destination: calla lily picking (04/2008)

It's flower season! We decided to take a breather from the city, go up the mountains, and appreciate MOTHER'S beauty. We had an agenda in mind: pick calla lilies. It couldn't have been a better day, for the simple reason that there was no sun! I'm not much of a sun-lover except when I'm on the beach, or an occasional exposure every now and then. But on trips like these where walking is part of the itinerary... take a hike Mr. Sun!

journey to the past (prelude)

Recently going through my friends' posted pictures amongst the millions and gajillions of social networking sites... I suddenly asked myself why don't I post my own pictures?

Two answers:
1. I don't have a lot of pictures of me, and
2. I'M LAZY

Today I'm lazy about being lazy... and so, my quest to give some sort of meaning to the time I find myself fortunately having. Here's hoping it won't be ningas cogon, and that those who chance upon this website will remember it and keep coming back.

And so we start........

Eh... we start on the next blog... =)

MUFFIN-ing

Today I decided to wear this pair of slim-fit flare pants that makes my already-long legs look even longer. I suck it in, put them on, and button. ACK!!! Suddenly I can't breathe! Huff huff. Looking down, there's this unfamiliar rounded jiggly lard in front of me that I realize was once my belly. Funny, everything's turning insidiously monochromatic. Hmm…. Trying to find a tunic top so the once-was-my-belly-but-is-now-an-unidentified-body-part would not be obvious, I bend down and… this rounded jiggly lard becomes even rounder and bigger. Ohhh my pinched waist! I stand up straight and… whoa!!! the world starts spinning. Huff huff… I take a deep breath… inhale… … exhale … inhale again ……….. POP! There goes the button!! Ah, the world stops spinning… and it's colorful again!

Recalling one very short conversation with a friend:

Friend: oh please, you're even underweight for your height
Me: My underwear is now starting to pinch
Friend: then go get new ones!
Me: They are new ones!!!

Morale lesson: I'm huggable. I could either obsess with the unwanted inches on the waist that technically, my lack of exercise cannot solve… or just think I'm huggable.......... so yeah... I'm hhhhuuuuggable.

bad blood 2

I was bound for Manila on Aug. 2, 2008, again on this budget airline. A few days before my departure, I was informed by my friend that this airline moved to the newly-opened terminal, and all flights are to land there, domestic and international. I told my mom to call and check if it really were, because she was fetching me, so I didn't want her to have to go to the wrong terminal. My mother did, and was informed by the airline's customer service that only domestic flights will land in the new airport, and the international flights will use the old airport. When I told my friend about it... she then tells me there was this huge announcement on the airline's website about moving ALL the flights to the new airport. Eventually she called the customer service to ask. Or tried to. She couldn't get through, so she tried to call the sales office. Still not able to get through, she eventually called the old airport itself to confirm, and was told the same thing: domestic at the new airport, international at the old airport.

Aug. 2 comes... and again, I was not to experience flying on the appointed time. Haha... what was I thinking? My ETD was 1:55pm, and I boarded the plane at 4:30pm. Seriously. It's so pathetic even the word pathetic is no longer pathetic enough to describe it.

Once inside the airplane, after a delay of more than 2 hours, the flight attendant announces that we will be landing in the new airport. WHAT THE!!! I wanted to shout and tell them to give me one more minute, so I could call my mom and inform her. Besides I thought, after more than 2 hours of delay, one more minute shouldn't matter right? All the same, I didn't.

The pilot, and attendant, at some parts of the flight kept apologizing for the delay... the reason being they just moved to the new terminal the day before, and everything was chaotic. I repeat myself: Only in the Philippines. I believe, and strongly believe that for something to be newly opened, or newly-operated, whoever is behind that will make sure (101%) that everything will go smoothly on DAY 1. Nevermind what happens afterwards.

We arrive in Manila at 6:20pm. After passing through immigration, I make my way down to await my luggage. I then overhear a Taiwanese passenger asking about the connecting flight and how long it would take for the luggage to come out. Apparently, he has a connecting flight to Cebu on the same carrier, take this, at 7:15pm. It was 6:35pm and the luggage conveyor belt has not even started moving. The passenger approaches a ground staff to ask. I took pity and helped him talk to the girl. Note: this girl has a radio with her. I told the girl that he has a connecting flight at 7:15pm, and if possible, would they hurry up the luggage, or at least bring his luggage out first. The girl goes in to the area where they are unloading the luggage. The belt starts moving now, and the girl comes out. I approach the girl again and ask her if they can assist in releasing this passenger's luggage first. She tells me they can't. It's their policy. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT'S THE POLICY? Am I missing something here? So I ask the girl if she can radio their domestic check-in counter and just inform them that there are connecting passengers. She again tells me she cannot. SHE CANNOT!!! WHAT THE!!! If they cannot everything... then what the heck CAN they do? I tell her the delay was their airline's fault. Were they going to compensate for this passenger in the event that he misses his connecting flight? Somehow I doubt it.

For someone in the service industry, the kind of service they have leaves a lot to be desired. My friends tell me I cannot expect a lot because they are budget... I say, being a budget airline does not justify bad service. They are not the only budget airline in the entire world. And the kind of service the other budget airlines provide puts them to shame.

I also say, I'm not expecting gold-class service from this airline, just don't take us for fools in thinking we'd actually buy the 3-hour-airplane-rest story. No low amount justifies that reason. Ever.

bad blood

Continuing my incidents with that particular budget airline... somehow I'm thinking if I should've taken that trip to Singapore as a sign. I wonder if it's because I fly more often than my other friends, on this airline, that my rate of encountering these delays and service malfunction is higher? Or is it really just bad blood?

On another trip in the same airline, this time bound for Taiwan, I try to prepare myself for another delay, and yet, hoping against hope that we can leave on the appointed time. Unfortunately again... that was not to be the case. The ETD from Manila is 11am. I work my way to the check-in counter at 9:45am, and see before me, literally, a sea of people, in line to check in. At about 10am, we learn that the check-in counter system of this airline crashed. CRASHED! and take note... there were passengers bound for Hong Kong on an even earlier flight than I was, still checking in. Just imagine. They have to MANUALLY check in everyone. I had about 60 people in front of me, bound for Taiwan, not to mention the remaining maybe 30 passengers for Hong Kong.

I look around the airport, at other check in counters... There's EVA on the left, and KOREAN AIR on the right (or was it EMIRATES?)... and all their systems are working well! Only this airline's computer system crashes. Seriously. What's going on here?

Behind me in line was a mother, carrying her 1-year old daughter in her arms, and pushing her trolley cart. The child was getting fussy, and the mom was trying to soothe her, and maybe get her to sleep. After about 30 minutes, I realized I was still exactly where I was in line. The child was finally asleep, but the mom was already tired. At one point, she went up to the counter and asked if she could check-in first, because, after all, she has a 1-year old with her. Whoever was at the counter told the mom "if the other passengers will let you go ahead, I can check you in first." WHAT THE --- Am I missing something here? Or is there something seriously wrong somewhere?

Do these people realize that they are in the service industry? Do they need to be told, and have it hammered in their head that passengers with infants are prioritized? Go to any airport in any part of the world. That's the protocol. Having the computer system crash, and manually checking in about 100 passengers do not friggin' justify that kind of reaction. I wonder what their training taught them, or if they ever had any at all? DUHHH...

At this point, I have only 2 things to say: 1. Only in the Philippines. Seriously. 2. It's really so pathetic I can only look up and sigh, and not even have the energy to get angry.

Why... why... why am I still taking this airline? and subjecting myself to such inhumane treatment? why oh why oh why?

Sigh...

Oh... and for the record, I finished checking in at 11:30am; we left sometime past 12nn, arrived in Taiwan 3 minutes before the ETA. Nothing about it really, except that the pilot even had the courage to announce that they arrived 3 minutes... 3 friggin' minutes before the ETA. Seriously, what do they take us for?

the plane that never was...

April 14 2007. I was flying from Manila to Singapore on this budget airline. It's my 2nd time taking this airline. I had (and still have) question marks swirling around me regarding this decision, but I figured since my first trip went pretty smooth, I should give it the benefit of the doubt. The ETD in Manila was 8:30pm, with ETA in Singapore at 12:30am. After checking in, I went on my way to the boarding area. I was looking forward to this flight, and landing in Singapore and basically just getting this trip over with. When I got to the boarding area, I noticed something missing. I sat down and was people-watching when I heard one lady saying "The flight is delayed. We'll be boarding at 9:30pm." That's when I noticed what was missing. THE AIRPLANE. DUHH!!!! I had a friend who's going to pick me up at Singapore at 12:30am! I scrambled over to the nearest phone booth to contact my friend and inform him about this delay.

Came 9:30pm, and the plane still has not arrived! They moved the boarding time to 10:30pm. This time I chose to text my friend, embarrassed as I was with this delay and obvious messing up of his schedule.

Came 10:30pm. Still no boarding call. And this time, there were no more announcements. They just made us wait. I think it was after this time that the plane arrived. I didn't notice anymore. I did remember hearing another announcement, which was really the icing on the cake. The ground personnel announces that as a protocol, the planes should rest for 3 hours before making the following flight. 3 hours! 3 friggin' hours! BALONEY! I've been flying on an almost-fixed basis between Taiwan and Manila on another non-budget airline... and I have never, NEVER (!), let me say it again, NEVER (.) heard such an outrageous excuse.

I wonder who came up with such an idea? I wonder if anyone ever really bought that lame excuse? Are the planes used by this airline made of gold that they can't over-use the planes? hahah. I wonder if they ever realized that round trip flights are only an hour apart between countries? I wonder most of all if it even occurred to them really just how lame it was, and worse, that the passengers would actually buy that?

So, we boarded the plane eventually, and took off at 12:45am. Apparently, they were sticking to their 3-hour plane rest story as the pilot announced to us that we are flying even if the plane has not rested for 3 hours. Somehow I feel like we've all been reprimanded... that because we have been complaining non-stop about the delay, they have no other choice but to fly us before the 3 hours were up. DUH.

As for the rest of the trip, I don't even remember if they even held their famous game on board the plane for that trip... considering that no one is probably up for a game thousands of feet up air in the air, at 1am in the morning, after being delayed for 3 hours. When I got to Singapore and saw the people bound for Manila on the same airline... I wonder what excuse they gave them? I wonder if they were also told the plane has to rest for 3 hours before it flies them back to Manila? haha.

Truth be told, it's so pathetic I cannot even muster up the energy to be angry.

un-heel-ing

Heels make a woman. On this particular day I decided to wear this pair of high heels, which would not have been a problem if I were not planning to walk for more than a minute. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It's a 10-minute walk on uneven road from my house to where I take the bus. I'm not even halfway through my walk when the soles of my feet start feeling pain. Just 5 more minutes, and I'll be sitting pretty on the bus, on my way to work, where I can plop down on my office chair and take these darned high heels off. Oh what bliss!