December 07, 2004

Malacañang Palace of the North

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Also in our list of "to visit" in the Ilocos region was the Palace Ti Amianan, where the Marcos' had a man-made lake built at the back of the house in order to attain grand scenery from looking out of the balcony and the garden. I can just imagine from the balcony, one could catch a magnificent view of the sunset reflecting on the lake.

The first level of the house on the right wing is where the dining room is located. I can't remember clearly now if it was a twenty sitter table or perhaps even more. The table was so long that I doubt if the two persons sitting at both ends could still communicate properly at mealtimes. When we went there, we couldn't get inside though since they were putting wax on the floor of the dining room. The area had to be sealed off. Actually, I can recall now that the whole place was quite recently waxed at the time of our visit since one could still smell the very strong toxic smell of it. On the left wing of the house are still more bedrooms. I assume they served as guest rooms and a couple more toilets. In between these wings is the lanai or foyer that would go directly to the garden. With long sliding doors, I can imagine that the whole receiving area would embrace the sunrays the whole day. The view of the man-made lake just made the picture perfect for a lovely setting.

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A view of the Malacañang Palace of the North from the garden.

The second level of the house looked liked a hotel lobby. This is where most of the rooms are located. The master bedroom connected to the study/library is also located here. This room is the biggest among the rooms found in the palace of course. Unfortunately, the whole place is somehow empty. Cheap paintings hung on the walls except for that Malakas & Maganda mural on the wall to the stairs. There are several sets of old tables and chairs which are placed there just for the sake that there is furniture in the place. Mind you not old as in antique ones, but old common ones which where probably used in some government offices before. D.O.T. who is now managing the maintenance of the area must have placed the selected cheap furniture so the house would still look nice if not impressive. But the cupboards and the beds according to the guards are still the original ones.

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A view from the long balcony of the palace.

Upon entering into a bedroom, (which seemed to be made for girls) on the right corner of the room is filled with cupboards made of Nara wood and fitted with several body sized mirrors. Facing the mirrors, one could see how one looks like in the dress that they're wearing from all angles. Again, this is how it is set now. Before, it may have been arranged in a different way. Meaning, they may have just put all those cupboards together to make space for the other old stuff in the room. Each bedroom had a four poster bed with drapes of matching floral designs as the comforters and sheets. This is set to show how the beds looked like before. But, hello? COMFORTER? in the Philippines?! One can just imagine the air conditioning being ON all the time then, if they have those in their rooms which is actually common only in countries with cool climate. Well, that explains the size of the air conditioning units that they have there as well....I should have taken photos of those as well! The luxury that they enjoyed in exchange for the hardships of the commoners!

The whole property is now government owned. To keep it maintained, people can come & visit for a meager price which is used for any minor reparations and cleaning. Too bad though, that the Palace is not properly maintained as can be seen in the photos.

The neighboring property is a Golf Club which is owned and frequented by the Japanese and Korean neighbors who fly in for the day to play golf. Most of the time, they come to the palace looking for the corpse body of the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos, as what the guard there informed us. It was indeed true, because there were a couple of them who came to ask us where the body of the late president was located in that house. I wanted to tell them, if you come with us, we can show you around, but you'll have to pay for the tour, hehehe!

Posted by missP at 01:42 AM

November 15, 2004

Photo snaps from our trip to the north

Coming back from our trip to the South, we just had some three hours rest before we started our drive up to the north. The plan was to go first to Abra, the hometown of my sister-in-law. From there on, we would then visit Vigan, Laoag, visit the Ilocos region and then the Bontocs region, and move further down to Baguio and La Union. This is the first part of the "Trip to the North" series.


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This breathtaking view of the mountains from this bridge upon entering vigan always impressed me. From here on, i feel the different aura of the place...it seems to me like crossing into time.

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Vigan, along the Heriatge street, where one can get plenty of souvenir stuff as well as very good wood carved furnitures.

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Vigan, almost all of the shops we visited had this spanish style bench outside where one can sit and have a rest.



My only regret during this tour: I was not wearing my spanish ensemble, at naupo sa isa sa mga bangkong ito. Together with pamypay-tsenes, at sweet, ice cold kalamansi juice, etc... instead, nagpaka sunog akong naglalakad sa kalsadang ito, with my maps at nahilo lang ako sa kaka yuko at tingala (madalas, head movements ng taong naliligaw....hehehehe!)

Around the town center of Vigan, there is a Tourist information office where one can get the maps and brochures of which places to visit. They generally recommend that one should take a calesa ride to be able to see all theses places. If one prefers it, one can request for a tour guide from the tourist info office, without fee, but as a way of saying thank you, a tip is much preferred.

A tip to the ones who would go to the place: take the kalesa ride. That way, you'll get to see everything and then still have time to go shopping for souvenirs.

Posted by missP at 11:10 AM

November 09, 2004

Bagong Bapor at "Threading"

Nalala ko lang, on the way na pabalik to Manila, hindi na kami nag landtrip all the way. We drove up to Ozamis from Dipolog City and from there on, we took the Superferry to Manila. Inabot din ng dalawang gabi isang araw ang biyahe. Pwede na considering before we had to travel three nights and two days by boat to get to Manila.

There has been so much improvements on the water transportation of the Philippines, I noticed. The conditions of the boats/ferries are much better now. New boats, well maintained, cabins are much bigger with enough head room for 4,6,8 passengers. The economy area is so much changed.

Before they only provided in the economy deck cots/bunks. Naalala ko dati, if the pax came late on board, wala na siyang makukuhang cot. I don't know how they managed it, pero, bigla na lang somebody would bring cots andplace them sa gilid ng railings. Pag umuulan, siyempre basa sila. Hindi rin sila nakakaligtas pag malalakas ang alon. Sa tatlong araw at dalawang gabing biyahe, tamang-tama pag dating ng pasahero sa Maynila o pabalik man sa probinsiya, nagka-kasakit na sila. Dagdag mo pa ang seasickness. At ang pagkain na sine-serve nila, matindi pa sa ration ng sundalo. Tulad ng pag embark sa barko, kailangan maaga din sa mess hall otherwise, tutong na lang ang makukuha mo. And they don't even say sorry as pa-consuelo de bobo to you man lang. Pero ngayon, hindi na ganito ang systema. Maayos na ang mga double deck beds sa economy area. Malinis ang common toilet at wala nang beds sa railings. The food court provided for the economy passengers has a wide variety of choices at very affordable prices. For example, for 40Php, meron ka nang bottomless rice with vianed, like sinigang, adobo or pinakbet. To pay for this, the pax just need to present their meal card. This meal card comes with the purchased ticket. It has a load of 300 Php. Pag naubos na ang load nito before the end of the journey, (dahil for example, kulang talaga ang bottomless rice at one ulam sa inyo), huwag kayong mag alala. Pwede niyo itong pa load-an ulit. The only hassle is, if nag pa load kayo at hindi niyo ito naubos at the end of the journey, kasi palaging super haba ng pila ng nagpa pa refund. Being a Pinoy, I would probably just bring cooked rice and adobo, pansit and some pandesal with me para hindi na ako kakain sa barko. Tapos I can just get the meal card allowance refunded. O divah, parang naka mura na ako ng 300Php sa pamasahe ko?!

Sa Tourist class naman, they have airconditioning in the rooms which is parang isang hallway filled from each side with double deck beds. They have a common toilet& shower just like the ones provided in the economy class. The tourist class pax also goes to the food court for their meal. Wala talagang big difference, except for the airconditioned rooms.

For the Cabin, Business & first class pax, they have their own toilet & shower, their rooms are mostly located at the front end of the ship and are much closer to the reception area...im sure nakita niyo na ang part na ito, kasi dito palagi sinu-shoot ang commercials ni Shawie. They also have their own cable and pay TV. Their meals are served ala carte at the restaurant one level below the foodcourt. Each meal cost 100Php, so ang 300Php card provided is only good for three meals. Of course, this again, can be reloaded. It is also in this restaurant where one can enjoy karaoke the whole night. Kailangan lang um-order. Pero, kahit isang tasang kape lang ang order, pwede na...passport na yun to do your own mini-concert, provided huwag ka lang sipain ng ibang pax palabas, hehehehe.

While on the ferry, we didn't do much. Although the crew did prepare a program for the passengers. They had "The Singing crew" contest, some crews showed their talent in dancing and even the Doctor on Board played the guitar and serenaded the Pax. After the program, we, (my mom, my aunt &I) went down to the David's Salon on board. Paano, ang Tita, dahil on the road all the time, nag mukha ng bruha ang kilay...at ang feet-tsenes, nag ye-yellow na. I needed a foot spa very badly. Alam ko, when I get to manila, I will not have enough time na to go to the parlor dahil we will immediately drive up North naman. So I went inside, asked for their footspa service.

MP: miss palinas din ako ng eyebrows ha, I said while browsing through their magazine. Silently reminding myself that I would need to buy magazines for the trip back to Germany.
D: maam, sige threading, ho?
MP: hindi miss, hindi ako marunong lumangoy...papalinis lang ako ng kilay.
D: smiling tactfully, threading nga po ang gagawin natin.

Little did I know that my aunt was already laughing at me, kasi, nagbobo-bobohan nanaman daw ako. How would I know na meron na palang threading< /a> as a way to clean the excess hairs sa eyebrows. It turns out to be an Arabic way of cleaning the brows. Hehe, sorry ha, boba ako at hindi naman ako arabo...Arabo-hok sa ibang parte ng katawan yes!

Anyway, the three of us ended with a complete overhaul which lasted almost four hours. We came out of the salon feeling relaxed at maganda na ulit! Of course, hindi pa rin ako natutong lumangoy! ;)

November 02, 2004

The Maria Cristina Falls

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From Leyte, we drove down to Butuan City. We were expected at my Uncle's place there, the brother of my dad since the day before. We got to his place only around lunch time. The first thing I noticed was the "balingbing" tree in the yard. Boy, was I having fun trying to pick the fruits. The last time I ate this fruit was way back in 2002. I know, we can also buy them here in Europe in some places, and I did, but somehow it didn't taste like the ones we grow back home. Another fruit we feasted upon,.... DURIAN! This fruit is quite popular if only for the very bad stinking smell. Despite the smell though, surprisingly, a lot of tourists (local & foreign) really like it. They grow it now in two varieties according to my Uncle. The white one is the original one. It has a very strong smell before and after it has been peeled open. The yellow one is the developed variety. Taste still the same as the white one but the smell is not as bad as the original one.

I never tried the yellow one before and quite frankly, I couldn't bear the smell of the original one. So, I only sated myself with durian candies. But this time, when I tried it, I was so amazed. I never even imagined that when eaten, because of its softness, it just feels like it melts in the mouth. It is definitely creamy specially when cold, almost like ice cream.

We spent a night with my uncle, and head quite early the following morning to Cagayan de Oro where we had breakfast. We didn't stay around longer though cause we wanted to see some Falls in Iligan City. There we saw the Maria Cristina Falls & Tinago Falls. The first one, we saw it in its splendour! Sabi kasi nila baka wala daw kami makita doon kasi nga "now you it, now you don't" ang water sa falls na iyon. We went and tried anyway.

How Maria Cristina Got Its Name
by: Victoria J. Adeva


Once upon a time, Lake Lanao was in the hands of Omaca-an, a giant monster, eating human beings and animals and even fishes in the water.
There were thus very few people around the lake because of the monster that ate everything he saw. many years passed when Rajah Indarapatra came with his beloved brother Rajah Solaiman. Rajah Solaiman was the first
to come and he fought the giant and was killed. Rajah Indarapatra followed, looking for his brother Solaiman. Indarapatra encountered the giant Omaca-an and killed the giant man eater. On land, he looked
for the ring of his brother by asking the small and big animals he met. On water, however, he went swimming everyday and gathere both big and small stones beneath the water.
He stayed for several years along the shores of the lake, but still did not find the ring. He constructed an irrigation system that went very far
and covered a big distance which later beca,e a river (now the Agus River). The river had a portion which dropped down a deep ravine, now the Maria Cristina Falls.

Many years passed, and there lived in Maria the younger and Cristina the elder. These two beautiful ladies loved each other very much. Maria gave everything she had to Cristina, her beloved sister.
Many people knew they were the ones living near the falls. They also loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Datus and Sultans came to ask for their hands in marriage but the sisters refused.
There was a man, however, son of a prominent Sultan living somewhere beside the Lake Lanao. For many years he was unhappy because he could not find a suitable partner.
He roamed around the lake until he saw the two maidens of the falls. He fell in love with the two sisters but the two sisters did not know whom he really loved.
Many days passed and Maria discovered that she loved him very much, which made her very sad and she went to the top of the falls and jumped.
When Cristina found out that Maria was dead, she likewise went to the top of the falls and threw herself down the deep ravine. When the handsome young man discovered the situation and
found the dead bodies, he buried them carefully under the falls. After the death of the two sisters, he never married until he also died. He also named the falls, Maria Cristina, after the two sisters he loved.

A supplement of: Iligan City Tourism Office, c/o Iligan City Museum, City Engineer's Office, Iligan City

****
Tinago falls is a much smaller and reserve place. They made a resort of the area, but according to the locals there, because of the boundary dispute going on, the area had to be closed down. Not a lot of locals go there anymmore, so the resort was getting bankcrupt and worst, neither of the two local governments want to restore it until the court ruling has come out. The resort then is totally wasted. This didn't stop us from going for s dip though.

Posted by missP at 09:40 AM

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.

Posted by missP at 03:30 PM

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!

Posted by missP at 01:42 AM

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

Posted by missP at 10:47 AM

October 20, 2004

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.

Posted by missP at 03:48 PM

August 20, 2004

what happened?

I drove to Brussels Thursday around lunch time. When I arrived there, I stuffed myself with the very good adobo they had prepared. My sisters are both good cooks, so it is always to a treat whenever I visit or they come to me. Bad thing, I probably gained 5 kilos just from that sitting...heheheh!

We left Brussels already quite late since I had to rest & sleep a little after stuffing myself to death, lolzzz! On the way back, the rain was pouring so hard, not to mention the very thick fog in some areas, plus all the while talking to my sisters while trying to entertain the kids, i missed a turn from the A4 to A45....hehehe...spent some minutes trying to figure my way back home. The thing was, the exit to A45 fro A4 direction Frankfurt a. Main, was at that night for some reasons closed. They have posted detour signs, but, since I was doing multitasking, i.e., constantly hearing my nephew ask "what happened?", since it's the latest phrase he learned to say, eating chips, talking & driving in very hard pouring rain that not missing the signs was just impossible! It took me a phone call to ML, who was at a dinner meeting at that time, to ask if the direction I was heading for was the correct one....which of course, it WAS NOT! After eventually finding the right way home, another embarrassing thing happened. We had to stop by at a gasoline station to get the feeding bottle of my nephew warmed, coz he simply refused to take cold milk. Since it was already very late in the night, I assumed the customers present then where mostly truck drivers taking a quick stop & chat on their way either to deliver stuff or go back home. There were like seven sets of eyes staring at me, when I so confidently asked the man behind the counter to warm the bottle in the microwave for 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds! , if you please! REalizing the mistake I made, I immediately mumbled that i have been driving the whole day, etc..., missed a turn and very tired already at that point.

BTW, my nephew never drank the milk, guess he was probably too tired and sleepy to even bother openning his mouth to drink the darn thing, heheheh!

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

Friday was spent in the city doing shopping and running errands for the last minute preparations for the party the folowing day. It took us some time to find a Chinese shop where we could get "Bulad". The 3 shops that I normally frequent didn't have the ones that we wanted and the other two that we found by chance simply were closed for vacation. Kainis! We went home without "bulad", but was very much contented with the mangoes that we bought instead.

Posted by missP at 04:20 AM

July 22, 2004

Dates fixed!

That's it! Dates are fixed. I am just waiting now for the confirmation of my booking. We thought we would go in October, but I am happy that we are going a month earlier. That was the earliest booking we could get. That reminds me, I have to call my family in Manila to let them know. Or maybe not?! Hmmmnn....
Oh well, whatever. Maybe my mom will see this entry anyway...so it's not as if it's some surprise...

Strange, I don't know if this is just a psychological reaction, but now I am sure I will be going home, I think I am not feeling that homesick anymore. I am eager to go, yes... i feel like I want to pack na my things. Oooops, wait! I think i am overacting here! I still have two months wait, but really, I want to start packing na. Yeah, I am being OA!

Posted by missP at 11:50 AM

July 20, 2004

miss na miss ko na siya...

Well, i am quite excited. Tomorrow, It will be final. I will know all the dates and the bookings can be made. We were not supposed to be going home to the Philippines this year. We decided, we would go next year, sometime in March. But I can't wait anymore. Actually, my hubby wanted to go there every year, as what we used to do before. But, I felt like it was not necessary. I could anyway talk to my family anytime I wanted to or see them via the webcam. That was all that mattered. So I told my hubby that it was not necessary that we go home every year. We would anyway live there when we retire, so why don't we just spend our vacations here in Europe or in somewhere else, except the Philippines. Suffice it to say, I managed to convince him with this reasoning. But now, after exactly 27 months, i slowly feel that I have to go home. I do visit my sisters every now and then in Belgium. It is also like being in the Philippines, but I miss my brothers as well. Besides, I have not seen my niece Trisha Marie Isabelle personally. I also miss the food, fruits, the heat, the pollution, the noise, and the crowded malls, the night life, the beaches....lahat! My GOD!!! i simply miss the Philippines. HIndi ko na kaya. I have to go back home. It's the only medicine than can cure this sickness that I have now. Yes, this is a sickness...kakaiba siya! At matindi siya. I thought my work would keep me distracted....hello??!! NO!!! it did not. It made it even worst. There I am, everyday at the airport, seeing all these people flying to exotic countries or going back to their homes...how do you think I feel every day? Like packing sH%$$%§$§%/T! Plus, dagdagan pa ng overhead announcer every night: "ATTENTION: PASSENGERS FOR LH 747 BOUND FOR BANGKOK AND MANILA; PLEASE PROCEED TO GATE BLAH:BLAH:BLAH!

Waaaaaaa!!! ayoko ko na. Gusto ko na mag quit sa trabaho. Gusto ko na umuwi sa Pilipinas! Lintik, bakit pa kasi nauso ang pag a-abroad!?!

Posted by missP at 07:00 PM

July 05, 2004

Going away!

I have to finish tons of stuffs today co'z we'll be leaving again this weekend. ML and I will going away for 5 days. I have no idea wether I would be able to blog during those days. My guess is not. The thing is, I have to work still until Thursday. So, I definitely don't have the time anymore to pack our stuff later this week. I also have to go shop for some stuff necessary for the trip. I will be able to do the shopping, but the packing....hhhmmmnnn...(*grin*)! Unfortunately, I am not like elaine who can pack for a week's trip in 10 minutes! WOW! that's really something I should learn. I also have to finish my laundry & ironning...plus, water the plants...+++.

Hay nako! ANg buhay nga naman. But I can't complain. At least I do have a LIFE! I may have problems, but, as someone mentioned over our chat today, there are definitely others who have much more bigger problems than my little share of trials in life. Di vah?

Posted by missP at 03:33 PM

July 02, 2004

New Look

It's finally done! I have been thinking about changing the layout of my blogsite. Since it is already summer time, i thought, why not use beach picture for the banner. So I was torn between using photos from Gran Canaria or use some photos from Dos Palmas, a very popular resort in Palawan, Philippines some years back. Although I do not know if the are still as popular now as they were before. Of course, the latter was chosen.

Hmmmnnmm....remembering the past:

ML and I went there March, 2001. We stayed in the island for almost two weeks. That vacation was pure bliss. We went scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking and most of the time, just lazing around the whole day. We also went island hopping. Amazingly, there were several small islands surrounding Dos Palmas which were uninhabited. Dos Palmas used them as some sort of Privat beaches. Whenever we wanted to go, we only had to order for a speed boat to take us there, with our foods and drinks and stay there the whole day. We would just set a time when they would come to pick us up. Unless the weather changes, the plan goes as it is.

Well, we got a really good deal for that vacation. Everything inclusive, so, we could also eat what we want. Go dancing at night or simply do a round of billiard, darts, card games & other board games and of course, the everlasting "sungka" in their recreation center. We had our lunches on a floating gazebo with the fishes and other underwater life swimming around us. With the water being so clear, it was not difficult to see the corals in their splendour. Unfortunately, during one of those lunches, ML's Cannon Powershot S10 got splashed with sea water, and didn't work anymore. So the rest of the vacation passed by without pictures. But the pictures we captured in our hearts are the best anyway. I think we (ML & I) fell in love with Palawan from that visit. We both promised ourselves, that we would one day live there. Have our own little paradise there. With hopes and never ending prayers, it may just come true. Someday....

Posted by missP at 11:30 PM

June 17, 2004

alis ulit siya?!?

Hubby will be going away again. He'll be gone again for another fortnight. I am lucky I have now worked that keeps me occupied unlike before. When we first moved here, I enrolled myself in a German language course that kept me from traveling. So, when hubby had to go somewhere, I was always left at home with nothing to do but learn the language and bore myself to German television. I never understood a word then. That was really like hell. Imagine, getting stuck in a place where the closest person you know lives 250 kilometers away from your place. I am referring to a family friend who lives somewhere else in Germany. Hubby was always on the go, that when he came back, I just demanded I had to leave the house...no, not for divorce! Just to go somewhere else. See a different scenario. Be in a different environment. Ngekk, chika, gustong-gusto ko lang mag laag-laag. I also needed a break from the course. After doing it straight for some months, I eventually felt like puking just from the sight of my workbooks and textbooks. But in fairness, without having gone through that experience, I would not have gotten a job now. I would probably still be lying around at home dying of boredom.

Posted by missP at 11:28 AM

June 16, 2004

it's not so easy after all...

I have always been so eager to start na this project that I have been planning for some weeks now. YEP!!! weeks, since I had to stop the planning and the preparations because of work, and then again because of some things that came up. Come to think of it, even the e-mail update that I planned to send to some people whom I invited to join me in the project are also stuck somewhere in my mailbox. "I am really sorry, Guys. I have been late in sending the updates. I still need a BDOYPP from each of you. Just please, bear with me".

Hopefully, I will manage to get it rolling before I will leave for Belgium this month....I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Posted by missP at 12:50 AM

April 27, 2004

Annoyingly Funny!

When I started with this job that I am doing now, I had so much doubts about it because of the rumors that was spreading around.

Like:
"Hard Job" - they say because we have to stand all the day and try to put up a presentable, professional image all the time. how can one do that, if he/she stands 5-6 hours, no coffee breaks, no cigarette breaks for the smokers nor just 10 minutes pause from the working position? well, i thought what job isn't hard/difficult?

"30 Minutes Pause" - no more, no less! For a full-timer who works 8 hours this is really a problem.

"Working Schedule" - we work in shifts from: 03:00 a.m. until latest 24:00 p.m. For those who have to come to work at Three a.m. without cars, they have to come to the airport at 1:30 a.m. taking the last trip for the evening, stay somewhere there and wait until their shift begins. For those who have cars, the problem is, the company doesn't provide parking space. They have to park the car outside the airport and walk all the way back. "hmmm. . . which is less dangerous?" i wonder!

"Dealing with arrogant customers" - boyyy!!! these reason almost made me want to backout immediately before I even started it. But now, we are slowly getting used to it.

or with "STUPID" ones:
Example:

ME: good evening, can i see your boarding pass please?

PAX: what do you want to check?

ME: your boarding pass please (trying it in german or french, since english didn't work).

Pax: i see, let me check, saying it in english! (starts looking in every bag and pocket until they finally find it).

ME: after checking the BP, says again: Please put your bag on the table and push it through the frame. (of course, saying it in the appropriate language again).

Pax: places the bag on the table and then goes pass through ME and says: "ok, thanks, bye", then starts walking away leaving the bag on the table.

Duhhhhh!!!!what just happened there?

Now, except for the problem with the breaktime, i am slowly getting immune to the arrogance of some customer and i slowly find the "others" funny. what i am still wondering about is the fact that: "some people, when they travel, they seem to leave their brains at home".
****************************************************************
Around the Globe...
- Tuesday, April 27, 2004

1. Where do you currently live? Germany
2. Name all the places in the world that you can think of that you've been to.
Belgium: Antwerp, Ghent, Brugge, Liege, Brussels, Namur, Mons, Charleroi, Arlon, Tongeren, Waterloo;
Luxemburg;
The Neatherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht and Maastricht;
Italy: Venice;
Austria: Salzburg
France: Paris, Chantilly;
U.S.A. : California, Nevada, Arizona;
Singapore
Malaysia: Penang, Langkawi
Gran Canaria
Philippines
3. What place in the world do you want to go to that you haven't been to yet? Switzerland
4. What's your favorite place in the world, so far? Paris
5. What's the worst place you've been to, so far? Penang


carried over from: Daily Dirt

Posted by missP at 07:08 AM

April 05, 2004

Driving to Weimar

Hectic, hectic. We left house enroute to visit my sister-in-law. Her husband is celebrating his 60th birthday. They booked us a room in Romantik Hotel Dorotheenhof, a hotel which was formerly a country estate, was renovated and "set idyllically in its own park close to the city". They have really a lot to offer. Not only was the food superb ( as it is made according to the recipes in Goethe’s times, but the staff were also great. Friendly, polite and very much attentive to the guest’s needs.

A friend of a friend once said that she was warned of how a German party is. That they only serve bretzels and coffee. Well, this birthday party that we were invited to was exactly the opposite. The actual birthday of the celebrant was 04.04.04. The party kicked off with a visit to the city of Weimar, famously known as the cultural capital of Germany, where Goethe and Schiller created their biggest works. I did not say his birthplace, because I have heard that he was actually born in Frankfurt.

On the morning of the second day, Saturday,the third of April, the guests were given a priviledged tour to the Stahl factory were the celebrant is the Manager. The tour lasted about an hour, followed immediately with cakes and coffee. Then the guests were given enough time for siesta. At exactly 18:00 of the the same day, champagne was served at the main lobby of the Hotel Dorotheenhof to commence the Night celebration, which would then last until after midnight of April 04, the real birthdate of the celebrant. Greetings and introductions were made official.

From the lobby, we moved on to the Dining Hall of the Hotel, where more wine was served. Shortly after, apperatiff started. First came the creamy soup. Served elegantly by the friendly crew. Food was abundantly prepared on the long buffet table. With plenty of choises from cheese, tomato salad, fish fillets, bacon and ham, baked mushroom on cucumber and plenty more. Then came the main course, with Rindfleisch, Pasta with mixed vegetables, Poularde which was wonderfully cooked and served in just the right temperature. All night long, the drinks were overflowing. Italian and German red and white wine was offered. Beer was on the offing, waiting just to be ordered. There were different presentations prepared by family members, friends, colleagues from work and distant relatives.

At around midnight, a touching presentation of the everlasting birthday song was sung. After all the congratulations, the kids of the celebrant made a video presentation. Pictures of the celebrant from way back on the day of his birth, childhood days, school days, excursions up to when he started working was shown. The next part was when he got married the first time followed by the births of his three children. Then his lifelong dedication to his job and family were also shown. The last part of the 20 minutes presentation was all about how he met his second wife, how they spend their time together at work or during vacations. The tribute was really very impressive and touching.

All night long, drinks were available. Dessert was on the buffet table, waiting to be picked up by whoever has the guts to gain more calories and fats. It turned out to be a grand celebration. Until around three a.m. people were still eating, drinking or simply enjoying the talks all around the place. Some even started dancing to the slow music which was playing from somewhere in the background.

I on the other hand, had to go back early to our room. It was very difficult to leave the crowd, but I still have some preparations to make for a training that I will be joining Tuesday the following week. I don’t want to sound like a Killjoy, but, this training is really necessary for the new job that I applied for.

I therefore conclude, that NOT All German celebrations are boringly dry where they only serve bretzels and coffee. BOW!!!

Posted by missP at 09:58 PM