Life in the Burbs

Our move went a lot better than planned. Despite my allergy attacks, I was still able to unpack all the boxes which we needed to complete our living and dining rooms. I have no idea when we will finish with all the other stuff, though.

I am loving this neighborhood. It’s quiet.

We have been coming here for the past 2 weeks to do some work and by this weekend, the pizza guy at the corner only need to hear our names to know where he needs to deliver. Oh yea, we’ve been eating a lot of McDonald’s too. There’s one 24kms from here. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to order for quite a while starting tomorrow, when we expect to complete our kitchen installation.

The kids love the freedom to be able to run around. babyM has already mastered going up and down the stairs on his own. And JP has already found 2 playmates. It’s J’s kind of neighborhood as well, with almost every resident going out in the weekends with their mountain bikes. Ours are still in the basement in Frankfurt.

Not that much going on apart from that…

How much is too much?

Sayang, I love pa naman what I am doing at F. But I have decided that enough is enough.

It was okay when it first started. I had a few trips here and there which were more like welcome breaks from the humdrum routine. And then, more were slowly added into my travel schedule. I felt like a true-blue jet setter. And then it just kept on increasing. Apart from the fact that the number of times I have to be away is dramatically increasing, 2 more continents have been added to my commute.

Traveling inside EU was no biggie. For most visits, I could always just take the first flight out and go back on the last one. But with the addition of Asia and North America on a regular basis, that wasn’t/isn’t possible anymore. I felt more and more as if I worked as a stewardess and less and less like a mom (the other full-time job that I hold).

So the other day, I set my foot down. I refused to go anywhere until fair guidelines are set. Shortly after which, I had a 2-hour discussion with the powers that be which was unbelievably frustrating. I can’t even remember anymore how many times I said, “Are you kidding me?!” The meeting did end but with no solution.

The first thing I did when I got home was to update my CV.

Granny Panties

Recently, I purchased “boy style” jeans. It’s my current favorite and I have this urge to buy more, just in case. Its waist hangs low, the back pocket detail gives you the illusion of it sitting low (as well) and the pant legs are kinda wide.

Anyway, as 7 other colleagues of mine (except for me, they are either Japanese or German) and I were walking to McDonald’s for lunch, the topic strayed to clothes buying. I told them about how I love my “boy-style, loose pants”. Silence ensued. But since I could talk anyone out, I didn’t think much about it.

As we were walking back to our office building, the topic went back to clothes once again. And again, I mentioned (to someone else this time) them about “boy-style, loose pants” currently available in most boutiques in Frankfurt. Silence again. If not for H’s snicker, I would not have noticed it myself.

Apparently, in Japan and Germany, they say “trousers” and the word “pants” is often used for underwear.

So they actually thought that I was raving about my brand new boy-style, loose panties!!! Since I have always been very open about things which are actually taboo to discuss for most of them, they actually thought that I was just candid (not to mention shameless) about my choice in underwear.

Of course, I clarified. But from now on, I guess I will always be jokingly referred to as someone who loves granny panties!

Sauna experience in Europe

My first trip to a sauna here in Germany scared the bejeezus out of me. Clad in my bathing suit, I stepped into the steamy, dark sauna and found it full of naked women AND men. Their itty bitty towels were not used to protect their private parts. Instead, they were used to protect their butts from the warm wooden benches.

I swore to myself that the only time I would ever go into a sauna full of buck naked people would be if I go in with J and/or with strangers.

On our first day in Oberstdorf, I was talking about the sauna culture with my office mates. I told them that I just do not have it in me to go in there with people I know, more so people I work with every day. One opined that I if I am too shy, I could just wear a bathing suit. I said no to that, as well. Sure, they will not see me in my birthday suit but I sure as hell do not want to see them in theirs!

But last week… my always-sitting-in front-of-my-desk-at-work body got beaten up real bad from snowboarding for several days. My leg and calf muscles were sore and a private jacuzzi milk bath just wasn’t enough to relax me. So, I let B talk me into going to the sauna with her. First it was just the three of us (B and my haponesa officemate) but later on, some of the guys at work who were hanging out at the heated pool (which was just outside the door to three of the saunas) came in.

This was the only time I was grateful for having really bad eye condition.

With my -6.75 nearsighted left and right eyes, I could barely make out the faces (much less that part I didn’t want to see) of the people in the Sauna with me. The solution of going in my bathing suit, sans my prescription glasses/lenses is genius.

Office Team Building Trip

A few didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. Some already had something scheduled way in advance with their families. And then there were those who just did not feel like going on a trip with a very big group of people. In the end, only 29 of us made it to the 4-day team building trip to Oberstdorf in Allgäu.

Skiers and Snowboarders had the option to enjoy the slopes of Nebelhorn and/or Fellhorn. Tons of activities were also planned for non-skiers: a trip to Breitachklamm, Neuschwanstein and Oberstdorf. And since we stayed at a Wellness hotel, some even opted to stay indoors to get massages, swim, go to the sauna, etc. And then there were those who went hiking for 4 hours.

I decided to go snowboarding. I always ended the day by going to the Thalasso/Ayurveda Salon in our hotel to get a massage/milk bath. After which, I was always fit again to meet everyone else for our after 5 group activity. We had a curling competition and a “torch” lit walk towards the stables. Fun, I tell you!

Every evening, we were served with 4-course meals and drank wine. We always had 3 tables and all of us made sure that we all changed seats so we all got the chance to talk to everyone. Bar51 at the hotel basement was our after 11pm activity. We were the biggest and the rowdiest crowd. And I can safely assume that we also spent the most. At least, the company did.

I had so much fun. I can’t wait until our summer party and the next team building trip!

I have uploaded a few photos on my flickr account. I’ll upload the rest this weekend.

Oh well…

My fascination with the dj manalo celine lopez scandal has waned. Besides, many of those who leave comments have gone overboard. Add to that those with dubious intentions who are too chicken to say something but would rather just use Brian’s page para mangbuyo.

Anyway, in a couple of days, am off to go snowboarding!!! Our office will have our 4-day team building trip on the slopes of nebelhorn and fellhorn. We’re staying at the Alpenhotel Tiefenbach where I aim to get a full-body massage and cleopatra bath! I’ll even take a day off from the slopes to go with the non-skiers to see Breitachklamm. We have gala dinners and a curling match scheduled for the evening. I am soooo loving the company I work for!!! hehe

J and the kids are staying home. It won’t be much of a team building activity if families are also invited. I was hesitant to go but J said that I deserve it. It’s a great way to celebrate my promotion at work, as well. MIL is probably happy to be rid of me for the weekend while she enjoys her grandkids, anyway.

Pictures to follow

Manila Society Trainwreck

BB emailed me several days ago but I didn’t get to read it until last night. And man oh man, was I entertained!

An HIV-positive Australian man got duped by some social climbing Filipino (DJ Montano) and since he can’t get his money back, he’s been writing about his ex and his ex’s circle of friends: Celine Lopez, Wendy Puyat, etal. Some other social climbing, coke snorting people get outed in the comments section, too. It’s soozyhopper (Raul M) all over again, except this time, it won’t be easy to shut him down.

If you are not that familiar with the antics of the pretentious Gucci Gang, it is best if you read the oldest entries first.

http://delfindjmontano.blogspot.com

can’t wait to hear more about ueber-pretentious JenniEp and Tina Tinio! haha This is my new guilty pleasure!

How I started 2008

We started the year with a big bang, looking out my parents’ balcony as the whole of Metro Manila was lit up by millions of pesos’ worth of fireworks. A few weeks later, I celebrated my birthday with my whole family in attendance. A first after soooo many years. It took away the pain of turning 30-freakin’-five! At least, 2008 is my year, the year of the Rat. Since my birthday falls before the Chinese New Year, my chinese birth date is counted under 1972 instead of 1973. So when I left, Papa gave us tons of charms. I now have a RuYi on my desk and a 3-coin tassel in my pocket. J has a Dragon Phoenix on his desk. Our flat now sports a small kuan yin on the north side. Yup, reminds me of all those shiny gold things we had all over our place when I was growing up. Kulang na lang, weird looking ginseng in a bottle and century eggs in the refrigerator. Oh yea, Mr.Tong (who my cousins and siblings call Mr.ShuLi behind the adults’ back) isn’t here to make monthly Feng Shui visits. J fondly calls it our Chinese mumbo-jumbo. hehe

I had a great time bonding with my family back home. I didn’t get to meet anyone else outside our family because (1) my cousins were also home for the holidays; (2) I had to work half the time which meant that I was awake at night (German time) and slept on most afternoons; and (3) JP had Taekwondo lessons.

After Pinas, we all headed back to Frankfurt and wasted our first whole day back home, trying to get an ersatz wagen from KLM service because they broke our 2-month old Quinny travel stroller. And we so needed a replacement because I would be schlepping babyM around USA for a week. A day later, we found ourselves in New York with a freaking old buggy that was hard to maneuver and which had an orange sticker marked #5. But, we still had fun with our newly transplanted New Yorker friends. It was great. C, T and E were great hosts. And best of all, we had permission to raid the refrigerator (the guestroom was conveniently located near the kitchen) since we were up at odd hours.

We flew from/to 3 continents in a span of 1 week. It wreaked havoc on our bodies but it was worth it.

A whole month has passed since we got back here in Frankfurt. But since then, we still have not even slowed down a wee bit.

I (yes, I am solely running this show) have been frantically reviewing more schools where JP will transfer next school year for Vorschule (Pre-School). We’ve registered over at Phorms in Frankfurt, Rhein Main International Montessori School in Friedrichsdorf and at the Frankfurt International School in Oberursel. FIS is a late addition in our list. I originally wanted Erasmus but their unprofessional way of handling would-be applicants just turned me off. Phorms is the number 1 in my list. Unfortunately, we will not know if JP gets a slot until the assessment which is not scheduled until Autumn.

And apart from catching up at work, I also have to think of re-organizing tasks of people in my former division. I am writing down guidelines and specific job descriptions for everyone because next week, I am supposed to give the proposal to the President. Plus, it will finally be officially announced: I am being promoted to lead my former division, in addition to doing my present work. This promotion was actually offered to me before I went on maternity leave but someone bad mouthed me to the boss to hide his own mistake. The beauty of my work is that it leaves lots of computer trails. So unless you are boy-fucking-genius who can change the in-house program, there is no way you can blame me for something you did. So, my promotion may have gotten delayed but it has not been derailed.

And apart from the school search and the major upheaval at work, we also had to look for a new place to live. It turns out that the cold I had since July is actually an allergy. I could handle the sniffling but since we came back, my eyes and skin also showed signs of allergic reactions. The wooden accouterments added all over this place has something hidden behind it which makes me react. Hence, we are left with no choice but to move. We finally closed the deal on the house in Bad Soden but we still have to find a tenant for our Frankfurt flat. Lots of manual work ahead of us.

But… not all is well. J and I started the year with big fights. We’ve had two major ones and nothing has been resolved. So, yup, we’ve been having fireworks at home lately. They’re loud but not pretty. We’ve had truces in between but the main cause of the fight is still lurking underneath. Oh yea… did I mention that we’re now in the midst of our 7th year together? You know, that 7-year itch thing that some people swear are true. haha.

We’ll see how this develops. If Shen is right about 2008 being my year or if those fights will mean that 2008 is not that good a year for Rat Me.

Feb
15
2008

Beauty of the Filipino Issue

Under pinoyexpats By pinayex

4 Comments

NEW ISSUE OF PINOYexpats is NOW LIVE!!!

Supermom/Columnist and this issue’s ueberlord Tin writes…

“On behalf of PINOYexpats, we apologize for the delay of this issue. We are all volunteers and do this work in between feedings, nursings, work travels, moves to another country, and so forth. The launch got even more delayed because we were all set on doing an issue on Entrepreneurship, only to be fired up by a contributor’s anecdote where her pure-blood Filipina daughter, a morena, was discriminated upon.

This issue is a reply to that incident, and a reply as a whole to anybody who thinks Filipinos are beautiful only if light-skinned, tall, with a long nose, straight hair, thin. We share in the stories of discrimination. Each PINOYexpats contributor and editor have had their own experience with the question of beauty. This issue is for you, dear readers, because we want you to know, we at PINOYexpats find Filipinos beatiful, no matter what their size and shape or color.

This month’s issue feature cautionary tales, a celebration of curly hair, how to inject humor in being greeted with a comment about your weight, how to raise your daughters to not succumb to the pressure to be one type of “beautiful” and much much more. From our heart to yours, please help us celebrate the Beauty of the Filipino.”

Jan
22
2008

Manila-Frankfurt-New York

Under expat life, mommy By pinayex

11 Comments

We’re flying from/to 3 continents in less than a week.

A month in Manila. A day in Frankfurt. A week in New York.

And then, back to Frankfurt again, hoping that the next plane ticket won’t be issued too soon.

And yes, when I am finally back in Frankfurt for the long-haul, I really swear that I will not be bringing work home.

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