Christmas Starts here





It's just a few days before Christmas and tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we will be on our way to my in-laws up north. We'll be driving which is great;I find it calming and enjoyable (especially since I'm not driving).Hopefully this time we'll have a better driving condition . Two years ago, we were stranded in the snow around Cumbria; lovely scenery but it was absolutely freezing! Yikes!
We set off at 08:30, off to the motorway, by 10:30 we'll be in Birmingham, then to Manchester, Liverpool,then Newcastle, Cumbria, then to Stranraer in Scotland, where we will be taking the ferry to take us to Northern Ireland . We will be taking breaks every 2 hours, to stretch out , eat, and do what is inevitable. The journey would take about 7 hours, the ferry ride 1 1/2 hours, and by 10 pm we'll be in Belfast . Long journey , but it's worth it!
So, this may be my last post this year; my in laws don't have broadband, and even if they do, I think it will be unsociable of me to blog outside the comfort of my home. I'll try to but I doubt it.
Anyway, I want to wish you all a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year!
Looking forward to reading what you've been up to this Christmas , already...
So to my good read blogs group... Au revoir!

photo courtesy of freefoto.com

Buhay sa Shire II

When I came to Britain, I have to get used to a lot of things - the regional accents, the food, the British love of football and cricket ( which for the life of me, I can never understand), their obssession with the weather (why?). I have to mind my manners all the time ( please seems to be their favourite word ). It didn't take me long to adjust to the way of life. In fact, I got used to having tea ( PG tips, 1 sugar with semi skimmed milk) at 11, after lunch, at 3pm, then after dinner. We have our Sunday roast (chicken, lamb or beef, with 3 kinds of vegetables usually peas, carrots and roast potatoes) and fish and chips wrapped in paper. We go to car boot sales (jumble sale) occasionally, and shop in Tesco's every Saturday to get our groceries and ready made meals (it's very handy, especially when were short of time). Sometimes we go to the butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers if we want proper food; Britain does'nt have a "wet" market like what we have in the Philippines. Organic shops are all over the place, too, but double the price (what's the point? ). It's DIY in the spring and strawberries and cream in the summer. I get weighed in stone , pay the mortgage( and tv license, council tax, traffic congestion charge {in London, that is}), drive on the left and have the car MOTied every year.

Now let's talk about sense of humour. What would make the British laugh or should I say can a foreigner learn to enjoy their sense of humour? Believe you me, it is not easy. It may take some time but eventually, it can be learned. In fact if you ask me now, I can honestly say it's brilliant, it's in a league of it's own. Take some TV shows like Monty Phyton and Faulty Towers.. hilarious! And my personal favourite.. Little Britain. Guys, if there's a comedy show I would recommend it's this one.

If there's one thing that cause so much annoyance to me here (aside from the weather and the high cost of living), it's the terms of endearment (see pic above, from the how to be British collection). When in Britain, be prepared to be called, "dear", "love", "darling", "sweetheart", "precious", "poppet". First time I was called love by a stranger, I felt like yelling, "don't call me love coz I'm not your love!" Sometimes it can be really patronizing. Of course, polite and well behaved as I am, I didn't; the best response to such familiarity is a pleasant smile :). Oh well, nevermind.

Ok, I think I'm gonna stop there for now. My two fingers are getting tired. And my old man, the hubby, the Irishman, is telling me off again for using this PC overtime, grrr. Ok, tara, love. :).

My (Unusual) Job

At the moment, the hubby is off work. He's contractual job as an animator for kids TV expired (not for long I hope).To be honest, we can't afford not to work (thank goodness we've got some savings), so I decided to get out and find myself a job , give myself a break from looking after the kids and experience how it is, once again to work with other people. I'm not a skilled worker or anything flash; I'm just an ordinary manual worker, who wants a job, fast. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long to get one.

I saw this job from the jobcentre, off the Internet; pie maker. I thought, that's one job I can do. So I called, got an interview, and started work the next day . It's not the most exciting job in the world, it's a dead end job if you like to call it that, but it keeps our head above water; ie., pays some bills and a little bit of extra for my Christmas presents (they're lucky this year, I tell you). I have been working there for about 2 1/2 months now, and what kept me motivated everyday is the people I work with. It's ironic though that I work in this country, but not work with English people. Mind you, there's only 5 of us there. My boss is from South Africa, the chef is Indian, chef's assistant is Indian, too, and my co- pie worker is Polish. I have to say that they are one honest to goodness hard working people I had an opportunity to work with. But sadly, my love affair with pies didn't last long. Yes , I decided I had enough of making pies (in fact if you serve me a pie at this moment, I'll throw it back at you). I stop a week from now. I am not gonna miss the job, but I'm gonna miss the people, especially Miss M, the crazy Polish girl who is the most curious person I know. She asks about everything, and she's always saying "of course" as if her life depended on it. Kidding aside, she's lovely to work with and she made me feel young, blabbering endlessly about her sex life.. it takes me back ... no, I'm not gonna go there.

So, where are we? Yes, I'm not working there anymore because I don't want to ruin my relationship with pies, forever. It's not that we make rubbish pies (apple pie, beef & guinness, etc, etc), it's just that it's sickening to make pies 6 hours a day! I never imagined that making pies that long can be a traumatizing experience. And, of course, Christmas is coming, there's still a lot of pies to eat, not to mention mince pie. It's not really my cuppa tea, but sooner or later I have to have one. Just a one. I'll get over this, hatred of pie, I mean . One day I'll make the most delicious pie again, without hatred added in it.

So what's the moral lesson in this post?
"You can't have your cake and eat it, too". That applies to pies as well.

I wonder what's my next job gonna be. Keep you posted.

'TIS THE SEASON

Christmas time is almost upon us once again (sigh). While most people are busy preparing for the big day, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic about the Christmasses I spent in the Philippines. The most memorable one, if not the best one, was five years ago. That was the Christmas when, for the first time, my family met my then boyfriend, now my husband. I have never been so happy in my life. They accepted him with open arms, party and all. I'm on top of the world, surrounded with people I love the most. I could have sworn I wished that day would never end .

That was also the last time I saw my brother. Five months after that glorious day , I received a phone call from my sister in law, which is very peculiar because she never calls. I knew something bad happened. And when she said it, I got the shock of my life. My brother was taken away from us on a scuba diving accident. He left a widow, 2 young boys, parents, a brother and two sisters. The worst fear I have has happened. Til now, everytime the phone rings at that time of night, my sister in law's cry would haunt me. We're all still trying to get over this. What's the worse thing that could happen?

Two years after that incident,on a Tuesday morning, my husband just left for work, when I received a text from my mother asking me to call asap. So I called . My father had a massive stroke that left him severely paralyzed. His brain function is now like that of a ten year old . Doctors did all their best and it left us almost penniless.The last time I saw him that Christmas, he was so full of life. Because of my brother dying, he became an alcoholic, and that's what caused the stroke. Thank God he's still with us though. Now, my poor mother has to take care of him, for the rest of his life. I admire her for having the courage and strength to look after him. Not to mention her faith in God! Can't help but feel guilty sometimes. Though I give them support financially, I could have been there helping her. But what can I do? I have a family, too.

Surely it can't be worse than this?

Five months after my father's stroke, I discovered I was pregnant. We were trying for some time to have another baby, a brother or sister to my three year old son. For an unexplained reason, at thirteen weeks, I had a miscarriage. I lost a lot of blood in the process and" I'm lucky to be alive". That was the doctor's words. Am I really? Because a few weeks after that, I began to experience panic attacks, depression and IBS . I'm not really sure which came first, but, one thing for sure, you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Not a nice feeling.

And behold ! After a few months, I discovered I was pregnant again! He's a year old now actually, and he sort of made me happy again. Let me rephrase that, he did make me happy again, he is my salvation. He got rid off all negativities I was feeling.

Well, I'm on the mending process now, or I would'nt be telling you this. I would'nt have the guts to. I can say I'm a stronger person now. So if something bad happens again (I'm not tempting fate, mind you) I say BRING IT ON!

Anyway, Do you think I got the title wrong; surely it should be " Pining's series of unfortunate events". My point is, I'm just trying to remember the way they were (my father and brother) the last time I saw them, so full of life, give tribute to them. And now that it's Christmas time again, this memory will surely be an unforgettable one.

Happy Christmas.

CHILDREN'S PROPERTY LAWS

I If I like it, it's mine.
II If it's in my hand, it's mine.
III If I can take it from you , it's mine.
IV If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
V If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
VI If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
VII If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
VIII If it's yours and I steal it, it's mine.
IX If I think it's mine, it's mine.
X If it's BROKEN, it's YOURS.

No, I didn't make this up. This is the LAW according to the Penguin Dictionary of Jokes. I've got these overwhelming desire to understand children's psyche. In a funny kind of way, I do now.

BACK FOR GOOD

I know, should have written days ago but, PC was out of action. Not my fault but the old man's; keep downloading/uploading files for his thingamajig,not that I blame him mind you ( i think I already did?). Well hopefully, my timeslot won't get interrupted again.
Anyway- I just saw TAKE THAT perform live on tv! I never thought they can still do their dance steps (actually made me cringe, some of it) after all these years. The boys are still on top form (except maybe some bits round the middle and the chin area...), their songs better. And Howard Donald is absolutely gorgeous (goodness, i sound like teenbloody-ager)! The highlight for me was when they sang "back for good"; brought back some memories (don't worry I'll spare you the details). Actually, I'm not a big fan but I was mesmerized (how sad is that)!
Oops, my time is up again, according to the old man (I know I should have bought my own pc). It's so goddamn hard to write something when someone's lookin' over your shoulder. Maybe next time, I'll write a better post than this.