December 20, 2004

Alaala ng Pasko

It is Christmas once again. The time of the year when most are the
merriest and lighthearted and generous. Hubby and I will be spending
Christmas with my sisters and relatives currently residing in Belgium.

Before I came to Europe, my holidays were always spent with family and
relatives. We usually meet in the house of the relatives or in ours,
depends on who the assigned host for the yearend celebration is. Year-end would be from December 24th up to New Years eve. Yes, it is one whole week of being together. During this time, relatives, cousins living in the provinces would come
to Manila as well to celebrate with us. My cousins and I, are almost of
the same age with an average of 1 year gap, so we were all very close to
each other. Not to mention that we have always lived so near to each
other that the closeness became more like a brother and sister thing.
From elementary to high school or at least until my family left for
Manila for good, we were always together. We went to different schools
but were always together weekends, spent either at the beach or biking
or just going roller skating at the town plaza. Those days were fun.
Christmas time was the best though. We get to stay up so late, and play
outside. Do whatever we want to do like sitting under the big mango tree
in the front yard of my Lola's house and just sing songs. My brother and
cousin were both good with the guitar, so we had instrumental
accompaniment as well. The younger ones would play with the candles or
flashlights, depends on which was available.

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Gifts we got were not as grand, but hey, we were just kids. Ibig
sabihin, mababaw lang ang kaligayahan
. Actually, they were not the most
important thing, but we did compete with each other as to who got the
most cash gifts. Some of my cousins, tried to cheat by saving up from their
allowance before the christmas holidays and then just add them up with
what they got later. For me, i had to join the regular christmas
carolers in the school to save up more. Kasi, sa school, malakas akong
kumain. In short, I didn't save anything from my baon for
Christmas...kaya, kayod pa ako. The fun thing is, after the holidays,
when everything else is back to normal, we then use what we saved up
during the holidays for stuff where we didn't have a budget, like going
to see a movie, buying scented stationaries and hanging out at the
halo-halo kiosk downtown together.

The last time I spent Christmas holidays with the whole family and
relatives was way back in 1996. Since we all went to different schools
in college, this was the only time we were all together again. I
remember, after the celebrations at home, we all got into three cars and
drove to Padis Point in Antipolo. We talked, teased and drank. It was
the first time after several years of not being together. We shared
escapades that the parents are not supposed to know about. Found out who
smoked, who have had "boyfriends" or "girlfriends", talked about the problems
with the parents, etc. We just talked about everything. After Padis
closed for the night, we drove all the way to Tagaytay, up to the Palace
in the Sky. We parked the cars and took out the drinks and snacks that
we bought along the way and drank under the stars that night. Talking,
laughing and listening to the music from the car stereo. It was a cold and foggy night yet we didn't seem to notice the cool wind. WE sat there, and continued
talking about our plans, dreams and ambitions. WE all boasted to each
other how we would be able to help the others the most.

On the way home the following morning, we were all so scared. Normally,
we have a silent rule: we are allowed to go out but we are expected to
be home long before the sun shines the following morning. Just two
blocks before our house, we stopped the cars and planned what to tell
the elders when we got home. WE had to have a valid explanation,
otherwise...well, we didn't find out anyway, what would have happened.
My brother drove ahead, followed by my cousin and me at the tail of the
convoy. When we got home, we were very surprised at the reception.
Instead of getting scolded, we arrived with the breakfast table ready
and food was served immediately. My dear Lola told us firmly to have
breakfast, and then ordered us to rest for we would then have our family
pictures taken that same day. No parent came to us to scold us or
reprimand us for not coming home that night. I guess, it was some sort
of declaration from them that we were already accepted as adults.
Imagine, the eldest among us cousins then was Czar1, she was then 26,
and still didn't have the freedom to go out the whole night and come
home only the following morning. The only exception to this rule is the
author/owner of this blogsite, hahaha. Why? WEll that's another story.

Posted by missP at 09:40 AM

December 11, 2004

Happy Anniversary, ML!

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It seems like only yesterday when we first met. When we first said hello, ^when you sang to me "sweet caroline" to woo me, (hahahaha!), when we had the first discussion about European taxation, when we had our disagreement on something (can't even remember anymore about what!), when we where busy with the preparations for our wedding. Then we said our vows. Our promises to each other are sealed. WE will love, and understand and help each other... In sickness and in health.... and yes, Till death do us part!

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Although we've had our share of ups and downs, our share of the problems when it comes to matters of cultural differences, I'd still say it has been five wonderful years of marriage. A lot of things about you or that you do still amazes me. You continue to show me nothing but kindness, shower me daily with your love and affection. I guess I would live to be a 100 and would still wonder in the end if you are the same person that I married in December, 1999, because I see more & more of the beauty inside you...even more than I could imagine and fathom.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Posted by missP at 02:08 AM

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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Posted by missP at 06:33 AM

July 19, 2004

Back to the Roots

I went missing for some days, hehehe. Actually, hubby and I went to Thüringen- the birthplace and hometown of my dear hubby. Incidentally, where his parents still lives. My father-in-law, Günther, celebrated his 70th birthday this month. Two reasons why this had to be very grand and special: First, it is a "round" number birthday. Second and probably more important was the fact that he lived longer than his doctor speculated. My father-in-law was declared dying 35 years ago. His health failed so bad, that it came to a point when NO insurance company would cover him anymore. So, we really had to celebrate it BIGTIME!

He knew that we were coming over, but what he didn't know was the big birthday bash that his dear wife, Helga organized for him. Of course, with the help of my ML and the twins, Martina & Jürgen. His relatives who are scattered and friends who are still alive were invited. When we got there, most of his friends and relatives were already there. Since we ML and I still had to work Friday, unavoidably, we got there only Saturday around lunch time, just before the Party started. Luckily, we were not the last ones who came...hehehe,(hindi lang Filipina ang late, german din). Somebody from Mainz came in much later.

Anyway, the party was of course a success....

The celebration started at Lunch time on the 10th. We had Lunch at the local restaurant in Gräfenthal which was reserved only for the occassion. It pays knowing the owner, hehehe. Talks about the past DDR times, cooking, baking, fishing, literature and about the deceased friends of the celebrant was never ending. After lunch, we had a small siesta. Then we were back again at the table for Kaffee Trinking with cakes, tarts and pie to the guests delight. Talks continued like lunchtime was not interrupted. This time, the topic was about the people who could not make it to the celebration. Though, they managed to call to greet him happy birthday.

My father-in-law said, he got the first call at six o'clock in the morning. being old and sickly, the first reaction he had was that of course of a "grumpy old man", although he is not always grumpy.

Günther: My God, who can be calling at this time of the day?
Helga: It is your birthday, Günther. Everybody would want to greet you...
Günther : I was born only at ten a.m. not at six - 70 years to this date! Tell them to call back at ten...

I was laughing my heart out to this. Then music came up. Not only English should be played. It had to be German music. So, Ml had to look for the celebrant's type of music. Unfortunately, the songs from the first cd found were not old enough, so, Jürgen had to go look for another. Actually, jürgen prepared a cd with all of my father-in-laws favorites but in mp3 format. The problem was, it would not play on my ML's mp3 player. I never found out what was wrong with it. Jürgen had to go to a friend's house to get the problem fixed, since neither he nor my ML brought their burners with them. After Kaffee trinken, we went for a short walk around the small city. I noticed that almost everybody knew about the birthday celebration. People we met on the streets stopped by to greet the celebrant. I guess this is due to the fact that the city is quite small, more like a village actually and the celebrant has lived there almost all his life. It was very similar to Filipino ways indeed.

At 18:00, more guests started coming in for the evening event. Champagne was served and the evening party started. Dinner was served at half-past seven. The buffet table was deliciously prepared, the menü was wonderfully chosen & the desert was just as perfect as the appetizers and the main course. Drinks were served all night long to the guests' preferrence.

After dinner, a small presentation was made. There was the short skit about the life of the celebrant. Then there was the presentation of photos from childhood to present. I found it very touching. Instead of my ML narrating something about the photos, the celebrant could recall them himself, and ended up telling the visitors about the pictures. He was teary eyed from each story. He was remembering eveyrthing out in the open, sharing to us all those memories. The dancing and drinking went on until 03:00 in the morning.

The following morning, as we all gathered for breakfast, we could all see the joy of that my father felt. It was quite taxing for him, he admitted, but the intense happiness he felt was all over his aura. It seemed to me like he didn't want that time to end. The rest of the day was a little bit more calm, being Sunday. We went for a long walk over the mountains, to the castle and then back. In the afternoon, some relatives started to say their goodbyes, since most of them still need hours to drive back home. ML & I stayed until the 14th. Then it ws also time for us to go. I honestly felt terrible leaving this time. It seemed like the the wonderful weekend was only a dream. Then it was back again to reality. Just my parents-in-law living in that house and the rest of the family are scattered elsewhere.


Posted by missP at 02:30 AM

July 01, 2004

On in-laws

On another matter: one more good news is the package that arrived last week from Martina, my sister-in-law. I got a book this time. I was so surprised where it came from, until I noticed the return address on the parcel. Along with the book is a card. It is really so sweet. She wrote that she was just at the bookshop, looking around and her eyes caught a book which she has read before, but this time in English. She said she loved the story and thought maybe I would also like it. I find it so touching. I have been very lucky with my in-laws. Since the first day I met them, I have already felt the warmth of the family. They help me to feel at home here in this land far away from home. I have received nothing else but love, encouragement and support from them. I am quite aware that a lot of in-laws are difficult to be with, but in my case, I am completely happy having been blessed with a wonderful set of parents-in-law, a very thoughtful sister-in-law and a funny & caring brother-in-law, Jürgen.

Did I mention that Martina & Jürgen are twins? They are! Funny thing is, noong bata pa ako, I dreamed of having kids of my own...gusto ko sana twins. Ewan ko lang kung tama ako. Naisip ko kasi, kung nasa lahi ng husband ko ang twins sa family, maybe I would also have my own set. Kaya lang, hindi naman ang hubby ko ang may ka-kambal...kaya siguro wishful thinking na lang yun....haaaayyy!!!

Posted by missP at 10:06 PM

June 30, 2004

thoughts from belgium

I had a wonderful time with my sisters, niece & nephew. Non-stop eating, talking and just teasing each other. It's such a great feeling to be with one's own sibs and kids. We also called our parents in Manila. Well, actually, talking to our parents and brothers who are in Manila is nothing extra ordinary for us, since we do it a couple of times a week. But somehow, it is different when everybody's there and we talk over the phone....by golly! we even do it for hours at times. Ang sarap talaga ng feeling!!!

Napanood din namin ang palabas ni Bayani Agbayani at Vhong Navarro na "OTSO-OTSO". Well, typical Filipino comedy. May sayawan, kantahan at madalas puro katatawanan... I guess, i am "mababaw", kasi, at some point, kahit masama ang pakiramdam ko dahil sa aking nabalitaan noong isang araw, ay nakukuha ko pa rin matawa ng husto pag naaalala ko ang palabas na ito. Naalala ko din, after we saw the movie, namasyal kami sa park na malapit sa bahay ng mga sis ko, bigla na lang kumanta ang aking niece ng "PAMELA-MELA". Isa ito sa mga kinanta at sinayaw nila Vhong & Bayani. Pero, mas lalo akong naaliw kasi iba ang lyrics ng kanta ng niece ko. Nag imbento! Eto yung lyrics niya:

Pamela one, look beyond the sun,
Pamela two, look behind the shoe,
Pamela three, look behind the bumblebee,
Pamela four, look behind, behind the door,

At ang nakaka aliw pa, panay din ang sayaw niya habang kanta-kanta niya ito. Bilib talaga ako sa batang ito. Talagang talented...mana sa Tita, heheheh.


Posted by missP at 06:51 PM

May 01, 2004

Thanks to new technology

I am currently in video conferrence with my family in the Philippines...saya ko! Kita ko na for the first time live ang pamangkin kong si Trish. Also, after two years, kita ko na ulit ang youngest bro kong si Kally at ang eldest kong kapatid na si Tex. WOW! Sad to say, ang tatay ko nasa talyer with his everlasting "Batcar". And my mom is at the parlor at the moment. Nag pa-pa repair din ng beauty niya, hehehehe. My sis-in-law, Gina is not around. I am still trying to find out her whereabouts, hahaha!!!

It only took logitech's webcamera plus the ever reliable T-online DSL connection, feeling ko na rin nasa Pilipinas ako with my family. It's really a happy day for me today!

Posted by missP at 12:39 PM

My Mom is safe...

I was woken up by the ringing of the phone in my bedside table. It was my brother calling me from Manila to let me know that my mom safely arrived there today from a series of conventions in the U.S. Thank goodness, she is safe and well. Resting for some days in our humble abode in Paranaque before flying to our province to help settle up some property negotiations there. For weeks, I have been communicating with her all the time to make sure she is alright. My worry about her is her health. She has high blood pressure and has fallen down three times already before. That was three or four years ago. Luckily, it has not recurred. But ever since, I am never at ease whenever she is alone.

Posted by missP at 08:31 AM

April 22, 2004

Dalawang Tulog Na Lang!!

At last, the week is almost over. In two days, ML is coming back from South Africa. I should not forget to pick him up on Saturday morning from the airport. Unfortunately, he will be arriving very early in the morning. Kaya, I would have to wake up at four a.m. on that day...well, anything for my love!

On the other hand, I still have so many things to do. My filing was not done, expense summary not yet finished and i still have tons of ironning to do. Mind you, these are all just for myself. I have to try to get them all done before ML gets back so we can enjoy enjoy the two days together. Sad part is, he will be leaving again on the 25th for Egypt for another two weeks. Kainis talaga ang trabaho na yan!!! But then again, it's our bread and butter kaya, i should not complain so much.

Posted by missP at 09:17 AM

April 21, 2004

Boy-Girl

I got a call from my cousins Czar & Noel who are currently residing in L.A. Our last pone talk was sometime last month just before their younger sister got married. Today, we talked about family news, chismis and intrigues. Well, the usual stuff! We also talked about my beautiful nephew, the son of Noel.

Justin is turning 3 end of this month. He is a normal happy child full of mischiefs. We talked about how he loves shoulder bags. He would carry one around the whole day and before he would go to bed at night, he would lay it ever so gently on the bedside table of his mom announcing that he would be using the same bag for the following day. My cousins slowly started to worry about the bag thing, so they tried to keep away all the hand bags or shoulder bags from the boy's reach. Justin was so upset, but handled it quite well. When he asked for the bag and was told that he should not be playing with them anymore, he just didn't say anything. One day, they found him with a VHS cassette. The film of the tape was pulled out, so it looked like a shoulder bag. He was walking around the whole day with the VHS tape as his bag. I was laughing so much that I almost fell out of my chair.

He also loves his hair long (hence the towel-cum-wig all the time) and is always in front of the mirror trying to sing and act like ....BEYONCE! I had the laugh of my life when I heard about the story of Justin cutting Angela's hair (Angela is the daughter of Czar). He succeeded cutting her hair from one side, but had to stop it because he was already caught by his mommy. So, as of the momment, Angela's hair do looks like, Boy from the right side and Girl from her left side!!!

With this last act, I told my cousin Noel that he should already prepare for a capital to set up a parlor for his son in the future. I don't see anything wrong in accepting the matter right from the start. But then again, I am not the parent...

Posted by missP at 09:52 AM

April 19, 2004

Perils of being alone...

Being alone at home and having all the time to myself, I thought I would make the best use of it. This morning, i was slowly taking stuff down to the basement like old clothes, old newspapers and the recyle bags when I suddenly remembered that nobody else was there to open the door for me so I could go back inside the house. I was like so shocked that I just froze for three minutes. What was I supposed to do? It was probably okay if I didn't have to go to work then I could just stay at a friend's house until ML comes back, but I have to go to work this afternoon. Or I could call a locksmith which would probably cost me around 45 to 50 euros. hmmmmm.... i rang the neighbors bell, without exactly knowing why? They would not be able to help me anyway since we never leave our extra key with them. They have teenage twins and we didn't want to take the risk of hmmm...lalala...

I tried to explain to them what happened. They told me to come inside their house. Suddenly I blurted out: "could you please open the garage door for me?" They said sure, but said anyway, what would it help? I didn't know myself...so I just shrugged. I was looking around in the garage, not knowing really what else to do. I stood there beside the bikes, thinking okay, we may use you again coz summer is almost here...then suddenly there, in the bag of the bike of my hubby is a key. His key to the house that he used to take whenever he went cycling alone. Bless my dear hubby's forgetfullness I could go back inside the house again.

Posted by missP at 11:57 PM

April 18, 2004

Home Alone!

Well, first time in months that I have been alone in the house again. One whole day of silence is really enough for me. I think everybody needs this time to try to reconcile with one's self. I guess you can say this is one way of doing soul searching.

ML is out of the country for a whole week. He left last night and will be back on the 23rd of this month. So, that gives me one week of gallyvanting before or afterwork, depends on my working schedule. Today is the first day that I could stay at home and do nothing else but tinker with the computer. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work again tomorrow. Normally, it is still a free day for me, but since we are having manpower shortage at work this month because a lot of people have to go on this IHK training, my boss asked me to come in tomorrow as well. The good thing is, I will start working only at around 14:00 which means I would still have enough time to do some errands that I couldn't get done today since it's Sunday.

The only thing is I would be working straight seven days next week...and I don't know if I will make it. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Posted by missP at 07:31 PM

March 31, 2004

Everybody Sing a song . . .

Whenever I feel alone, i always sing the song:

"Everybody sing a song . . . Duday, duday. Everybody sing a song, all the duday day. . . all the duday day, all the duday day, everybody sing a song all the duday day"

Of course, the original version is not with Duday. In this song, I replaced it with Duday which happens to be the petname of my niece. Her real full name is actually Izelle Bennett. Her mother's petname is Diday. . .naturally she ended up as Duday.

I always say, whatever the name, the looks, the clothes she carries, these doesn't really say who or what she is. It is the inner attitude and beauty that is the most important.

Siyempre, may mga hi-hirit jan. I may be wrong, but hey, this is my blogsite...and what's written is my opinion... At least, last time I checked, everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. That's all folks!!!

Posted by missP at 08:32 AM

March 29, 2004

Name dropping

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Is it right to Name drop? Is this not unethical? I have always wondered about this, that's why I avoid doing it as much as I can.But I noticed, for some people, name dropping comes very naturally. It comes as easy as saying ABC, or one, two, three. When I was younger, I was thought never to do this. Especially in applying for a job or just by saying something to brag to other people. Something like: "Mr. So-so Rich man is a very dear friend of mine. If you see him give my regards to him. He was just with me the other night." I guess it is okay to say this if this is really true. The problem is, name dropping is so often used nowadays as a means to an end for some. It has been so often abused, hence, to do it is not really good anymore. Even if one is really acqauinted to a certain individual, as long as they are not real Friends, then to name drop is: "to use that certain individual's prestige for the other one to attain his/her own twisted object to also belong to the group".

After my great grandfather died, my grandparents just concentrated on surviving. What with the war breakout plus ten kids to feed, there was simply no time left to serve the government let alone other people. Nobody dared mention about our great grandfather being the first mayor of Dipolog City, simply because it was Him and not any of Us. We are only his descendants, we may have his blood running in our veins and his DNA, but we did not work hard like he did, to become the Mayor. To reach a certain level of prestige in the high society of Dipolog City. He deserved to belong to that group because he worked hard for it. We, on the other hand, can only say that he was great, brilliant and very kind. We could not use his fame to achieve our dreams. That's the reason why, we, the third generation members of our clan never realized that we come from a very prominent family.We would have been much established, had the foundation that my great Grandfather had founded was not cut-off. Apparently, nobody from the family inherited the passion for politics or business. Nor the dream to become a public servant someday. My great Grandfather, was not only the first Notary Public in Dipolog City, but also the First Mayor. Before the first world war broke out, my grandmother and her two younger sisters, were living a grand and prosperous life. While the others are struggling to set up something for their future, they, on the otherhand, didn't need to worry about anything. Unfortunately, my great grandfather had problems with his heart. He died at a very young age, just at the prime of his term as the First Mayor of Dipolog City.

Posted by missP at 06:25 PM

March 18, 2004

LoNg WeEkEnD!!!

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Long weekend.....thank goodness!!!!

I am sitting in the study room with my dear hubby. Each of us so engrossed in front of our own computer. Him with the PC and me in front of my laptop. I didn't have to go to work today, thank goodness! I finally found the time to do some updates with my internet family album. It's been ages since I posted new pictures in there.


My sisters were starting to bug me for updates. I also need this time to keep up with my mails. Oh my! So many things to do and yet so little time to do them.

Good thing we have two internet lines. If not, well, it would be a disaster. We don't seem to do anything else anymore but sit in front of the computer. We even surf more than watch tele. But the thing is, we both like it. Actually, we both enjoy it. We surf and discover things that are really amazing. Every now and then, one of us would show something to the other. Laugh at jokes, give comments and reactions. Share opinion and ideas about we what we find out in the WWW.

Ask for help (especially me) because I lost a file or two while downloading something. Pretty soon, it is already three a.m. and we still haven't eaten dinner....We both would last throughout the day with just coffee (or tee) and cookies or cakes. Which is anyway good for me since I am trying to loose weight. One program that I have tried for sometime now is NOT eating anything after six p.m. It is really effective. But that is for a different blog.

Thanks to my very appreciating Boss, I could take extra day off today, plus three days more over the weekend. It should be enough to get everything done.

Posted by missP at 09:31 PM

March 16, 2004

Blessings, Blessings

I received good news today. The Blessing is so overwhelmingly great that I cannot even begin to imagine let alone explain to my sisters the whole thing!

Anyway, I hope everything will work out fine. I know it will not be a smooth ride....actually, I expect it to be a very bumpy ride with lots of mud puddles (huge ones!).

I believe in one thing alone. This blessing is definitely for our whole family. The good Lord taught us how to be humble and meek. How to be kind hearted. He thought us the importance of helping others. He thought us to persevere in life. He guided us all the time. Bringing us up like small children getting ready to finally face the real world. In his own time, He molded us. He put everything in it's proper place.

Speaking for myself alone, I felt Him with me all the time. Taking care of my family. Watching out for my siblings. He guided us to the right direction. I may have astrayed for a while, but because of His loving kindness, He brought me back to Him. He came seeking my heart and I felt it! I felt His Holy presence in my life all the time. The Love He gives is really everlasting!

For all these, I say, "Thank you Lord, for the Love, the Guidance, the Wisdom, the Strength, the Blessings and most of all for giving us your son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins."

I often wondered how I always end up doing what I have always wanted to do in this life. I saw a Pastor on television once asked these questions:

What is your dream in life?
Why are you doing what you are doing now?
Is this what you really wanted to do in your life?
What are you doing in order to fulfill your dream/s?

These questions became more like guiding questions for me now. Why? Because I was always asking myself the same questions. I prayed that The Lord would help me to understand why I am doing whatever it is that I am doing currently. To understand how to go about following my dreams. Most of all, to understand why I have to achieve this dream. It's not because I want it to, but because I am actually doing the Will of the Lord. And HE did!

How so?

Because that same Pastor explained it all. I believed at that point, that the afformentioned Pastor was used as an "instrument" by the Lord to convey to me the answers to all my questions. HE wanted me to understand. And I did!

Posted by missP at 04:45 PM