Warsaw has been my home for the past 9 months. I missed all the birthdays of my family members this year from Warsaw - 5 family dinners I really looked forward to every year (next to our annual family New Year dinner, of course). I also missed our annual family summer outing - I spent Holy Week stuck in the office, working. All the restaurants and stores in Warsaw were closed during this time, so I had instant noodles and cold hamburgers for dinner on some days (I can't cook, remember?). I also spent a fortune on cellphone bills trying to get in touch with various friends and members of my family - just so that I'd have someone to talk to (I was the only "loser" online during this time in Yahoo Messenger, hehehe).
It wasn't all that bad though. Warsaw is not the cleanest city in the world, but it is a lot cleaner than Manila (heck, it is even cleaner than Brussels, Paris, or Berlin). The air is fresher, traffic is almost non-existent (cars are moving - so its not traffic!), they have a bunch of nice, big gardens scattered around the city (which during the summer, gets really interesting hehehe), and it's relatively safe because of all the policemen walking around. Public transportation is cheap and reliable (but not quick, except for the single, unfinished Metro line), locals are generally friendly and helpful, the ladies look smashing (I read this somewhere - according to a recent survey, men thought that 70% of all the women in Warsaw were pretty. I disagree - I think its more like 80% hehehe), and the beer is strong. I also met the nicest, friendliest group of Filipinos in Warsaw - people who I will really miss a lot.
What more could you want, right?
Most of these things will sound very strange to some people (especially a Pole), mainly those who have been to Warsaw. But I guess it's all relative - if you ever go to Manila, you'll know why I'm talking this way.
When I got back to my apartment in Warsaw after a recent trip to Brussels, I even caught myself murmuring: "ahh...home, sweet home." I guess this is due to the fact that for the first time in my life, I've spent more time abroad than at home. My mind should get "rewired" to its original state soon - I hope.
Alas, Warsaw is finally getting rid of me. Will I be able to rid my body of this place? Well I sure hope so, I gained 10 kilos here - it will take me months sweating it out at the gym before my "beer muscle" fades away.
I will really, really miss this place.
This is probably my last post from Poland (at least for now). Although I'd love to come back, there are no plans for a "return visit" anytime in the near future.
I'll see you in Manila in 2 days! Ciao!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
5 things guidebooks don't mention about Poland
Guidebooks (like the Lonely Planet) are usually very, very good. I use them a lot - and they have saved my butt many times over. It is impossible to be very comprehensive, though. If you're planning to go to Poland, there are a few interesting things that the guidebooks leave out. I've listed down 5 of my "favorites":
1. Polish "voice overs"- when the TV show you're watching in Poland is in English, they keep the original soundtrack in tact - all sound effects, conversations, even the music. You will notice, though, that they add an additional sound "layer" - a strange man's voice is translating every spoken word into Polish. This is fine - however, its the same guy's voice every time. It doesn't matter if the person speaking on TV is 50-year old man, 20 year old girl, a 3 year old child, or Triumph, the insult comic dog - its his voice ALL THE TIME. Every TV show, every advertisement - its the same guy. And he is so emotionless - the lady on TV may be screaming in terror - he will speak in the same tone, at the same pace ALL THE TIME. Good thing I figured how to turn him off.
2. Thank you means something else - one of my Polish friends just spent 3 months in Manila. When he got back to Poland, he picked up some Filipino habits - i.e. pointing with your lips, saying "psst" when calling someone, etc. He also acquired the habit of saying "thank you" to waiters when paying the bill. Big mistake. When you're eating at a restaurant here in Poland, saying "thank you" is interpreted as "keep the change."
3. Małe piwo - this literally means "small beer." Colloquially though, its the Filipino equivalent of "sisiw." (for non Pinoys out there - "sisiw" literally means baby chicken). They say it to mean any of the following: that's nothing, no problem, that's easy - for the average Pole, a small beer really is very easy - next to nothing even. Sisiw lang yan!
4. Charlotka - this one literally means "Apple Pie." It can also refer to Żubrówka (that popular Polish vodka, with a blade of grass inside the bottle) mixed with apple juice. Żubrówka literally means something like "Bison brand vodka." The joke is that its unique taste comes from the blade of grass inside the bottle - grass that has been pissed on by some pissed-off Bison.
5. Salad with everything - anything you order will come with salad. You will just have to live with it. Boiled cabbage, carrots, beetroot (my personal favorite - NOT!), or pickles - they serve them with Chinese food, kebabs, hamburgers - literally everything. Try telling a waiter you don't want any of the Polish salad with your food, and you'll get strange looks.
These things are strange for me, however, they find me strange as well. When I ignore red traffic lights, honk at pedestrians, call waiters "boss," and speak a mixture of English and Filipino while on the phone with folks from Manila, I am branded as the strange foreigner.
To each his own, I guess.
1. Polish "voice overs"- when the TV show you're watching in Poland is in English, they keep the original soundtrack in tact - all sound effects, conversations, even the music. You will notice, though, that they add an additional sound "layer" - a strange man's voice is translating every spoken word into Polish. This is fine - however, its the same guy's voice every time. It doesn't matter if the person speaking on TV is 50-year old man, 20 year old girl, a 3 year old child, or Triumph, the insult comic dog - its his voice ALL THE TIME. Every TV show, every advertisement - its the same guy. And he is so emotionless - the lady on TV may be screaming in terror - he will speak in the same tone, at the same pace ALL THE TIME. Good thing I figured how to turn him off.
2. Thank you means something else - one of my Polish friends just spent 3 months in Manila. When he got back to Poland, he picked up some Filipino habits - i.e. pointing with your lips, saying "psst" when calling someone, etc. He also acquired the habit of saying "thank you" to waiters when paying the bill. Big mistake. When you're eating at a restaurant here in Poland, saying "thank you" is interpreted as "keep the change."
3. Małe piwo - this literally means "small beer." Colloquially though, its the Filipino equivalent of "sisiw." (for non Pinoys out there - "sisiw" literally means baby chicken). They say it to mean any of the following: that's nothing, no problem, that's easy - for the average Pole, a small beer really is very easy - next to nothing even. Sisiw lang yan!
4. Charlotka - this one literally means "Apple Pie." It can also refer to Żubrówka (that popular Polish vodka, with a blade of grass inside the bottle) mixed with apple juice. Żubrówka literally means something like "Bison brand vodka." The joke is that its unique taste comes from the blade of grass inside the bottle - grass that has been pissed on by some pissed-off Bison.
5. Salad with everything - anything you order will come with salad. You will just have to live with it. Boiled cabbage, carrots, beetroot (my personal favorite - NOT!), or pickles - they serve them with Chinese food, kebabs, hamburgers - literally everything. Try telling a waiter you don't want any of the Polish salad with your food, and you'll get strange looks.
These things are strange for me, however, they find me strange as well. When I ignore red traffic lights, honk at pedestrians, call waiters "boss," and speak a mixture of English and Filipino while on the phone with folks from Manila, I am branded as the strange foreigner.
To each his own, I guess.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Kobylany
Since my great European adventure is almost over (I come home on July 31 - permanently for now), I decided to fill up my remaining weekends with out of town trips.Last weekend, we went to a small town near Krakow called Kobylany. It's a nice valley which is particularly popular with rock climbing enthusiasts. Obviously, it's popular because there are tons of big rocks in this area. Rocks which you can climb. That's why its popular with rock-climbing enthusiasts (Whatever!). We even saw a Polish wedding (pictured below, in the wooden church). It's basically the same as a Filipino wedding, except nobody wore a Barong Tagalog and everything was in Polish.
Since I have no desire to climb big rocks (and hit my head on one, like one guy in our group did), I decided to go hiking (with my new friend, Agnieszka - you can see her back below taking a picture of a big rock). Miraculously, the weather cooperated - it was 10 degrees and cloudy the whole week before this.
"Home" at this place meant cramming together in a small shack (that's Krzysiek - my "kolega" from the office who invited me on this trip). Too bad for them, I had a pretty serious snore attack on both nights hehehe:
Evenings were spent grilling sausages, drinking beer, playing charades (using English movie titles, for my benefit) and exchanging stories. This is when I found out that the Polish title for the movie "Dirty Dancing" (Wirujący seks) literally means "Spinning Sex!" If you saw the film, you would definitely agree with me - it is a very good translation. Hehehe...
On our way back to Warsaw (this place was 4 hours away by car), we passed by a horse ranch - owned by one of Krzysiek's good friends. This place was packed with horses - and I mean packed. I've never seen so many horses in my life! (I am exaggerating - there were only about 20 of them there). The owner also had 2 dogs which were so big that you would think they were small horses (again, I am exaggerating - but they were quite big). Each one weighed 75 kilos - thats more than I weigh (if you add up their combined weight hehehe)!
I hope everybody else had a great weekend. See you soon!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Lose weight, be rich
Everyone I know would love to lose weight, and everyone on the face of this planet also wants to be rich. Skinny and rich - its ideal isn't it? Its the reason why we pay p120 pesos (or 26 zloty) to watch Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie running around on the silver screen in Rockwell - we want to be just like them. Perhaps we don't want to adopt children from halfway around the world (like they did), but we work our assess off in the gym and do the same at work to try and chase this ideal.
I just found out from this post that these two things (losing weight and becoming rich) are very similar.
Everybody knows how to lose weight - all you have to do is exercise more and eat less. Getting rich is the same, everybody knows that to be rich, you have to spend less and earn more. Everybody knows this, its not rocket science.
Why then do people still go on South Beach diets? Or invest in stupid get rich schemes? Why are there still so many fat people riding the MRT eating chicharon, why do we still see people who try and hit the jackpot with Zagu-or-lechon-manok-type-copycat businesses? Don't they know that 95% of all diets fail, and that 9 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 2 years? Why can't people just eat less, exercise more, spend less and earn more?
Alas, reality tells us that this is not as easy as it sounds.
I am the perfect example. Due to my recent "European" adventures, I just wiped out every centavo in my savings account - money I have been slowly putting aside for the past 4 years. In these past few months, I also gained 10 kilos (not pounds, kilos - thats 22 pounds!). My pants are getting really tight, and my wallet is getting really light. I am slowly becoming the fat, bald guy who doesn't have any money. Not exactly Brad Pitt material, I know.
I know how to lose weight, and I know what it takes to be rich - its just, well...difficult. In my case, I have identified several problems:
I like to eat, but I cannot cook. As a result, I spend a big chunk of my income on restaurants (and in case you are wondering - no, eating out is NOT a necessity). The main problem is that I am very picky when it comes to food - if I have a bad meal, I feel terrible all day (or night, depends on when I eat). Good food, on the other hand, makes me feel great! I guess its in my genes - I am Capampangan, in case you didn't know.
Since Polish food is not exactly at the height of culinary sophistication (except for their Kielbasa - which is very, very good), I am forced to spring for more expensive meals. I also generally don't like fast food (except for Jollibee Chickenjoy - I love this, but it is obviously not available in Poland), vegetables, and fruits - which makes things worse. I can save a lot of money (and lose a lot of weight) if I cooked, but I just can't cook. I know, I know - if you know how to read, you know how to cook (try Googling "5 minute meals") - I guess I am just too lazy. Being a picky eater and a terrible cook is a bad (and expensive) combination. If you still don't believe me, read this post from my favorite personal finance blog.
I also spend a lot of money on stupid things - like beer. I absolutely love beer. The problem is that in Europe, beer is very expensive. The calories from beer also go straight to your gut. I am trying very hard to limit this expense - however it seems that the world is not cooperating with me. For example, today during dinner (at a restaurant, of course), I ordered one beer with my meal. The waitress gave me 2 beers. When I asked why she was giving me 2, she said that the 2nd one was free. Alright - free beer! Hehehe...
I also do not exercise at all here in Warsaw (walking to the office pantry to get a sandwich in the morning is NOT exercise) and I am not exactly earning a boatload of money (boss - if you're reading this, please take note). I guess I am a hopeless case - destined to be fat and poor.
Hopeless, that is, until I learn how to cook.
I just found out from this post that these two things (losing weight and becoming rich) are very similar.
Everybody knows how to lose weight - all you have to do is exercise more and eat less. Getting rich is the same, everybody knows that to be rich, you have to spend less and earn more. Everybody knows this, its not rocket science.
Why then do people still go on South Beach diets? Or invest in stupid get rich schemes? Why are there still so many fat people riding the MRT eating chicharon, why do we still see people who try and hit the jackpot with Zagu-or-lechon-manok-type-copycat businesses? Don't they know that 95% of all diets fail, and that 9 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 2 years? Why can't people just eat less, exercise more, spend less and earn more?
Alas, reality tells us that this is not as easy as it sounds.
I am the perfect example. Due to my recent "European" adventures, I just wiped out every centavo in my savings account - money I have been slowly putting aside for the past 4 years. In these past few months, I also gained 10 kilos (not pounds, kilos - thats 22 pounds!). My pants are getting really tight, and my wallet is getting really light. I am slowly becoming the fat, bald guy who doesn't have any money. Not exactly Brad Pitt material, I know.
I know how to lose weight, and I know what it takes to be rich - its just, well...difficult. In my case, I have identified several problems:
I like to eat, but I cannot cook. As a result, I spend a big chunk of my income on restaurants (and in case you are wondering - no, eating out is NOT a necessity). The main problem is that I am very picky when it comes to food - if I have a bad meal, I feel terrible all day (or night, depends on when I eat). Good food, on the other hand, makes me feel great! I guess its in my genes - I am Capampangan, in case you didn't know.
Since Polish food is not exactly at the height of culinary sophistication (except for their Kielbasa - which is very, very good), I am forced to spring for more expensive meals. I also generally don't like fast food (except for Jollibee Chickenjoy - I love this, but it is obviously not available in Poland), vegetables, and fruits - which makes things worse. I can save a lot of money (and lose a lot of weight) if I cooked, but I just can't cook. I know, I know - if you know how to read, you know how to cook (try Googling "5 minute meals") - I guess I am just too lazy. Being a picky eater and a terrible cook is a bad (and expensive) combination. If you still don't believe me, read this post from my favorite personal finance blog.
I also spend a lot of money on stupid things - like beer. I absolutely love beer. The problem is that in Europe, beer is very expensive. The calories from beer also go straight to your gut. I am trying very hard to limit this expense - however it seems that the world is not cooperating with me. For example, today during dinner (at a restaurant, of course), I ordered one beer with my meal. The waitress gave me 2 beers. When I asked why she was giving me 2, she said that the 2nd one was free. Alright - free beer! Hehehe...
I also do not exercise at all here in Warsaw (walking to the office pantry to get a sandwich in the morning is NOT exercise) and I am not exactly earning a boatload of money (boss - if you're reading this, please take note). I guess I am a hopeless case - destined to be fat and poor.
Hopeless, that is, until I learn how to cook.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The best beer in the world
This is another post about beer. Please don't complain - my topic choices for today was either beer or my ingrown toenail. I think beer is a better topic. Also, the beer pictures look better than the ones I took of my toenails.
Search for "the best beer in the world" using Google, and it will show you a picture of the beer I am drinking in the picture above. If Michael Jackson says so (I know what you are thinking - I am talking about the writer, not the singer), you better believe him. According to his article, Saison Dupont is "impossibly delicious." Mav is holding a chocolate beer - that one was "impossibly undrinkable." She liked it though. I am not a big fan of chocolate anyway, so I guess I am a bit biased.
I also had a bottle of 1 year old Orval. As you can see from the label, this particular beer was bottled in 2005! When I got it, it was old and dusty. I had a "new" bottle of Orval before tasting this aged one just for comparison - the aged one tastes a lot better.
This bar I went to had over 2,000 kinds of beer - they are in the Guinness Book of World Records for this. Most bars in the Philippines have only 4 or 5 kinds of beer - and they are all from San Miguel. How's that for freedom of choice.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get my hands on Westvleteren - you could only buy this at an abbey somewhere, and you're limited to 1 case per year (they take down the plate number of your car to make sure you don't go back and buy another case). There is so much demand that you need to "book" your visit in advance by calling a call center.
Kinda reminds me of those donut shops in Manila, where people fell in line for hours to get their hands on a box. Those donuts were good.
The question now is that is this beer really that good? Hmmm...
Friday, June 22, 2007
Ilan ang panganay?
That's my most common follow-up question, after I ask somebody how many children they have. It seems like having multiple first-born children has its advantages:
Firstborns found to have higher intelligence
From this article:
"Wading into an age-old debate, researchers have found that firstborn children are smarter than their siblings — and the reason is not genetics, but the way their parents treat them, according to a study published today."
Why am I not surprised? Hehehe.
p.s. sorry I haven't been posting lately, I promise to put up some more stuff this weekend.
Firstborns found to have higher intelligence
From this article:
"Wading into an age-old debate, researchers have found that firstborn children are smarter than their siblings — and the reason is not genetics, but the way their parents treat them, according to a study published today."
Why am I not surprised? Hehehe.
p.s. sorry I haven't been posting lately, I promise to put up some more stuff this weekend.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
What do you do?
"I am a doctor, but I am studying to be a nurse so that I can go abroad and earn in dollars."
"I work for the family business."
"I have my own business. We sell (soap/cellphone load/purified water/lechon manok/zagu-or-similar-type-drink)."
"I work as an (IT person/HR person/salesman/marketing guy) for (large multinational company)."
"I am the son of (name of a mayor/governor/general/senator/congressman)."
"I sit around the house all day, watching downloaded TV shows from the internet. My parents give me all the money I need. Hey did you see my new car? Its really quick and shiny!"
What you do defines who you are. Your answer to this question, and how you answer it, tells other people what kind of person you are, what you are interested in, what your priorities are, what's important to you. At least in my book, what you do tells me more about you than the clothes you wear, the car you drive (or what modifications - if any - you've done to it. Case in point - my neighbor removed all the "Kia" badges on his new car, and changed them to "BMW" badges. See what I mean?), or the company you keep.
I ask this question a lot, especially when I meet new people. I ask this also when I see old friends who I haven't seen for a long time. The answer to this question, and how it is answered, changes frequently - for some people, it can even change daily. This is because priorities shift all the time - when you think you have too little money, then studying to be a nurse when you are already a doctor so that you can go abroad suddenly becomes appealing. If you have too much money, then your priorities shift too - now you want to run for public office so that you can get even more money. Hehehe. (That was a joke. Seriously, it was!)
If the answer is interesting, I usually follow it up with "What about your job?" Most people, like me (as evidenced by this blog), love to talk about themselves - so be prepared for a long answer. Sometimes, the answer to this follow-up question is predictable - for instance, I haven't met a single call center CSR who liked what he did. I'm sure they exist - there are tons of folks who pay to talk on the phone all day (just take a look at the success of Sun cellular), and being paid to do just that would be their perfect "dream" job - I just haven't met any of them.
My problem is that I've never had a straight answer to this question. I tell them that I work for a large American multinational corporation in Makati, and that I work with computers. This is usually followed by "ano ka programmer?" I tell them no. "So ano, technician?" Again I say no. Then I tell them that I work in the IT support organization (well at least I used to work in support, I shifted now to something different and more confusing), and they say "ahhh, parang call center!" Again the answer is no.
Head-scratching follows. A lot of head-scratching.
When I was working from home one time, my younger brother was observing me work. He then asked me, "what do you do? All I've seen you do is send emails all day!" Aha - to that, I can say "yes." I send emails, IM messages - I even attend meetings. And we talk about computers! All day!
More head-scratching.
So what about you, what do you do?
"I work for the family business."
"I have my own business. We sell (soap/cellphone load/purified water/lechon manok/zagu-or-similar-type-drink)."
"I work as an (IT person/HR person/salesman/marketing guy) for (large multinational company)."
"I am the son of (name of a mayor/governor/general/senator/congressman)."
"I sit around the house all day, watching downloaded TV shows from the internet. My parents give me all the money I need. Hey did you see my new car? Its really quick and shiny!"
What you do defines who you are. Your answer to this question, and how you answer it, tells other people what kind of person you are, what you are interested in, what your priorities are, what's important to you. At least in my book, what you do tells me more about you than the clothes you wear, the car you drive (or what modifications - if any - you've done to it. Case in point - my neighbor removed all the "Kia" badges on his new car, and changed them to "BMW" badges. See what I mean?), or the company you keep.
I ask this question a lot, especially when I meet new people. I ask this also when I see old friends who I haven't seen for a long time. The answer to this question, and how it is answered, changes frequently - for some people, it can even change daily. This is because priorities shift all the time - when you think you have too little money, then studying to be a nurse when you are already a doctor so that you can go abroad suddenly becomes appealing. If you have too much money, then your priorities shift too - now you want to run for public office so that you can get even more money. Hehehe. (That was a joke. Seriously, it was!)
If the answer is interesting, I usually follow it up with "What
My problem is that I've never had a straight answer to this question. I tell them that I work for a large American multinational corporation in Makati, and that I work with computers. This is usually followed by "ano ka programmer?" I tell them no. "So ano, technician?" Again I say no. Then I tell them that I work in the IT support organization (well at least I used to work in support, I shifted now to something different and more confusing), and they say "ahhh, parang call center!" Again the answer is no.
Head-scratching follows. A lot of head-scratching.
When I was working from home one time, my younger brother was observing me work. He then asked me, "what do you do? All I've seen you do is send emails all day!" Aha - to that, I can say "yes." I send emails, IM messages - I even attend meetings. And we talk about computers! All day!
More head-scratching.
So what about you, what do you do?
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