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Sunday, May 1, 2011

so here's the plan...

I got a text from my cousin, the message goes like this, I'm engaged! And then she said, you'll be my maid of honor!

My cousin, who I fondly call Ate Cci, was practically the older sister I never had. Growing up together,  we would wear the same dress from head to foot, people thought we were twins. I'm happy and excited to be part of her entourage. 

Hearing that she's getting married made me excited, great news indeed! This would be the first wedding in our family on my father's side. So relatives from all over are flying in to witness this event of the year.

So here's the plan, starting this month I will COMMIT myself into walking/running exercises and lose weight. I will soon have my medical exam too that will determine if my visa will be granted or not, the best time to start is now.

Discipline and focus will be my powerful ally. I gotta make this work! That's why I will chronicle my weight loss endeavor here to get me motivated.

Wish me luck guys!


Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” - Jim Ryun




Tuesday, April 26, 2011

PHL airports

A travel site named the guide to sleeping in airports voted NAIA as #5  worst airport in the world and #1 worst airport in Asia.



It doesn't come as a surprise, having been in the airport premises for nearly 8 years (for work and travel)  I can say that we belong to that list, not only NAIA but half a dozen of our domestic airports as well.

Let's say 15,000 passengers per day x 750 terminal fee x 365 days. do the math. What I can't understand is that where did it all the money go?!

NAIA had been my home for 2 years (2003-2005). I don't know if the passenger noticed it but when it rains potted plants suddenly appears at the departure lobby. These plants supposedly absorb/catch water dripping from the terminal ceiling. bright idea huh?!

I have not visited NAIA for almost 4 years now, and I've heard it got worse. Aside from outdated facilities, I heard horror stories about utility personnel asking for 'tip' from passengers using the toilet. At first, I thought its ridiculous and my friend just misinterpreted the way the utility person helped him. But after hearing accounts of the same incident happening to 3 more person I finally accepted the fact that it does exist. Wow, that is just so wrong!

Aside from NAIA, other domestic airport are also in bad state. I wish I had taken photos of the said airports.

One classic example is Caticlan Airport, year in year out  there is a steady flow of tourist arriving and leaving the airport. As far as I can remember, Boracay was famous more than 10 years ago, I was still in college when Secretary of Tourism Mina Gabor went there and said that Boracay waters are clean and safe. The point is, that was eons ago and still Caticlan Airport is small.  I went there 2008 off peak season and boy, the waiting area is packed. Its lean season! What if its summer or peak season?! What will happen to the passengers waiting there? With more than a decade of Boracay's fame weren't the airport officials collected enough money to expand or even repair the airport?!  You don't have to imagine how small or how crowded it can get in Caticlan Airport. I found a video.


off peak, see how small the airport is.

A very crowded Caticlan Airport

I wouldn't mind paying a little higher airport tax if they can make sure that the taxes goes to the improvement of the facilities.

Case in point, Siem Reap, Cambodia. We paid 25USD roughly around 1100php. But the airport is nice, though its quite small its still nice and cozy. More hi-tech than our airport at the same time you can see traces of Cambodian Architecture. You don't see that in NAIA. 

Siem Reap Airport *photo taken from www.kestan.com*

Airports are the first thing the tourist see when they come and visit us. We don't wanna ruin their 1st encounter/experience with us. I do hope the government would do something about it, after all its named after PNoy's dad.


Friday, April 22, 2011

not so 'holy' week

Holy Week ngayon kaya punuan ang mga flights namin.  Ang unang araw ng pasok ko ngayong linggong ito ay kahapon, Maundy Thursday. Ito ang simula ng mahabang bakasyon para sa karamihan kaya medyo traffic ang mga dadaanan. 4 na pasahero ang na-late ng araw na to, sa kasamaang palad di na talaga sila nakasakay. At lahat sila ay inaway ako. Okay lang, medyo kaya pa. Migraine attack lang naman nun hapon ang napala ko sa kanila. Pero walang tatalo ngayong araw na ito. Quota na lahat ng klase ng mura! Mayroon 1 pasahero na sa bawat sasabihin nyang salita may kasamang 'bullsh*t' lalo na kapag nagpapaliwanag ako sa kanya. Pero ang winner na winner sa lahat ay ang Pranses na pasahero ko. Kung baga sa beauty pageant siya ng kokoronahan; grand slam, hinakot lahat ang award!



fra pax: if i were a terrorist, i will shoot you first (points to my colleague), and then you (points at me). this country is so f*cked up! f*ucked up! f*ck it! sh*t!

Gaya nga ng nasabi ko sa inyo dun sa isa kong post, read here; i eat death threats for breakfast! Award ang kanyang mga banta. Pagdating sa Immigration nang-away pa ulit cia. Ayun, balita ko hindi na cia pwedeng makabalik pa dito sa bansa natin ever!

Ang Good Friday ko naging BAD Friday. Sana bukas, mas okay na at wala ng pasaway.



Thursday, April 14, 2011

photowords

I was just browsing through itunes store an hour ago and I came across typogram application. Okay, I like instragram app but typogram is cooler coz you can put words into your photos. I was hooked and best of all its free, just download it! :)


The photos used here are my shots from my travel; word/phrases are also from me except the last photo. 


*sunset in Clark, Pampanga*

* a sidestreet somewhere in Guangzhou, China*

*Clark, Pampanga*
*Siem Reap, Cambodia*




Wednesday, March 30, 2011

trabaho lang po walang personalan

Noong mga nakaraang buwan usap usapan ang naganap na pagtawag ng menopausal b%@t*^ ng isang Party-list Representative sa isang customer service agent ng isang airline.

Sa totoo lang, kundi man linggo-linggo na nangyayari ito sa trabaho namen ay isang beses sa isang buwan may nagaganap na ganito. Sabi nga ni Senator Miriam Santiago, "I eat death threats for breakfast"! Well, well, well, kame rin!!! Sabay kme mgbreakfast ni Madam Senator eh! wahaha! 

Siguro sadyang meron mga taong di makaintindi o ayaw umintindi. Ginagawa lang namen trabaho namen at sumusunod lang din sa patakaran kumpanya. Gusto rin namen tumulong at mapasaya lahat pero di nman lahat ng gusto nila ay pwedeng masunod. 

Walong taon na rin ko sa larangang ito, marami na ko naranasan. Hindi ko nilalahat pero may mangilan-ngilan na nawala na ata ang kabutihang asal. 

* Mga tao na napalitan lang ang kanilang citizenship kala mo kung sino na kung makapang hamak ng kapwa at parang kinamumuhian ang kanyang lahi. Minsan ang sarap sumagot, kung pwede ko lang silang sagutin na, Teh, di mo maitatwa ang pagiging pinoy mo! Kulay, height at ilong pa lang give away na. 

* Meron din na porke't akala nila mas mataas pinag aralan nila samen pwede na nila kameng maliitin. FYI, nakatapos po kame lahat sa kolehiyo, university grad po kame. 

* Meron din na astang mayayaman na kung makapagdemand ay kala mo nabili ka na nya at pwede ka na nyang gawing alila. Ang sarap sumagot sa kanila ticket lang po nabili nyo hinde po ang pagkatao namen.

 Di ko alam kung matatawa na lng ba kame o maiinis o maloloka sa nararasanan nmen sa counter. Ito yung ilan sa mga narinig ko na nasabi ng mga pasahero samen ng mga ksamahan ko.
(lahat po ng ito ay totoo, at walang exaggeration...)



  • 'maitim ang budhi mo! di ka pupunta ng langit! buhay ka pa sinusunog kaluluwa mo!'  ang sabi ng isang lalaki nung sinisingil cia ng excess baggage ng kasama ko. 
  • 'you're english is pathetic!' ang sabi ng isang lola (pinoy na 1st world country na ang hawak na passport)  dahil di american accent ang pagsalita ng english ng kasama ko.
  • 'magsuntukan na lang tayo sa labas' ang hamon sa kasama ko nang hinanapan nya ng mga proper travel document ang pasahero.
  • sinungaling ka! p*+@ng!*# mo! (repeat to fade) ang sinabi saken ng pasahero dahil di ko cia marebook kasi fully booked ang flights. ( dito ko napaiyak dhil sa sama ng loob!) 



Aaminin ko na mga tatlong beses na ko napaiyak dahil sa mga natanggap ko na masasamang salita sa mga pasahero.  Tao lang din naman kame, nasasaktan. Halos lahat na ata klase ng mura natanggap na namen, may F word na ibat-ibang lenguahe pa at dialect, di ba bongga?! May instant lesson sa foreign language.

Sa linya ng aming hanapbuhay kailangan mabilis kame magbago ng mood. Pagkatapos mong makipagtalo sa isang pasahero dapat sa susunod naka ngiti ka na ulet na parang walang nangyaring masama mga ilang minuto pa lang nakakaraan. Kailangan matatag at mapacencia ka, coz everyday is a test; so scream (your lungs out after each flight), leave (all those negative comments behind) and survive (another day)!

Uulitin ko, hindi ko nilalahat may mga kaunti na lang na nalihis ang pag-uugali.

Pagpasensyahan nyo na kame kung medyo hinde perky at friendly dating namen sa inyo. Sa loob ng isang araw ilang daang tao makakasaluha namen, ilang daang ugali, ilang daang personalidad, ilang daang pangangailangan na kailagan ng tugon kaya sana minsan konting pang unawa din hinihingi namen. 

Sa aking pananaw may magandang rin na kinahantungan ang nangyari na pagsasampa ng kaso nung agent dun sa kongresista; kase nabigyan rin ng 'mukha' ang mga kagaya naming passenger service agents na  hahamak. Pero di rin naman ito excuse para  sa mga kapwa ko passenger service agents na magtaray o magsungit sa mga pasahero.

Ika nga nila, that's my 2 cents worth on this matter.

Kaya sa susunod na paglipad nyo, maisip nyo rin sana yung mga nasa likod ng counter. 

Have a nice flight!



Tuesday, March 29, 2011

march: gone too soon

I know March isn't over yet but I felt march had just passed by too quickly.


It was a roller coaster of emotions.




1st week: expenSING!


Our whole family went to Singapore and Malaysia. I promised my younger brother (2 yrs ago) that if he'd make it at least up to top 5 of his class I'll bring him to SG as a treat. And guess what, he was on the Top of his class that year! Let me clear things, we're not well off, every year I have 6 free tickets and I have to use it or else it will be forfeited that's why I travel. ( aside from the fact that I'm lakwatsera by nature.) At times, I think having free tickets is more of curse than a blessing but that deserves a whole new post.


So anyway, what can I say about Singapore? I went there 8 years ago when they are rebuilding their tourism sector after SARS hit them. Well now, SG has  Marina Bay Sands, F1 night race, Universal Studios, but I think nothing much has changed. They are still one of the most modern cities here in Asia; and they draw in lotsa lot of tourists but honestly, I think Philippines offer more! anyhoo, I like Singapore but you won't expect me to go there every year or as often as I go to KL because SG is expensive! ( for me, kase I'm kuripot.) hehe!  *sigh* bankrupt na ko.






top: great view from our hotel; bottom: Petronas Tower and my mom,dad and bro at the Skybridge




2nd week: mindaWoW


Barkada trip down south! Our 1st time in Mindanao and everyone had a blast. We went to Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon, 3 places and a whole lot of adventure! It took us 3 different modes of transportation and about 5 hours travel time but I tell you Camiguin is so worth it! Tick another activity in my bucket list, we went river rafting! yeah! \m/


top: rafting adventure; bottom: enjoying White Island, Camiguin




3rd-4th week:  Nars on duty


Last March 25th  my mom had a scheduled  lap cholecystectomy. (for those non-medical peep like me, it means that they are taking off my mom's gall bladder) I took another leave to be able to assist my mom with her operation and recovery. But last 22nd March I got an urgent text from my sister. She got confined at the hospital because of dehydration. The entire week was spent taking care of my loved ones. (no complaints here.)  The real challenge was they are on different hospital; my sister is in E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave and my mom is in Fairview. But God is so good that when my sister was discharged, my mom got admitted in the hospital; Atleast I don't have to run back forth in between 2 hospitals. My sister is back to work and my mom is at home recuperating. I had a very interesting experience and realization about public hospitals. I'll tell more about it next time.


March drained me. I hope April would be alot better.




p.s. A huge Thank you to all of you who prayed for my mom's successful operation. :)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

random musings

It's Saturday night and I'm here in my room letting my mind wander. What better way to spend the weekend but to put words to my thoughts.


so what's on my mind right now?


***
Mc Donald's is celebrating its 30th anniversary (here in the Philippines) and they're bringing back some of their well-loved TV commercials. I really love this particular tvc, it brings a lot of memories, good and not-so-good memories.


let's watch...





*** 


I've written a letter a few months ago , I wanna post it here just to let it all out from my system. My friend Cla, read it and advised me not to publish it coz its too personal. Upon reading my letter, she understood and felt my wrath, my hurt and my pain. Now, I feel better even if I wasn't able to publish it here, it was good to know that someone can identify with me. Writing helps alleviate the pain. Maybe someday, I'll have the guts to publish it here. I'm okay but still there are moments that memories kept creeping back. I try to shrugged it off.


***

I love reading The Professional Heckler's blog. His posts are witty and are fun to read. There are  times (while reading heckler's blog) my colleagues would catch me smirking and trying to suppress laughter to myself . They must've thought I'm a lunatic. Visit his blog and I'm sure you'll be laughing in no time. Right now, I'm waiting for Professional Heckler's game on twitter (the game is every Saturday night, 930-1100). Last week I joined his game for the first time and my entry got selected and was included in his blog. Beginner's luck. wahaha! It was so fun. His question was, what would you answer if Pnoy asked you to marry him. There are alot of hilarious replies, read here. My reply got picked last minute, check out #78, that's me. :)


update: professional heckler's game is over. and my entry this week wasn't selected. oh well, better luck next time.


***

I have to let this out guys, sorry. I've been keeping it to myself for the past weeks, I just have to let it out. Whoever is reading this and thinks that he/she is the subject of this post, all I can say is bato bato sa langit, ang tamaan ay pangit! wahaha! :P

To whom it may concern, I could be mean if I want to but I chose not to stoop down. I know a lot about you, and I can reveal everything I know that could ruin your life. You have a lot to lose and I don't know if you could live with that. I wonder how well you sleep at night? Peace of mind is hard to get these days. I pray that you come to your senses and change.

Wow, that feels good! I sounded like a b*tch though. Sorry, but I feel the need to let it out. 

***

Today, TJ is 1 week old! I love naming my gadgets, it kinda makes it personal.  Meet Team Apple, we are called Team Apple because Josh and Renel bought Ipad and I was tempted to buy one too, but I think I need a laptop not Ipad. Hence, I bought a macbook.  The first few days, I was having difficulty with TJ. Mac's OS is different from Windows, and I've been using Windows ever since I learned how to operate a computer so I need to adjust. As of now, I'm getting the hang of it and it's not that hard, in fact, the function keys are easier, but that's just me , I guess. I'm a Mac convert now.


TJ



newest member of Team Apple * I can't find an updated picture*




the crazy ones, love this ad too!







***
I read a blog entry of Paolo Coehlo end of last year. At that time, I was going through a rough patch and upon reading this,  I was enlightened. 2011 is my year of unlearning things/habits. To quote what Paolo Coehlo eloquently wrote, "Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need."