[reserved]
Iba talaga sa Pinas
Here +we+ are again at the Changi Airport, waiting for +our+ flight back to Manila, taking advantage of the free Internet.
Fresh from NAIA, +honhon+ will be rushing his way to Ortigas to report for work and finish whatever he has left on his desk. While me, on the other hand, will have to do a lot of “legwork”.
Later tonight we’ll get a haircut, then have a date at our favorite turo-turo in Evangelista. I can already smell the togue, the sinigang, the tambakol, the kare-kare, the pakbet – oh, it’s going to be a feast!
**********
I went to UP Manila today for some unfinished business. Walking through the old corridors of NEDA, I should say not much has changed since I left the university a few years ago. Equally unchanged, the Robinsons Department Store entrance facing the Old NEDA building is as inviting as ever.
**********
Two big things happened today.
One, my Nokia 3650 was resurrected, thanks to the cellphone repair shop in RDS. Total repair price: P400 (vs. the non-refundable checkup fee of $400 in HK, and an additional $$$ for actual service fee and replacement of parts).
Two, I got a complete Queer As Folk DVD pack (seasons 1-5) for a dirt-cheap price of P300 (vs. the HK price of $3,000 for the entire orig DVD collection).
Panalo talaga sa Pinas! Sing-galing pero di sing-mahal.
Kahayupan
Monthsary +namin+ today and +we+ feel so blessed that +we’re+ physically together.
+We+ originally planned na mag-sidetrip sa Kuala Lumpur today. But after +namin+ mag-photoshoot sa Esplanade at Merlion, maglagalag sa Sentosa, magdinner sa Orchard, bumisita sa aking highschool friend in Clementi, at mag-travel ulit pabalik ng Little India kahapon, +we+ thought na impractical na patulan pa ang 10-hour balikang byahe to KL.
By the way, before ko ikwento ang aming mga adventures today, let me thank kung sino man ang nagbigay ng +aming+ wireless connection (marami talagang mababait sa mundo). Nandito ako actually ngayon sa CR, checking my emails. Mahina kasi ang connection sa loob, pero dito sa CR anlakas-lakas, promise!
Dahil naudlot na nga ang KL sidetrip, +we+ decided na magpunta na lang sa Chinatown. First thing +we+ did was to look for a place na makakainan. While eating, bumuhos ang malakas na ulan. +We+ prayed na tumigil sana sya pero hindi +kami+ pinakinggan ng langit. Because of that na-cancel ang aming planong Trishaw ride.
Since there was nothing to do na rin sa Chinatown dahil sa lakas ng ulan, +we+ decided na mag-malling na lang sa Orchard. There napasok namin ang Lucky Plaza, ang counterpart – only bigger at mas sosyal by a few points – ng Worldwide Plaza in Hong Kong. At dahil mas sosyal nga sya ng konti, mas mahal din ang mga paninda, lalo na ng Giordano at Hang Ten!?
Nang medyo humina na ang ulan, +we+ went to Singapore Zoo for more kahayupan (yes, di pa kami nakontento sa Night Safari nung isang araw)! There na-picture-an ko ito:
Next stop was at City Hall to meet Katzee. Then nilakad namin going to the famous Fountain of Wealth, ang sinasabing world’s largest fountain. Shocks, sa presyong 10SGD per picture, no doubt na fountain of wealth nga sya! Dedma na lang sa price kasi kelangan +namin+ ng souvenir (so there, 20SGD agad for the two of +us+).
After naming mag-wish at mahilo sa pag-ikot sa fountain, we went to Raffles for dinner (double date pa ang drama), then lakad ng konti going to Boat Quay, and finally nagkape sa Clarke Quay. What a day talaga!
Airport adventure
Never. Never. Never ko nang uulitin na umalis ng office ng 7pm kung ang flight ko pauwi ng Pinas ay 9pm. Halos maihi ako kagabi sa Airport Express sa takot na iwanan ako ng eroplano. Sa sobrang pagmamadali ko, di man lang ako nakapag-dinner or nakadaan ng IFC Mall to get a copy of my HK magazine. Kaasar!
*****
At the airport, after kong mag-freshen up sa CR, may nakita akong cutie from afar (well it was too early to say that he was a real cutie kasi medyo naka-sideview lang sya). I decided tabihan sya, trying my very best to see his face. But since sa right side nya ako umupo, and he was talking to an old lady to his right, it almost became impossible na masilayan ko sya.
I sat beside him for about 10 minutes, listening to their conversation that centered mainly on Philippine actors and actresses. Yung old lady na kausap nya (na feeling ko ay tita nya) was talking about Ate Vi and Ate Guy. Kesyo sa TFC channel lang daw niya nakilala yung mga yun kasi bata pa sya nasa States na sya.
After their showbiz chikahan, the cutie said goodbye to the old lady (na hindi pala nya kaanu-ano) at lumingon sya sa ‘kin. He looked at me tapos nag-smile, waiting for me to smile back siguro or acknowledge him. Syet, cutie nga! It took me a while bago ko ma-process na isa pala syang artista! Syet, si Starstruck avenger Tyron Perez pala yun!
Naiinis ako kasi ang slow ko! He was a few meters away from me nung na-realize ko na may katabi akong artista! Kainis! I should’ve realized that earlier. Eh di ako sana ang kinausap nya. Tapos nagka-bonus autograph pa sana ako. And who knows, baka nabigyan pa nya ako ng mga pictures nya sa kanyang launching movie titled “Twilight Dancers”!?
*****
The JetStar experience:
Nega 1: Excluded pa pala ang travel tax sa ticket. I should’ve known! Ayun, nagulat na lang +kami+ at sinisingil +kami+ ng almost P1,700/head, plus yung P550 na terminal fee. Good thing, enough pa ang pesos +naming+ that time.
Nega 2: No footrest. No TV. No free food. Well, masyado kasi +kaming+ na-pamper ng PAL na hindi na +naming+ naisip na budget airline nga pala +kami+ this time. So ayun, for three hours, inaliw +namin+ ang +aming+ sarili sa tawanan at kwentuhan. Naisip din +namin+ na siguro mas ok pa kung nag-CebuPac +kami+, baka nanalo pa +kami+ sa bring-me contest.
Nega 3: Hindi smooth yung landing.
*****
Here +we+ are at the Changi International Airport, taking advantage of the free Internet access. Ibang-iba ang ambience dito, unlike HK na busy ang airport at maingay. Dito masyadong tranquil, kulang na lang marinig ko yung kuliglig sa labas. The irony is maraming naka-unipormeng militar na may hawak ng baril – natapat pala kasi +kami+ sa IMF-WB event dito sa SG (and that explains din why most of the hotels are fully booked at doble yung rates na nakuha +namin+).
First thing +we+ did dito sa Changi airport? Kumuha ng copy ng “Changi Express,” ang sister magazine ng aking favorite na HK magazine.
*****
Unang kinainan sa SG: Burger King sa loob ng airport! Pareho +kaming+ nag-order ng tig-$6.5 na meal. Habang kumakain, I think I saw my niece who lives here in SG. Lapit ako sa gelay. “Excuse me, Kukay?” False alarm pala. Pahiya ako! Promise, kahawig na kahawig ng niece ko!
*****
Naging madali naman yung travel +namin+ from the airport to Little India. Thanks to the MRT na halos pareho ng MTR ng Hong Kong. Just follow the colored lanes at take note yung interchange stations and you’ll never get lost.
Dalawang difference nga lang ng SG MRT sa HK MTR: (1) mas maraming lipat ng trains sa SG, and (2) medyo malayo ang interchange ng ibang stations [if you want to know what I’m talking about, try to take the red line going to Dhoby Ghaut then lipat ka ng purple line.]
+We+ booked a room at the Asphodel Inn in Little India at promise nahirapan +kaming+ hanapin yung place. Not because aanga-anga +kami+ or tago yung lugar, but because medyo magulo yung pangalan ng streets – as in possible palang magkaron ng three parallel streets na iisa ang pangalan. Weird!
Anyhoo, after ng Asphodel hunt, +honhon+ and I went to Night Safari para bulabugin ang mga nocturnal animals dun. Ang mali ko lang, iniwan ko yung eyeglasses and binoculars ko, medyo near sighted pa naman ako.
*****
From Night Safari, we headed to b-day boy Reden’s apartment at Geylang. There, nagkaroon ng mini-reunion ang GS. Nandun si Nice, Lyn, Kat and Reden, and most especially, nandun din si inuman – yes, super tagay lang kahit na wala pa +kaming+ tulog ni +honhon+.
Overworked
Heaps of papers on my desks. Email here, email there. Phone calls here, phone calls there. Can you do this, can you do that? Ah, toxic week! For the past few days I’ve been staying in the office for an average 12 hours a day.
This is something I don’t wish to do every day, but I’m left with no choice but to tick off as many tasks as I can in my to-do list before I take my vacation. Ah, the price of taking a week off!
Anyway, I’ve been getting good remarks from the bosses lately and it’s something I truly appreciate in times like this.
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