life is ironic

LIFE IS IRONIC. SOMETIMES, IT FORCES US TO MAKE A CHOICE, WHEN IN FACT, THERE IS NO CHOICE.

I have read this passage somewhere and that captured my attention and left me wondering about the irony of it. It may sound pessimist for some but a lot of us, in one point or another, could relate with this biting truth.

I will share to you a story of a friend who dreamt of having a better life with his chosen career but ended up tilling the lands - somebody else's land.

His family belonged to the lower class of our society - his father was a carpenter and his mother busied herself with farming jobs during planting and harvest seasons. As he was the bunso (youngest) in the family, his parents and his siblings decided to send him to school inspite of the financial difficulties. It was the only means to alleviate their social status.

Manila schools were of course out of the question, hence, he did a computer related study in our province's capital, thinking it will be a job of the future. Everybody in the family shared the same dream - a diploma - providing them motivations to work more.

Hélas, the diploma was on hand. It was time for him to prove himself in the real world. Unfortunately, he never landed in any job related to his line of profession. What was the problem?

Was he not competent enough?

I don't know. I don't think anybody could really answer that. He was never given the chance to prove his worth anyway. He was just exposed to the blatant discrimination of our society. A graduate from a never-heard school in a far away province trying his luck in the busy streets of Manila, who would hire him? Of course there will be some who would say, I was in the same shoes before and I nevertheless succeeded. Of course, of course. Lucky you. But were you really in the same shoes? He was a graduate of the new millennium when competition was stiff and discrimination was rampant.

And yes, to be positive, he triggered some small time jobs in Manila in order to sustain his basic needs...as a karpentero, kargador, waiter sa bar...

Did he exert enough effort to find a job?

Much more than you could imagine. Every CV and motivation letter he sent represented hard-earned pesos for him. Every refuse letter was a disappointment not only for him, more so for his family. Not only his stay in Manila was unproductive, most importantly, it was costly. He then decided to go home to the province - to work as a karpentero, kargador, waiter sa bar...but this time, less the charges.

Was he a loser?

I don't think so. The fact that he gave up in finding a job in Manila doesn't make him a loser at all. It was just the most practical choice at that point. He had no capital, he knew nobody, there was no opportunity - all these circumstances pushed him to move on and find another opportunity somewhere else.

Did he have the choice?

If you couldn't relate at all to his story, that means that you belong to the Elite Filipinos of our country. If you never heard of such kind of story, that means that you frequent the Elite Filipinos of our country. If you refuse to accept that such situations exist in our country, then I tell you, you've been dreaming for so long and it's time to wake up!

back to reality

Among the list of barriers preventing foreign investments in the Philippines, macroeconomic instability, corruption and poor infrastracture topped the list. Read more.

Any thoughts?

just dreaming..

I've been watching TV last night and Nepal was featured on one of the channels. The innocent landscapes untouched by the chaotic technology and the unblemished culture just captured the adventurer inside of me. I would like to explore what this country has to offer. I would like to walk around its little villages, talk and exchange smiles with its people, climb its mountains, breath its air..I would like to approach the alluring Mt Everest.

I have met one of the visitors of Nepal in one of my climbs, and his experience was still vivid in his mind...I would like to live the same experience...one of these days, I will be climbing one of its mountains!

I haven't been there but I start to love this country. It's one of the hike destinations I dreamed to explore.

tiger of asia?

The french and european leader in beauty products and perfumery distribution Marionnaud has been bought by a chinese business tycoon Li Ka-Shing, owner of AS Watson among others.

Read on.

An investor from a developing country to a developed country. A new twist in the global economy. It wasn't of course the first investment but this new development marks China's quest to conquer the business world. Not only it presents as a production haven for investors, it also highlights its intention to be one of the important actors in the competitive business world.

Looking back, there was a time when Philippines was the Tiger of Asia. Where are we now?

Cost of Living = Quality of Life

Among the millions of differences I had to get used to in living in another country, I particularly had a hard time getting accustomed to… vacations! I never had a vacation plan. I was used to my Philippine life where ‘long’ vacations had rare apparitions, that is, twice a year – Christmas and Holy Week! Needless to say that I’d rather spend those precious vacations with my family and friends in my hometown than spending it elsewhere.

But on second thought, if I had real long vacations in the Philippines, will I have the means to have a luxurious vacation? Could a simple employee as I was afford such getaway? Let me analyse…

I was a simple employee with an average salary and with a good independent life. Considering that I was just starting my career at that time, though I had total financial independence, I also had limited access to financial freedom and luxury. I could afford vacations, of course, but in a not-so-expensive scenario. Like everybody else, I had moral obligations towards my family, so before burning those bucks out in some cozy bars in makati or manila or even farther, I had to give my share to my sisters/brother in Manila. I committed myself to such charity to lighten my parent’s financial burden – the monthly bills are deadly!

Let me compare it with what I enjoy now.

I’m still a simple employee with an average salary and with a good independent life, redundant isn’t it? But the ratio between the cost of living and my purchasing power has increased. In the Philippines, it is sad to say that this ratio is in total disequilibrium. There is no balance between what you earn and what you have to pay. It seems to me that it is calculated on a survival basis. We live to work, well, for most.

Dollar earners would say that life there is not expensive. Euro earners will surely have a grand time with their 1€ = P74. But in reality, the cost of living is high! Terribly high!

I had a brief discussion with my mom this weekend. Since my parents are both retired now, no more children in school, I was trying to persuade them to finally enjoy their life and stop thinking about finances. I may sound French this time, but I guess they have completed their mission and deserve a break. My dad continues with his insurance thing and ventured his retirement money on business. It’s a good move, but then, as I’ve said, what will they do with their money? Their monthly pension should be enough to live correctly. They could even afford to have a little leisure on the side. But they just refuse this idea. – I know I will never succeed to change their mind – it’s the mentality. they would work as long as they could!

caring for mother earth

The tragedy caused by the killer tsunami still haunts me until now. After the typhoons in the Philippines, here we are again with another bigger catastrophe in Asia. I cant help but think about my family left in the Philippines, they're safe..but until when? I cant anymore stand watching those sufferings on TV.. my heart goes out for them.

As everybody has probably noticed, our climate has been changing: heavy rains experienced on a summer season and dryness on a rainy season. 3 consecutive typhoons on the month of December…?

On environment

It was in 1999 when I first encountered Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) in the Philippines through a conference offered by the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers (PIChE). In layman’s term, I’ll just translate it to a company’s engagement to protect the environment. Different big companies were represented during the conference…I was there on my own account.

The approach was, for me at that time, a bit ambitious considering the investments involved..and the question..will the Filipinos take this step seriously? Will they be willing to sacrifice part of their profit to venture for this cause? Of course this initiative doesn’t only mean expenses, it also mean long-term profits…but as written, it’s long-term.

Being a French filial and following the company’s global politic on environment and security, our production site in the Philippines is certified ISO 14001 (and OHSAS 18001 too). It’s comforting to see that their approach is even more structured than what we have here in France. Yes, finally, the Filipino can!

Carrefour’s initiative

When I was on vacation in Venice, I thought that this city was an agreeable place to visit, not only because of its beauty but also because of its cleanliness. No cars, no buses…non negligible knowing that transportation is number one on the list of pollutants. Another observation was that, shoppers bring their own baskets / plastic bags to minimize their wastes. That was a good way to environment protection, and I wondered when would France engage the same approach…

Like all other Tuesdays (discounts are offered for cartepass holders exclusively on Tuesday), I was in Carrefour last Tuesday to refill my stocks. When I was about to arrange what I bought, I was surprised to see no plastic bags where they used to be, so I asked the cashier for some so I could help her fix them. Well, actually, she explained to me that they already stopped (or should I say minimized as they still give some - just enough for what you bought unlike before when everything was open to customers) giving away plastic bags.

Two thumbs up for Carrefour for their initiative to environment protection. I’m sure all other supermarkets will adapt the same politic sooner.

My role as an individual

Needless to say that I do separate recyclable / non recyclable wastes at home - it requires a minimum effort to be environment friendly.

I had a 3-day training on Functional Analysis which was very interesting and in line with what I do. During process conception, environment and security are imperative functions which shouldn’t be omitted – not forgetting of course the quality of the final product.

As an engineer and working in an industry, I am of course aware that I am a hazard to the environment – but rest assured, I am certified ISO 14001 :) !

Visit to La Cité des Sciences et de l'industrie

Science buff as I am, during our one-day stay in Paris with my frenchman’s niece, I brought her to the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie (science and industry museum). Luckily, there was this animation on the changing climate and its causes. I wanted her to be aware thus, be responsible at an earlier age.

One thing that marked her attention was that, in the year 2500, if activities continue as they are right now, Paris will surely be below sea level!

How could we help preserve our environment for the next generation to come?

christmas blues

This may sound depressive or pathetic or whatever, but I don't feel the spirit of Christmas. it's just around the corner, as everybody says , but it seems that I’m in the middle of a vast space that I just cannot find it - where is it by the way? After 3 years of being away from home, is this what they call homesickness???

I don’t have any Christmas wish. Not that I’m not excited with Christmas gifts, it's just that, I don't think I need anything. I’ve just completed my list but nothing is extraordinary in what I prepared. I’ve got no glittery ideas for the moment, but I guess my in-laws are used to it now – anyway, every year is the same, so what the heck. I just hope they won’t harass me with the famous Filipino cuisine that I never offered to them.

The weather just intensifies this emptiness I feel. I miss the Philippine Christmas weather, that cozy atmosphere that you could find only in the Philippines. Inspite the smelly cheese, the expensive 1ère cru vin de bourgogne (burgundy wine), the long lasting Christmas dinner and eat-all-you-can chocolates, still, nothing compares to home.

Ghost blogger !!

I’m quite used to it, on and off the blogger world. The title I’m back is not relevant anymore as I’m always out. So what were the updates?

Internet access.

I finally have it in the office! I have been waiting for it since I started working here. It’s not that I had no right to have it on my computer, it’s just that my boss always forget to make the demand. Oh by the way, the demand is just a simple email - #&%$*@ !!!

My home access is not yet connected – we had to change our phone number, then stop the old contract, send the modem, then renew the contract. No other way to make it simpler!

We’re finally settled.

Everything on place now, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room.. even the toilet! As we are receiving my in-laws this christmas, it’s imperative that we decorate our house. Every French child believes in père-nöel so we have to continue with the tradition!! Last Friday, we bought a real Christmas tree and decided to place it near the chimney, that way, santa will not be tired traversing the whole living room just to reach it. Just as we tried to fit the Christmas tree to the support, frenchguy accidentally cut his index finger, so we rushed to the emergency hospital near our place – our first domestic accident!

Urgences (Emergency)

It was my first time. Never been in a hospital eversince! Just to give you a glimpse of an emergency à la française: we rushed to the hospital right after I put some cotton on his finger (the solution you should not do when you have cuts!), we arrived there around 10pm. After the registration with the blood-imbibed cotton on his finger, we waited 2 long hours before they took charge of him. After a 5-min-long disinfection of a 6-stitches deep wound, he again waited around 30 min before they finally put the bandage! He was finally released at 1am! Yes, France have an urgent need to boost their hospital employees.

2nd Encounter

I don’t know what my belle Peugeot pawis-steering 106 has, but the thieves again tried to steal it! The first tentative was infront of the company (I had no designated parking yet at that time), the second one was last week, just infront of our newly-acquired almost-furnished house! – our first domestic security dilemma!

Christmas package

Not that bad. Each of the employees had a backpack (best for little hikes), a picnic kit complete with utensils, 2 bottles of wine (red and white), a jar of foie gras (duck liver pâté), and a jar of terrine de veau (beef pâté).

Winter Blues

It will be my 3rd winter this year but it still feels like my first time – and this time, a real pain! It’s been over a week now that Dijon is covered with a very dense fog and a temperature which is always lower than 0°C. Since now I’m obliged to take the car everyday, that translates to everyday war with my car! I just broke that little piece of plastic they use to grate off those snows/frost, so my last resort is to pour lukewarm water on my car everyday, anyway, it’s not snow anymore, it’s ice! A pain - and not the best solution of course.

Work tidbits

I thought there will be a rally in our company today. As usual, the workers want an incentive increase. I saw a communiqué late yesterday saying our hourly manufacturing cost is twice higher than the Americans, not talking about our Asian counterparts of course. The question is, how could we compete? Productivity yields and quality – they’re all comparable, the big difference is the cost! Will the français react intelligently on globalization one day and become more competitive?

still at work

The first time I set foot on the working arena here in France, my first impression was : 'oh, the workers are much older here'

• Anecdote: the very first product launched in the market from our new Philippine production site (where I worked) was fondly named by the French management as 'made with the virgin hands' - the average age of the workers there was 21yo. (PS: I discovered this from my frenchguy!)

Yesterday, I attended the retirement party of one of our operators and I felt really sad amidst the champagne and the gateau (cake) distributed for the occasion. Among the operators I've worked with, she surely is my favourite. When I confide to her whatever problem I have, be it personal or professional, she always have this to say at the end of the conversation: 'tu sais bien que je t'aime' (you know very well that I like you). That's sufficient enough to reassure me - to know that I'm not alone and I have a mother-figure to depend to.

Laurent always tease me about the fact that most of my closest friends are older than me. Well, in fact, Laurent himself is older than me. And now, he tells everybody that my bestfriend is retiring. Sounds odd nga naman.

Talking about retirement, the subject is a total taboo for me till I arrived here. In the Philippines, as I was surrounded by people of my age, I never even gave it a thought. Nobody in my entourage talks about it. And now that I'm here, surrounded by the retirables, by the stingy French, by people who talks investment, I start to think about it myself.

Here are some helpful tips to plan your retirement à la française (classed by priority):

1. Plan your next vacation stop - better buy a world map so you could organize it intelligently. Farther countries should be considered first while you're younger - European countries when you're older. Of course, unlike when you were still professionally active and physically able, this time, it will be an organized visit.

2. Find a new past time - very important especially when you're not on vacation. Crochet, stamp collection, rock collection, or just the afternoon soap operas could be a good divertissement.

3. Try gardening - you have to grow your own plants to be able to save for your next vacation
4. Learn to be a nanny - your place will be the favourite vacation hideaway of your grandchildren while your children are on vacation themselves.

5. Subscribe - you will discover that crossword puzzles are good stimulators to make your brains work even after retirement. Better subscribe on your favourite magazines.

6. Find a new bestfriend - either a cat or a dog will do. But be warned: it's hard to find a pet nanny during your vacations.

7. Be a 'pétanque' champion - rendez-vous every 3pm at the park with all the other retirees. Of course the conversation will be centered on the last vacation each one had.

Well, well, well.. Doesn't sound bad, does it?

let's talk about work

masaya ako ngayon

i received a congratulation email from my big boss this afternoon for a job well done on my missions to the philippines these past months. we finally reached the target after a long struggle of process tuning! our markets accepted our product and the big bosses gave their go signal to officially launch the production. i can see the volumes going up now...ouaiiiis!

ps: the big boss of my big boss was on copy in the email. in the office, informing our heirarchy of such email translates to financial incentives, ehem.

why am i so gaga on this project

it's my baby and i actually saw it growing. i did my OJT in the same company a year ago and my mission was to do the technico-economique study of this project. during this time, aside from working with an excel file trying to figure out what will be our production cost if we consider such and such scenario, i also worked hand in hand with their R&D team to develop the product and even participated in its industrial pilot. after i got my diploma, this same company called me up offering a permanent job. wow, i havent even started looking for a job! my first project was of course, this same project. we were on the industrialization phase when i finally joined the company - the challenge was there and i felt like somebody who just came out of the university with the diploma on hand ready to conquer the real world!

getting motivated

for sure, other inclinations of this project will be started very shortly. i can see them coming now. being the only one who have an expertise on this project, im quite busy responding for queries on this subject. i love the feeling of being a consultant, ehem.

we are working in the same company

what do you expect? 80% of the conversation are work-related. we just cant help it. ok, ok, it's been always like that since we knew each other...hehe, we knew each other at work..

i forwarded to him the congratulation email, and as usual, he's proud of me. he told me that it's very seldom that we send such kind of email, normally we just receive a group email to all the person who worked in the same project. i received both.

im still on my clouds..

meet my heir...la france!

french people, to be frank, are the spoiled brats of their government. they receive financial support which makes them naturally indebted, just like the filipinos towards their parents. yes, im talking about the utang na loob thing.

in fact, the government takes charge of its populace remarkably. from conception to, i will say, death. ties within the family are not that strong compared in the philippines as french parents don't undergo the same sacrifice as filipino parents do. i should add in this list the panganays (the eldest in the family) of course. la preuve: education doesnt cost here. and almost everything is reimbursable (i say almost as not everything could be reimbursed at 100%). would you believe that if they get a nanny for their kids, the government will even pay up to 30% of the charge! hallucinant!! and they're still complaining.

but hey, dont be misled..the government gives...but they have to take back in return (aba, kung di ba naman, p@#&!! ang mga walang utang na loob!!!) ! that's universal law!

VAT: one of the highest in europe that habitants near the frontier do their shopping ober da bakod! (to neighboring countries).
... and taxes everywhere!
... and charges wherever the government could tax!

i was just confronted with one of these.

we had an appointment with the notary two days ago in line with our house acquisition because we had to do our testament. it sounds normal to me that we declare our patrimoine in prorata of our respective contributions. and so there we went with the explainations and all. blah blah blah. i was dozing off (hikab). and then the notaire suddenly said, if ever something happens to monsieur, madame will have to pay such amount so i could actually call the house my own (still in prorata of monsieur's contribution). WHAT? and of course i will pay a significant amount as i own just a meagre part of it. eh merde! in fact, aside from the parents, the government is also our héritier (heir). houses, unlike cars, are considered national patrimony!! the funny thing is that, you could disinherit your parents in case you have a child of your own...but not la france!

vocabulary check

PIPE, pronounced as 'pip' in french could mean either the apparatus used for smoking (clay pipe) or oral sex (BJ) when it is used as slang.

here is a conversation with a colleague just this morning, using PIPE in the sentence.

scene 1: MR and I with another girl colleague were talking about a project and visibly, MR was a bit nervous and stressed out with the result and so i proposed him...

ME: hé, vas fumer, ça va te detente. (hey, go out and smoke, that will calm you down.)

MR: oui, une bonne petite pipe de temps en temps, ça fait du bien. (yeah, smoking (or...) from time to time makes us feel better.)

scene 2: me and my eyes wide open trying not to laugh. my colleague who cannot contain it anymore burst out. well, well, malicious minds :). and MR suddenly realized what he just said - he was all red.

on 35h and delocalisation..france laments!

globalization has always been an interesting topic / polémique and each point of view varies depending on which sector we belong. it brought an irreversible impact on the market that demands competitivity - a cut-throat competition at that.

many industries delocalize their production mainly because of exorbitant manpower cost. how could they compete with asia, for example, where manpower cost is divided into 15 for most countries. add to the fact that taxes are far lower in these countries. we haven't even talked about productivity and overall production cost which is way advantageous compared to here.

i have seen french industries closing to migrate in east europe or asia. this really hurts! some companies try to dissimulate it by staying in france, but then, they dont expand their production here anymore, they create jobs elsewhere. unemployment rate never stopped to soar, i've heard insecurities everywhere! to control it, the government implemented the famous 35h/week from 39h/week to promote job creation. to no avail! they just lowered down productivity and tagged french people as fainéants (lazy). it didn't really solve the unemployment problem.

now, they talk about reviewing the 35 heures and not everybody is willing to give it up. i guess france has a problem with the word change. they are always reluctant and afraid of change - even if they see right infront of their eyes what's happening. and who will say yes? here, we have an average of 0.83 day/month of RTT (réduction de temps du travail = effect of 35h), that adds up to our already-long vacations.

the government will surely do something to at least keep the industries which are still in France by lowering patronal charges, increase the budget for research and development to create jobs, help entrepreneurs to start their business, etc. delocalisation will nevertheless continue. that's the price we pay. we have to be competitive. we have to think global.

we're being questioned!

hay naku, we're buying a house and we're getting indebted! piles of papers to be signed everywhere, medical examinations to be done, preparations, etc.

we've been constant visitors to our bank representative but hélas, laurent and i have been together to sign a paper there just once. the rest of the appointments, we've done them separately. either i was out, or he was out. and since we're binded by PACS, we're being questioned if we're really together. of course, the bank representative was only joking...but then, reality bites! i have been out quite a lot these past months (25% of my time since i started working) and it's not yet finished. hay naku ulit, mahirap kumita ng pera...

trying to stay awake!

just came back this midday from a long trip from home back to home! one colleague who stays in the philippines as an expat asked me one time which country i consider home now. what a question! i didnt even think about it before, nor did i consider the idea. philippines will always be my home, i have my family and friends there. part of me will always be attached to my native land. but my life now is here - where i construct my new 'home'.

so what's up with my boring life?

i finally found a way to sleep on the plane!
the secret? just let myself doze off without doing anything to catalyze it. haha! if i only knew!!! actually, it has always been a dilemma for me, so i try to read, watch a movie or just anything supposed to be boring so i could sleep. on the contrario, those stuffs just make me awake because i end up interested on them. i even tried taking a sleeping pill, and read a book while waiting for it to take effect. it worked! but i slept only for 3 hours as i was so taken by the story of my book. hopeless!

i didnt work last nov 15.
yeah, it was the end of ramadan in the philippines. in case you dont know yet, they started celebrating it since 2 years now. good or bad? no comment. all i know is that, there was a 2-day weekend and i was able to go home to zambales, and was almost left by my plane because the north expressway is not totally finished yet - got it right, traffic jam!!!

i spent my 1st week in a monastery.
i was exhausted! i had 4 out of 5 dinners in my room during my 1st week of stay there. i was on bed at 9pm. i didnt give any phonecalls for the 1st 3 days - not even to my families. good thing they phoned me up! i didnt read my book during those times. i was dead tired!

the complexity of my job.
3 times on-site support in 5 months, total of 9 weeks spent on site, not counting that of my boss! if time translates how complicated this particular process implementation is, then, this is extremely complicated! it's a new technology for us, we're just building experience curves and it seems that we're not finished yet. all problems not encountered on the feasibility and development phases, we have them all right now. when i left, we succeeded to reduce the problem from 100% to 0.34%, a fairly significant improvement. but everybody knows that the process is not as robust as the traditional processes we have. the technical support manager's farewell remark was: 'see you next month.' merde!

laurent's thoughtfulness.
he's out to germany for work but he left a note on the table. well, actually, it was the menu for the day. he prepared lunch and dinner for me and left them in the fridge with the welcome note and all. what makes it special is that, all were my favorites!

i fell inloved with spiderman.
i saw it twice on the plane. oh man, he's adorable! nakakatuwa.

no filipino newspapers?
would you believe that lufthansa doesnt distribute filipino newspapers for their franckfurt - manila flights? quite odd, i've used different airlines (KLM, Emirates, Cathay..) and on economy class at that, but i always had newspapers on board.

the guy seated next to me..
i swear to god, he kept on farting! sayang, gwapo pa naman sana...kainis, he never stopped polluting my air!

trying to fight the jetlag..
im off now. jetlag has finally won over me...ciao amigos!

double jetlag, anybody?

i just arrived from vacation last wednesday (oct 28 am) but my professionalism??? pushed me to rush directly to my office. hélas! 137 emails (not including personal emails of course!)! dont even ask if i read all of those. i just checked those which concerned me directly and needed response asap. the others, i classed them to my personal folder, i'll have time tomorrow at the airport to read and respond if needed.

oct 29 was ISO day! another training to prepare everybody for the certification. i just realized how much paper works i have to complete before the D-day!

tomorrow, as everyone does their stuff for the haloween / all saint's day, me, ill be flying back again to the philippines for work. my colleague told me that im the only one in the service who travels for work and goes home at the same time. lucky girl huh! yeah probably, but this time, im afraid i wont be as efficient as usual?? as ill surely have a double jetlag: from the US to france, from france to the philippines - with just 3 days in between. wow, let me check if my stamina is still the same, i just felt im growing old..darn!

i'm back!

a western adventure at that!

it started out quite bad. oct 11 after work, we rushed out to the station to catch up our train going to paris. arriving there, we took the wrong direction thrice - considering we consider ourselves parisiens after being dijonais! then we decided to try out the only filipino restaurant in paris. it was monday, and unlucky, it's closed every monday. well!

ok, i'll stop ranting and try to trace out our american adventure. the fun is just about to begin.

from the SFO airport, we headed directly to the car rental and drove to yosemite national park that same day. we arrived there late in the evening and here's one of the beautiful sites which greeted us there. we did a little hike (it started out progressively then the last part was too steep!!) which gave me a big pain on my knees. that kept me car-bounded within 3 days :(.

next stop was at death valley. check this lost sahara dessert - sand dunes in the middle of the USA. isn't that astonishing! it was a wow. hikers are adviced to always have water with them. it was too hot in this area. at badwater basin, ~86m below sea level, temperatures stay around 49°C during summer.

nope, not in paris - las vegas mi amigo. what can i say, casinos everywhere! it was fun, we lost $15 in less than a minute - it costs to have a feel of it!

who wouldn't stop at the mythic grand canyon? please zoom to have a better glimpse of it.

western spaghetti? there you go, welcome to monument valley! we captured nice pix here - with of course laurent playing as cowboy!

not tired yet? ok, ill give you a peep on la mesa arch at the canyonlands. given the chance, ill return here one day to discover more of this park. there's just too much hikes to do around around the area, but we didnt have much time..

hiker? dont miss this out. it was worth the climb.

look closer, do you see snow?? yeah, no tricks! this announced the end of our parks adventure. we were not equiped to ski nor to snowboard. too sad, bryce canyon seemed to be better during sunny weather - ok, we were nevertheless warmly welcomed!

we visited los angeles instead: hollywood, beverly hills, sunset strip, universal studios, etc. here's a pix of a baywatcher's hideaway..sunset lover, i am!

last stop: SF! among the other cities we've visited, SF was voted to be our fave! a mix of culture and architecture wrapped into one city. that was a pretty interesting visit we had.

that summed up our tour. tiring and fun, wasn't it. so to really sum it up, here's a list of interesting facts from an asian and europian eye comme moi:

• french people should stop hating dutch people on their roads. they should be contented of not having an american neighbor: caravan/camping car = bus. look at that! the bus hauling the pick-up, not the other way around!
  
  
• french autoroute translates to freeway. you got it right, dude: FREE!
• they have wide roads which is limited to 75 mph whereas in france, the same road would be limited to 85 mph and of course, they will drive at 95 mph. germans will surely drive faster, no limits!
• basic commodities are cheaper
• everything is king size! cars, roads, burgers! we normally order for two, you bet, we even have left overs!
• they give you the bill without even asking if you want to order more such as dessert or café or tea.
• hike trails are well-organized! too organized that sometimes it's even paved!
• they consider 146m altitude gain as 'difficult level' - hikers, hello?
• and of course, they use english units instead of metric units..im not used to it, i always convert!
• worst! a friend's remark: i've changed my accent to french accent. QUOI??? (as in WHAT???)

so that's it folks. american dream is over. back to reality now...

very unlikely

im hopeless...a real hopeless!

as i was looking at myself infront of the mirror friday morning before i rushed to work, i suddenly realized how baduy i was! it's not because it's automn and i had to dress up like a suman with all those wrap-arounds, it's simply because my clothes are century-old already.

this morning, i was in the centre ville trying to force myself to buy something, but as usual, i just went home with just a baguette with me. the mile-long queue to get to the fitting cabin stopped me, the choices were just too much for me that even before i start, i already resigned. oh well...

i hate shopping! when i was still in pinas, i was always buying in the same boutique - that cuts down choices. or else, i buy those displayed on the shop windows - that prevents me from searching. good thing in phils is that, i take my size and i know that it will fit me to T, here im obliged to fit them, clothes here are not cut to fit asian women! or else, my last resort is - i visit my sisters' closets :).

i hate heavy luggages! - this is in consequence with my hate of shopping. i once went home with a 12 kilo backpack. full of pasalubong! i dont bring clothes, i buy it there - oh well, ok, i visit my sisters' closets. and when they're fed up with me, they bring me to shops and do that stuff for me. and now that i travel for business, i try to bring more clothes (to be able to work the next day). but i still stay to my 12 kilo quota - not with pasalubong but with paperworks.

i hate la cuisine, or la cuisine hates me. i dont really know. what i know is that, it's not my favourite place. a friend of mine calls me up around meal time when she knows that laurent is on travel. her welcome remark is : 'have you had your meal already?' f...! she talks like laurent. i call her mommy now.

i hate HER. oh yeah, i still hate her.

hate her!

just want to vent out..

i start to hate HER. i'm starting a project in asia and SOP says: thou shall coordinate thy project with their engineering on-site.

i finished the industrialization project, did a good report in compliance with ISO standard (everybody in the office talks ISO now, final audit on december), and communicated it to the project team - europe zone.

conclusion: production pilot should be done in asia!

after the nomination of my ASIAN PARTNER, i started to feed HER with all the infos SHE might need for the start-up (im rushing things up - im leaving on monday for a 2-week long vacation! - and SHE knows it.). weeks passed and there were no questions. did i really write my report so well that it did not provoke any question or violent reaction? ok, i'll have to take it that way. another week passed, no questions either.

our agreed planning is to start the project in 2 weeks time. and i'm leaving on monday -that's 2 working days from now. i guess reality striked HER big time that SHE bombarded me with emails these past days. asking documents already existing on-site, asking obvious questions - i have this impression of spoon-feeding HER. worse is that i asked HER to send me a document that SHE started to write days before to which SHE responded that SHE doesn't have it available on HER computer. what?????? f... me! ano yun, sa typewriter nya sinulat??? and then SHE organized a project meeting this morning - french time - with me on copy, i promptly send HER my direct line as i start to be worried with the project advancement - but SHE replied that it will be an internal meeting. f... me twice! did SHE forget that it's MY project? is SHE trying to exclude me? what is this politic?

i was in a meeting this afternoon, and when i arrived in my office, hélas, i got mails! the project manager who is in asia at the moment was asking questions already asked, looking for documents already provided. that means to say that SHE didn't even answer to those inquiries i have already explained to her. what the heck!!!

i hate her...!

on the loose...

just got my driver's license this afternoon! it took me barely 5 months to wait before they finally released it. actually, it was because there was this summer vacation and nobody was in the office to process thousands of files, thus the delay.

a morrocan national was at the prefecture at the same time, complaining about the long wait in obtaining the license. FYI, he filed his application a year ago. the lady replied 'every application is unique, it's a case-to-case basis mr'. good thing my case doesnt take a lifetime for the processing.

since i was already out and my boss knew that i was at the prefecture, i decided to ask for an international driver's license so i could optimize my time. after 15 minutes, i already have it. efficient!

well, just another crazy-on-the-loose pinay with an old pawis-steering peugeot 106 roaming around dijon...