Girl's Night Out

I'm still wondering when was the last time I went out with my girl friends. Probably early 2005 during a business travel in the Philippines - with my high school friends. It started out in one of the bars in Greenbelt, second floor, and ended up in Burgos St, still in Makati. You know, in one of those bars where instead of having girl servers - we opted for boys. Nothing fancy, it was just one of those girls-just-want-to-have-fun experience.

Here in France, the only time I could remember was when I was a French Language student (2003!)- with gals of different nationalities, speaking French with different and awful accents. In a Latino bar. I still couldn't figure out how we understood each other!

The rest of the nights out were more of boy's-night-out plus a girl (moi). Being in a work environment where girls are largely outnumbered by boys doesn't really help. But last Saturday was an exemption, I finally went out with my girl colleagues (we're 3 in the department now). What a change!

I arrived at 7:40pm, 10 minutes later than previewed. How could I forget that people could go out even on a rainy Saturday night. Parking lots were of course full. I finally found a place 10 minutes away from the restaurant, thus the delay.

I started to get impatient at 9pm. Already 9pm and the main meal has not been served yet. I started to tap my fingers repeatedly on the table, thinking Louna must be sleeping by now. Did frenchguy check her diapers before putting her to bed?

Blahblah here and blahblah there. Wow, it feels good to be out of my cage. Feeling single and available again. 10:30pm, dessert's served. That crème brûlée was the worst of its kind! But heck, I need to finish this dinner and be home. Yawn.

11pm. One colleague proposed to have a drink in a bar. Heck again, didn't she have enough red wine for dinner? Ok, I said yes for faire-la-sociale's sake. The smoky atmosphere inside the bar wasn't welcoming at all. I largely prefer Louna's body odor. Hmmm, I guess it's really time for me to go home.

I speeded back home at 1am. The sudden realization that I'm acting like I'm nearing retirement (from bars) just hit me. I'll do better next time, promise.

Yes, I do.

Ok, fine. I just said YES!

Frenchguy's been bringing up the topic every opportunity he gets since quite a time now. I was always opposed to the idea thinking life's been ok without it. But when he used Louna as an element in his argument, a deciding factor at that*, of course, irrevocable decisions could suddenly be revocable.

In fact, I just said yes to a 3-hour-per-week sessions of femme de ménage at home. Works include house cleaning and ironing of clothes - not more. Frenchguy told me that the femme de ménage will come when we're out, on a Friday for example, and be paid around 15€/hour, a certain percentage of which will be deducted from taxes. Is that so? I know nothing about this arrangement but the idea of leaving somebody at home, someone I don't even know, frightens me. I just wonder how is it in other areas..

*Advantage: More time with Louna. Who won't say yes, right?

Email me please..

It's a choice. Being a bitch could be inborn, genetically transmitted characteristic. You know, when your Mom is a bitch and you think she's great, you will surely end up as a bitch. Bitches who choose to stay as such till their adult age are real and certified bitches. There are some who choose to be a bitch for a simple reason, by choice - to intimidate other people, bitch or not.

Asar. Ganyan ako ngayon. Since kararating ko lang sa bakasyon, I wanted to update myself sa status ng aking mga proyekto. At dahil kailangan kong makipag-deal sa iba't ibang nasyonalidad sa aking trabaho, kailangan ko ring i-adjust ang style ng aking pakikitungo sa bawat isa. Merong masipag mag-update at maki-update na minsan nakakaasar na dahil kahit simpleng impormasyon ay kailangan pang itanong. Meron namang super tamad mag-update na kahit simpleng email lang, di pa magawa. Ang sabi ni frenchguy nyan, kailangan ko pa daw magpaka-puta to get what I want.

Katatanggap ko lang ng email galing sa isang katrabaho saying: Tapos ko na ang pinagagawa mo. Saka na ang resulta pag me time ako, me iba pa akong pinagkakaabalahan sa ngayon. Super dry!

Naman. As if ang hirap mag-email para sabihan ako na tapos na pala yung testing at may first hand resulta na. Ngek! Di pa ako sasabihan kung di ko pa sya in-email. At kailangan pa talaga akong bitinin sa resulta. At hello, meron daw syang pinagkakaabalahang iba.. baket? Ako ba, isang proyekto lang ba meron ako?

Hay, miss ko na talaga makitrabaho sa kapwa ko pinoy ko. Sa bawat email, me kasamang lambing sa dulo, tipong... o sige, I'll do it for you, ice cream ko ha.. o di ba, ang cute.

The Aoûtiens Are Back!

End of vacation. Tho I hate the thought that next Monday, I'll have to restart my computer and check my emails - which means that I'll have to restart working - I also loved the idea of returning home and savour the comfort of our little chez nous. Our vacation was almost perfect, except for the fact that we were less geared, or should I say not-correctly-equiped. In fact, the whole of France was complaining about the scorching heat just before our vacation, so I systematically packed lighter clothes plus a minimum of warmer ones for Louna. Error. Just as we set foot at my parents-in-law's place, we suddenly realized that the canicule was over and was replaced by an early autumn weather.

We spent the first week with the family at their vacation house in La Vendée area. Days were spent eating, talking and sleeping while waiting for the rain to cease. Some forced sorties to eat ice cream while chilling at the freezing breeze of the Atlantic Ocean added to the fun. Not to forget the emergency shopping to buy warmer clothes for the whole family. Hurray for the most organized vacation we had.

The next week was spent in Brittany (Finistere area). Unlike our usual camping habits, this time, we mounted our tent in a Villages Vacances where we enjoyed not only their camping facilities, but their daily proposed activities as well. It was our first time in such vacation destination so we decided to just go with the flow. There was a dégustation of regional products the night of our arrival. But since we arrived with no reservation - thus no further information about that soirée - we didn't know that we had to bring something from our area. We should have brought some Moutarde de Dijon hehe.

A daily activity guide was posted in the facility's bar so we were free to choose whatever suits our mood. Some activities include oil massage, fancy jewelry creations, countryside visits, nearby island visits, ocean kayaking, initiation to diving, windsurfing, and other sporty stuffs. All that topped with an initiation to the traditionnal Brittany dance, theatre show, local concerts or crèpes (pancake) making at night. Not bad. What makes it more interesting is that, there are separate activities for different ages: for ados and kids. So Mommies and Daddies could do windsurfing while kids do their painting sessions. Cool!

Here's some pictures from two of the most interesting promenades we did. The first one was a short promenade from the town of Morgat to Ile Vierge. The second one was in Ile Ouessant.

Ile Ouessant is the western-most island in Europe and holds one of the most powerful lighthouse in the world - the Créach lighthouse. You see, it pays to be with a tourist guide sometimes, you get to learn more and enrich your culture.

Some More Interesting Updates

Louna starts to stand when holding on some kind of support like her playpen for example. She starts to mumble some syllables including mama and papa and she loves watching Dora the Explorer.

Trying to do some portraits of Louna. I was inspired by Jeff but of course, I know, I still have a lot of photo lessons to be learned.