... and nothing beats your first ID90 trip.

Robee, Aika, Lea, and I (shet, by DOJ talaga? haha) went to Hong Kong last weekend; wala lang, just to breathe HKG air. Us Girls went on standby for CX902, and I must say that being on standby could cause panic attacks, lalo na kung importante yung lakad mo. Thanks to our supervisors and the airport staff, we were able to get on the flight. Naku, para nga kaming sindikato nun, na talagang sinusubaybayan kung makakasakay ba. As in phone calls from time to time ang drama nila. Very Mafia-ish.

Ganito kasi yan... Kami nina Aika and Lea eh planong matulog sa HK airport habang hinihintay si Robee na Saturday, 01Mar, pa ang dating. So since kinagabihan ng Friday, 29Feb, ang dating namin sa HKG, balak talaga naming umadventure. Nung malaman yun ng aming supervisors, ginamit nila ang kanilang connections para may matulugan kami for the night. Eh since may CXEngg staff on training sa HKG, ayun, may instant hotel kami nung Friday.

Then Saturday came, we met up with Robee, went to his hotel, tapos ayun... naglimayon na kami sa Hong Kong. Amazing Race ang eksena namin, with matching mapa to go along with our walkathon moments. Edi ayan, shopping shopping... picture picture... Kaya Saturday night, ayun, pagod na pagod kami pagbalik ng hotel. Pagod na pagod to the point na lahat ng sinasabi namin ay punctuated ng malutong na mura. As in putanginangyan. hahaha. But it was fun.



(pictures here)

Sunday morning, we went to Cathay City and did some last-minute shopping. Tapos hinatid na kaming tatlo ni Robee sa airport para mag-standby sa CX903. At dahil 80% full daw both economy and business classes, aba may-i-business class kaming tatlo nina Lea at Aika.

So everything was set by then, we were ready to go home, we had our names listed for the flight and we had our baggages intact. Maglilibot na lang kami ulit nang kaunti sa airport nang biglang may masamang balita: Lea lost her camera.

Lea lost her camera. Her 7.2MP camera that had most of our pictures and had ALL our postcard-material pics. Wag nyo na ipakwento sa akin itong bahaging ito dahil hindi pa ako nakaka-recover. It even took me a week just to be able to write something about our HKG trip -- and this is not even a good read. Shet. Saang lupalop naman kaya kami hihingi ng himala para maibalik yung camerang yun?!

Hay. Yun lang talaga. The demise of our camera is so devastating that it hurts to look at the pictures we had left. May ganung drama. Kasi photoshoot talaga ang pinunta namin sa Hong Kong, tapos mawawala na lang yung camera nang ganun. Seryosong down na down kaming apat nun.

For that, Hong Kong ulit kami sa April. hmpf.

At dahil pa dyan, ang walang katorya-torya itong kwento ko. Nakakainis. hahaha update ko na lang to ulit. Dahan-dahanin natin ang recovery.

In the meantime, you could view the pics on multiply.
(Email or text nyo na lang ako kung non-multiply user kayo at gusto nyong i-view ang pics. Provided, of course, that we know each other.)

Yesterday was family day at the Manila Ocean Park. Whatever. hahaha. Thinking that since it's the Holy Week and most people will be at home, mom decided to take us to Ocean Park. Ok, she was wrong. First off, the Manila Ocean Park doesn't have rides like the one in HKG. So basically, the MOP is just a big museum that's still in the works. Also, we all know how undisciplined we Pinoys could be, so MOP + packs of families + one hot summer day = Ultimate Chaos. Let's give the MOP a chance though. Since there are parts of the park that are not fully operational yet, let's just hope that once these sections open to the public, everything will be more organized. In the meantime, I would not suggest that you spend time at the MOP if you plan on having fun this summer. A day at your local palengke or pet shop would give you the same experience, pero di sing-mahal.

Ok, I'm sorry for discouraging you to visit the MOP, pero hindi kasi talaga ako nag-enjoy. Daig pa ang enrollment sa haba ng pila, eh pag enrollment nga, nakakadiskarte ako para hindi na lang pumila. Aside from that, palengke feel talaga. Hoards of families were in Ocean Park yesterday--families with screeching little kids. Para akong nasa day-care center, at seryosong ang kukupad kumilos ng mga tao doon. Parang pila sa concert nina Pops Fernandez at Sharon Cuneta circa 1980's. Parang pila sa Wowowee. And I tell you, what I'm saying is no exaggeration:






Mapapaaway lang ako kung magpa-practicum ako doon. Super piss-off, bitch-up moment talaga kahapon. Mainit na nga, siksikan pa. To think na relatively sosyal na establishment ang pinuntahan mo. Ok fine, soft opening kasi. Pero hello? Eh ako pa naman, pag nilalagay nyo ako sa mataong lugar in that kind of atmosphere, nagkakasala ako. Day off kung day off talaga kahapon, kamusta naman. Meron pang babaeng nakasuot ng "I'm not a bitch. I'm the bitch. And to you, I'm Miss Bitch." Classic example ng I love the shirt pero siya ang nagsuot; at pag morena ka, i-assess mo muna kung keri mo ang hot pink. Ay josko, migraine kung migraine.

So nung finally, nakapasok na kami sa Ocean Park, as in sa mismong museo... nako, anong sinabi ng walang konsepto ng carrying capacity? As in labu-labo lang ang mga tao sa loob, parang mga bata sa loob ng giant swimball. Hmpf. MOP has great potential naman eh, management of visitors lang ang problema. Pero with our nature na hindi marunong magbasa ng sign boards, hindi ko alam kung paano iwo-work out ito ng MOP management. (Hello, shout out.)

Anyway, nasabi ko na bang hindi ako nag-enjoy? Paano ba naman, ang hirap din kumuha ng picture doon. Talagang e-effort ka para makakuha ng magandang picture. Wala tuloy akong 50 First Dates at Romeo and Juliet picture. Halos lahat ng kuha namin eh yung mga lamang-tubig lang. So para lang kaming nagpicture para sa field trip requirement. Eh aba, mas may close encounter pa ako with the sea creatures nung MS1 field trip namin sa Galera. (Oh, and for that, I NEED an underwater camera! shet!)




The only good photo we have.
other pics @ multiply


Odiba, fish in tanks lang talaga. As in, in obviously fake environment pa. Hinihintay ko na nga lang madaanan namin yung tangke ni Alice Dixson as Dyesebel eh. Mas appealing pag ganon diba?

well, anyway, hindi ko lang siguro naenjoy kasi nga exaggeratedly mainit ang panahon tapos ang dami pang tao. Siguro pag open na completely ang Ocean Park, babalik ako. Siguro. And hopefully, by that time, hindi na marami ang tao at magawa ko na yung 50 First Dates at Romeo and Juliet photoshoot ko. I thank you.

Hindi ako Krispy Kreme fan, pero donut lover ako. At kapag may chance maka-libre ng pagkain, aba, hindi naman ako tumatanggi.

Kahapon, pinatulan namin yung Krispy Kreme promo for the opening of the Ayala branch. The first customer got a year's supply of donuts, 1 dozen every week; the second customer got 6 months supply; the third got 3 months supply; and customers 4-300 got a month's supply of original glazed donuts. Donuts lang nga naman yun, pero since accessible naman ang venue, why not mag-try sumali diba? Nakakaumay kung iisipin, pero gora kami ever sa pila.

Hindi kahapon yung first time naming mag-meet ng madaling araw para sa kung anong get-together, pero shet, kahapon yung pinakamaaga! Feeling field trip dahil wala pang sikat ng araw. On the way to Makati na kami nina Robee and Aika nung mag-text si Jerjer na #76 & #77 sila ni Rozz sa pila at nakapila na sila ng 3:45am pa lang. Akala pa naman namin, since maaga na yung meeting time namin, aming amin na yung top prizes. But no, may mas kumarir pa sa KK promo! Pero despite that, tuloy ang laban sa Jaka Building!

Pagdating namin sa Ayala Ave, ayun na, kalaban namin ang call center people sa pila. May nakasabay pa kaming maglakad na grupo, eh akala namin, pipila din kaya inunahan pa namin. Iniisip siguro nila, "Bakit nakikipag-unahan tong tatlong to, eh hindi naman tayo pipila. Like we're gonna be caught dead making pila for free donuts... or for anything free for that." hahahaha burgis. So dumating kami ng 4:10am at more or less 2 hours kaming nakatayo sa pila dahil 6am pa officially nag-open ang Krispy Kreme.

So paano namin inaliw ang mga sarili namin sa pila? Eh siyempre, since napaka observant namin, hindi kami nagpipigil mag-state ng observations namin. At naku, meron lang aaktong sisingit sa pila, warla kung warla. Dina-dub na nga lang namin yung mga nag-uusap sa pila. Pero hindi yan ang highlight ng 2-hour pagpila namin for a month's supply of donuts. Yung isang guy na 4 people (?) ahead of us sa pila ay wala nang ginawa kung hindi magpicture. Dinatnan namin siyang nagpipicture na at hanggang makuha ang prize eh nagpipicture pa rin siya. Itago na lang natin siya sa pangalang Manila Bulletin. Susmaryosep, kahit hindi kakilala, pipicturan! Documentary ito! Kulang na lang sa kanya eh PRESS ID ano. Picture kasi nang picture to the point na over na. Naalala ko pa tuloy yung high school batchmate kong epal na mukhang nanay na obsessed over a certain group of people. Umagang umaga, wala pang sikat ng araw, sisimulan ng ganun ang araw ko. hahaha.

Anyway, we made it sa 300 -- #135, #136, #137. May pins pa kami, KK paper hats, at balloons. Childrens' party ito. Isang malaking kalokohan, pero masaya. Hahaha. At tumawa pa talaga ako to emphasize my point. Pero seriously, fulfilling yung experience na yun kasi naman um-effort kaming gumising nang maaga noh. Pre-CRS enlistment ang drama. But I guess, mas fulfilling yun para kina #1, #2, and #3 na 2:30pm pa nung Thursday nakapila. Galing pang Bulacan. Yun ang tinatawag na dedication. hahaha. For sure, mada-diaryo ang tatlong yung tapos ikekwento yung buhay nila then the next thing we'd know, nasa MMK na yang mga yan.





After naming i-claim ang aming KK "Blue Tickets," diretso na sa office para mag-unat nang kaunti tapos photo op before duty. After work naman, bumalik kami sa Krispy Kreme para bumili ng pasalubong dahil naipamalita nang sumali kami sa promo, eh hindi pa naman namin na-claim that day ang first batch ng donuts namin. Eto naman. Guess who we saw at Krispy Kreme that afternoon? Aba, ang dating child star na si Rex Agoncillo ng ATBP at Panoxyl commercial. hahahaha. Ganyan lahat ng lakad ko, may artista factor.

After weeks of waiting for the drive to write, I'm finally blogging about our Tagaytay trip. That was two weekends from our Hong Kong trip, and I wasn't even sure if I could go since after the HKG trip, climate change got to me and I got arte colds soon after coming back to Manila. Nevertheless, my CX friends did a good job of making me join the trip. It was enough motivation knowing that if I hadn't joined them in Tagaytay, I would be their chika topic. haha.

It was on March 15 when six of us followed the other CX chuvas to Carla's place in Tagaytay. So basically, we missed one night and the others had that night to talk about us already. hahaha praning? Anyway... after we got to Carla's place, we went to mass, had dinner, then went back home to take pictures and sing jukebox-mode. Kris started the videoke moments with, ahem, 2 Become 1. And of course, we didn't forget to include Aegis songs and Total Eclipse of the Heart in the playlist. As for the camera moments... that was the first time I got a scandalous candid video. Pinag-iisipan ko pa kung ia-upload ko kasi ang vakler vakler! hahaha.

That night of the 15th was our total bonding moment in place of the Baguio trip that didn't push through. When they started drinking, people started "going down" one by one, leaving Rozz, Kriska, Marie, TJ, Jerjer, and me up til about 4am. I wanted to go to sleep earlier, but it simply won't come, and I didn't want to miss out on Jerjer being on the hot seat. All I can say is that I'm proud of myself because I didn't drink drink. Tuloy ang panata natin, Gaor! If I had intolerable alcohol intake that night, I would have missed Jerjer's interview. Alam mo naman Jerjer, I wouldn't miss that for the world. hahaha. So, hello eyebags.

The following day, we just stayed in the room while waiting for everyone to finish using the bathroom. We just looked at our TGIS pics, talked about people, and took naps in between. Buhay siesta ba. Oh, and we danced to the Spice Girls' Stop a few minutes before leaving Carla's place. It was one hot Sunday morning that it hurt to stay awake during the ride home. I woke up when we were already less than 5 minutes away from MOA. We then decided to see a movie just for the fun of not going straight home.

Jerjer, Robee, Yvette, Kriska, and I agreed on seeing Meet The Spartans. Shet. My first movie in MOA tapos The Spartans pa. After seeing Epic Movie on the big screen, nabwisit na ako sa parody films. Well, better Meet the Spartans than Step Up 2. Ugh. hahaha. May papalag? Then kill me now. So after the movie, which was generally boring but had enjoyable closing credits, we went to Jericho Rosales' mall show. HAHAHAHAHA. Kidding. Patulan ba? We had our "photoshoot" by the bay chever instead, part of our rehabilitation for the Hong Kong tragedy.

With Jerjer's tripod and Kriska's camera, we took pictures from whichever angle we thought we'd look good in. We laughed in pity at those who didn't have the creativity to take decent pictures. We laughed in pity at the couples who (obviously) planned on taking photos of certain views at the background but failed since their cameras' frames can only fit close-ups of their oh-so-pretty faces. HA. Alright, tell me I'm mean. HA.

Then on the way home, we switched taxis three times. The drivers had curfews. Naku, flare-up moment ng Universal Robina. hahaha. Well, at least, we had our pictures to make us smile when we got home. Maligaya na kami doon. Hmp.