Owner: X-Pat Files URL:http://www.pinoysphere.com Join Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 16:11:08 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Online chronicles and musings of a Filipino storyteller in Switzerland Site statistics:Click here
Five Years 2008-02-16 14:17:34 (Warning: This is going to be a very lame post. Read at your own misery.)
Today, I celebrated my fifth anniversary as a resident of Switzerland — Gee, honey, has it just been five years? Not 50? — by doing the following:
– I picked up my German language coursebook at the local bookstore [...] Read more:Years
, Five Years
Love Story 2008-02-15 06:26:19 The story goes that they met at a posh beach resort in Bohol, Philippines way back in 1991. She was then a nursing student. He was a foreign tourist from Switzerland. She was having merienda alone at the restaurant of the resort. He was basically doing the same thing.
After sizing up the lady [...] Read more:Love Story
Name Change 2008-02-02 00:47:34 So, what’s with the new blog name?
Well, I had wanted some changes in my “online presence” — well, at least in this blog — and I felt it should begin with its name.
The name X-Pat Files, while it was distinct enough when I first started to actively blog in 2005, had started [...] Read more:Change
Black Wedding 2008-01-21 11:37:30 The invitation card — or should I say, the invitation kit — was already indicative that the wedding would be something different. It came in a medium-sized printed box covered in soft fabric and filled with stick-on tattoos, fancy trinkets, cinema tickets, a colorful souvenir button, and most importantly, the black invitation card [...] Read more:Black
Manila Greetings 2007-12-30 21:02:26 Greetings from polluted Manila
, dear readers.
I know, I know. It has taken me what seems to be like forever to update my blog. Even my Swiss husband — God bless his heart — got concerned with the glaring inactivity here and, during a recent long-distance phone conversation, admonished me to please attend [...] Read more:Greetings
Big Decision 2008-03-13 05:31:28 We have to move out of our apartment pretty soon — well, unless I want to spend the rest of my (Swiss) life getting rid of a Mt. Everest-like pile of dirty clothes and bed linens all the time.
We’ve actually been toying with this idea for a long time now. But we just [...]
Shrink Suggestion 2008-03-20 07:24:15 A couple of people I know had said that I could make a living in Switzerland as some sort of “pseudo-therapist” because I’m a very good listener (or so they say).
“You may not have the formal training to work as a therapist, but you do have the gift to make people [...] Read more:Suggestion
Pinoy Friend 2008-03-28 15:38:42 Two weeks ago, I went to the spring market in Reiden, a small village in the district of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne. I was there not to shop but to see a Filipino friend, whom I met in our town last summer during a special outdoor market. I brought with me two folding [...] Read more:Pinoy
Happy Foreigners 2008-04-17 17:37:26 The free Swiss tabloid 20 Minuten ran an article yesterday titled “Umzug in die Schweiz: Geld is nicht in her Hauptgrund (Moving to Switzerland: Money is not the Main Reason)” published on page 11.
Here’s the English translation of the article, courtesy of my translator-husband:
BERN. The beautiful country, better job prospects and the nice people are [...] Read more:Happy
House Fire 2008-04-22 09:41:12 There’s something about seeing a house on fire firsthand — meaning, not watching the calamity on TV or on the Net — that’s deeply unsettling. (You can view my YouTube video here.)
Four weeks ago, flames rolled across this three-story house located near our apartment building. We checked the scene, and saw firefighters battling the blaze [...] Read more:House
Philippine Embassy 2008-05-06 05:38:40 The Embassy
of the Philippine
s in Bern is staffed by people who are kind, courteous, and competent. And Filipino citizens based in Switzerland are blessed to have them.
Renewing my Philippine passport at the Embassy was so effortless that, in an inexplicable way, I kind of missed the incompetence usually associated with government [...]
Israel’s 60th 2008-05-07 03:19:13 Israel celebrates the 60th year of its founding as a nation this month.
While Israeli President Shimon Peres has invited heads of state, ministers, scientists, philosophers, and artists — among them, US President George Bush, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, former Czech President Vaclav Havel, [...] Read more:Israel
Coffee Reward 2008-05-09 03:28:41 Sometimes honesty can give you a free cup of good ol’ Swiss coffee.
When my husband and I had lunch at the self-service Manora Restaurant in Lausanne last Sunday after visiting a nearby international evangelical church, neither of us thought that one chicken wing got buried in my husband’s eat-all-you-can plate of vegetables (all [...] Read more:Coffee
Rivella Fans 2008-05-11 09:45:33 Who cuts a fine figure? Those who drink Rivella Blue do.
A little over a week ago, a young lady handed me a free bottle of Rivella Blue at Uni. I’m no Rivella drinker, but my Swiss husband is. So I took the sampler and hied off to the train station.
Rivella Blue is [...]
Blog Boundaries 2008-05-11 06:44:57 Someone has got my goat. Someone by the name of “Anonymous.”
That’s the downside of personal blogging. You get nasty comments from anonymous blog readers — all strangers to you — who attack you with words designed to put you down in a very public space like the blogosphere.
These commenters take your blog posts [...] Read more:Boundaries
Pinoy Place 2008-05-13 08:30:05 For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
Saw this news feature clip on the GMA News website in February, and featured it on my e-Notebook blog. It’s great to know that there’s a big Filipino eatery-cum-grocery store in Zurich.
Golden Asian Store, which opened in 2000, is a meeting point for Filipinos (Pinoy
s), who [...] Read more:Place
Puma Shirt 2008-05-16 04:49:48 This morning, after taking a shower and wearing my Vans shirt, it suddenly dawned on me: I did some “charity work” last week without my knowledge — sort of. Is that possible?
Well, when the mind is tired and weary, unexpected things happen. Things like happily giving away your favorite Puma shirt to the deputy of [...] Read more:Shirt
‘Missing List’ 2008-05-23 03:17:11 I miss:
1. My pamangkins — my five-year-old niece Yannah and my three-year-old nephew Ethan (they were here in Switzerland for an eight-day tour last April)
2. My family, friends, and my dead dog
3. Chocolate-chip flavored pancakes of Pancake House
4. Metro Manila malls
5. Press conferences and media familiarization trips
6. Playing board games with my siblings
7. [...] Read more:Missing
Happy Feet 2008-06-04 03:49:18 I’m so loving my new pair of red Crocs footwear.
These slip-resistant shoes are so comfy — very easy to slip on and off. No need to tie shoelaces!
I also like it that my Crocs shoes enable my feet to “breathe” well (no foot odor after each use), thanks to Crocs’ effective ventilation [...] Read more:Happy
Time for Some Blog Changes… 2008-06-18 05:21:30 X-Press Files has recently moved to
It’s quite obvious that I’ve done something with the content of this blog. Yes, I’ve moved the blog posts elsewhere, to a Net place where I don’t have to shell out a single penny.
However, the money factor is not the main reason why I’ve decided to change the concept [...]
BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION 2008-07-06 11:46:46 X-Press Files, my personal blog, has moved to its new home ().
Coming soon here: X-Press Interviews.
Thanks for your patience.
Mamma Mia! 2008-07-18 05:29:01 Mamma Mia, the film adaptation of the hit ABBA stage musical, tells the story of soon-to-be-married Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who, after reading her mother’s old diary entries, discovers that she has not one but three possible fathers. She secretly invites them to come to her wedding set in a beautiful Greek island, where her Mom [...] Read more:Mamma
The Pursuit of Happyness 2008-06-20 04:23:27 Never underestimate the power of a hope-inspired perseverance.
If there’s one central message the film The Pursuit of Happyness
(Das Streben nach Glueck) wants to send across its viewers, it’s this: do not let anyone tell you you cannot do anything. If you want something, go get it. Period.
The Pursuit of Happyness is a film based [...]
‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel 2008-06-13 04:51:41 Night, the moving novel by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel, is a must-read for those who want to know more about the Holocaust in a whole new level.
Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor. In 1944, he was a teenager when he and his family were ordered to leave their home in Sighet, Transylvania to [...] Read more:Night
Caotina Noir 2008-06-05 04:28:40 The beloved Swiss chocolate drink Caotina has three flavors: Caotina Surfin (milk chocolate), Caotina Noir (dark chocolate), and Caotina Blanc (white chocolate). Caotina Noir seems to be the best — well, as far as dark chocolate aficionados are concerned.
Caotina is made from real Swiss chocolates. So you can just imagine how tasty it can [...]
Recommend Site To A Friend
