TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

“EU states are trying to understand why the birth rate is falling - and if anything can be done to stem the decline.” “No-one is yet berating bachelors or mooting medallions for multiple births. But Europe's many governments are scrambling to find a solution .” “Europe is still feeling its way in this area, and may, some say, have to come to terms with the fact that there are women remaining childless or having small families by choice .” For the full story read the BBC: EU’s baby blues A Dutch mother towing her daughter in a cart in the streets of Haarlem. The Netherlands is of course not exempt to this European-wide baby blues crisis. Just the other week, there was a news flash on TV that the Dutch population has stagnated in the last few decades at a 16 Million figure. There is no growth despite the massive influx of immigrants to the country in the last years. Why? Well a great example is us, Dutchman and I. We are one of those couples who do not want to have kids and in the ...

An excerpt from the e-mail of the HR Manager: “Please bring your diploma and your last salary specification.” I thought the -bring your diploma- was odd enough when I am not a starter. I am old [will be 36 soon] and my years of work experience mattered most. But the –bring your last salary specification- ? Huh, what gives? So I recollected myself and thought that perhaps they reacted like this, quite defensive, because I was not upfront with them on the salary that I wanted. Well honey, I am a sales person, I don’t sell myself short. I negotiate my worth. ---But, they want to see my last salary slip? Uh-huh... this is a huge red flag on diplomacy relations [aren’t salary slips supposed to be confidential?] and a possibility that this company is a major cheapo. After inspecting my salary slip, the Managing Director quipped, “I’m sorry but we can’t give the same salary. You have 10 years ICT experience but not in our branch. For that amount we would prefer someone who has at least 5 year...

I think I have become somewhat dutchified now because I have learned to appreciate Dutch songs. Ah, I have gone a loooong way in my Dutch integration, ha-ha! The Dutch band Blof , they come from Zeeland [in the south of the Netherlands]. Nevertheless, I have a favorite single at this moment, from the band Blof, one of the really good local bands in the country. The title of the song: “Aanzoek zonder ringen ” which means in English, “A proposal without a ring” . Even though I can a little bit relate to the song [I am not married but in a partnership ergo without the ring -lol], what I love most with it is its tune and the fusion of the drums into the melody. It has so much character. To listen to the song and see the video, click here: AANZOEK ZONDER RINGEN [ aahn-zook zon-der ring-ngen ], performed together with 6 Kodo Japanese drummers. Side bar photos are also updated: Travel Flashback: Mayrhofen Village in Tirol, Austria Dutch Sneak Preview: Terminal in Utrecht What’s in my Kit...

I never participate in memes and tags mainly because I prefer to write my own stuff in this blog than answering a poll. But life is not always fair, my brains are half dead lazy tonight. Ever had those mental or writer’s block moments? You want to write but you do not know what. So there, I guess I finally have the excuse to respond to a tag. Yeah, I was tagged. The questions though are quite interesting especially the last one as it woke my slumber. The tag too ends right here, so I won’t be passing this to anyone. Four jobs you have had in your life: 1) Sales Manager 2) Senior Account Manager 3) Product Specialist 4) Account Manager [All jobs in ICT - hardware, business software applications and consulting] Four movies you could watch over and over: 1) None [As you can see, I am not a movie person! I am also not sentimental] Four places you have lived: 1) Utrecht, Netherlands 2) Nieuwegein, Netherlands 3) Wack Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong, Philippines 4) Near Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong...

An immigrant is someone who intends to reside permanently, and not a casual visitor or traveler. Immigration means “in-migration” into a country, and is the reverse of emigration “out-migration.” An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country), and is sometimes misspelled as ex-patriot, due to its pronunciation. The difference between an expatriate and an immigrant is that immigrants commit themselves to becoming a part of their country of residence, whereas expatriates see themselves, and are perceived, as living in a foreign land. Question: So what am I then? Am I an immigrant who has triumphed over xenophobia, learned to camouflage with the locals and embraced willingly the idiosyncrasies of the Dutch? Or am I an expatriate who always sees that tiny bridge between me and the Netherlands? Flags of the Phi...

Earlier of today while waiting in the conference room for my meeting, I browsed through a stack of Dutch management and economy magazines. I chose the newest date available. An article caught my eye... It says: TALLER MEN HAVE HIGHER INCOMES The latest study was conducted in the USA and it showed that 30% of the CEO’s in America’s Fortune 500 companies were gifted in the height department, standing tall at 1.83 cm. and over [6 feet]. Surprisingly, this height statistics accounts only to about 5% of the total American male population. The average American male height still remains at a steady 175 cm. [5 feet 9 inches]. The article further articulated the importance of height in leadership and income. It also enumerated the tallest men per country basis and as expected the tallest award on the world male category goes to the Dutch men averaging at 1.83 cm. and followed closely by the Swedish men. The Dutch women were also found to be the tallest, followed by the Swedish women too. Catch2...

Weather, weather on my call, will it be sunny, rainy, snowy, foggy… or is it them all? When I say to people that I live in the Netherlands, many would think it’s synonymous to Poland, New Zealand or Norway. Quite funny, but after a constant slip-up, it starts to exacerbate and magnify, not my irritation but how dense some people are [insert sarcasm here]. I didn’t know many individuals have actually flunked their geography subject in high school, huh? Ah, don’t humor me anymore please. Anyway, many also think that it’s very cold up here. People have this whimsical vision of immaculate imagery, a country dyed in white, in with none other than - snow. I thought so too… but not until I came to live here. Instead of looking forward to the spring season, March 2006 greeted us with more wintry days. It has been snowing since the eve of 28 February, which was the last night of Carnaval. Yes, it’s white outside, but in this foto it seems that my surroundings have turned into a 1960 black and w...