Routine Visits atbp

My wrist watch was silently ticking 12:05am, my baby was kicking me non stop, my head was aching hard, my hungry stomach was gurgling loud, frenchguy who was seated infront of me started to have his impatient nerves killing him. After almost 2 hours of long agonizing wait at my gynecologist waiting room with other expectant mothers, I finally had my routine check-up for my 6th month of pregnancy. If only I was there just to renew my pills prescription, I could have evaporated even before the first hour! Anyways...

In 6 weeks (from my last visit), I gained 3 kilos! How about that. Not that my gynecologist blatantly asked me to go on a diet, but she asked me to take careful attention on what I eat. Me, who always thought being reasonable on that aspect! My baby is now 1.2 kilos, hmm, still on the average. Tho if I were to base on the average gain per week based on statistics, my baby will be at 3.8 kilos on D Day! Kaya kaya ng powers ko yun?

If I continue with my exponential weight gain tendency, I will surely overpass my target! Uh-oh!

Aside from the usual prescription for urine and blood analysis, a glucose test will be equally done this month. 2 telephone numbers were given to us on the same occasion: one for the maternity clinic (to reserve the room and meet the anesthesiologist), another for the midwife (for the delivery preparation courses). Well, all that leads to one big thing: D Day is just around the corner! Lagot!

Oh well, the joys of being pregnant. I start to sleep really bad, back pains attacking the whole of me. I start to have scary dreams, or should I consider them as nightmares? I start to feel heavy, I have double chins and I can't even cross my legs anymore. Cutting my toenails was a real gymnastic adventure. You have to be pregnant to really experience that...endless difficulties and worries..but would you believe, just one big kick is just enough to erase all those difficulties, I'm probably just impatient to cuddle her.

Consider this as a consolation, but I found this parking space especially for me. Isn't that a brilliant idea?

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE

I was tagged by sweet Naomi...tho I find it too personal, sige na nga, here's a quick excerpt of my flat boring life, baka mabasa ng Maalaala Mo Kaya team at isapelikula hehe..

20 YEARS AGO:
I was in Grade 2! What can I say? Life was so simple then. Loved hiding in one corner, away from my siblings to read my science books. My mom had a collection of science books which she got from teaching as a tutor inside the American base when she was younger - ya know, thick, hard-bounded books - I was proud of them!

15 YEARS AGO:
1st year high school. Intrigued by the ever- famous terror math instructor in our school, I worked my way to affront her. I had the highest grade in Math and I wasn't even at the Top 10! Kalimutan daw ba ang ibang subjects hehe..

10 YEARS AGO:
Transition phase. End of my 2nd year in college, the next semester was a promise of deadly majoring subjects. I was caught between pursuing Chemical Engineering (love it) or Computer Engineering (in demand)...and I don't have the means to waste my parent's money and my time, I wanted to finish early and be on my own as early as possible. Obviously, I continued with what really interested me and I have no regrets.

FIVE YEARS AGO:
Official fiancée of frenchguy...tagal na pala..

THREE YEARS AGO:
Strived hard to bag a french post-grad diploma and it paid off! Entreprises Administration diploma holder from Institute à l'Administration des Entreprises at the Université de Bourgogne. Cute ng diploma nila dito, makulay, unlike sa Phils na sobrang seryoso!

LAST YEAR:
Rehired by the same company I worked for in the Philippines and became a certified taxpayer! Accumulated a free round trip ticket Paris-Manila from my mileage as I was in the Philippines 4x due to work.

Lived the American dream for 2 weeks, all travel expenses free hehe..from our mileage of course!

Bought a townhouse in Sampaloc, Manila and a house here in Dijon at the same time (moved in our new house winter last year). Lublob sa utang till now!

THIS YEAR:
Got pregnant, got a promotion and a salary increase...what more can I ask for?

YESTERDAY:
Officially entered my 3rd and last trimester.

LAST NIGHT:
Bloghopped while Frenchguy was out...then heard his car, hurriedly went infront of the TV, lied on the sofa, and told him I was tired...the joy of being pregnant (naku, wag naman sanang mabasa to...shhh!)

TODAY:
..is Friday. Wasn't able to sleep well last night (nakarma yata ako kagad!)...just little work to do...and off for the weekend. Isn't life cool?

TOMORROW:
Call up my mom.

NEXT YEAR:
I'll be a momma! Hopefully a good one...I'll be inviting my parents summer next year for a month-long visit here in my hideaway..

FIVE - TEN YEARS FROM NOW:
Dreaming of having 2 kids, a stable job, more investments...a beachfront property in the Philippines..financial/career stability for my siblings..good health for everybody in the family...

Oppps, I forgot that I have to keep the meme going...so miniminimaynemo...

Boks
Duke
Asphaire
Makis
Lynn
Kala
Joan

Aside from their everyday lives thru blog, I know so little of this francopinoys..kikitsismis lang..

House Blessing Part IV

We had the next batch of house blessing last Tuesday night, we invited another couple for dinner - Frenchguy's boss and his wife. As usual, a good bottle of Burgundy wine was given to frenchguy and a bouquet of flowers for me - straight from their very own garden. Isn't it lovely? How I wish I could offer the same - something nurtured with
tender loving care!

At midnight tho, I was discretely wishing that they bid goodbye and wish us à bientôt (see you soon)...well, à demain (see you tomorrow) for bosing. They were finally off at 1am, whew!

Yesterday after work, I started to put a little order in our house, washed the dishes, arranged the bottles, etc etc..and hey, didn't notice that the wine they offered was from Mercurey..reminded me of a new-found blogfriend!

Full Tank, Sir?

My gasoline level indicator starts to blink red and the latest news about the price per barrel of petroleum products destabilizes and worries my tight-budgeted pocket. The nearest and luckily the cheapest gasoline station in our area announces 1.20€/liter for Unleaded 95 (my car) and 1.05€/liter for Diesel (frenchguy's car). Yep, that's $5.63/gallon or P313/liter for Unleaded 95 and $4.93/gallon or P274/liter for Diesel!

Like all other European countries, France is 100% pro-environment. That explains the astronomical prices being practiced here. Add to that the fact that they wanted to decrease their dependence on other countries on these products. In fact, 80% of the price I pay per liter of unleaded gasoline goes to taxes (~60% for tax on petroleum products + ~20% for VAT), imagine! All these just to dissuade the population from consuming...it's hard on the pocket, but could we really get by without it?

The soaring prices of petroleum products are due to 3 main factors: high demand of petroleum products worldwide, notably from China with their recent economic explosion, geopolitical tensions, and speculative buying from industrialized countries to constitute their stocks. With that, don't you think it's better to prepare ourselves for another exponential increase in the future?

In France, some agricultural fanatics and environmentalists start to deviate their solution to an environment-friendly solution by using vegetable oils (sunflower, colza, soya and olive oils) on their automobiles. They actually mix 30 - 50% of vegetable oils to gasoline, not a bad idea, that considerably decreases CO2 emission, mind you!

The only remarks is: Medyo amoy prito lang sa umpisa!

Extra Money Management

With Francesca's queries on her new project, questions on investment have suddenly reverberated on my sleepy mind and my idly pocket. Am I doing the right thing? Am I investing my money wisely? Are there other fruitful ways on how to keep my money from dizzing off?

Let's talk business. Well, I don't have million euros to invest, let me assure you, just some extra euros (and I mean, just extra euros!). I'm a newbie in this game with just a coin in my pocket so if you have bright ideas in mind which won't require thousand euros on the table at once, I might give it a second thought.

First, here's how I manage to get by with my finances and how I invest, I might give pointers to other fellow bloggers (as if naman, ang galing kong mag budget...):

Investing on solid grounds: I'm hitting two birds in one stone here. I bought a townhouse in Manila at the same period when we bought our house here in Dijon late last year. Ambitious move. Utang po yun. But instead of buying the house in Manila in an installment basis, I preferred to pay it cash to escape from the high interest rate being practiced there. Imagine if I pay in an installment basis, my bank will be overly happy with the sending charge I'll be giving every month!

So where did I get the money? You don't expect a young engineer paying cash, right? Since we're buying a house in Dijon, frenchguy deblocked some of his stock options and part of it went for the payment of the Manila townhouse and the other, for the DP of the Dijon house. By so doing, I didn't pay any interest at all. Brillant?

So how do I pay frenchguy and the Dijon house? For the first 3 years, the monthly payment taken by the bank from my account is actually destined for the Manila townhouse (thus paying frenchguy), that gives me 30% ownership of the Dijon house. Fair deal, right?

FYI: We are paying a little over 3% fixed interest rate for our loan.

Investing on PEE (Plan Epargne Entreprise): Company stock options, that simple. It's one of the best ways to invest your money, well, if everything turns out well. There's always a risk in this game. The best way is not to keep all your savings in only one company.

I put a meagre amount monthly in our company since late last year and it has grown almost 50% eversince. Not bad, huh. Bad news is that it will be blocked for 5 years! Will it grow 50% at that time? Nobody knows.

FYI: When frenchguy deblocked his stocks, the gain was estimated at 250%!

Saving on Livret A: A safe and flexible way to keep money in the bank as it is always available and non-taxable. My bank offers 2% interest. It is limited to a certain amount tho..maximum savings shouldn's exceed 15,300€.

I put some extra money from time to time...I'm searching for a better deal, ya know, higher interest rate with no duration engagement ;)

Here are my two top of the list future dream buys:

- A small car with air conditionning plzzzzzzzzz... I start to be tired with my ever so lovely pawis-steering Peugeut 106. During a hot summer day, I have this impression of entering into an oven. I'm already overbaked! I don't dream big, a small one which I could park no-sweat will do just fine.

- A beachfront lot for our retirement. Opo, I'm dreaming of having a little family restaurant facing the sea with frenchguy as the chef. We will serve crêpes...reservation will open in the future..

Just curious on how my fellow kababayan bloggers deal with their money. Any pointers?

Summer Vacation Highlights

Two weeks has passed..rapidly. Back to normal life. Unlike most frenchies who take 3 or more weeks during summer vacation, frenchguy and I decided to keep some vacation for later..when bébé arrives.

This summer vacation has been particularly calm. Yep, no more vagabonding with our tents trying to discover more of the French countrysides and some neighboring countries. Everything has been planned.

So to keep with my planning, here is how we devoured our vacation:

Starter:
Appetizing! Just the right entrée to boost the appetite. The 11km hike was well worth it, just can't keep my camera from capturing the beauty of this island. I would voluntarily restart the hike if given another chance. The weather was great, just can't ask for more.

The island was 40 minutes away from the continent, standing proudly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We skirted the côte sauvage to have a good view of the ocean and the inviting bordering cliffs - a view which reminds me of Brittany, north of France.

Click the picture and visit the island with me.

Main Meal:
The castle hopping was equally interesting. Well, Chateau d'Ussé (known also as Castle of Sleeping Beauty - left photo) was effectively for kids hehe, aside from the fact that the author of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty was inspired by this castle to write his novel, nothing else really captured the curiousity in me. I should have waited for bébé before visiting.

Chateau de Chambord (right photo) on the other hand is a must-see. The architecture was superbe, no wonder it's one of the most visited castle in the region. The history behind every wall is equally interesting, showing every trace of King Francis I's reclamed supremacy. King at the age of 20, he wanted to show the world how powerful he was - this castle was just one of his signatures. In fact, the castle was constructed on a swamp in the middle of the forest (imagine the foundation!!), destined to lodge the King and his alalays during the hunting season.

Castle-hop with me. Click the pictures for more.

Dessert:

Reading lazily at the beach while licking my favorite ice cream, excitedly waiting for the sunset, ignoring the fact that I'll be nognog as ever, need I ask for more? Ok, how I wished the sea was hotter than it was, just can't push myself to swim, brrrr. Frenchguy and his niece and nephew were of course having fun juggling between playing beach badminton and having swimming competition while I watch them, imagining him as a future papa. Oh well, I guess he will be the most kulit papa on earth!

Another twist during the vacation, I just transformed myself into a shopaholic! Yep, shopping for the bébé. I guess my nesting urges are starting to surface, I was just as excited to end the vacation to prepare my bébé's room and arrange her closet.

Excited maman, as always!

Pre-Vacation Mess

Last night, we finally invited our third batch of visitors to visit our new chez nous. Here, instead of our traditionnal house blessing where we invite everybody, including the buong barangay and the whole clan with matching priest at that, dito, we did it by batch (family, then friends, then, colleagues), well in our case lang
naman. Kasi naman po, unlike my mom who has sets of hundred plates, hundred glasses, hundred spoons and forks, etc, kami, we only have a few so we could content ourselves to just a few guests lang!

So this morning, ito ang bumulaga sa kin!

What do you expect, I again transformed myself into a super efficient mega dishwasher! Whew!

We had 3 couples + us, so imagine the works! Anyways, the night was great and everbody was tipsy except me!

Tomorrow, real vacation begins!

FREEZE!

All lines are busy now, please try your call later.

Familiar with that? Here is the email version that I've been receiving at work lately..

Je suis absent de mon bureau et serai de retour le x août 2005.
I am out of the office and will be back on August x 2005.

Yep, time for summer vacation, time to get that tan, time to seize the summer sun at the sea or the mountains, time to discover little villages or another country. The whole France is on standby mode, be it with administrative offices, industries or schools and universities. After our neighboring countries, the frenchies are now clogging the French autoroutes to get to their respective destinations. July to August is the summer vacation peak for France as it coincides with the scolastic vacation, oh yeah, there are children to attend to. So here's a hint, if you're residing around Europe and thinking of spending your vacation in the countrysides of France, try to take your vacation earlier or later than these dates. Of course Paris is excluded, during these dates, only tourists stay in the french capital.

Vacations could extend up to a month, what about that? Starting last week, even if I was still at work, I was nevertheless blocked as some of my colleagues are already on vacation. What I have in my inbox are:

Je suis absent de mon bureau et serai de retour le x août 2005.
I am out of the office and will be back on August x 2005.

Ok, I guess I got the message. I need a break too. Starting this weekend, my auto-response will take the revenge:

Je suis absente de mon bureau et serai de retour le 9 août 2005.
I am out of the office and will be back on August 9, 2005.

On the menu:

Entrée (Starter):

One-day hike at Ile d'Yeu with the beaux-parents (parents-in law).

See that little red mark on the map? There is where we will sweat out my beau-père's (father-inlaw) 70th birthday. Yep, sweat! A little 11-km hike is on the list to examine his tonacity. The 3 children agreed to give him (and mom-in law bien sûr) this surprise birthday gift (he detests leaving his garden on a hot summer day kasi hehe), and since frenchguy and I are on vacation on that same area too, we will be their guides.

The lost chateau (castle) is just one of the appetizers waiting for us in our one-day hike. I'm sure the ice cream at the port (our arrival area) is just as appetizing, yummm!
* Photos are from this site.

Plat Principal (Main Meal):

Cultural Visit / Castle Hopping at Loire Valley Castles.

Now that I cannot travel a lot and fatigue myself over our usual itinerant visit to God-knows-where part of the globe, it's just the right time to know more about my frenchguy's region. A cultural visit at that! Whoa! Well, I guess it's worth it, this region is not called the Garden of France for nothing, right? It's actually the King of France's favorite hideaway during the rennaissance period and transformed the area into the Region of Thousand Castles.

Among the list of castles in the region, I might throw a glance at this Leonardo da Vinci-inspired Chateau de Chambord, the biggest in the region with 440 rooms, 385 chimneys and 83 stairs! Hay naku, hirap sigurong linisin nito.

But just like most of the castles in France, bahay bakasyunan lang ng mga kings and queens yan..sarap no.

Another castle of interest is of course, the XVth century Chateau d'Ussé. If it looks familiar, that is because you probably read Sleeping Beauty during your younger years. Opo, there is where Charles Perrault got his inspiration in writing that novel.

It's a mix of gothic and rennaissance architecture, so my bébé will get his first lesson for that period habang nasa loob pa siya hehe.

Dessert (Dessert):

Beach hopping, biking (not for me now), beach night market shopping, partying and sorbetes and seafoods galore at nearby La Vendée with frenchguy's niece (on photo)! See that plate of oysters and little kuhols? Kami po ang nanguha nyan sa dagat, galing no?

Ciao!

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.