Marriage License by Norman Rockwell
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Franklin, TN, USA Manila, Philippines

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Friday, July 28, 2006

The Trip So Far

Current Mood:

July 27
It's Wednesday, and I have a little time before I have to be somewhere so I thought I'd start writing to keep track of how the trip's been so far :-).

Let's see... I arrived in the middle of a typhoon and since then, it's rained so hard that the water would rise to about knee-level around my parents' house every time. Luckily the house and carport had already been raised so the water doesn't go IN the house, but you're essentially trapped there until the water recedes or you decide to wade through it.

My driver's license expired recently and I realized that I'm not going to be able to drive myself to and from work. Meekly, I asked Teresa (the president) if it was all right for me to ask if the company driver could add me to his schedule. She smiled sweetly and said, "Cecille, you're an expat now. You have access to the expat van."

Well now THAT'S pretty cool :-). The company van will take me to and from work for the rest of my stay :-). Awesome :-).

The neatest part of the trip so far is people recognizing me (or NOT recognizing me as the case may be). I kept my coming to Manila a secret just because I wanted to see people's faces when they realize that it's me :-).

I trained many of the current managers from Memphis via videoconference. These are actual quotes that these managers said when they met me in person for the first time:

I guess that's as close to being a celebrity as I'm going to get :-). It was so FUN watching them trying to recognize me when I first say hi. You can tell they're thinking, "I KNOW you... where do I know you from?" as they're smiling politely. Then, after two seconds, there's that moment of dawning comprehension and their eyes light up. "CECILLE!"

My favorite reaction was from Patrick. All this time he's thought that I couldn't come back yet because my green card was still being processed. I was walking out of the elevator and he was about to walk into it when I passed him and said "HI!"

He looked at me, kind of stunned, then when he finally realized who I was, he THREW his arms around me in a big bear hug hello :-). The elevator left without him :-).

Let's see... my parents. They've lined up a whole menu for me to eat while I'm in Manila. I've been loving every minute of it :-). Local dishes like Morcon, Sinigang na Hipon, crab claws... they taste SO good when you haven't had them for 2 years :-). I've also had hakao, also known as har gow (drools). They're steamed shrimp dumplings. That's my favorite.

My parents are so sweet. My dad even told the neighborhood guy who sells taho to come back this week because his daughter's coming home. My mom went out of her way to cook morcon for me, which isn't easy. It's rolled beef flanks stuffed with sausage, carrots, hard-boiled egg, and pickles.

My business trip/mini-vacation is half over, and already I know I'm going to be emotional when I leave. On one hand, I can't wait to see Steve again. I've missed him more than words can say. On the other hand, a week doesn't seem to be enough to spend with friends and family.

Maybe one day they'll come visit *us.* :-)

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Thursday, July 20, 2006

Inflight Entertainment

Current Mood:

The inflight entertainment for the trip:
  • Failure to Launch
  • Eight Below
  • Curious George
Hmm... maybe I should bring some of Steve's comics with me :-).

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Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Not mom material

Current Mood:

My cousin Aly gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last month :-). She had chronicled her pregnancy all the way to the baby's second doctor visit on her Friendster blog.

I was reading through it and I could tell that she and her husband are very happy and excited that they have a little one :-). It's a whole new journey for them, one that they're looking forward to taking :-).

I also realized that I'm not cut out to be a mother :-).

I'm sure that most women who read my cousin's blog probably had an "Ooohhh I want a baby, too!" reaction. I'm 32 years old. My biological clock should be ticking so loud that I can't concentrate on anything else :-).

Nope, nothing. The strongest maternal desire I have is for Steve and me to get another puppy. That's it :-). And the thing is, I don't think that's a bad thing at all :-).

Conventional society still puts significant pressure on married couples to have children, and when you tell your friends and relatives that you're not thinking of having any at all, they look at you funny and wonder if there's something wrong with either a. your marriage, or b. your reproductive systems :-).

I wonder how long it'll be before people react to someone's decision of not having kids the same way people react to someone's decision of choosing beef over chicken :-).

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Steve and CC in South Park

Current Mood:

My cousin Liz found this really neat link where you can create your own South Park characters. Naturally I had to try it and see if I can make likenesses of Steve and myself :-).

This brings back memories of when my aunt and uncle got married. He's an animator for South Park, you see (I even have an autographed copy of a storyboard scene in the Bigger, Longer and Uncut movie), and when he and my aunt got married he drew South Park caricatures of them in their wedding clothes and stuck it to the back of their wedding VW bug :-).

This may not be as cool as that, but it sure comes close :-). If you want to create your own South Park caricatures, click here.

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Monday, July 17, 2006

Happiness is...

Current Mood:

Happiness is when you swat your husband for teasing you and he flinches and goes, "OW! Daaaaamn--watch it, She-Hulk."

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Saturday, July 15, 2006

Today is SO hot...

Current Mood:

All together now... "How hot IS it?"

It's so hot I went to the non-heated pool at 5:45am and went swimming.

That's right, 5:45 AM. The sun wasn't even up yet.

And the water was WARM :-).

I had the pool to myself and it was nice seeing the pink-orange sky and birds flying overhead while doing the backstroke :-).


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Tuesday, July 11, 2006

You've-Gained-Weightaphobia (a.k.a. You're-So-Fatophobia)

Current Mood:

I weighed 120 pounds when I left Manila, and now I'm 140--I gained 20 whole pounds. It wasn't sudden; my weight just slowly crept up and up until it reached the point where looking at myself in the mirror was not a pleasant experience.

What actually triggered my diet though was the thought that I'd be visiting Manila. The thought of friends (and especially relatives) gasping and crying out "You've gained weight!" when they see me made me anxious.

And yes, many people in Manila WILL say that. The more worldly-wise ones are aware that it can be insulting and instead will opt not to say anything, but that doesn't happen very often.

Some people even go so far as to deny that it's insulting at all. They say that it's supposed to be a compliment--they're complimenting the fact that you can afford to eat well. I don't believe it for a second. They claim it's a compliment, but if you listen to their tone it's anything BUT complimentary: it's a cross between pity and amazement. And then when you call them on it or seem offended they'll either look shocked and say, "But I meant it as a compliment...!" or they'll marvel at how overly sensitive you are.

Besides, I have proof that it's not a compliment. One time when I came back from the States after being away for a few months, an acquaintance who was with his friend saw me and gave the "You've gained weight" remark. I had actually said "Why, thank you," in all my naivete. The other guy, and I don't even KNOW him, chuckled and muttered, "It's not a compliment."

This really happened, I swear.

Anyway--dieting for fear of being called fat. Talk about low self-esteem :-).

I'm exercising and dieting more now. I'm definitely more conscious about eating less than I used to. I think what's working for me is that I'm reading Dr. Phil's "The Ultimate Weight Solution" book while I'm working out to Gilad's exercise shows. Dr. Phil takes care of the inside (i.e. reprogramming my low self-esteem) while Gilad takes care of the outside :-). They're both incredibly motivating in their areas of expertise :-).

I may not be losing weight as quickly as they advertise on those TV infomercials ("Lose 10 pounds in 7 days!") but I'm healthier now than I was at my original 120 pounds. I feel it :-). And the best part is, if I keep at it, one day I'll be healthy AND 120 :-).


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Saturday, July 01, 2006

My Fairy Godmother

Current Mood:

Not many people can say that they have a fairy godmother, but I do :-). And just like Cinderella, my fairy godmother always makes me look really nice :-).

Her name is Judy and all the great clothes in my wardrobe come from her :-). If I was left to my own devices I would have a closet full of brown sweaters--I've got too much of a safe personality to even try to gamble with bold colors. Judy sends me blouses and skirts and sweaters and scarves and all sorts of accessories that's a hit *every* time. It's uncanny how she picks out just the perfect things for me.

The reason why I wanted to mention Judy was because of something that happened yesterday. I wore one of the blouses that she got for me. It's a casual black and white printed blouse with 3/4 sleeves. The print is of New York with all these billboards of musicals, and beads on the blouse serve as the lights around the billboards.

I got three compliments on that blouse, two from perfect strangers. One of them even started talking about how she watched the Phantom of the Opera when she was in New York.

It's really neat how *everything* I wear that comes from Judy always fetches compliments. Even when Steve had his gallbladder operation in January and was laying on the gurney in the corridor waiting for his turn at the x-ray machine, one of the nurses stopped as she was walking by and said that she just LOVED the shawl I was wearing, which also had come from Judy.

Judy keeps me from looking boring. Like I said, she's my fairy godmother :-).


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