Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, September 5, 2008
a post-birthday post for charm
another birthday, another moment that i did not get to celebrate with them.
"Kol us dai", a haughty command sent thru text message by the birthday girl. that wasn't enough and three missed calls registered on my phone which i had inadvertently left on the dining table while i did some work at the office downstairs.
of course, i wasn't scared, but i hurriedly made the call realizing it was over two hours since the first demand. better safe than sorry. i could imagine charm's bunganga flapping nonstop if i didn't make that call. i could also imagine her flushed face when she answered with a barely intelligible, giggly, shrilly hello. hmmm, i could smell the rum coke from here. inggit ako.
"Dai, happy birthday!!!"
"Dai, ikaw lang absent diri!"
but of course. as usual.
i realized that, except for one birthday of charm's (19th niya 'ata yun!), i've never really been physically present to celebrate with them. i cannot recall being there for any of juna's, much less ALL the kids'. it's been pretty much phone calls and very belated gifts (yes, i know may utang pa ako! 'wag na humirit!)
but my heart still swells when i realize how our friendship survived the great distance with just blue moon reunions and the big moment phone calls.
i get a little mushy when i hear a small voice at the end of the line and realize that i'm actually having a conversation with daniel or seth. they're no longer the babies their moms brag about, but they're becoming little men in the same place where their moms and i first met.
but enough sentimental drama. i could hear jun-jun in the background asking about the boylet (haha!) and juna laughing out loud. suddenly it was like my last night in dumaguete again two years ago. charm with cheeks so red and the rest of us teasing her about...that guy with the pawnshop and the jewelry we'd all get to have if they end up together. hehehe. (heck, it could still happen!)
things are still the same. we are still the same. different people maybe from who we were fifteen years ago, but the same friendship.
so, mga dai, the next time you're holding yet another tumbler of rum, know that i am also drunkenly toasting our friendship and uproariously laughing my head off with you.
postscript:
"Kol us dai", a haughty command sent thru text message by the birthday girl. that wasn't enough and three missed calls registered on my phone which i had inadvertently left on the dining table while i did some work at the office downstairs.
of course, i wasn't scared, but i hurriedly made the call realizing it was over two hours since the first demand. better safe than sorry. i could imagine charm's bunganga flapping nonstop if i didn't make that call. i could also imagine her flushed face when she answered with a barely intelligible, giggly, shrilly hello. hmmm, i could smell the rum coke from here. inggit ako.
"Dai, happy birthday!!!"
"Dai, ikaw lang absent diri!"
but of course. as usual.
i realized that, except for one birthday of charm's (19th niya 'ata yun!), i've never really been physically present to celebrate with them. i cannot recall being there for any of juna's, much less ALL the kids'. it's been pretty much phone calls and very belated gifts (yes, i know may utang pa ako! 'wag na humirit!)
but my heart still swells when i realize how our friendship survived the great distance with just blue moon reunions and the big moment phone calls.
i get a little mushy when i hear a small voice at the end of the line and realize that i'm actually having a conversation with daniel or seth. they're no longer the babies their moms brag about, but they're becoming little men in the same place where their moms and i first met.
but enough sentimental drama. i could hear jun-jun in the background asking about the boylet (haha!) and juna laughing out loud. suddenly it was like my last night in dumaguete again two years ago. charm with cheeks so red and the rest of us teasing her about...that guy with the pawnshop and the jewelry we'd all get to have if they end up together. hehehe. (heck, it could still happen!)
things are still the same. we are still the same. different people maybe from who we were fifteen years ago, but the same friendship.
so, mga dai, the next time you're holding yet another tumbler of rum, know that i am also drunkenly toasting our friendship and uproariously laughing my head off with you.
postscript:
- jun, i'm trading in the boylet for a newer model, but check to see if there'a a buy-one-take-one deal because i also want charm to have one. LOL
- juna, i'm wishing real hard that sometime soon we'll be AT the same place AT the same time. phone calls just aren't enough.
- charm, dai, what can i say? you demand, i answer. better late than never. i miss you and wish you THE absolute happiness that you definitely deserve. love you!
- SMART...check your september 3 sales and make sure everything's in order. HAHAHAHA!!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
terminal case
airports are transitional places. whenever i enter one, i get the sense of constant movement. one never expects to stagnate there for SIX hours!
i thought i was off to a good start when i first left the house. my cab driver was nice and chatty, made no unnecessary turns and got me to the airport in good time. i arrived at the newly-operational NAIA terminal 3 at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon.
it was a little confusing at first because i wasn't familiar with the layout, but the security guard directed me to a free check-in counter and i was able to get my boarding pass in mere minutes. i thought, okay, this is very good.
earlier that day, my friend ana who was supposed to be on a 7:40 a.m. flight to davao warned me that it was maddening hell at the airport and their flight was delayed. magbaon ka ng maraming pasensiya!, she texted to me.
since i didn't have problems checking in, i assumed that the airline must have sorted things out by then...NOT! when i got to the pre-departure area, i glanced at my boarding pass to check my gate but there was no number indicated. when i looked up, i saw a confusing mass of people sitting practically everywhere. people were sitting on the edge of planters, along stairwells and the corridor to the restroom, on the ledges of windows, atop railings, on the cold marble floor, everywhere. of course, some managed to secure seats for themselves while other passengers watch hawk-like beside them in case a seat was vacated. i found a rather comfortable spot on the floor and prepared to wait.
my departure time was supposed to be 2:35 p.m. it came and went. my butt got too cold and i got up and wandered around. by this time, people around me were becoming chummy, starting conversations, developing friendships. i managed to find an empty seat between an elderly couple from dumaguete and a balikbayan seaman who was going home to iloilo. the couple were apparently neighbors of my relatives in dumaguete and the seaman worked for the same company as my cousin. it's a small world, after all.
after five hours, people started looking familiar and we'd smile at each other as we pass. no one's shy about asking a complete stranger regarding their flight status or ranting about the situation we were all in.
sure, there were volatile tempers and certainly there were a few people urging a riot and demanding to see the managers, but the pinoy sense of humor and adaptable nature prevailed. a tv station crew came in and interviewed some passengers. unfailingly, a group of bystanders gathered in the background and waved at the camera. onli in da pilipins.
when our flights were called, i bade goodbye to my seatmates and sincerely wished them well. at that point, i think we were sad to see each other go.
as the plane took off, i looked at my watch, 7:05 p.m. precisely four hours and thirty minutes after my original intended departure from manila. dang! i could have gone to the CS food tripping in binondo!
i thought i was off to a good start when i first left the house. my cab driver was nice and chatty, made no unnecessary turns and got me to the airport in good time. i arrived at the newly-operational NAIA terminal 3 at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon.
it was a little confusing at first because i wasn't familiar with the layout, but the security guard directed me to a free check-in counter and i was able to get my boarding pass in mere minutes. i thought, okay, this is very good.
earlier that day, my friend ana who was supposed to be on a 7:40 a.m. flight to davao warned me that it was maddening hell at the airport and their flight was delayed. magbaon ka ng maraming pasensiya!, she texted to me.
since i didn't have problems checking in, i assumed that the airline must have sorted things out by then...NOT! when i got to the pre-departure area, i glanced at my boarding pass to check my gate but there was no number indicated. when i looked up, i saw a confusing mass of people sitting practically everywhere. people were sitting on the edge of planters, along stairwells and the corridor to the restroom, on the ledges of windows, atop railings, on the cold marble floor, everywhere. of course, some managed to secure seats for themselves while other passengers watch hawk-like beside them in case a seat was vacated. i found a rather comfortable spot on the floor and prepared to wait.
my departure time was supposed to be 2:35 p.m. it came and went. my butt got too cold and i got up and wandered around. by this time, people around me were becoming chummy, starting conversations, developing friendships. i managed to find an empty seat between an elderly couple from dumaguete and a balikbayan seaman who was going home to iloilo. the couple were apparently neighbors of my relatives in dumaguete and the seaman worked for the same company as my cousin. it's a small world, after all.
after five hours, people started looking familiar and we'd smile at each other as we pass. no one's shy about asking a complete stranger regarding their flight status or ranting about the situation we were all in.
sure, there were volatile tempers and certainly there were a few people urging a riot and demanding to see the managers, but the pinoy sense of humor and adaptable nature prevailed. a tv station crew came in and interviewed some passengers. unfailingly, a group of bystanders gathered in the background and waved at the camera. onli in da pilipins.
when our flights were called, i bade goodbye to my seatmates and sincerely wished them well. at that point, i think we were sad to see each other go.
as the plane took off, i looked at my watch, 7:05 p.m. precisely four hours and thirty minutes after my original intended departure from manila. dang! i could have gone to the CS food tripping in binondo!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
and again!
i feel a teensy-weensy guilty that i haven't been posting in months. just a little. it's not as if loads of people read these nonsense anyway.
i'm still in manila though i'm flying back to davao in a few days. never make plans. i'm useless with plans. they almost always never happen.
when i came here last may, it was supposedly only for two weeks max. of course, things never turn out the way that i intended. God knows how to make fun of me and drive His point home. so here i am still.
the silver lining was i got to join Couchsurfing. it's this innovative concept meant for budget travelers, a.ka. adventurous freeloaders (haha! kidding!).
fiona mentioned it to me awhile back, but i had too much on my mind and simply forgot about it. but she pushed me to sign up and finally got me to attend a CS meet-up earlier this month. honestly, the thought of going to a party of strangers is intimidating, but once you make that first step and endured the first few minutes of awkwardness, it's a really fun experience!
last night, we went to regular meet-up at Ponticello in makati. fiona and i arrived early and my priority was filling my tummy with pasta so i can fill it up with liquor later, hihihi.
hanneke and martijn, couchsurfers from holland who had just got in from the airport, arrived soon after and we joined tables and had a blast! they are food-crazy and willing to try just about anything! they're intending to stay two months in the country so martijn took notes. soon other CSers started to arrive and his notepad was filling up with suggestions.
and this is why Couchsurfing is such a great idea. virtual strangers meet up, connect, learn from each other, and walk away better people (i think!) than when they first came.
some manila CSers will be going to davao for the kadayawan, maybe hanneke & martijn too, and i hope to connect with them there. maybe i'll get to know my city more through their eyes. ooohhh, mushy thought.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
on a teeny-weeny break
i need a break...seriously.
and i don't mean a vacation--though i seriously need one, too--but i mean a time where i can catch up and accomplish everything on my to-do list.
dubai is floating further and further away.
people around me keep encouraging me to leave for UAE, to finally work on my design career, to finally take care of myself. i just wish they'd give me a break about taking care of things for them, too.
and i don't mean a vacation--though i seriously need one, too--but i mean a time where i can catch up and accomplish everything on my to-do list.
dubai is floating further and further away.
people around me keep encouraging me to leave for UAE, to finally work on my design career, to finally take care of myself. i just wish they'd give me a break about taking care of things for them, too.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
no wander
i've been neglecting this blog since i set up a new one at wordpress. baaad blogspotter.
but there was a lull in my work load and i thought to review my old posts.
ack. there's nothing here about travel. this was supposed to be a travel blog! haaaaay.
how's this for irony? ever since we opened a travel agency, the amount of travel i've done--barring work-related stuff--was zilch. nada. zero.
i'm seeking to remedy this sometime soon. i'm flying to manila next week for a meeting. hopefully, i'll be able to squeeze in a celdran tour and a solo trip to vigan.
*** fingers, toes, and eyes crossed, and fervently wishing santa's not hibernating or off to tahiti on vacation.***
but there was a lull in my work load and i thought to review my old posts.
ack. there's nothing here about travel. this was supposed to be a travel blog! haaaaay.
how's this for irony? ever since we opened a travel agency, the amount of travel i've done--barring work-related stuff--was zilch. nada. zero.
i'm seeking to remedy this sometime soon. i'm flying to manila next week for a meeting. hopefully, i'll be able to squeeze in a celdran tour and a solo trip to vigan.
*** fingers, toes, and eyes crossed, and fervently wishing santa's not hibernating or off to tahiti on vacation.***
Saturday, February 16, 2008
just one of those days
tapping my fingers on the keyboard.
breathing in and out.
glancing at the clock.
busy day.
breathing in and out.
glancing at the clock.
busy day.
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