Huwaattttt???

"oh, by the way, there is a secondment opening for London. It's available to TLs and only for one week!" exclaimed Hubby before going to sleep.

Day One after the Announcement:

hmmmm... i think it's such a good idea! he's going to London and only for a week. what a gift! we need some space apart so that we would be able to terribly miss each other. we have been constantly together, with each other, for eighteen months now. it's only for one week anyway.

Day Two after the Announcement:

he wants me to go with him? i would have liked that except that it is too expensive, waaaaayyyyyy toooooo expensive to go to London for only one - did i say ONE? - week. He would be at his office the whole day and we would only have night-outs. Of course, it would be interesting to wander around alone during the day. that is, if he would allow me to do so.

Day Three after the Announcement:

if he goes to London, who would open the @#$%*! gate for me? and when it is raining, how the heck am i going to open it? "but it's only for one week", he says. Now, he doesn't care if i would have difficulty when he's away???!!!

Day Four after the Announcement:

wait, he was away for one month last year. how much was our phone bill? ugh! what shall i hope for? that he gets picked for the seconment or not?

Ugggghhh!

Start of a lovely day

When i woke up this morning and i heard the softening of the downpour, i knew that it would be a lovely day. Not so much scorching heat from the sun, and no more rain from the sky by the time i leave for work. True enough, the weather was beautiful. But when Hubby opened the garage, the nightmare on daylight began....

We were in a hurry to leave for work because we don't want to get entangled with the traffic jam causing us to commit the perennial offense of employees - tardiness. When Hubby opened the gate, lo and behold, there was a truck obstructing our driveway. After a few minutes and a lot of sweat, Hubby was informed by a construction worker of the building across the streeet that the driver could not be found. The good news is, the construction worker, who seems to have no driver license, was willing to drive the truck away from the driveway. However, such did not relieve us from the mounting traffic on our street.

After a few clicks and turns, we got to the right lane and drove toward our first stop - Hubby's office. It would have been an uneventful trip had it not been for the jeepney which was right beside us but did not want to stay that way during his journey. He immediately overtook us, and yours truly, being a nice girl and all, let him drive away. A few meters after, the same jeepney halted in the middle of the street. For the second time in less than thrity minutes, a vehicle was obstructing our way. Argh! I overtook and sped away. At the turn on the corner, the same crazy jeep was again trying to overtake. And again, i let him. I have learned the lesson, and sadly from experience, that i would have less headache if i let jeepneys, taxicabs or even trucks to have their way.

But the crazy jeep was really wild! It even cuts other jeepneys and almost hit one when it changed lane. I guess it was a mistake to let it be on our front, for it changed lanes in a wink. Finally, when we got freed from that crazy jeep, our next battle was a pedicab, followed by a motorcycle. It seems that they think that they are the REAL KING OF THE ROAD! Come to think of it, they can be, esp. the motorbikes. I mean, whenever it feels like it's a regular vehicle, it would travel in the middle of the lane so that no car could pass through it. However, if there is so much traffic, it would treat itself like a pedestrian and would still pass through the slimmest space between cars so that it would not wait for the green light like all the cars.

Finally, we reached our first destination. Off i went without Hubby.

Amazingly, there was not much traffic. I was able to take Buendia without any scars or scratch. But again, i thought too fast. While the streets were half-empty (or half-filled, depending on how you got used to traffic), i found myself at the rear end of a slow-moving vehicle. By the time i was able to change lanes (although half-empty, the streets were still full of crazy drivers), the slow-moving vehicle sped off while i was stuck in a new lane filled with cars because they cannot get through due to the obstruction caused by cars on the perpendicular street. Ugh!

At last, i got to the office unscathed, still hoping that today would be a lovely day

le Tour

Yes, i have heard of it, but had never been interested... until now. How could you blame me? I mean, what is so exciting about guys who bike (a real bicycle) for soooo many days, right? Aside from the scenic view of France, there is nothing interesting in the game. The bikers look older than most athletes.

Pardon my ignorance.

When i first watched it on tv, i could not understand what was going on. Firstly, because the commentators were speaking french. Who would condemn them for speaking their national language on a french channel? Yep, i watched it on the french channel of our cable! Secondly, i could not comprehend why bikers of different teams would assist and help each other when their group was separated from the peloton. They were supposed to be competitors for goodness' sake! They should be breaking each other's neck or some other usual scene on basketball or football. Thirdly, why are all the teammates of Lance Armstrong content in being the groom's men instead of aiming for the yellow jersey? And lastly, what the heck are the jerseys for?

Anyway, watching Le Tour de France helped me understand not only the sports itself, but also the meaning of sports and sportsmanship. Just see how Lance Armstrong would not compete for the stages and would just let the other non-big names have the stage, considering that he still has the Yellow Jersey. The Discovery Team is just awesome! The team work in unison to achieve a common goal- win the team trial and aid Armstrong in getting the jersey. They know their roles in the team and do not complain because the success of one is also the success of another. In this race, the teams do not finish with all the members intact, except for the Discovery Team. Unfortunately, the Discovery Team could not boast of such honor this year because one of its members (Beltran) had an accident.

Now, not only do i watch the highlights once but twice!

*daily highlights is the only english broadcast available on cable.