I'VE BEEN WROUGHT

pedro and i celebrated our first wedding anniversary on 22 september (i tend to get confused with the date so i came up with “a-day-after-the declaration-of-martial-law-in-the-philippines” as my mnemonic device hee hee). my financial constraints led me to producing a couple of personalized gifts. both were greatly appreciated.



a year of wedded bliss passed by in a blink during which i have been peter-wrighted (or peter-wrought?) in some ways:

1. coffee has been dethroned by tea-with-milk as the most consumed hot drink in the wright residence.

2. football has become tolerable and occasional hurling of catcalls is inevitable. useless wanker is a personal favorite.

3. settling in the us of a is probably not a bad idea after all.

4. on wednesdays (except during the parliament’s recess), lunch is not complete without prime minister’s questions over sky news. it is fun watching the labor and conservative parties going at it in different british accents.

5. from being a geographical idiot, i can say that i am now a notch higher in the classification i.e. geographical imbecile. i get quizzed every now and then thus improving my g knowledge even for just a teeny bit. a sample question would be, “without looking at the map (we have 2 mounted on the living room walls, world and european), which is further south – south africa or australia? my turn would be something like this, “without looking at the map, which is further north – koror or palikir? ;-)

peter + jenni = marriage of (w)right stuff :-)

A POTPOURRI OF POSTCARDS

it’s been a year since i moved to munich. from dubai, i had 3 balikbayan boxes containing potpourri of my personal stuff shipped to my ... er ... our new home with the help of my friend, rachel (god bless her). it pays big time to have a pal who works in a logistics company ;-). really.

for a whole year, my boxes just lay there in the dark corner of our flat not feeling a bit fobbed off with occasional vacuuming and dusting. after i had my US immigrant visa stamped on my passport, however, pedro brought up our (drum rolls please) …. imminent move.

i thought it would be silly to be bringing along all the boxes. it would be expensive and it would be expensive. and besides, it would be expensive. they needed sorting out.

i have emptied one and found my postcard collection, most of them are from my first trip to france during the summer of 2003. i give myself a pat on the back for having bought a few wherever we (ate, claude and i) went and whenever we could because back then, i had a panasonic video camera. it could also take photos, only crappy photos because of the crappy resolution. at least with my postcards, i have back up images of the amazing places we’ve visited. i shall always be grateful to claude, mon beau-frère et beau frère, for having painstakingly planned our trip. it covered paris, rambouillet, chartres, massif central and the south of france.

g, this is specially for you. j’attends avec impatience de découvrir encore une fois la belle france avec toi. c’était notre rêve et cela sera la realité … un jour, très bientôt. a word of caution though. some of the postcards are extremely baduy in nature. parental guidance is advised :P

BOGGED DOWN BLOGGER

i've been a blog-slacker and i know it. my faithful followers, all two of them, have been clamoring for more ... and more it will be, i promise :)

coming up next, between june and october ...

OKTOBERFEST 2008

peter’s boss invited me to join taiyo europe and guests at the hofbräuhaus tent on thursday, 02 october. our group was probably the most diverse, composed of germans, japanese, swiss, italian, togolese, english/american and filipino. the reservation was from 12.00 to 17.00 and I was assured that the crowd at this time was not a wild lot compared to the nocturnal ones. well, of course, there’s always an exception to the rule.



however, i will always appreciate the fact that oktoberfest pilgrims get drunk as a skunk and yet manage to ‘behave’ (although some guy tried to tickle me on my way out of the bathroom and someone from the table next to us asked for a small peck on the cheek). people switch to the let’s- drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we-all-die mode without getting into petty fistfights. i couldn’t vouch for the same if this were to take place in the philippines … neither could peter, in the UK.

and so another oktoberfest unfolded … six million visitors from all over the world gulping down around 7 million liters of beer. but hey … there are only 347 days left until the next one!

in the meantime, i shall savor the memories of the not-so-distant inebriated past and try to: (1) let my hands recover from the bruises caused by holding one-liter mug properly when doing the “prost” and (2) give my respiratory system a respite since the ban on smoking in public places was lifted during the occasion.


aloisius, hofbräuhaus tent's mascot - thank you, elke, for going through the trouble in translating the story from bavarian to english.

PROST TO PATTY!

here's to you, mother ... maligayang kaarawan!

SEEKING A SITUATION DURING DIE SCHAFSKÄLTE

last friday, i went to a second job interview (for a team assistant post) with a generics drug MNC on the outskirts of munich. i braved die Schafskälte armed with what I thought power dressing, remnants of my dubai executive life. it was a stupid stupid idea since my legs were exposed to the terrible draft while treading the 20-minute path from the train station to my destination (i could’ve taken a cab or a bus but neither was on sight and i didn’t want to be late).

the first interview with the hr manager (hrm) and hr specialist (hrs) had turned out well apparently as i was asked to come and meet the hiring manager i.e. the department head (hmdh). it wasn’t a disaster but i cannot honestly say that i breezed through it either. the interviewers’ styles and personalities clearly contrasted. the former were down-to-earth with a great sense of humor . hmdh, on the other hand, was much more formal. more importantly, i didn’t feel the rapport and i didn’t have the impression that she liked me. and that of course, sealed my fate.

WEATHERING THE WEEKEND

dark, pregnant clouds. water breaking. late breakfast. virtual reunion with cora and tapas i.e. okrayan galore i.e. achy jaws for laughing our heads off. p's attempts on beethoven's and mozart's pieces ... getting there, baby ko :D. queen of mean. fiendish suduko. personal best in word sense. black comedy in bruges. chapter 8 of ian mcewans's atonement. long, hot lavender bath.

YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR EYES

i still remember vividly you playing and singing this song, one of the many james taylor tunes that you would "perform" and that i would grow up with. you were a star. you will always be.

happy birthday, kuya boying. i love you. i miss you.

FINALLY!

after a lot of egging on from friends and family members (by this I mean you, ate nene, hehehe), i've finally decided to give blogging a go. jenni’s jabberings will be the perfect venue for my ramblings and possibly rants on my life as a hausfrau in munich, germany. i can't wait to get the ball rolling.