October 31, 2004

Spageti

Ang isang highlight pa sa king huling pag uwi sa Manila ay ang aking pamangkin na ngayon ko lang nakita in person. Her name is Trisha Marie Isabelle, turned 2 last June. She is such a lively child, never a dull moment with her. She talks and eats all the time, as in literally all the time! Parang walang kabusugan. In between the show of her talents, she sings and dances for everybody. Two of the favorites are the song from this Korean girl: IN or OUT, and that of the SexBomb Girls: Spageti

Here she is, my beautiful niece dancing to Spageti:

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October 26, 2004

The Baywalk

Ibang-iba na ang Roxas Boulevard ngayon. Ang dating Roxas boulevard na alam ko ay madilim, mabaho at tipong perfect location for hold-up-an blues. Madaming pakalat-kalat na mga homeless at vendors. Taho, fishballs, stork, yosi at pati aliw din yata ay binebenta nila dito.

Pero nitong sa huling dalaw ko sa ating bayan, hindi ko siya na kilala. Well lighted kasi at may mga bars na along the pathway. Yung iba, may mga bands na tumutugtog. Sa ibang place naman, talagang inuman lang. Tipong kung trip nyong mag pakalasing sa may baybayin, na hindi kayo mare-rape, mananakawan o ma hold up man lang because there are always people around, punta po kayo sa Baywalk.

Eniwey, habang kami ni hubs ay medyo nag hhww at pssp along the Bay nga, dito ko po unang narinig ang kanta ni Tuesday Vargas entitled:

BABAE PO AKO

girlaloo...girlaloo...girlaloo...laloo...laloo


babae po ako
mali ka diyan sa inaakala mo
babae po ako
hindi ako clone
lalong 'di likha ng 'yong ilushown
babae po ako
pag nakatagilid, tingin mo lang ako'y otap
porke ba bumper ko'y small lang ang sukat
babae po ako... no no no
babae po ako!!!

di ako bakla ... klah klah klah klah klah
di ako shokla ... klah klah klah klah klah
nililinlang ka lang ng 'yong paningin
babae po ako! (so, so, so sweet)
di ako bakla ... klah klah klah klah klah
di ako shokla ... klah klah klah klah klah
babae po ako, wish ko lang
para wala nang paliwanagan

babae po ako
trip mo ba ang subukan pa ako
babae po ako
ang hugis ko'y coke
at hindi ako "salamat po doc"
pini-period period period
kung 'yong titingnan
parang may sikong apat
na iba-iba lang ang kinalalagyan
babae po ako (sure na sure ako)
babae po ako!!

~~Tuesday Vargas~~


***I know, ang babaw, pero aliw ako sa song niya. And the singer of the band who sang this song there did justice din naman to it. She had her own version and interpretation of the song which was really popular that night. The guests, both local and foreign tourists requested for the song to be sung more than twice. Thanks to the gay guest who came home from the U.K. He gave the band a generous tip, kaya paulit-ulit din naming na witness ang performance nila.

October 23, 2004

Bicol express & San Juanico Bridge

Next stop was at the pier station of Matnog in Sorsogon going to Catarman, Samar. There we had to take a ferry to cross to Samar island. From Catarman, we drove all the way to Leyte, via the famous San Juanico Bridge, our very own version of the Golden Gate in San Francisco.

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The sad part was we were not allowed to stop in the middle of the bridge to take pictures, so I just tried to get them from the moving vehicle. Kung wala lang sanang military post stationed at both ends of the bridge, we would have stopped, hehehe. I was afraid we would be caught and like that Norwegian guy who was taking pictures in Makati, hubby would probably get deported... LOL!

October 22, 2004

~ Unwell ~

My first week in Manila was spent in total relaxation. Dear hubby had to do some thingie with his work, so I spent my days in the company of my family. Went to visit my dear grandma in Quezon City. I managed to call old friends and arranged a meeting with them. Also had the chance to squeeze a project that would earn bucks someday, hehehehe.

And basically, just lazing around in our humble abode in Paranaque.

One night, a group of colleagues of hubby invited us for dinner at Oody's, one of the many new restaurants in Greenbelt 3. The place was jammed but the food was great. Everything was hot & spicy, just the way hubby and I like it. Then we had a walk around the Greenbelt area. Sometime during the night, in between talks about places to go and visit and what we should do while in the country, somebody suggested Karaoke along Jupiter. So, off we went to this place, na sa palagay ko lang ay ang dating location ng Jazz Rythms in Makati. I could be wrong though. We went up to the third (or was it the fourth?) floor where we had to wait at the reception since the place was full.

Earlier that day, one of hubby's collleague called the said Karaoke Bar to make a reservation. According naman to the person who answered the phone, hindi naman daw na necessary dahil hindi naman daw puno ang place pag weekday. Well, to make a long story short, medyo nag hintay kami ng around 15 minutes.

The place was really neat. Each client gets their own cubicle. Kaya kahit lumuwa na ang lungs mo sa kaka ngawa, tuloy lang ang concert hangga't gusto mo. Nobody would dare to tell you to stop...pwera na lang kung garapal ang mga barkada mong ka join at talagang pag tagu-an ka na ng microphone at pag patayan ng computer...heheheheh!

All of hubby's colleagues are good singers, kaya medyo nakinig na lang ako...medyo that's entertainment nga lang ang dating, kasi mga young professionals sila. As in I felt really old to be with them. Pero, just the same, nag enjoy ako...especially while listening to one of the colleagues of hubby singing the song UNWELL, was quite fun. He looked like the original singer kasi, *wink*, di ba Donald?

UNWELL

All day staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something

Hold on
Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown
And I don't know why

[Chorus]

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be...me

I'm talking to myself in public
Dodging glances on the train
And I know, I know they've all been talking about me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me
Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow I've lost my mind

[Chorus]

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be

I've been talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah, they're taking me away

[Chorus]

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be

Yeah, how I used to be
How I used to be
Well, I'm just a little unwell
How I used to be
How I used to be
I'm just a little unwell

October 21, 2004

Unang araw sa Maynila

SEpt. 19, 2004

We arrived in Manila on a hot Sunday afternoon. I could hardly wait to get out of the airport and be outside in the sun. From the plane, walking along the hallway of the west wing, some employees can be seen offering sim cards and prepaid cards to load the cellphones with. Good idea nga naman especially for those balikbayan who doesn't have roaming from their host country cellphone subscription, na makaka tawag agad sila sa kanilang mahal sa buhay immediately after they get off the plane. For those naman who have Smart roaming, load away na agad para di ma-"check operator" service. Hehehe, bilib ka sa Pinoy!

We hurriedly went to fall in line at the immigration control. The lady who assisted us was not so friendly. No, talagang suplada! No smile, nothing! Pero, I guess that's how it is in their kind of job. Kung baga, trying to project the seriousness of their jobs. Okay, fine!

Finally, after we got through the lady at the immigration, I ran for a cart for the baggages, sa may conveyor area, at anong gulat ko po nang matunghayan ko na (Mga kababayan kong matagal nang hindi naka uwi sa ating bayan...) ang mga baggage carts ay libre na po! No need to prepare a dollar for the cart...hehehe, quite an improvement.

My parents were already waiting for us at the Ramp area. Thank goodness, won't have to wait again. We somehow managed to get everything into the car, and off we went to HOME SWEET HOME!!!

October 20, 2004

Your Power Color Is Blue



Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What's Your Power Color? Take This Quiz :-)

Flashback

September 18, 2004

Getting to the airport was not much of a hassle. We unloaded our bags from the car and went immediately to check them in. I was surprised that the queu was already long considering the fact that we were there quite early. We fell in line, nontheless, and waited eagerly for our time to be served. I was a bit worried about the bags since I was very much aware that I have over-packed again. I already had an idea about what to do in case we would be charged. NO! definitely not unpacking, but I was ready to beg!!! Hehehehe! When it was our turn to check-in, I nervously attached my Fraport ID just so that the lady at the counter could see it. I was not quite sure if it would work, but somebody already gave me the tip to do it. So I did! Sure enough, the lady behind the counter said: "You have an excess baggage of so,so kilos", first looking at my hubby and then to me. My dear hubby started to discuss with me about what to do with the stuff, since we had a lot of "padalas" with us, meaning, we were hesitant to pay for excess which didn't actually belong to us. Then, there it was, the magic words, "You're an airport employee", she said to me. I nervously said "yes," adding the name of my company. "Okay, I will put all your bags in your name", was all she said.

Ang buhay nga naman! Kung kelan gusto ko nang huminto mag trabaho, at di na ako masaya sa trabaho ko, saka naman naging kapaki-pakinabang ito! From there on, we proceeded to fall in line again for the passport control and then to the security control where the lines were terrible. Tapos we had an encounter with the Russians. There were four of them and they were trying to cut into our line. The people who were in front of us already told them to get lost, but they just stood there as if they didn't understand a word that was said to them. A Japanese lady who was standing behind me was already upset. So I very nicely asked my dear hubby to tell the Russians (in their language, of course) to be civilize and fall in line. They were surprised for a while but still didn't make a move. They stood there trying to block our way. At this point, a lot of us were already annoyed with them. Then somebody managed to call the attention of the BGS who politely asked the Russians to fall in line. Yun lang! Tapos sabi lang ng BGS na hindi dapat maging mainit ang mga ulo ng mga naka pila na pasahero...hello?!

Kaya naman, we were so glad when our turn came. Akala ko in just a couple of minutes, makaka-lusot na kami from the mob there, but hell no! I was asked to open my bags because of my laptop. Strange was, my hubby also had his laptop with him and yet he was not asked to open his. Anyway, the random control took another couple of minutes. Finally, we were on our way to the gate. At the next security control, the employee said, I could simply go through since I am an employee. But the other employee said otherwise because I was a passenger...and they discussed the situation there in front of the passengers... Then hubby thought this would take longer... said in a joking manner, "okay, everyday at work, there is something new". I laid my stuff on the conveyor of the machine and had myself body frisked. So there you go, another misinformation, perhaps? Definitely not inefficiency!!!

Finally, we got to the gate just a few minutes before boarding time. We thought, okay, that was quite an experience through the jungle, but what the heck! We wanted to enjoy the start of our vacation. So, we boarded the plane, placed all our handcarry's inside the compartment and sat down while waiting for pushback.

October 19, 2004

Back from "Perlas ng Sinilangan"

Yes...I am definitely back from the Philippines. It was such a short visit. It was like I just got there, and all of a sudden, I have to prepare again coming back to Alemanlandiya. AS in BITIN!

Anyway, while there, I think I only visited my site a couple of times and only for a few minutes. I didn't even bother to post or tag anything. I didn't plan it that way din naman kasi. My purpose of going back there is to enjoy what I was missing while in Germany. I had no intentions of doing what I do and enjoy while in my current host country. Eh, ano! Di parang hindi rin ako umuwi ng Pilipinas?!

Anong ginawa ko doon? Well, let me see:

** Ate as much as I could of fruits like: Lanzones, Rambutan, Mangosteen, Marang & Durian, to name some.
** We went on a long, unplanned road trip from Manila to Dipolog City!
** Of course we also had our Ilocandia Tour & feasted on Vigan longganisa.

Yeah, I know, most of the time I was eating there, hence, I gained a lot of unwanted pounds again. Even hubby made the remark quite bluntly. Couldn't help it. I would not be able to enjoy the same after some time...probably after two years pa ulit, so why not help myself to them while there na nga.

For now, I am back in Germany and the first thing I noticed while here at home for some hours is the SILENCE! Total silence, except when I have the internet radio on and listen to OPM pa rin.... of course! Just a few hours ago, I was asking hubby if the neighbors are there. Coz I would really appreciate any noise they will make at the moment, just so that I don't get home-sick. Ano ba naman yan! I should start doing what I have to do before I go back to work. Some household chores like the laundry, which I have plenty, plus the cleaning, coz the house is definitely dusty, awaits me. On top of that, I still have some errands to do, like post replies to certain mails, get hold of some people who has been trying to reach us for some weeks now, bloghopping (hehehe! ;) siyempre!!!), etc., etc.