September 18, 2004

Next stop...Philippines! MABUHAY!!!

Have been busy until 01:30 packing the last things that has to go in the handcarry luggage...as I have predicted, walang naiwan. Bitbit lahat....hahahaha! Hubby's bags are ready, kaya ayun, he's watching na lang the last part of a thriller film on the "idiot box". While waiting for the film to finish para matulog na kami, i decided to post a short entry before I fly later this morning.

Wala lang, kahit ano lang....mind is not working din kasi dahil excited, pagod at wala pang tulog. I had to work late din kasi last night, instead of finishing at around 18:00. Kaya last minute packing ko was also delayed.

Anyway, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

*********
Before signing off for now, share ko din itong hiram ko kay TEN.

Brain Lateralization Test Results
Right Brain (54%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (58%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain
Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

September 15, 2004

I definitely won't miss

Three more days to go at nasa Pilipinas na ulit ako. Yeheeey! Kainan na naman. Kaya naman ang dami ko nang damit na hindi na maisuot, eh. Tiyak i'll gain more weight after this vacation....mapapalaban na naman ako sa gym nito pagbalik ko dito sa Alemanlandiya. Let me see, Im thinking I will definitely eat while I am there:

1. Taho every morning (Masarap lalo na pag may maraming syrup at sago ;))
2. Tuyo (Dried Fish)
3. Crabs, Shrimps & Fish (bought fresh not frozen)
4. Manga
5. Lanzones (sana may maabutan pa ako)
6. Buko Pie ( extra ko pang dadayuhin ang LAguna for this. Oks lang, worth the trip naman always, sabay swimming na rin...hehehe)
7. Kainin ang lahat ng lulutuin ng nanay at tatay ko. They are both good cooks. kaya lang bihira lang magluto ang nanay ko, kaya laging nami miss ko ang luto niya. Ang tatay ko naman, palagi niluluto sa akin mga paborito ko...hmmmm.
8. Ampalaya - kahit anong klase ng luto at kahit anong sahog, masarap ito. The more mapait siya, the better!
9. Sa Goldilocks, masarap ang mais con yelo at halo-halo. Pero doon sa street kung saan kami nakatira dati, meron kaming kaibigan. Tawag sa kanya ng mga bata Ate Cherry. Tuwing hapon meron siyang tindang halo-halo, fish balls at squid balls. Bandang 6 p.m. naman maglalabas na siya ng mga pang barbeque niyang paninda. Mas masarap pa sa Goldilocks. Siguro kasi may halong alikabok na, hehehehe....pagpadagdag sa lasa.
10. Sizzling squid sa Shangri-La food court. Nanadoon pa kaya ang food stall na iyon? Grabe, ang sarap ng pagkain nila doon. My friend Lea introduced me to that place many years back....hehheehh....halatang tumatanda na talaga ang ateng! Since then, hindi ko na makalimutan ang kainan na iyon. I heard they have branched out to other mall locations. So, hopefully, nandoon pa yun. The last time I went there to eat was 2002, when we last visited my folks.

**********
I remember that boy I was supposed to babysit when I was in Belgium. When I went for the interview day before I was to babysit him, he asked me where I came from. I said from the Philippines. Then he said, how come the people in the Philippines are all thin and skinny? And you are fat! Is it because in the Philippines they don't have anything to eat there. You are here in Belgium, perhaps you are eating more? Of course I did not babysit for him! Ano siya hilo! Mamutla siyang mag isa sa bahay nila!

September 14, 2004

Giant Battle Monsters

Dare to fight with me? Hehehe, I lost with TEN.... nyehehe!!!!

MissP

is an Average-Sized Squid that can Generate Electricity, kidnaps Blonde Women, and has a Toughened Steel Skeleton.

Strength: 3 Agility: 2 Intelligence: 7



To see if your Giant Battle Monster can
defeat MissP, enter your name and choose an attack:

fights MissP using

All Packed and Ready

At last, all of our four luggages are packed, locked and ready to be loaded in the car. Handcarry bags are still waiting for final decisions regarding which stuff should stay and which ones should go.... I am sure nothing will stay anyway, hahahaha!

Grabe, I didn't think I have so much luggages. At first, I thought I am not buying any pasalubongs. It is better to get them all there na lang. So, I told my friends and colleagues that I can carry whatever they want to make padala to the Philippines. Wrong move! I had three days off last week and they were all spent just shopping for presents. I didn't get so much, but definitely more than enough to fill my four big bags, hahahaha! Now I don't have space anymore but I still get calls asking if I could bring stuff for them to their families in Manila! Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll manage to pack them in.

***************

Grabe, last few days before my vacation and I still managed to get ill. I had to go to the doctor last week for my urinary tract infection. I guess it is better that I am taking medication now, than later. I don't want anything to spoil our plans when we get to Manila. We plan to go up North this time. There will be plenty of long walks and mountain climbing. Sana huwag uma-take itong UTI ko once we are there.

Yeheeeey! Apat na tulog na lang....

September 09, 2004

constructive criticism

Has anybody ever told you that you're a terrible writer? If not, then you are lucky...I am NOT!
Actually, the person didn't really say directly that I am one, but in a very discreet manner implied that I write only negative things, emitting a depressive mood. It's just an observation, is what the person said.

Well, what can I do? I can only write/post true entries here in my blog. I can probably make up a story and lie all the time, pretend that I am elated all the time about the things that are happening in my life...even the depressing and frustrating ones.....pero, ano ako BALIW? Who knows, maybe that's what others do. WEll, as for me, I just mainly try to jot down something that happened to me either on that same day or from the day before or reminisce about the past. They are probably depressive, yes, for I cannot deny experiencing depression sometimes. But hey.... what do I care?

I thank YOU though for telling me. Alam mo na kung sino ka...*wink*

September 08, 2004

nag paka abnoy ako kahapon

Kahapon, nag punta nga ako aming OPS concerning my ID. I had the necessarry forms filled up, my passport and the "quittung" that I got in exchange for my ID which was confiscated the previous night. I went to the personnel in charge and told her the problem. I also told her the time until when the ID office is open that day so it faster. Kesa naman, mag hagilap pa siya sa mga folders niya sa loob ng kanyang kabinet at lalo pa akong mapa tagal. I knew her style, marami pa siyang mga pasikut-sikot. Dagdag mo pa ang malaserena niyang kulot na buhok, na sa pag hahawi pa lang, ubos na ang kanyang oras para mag trabaho!...

"So, Hannahlou, do me a favor, since you have everything else ready, bring all these to the Ausweistelle and request for a new ID", sabi niya. Tanong ko naman, "do I need to show them anything else aside from what I have with me now?" Sagot niya, "I don't think so, you should have everything now. Just go there and show them your documents". Lakad ako papunta nga sa nasabing lugar. I probably just did not think about it, pero, do you know Murphy's Laws? Ayun, kahapon eto na nga. Pagdating ko, unang tanong sa akin, sino ang magbabayad nito, ikaw o opisina mo? SAbi ko opisina po! KAilangan namin confirmation. Tanong ko, pwede bang tumawag na lang tayo sa kanila? Internal naman iyan. OO daw. Pag katawag, confirmed na nga. Punta na ako sa loob na kuwarto kung saan kukunan ako ng piktyur. Hanap sa akin na naman noong isang empleyado, asan ang confirmation letter na nagsasabing opisina mo ang magbabayad nito? SAbi ko, by phone lang namin ginawa doon sa labas, kasama ko ang kolege mo. Sabi niya, hindi pwede ang by phone. Sabi ko na lang, okay, bayaran ko na lang at ipapa-re-imburse ko na lang sa opisina namin yan. Kasi male-late na ako pag pinahaba ko pa ang istorya. Pumayag siya. Tsek nya ulit ang documents ko, sabay hingi sa akin ng Work Permit ko. Shock ako. Extension lang naman po ang kailangan ko, naka pag submit na ako ng Work Permit the first time I applied for an ID here. Wala naman po expiration ang work permit ko. Sabi niya, kailangan ko ulit ng copy. Okay, in short hindi na nagawa ang Id ko. Umabot din ako doon ng mahigit 45 minutes at naubos na ang extra time allowance ko, bago ako mag start ng trabaho. Bumalik ako sa opisina namin at sinalaysay ko ang nangyari.....

*******
BTW, 10 araw na lang lilipad na ako pauwi sa ating bayan, yipeeyyyy!.... this thought is keeping me on cloud 9!

Sinagot ba naman ako ng CSM na: "Regarding your ID, our assistant told me that you are aware that the ID is expiring since you came here sometime in August to inform her about it. Now it is your responsibility to get it extended. About the ID fee, you will have to talk to the head chief about it".

Pag kasabi niya nito, ay, nag explode ang beauty ko! SAbi ko sa kanya, " I am going on vacation middle of this month until middle of October. In my ID it says expiration date: 09/04. This to me, means that the ID will be expired end of September, hence, pag balik ko galing bakasyon, invalid na siya. Kaya ako nag punta dito at ipina alam ko ito sa kompanya. When I came here, sabi ng napaka efficient mong assistant may panahon pa naman ako. She also believed that my ID will expire only end of this month. She anyway told me to fill up the form that she gave me, to get it all done earlier. I said I would do it. I was not aware at all that my ID expired first of September. Anyway, what is your point here?"

Sagot niya: "I am not trying to make a point". Ngekkk!!! hello?????

"If it is about the payment for the ID, Fine I will shoulder it, but don't tell me that I am to blame for what happened to my ID just because you are not doing your job here. You yourself hired me, you have all the my files here which you requested prior to my employment. You requested for the ID last year and submitted all the documents there. You are supposed to take cake that your agents are allowed to wander about the Frankfurt Airport with proper ID's, uniform and all. That is your job and that's what you are paid for."

Sabi niya ulit: "Oh no, I cannot check every passport or record to see if your ID is valid." Hello ulit! Wrong number ka na naman, iha! To this sabi ko na lang sa kanya; "Of course that is your duty. That is what you are paid for. Hindi lang pag papa beauty at pag release ng uniporme ang trabaho mo." Tapos, iniwan ko siya.

The thing is, hindi naman ako talaga palasagot. I usually just say, okay, it was a mistake. We can try to get it fixed. Pero kahapon, sa inis ko talagang magpabalik-balik sa opisina sa init ng araw, plus may PMS pa ako. Aba, wala yatang tricycle dito. At hindi naman ako pwedeng mag daan sa Transit area kung saan may mga puno at buildings kaya medyo mahangin, dahil wala nga akong ID. Ay, sinagot ko siya ng walang pakundangan, sabay walk out sa mukha niya. Sige nga, subukan niya ang Pinoy galitin. Buti nga mild pa ako. Although, naging abnoy nga yata ako kahapon! Hay, bad trip ulit!!!

September 07, 2004

Bad trip!

Kagabi, habang papa uwi na ako... nag punch out ako with my ID....nakngtipaklong.... kinain ba naman ang ID ko. Nagkaroon yata ng identity crisis yung "lesegerät" sa airport at.... AS if, akala siguro eh cash automat siya, biglang nilunok na ang ID ko. Ni reklamo ko sa airport security ang nangyari. Tinanong ko kung paano nangyari iyon eh valid naman ang ID ko. Tsi-nek niya, sabay sabi sa akin...mula september 1st pa daw hindi valid ang ID ko. Ngekkk! Eh, ang laki-laki ng nakasulat na expiry date sa harap mismo ng ID, malaki pa nga sa panganlan kong napaka haba...09/04...ibig sabihin hanggang katapusan pa this month ang expiration nito...

Sabi niya kailangan ko na naman mag apply ng bagong id...litek! matagalang processo na naman ito! May take two to three weeks....mapapaaga pa yata ang bakasyon ko......ooopss! hold that thought....parang pabor sa akin itong pangyayaring ito, ah!

Pero, INIS talaga ako, dahil maaga pa naman sana ako naka alis sa position ko at maha-habol ko pa ang bus papuntang parking area...sa halip, ayun, inabot ako ng alas 12:10 midnight sa airport. Ang hirap pa nito, kailangan maaga ako pumunta ngayon sa OPS namin para maka kuha ako ng temporary one day ID bago ako mag start ng work...bad trip talaga!

ugaling langit-ugaling kaaya-aya

Guides on how to control your emotions towards your better-half, friends,
officemates and all the people around you.......

the 4 rules of practicing "ugaling langit-ugaling
kaaya-aya"..

1. Ang naunang magalit ang may karapatang magalit...
Pag naunahan ka ng galit nya, tahimik ka na lang muna...

2. Walang taong nag-aaway mag-isa...
Pag di kayo sumagot or pumatol, titigil din daw ang taong nakikipag away sa inyo...

3. Ang taong galit, "Bingi"
If someone is angry...wala daw pinakikinggan... so dont try to explain and fight back
coz di ka nya iintindihin, dahil wala shang naririnig kundi ang sarili nya...

4. Ang taong galit, abnoy....
According sa pastor, biblical daw ito...
Because the Lord said when He was crucified: "Father, patawarin mo sila dahil hindi
nila alam ang kanilang ginagawa"...
modern term for these kind of people are abnoys...

...so you better not get angry para wag ka matawag
na abnoy...hehehe

You should also know and realize that the persons who make your day bad are jewels...
because you need them for you to mature...
hanggat andyan daw sila at kinaiinisan mo...
ibig sabihin immature ka pa din...

God will not take away those people...
its for you to take away your bad feelings towards them...
you'll know na mature ka na pag dumating yung time na di ka na
naiinis sa mga taong ito because you have learned to accept them and to have patience with them...

Good day !


September 01, 2004

A Friend's Dilemma

Last night I had a very long chat with a colleague. Apparently she has been having problems with her marital life. Her story began when she worked first outside of the Philippines. She met her husband of 33 years old at her work place. She believed she loved her husband and trusted him. They made promises and vows to each other that they would love and support each other, blah,blah,blah! She held on to the promises he made before they were relocated back to Germany.

Upon getting here though, the said hubby suddenly changed. All his promises took longer to be achieved and even some where never done. The most important ones where not met. Nevertheless, she held on to the promises no matter how empty they were. Still hoping and believing that her hubby would still fulfill them. After some months of living here in Germany, not knowing anybody, let alone speak the language, my friend managed to get a job. She needed one badly in order to help her family in the Philippines who are eagerly waiting every month for monetary sustenance. How she did it, she couldn't tell now, but she managed to get one. She worked with that company for more than three years until the time came when her hubby was again relocated to another part of the country. Thinking that she had to be with her husband and had to support him in whatever endeavors he had to follow, she quit her job and moved with him to this new place. Once she got there, she was back again to square one, when she first got to Germany. Alone, no friends, no job, no money for her hubby never even thought that she would need an allowance. She tried to ask for money once and told him that she needed some sort of stipend, but it only ended up in a very big fight. Of course he paid for the flat, bought groceries and whatever toiletries she would need, but he never even thought that she may/would want to buy some girlie stuff of her own that she could fancy while going window shopping in the City. In short, he was a selfish prick! Why he married her is still a big puzzle to my friend. Why did he promise things he couldn't keep? Can it only be from pure lust? Surely he must have felt something more than that for her? Was it only because it would be very convenient for him to marry when he had to come back from elsewhere because of tax purposes? Maybe, it has also something to do with the laziness, since, from the beginning, he never did anything in the house at all. My friend had to do all the chores, cook the meal, wash the clothes after a hard day's work or even on her days-off. My friend asked me all these questions which I couldn?t answer. I told her that she was asking the wrong person, that she should talk to he husband about these things. To which she replied, "we couldn't even talk without ending up in a fight anymore".

************
17 days more to go...:)

Given the benefit of the doubt, maybe he really did love her, but what happened to that LOVE? Or should I ask, Where has the LOVE Gone? Can there still be a fairy tale ending for my friend's demise?

I used to think that fairy tales can only be found in books. I guess, it is one of the reasons why I got hooked up with reading. I definitely did not start reading stuff like: The Reason Of Things, National Geographic, or the World History. No I used them as references in school but never read them with zest. I admittedly started with Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. Then it was Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley High, Harlequin, Danielle Steel, etc.... yes, some may think so cheap of me naman, but in finding happy endings in those stories, I was encouraged to read more. I felt, while I was reading them, I was also living them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.. non-sense! Then it became Gone With The Wind, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, War & Peace. In between, I would always scramble for the Reader's Digest Compilation,Women's Journal & Woman Today where I can find short love stories, which conveniently, we happen to have several at home. Okay, now I am digressing again!!!

Going back to the issue of my friend, she is again on the verge of another change in her life because her hubby is again moving to another place outside Germany. I can tell now that she is excited about moving to a very rich, attractive & famous country but is also somehow torn by the fear that she will undergo again what she went through before. Another thing that is bothering her is the fact that there is somebody at work who seems to like to her so much. Knowing her personal background and every other gory (hehehe!) details of her life story, he is still persistent in pursuing her. My friend is experiencing now, what she has never experienced before from her hubby. She is being courted in the most simple but romantic way. This guy from work is making her feel another side of life that she has not experienced from her husband. It is not just about money, but the simple little-nothings a girl needs to feel loved, appreciated, needed, accepted, not only as who she is but also her loved ones. Respected her wishes and decisions and not constantly being demoralized as what her own hubby does to her.

When this new guy, for example, found out that my friend already has a child, he very calmly said in reply: '"our family, is my family". Without his knowing, my friend got so touched by this because, her hubby would always tell her the contrary: "they're your family, not mine".

After hearing my friend's detailed report of every date and topic discussed, I thought, maybe with this guy, my friend eventually found her own fairy tale ending. But then again, I could also be wrong. I may be just another fool who is easily convinced by these little things which doesn't matter much in life for the others. Baka, tulad din ako ng iba na nadadala sa mga pa-duding ng ka-lalakihan habang nan-liligaw pa lamang. Ganoon naman talaga ang mag lalaki di ba? They try to promise a girl the moon and the stars, eh hindi naman sa kanila yun. Or they say all just good things until they can convince the girl to give them what they want, tapos, bye-bye na lang. No I am not just referring to sex, don't get me wrong. Hindi naman ako pa-virgin effect and neither is my friend. Pero, Sabi nga ni Joey sa Milan, : "Ang pigeons (in this case, I guess, mga lalaki) parang tao yan, lalapit lang sila pag may kailangan". Can this be true? If so, ano kaya ang kailangan nitong kasamahan namin sa trabaho sa kaibigan ko? At ano naman kaya ang kailangan ng mahal ko sa akin at hanggang ngayon eh, hindi pa naman siya lumalayo?

At kayo, naitanong niyo ba sa sarili niyo kung ano ang kailangan ng nobyo, o asawa niyo sa inyo?