Travel

OF SUNRISE AND SISTERS

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The bus came at 3am. Usually that’s when I go to sleep but for that particular day, it was when our day would begin.  There we were, sisters Quiogue dressed in what would pass as our warmest clothes for the trip.  Me in jeans, a sweater and a very thin scarf.  Gigi had a warm jacket but Det was the most prepared among the three of us, after all she came from the New York winter hence the puffy coat.  This trip was a treat, after all these years, this was the first trip that the sisters Q had taken together.  Yes we had our New York outings when they both lived in Manhattan and I’d fly in for my regular visits. But this Hawaii vacation was the first time that the 3 of us were in a city where none of us had lived, minus the parents, minus the brothers and of course the kids and the dogs. 

So there we were on the bus on our way up to Mt. Halaeakala, Maui’s highest peak to watch the sunrise.  This was Gigi’s plan, i had no idea what i was in for, being the last person to sign up for this trip, i let the 2 of them plan all our activities.  I just went along for the ride, literally.

When we got to our destination, I saw several tourist buses already parked, apparently this was indeed a popular tour activity.  After a quick stop at the restroom, we made our way to the view deck and secured our spot.  While we waited for the sunrise, I tried to keep myself warm by keeping busy, checking my camera, taking short walks and stuffing my freezing hands in my pockets.  We kept each other entertained by sharing stories and anecdotes, as if we hadn’t just parted a couple of weeks before after spending the holidays together in New York.

And then suddenly everyone around us stopped moving, we looked in front of us and saw the sun starting to break through the clouds.  Behind us, a group of Hawaiians started singing a song in their native language.  Had no idea what they were saying but it was the perfect accompaniment to the sun’s slow but steady motion. 

I was shivering and my hands were shaking but I could not miss this moment. 

I’ve seen sunrises before but there was something about that moment that left me, yes me, speechless.  I could feel tears in my eyes. For a few moments, i felt hopeful, all the worries that i had, all the uncertainties that were waiting for me back in Manila were gone.  Suddenly in that moment, everything seemed possible.  And I felt blessed that I was sharing this moment with my two sisters.  After the sun had risen, we all turned to each other and saw that we all felt the same, we all experienced a wave of emotion and quickly hugged each other.

Little did I know that this would be the last trip that the 3 of us would share.  The three of us have not been together since that trip in 2017.  Actually my siblings and I have not been together in the same place since that Christmas in New York a few weeks before and with this pandemic, who knows when Quiogues Manila and Quiogues USA would be together again.  Now we make do with Sunday morning zoom calls where topics go from life updates to childhood mis-adventures (that my mom finds out for the first time)

If this pandemic ever allows us to go back to our next normal, i wish that the first Quiogue siblings reunion could be in Maui, and we would all experience this life changing moment together, dressed a little better this time.

If you ever have the chance, you must experience what the tour website calls the “incredible daybreak view from top of Maui’s highest peak” and “witness the orange and red-colored dawn of a new day set amidst the clouds” with your loved ones.  For a few minutes, you will be filled with hope, openness and the majesty of our Maker.  It will render even the most loquacious, speechless.

And that’s exactly what I was as we made our way back to the hotel.  I was still shivering, still thawing but my heart was warm with love, with sisterhood and with a memory that no one can ever take away from me.  Sunrise with my sisters, my Qhana….someday again…someday soon.

INDAY’S TRAVEL TALES

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Inday and the New York sky

Inday and the New York sky

I love to travel, whether it’s to visit my siblings in their corners of the world, to go on a holiday with friends, business trips, or just those short getaways from my everyday life.  Wherever I go, I usually bring home presents for friends and family, goodies for me, shot glasses for my collection and of course a bunch of Inday photos for the whole world to see.

But in all my trips, I have also amassed a bunch of stories, that, when I share them with friends, all get the same reaction, “It could only happen to you, Inday!”  So now, on this stormy Wednesday morning, let me share them with you:

A CASE OF MISCOMMUNICATION

After the tour of the palace, we were given a few minutes to walk around the gardens.  I was taking a quiet stroll and a French man approached me and with his very thick accent and broken English asked if he could walk with me.  I was alone so I said, “Yes.” I don’t speak French and he spoke very little English, but somehow we managed to have a conversation.  Though really, all I got was he had some free time from a business trip and decided to tour the palace.    After a few minutes, he held my hand. I was a bit surprised, but okay.  A few more minutes of walking, I pointed to the other side of the garden and said, “Let’s go there.” I guess that part wasn’t so clear, cause he did the French air kiss on my cheeks and said goodbye.  So much for my afternoon with a Frenchman.

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

I was having lunch at a pizza restaurant in Venice when I heard the familiar sounds of people speaking Tagalog.  I approached them and said hi and introduced myself.  The group was very friendly and we started exchanging stories.  When we were about to go our separate ways, they invited me to dinner the following night, “Sama ka sa amin mag-dinner bukas,” one of them said, “Pagkatapos ng samba.”.  I was a bit confused.  So I said, “Worship?”  “Yes, El Shaddai.” They said.  And all I could say was, “Oh I didn’t know there was El Shaddai in Venice.” Not knowing what to say, I just replied, “Sure.” Unfortunately, our lines got crossed the next day and we weren’t able to meet up anymore.  But hey, who else can say they were invited to an El Shaddai worship in Venice?

JUST A SUGGESTION

After a tiring morning of playing tourist, I decided to take a short lunch break. I sat at a bench outside a souvenir shop near the Vatican.  I took out the sandwich I made from the breakfast buffet at my hotel.  (Inday was on a very strict budget!)  A Filipina sat next to me and after we got through the “Ay Pilipina ka pala” moments, we started exchanging stories.  Turns out she was working for a French diplomat who was being transferred to Russia.  She told me about how good her employers were and how lucky she was.  After a few minutes, she looked at me and asked, “Bakit di ka na lang mag-TNT dito.  I wasn’t really sure how to reply so I just said, “OK naman po ang trabaho ko sa Pilipinas.”

A KISS FROM A STRANGER  (No it’s not what you think.  It’s funnier than that!)

One afternoon, I was standing on 5th Avenue having a cigarette when an African-American man approached me.  He asked if I had some spare change, and when I said no, he asked if he could have a cigarette.  So I gave him one.  He smiled and said, “You are a lifesaver.” Then kissed my neck and hugged me.  I was so taken aback all I could do was stand there.

AN OFFER I COULDN’T REFUSE

I had such a tight budget on my trip to Europe.  Food was at the bottom of my list of things to spend on (tours, entrance fees, souvenirs and Diet Coke were at the top of the said list).  I brought cup noodles, canned pate, crackers and even plastic containers and forks with me, so I could save on buying food.   Am not sure if this was obvious from my face though.  On the train ride from Venice to Florence, I sat next to this Irish man and woman who looked to be in their mid-60s.  Turns out they were brother and sister who were taking a vacation together.  We were getting along really well so when lunchtime came the sister said, “Would you like to join us for lunch?” Lunch was a set meal that cost 30 euro, so I was about to say no, when she added, “as our guest?”  Now how could I refuse such an offer? Especially since the option was eating the crackers I’d swiped from the hotel breakfast buffet table.

AN OFFER I SHOULD HAVE REFUSED

While on a group tour in Vienna, this Australian guy struck up a conversation with me.  When the tour finished shortly before lunch, he asked what my plans were for the rest of the day.  I said I was just going to visit other museums, he asked if he could join me.  I figured why not?  So we walked for a few minutes and he said we should stop for lunch and it’d be his treat.  I had been living on cup noodles and crackers for a week so this was an irresistible offer.  Once we had sat down for lunch, he asked me if he could have a cigarette.  I said yes, even though it was my last pack.  As the rest of the afternoon went on he kept getting cigarettes from me.

Around 5pm we parted ways.  And I was left wondering, “was the free lunch worth the half pack of cigarettes?” considering how blaaah that lunch was and how expensive cigarettes are in Europe, am still not sure if it was.

There are many more stories to tell, but I’ll save the others for future entries.

So that’s all for now…bow

THE PERKS OF BEING A (POOR) TRAVELER

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With all the airline miles I’ve logged thru the years, there’s one souvenir that I value and enjoy more than anything.  Thanks to my limited travel budget, I usually go home a few pounds lighter.   It’s what I call my Travel Poor Diet.

I discovered this diet when I was in New York for a few months some years back.  I stayed longer than expected but had a very limited budget because the plan was to get a temp job to supplement my pocket money.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a job, so I was stuck with the money I arrived with.  So what I did was to stock up on sandwich fillings and bread and I’d have a sandwich for brunch before leaving my sister’s apartment for that day’s activities.  While I’m out, I’d inevitably get hungry.  The streets of Manhattan are dotted with hotdog and pretzel vendors, so I thought, if I buy a hotdog sandwich, I’d spend $2.00 and I’d still need a soda. The soda, on the other hand, was just $1, and it came in a resealable bottle, which meant I could have a few sips and it’d last me the whole day.  So it was decided, my snack would be Diet Coke and a few cigarettes.  Not healthy, I know.  But hey, after 3 months in New York, I had lost 30 pounds.  Whoohooo!

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FIRST STOP: PARIS, BEFORE THE TRAVEL POOR DIET BEGAN

A few years later, I gifted myself with a trip to Europe.  I had, as usual, a very limited budget, so I had to make a choice.  Eat or see the sights.  Not knowing when I would get the chance to walk the streets of Paris again, I made the choice.  I could eat in Manila, but while I was in Europe, I would splurge on day tours and museum entrance fees.  A friend advised me to bring lots of cup noodles, which I did.  Nissin’s Yakisoba was my traveling companion.  I also brought canned paté, crackers and even disposable plastic containers (for leftovers) and plastic forks.   I knew that eventually, I’d have to actually buy food so I figured, I would just be very wise about how I spent my money.  In the hotels I stayed at that served breakfast, I’d wrap up a sandwich and have that for lunch.  When I’d have to buy food, I’d save half and eat it for dinner later on, I just had to choose dishes that would still be good even if they were cold.  When I was in Italy, I realized it was cheaper to have a scoop of gelato (1 euro) than a slice of pizza (2 euro) so I’d have one with my Diet Coke (notice a pattern here?).  But just because I was scrimping on the food didn’t mean I’d sacrifice the ambience.  In Venice, I’d enjoy my gelato and coke dinner while sitting on a bench in the piazza near my hotel, soaking in the city and the music coming from the street musician at the corner.  In Rome, I’d enjoy my ice cream at one of the benches near the Spanish Steps.  I didn’t really think much of the whole thing until I realized that my pants were getting very loose.  (Problem was I didn’t bring a belt, but pulling up the pants was worth the hassle, believe me!)  And when i got home, I realized I had lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks.  Not bad!

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LAST STOP: BARCELONA, TANNED AND 15 LBS LIGHTER

Traveling poor also means doing a lot of walking.  Why pay for cab or bus fare when you had sooo much time to kill, you can just use your built-in mode of transportation? Your feet!  When I’m in New York, I’d walk at least 10 blocks a day, sometimes I’d go up to 40 blocks.  My sister’s old apartment building was at the downward slope of  a very steep hill, so walking to the subway or bus station meant climbing up that hill, every single day.  And, there only the A train would stop there, so I already memorized all the A Train stops and would take that subway everywhere (I hate transfers and I can’t read subway maps!) and just get off at the stop closest to my destination and walk the rest of the way.  But now she’s moved to nicer neighborhood with no hills! But it’s more centrally located, so maybe I will walk even more and subway less.  When we went to Washington DC, we decided to skip the tour bus and just walk around, and boy did we?

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STOPPING FOR A PHOTO IN WASHINGTON DC

 In Paris, I walked up and down the Champs Elysees twice (that’s 1.18 mi!) before i found a cheap place to eat, and then i walked all the way to the Louvre.  And, after walking around looking for Mona Lisa, I tried to walk to the Metro station but I couldn’t find it so I walked and walked till I did.  When I told the hotel clerk what i had done, he couldn’t believe it.  I looked it up later and realized that I had walked at least 5 miles.  Thank God for comfy ballet flats (Jessica Simpson–winner!!!)

 

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AT&T PARK, AFTER THE GIANTS LOST TO THE A’S IN THE EXHIBITION GAME

When I’m in San Francisco, I don’t get to walk as much and drive my brother’s car so I find other ways to sneak in a bit of exercise.  Thanks to my fear of my brother’s wrath if I do something to his car, I park faaaaar away from the other cars.  So this translates to a bit more walking to and from my destinations.  I am also too lazy to keep moving the car so I park at one spot and then just walk to the different stores in my favorite strip mall (Target at one end and Old Navy at the other, with a Marshall’s, Staples, Sports Authority and Bed Bath & Beyond in between).    I also try to channel my funds towards my shoe and clothing purchases so I still apply the eat at home and drink outside policy. 

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PHOTO STOP IN VEGAS

So far, Dubai and Singapore were the only failures in my Travel Poor Diet.  In Dubai, it was just too hot to walk outside so I stayed in and snacked.  In Singapore, my stay was subsidized and there were other things to worry about so eating became a “hobby” shall we say? 

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MUST STOP FOR PHOTOS BEFORE SHOPPING AT THE MALL OF EMIRATES

But now I’m back in San Francisco, and once again, the diet has paid off.  I’ve lost most of the weight I gained in Singapore, the clothes are fitting well again (smaller muffin top!) and I’ve actually lost 8 pounds and counting.  Not bad when you’re on vacation and people insist on treating you to lunch or dinner every now and then.  

It’s not the healthiest diet, I know.  And, people may say that I’m missing out on good restaurants.  But I’m not.  Thanks to my family and friends who take me to nice places (where they serve chicken, since I don’t eat beef and pork anymore), I’ve been able to enjoy the best of both worlds, just not on my own dime.  

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WAITING FOR THE CRAB AT THANH LONG

Now I just have to figure out how to make this diet work when I’m in Manila.  Hmmm….

That’s all for now….bow.

 

SLEEPLESS IN SAN FO

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It’s 430am in San Francisco (well actually Foster City) and I am awake. I think I dozed off for 15 minutes around 1am, but that was then, and this is now.  I did debate about taking some of my trusted Advil PM a couple of hours ago, but I think I missed my chance.  And if I take some now, it’d be 6 before I fall asleep and will probably wake up by noon and there goes the rest of the day.  But this trip was supposed to be a vacation, where I would rest and recover and just veg, but I kind of wanted to do most of that awake and enjoying my soap operas, Vegas reruns, Target shopping runs and just inhale the California air.

So what do you do when you can’t sleep? It’s important not to panic.  Panicking will just make it harder to fall asleep.  As an experienced insomniac, my attitude is, I’ll sleep when I sleep.  And so, I already have my tried and tested things to do to pass the time till I fall asleep.  (Though most people might say, after reading this, no wonder she can’t sleep!)

  1. You watch TV.  Or in my case, you watch the shows and movies that you saved on your computer’s hard drive.  I had about 50 episodes of whole bunch of shows to catch up on, not to mention the Inside the Clubhouse episodes about the San Francisco Giants that my brother DVR’d for me before I arrived.
  2. You google.  Google what? Whatever comes to mind.  Sometimes I look for recipes I want to try.  Sometimes I look up actors and see what they’re up to.  Other times, I look for possible variations on the haircut that I’ve been sporting for the last year or so.
  3. You shop or rather you cart.  You don’t have to actually buy anything, you just pick and choose and put them in your shopping cart.  Though since I’m here, I probably will end up buying them and, more often that not, returning them.
  4. You work.  Even if things aren’t due for a few days, if you’re awake and have nothing much to do, then just get them out of the way.  At the very least, you can get the first draft out and just review and revise when the due date is closer.
  5. You eat.  This is probably the worst thing you can do.  (my mom might argue and say it’s #3).  We used to keep snacks in our room, but I’ve tried to avoid that and these days, I just have a glass of water in my room.  The good thing here is that it’s too cold to bother going downstairs just for some potato chips.
  6. You clean.  No not housecleaning.  I just clean my files.  I back-up, I delete, I rearrange files, I create folders.  I sometimes even revise the names of files so that they appear more organized (this sometimes means changing upper case to lower case and vise versa)
  7. You play games.  Words with Friends, Scramble with Friends, SongPop, Draw Something, or my latest obsession, Spider Solitaire.
  8. You read.  I have about 90 ebooks on my iPad that I have yet to read, plus subscriptions to about 6 magazines.  I don’t think I have to worry about running out of things to read.
  9. You make lists.  Of what to wear, what to do. Of what you need to do. Of what lists you have to make.  Of what to pack for that next trip. Of what to buy, of whatever you might want to list.  Of what to do when you can’t sleep.
  10. You blog.  About whatever you can think of, like maybe…what to do when you can’t sleep.

Ok now it’s 5am, and I am still wide awake.  I think this means we go back to #1 and see what happens….

MACAU MADNESS, DAY 1

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 Madness is right! Because I had to be mad to actually go through with the plan to hop off my flight from Singapore, go home, pack, shower then head back to the airport a scant 4 hours later for the flight to Macau.  But who said Inday was sane?   At this point, I had a total of 7 hours sleep for 3 days.  This was either going to be a testament to my resolve and strength or proof that I was not young and filled with energy anymore and slowly pass out…

But Inday never gives up, so off to Macau we go.

We took Philippine Airlines because they had the best schedule and the airfare wasn’t bad either.  They served us breakfast which just made me sad.  They really do want you to know that you’re on economy.  What do you get? Your main course in a foil pack plus a cinnamon roll.  On this flight, you don’t get a dinner roll.  You just get dessert that also doubles as the dinner roll.  But you do not deserve a salad.  In other words, if you fly for less than 3 hours, PAL decides that you should be on a diet, even if this ticket costs more than the ticket to Singapore.   But I was hungry and tired so I just ate what was there and looked forward to my free sandwiches at the Club Lounge.

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First stop, check in to our hotel, Sheraton Macau.  We excitedly checked in to our Executive Suite.  The perfect room with its separate bedroom and living room set up, since I was with my friends Junjun and ChingChing. Because we were staying in a suite, we also had access to the Club Lounge, so, being hungry from the tiny meal from our flight, we loaded up on egg salad sandwiches and shrimp crackers.  After only a few minutes, Junjun and I had 6 empty plates on our table.  Take that PAL!

And of course when there’s a freebie, I’m there.  So I sauntered off to get a foot massage at the machines in the lounge where I promptly dozed off and was awakened only by my own snoring.  Thank God I woke up because just a few feet away from me were these hotel guests on a conference call.  Apparently, my snoring had become part of their meeting. 

When we were fed and recharged, we walked over to The Venetian.  This would probably have taken other people 10 minutes, but due to many photo opp moments, I think it took us about 30.  But it was worth it.  Some of those were the best Inday photos ever!

 Once at The Venetian, we tried our luck at the slot machines.  We started with HKD30 and walked off with HKD19.70.  Not bad! Hey walking off with something is always better than nothing. 

After a successful shopping trip at the Venetian mall, we were headed to A Lorcha, a Portuguese restaurant in Macau run by Filipinos.   Get it?  Thanks to our waiter Rico, we were made to feel like special guests, with a never-ending supply of freshly baked bread to go with our buttery clams, super tasty peri-peri chicken plus some Portuguese fried rice that even I (who hasn’t eaten rice in 3 years) couldn’t resist.  But the best part was dessert.  Had no idea what that was called, but it was some sort of vanilla pudding topped with graham cracker crumbs.  I was so tempted to lick the spoon. 

 

And as they say, we were fed up.  We headed back to our hotel for some late night partying.  Which in my world means sitting on the couch watching TV shows on my laptop.  That nights viewing, The Face and American Idol. 

And soon, it was time to finally sleep.  Tomorrow is another day….

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INDAY, THE JETSETTER

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this was never part of the plan, nor was it ever my intention.  but i have logged more airline miles in the last 7 months that I did in 2010 and 2011 combined!  I’ve gotten well acquainted with the wonders of online booking, have crossed off AirPhilippines from my list of go-to airlines (more on that in a separate entry later), have almost memorized the lay-out of Changi Airport and today I have just unpacked my bag from my most recent Singapore trip and replaced its contents with stuff for my trip to Macau.  There are just 6 1/2 hours between arrival and departure, and, including travel time to and from the airport, the allotted 2 hours prior to departure check-in, I will have spent less than 4 hours at home.  Just enough time to unpack and repack my bag, take a shower before going to bed, take a shower before leaving for airport, check my email, say hi to mommy, charge the ipad, laptop and phone, and finally write this blog, before taking a power nap.  

I am Inday and I am a jetsetter.  And my back hurts!

Dont get me wrong, I do love to travel, love discovering new cities, getting reacquainted with old ones, taking more pictures (Inday and not-Inday) but my back really does hurt.  So I figured, considering all the flights I’ve taken recently and passengers I’ve encountered recently, I will make a list of my top 5 travel wtf’s:

1.  Why can’t people follow boarding instructions?  WAIT FOR YOUR ROW NUMBERS TO BE CALLED! you have reserved seats people, no one can take your seat from you.  self-explanatory I think.

2.  I hate when the passenger behind me decides to use my seat back for leverage when getting in and out of his seat.  And without apologizing, asking or even showing some semblance of appreciation for my allowing him to wake me up, almost in panic, because I thought there was an earthquake in the sky.  

3. One one flight, the dude behind me actually told me not to recline my seat because it was hitting his legs.  Dude, not my fault your legs are long, but your budget is short! if you wanted more legroom, $20 for a bulkhead seat! that’s all it takes.  

4. AirPhilippines sucks! that’s a teaser for the long story…

5. PAL really makes you feel like you’re in economy.  No wonder some people call Economy or Coach Class the Peasant Class.  They give you bread, but no butter.  and the tray really is getting smaller.  On one flight, the dessert was so small, ID picture size bar cookie that I couldn’t even read the name.  Today our salad was a tuna with something black i just pray those were olives and one slice (NOT PIECE) of a cherry tomato.  

That’s all for now….bow.

 

 

 

‘WAG GALITIN ANG PUYAT

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it was another ordinary travel day.  or was it?

my flight to singapore was at 6am.  why 6? because it was $40 cheaper than the 715.  any other flight would make me late for my appointment.  when i booked the flight, it didn’t sink in that a 6am flight meant leaving the house at 4am, which meant waking up at 315 or therabouts to shower, finish packing and getting my act together.  that also meant that in order to be in any presentable (aka polite, friendly, civil) state, i’d have to get my required 5 hours sleep, which would mean sleeping at 1015.  to most people, this wouldn’t have been a problem.  but i am an insomniac.  i usually go to sleep at 315, if i’m lucky.  so what did i decide to do? NOT SLEEP.  bahala na si batman.

when i got to the airport, i realized that i was short on pesos, and i’d still have to pay for travel tax, since i bought my ticket online.  the atm outside the airport for some reason, wouldn’t give me cash (note to self: verify that no withdrawal was made).  ok, i’ll pay in dollars.  when the guard was checking my ticket and passport, another passenger just decided to cut in front of me to announce to the guard, “Singapore!” o ngayon? i counted to 10 and just pushed my passport in front of the guard, who attended to me first.  so far, so-so.

when i get inside, travel tax chicks were nice.  ok i can handle that.  then we get to the check-in counter.  i looked for the singapore flight check-in counters and lined-up.  i was looking for an express counter, but i couldn’t find one.  the guy who was directing “traffic” (meaning he was pointing which counter you should go to) pointed out the express counter to me, but it was in the row of counters for the hongkong flight, but it was servicing all flights.  gulo di ba? if they were grouping counters by destination/flights, shouldnt’ there be an express counter for all groups? if you were going to singapore, why would you go to the hongkong section?

next, the chick at the counter was asking for the credit card i used to pay for the ticket.  i said, can you give me the last 4 digits, I forgot which one i used.  she handed me my e-ticket, but i couldn’t find the number there.  so i said, miss i need the number.  she said, in an annoyed tone, “sandali lang, i’m looking for it.” e bakit mo binigay yung ticket, e yun pala, wala dun ang number?  then i asked her if the seat i pre-booked was still an aisle seat (after all, PAL loves to change planes at the last minute so i’ve been victimized with losing aisle seats that i’ve already reserved weeks in advance).  i had to ask her 3 times before she said yes.  haaay! check-in pa lang yan ha.

when i finally made my way to the last security inspection before the gate, the security dude was staring at me.  my cleavage perhaps? or did i look sleepy? ewan.  but they asked me to open my bag and show them my lighters.  because yes I had more than 1.  as i was trying to look for my cheap disposable ones, they spotted my windproof lighter and confiscated it.  i was arguing with the guy because first of all, i’ve been travelling with that lighter, in and out of the country, for the last 2 months (the last time was just 2 weeks ago) and no one ever stopped me.  second, the guy had a pan de sal in his mouth, as in a huge chunk that he had bitten off in front of me and was chewing while talking to me.  HOW PROFESSIONAL! of course i tried to argue.  if nothing else, i just wanted some consistency.  why now and not 2 weeks ago? kung bawal, dapat bawal lagi.  then the guys said, “baka hindi nila nakita dati.” so now the question is, what else don’t they see all the time? baka may mga guns, knives or other sharp metal objects na nakakalusot.  haaay! i feel so safe.

and just when you think, that you can settle down with a cigarette and a cup of coffee, TINDER BOX is closed! the place opens at 5am.  30 minutes to go.  so i decided that i should vent out my frustrations here and by the time i’m done with this and my egg salad sandwich, Tinder Box should be open na.  As the chick in my favorite Mervyn’s commercial said, “OPEN, OPEN, OPEN.”

siguro dapat next time matulog ako kahit konti, maybe i’ll be more patient? hmmm

and so here i am, throwing out all the negativity online, because from hereon, only good things on this trip.  only good things.