night de fiançialles (engagement): After an exhausting travel from work, I finally met frenchguy somewhere in Greenbelt. He was on vacation at that time, but since I cannot get some vacation, we contented ourselves with night and weekend gimiks. It was in a cozy restaurant in Makati, exactly the same restaurant which ex and I frequented. I thought, what the fuss, past is past, right. And so we went, and then frenchguy was directing me in ex and I's favorite table, oh wow, was I hallucinating, did I actually see ex ressurecting in frenchguy's body?? Oppps. Ok, let me proceed with the engagement process. Conversation was of course concentrated on ex hehe. Then came the menu list. When I've finally taken my order, I was surprised by a nicely wrapped little box on my plate which I didn't notice when we arrived. I started to explain to frenchguy that some restaurants have this culture of making their lady client extra special by offering her roses or chocolates especially on special occasions like Valentine's Day etc. But since it wasn't Valentine's Day at that time, I told him that there must be some festivities in Thailand on that day (we were in a Thai restaurant). Frenchguy was attentively looking at me, patiently listening to all my explainations, probably thinking, 'Ang kulit naman nitong batang to. Kelan ba to titigil sa kadadaldal?' I opened the 'gift' with no finesse nor romanticism...oh wow, I was teary eyed, it was the engagement ring! CUT! Censored na kasi...

He should have told me the objective of the dinner beforehand...I could have tamed myself...but until now, that night remains special for us..even if it turned out to be more comedy than romantic..

1st Vacation destination: Dos Palmas, Puerto Princesa. A month later, Abu Sayyaf took the American hostage from the same room where we stayed...imagine if we pushed our vacation a month later...

Age gap: You wouldn't believe this, from being colleagues to barkada to bf-gf, napag-usapan na yata namin lahat except one - AGE! 10 years po ang gap namin. I thought he was younger, he thought I was older, bait nya no. Sabi naman nya, it was the responsibility I was handling in the company before, yung 23 yo kasi sa kanila, baby pa hehehe.

Accelerated 7 day visit: Ok, time for me to meet the parents, see Dijon, interview with the university for my postgrad studies, interview with the company where I did my OJT, see the snow and finally visit Paris. All that in 7 days at freezing point!

Almost 6 years na rin pala kaming nagkukulitan, and yet, we still enjoy each others company. And when we look back, natatawa na lang kami sa pinagdaanan namin. Thinking kung gaano sya kapursigido, naiisip ko, siguro nga tama ang nanay ko, na maganda daw ako hehe (just wondering kung bakit sya laging nasa church??? malamang nagsosorry sya kay Lord hehe).

We just took another BIG step in our life together, last May 29 was my first Mother's Day. Di pa sya lumalabas pero feel ko ng maging nanay hehe. I had my duyan as a gift, saka na lang daw yung coconut trees, the sea and the tropical weather...

Contente Maman

Nothing is constant, everything changes. When I was younger, like every little girl, I also dreamed of big expensive weddings. I dreamed of having a big house. I dreamed of hitting big in the corporate world. I dreamed of the perfect guy who could give me perfect beautiful children. I never ceased dreaming though, I still dream, but from ambitious dreams, I now content myself with accessible realistic dreams. Anyway, nothing is perfect.

I hear typical questions like 'would you like a boy or a girl?' 'single or twins?', and that's almost everyday. If I were still in my dreamy world, I would certainly answer, 'a girl, a beautiful one, twin if possible, she has to have the same eyes as his dad, the same silhouette as his mom, same nose as his grandpère, patient and practical as his lola, intelligent as his dad, analytic as his mom, music inclined but sportive at the same time...and the list will surely be long!But my answer to this question is simple, as long as he/she is healthy and normal, I'll be more than happy and satisfied.

The wait is finally over, we received the result of my blood test yesterday and everything was normal. It was to detect the risk of chromosome abnormalities such as Down's syndrome etc. I guess it's just normal for us to be worried, everybody wants to have a normal child, right?

In fact, the consequence of this test is somewhat mind-disturbing. Frenchguy tried to open the topic once but I guess I wasn't ready for that yet. There are some topics where I'm more of an 'I'll cross the bridge when I get there' attitude. What if there are some abnormalities? Will you keep it or abort it? Keep it would mean lifetime sacrifice for you and lifetime suffering for your child, amidst the joy and everything a newborn baby entails. Abort it would mean saying NO to a lifetime responsibility which could provoke morality issues (if you're religious), and probably, regrets? I don't know.

We're just glad that we don't have to open up this topic and engage into a tough decision. Our baby is normal and it's all that counts.

Contente Maman

Pagpustahan daw ba ko...

Working with them back in the Philippines, them as expats and me as local, and now dealing with them everyday here in France is a heck lot of difference. There, they were the higher management, the experts, having a meeting with them was quite a privilege. I thought they were serious butts, you know, talking about work during pause café, brainstorming each time they bump into each other. But heck again, angkukulit ng mga 'to, mas makulit pa sa mga pinoy!

I just heard in the coffee room this morning that they actually circulated a memo months ago about...

So ok, I had a permanent contract a year ago and bought a house end of 2004 (with more than enough rooms for both of us). Two ideal elements to stir their kulit minds. Yep, the deal was 'little *frenchguy's surname* before end of 2005!'.

Natawa naman ako dun. Kung alam ko lang, I should have planned it a month later para mas exciting!

Kaya pala. As I flashbacked some short kulitans with my kulit colleagues, here is what I've gathered:

- Alors, ce sera quand, le petit bébé ? (So, when will the little baby arrive?)

- Il faut remplir la maison hein. (You should fill the house huh.)

- Hé, pourquoi tu manges des fraises ? (Hey, why do you eat strawberries?)

- Il faut peupler la France hein. (You should add to France's population.)

- Tu ne prends pas un peu de poids ? (Aren't you gaining weight lately?)

- Tu sais, pour les impôts, les enfants sont les meilleurs pour diminuer la charge. (You know, children are the best solution to lower down taxes.)

- Quand vas-tu nous faire un petit gamin ? (When will you give us a little baby ?)

Now I understand! Those discreet inquiries, they were actually keeping an eye on me. Haha, they probably started to worry when nothing was being announced. We actually decided to formally inform them about my pregnancy after my 3rd month. Now, those who bet for end of 2005 could breathe normally, I'm due on November hehe.

When I informed Frenchguy about this, his reaction was 'J'en étais sûr!' (I was sure of that!).

Ah, French!

Côte d'Or - Revisited

I finally had another occasion to revisit Dijon and Beaune this weekend and was again taken aback by how little information I know about this village I now call 'home'. My fault, I had the opportunity to explore this rich town and know its history but I let it slip from my hand - a free Dijon tour included in my French classes, but only on Saturdays. At that time I of course preferred the comfort of my bed rather than wake up early and listen to my prof!

So there you go, with my cousin, I played the unofficial tourist guide trying to explain Dijon's history. Luckily, there are some tourists flocking around the centre ville, so we just tried to follow them hehe. Easier task, right? Unfortunately, as always, I forgot my camera whilst visiting Dijon (sigh).

Last year, a Filipina colleague gave a week training here so I was able to guide her to one of the wine cellars here in Burgundy constructed in the 12th century - le Chateau du Clos de Vougeot . There, a Charlemagne-old winepress displays proudly in their castle. Their wine stock dates back from the early 1900s so you will surely find a great gift idea for father's day :). The prices range from some euros to thousands of euros. Hmm, this region is a haven for wine connoiseurs! Their cellars are of course well constructed to age their wines to the finest - constant temperature all year round.

Next stop was at the Hospice de Beaune , a 14th century building which served as a hospital for the poor. Old medical paraphernalias are still on display which would surely scare the heck out of you.

The Hospice de Beaune displaying its famous tiled roof..

Last weekend, we visited another wine cellar, Le Patriarche , an 18th century old convent transformed into a magnificent wine cellar where a 5-km visit of their labyrinth cellar will lead you to a dégustation (wine tasting) of their selected wines. Wine baskets are at the disposition of possible buyers.

So how does a dégustation proceed? Got it right! Pay the fee. With the fee includes a brochure and the tastevin which you will use during the duration of the visit. The visit is free for youngsters under 18 years old as they are not allowed to taste the wine. Hearing this, of course I tried my luck telling them that I won't taste any wine as I am pregnant. Oppps, it's actually the dégustation which is free...ok.

There, a series of wine barrels from big ones...

to smaller ones...

then to wine bottles will surely set your eyes in awe.

All of the wine bottles are of course filled, classed by year and by origine.
This picture shows their collection of very old wines, cheapest bottle is at 800€, wanna give it a try?

At the end of the labyrinth, the much awaited dégustation starts. With the tastevin, pour a small quantity of wine, and there, observe the color (by moving the tastevin in a circular motion - this also permits the 'breathing' of the wine), the odor and of course the taste. A crachoir (spittoon) is available at every corner, you're not obliged to drink every drop hehe. In fact, the presented wines gets better and better as you go along the dégustation so better reserve your senses up to the last bottle.

The dégustation table with the tastevin.
Frenchguy playing expert with my cousin.
Buntis just couldn't resist to this inviting ambiance.
It says 'Burgundy wine is the wine of the kings', signed by Louis XIV
We ended the night with a sumptuous dinner at this magnificent restaurant in Dijon constructed in a 12th century crypt. The food was very mouth-watering, add to it this decor which captures the eyes. This crypt has a secret passage to the church at the other side of the road.

I hope they enjoyed their one-day stop at Dijon. To assure you, they drank moderately.

Mondays...and life's little tidbits.

Lousy Monday

It's Lundi de Pentecôte (Whit Monday) today but I'm at work. After over 130 years, or so I heard, of counting it as holiday on their already long list, the French government decided to cancel it down and consider it as Journée de Solidarité pour les Personnes Agées, meaning, we work but won't be paid. All the profits will be given to the benefit of the oldies. This measure was conceived after the summer heat wave hit the whole hexagon 2 years ago. But hey, where are the rest of my colleagues?? Strike na naman?

Baby Update

I had my first official ultrasound last week. It was overwhelming, the little hands, the tiny feet, the heartbeat....there's life in there and I saw it with my two teary eyes. He was actually the snob type, he generously showed us his back and slept the whole ultrasound session. Even the movement done by the doctor didn't wake him up. I guess he was tired with his UK vacation too hehe.

Some UK Photos

I've been browsing our UK photos and memories just flowed back in. Surprisingly, after being bitter, our photos just showed otherwise.

Here I am trying my shopping prowess in the Nottingham Market à la tiangge hehe, and flaunting this same jupe infront of the King's College in Cambridge. Hmm, cool!

Here is where we spend our siesta time, at the Hyde Park. London could pride itself with its green and spacious parks where one could easily forget city chaos.

In Wales, we arrived in this little bar and were surprised that nobody was inside. So we had the whole bar just for us. Erm, is it true that when a woman is pregnant, her husband follows the same process of...gaining weight? Are we on competition now?

On to our vagabonding escapades, we luckily saw this steam-engined train. Wow, still functionning impeccably! Yep, functionning! It's not in a museum!

And this Abbey ruins...

I've written on my previous entry that i was quite disappointed with what UK could offer at an exorbitant price. In terms of landscape, I guess the main difference is that, they have hills populated by thousand of sheeps (top photo), in France, we have cows!

Entretien de Carrière

I haven't passed my annual interview with my big boss (darn, I hope my salary increase will still see its daylight, have you heard about buntis discrimination?), and tomorrow, susmaryosep, the HR Director wants to see me. Ayun, I frantically searched my one-page CV from my lumang baul and updated it at once. Bless his eyes, I hope he's using our very own products to see what's written on my CV, I shrank my 6-year university life and 4.5-year career life to fit in a page!

Just wondering why he wanted to see me. Frenchguy told me he just met this guy once, and he requested for a meeting several times before he was granted. Heck, this guy just sent an email to me and voila, he's got a rendez-vous with me at once. Not fair hehe. Anyways, after choosing my best formal gear (oppps, frenchguy warned me not to be on jeans hehe) and updating my CV, I'll be off for tomorrow.

My UK Encounter

We should have known better. After several travels within and outside Europe, it's the first time that we went home half delighted.

First regret, our roundtrip tickets were marked 'Non Echangeable, Non Remboursable'. I was so gaga to find a promotional ticket for half a price that we even extended our planned vacation for a day more just to fit in with the dates.

Arriving in London, I was hit by a terrible headache, and nuls as we were, we didn't even know what kind of medicine I could take. Our last resort was to call back home. 'Allo Maman.' Lesson learned: Paracetamols are still ok for pregnant women.

Well, we're economic voyagers, ehem, with European attitude? In most of our vacations, we always have our tents attached to our backpacks. Here's our 'where to stay' list according to priority (and of course, weather condition):

1. Camping Sites - tents are always useful, especially for us, itinerant tourists.
2. Youth Hostels - during off-peak season, they could accommodate 'older' tourists. Just pay several euros in additional for non-members. In the UK, it was £3 per person per night. The only time we didn't try this option was in Amsterdam, hmmm, I guess ya know what I mean.
3. Gîtes (equivalent to Bed and Breakfast in the UK) - in France you could ask for démi-pension (including breakfast) or pension complete (including breakfast and dinner). Ideal for randonneurs (hikers). And you will not regret it, frenchies are known to be great in cuisines, and it's not a hearsay!
4. Hotels (no stars please) - that is, if we don't have any other choice.

In the UK, of course we opted to option #3, the B&B. Goodness gracious, would you believe that we paid higher or equal to what we paid in London than outside the capital? Ok, equality is good, but isn't it logical that the more we go out of the city center, the less we pay? Honestly, Cambridge, Oxford and Bath are not equivalent to London, right? And you just cannot ask me to visit only one place, much so, stay in the capital. It's like you asked me to visit the Philippines and get around Manila alone.

As we progressed in our itinerary, we found out that Wales is practicing the same price ranges. Haha, they were even surprised to learn that they're charging higher than London, whew! And that didn't motivate them to negociate the price. Nice try anyway.

Ok ok, as one of their souvenir shirts says, if you cannot get my joke, get the fucking out of my house. We tried, but our tickets say no! Lesson learned: if you've got vacations longer than 3 days, never take 'Non Echangeable, Non Remboursable' tickets. Take a normal one, at least you have an easy passport to get out of the dilemma and not be obliged to stay or pay another ticket.

The food. After I paid £42 for an ordinary meal, I told frenchguy to calm down. I never paid such amount for such kind of food even in Paris. Actually, that decision was revised when our choices were limited to jacked potatoes and jacked potatoes hehe.

The narrow roads, driving on the other side of the road, the parking fee...

Hmp, puro ako reklamo. There are nice things about our visits naman. It opened our eyes to another face of Europe. I finally saw where my Mr. Sentimental did his masters. Undergrounds are cheaper on weekends. No congestion tax on weekends. English breakfast is HEAVY breakfast, good for us. Chocolate Fudge was uhmmm sumptuous! Funny things like Tony Blair won the election but asked him to back out the next day. We generally had potable weather during the visit, only had the typical English weather in Wales, which was sad of course.

And finally, we appreciated more the fact that we live in France. Uhm, maybe next time, we have to forget about France when visiting another country, wad ya tenk?

Frenched?

No matter how adapted I am to the french culture and their way of life, am I Frenched? Nope, not really. I don't complain over small things!

I just received a document from their Social Security System a week ago stating all my pregnancy expenses will be handled by their organization, everything will be reimbursed at 100% from the 4th month till my baby turns two months. In return, I have to submit myself to series of medical visits (thus blood and urine analysis + ultrasounds) up to 2 months after giving birth, and so is my baby. Hmm, not enough to make me complain though.

Anyway, if it's not 100%, my complementary insurance will reimburse the rest. The company where I work pays a big part of my complementary insurance, do I have to complain?

I'll be sending my pregnancy file to the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales which in return will evaluate my financial situation. If they judge that I need financial aid, then I'll have monthly allowance from my 7th month till my baby turns 3. In addition to that, I should normally receive a welcome incentive amounting to a considerable euros. Do I have reasons to complain? Hmm, nada! But hey, I just checked and I don't think my financial status allows me to receive the monthly allowance, nor the welcome incentive. Will I complain now? Ah, I guess I would rather help than be helped in this case. The law here is, the more you gain, the more you pay (taxes!). Socialization daw. I'd rather work and have constant cash inflow than aim for government aid (and be pregnant every year to have the incentive! hehe).

So much things to be thanked for, just got no time to complain.

Bakasyon na naman..

I hate it when I have highlighted email messages which stays for days or weeks on my outlook to-do list, it’s either a WIP (work in process), or emails which demands calming down before clicking that reply button, or emails which demands availability for possible rendez-vous or an email which demands information to which I have no answer, or worst, no idea where in the world I could dig for possible answers.

One email has been hibernating in my inbox since two weeks now. You won’t believe it. It’s an email from our secretary asking everyone in the department to fix our summer vacations!

In the Philippines, funny how most of the people working in industries had formed an allergy to the word ‘vacation’. We always have the tendency to work more and play less. A lot even converts their vacation and sick leaves to, you got it, cash!

Here in Europe, aside from our daily agenda, vacation management is one skill indispensable in our corporate life. In the company where I work, the corporate calendar starts on June 1. That means to say that we have to re-zero our accounts at the end of May. As I have no vacations yet, I only have few days to liquidate - my RTT days (due to work time reduction, we gain in average 0.83 days/month vacation). And mind you, I still have 5 days!

June 1 marks my official 5 weeks paid vacation leave. It also marks my skill on vacation management! Hey hey, do you really think it’s that easy? Let me guide you how to organize a vacation in a European mindset:

1. Choose the best date – if you’re single, that simplifies the process. If you’re in a couple, synchronise the dates with your partner. If you’ve got children, then you have no choice, you only have scholastic vacations to choose from. Once the dates are chosen, then proceed to step 2.

2. Choose the activity – cultural, sportive, leisure, adventure, tourist itinerary visit, visit families or friends or just a mix of all of the above.

3. Choose the destination – note that Europeans don’t limit their long vacations to their own country, it normally stretches out to the whole globe.

4. Check weather reports – once destination is chosen, please don’t forget to check the weather. If forecasted weather is not to their liking, they don’t hesitate to go back to step 3.

5. Check for best deals – the best gear is of course the internet, where last minute prices, promotional packages and a lot of cheap stuffs are posted. Never neglect that most Europeans are kuripots. They want fun at the least possible price! Best deals include transportation and hotels.

Looks simple but not really. I just organized our May vacation, and now, I have to start thinking about our July vacation. Heck, can’t I just stay at home?

Wanted: Yaya

Reality is slowly getting into the picture. The question is, who would take care of the baby?

If only I was in the Philippines, for sure, di pa ko kinakasal, me yaya applicants na kagad ako, not even knowing if I’m baog or what!

Much as we want to be cool, this problem has been haunting us since we learned about the good news. It’s a known problem here in France, if you want your child to be enrolled in one of the nurseries here, better register now. I mean now, not 3 months before the D Day!

There are actually different options that we could take, it’s for us to measure the applicability of each solution to our current situation. Talking about anticipation!

Les Crèches (The Nurseries) – public or private, it could be a good solution for us. The fee though is exorbitantly high, and immediate registration is a must. They could normally take infants from 2.5 months to 3 years old, just in time when I finally restart my so-called active life.

Les Crèches Familiales ou Crèches à Domicile (In-House Nurseries) – it could be an ideal solution, considering our bébé will grow in a more agreeable environment. In fact, we will have to bring our child in the nanny’s place where she guards plusieurs children. The schedule could be more flexible too.

Les Assistantes Maternelles Agréées (Professional Nannies) – the same regime as that of in-house nurseries in terms of condition and flexibility but they are not under the community administration.

Nounou (Nanny) – another ideal solution but costs a lot higher. It’s like a personal yaya who would stay in our place while we’re out. She’ll do little house works too! Ideal if the couple have tight schedules. An advantage is that, our baby will grow in the same environment – in our own house. No early wake ups to go to the nursery. The problem is, will we entrust our very own abode to somebody else?

Jeune Fille Au Pair (Au Pair)– the best solution (well, for us). A young student who would want to learn another culture and language and willing to take care of babies and do a little household chores at the same time. The host couple will pay for her French lessons, food and lodging and some weekly allowance. The advantage: higher flexibility as she will stay in our house.

We have been contemplating for quite a while on which solution we should take, and Au Pair is gaining more votes. We only have 2 problems actually, 2 BIG PROBLEMS!

- None of his family resides near our place.
- Both of us could be in another part of the planet in one point or another because of our work.

I could of course slow down, but little voyages in Paris for a short meeting have been part of my routine already. Frenchguy, my workaholic counterpart does a lot more than me, responsibility oblige. Honestly, waking up early morning everyday to prepare your baby, bringing him to the nanny without forgetting to refill his milk, diapers etc etc, going out of work early to fetch him and other bladiblahblahs is not life. I guess we could do better.

But another problem resurfaced. I’ve heard that issuance of au pair visas has been stopped by the Philippine Government, and honestly I have second thoughts on taking European or American/Canadian au pairs. Don’t they love partying? I want somebody I know or my family knows, somebody I could trust. It will be an exchange program anyway, so both of us will gain from the experience.

Just wondering how other working moms cope up? YELP!!!

Life's Update

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Somebody pushes me to eat more, drink more, sleep more and work less. In the afternoon, after work, instead of lurking on the net, I stay bedridden in front of the TV with my eyes closed. I have sudden urges to eat citrus fruits with salt (frenchguy finds it weird), my taste buds are not functioning anymore. I have acne all over! I feel tired! Somebody is trying to invade me!

The Culprit: A 2.5 cm budding creature, diagnosed to be 8.5 weeks old, with a heart pumping at 171 bps and surprisingly capable to bring so much happiness to anyone hearing his existence.

Color Coding

A friend of mine just had her former ex-pinay-now-Amgirl mother-in-law here in France and this morning, she was so eager to finally tell me her inis and relief that her mother-in-law finally left. She was so fed up as her mother-in-law went overboard by being so mayabang, and most especially, as she was told to be tsimay look-alike for having that baluga color.

After doing everything to be as hospitable as possible, that was what she gained. Honestly, when she told me about her adventure with her mother-in-law, I just couldn't help myself from laughing. I was just knocked by the idea that after long years of being in America, this poor mother-in-law still have the same standard of color / social discrimination - branding morenas as lower class citizens and fair-skinned as socialites. Oh well!

Here in Europe, we could trace back this kind of social classification in the Medieval Ages where tanned population were mostly the farmers while the noble families stay as pale white as they could. They even apply talc powders all over their body to get even whiter.

Now, the trend has completely inversed. If you've got a tanned skin, that would mean that you could pay yourself a vacation. If you've got a perfectly uniform tan all over your body, that would mean that you could even pay yourself a vacation in one of the European Nude Beaches. Sosyal ka day! And finally, if you've got a tanned skin all year round, that would mean that you've got a lot of bucks to pay yourself an artificial tan (tanning cream, tanning bed, sun lamps). O di ba.

In my present entourage, everybody envies my natural tan. Hehe, i don't have to pay expensive vacations to have that.

Well, is stereotyping normal? Ewan. The last time I was in Pinas, I was really nognog as I just came back from a long vacation, and most of my colleagues had the same remark: Ay, nakakaitim pala sa France. Buti na lang, I'm not really affected with such remark, proof, I never used whitening creams.

There's one remark which affected me though: Ano ba yan, hanggang ngayon, di ka pa rin tumataba. Well, it's past tense now, no more vitamins, appetizers, food supplements, etc. I just learned to love and accept who I am, and who wouldn't, lahat sila dito, inggit sa kin. I could eat anything I want without worrying about my weight :).

Leave my job alone..

The world had changed and so is the old continent – Europe. From Europe de 15, it counts 25 members at present, with Turkey readying itself to be welcomed by the group. Its status though, presents like a floating big question mark which creates indifference vis-à-vis the European populace.

After Spain has voted Yes to European Constitution, France will be next in line by the end of May. But just before affronting this incomprehensible constitution, another issue has been dominating the headlines and of course, the pause-café conversations this past weeks – the Bolkestein Directive. It translates to service liberalisation inside the EU. The essence of it, if I were to dissect my entourage’s different views, is to create a job/manpower market inter-Europe to compete with the rest of the world and eventually prevent today’s rampant delocalisation, well, to at least keep the jobs inside Europe.

Is this really the best solution?

Ok, let me give you an economic perspective from a non-economist :) - MOI! Those were the days when the manufacturers dictate or impose the best product to their customers. Now, the golden rule is ‘the customer is always right’. Million bucks are allocated every year to understand what the client wants (thus the conception of a new product or new functionality to an existing product), to incite the customers to consume the said product (marketing) and finally, to make the product accessible to its target market (distribution). With the stiff and growing global competition, the client is confronted with different choices or solutions to only one demand, it’s for him to pick the best product which best responds to his need, budget and taste. Now as a customer, aren’t we satisfied to buy a 50€ DVD labelled Made in Asia rather than exactly the same product which is Made in France but costs thrice the price? Come on, be honest.

Now, what would this French DVD manufacturer do if he sees his sales trend go down? How would he keep his products on display inside the supermarkets and specialty stores? Either he sets higher quality and lower manufacturing cost targets to the detriment of his employees’ work conditions or opt for the radical solution – delocalisation.

Let’s do a recap, you were happy as a consumer right? What would you feel as an employee? Yeah, this is a sad fact of globalization. The world has changed, now, we have to cope up with it.

So what does this situation show? Well, it’s a concrete example of jobs flying to Asia. Now, could you blame these Euros if they want to keep the few remaining jobs inside their territory for themselves?

In fact, the directive proposes that every European citizen could freely work anywhere in Europe but would carry its country’s regime. This would mean a French employee could work in Poland and would have the same benefits and social charges as in France, and vice versa. I have heard different views on this topic which sounds more of a yelling insecurity to me, an uncertainty to what future awaits for them.

Well, all the people around me would surely vote NON on this directive. Personally, the way I see things now and if only I could cast my vote, I’ll surely vote NON.

Headache at Work

Since our target this year is for our new products to reach our market at the soonest time possible, the higher management decided to lighten up the work load of our R&D colleagues so they could focus more on R, as in Research. The D, the Development will be slowly but surely be transferred to Engineering. Well, this is a good point as we could see probable future problems and could immediately create an action plan. But the negative point is that, this is another work load for us, and since we, the Engineering Dept are not the supposed-to-be drivers of such project, we don’t have the final word and the communication path is all the more complicated now.

I’m conducting a feasibility plan in our pilot plant (reminds me of my college days) since two weeks now and this afternoon, I finally cracked up! How could a simple feasibility plan be as complicated for them? Well, sure we have loads of product tests but I did an impeccable planning so my operators won’t be lost, as they say here, it’s nickel chrome – but they were lost nevertheless. Well, now, don’t accuse me of language barrier, I speak French as I speak Zambal, no boasting!

The problem is, they don’t talk about organisational problems between them so I have to settle each problem one by one. And then, at the end of the chain, problems still persist! Hay naku, another problem is that, everybody thinks that they’re doing the right thing. And if you try to correct them, it’s as if you’re putting their competence in question, hello? Mga highblood tong mga taong to. Pano ko kaya sila dedeskartehan na di sila maooffend? Tapos feeling pa nila, me kinakampihan ako. Hay naku, ang hirap talagang ihandle minsan ng mga oldies (their age bracket ranges from 45 to retirable age). Hope tomorrow, they will do it the right way.

The Mess!

I arrived at home last Tuesday with all the drawers opened, all our clothes on the floor, all the papers messed up in all the corners of the house and our window and terrace door forced-opened. They took my laptop, our numeric camera, my jewelleries, and some dollars. They also broke my printer. The policemen didn't find any trace of fingerprints or whatever.

Now, the question is, do they really have to put all those mess up? My, they don't have to dig around the house to take what they have taken! Now, I have job till this weekend to put back our house in order! Grrr!

*These little bastards took my dollars but had the kindness to leave me my Pesoses and Bahts.

Tax Me Not!

Every French household has surely got that inevitable black plastic envelope in their mailbox early this week, which, if you don’t pay much attention, could easily be mistaken as publicités (advertising magazines). I automatically junked it in the yellow bin last year thinking it was one of those weekly dose of publicité again - inspite of the big ‘Pas de Pub, SVP’ on our mailbox. Thanks goodness we could declare it by internet. This piece of technology really does wonders.

Since it will be my first ever tax declaration, I guess it’s just normal to know where my hard-earned money goes. And so I learned:

1. To reduce the public deficit - this year's deficit is estimated at ~15%. One budget allocation which most nationalistic Frenchies could rant about is the budget for EU aide. Let's take a classic example: agriculture. A farmer from East Europe got a financial aid from EU and bought a top-of-the-class tractor, saw his productivity growing, and sold potatoes in France. Logically, a french buyer will purchase the less expensive potato (from East Europe) rather than the quality-guaranteed French potatoes. Buy French! - ah, if you've got a tight budget, what would you do?

2. To support the growth and employment - Well, this is a good objective. I just hope they could stop those companies from packing their baggages and install somewhere else.

3. To act for social justice - Among others, the government promises to improve the buying power of the French population. They already started by lowering the prices of basic commodities...hmm, this is kinda delicate and should be balanced. It shouldn't push the industries to produce outside to be able to sell at lower prices in France.

4. To ensure the financing of different priorities - On top of the list is RESEARCH. Two thumbs up! This step would ensure long-term solution, profit-generating activity, work for the population, and competitiveness vis-à-vis the international community. Isn't that great?

So where in the world do they get their budget to finance all these?

In fact, the biggest source of government income is the mighty VAT which represents ~42% of the total income. And why not, they tax 19.6% at a normal rate - the fifth highest in Europe - and 5.5% at a reduced rate.

Here’s Europe’s VAT ranking:

1. Sweden, Hungary and Denmark at 25%
2. Poland and Finland at 22%
3. Ireland and Belgium at 21%
4. Slovenia, Italy and Austria at 20%
5. France at 19.6%

And who would resist, everything is impeccable and inviting to encourage higher consumption, thus bloating the VAT fund. Tourism alone gets a good share of tax collection! I haven’t even talked about cigarettes…

The second biggest source is – hold your breath – tax on revenue (18%)! Surprised? Nope, not really. Now, take a plunge on these numbers and feel the weight of each percentage.

less than 4,334€ = 0%

4,335€ - 8,524€ = 6.83%

8,525€ - 15,004€ = 19.14%

15,005€ - 24,294€ = 28.26%

24,295€ - 39,529€ = 37.38%

39,530€ - 48,747€ = 42.62%

more than 48 747€ = 48.09%

No effect? Then try this: tax calculator

Now, here’s the lighter side, you get 20€ incentive if you declare it by internet, and what more is that, you get a longer deadline. I guess younger generations will opt for this solution, but not the older ones. They would rather do it the traditional way rather than ‘publish’ their bank account numbers on the net (even if the site promises security!)

Nouveauté? Audiovisual Tax will be equally declared on this formulaire. Yes, they pay to have a glimpse of what is happening in France and around the world. But hey, I’m wondering how much percentage of the population really pays this tax. Hehe, there’s no way out now, you French magouilleurs!

Another nouveauté? The fiscal rights for those who are bonded by PACS (or legal partners) are now aligned as to married couples (before, we had to wait 3 long years before we could have a common tax declaration (we are on our 2nd year)– that is to prevent fake marriages). Yehey! That would mean one year tax savings!

Most of the French population will surely disagree with me, but in all honesty, I'm generally satisfied with what the government does with my money. I'm worry-free! I don't have to worry if I get sick, if I get laid off, if I give birth, if I retire, not even for my future children's education and health. Pourvu que ça dure! (Let's hope it lasts!). These frenchies just don't realize the luck that they have. As Maxime Le Forestier wanted to convey in one of his songs:

Est-ce que les gens naissent égaux en droits

A l'endroit où ils naissent

Que les gens naissent pareils ou pas

On choisit pas ses parents, on choisit pas sa famille

On choisit pas non plus les trottoirs de Manille

De Paris ou d'Alger pour apprendre à marcher

Etre né quelque part Etre né quelque part

Pour celui qui est né, c'est toujours un hasard

Translation:
Are people born with equal rights
where they are born?
Are they born similar or not?

We don't choose our parents or our family.
We don't choose either the pavements of Manila,
Paris or Algeria to learn how to walk.
To be born somewhere. To be born somewhere.
For those who are born, it is always a fate/chance.

Hotel Scams

If you think your safe in a 5-star hotel in Makati, then think twice. An email has been sent to me by a friend, who, herself, was also a victim of this scam in one of our so-called first class hotels in Makati. Read this:

Subject: Shangri-La Hotel Incident: please read

My daughter and I departed from San Francisco Intl. Airport on January 14. 2005 and arrived in Manila at 5:15 am, Sunday Jan. 16. 2005. Prior arrangements were made for us to be picked up from the airport by Shangri-La Hotel Makati. Upon arrival, we were met by an unmarked Shangri-La car.

We checked in at 5:50 am. We were assigned Room 2704. Our luggages (4 Pcs) were brought to our room a few minutes later. Since this was a Sunday, we had the day to just rest and visit with some friends. We ordered room service (light breakfast) and got dressed. We left the hotel to attend Sunday Mass at 9:30 am and returned to our hotel room at 4 pm. We were then picked up by relatives from the hotel for dinner at 6:30 pm. We were back at the hotel room at around 9:45 pm.

As soon as we retired to bed, the nightmare began. At approximately 10 pm the telephone rang, in the dark, I crawled to answer the phone and on the other line the operator asked me if I knew a certain Abdul something and that there were 7 men wanting to go up to our room. I told her in an emphatic way that I did not want anyone coming up and that I did not know anyone by that name and that I was not expecting anyone that evening. She then told me to call the head of Security (a woman named Lourdes) from my cell phone while she waited on the other line. As soon as I connected to this Lourdes, she said she was a hotel employee connected with the Abu Sayaf and that all of the employees were in this together and it will not do me any good if I attempted to call for help! That they do this to a lot of hotel guests and that they take care of the Makati police, politicians, etc. At this time, fear had set in. She knew my name, and said that we should have been kidnapped earlier but if I just followed everything she ordered me to do, we would not be harmed. At this point, the main thing that occurred in my mind was the recent warnings to travellers especially American citizens to be aware of our surroundings for fear that we may be kidnapped for ransom. She also told me that our room was being monitored by housekeeping and security. There were instances wherein I raised my voice, and she was quick in warning me to calm down or I would get hurt! She also told me that if we attempted to leave the room, they would spray our room. I was basically trapped with this woman using my own cell phone. I was worried for our lives! She asked me how much cash and jewelry we had. She ordered me to go out of the hotel and catch a taxi not from the front of the hotel but to walk out to the street and catch a cab. There was a cab waiting in the corner, we got in, was ordered to go to a 7-11 store, have the cab wait, purchase several thousand pesos of Globe and Smart phone cards. She had me read each and every number and pin number over the phone. We rode the cab again, this time, she ordered us to withdraw some more cash from a 24-hour CitiBank ATM machine. Since I did not remember my pin number, my daughter used her card. We rode the cab again and was ordered to let the driver drive to another city (did not realize how seedy the area was until we got there) to F.B. Harrison, and go to another mini store and order the taxi to leave. A woman by the name of Lisa will pick up the money and phone cards. Upon reaching the mini store, my daughter heard the driver say, do you want me to stay for your security? Taking a chance, I shushed the driver to be quiet. I signalled for him to wait.

We then entered the store, and I asked this Lourdes, where this Lisa is. She then asked me why I told the taxi driver to wait. She obviously knew I had asked the driver to wait because she told me that was their driver! So we went out and told him to leave. While waiting for this Lisa, Lourdes ordered me again to purchase more phone cards, did the same routine of reading off all the numbers and pin numbers. After this process, she ordered us to step out of the store, turn left in a dark alley, and walk until we see this woman Lisa. We were walking but decided to stop because it was getting darker. I demanded where this woman was, so this Lourdes in a sarcastic voice, told me how do you expect to see her if you stopped walking? (They were obviously watching us). Before we handed over the cash, she instructed us to go back to the hotel and wait for her call. Then she ordered me to hand over my ‘Philippine’ cell phone to this woman.

We hailed another cab and returned to the hotel. As we were packing since we wanted to leave the hotel immediately, the phone rang again, and this time she told us the cash was not enough and handed over the phone to their ‘Commandant’. He sounded very scary and demanding. He ordered us to call the front desk and have more phone cards charged to our room and brought up. Once we had the cards, I read all these numbers and pin numbers again and was ordered to flush all these in the toilet. In the meantime, she warned us that if we told anyone about this, they knew our flight schedule and that they would kidnap us. Then she ordered that we open another suitcase to look for cash. Obviously, we did not have any cash. She told us to check out of the hotel before the 5 am shift because this shift could do this to us again. Even without her telling us this, we were so scared, we just wanted to get out of that hotel.

We checked out at 1:03 am and took a cab to go to our relative’s residence at Rockwell Makati.

We were both trembling all the way to our relative’s place. We were both trying to be brave for each other but in reality, we were so traumatized by this event. We consoled each other and thanked God that we are alive. It could have been worse. My daughter was so traumatized that she wanted for us to take the next flight out in the morning, but because I had several important meetings to attend to, she agreed to stay a couple of days. Under the advice of my client, we booked ourselves to return to the States on January 19, 2005, Wednesday instead of the original date of January 21, 2005.

The next day, we mentioned this to our lawyer friend, and he did a little investigation of Shangri-La Hotel, and apparently there were three other victims the same day and all of us were picked up by the Shangri-La Hotel.

We were still so scared of taking the ride to the NAIA Airport, but fortunately, our lawyer friend provided us with top security all the way to our airplane.

Apparently, this modus operandi targets balikbayans and not foreigners. They want money, and they get it. I don’t know if the owners of these big hotels or our Tourism Department are aware of this incident. Maybe not. I did a quick search on the net about a possible exposé or article on this incident and only found this which doesn’t give any detail at all. Are these kinds of stories taboo in our daily journals?

I just hope my friend will find the courage to tell the story and get over with the trauma this incident had caused her and her family.

What is happening to our country? Where are we going? Why are we, Filipinos, insist on pushing our beloved country into the ditch?

I hate to say this but: Mga kababayan, ingat po tayo sa ating kapwa kababayan.

PRINTEMPS

Spring season will officially ray its light on the 20th of March, that’s in two weeks time, and that would mean closet reorganization – thick pullovers and jackets a shelf higher – thinner pullovers and skirts on accessible shelves. I’m actually impatient to see those leaves and flowers sprout up from their dormant season – the glow of the sun as it gently caresses each petal, the birds coming back from their winter hideaway, longer daylight, more people crisscrossing in parks and centre-villles, the world transforming from grey to green and eventually, reopening of the very French terrace cafés. But with the snow endlessly covering the whole of France and the rest of Europe, I guess my thick pullovers will still conquer the lower shelves of my closet.

Never had I considered Dijon as a winter wonderland, but this year, I guess it merits to be nominated! Since December, snows come and go, as if they found a new playground, sometimes they rest, sometimes they don’t. Already in mid-march but snow downfall is still forecasted eventhough they’re not anymore le bienvenu.

Luckily, I succeeded to persuade frenchguy to buy a maison de ville (houses in the city center) rather than a maison de campagne (houses in the outskirts of the city). Roads are well salted (to increase the friction between the road and the tire) and well kept in villes than in the suburbs. Hmm, not really. Dijon had a heavy snow downfall last Friday and inspite of the efficient road maintenance, snow persisted.

As I take the same road itinerary everyday, I don’t really pay attention anymore on road signs or road conditions. I know it by heart. I can even go to work with my eyes closed. I know where the radars, the traffic lights, the policemen, and the schools are, hence I know where to decelerate. I was then in complete surprise (I was actually frightened!) when I glided and almost touched the parked cars as I shifted left to join the next avenue. That was my first ever car-slide! Lesson learned!

Well, enough for me. I already had a good dose of winter this year, but as I am writing this entry, the snow outside still continues to tease me. A big PRINTEMPS is printed on the 20th of my calendar, but the sole indication that it’s really coming is the longer daylight, other than that, everything reminds me of winter.

I survived!

With the current economic situation, hence the increasing unemployment rate, my entry to the current workforce is really un coup de chance, a rare opportunity I shouldn’t miss. What more is that, my employer weighed out every bit of a detail one should consider in evaluating the position status and the salary for an inhinyero like me. Well done, Madame!

After a year of tête-à-tête work experience with these hard-to-please frenchies, it’s inevitable for me to have a love-and-hate relationship with this 5-days-a-week journey I now consider LIFE.

I once tried to explain to my Mom and Dad how I work à la française and I thought they completely understood. But each time they ask me pertinent questions about my job or just the way I work, I just realize that it’s not at all the case.

So Mom, if you read this, just explain it to Dad. And Dad, if you read this, please be reminded that I’m not anymore working in our beloved Pinas and I don’t need that goddamn pension plan!

So there you go, let me explain myself:

March 1 – today marks the anniversary of my arrival in the busy world, in an industrial plot here in my adoptive country called France. My chronometer restarts. 41 more years to go before retirement.

May 1 – Labor Day. It was also my first day, well, with a permanent contract or what they call CDI here (Contrat à Durée Indéterminée). Ça s’annonce bien! (It starts well!) It was my first day and I was already on holiday.

Flexitime – yey, as long as I complete 35 hours per week, my quota is accomplished. Whether I work less (which is hardly the case), or I work more (which happens quite often especially when I’ve got an ongoing project) a day, my salary remains the same. Wala po akong OT. But the great thing is that, I’m the master of my time. I could arrive in my office at 9:30am or 7am and nobody cares. Anyways, I’ve got no salary deduction because I was late nor a salary increase because I was early. Fair deal, right?

Faire la Sociale – this was a tough initiation for a neophyte coming from another side of the planet like me. I mean, for those who work in an industry where time is gold and the only conversation you could have with your colleague is when you both are in a meeting. Here, socialization is allowed…and sans moderation!

Pause Café – 9:00, 13:00 (or after lunch), 16:00. I don’t know if they mark these planning on their agenda, but I assure you, they’re punctual. Here is where you could practice the above-mentioned faire la sociale thing. Well, not everybody of course follow this planning religiously, but I assure you, there are some!

Pause Cigarette – this is another thing for the faire la sociale application. When most of my men colleagues are out, surely, they’re on their smoking session!

Vacations – a friend of mine made a sarcastic remark telling me ‘hey, don’t you have but vacations there?’. Yep, in this part of the world, the rule is: We WORK in order to LIVE, not the other way around. Vacation is part of their culture and of course, their budget! Beware when you transact a business with them in July - August or anywhere between December and February, there’s a great chance that they’re on vacation.

Work Stress – beware, it’s contagious! Symptoms: You have sleepless nights. You succeed to sleep but you dream about your job. You have more pimples than before. Your favourite topic is your job. You complain about your job. You try to be organized but you work 12 hours a day or more. You work at home. You talk about work at home. You talk about work with friends.

Reserved Parking – I am entitled to one because my position status allows me to. I haven’t asked for it, I just park wherever is available. And if nothing is available inside the vicinity, I park my car outside at my own risk. My principle dictates me so. Heck, don’t other employees with lower classification deserve the same security?

Taxes and Social Security – the 22% deduction per month (revenue tax not included – I’ve got exemption for one year), plus the company’s participation which is double my contribution, covers taxes, social charges and social security. The company pays a complementary insurance for me too.

Stock Options - everybody got one here. Who wouldn’t? It’s known to be the best investment ever. Well, if you know how to play.

Work Accident – if you had an accident on your way to work (or vice versa), please be informed that it’s considered as work accident (thus company pays!). Just be sure that the accident happens on your normal route, and not on private accesses (such as universities, hospitals etc to shortcut the trajet).

Endless Negotiations – well, I find this particularly difficult. Everybody has got something to say. It’s kinda tiring and it delays much of our work. People management is certainly a tough job here. If there’s one which stresses me out, this is it!

Well, not bad. I survived!