Saturday, September 29, 2007

Special Delivery

I got home and found that someone delivered me a big box. I opened it and it was a bouquet of stargazers--my favorite flower--from aL. You can imagine my smile.

Thanks, hun, I love you too.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mom & Dad and the visas

I've been meaning to post here since days ago but I was stuck with my dad's office' computer which for some reason gets an error whenever I go to Blogger.

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My parents--after deciding months ago to forego the foreign-country-tour for their silver wedding anniversary--had redecided to go for it. On November. That gives me/us a little over a month to process everything: visa applications, availing free tickets, planning the trip, accommodation, and everything else! Argh. Been scolding my parents for a few days now! We don't even know which embassy'd give them a tourist visa so I can't even start applying for their tickets!

Anyway they're applying for Australian, British and Korean visas for now. The Korean visa is a sure thing for the fact that I'm an Asiana crew, so if worse comes to worst that they don't get either Aussie or Brit ones, they'd go for Korea.

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I'm looking into investing on a condo unit or a house [and lot] but I just haven't found one I could consider a good investment yet.If anybody knows anything, let me know.

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I spent the whole day yesterday at Makati. I left at around 9-ish in the morning to bring some stuff Nanay needed for work, then went to Asiana office (where I also requested for COEs for my parents' use for visa applications) then headed to Glorietta. Was trying to find a dress I could wear for my parents' anniversary on November...no luck. I ended up buying a black dress, black flats, two shirts from Artwork, a book, a cute notepad, another casual shirt, a Zara coat (looks great for autumn!) and other what-nots.

Yesterday also marks aL and I's second month so I bought a phonecard and used the public payphone to call him at work. I intended to use up the entire duration of the phonecard so I sat on the floor and leaned on the wall while on the [public] phone. You should the people's faces when they see me. Haha. I think it was cool. Not everyone would have the nerve/confidence to do that.

4-ish I met up with aL's brother Joy and his girlfriend Julie to give them some stuff that his mom asked me to give. We hanged out and ate at Pizza Hut and chatted for about an hour. I jokingly told aL we were celebrating the monthsary. Haha.

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Dad picked me up at Glorietta by 7-ish and we picked up mom from overtime day (MWFs are mom's overtime days) and had dinner at Alavar. We still talked about anniversary plans: they still haven't decided on the church/chapel but we already got our family friend for the priest part, dad ran down the possible breakfast reception places, and I let them hear my tentative scheduling for their tour.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

So Gilmore Girls

Yana's yaya woke me up at 10am and said, "Ate tawag ka ng nanay mo." I peeked through the pillow covering my face and said, "Ngayon na?!" all groggy and oh-so sleepily. She nodded and wondered if my mom's on the phone or she's downstairs. Brought my phone with me and went downstairs with my eyes barely open. Then I saw my mom in the dining area, with Yana.

I stood there and I expected her to say something immediately whatever the cause of the emergency wake up order. One second, two seconds, three seconds. Nothing. I looked at the maid and hoped she got the order wrong. She shrugged and I said, "Nay?" And then she smiled. And my half asleep brain got so confused and looked at my dad who was nearby.

"Hindi raw kayo nagkikita ng nanay lalo na pag weekdays eh." I looked at her sternly as my shoulders and jaw dropped. I complained, "Unbelievable! I slept at four a.m.!" Haha. "Adik ka," I added.

Anyway we ended up: making coffee (when I was younger I never had coffee that my mother did not prepare); her showing me the dress she's gonna wear on their silver wedding anniversary on November; my I'm-gonna-get-married retorts; stories about San Francisco and browsing my SF photos on Multiply; her telling me about her friend's Las Vegas-based nephew that her friend's trying to hook up with me; and a lot more.

Yea lately we don't really see each other much on work days. And she's so busy to send me emails too. I'm glad she woke me up.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Sweet goodbyes

I've uploaded our photos from my recent SF layover and they were really gorgeous; and aL (the lazy blogger) had been really thrilled with the trial version of Corel that he had so he has been editing some photos that we have...which I find very sweet of course.

I find everybody sweet lately. Jai wants to meet up for this new idea for his blog and to "repay" me for my "kindness," and there's also this dedicated song for me and aL, Tin has also been really in love so I find her sweet too (thanks to Vinz, I guess?)... Is everybody getting sweeter or am I just seeing the world through rose-colored glasses? I wouldn't know.

Also, everybody seems to be leaving. Karla's set for Dubai in a month or so according to Godfrey, turns out she went to the POEA and applied for a job. Rachelle's going somewhere in UAE too, early October, and will work there. Sweetie (Chezza), as far as I know, got into JAL with Ma-an and Ruzelle so I'm guessing they'll be leaving soon, too.

Bianca, my donggi here at Asiana, had just went home for the last time today. (We actually had Krispy Kreme and Papa John's for her despedida last night.) She'll be flying out to New York early October and will be working there. Kat's gon' be leaving soon too, for a middle eastern airline. Anne's last month would be September. And almost everyone else is planning on applying for a different airline.

I so hate goodbyes.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

SF/GG


Had so much fun this recent SFO flight, eventhough we only got a whole day to spend! Part of my happiness comes from the superb weather in SF, absolutely no fog so it was the perfect time to capture the Golden Gate shots I've been meaning to have, plus we borrowed Marco's tripod so it was reaaaally lovely :)

Arrival day - Sep 16th

aL and his mom picks me up from the hotel and we walk down to Union Square and have late lunch at The Cheesecake Factory on the top floor of Macy's--holy smokes there were a looot of people we had to wait at least ten minutes to be seated! We ordered a lot and ended up takin' the actual cheesecakes home, haha. We drop by his dad's work to give him some food we had to go from Cheesecake Factory and since we won't get to be on time for the mass, we head to the Golden Gate Bridge. I don't exactly know where we were but we went to two different spots so two different views of the bridge.

We took lots of pictures but we never got satisfied coz we had to hold D and guess whether the bridge'd be in the photo or not; but sunset was on so I was smiling :) His dad suggests we go to Twin Peaks but I was reaally tired an' sleepy so we head home; his mom cooked dinner and we ate and I had my Oreo Mudslide Cheesecake for dessert.

10-ish we drop by Marco's home to borrow his tripod and ended up checkin' out photos from a recent concert and his DSLR too :) zzz


Sept 17th

We planned to get up early, like 7am, but being the sleepyheads that we were, we never succeeded. Anyway we get a carwash and then head off to--I forgot what city--to have breakfast (well brunch, actually) at a cafe called The Half Day Cafe. I love the place!

Afterwards we go Golden Gate again, this time on the other side of the bridge and another photoshoot location, hehe. More photos but now with a tripod! :) He must've intentionally made us pass through a Ross store so I went shopping a bit, but ended up paying only for one item *hmp* and him paying the rest! Anyway he got me a white bubble jacket, a black cardigan, a pair of Nine West sunglasses, a green blouse (to get me off my safe brown and/or pink clothes) and I ended up paying only for the white Keds that he's been telling me to get coz I "need a pair of whites." After that we head to Ocean Beach, photoshoot and then Pacifica Beach, where there were a lot of people fishing...

He got hungry so we call his mom up to know where she' s at and if she wants to eat out but she was already out to the mall so we meet her up and ate at a Japanese resto called Barracuda in Serramonte. We buy a few more stuff from Target (including the jacket i bought for Sid. Then we went home.


Departure Day - Sept 18th

Yep I was leaving again, it was so sad!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

AF Base

Long and late post(s).

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September 13
Phnom Penh

Twas my second time to PNH, but my first was a year ago where I didn't even go out of the hotel. So this time I did, and I so regret that I didn't bring D along, I could've taken a lot of good photos--including my first tuktuk ride. Anyway I went to the Russian Market (I dunno how it's spelled but that's how it's pronounced) coz i wanted to go shop for a few clothes. It was like a small Divi, but with lesser people.

To whoever had advised me to shop there, I was grateful! You know how when you shop at H&M or Aeropostale or A&F and the likes, you flip the tag and you see it's made in Bangladesh or Cambodia or wherever? Well hehe, I bought an H&M hoodie for $4; an Aeropostale spag for $2, blouse for $3, thermals for $3. Then further down the market I saw DVDs, and I bought the whole seven seasons of Gilmore Girls for $24, and a Worms (PC game) CD for $1. Heehee, I'm gonna be stuck on my laptop for more reasons now! :)

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September 14
Out to Osan

I arrived from Phnom Penh and did my laundry, took a bath, chatted with aL and Kayety and a li'l while later I head off to Osan, where the US Air Force base is at. I'm off to meet Kayety, after 4years (I can't remember exactly). So I traveled one hour by subway and another by bus. I seriously didn't know where I was goin' but obviously had the guts to do so haha :) I don't actually take buses in Seoul coz you could practically reach everywhere by subway, but then Osan is not in Seoul so the only means of transpo would be taxi or bus!

Met Kaye after I got off at the bus station and we took a cab to go to the base, but they won't let me in coz I didn't bring my passport along (and they don't take foreign IDs!) so Kaye decided to check me in in a nearby hotel. I didn't even know she was plannin' on havin' me at Osan til the next day, I didn't even bring a toothbrush!

Anyway they hanged out a bit and then went back to the base and I took a two-hour nap (gawd I was so sleepy coz I came straight from a red eye flight). And then Kaye calls up and it was rainin' hard so we stay at my room and chat til 11pm and lookin' out the rain was not as heavy so we head out downtown to grab somethin' to eat; almost every resto's closed by now so we just had McDo and then hit the bar to chill out. (I was wearin' shorts, poloshirt and sneakers while Kaye was in sweatpants, sweatshirt and sneakers! Haha, so much for party clothes, e?)

We were just talkin', and every now and then she'd see some friends from the base and introduce me to them; I must've been introduced to more than 20guys, whose names I instantly forget. By 1am-ish Kaye, Montae and another guy walks me back to the hotel, a short phonecall to aL and then I'm flat on my bed!

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September 15
Snuck In

Woke up at about 10-ish and by 12 I've checked out already; Kaye and Montae picked me up and Montae helped Kaye sneak me in into the base! Wahaha! OMG, the base was like a city of its own, you practically have everything in there, from grocery, to bars, to bowling alleys, to cinemas, name it! It's so big too, I don't know how many hectares.

Anyway I met more people and we hanged out at their gym where they were holding a three-point shootout. By the end of it, there were free shirts for all the participants and Wayne was sweet enough to give me his! Yay thanks man! Then me and Kayety grabbed somethin' to eat at BX--their small mall--and got so stuffed! We went to the dorms and hanged out at her room and she gave me some of her clothes (coz she gotta throw some stuff out coz she's movin' out and gettin assigned to Okinawa, Japan by the end of the month).

Was ready to go by 4:30 but we can't find Greg, with whom Kayety left D, and we found him about an hour after! Sheesh! Got to the bus terminal by 5:40 and arrived in my hotel in Seoul at 7:30-ish.

I've just finished packin' for tomorrow's flight and I'm still not sleepy.



Tuesday, September 11, 2007

APEC at Sydney

Had a flight to Sydney with Mica--we were actually together on my first Sydney flight too, almost a year ago--but yea we didn't get anywhere because of the APEC thing, everything was barricaded and/or cordoned off.

First day:
Arrived in SYD at a little before 8am and then headed to the hotel; the flight was half full so it's okay. Communicated with aL and his mom for instructions on meeting their relatives in Aus, waited for a phonecall for like three hours, and I was so bangag then! Anyway we're supposed to meet Tita Bambi (who turned out to be un-tita-ish coz she's just 28!) at 3pm, but Mica and I got hungry so we went out while waiting for her SMS.

An eerie George Street

Golly, George Street was like a ghost town! Most shops within three blocks are closed, except for 7Elevens... We ate at McDonald's and walked and walked til we got to Woolworths and bought chocolates to bring home, cereals and milk to eat at the hotel and fruit (and cream wee!) By night time, there's still no sign of Tita Bambi. Geez, I wish I had taken Mica to the Sydney Tower!


Yum-O!

Anyway we just hanged out eating strawberries and grapes and cream which were soo yummy and then Jack dropped by and said there'd be fireworks later on.

Wasted: Mica, me and Jack

And oh boy! The fireworks display was great! We were screaming and jumping up and down like kids! Haha :)

The fireworks and the Opera House

Second day:
Woke up to phonecalls and realized I slept for thirteen hours (for someone who was awake for 48, that's not much) hehe I told Mica we'll go see whatever today but she was kinda lazy that day so she put it off til early afternoon. But no, we weren't able to do so coz Tita Bambi called up and they picked me up, together with Lola Betty and went to visit Auntie Alice at the hospital.

Auntie Alice

Then we had dinner together with Tito Bimbim (Tita Bam's bro) and Grandpa Jeff--Lola Betty's husband. We ate at Kenny's and it was so good! :) Lotsa talkin' throughout and I really had fun; eventually they brought me back to the city and I walked again (haha coz streets were still closed near our hotel) and bought some dinner for Mica.

At Kenny's with Tita Bambi, Lola Betty, Grandpa Jeff and Tito Bimbim

I got there at 7pm and started watching something about the September 11 special on Flight 93 on Discovery channel. It got me crying buckets! As in, OMG! I remembered when I saw United 93 in Jersey... Anyway I continued to snack on grapes and cream hahaa :)

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Bits and bytes

Congratulations, Meloisa for passing the September 2007 Med Tech Board Exams! I just knew you could definitely do it!

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I started going to the gym yesterday, again, after a long hiatus. And today, I was on the elliptical machine for about an hour and a half! Woah! I finished a whole magazine and got to watch half of The Queen on tv... ~whew~

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Mica and I are flying to Sydney tomorrow; I reckon it's time for better photos of the Opera House since I have D this time. (The first Sydney flight I had was also with her.) But then, MM just arrived today from Sydney and told us that security's tight at the hotel AND the Opera House area because of the APEC summit. President Arroyo is even checked in at the same hotel we stay at. Geez! I'm still hoping though.

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Monica just bought her own D40x, from NYC! I'm sure you'd enjoy it Monix!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Depressed and doing a tag

I didn't notice Lyka tagged me on this one. Once in a while it's nice to do stuff like this...

Where is your cell phone? Both inside my flight bag.

Relationship? Long distance.

Your hair ...seriously needs a trim.

Work? Flight attendant.

Your sister/s? Has a really adorable daughter named Yana.

Your favorite thing? ...haven't figured that out yet.

Your dream last night? I didn't sleep last night, I was at work flying from L.A.

Your favorite drink? Diet Coke and Diet 7-up (can't believe it's caffeine-free!)

Your dream car? Not so particular about the model, just anything decent and gets me where I want to go. Preferably non-'matic.

The room you’re in? Room 411, Seokyo Hotel. One single bed, one double, big LG telly, LAN internet and with my laundry hangin' around.

Shoes? Am wearing flipflops.

Your fear/s? To be unloved.

What do you want to be in 10 years? Someone with a good husband and lovable kids, enough financial means to give my family their needs. Hopefully still closely intact with my original family.

Who did you hang out with this weekend? Weekend? Which one's the weekend? The days don't matter, I was still workin'.

What are you not good at? Memorization.

Muffin? Not much into muffins.

One of your wish list items? Have a place I can call home, this jetsetting thing's taking its toll on me.

Where you grew up? Within the confines of our lovely home in Navotas.

Last thing you did? Hit the gym.

What are you wearing? Sports bra, leggings, earphones.

What aren’t you wearing? Shoes, jewelries, a shirt.

Your pet? Sadly gets to be caged all day and goes out just at night, poor Huey. He's a dog.

Your computer? Still my mom's laptop.

Your life? Blessed.

Your mood? [No comment.]

Missing? Wakin' up beside aL. Having a home. Hangin' out with friends talking endlessly about nothing in particular. My guy buddies who always makes us (girls) feel taken cared of. Booze sessions with friends where I'm the official tanggera coz I don't drink. Being carefree.

What are you thinking about right now? How much it sucks not to be with your loved ones. I'm gonna quit this job soon. I just don't know how soon is soon.

Your car? I don't have a car yet.

Your kitchen? I don't have a kitchen too.

Your summer? Spent working.

Favorite color? Purple.

Last time you laughed? Hours ago, at Jai's anecdote.

Last time you cried? A few hours ago.

School? University of Santo Tomas.

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Tagging: aL, Niko, Jai, Abet, Tin.

Hit on in LA

L.A. Hmm... I didn't bring my camera coz I did not intend to go out nor meet anyone, on a 30-hour layover. Such a short layover considering each leg of the flight is about twelve hours. Sheesh! And I get to have just one day off while the Koreans get three!

Aaanywaay, so much for ranting. Was waiting for my order at McDonald's when some guy comes up to me and utters a pick up line. I looked up and stared at him with an are-you-talking-to-me stare, and sure enough, he is. So, yadayadayada he was asking for my number (coz he saw me flip my phone as I was checkin' if aL sent me anythin'). I seriously have never done anything like this nor experienced this one so I was quite in a shock. I mean, yes I do talk to strangers coz I know it's common for Americans to do that literally anywhere, but someone hitting on me--no way! Instead of dining in, I got my food to go and left. I had plans of going to the grocery after McDonald's but I decided against after that incident. It freaked me out!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Ber-y 2007

Ber months alert! It's the first of September so I'm guessing people are starting to think of Christmas already (hehe like me!) aL and I are even talking about Christmas gifts, too early?

Anyway, what do I really want for Christmas? To be not working on Christmas day and--if it's not too much to ask--spend that day in Manila or Daly City/SF :)

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We're nearing the last quarter of the year and it made me stop and think of how I actually spent this year..

Pretty well, I guess. I've been working a lot, eating a lot more, spending QT with family and friends. Been more appreciative of things, got over a lot of fears, been able to do a lot of firsts, bought D (sooo happy about it!)...

I have this theory that every year, God gives every person an extraordinary gift (I don't mean superpowers though) for which would be the highlight of the person's year. Be it material or intangible ones, whichever. For some it might be a new car, or getting married, or getting promoted, or going on tour, or being able to accomplish a dream...

My 2006 was getting this job.
My 2007 is aL. Yea, mushy I know.

So, what's your 2007?