O Christmas Tree...with Gifts

here are more takes of our tree, this time with gifts

i can't believe it's already christmas this weekend!

Guessing Game

took this with we were having coffee with "the filipino community". these are 3 of our guys. guess which pau is.

O Christmas Tree

in our best and most practical effort to bring some christmas spirit into our home, we put together...drum rolls....our little christmas tree. it's not the real pine tree because we couldn't wait till later to get one (because they usually wither in a few weeks so you have to buy them late). this tree stands a humble 90 centimeters, but it costs a whopping 50 euros. we figured we'd put off getting a bigger tree to next year when we already have a baby in the house.

9 days before christmas! wishing everyone: Happy Holidays!

The Pursuit of Happyness

have you ever cried watching a movie trailer? well i have.

when baby and i got home, he asked which part made me cry. and as i was telling him about it, i cried all over again.

must be the hormones.

December 8

immaculate conception. holiday ngayon dito! bukas daw mga malls. pagkakataon na namin mamili. wohooo!

Friends and Family in Graz

austrian officemates: before, when somebody would refer to "the filipino guy" in baby's company, everybody would automatically know it's him. he also used to be the only foreigner within their department. while it was hard giving up the comforts of working with co-filipinos, not having anybody else to talk our native language with, plus trying to satisfy everybody's curiosity and doubts about how filipinos are - work- and personality-wise, i'm glad that he was able to pull it through, and quite well at that (proud wife ;) ba ). he has been blessed with really nice and supportive co-workers, most of whom we've come to treat as family already.

neighbors: baby has a polish officemate who lives within the same apartment as ours. he has a wife and a 3-year old son. he has a car, so pau rides with him everyday, sharing with the gas expenses. laking tipid na, very convenient pa. the family is really nice. sometimes, the guys would get together for a couple of beers, or they would invite us to flea markets or lake-side picnics. we just adore their really cute son.

non-austrian officemates: since mid this year, we've met foreigners (and their wives and kids, if any) from india, ireland, japan, hired after baby within their department. we showed them around, answered questions, did what we can to help them integrate easily. we're not experts but we surely had something to contribute, having gone through the same situation. it'd always be nice gaining new friends. we all regularly meet during gimiks and company parties.

filipino community: then after, the company has hired 3 other filipino guys (all guys for now, 2 with wives, and about 3-4 new hirees will be coming in by 1st quarter next year, would you believe?). this is especially interesting. despite our very different personalities, we all get along really well. in fact, they all chose apartments near our place, so we now all live within walking distance from each other. our own little filipino community! every sunday, we all go to the 10am mass, have lunch after, and make tambay at whoever's place to watch dvd's, set up tfc's, or just eat. nakakatuwa talaga.

18 Days Before Christmas

wow.

i used to be a certified christmasrat. well, i still am as i have been playing yahoo music's christmas stations everyday this month. back home i'd usually start putting up decors, drafting our christmas list, rounding bazaars, and playing christmas songs over and over, as early as sept. how i miss "paskong pinoy". *long sigh*. iba talaga. yung mga salu-salo, simpleng regalong may pambalot na bili sa bangketa, christmas songs na pinapatugtog para mas maenganyong mamili sa malls, exchange gifts, mga batang nangangarolling.

ang lamang lang ng pasko dito ay snow na di pa dumadating.

pero kahit papano, i'm sure masaya pa din ang pasko namin ngayon. madaming blessings na dapat ipagpasalamat =) this year, we will be spending christmas in vienna, with family and as much pinoys around as possible. our own little "paskong pinoy".

merry christmas, everyone, and a blessed new year ahead!

The Devil Wears Prada

baby and i finally saw it last night, on it's final screening day. our excuse for the delay is that movies, which are not as big as spiderman or harry potter, are usually shown here a bit late as they have to wait for the german-dubbed version. plus the only english cinema here doesn't show all movies so they scheduled this one much later.

anyway, i would usually enjoy movies like this. however, yesterday it was different, there was less drooling. probably because i'm pregnant. the connect:
1. for almost 2 hours, i kept on shifting sitting positions trying to get as comfortable as possible
2. those fashionable clothes, shoes, and bags don't really mix with a bulging tummy and baby goo, so i have to wait for quite a while

but i enjoyed our date. it has been a while since we've gone out food tripping and watching a movie, just the two of us. plus the english cinema sells perfectly-salted popcorn.