土曜日, 4月 30, 2005
Hello From Romantic Munich!
Whew~ Finally I found time to face my PC on a non-business related activity. What do you know, I'm almost a week in Munich and in a couple of hours, I'll be flying back to Tokyo where my connecting flight to Manila will be.
My Munich experience has been a whirlwind of wonder, awe, confusion, lost as in"lost in translation", lost as in couldn't find my way to the office and discovering a whole new world that is called Europe.
For starters I bonded with some of the Core Team through lots and lots of Weiss beers, pretzels, and huge servings of steak, roast pig, roast beef, meatloaf and of course the very famous German sausages. This is a pretty interesting team, different personalities, different nationalities, different areas of specialties, gathered together for one purpose ~ to define a global standard for our Sales Process. Most of the way, it was pretty cool, some other times (and I mean off the session rooms) these guys could be such bullies. I don't know it's probably a cultural thing, but I find English humor too below the belt. The Irish ladies though are so engaging and surprisingly too supersticious.
Next things I learned, tank ka is for thank you, ausgang is for exit, toiletten is obviously for restrooms, and this is very important, damen is for woman/lady, herren is for gentleman. Why the emphasis? Simply because there are restrooms that barely write the intials, yes you read it right, just the initials, without even drawing the girl and the boy logo. How dangerously weird.
It's encouraging though that some of the German words sound like American English words. I had this fascinating lost in translation experience with Mc Donalds. I was taking a long walk, figuring out how to go to the train station (and buying the ticket in trains and subways is another interesting story) when I passed by McDo. I decided why not try how's it like in McDo Munich. So I ordered a McRib Set Meal. The cute crew asked my order I thought it was my lucky day hehehe. But it turned out he couldn't speak a single English word. And so we ended up with sign language, hahaha. It was a pretty interesting experience. Now I appreciate how Johnny feels when he was in Tokyo, hahaha.
Speaking of food, I completely fell in love with Pretzels. And what's interesting about the Pretzels is they usually go with the Weiss Beers, which I happen to like too. But I learned one important lesson here. Never take more than 2 German mugs of Weiss beer if you're totally spent on walking and with empty stomach. I learned my lesson the hard way. Last night, I thought I'd celebrate my 'single blessedness' by the streets of Munich. And I got too much of a drink I could barely get back to my hotel. I remember the last time I got so drunk like this, like I literally crawled into my house was like 6 years ago. Of course I have decency left with my 1% conscious mind, so I mustered all my strength as I walked through Victor Residenz' lobby. But I puked! Worse, I puked on my newly bought bag good thing it's just a Gerbaud. I'm one stupid girl. No amount of justification could prove otherwise....but I did have a great time!
I learned from the sightseeing tour I found myself joining is that beer gargen in Germany is a store where you can bring all the food you wanna bring, and all that is required of you is to buy beer there. Cool, isn't it? I also realized that Germany is one country that is so passionate about arts, with all those huge and old museums. They are people who make great use of their time by cultivating their artistic talents. Even in modern Germany, I think this still remain true. We passed by the English Garden, the biggest public garden in the world, and there were young musicians playing classical music. By young I mean early 20s and their audience are young couples, lying lazily on the grass in a beautiful Thursday afternoon. That is so romantic! Young and old German couples are so expressive of their passion, which is I must admit a little bit envious.
Munich has over old 150 castles, cathedrals. Looks like King Ludwig I & II were so enchanted by fairy tales that they build huge castles, great streets with great architecture to pair with, and of course for every castle, be it a royal castle or university, there's always gorgeous churches. As I sit on the little parks looking at all these wonderful medieval buildings, I can't help but daydream of the past, where Kings and Queens and Prince and Princesses rule the land, I can think of romance and war and art, and theaters. I could have perfectly fit in that kind of world, where I'd meet my Prince and we'll share passion for theater, for arts, for music and travel and books and we'll fall in love and retreat into the country side where we'll build a beautiful castle on top of a hill overlooking a peaceful lake and there we will live happily ever after. Ahhh ~ I could speak of love for the rest of my life!
So much for day dreaming, get over yourself! Hehehe.
But if you think about it, in Munich it is easy to meet people. I learned one trick. There are great walking paths here where there are tree sheds and benches. I ate my McDo in one of the benches, and then all of a sudden there was this golden retriever that approached me, seeking for attention. And then after a couple of minutes out came the dog's master. He apologized for the inconvenience and started to talk. Smooth. Thank you for the interest, but no thank you. Another thing that could work with you here is the ignorance of the German culture and language. German guys find it cute that I'm completely clueless about their traditions. Oh well, it surely boosts my self-confidence high up in the sky, hahaha. But this is the smoothest approach, Victor Residenz' room keys are a little bit too old fashion and there's a special trick that you need to master before you could skillfully open the door. I suck at it. One morning, I was completely frustrated for failing to open my room. Then there's this cute guy who approached me and said something wrong? I said I couldn't open my room. And then he tried it, and walla~ But being the tame and oh-so-uptight me, these chance encounters are really not my cup of tea.
# posted by Unknown : 5:24 午後
火曜日, 4月 26, 2005
In order to write about life, live it first! ~ Earnest Hemingway
"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things, and because it takes a man's life to know them the little new that each man gets from" ~ Earnest Hemingway
# posted by Unknown : 7:34 午前
Happiness is a journey
"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin real life .But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination." - Souza
# posted by Unknown : 12:19 午前
月曜日, 4月 25, 2005
It doesn't feel like Monday
It definitely doesn't feel like Monday. Everybody's busy. I woke up early and went to the German E. The consul made me wait for like an hour. And then he was questioning my status. I've already explained that 3x already but for the sake of courtesy I've explained my situation. And then he went 'I don't understand your situation.....blah blah blah'.
Perhaps it's because of the exhausting weekend, I bluntly replied 'Look, I've explained this like a hundred times before. You see this is my situation...and so on and so forth'.
Mr. Consul could only reply 'You'll get your visa in a few mins. Have a safe trip. ' I thanked him.
Barely sitting down my cube HR's Tomita-san was looking for me to settle my apartment contract. And of course Tita who never fails to pester me especially in my busiest direst times, was continuously nagging me. I didn't pay the slightest attention.
I needed to rush to my apartment to get my suitcase and give it to HR for safekeeping. I needed to make last minute instructions both in PH and JP. I needed to make sure that my schedule and my project status has been fully understood by Lolo JP.
Thank goodness for my angel of the day Agdie who volunteered to bring my suitcase to the office and deposit to HR. He also volunteered to check the bullet train schedule for tomorrow. Mwah mwah mwah!!
If there's one thing that put a slight smile on my face...it's the word 'POSTPONE'. (One thing's sure, he pays attention)
I have Terakura-san take care of my Snowboarding Snoopy. I couldn't bear put him in a box while I'm away ~
Tomorrow I will fly to far romantic Europe. What does tomorrow hold? Ahh, tonight I shall dream away in dreamland :)
# posted by Unknown : 11:44 午後
日曜日, 4月 24, 2005
About The Trouble
The weekend's about to end. Press Release has finally been held yesterday and official apologies from our President has gone out. Tomorrow our CEO is flying to size up the damage. Even now, all our Tech Suppport, Mark and HB (for IT-side) have all been contributing hard as firefighters. There are things in life that we cannot un-do, no matter how much we wish we could turn the tide and correct one small problem. Damage has been done. But life goes on...Nan to naku.
Tomorrow's a new day and it will be a beginning of a better day, I bet.
# posted by Unknown : 11:49 午後
Be Thankful
Be thankful for the moments,
For all the mistakes you make
If not for these countless flaws
You wouldn't learn to appreciate
Be thankful for the heartaches
For the tears you need to shed
If not for these painful details
You wouldn't care to humble yourself
Be thankful for the day
Be it sunshine or rain
You are blessed with the morning
Go out, live a life all over again
Be thankful for the boring days
For the sluggish work you do
If not for these passing moments
You wouldn't have a chance to rest
Be thankful for your failures
For all the successes you achieved
All of these make up
What you are today, what you believe
Be thankful for your feelings
However hard things may seem
For without these emotions
There's no reason to sing
Be thankful for who you are
And what you have right now
Be thankful for what you don't have
Who knows if you really need them or not
Be thankful for your job
For it sustains your daily life
Be thankful to your friends
They always lead you to a better place
“ Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like no one is watching.” --- Satchel Paige
# posted by Unknown : 5:53 午後
Laundry Day
Responsible living ~ this is one thing you have no choice but to learn when you live far away and alone especially when you'll think a 100 times before getting that paid services.
Thank goodness for automatic washing machines. Through the wonders of technology, laundry is just a push of button away and viola! All you need to do is hang it up to completely dry.
Laundry and ironing has evolved from a hated-routine into a stress-reliever. Something I do for myself, and myself alone.
Thank goodness for automatic washing machines. Through the wonders of technology, laundry is just a push of button away and viola! All you need to do is hang it up to completely dry.
Laundry and ironing has evolved from a hated-routine into a stress-reliever. Something I do for myself, and myself alone.
# posted by Unknown : 3:17 午後
A simple life in the fear-of-GOD is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches
# posted by Unknown : 2:25 午後
ForeverFriends
Some memories are worth remembering... friends are worth keeping.
Living far from my homeland, not hearing a single Tagalog word, homesick in spite of my crazy sched, struggling to find a new place in the land of the rising sun, things could really take toll on me. If not for the friends, if not for emails I receive, if not for chat, if not for the little stuffs, Tokyo could really be a very very lonely place.
Living far from my homeland, not hearing a single Tagalog word, homesick in spite of my crazy sched, struggling to find a new place in the land of the rising sun, things could really take toll on me. If not for the friends, if not for emails I receive, if not for chat, if not for the little stuffs, Tokyo could really be a very very lonely place.
# posted by Unknown : 2:23 午後
Thanks for visiting!