Cancelled

I've had my first taste of the horrors accompanying a canceled flight a week ago. I went home to Mati for my Nic's 8th birthday (which was a blast even if I had quite a scare when more children came than expected. I had visions of them wailing, kicking, and screaming because they didn't have balloons and loot bags. Fortunately for me, I had just the exact number.) and I was scheduled to go back to work by Sept 13 at 7pm. What was supposed to be an uneventful flight turned out to be a series of looong waits and then finally, my first cancellation. I was halfway through Ribblestrop when I started waiting for my flight and by the time I was done, they still haven't confirmed that it would be canceled . When they finally did, my head's pounding because of too much reading and my stomach's rumbling because the last food intake was during lunch. To top everything off, my new LG FM phone went dead on me because I forgot to recharge the blasted thing, just when I needed it most.

The immediate concerns were who'll work on my behalf and where I will stay for the night. Despite the short notice, GI Joe agreed to work for me so the only problem left was a place to stay while I wait for the new schedule. Cebu Pac offered no free lodging for their stranded passengers because as what I heard from another passenger "it wasn't their fault." Mati is 3 hours north of Davao so going home is not an option. I briefly considered doing a "Tom Hanks" in the movie The Terminal. I ended up being the Luy family's "house pest" for the night. As is expected, they were very welcoming; Xtie's dad offered me everything he could find in the fridge ("Jon naay durian sa ref", "Jon naay ice cream sa ref", "Jon naay biskwit sa ref", "Jon naay hotdog sa ref", "Jon pag-inom ug Milo"), and her mom entertained me with amusing tales of her stint as a realtor. The entire family made me feel as if my stay was planned and I cannot be thankful enough. I've resolved to treat them for dinner the next time they're in Cebu.

Flights were canceled due to NAIA blackout. Dada, my manager, said "it makes you feel ashamed you were born in the Philippines". Strong words but I didn't argue because, really, airports should have power all the time. I was at NB yesterday and I came across Ted Lerner's Hey,Joe. I read briefly the part where his mom visited the country for the first time. He wrote that in the Philippines the unexpected happens. (To quote Ribblestrop: Anything could happen and anything does.) But it's part of the charm, he said, and I quite agree with him.

Image courtesy of http://www.allposters.com/.

Jeepney Chronicles in Pictures: Air Drag Me to Hell

You're right. It's an open windshield. It only gets to be closed when it's raining. My father, who I was with during the 2-hour trip from Mati to Maragusan, did not think it was worth mentioning. By the time I realized what I was about to go through, it was too late to transfer. So I put my sunnies on and braved the wind and the cold. I'm never sitting in front again.

Alice in Wonderland

This is not a review. In fact, this is in no way connected to the story. Alice in Wonderland was where we stayed in Boracay.

Overall, I had a great time. I loved the road trips. We passed by places named Pototan (Middle Earth's Shire) and Balete (can't recall seeing a Balete tree) while listening to Rihanna's Disturbia. Ha! Thank goodness I brought my own cds. I had with me Jack Johnson, Smooth Friction, and Radiohead which made traveling to and from Caticlan way cooler. The beach was fantastic! No creepy seaweeds, much to my satisfaction. Boracay surely lived up to its reputation. The Tamblot and I walked almost the entire shoreline and took lots of pictures. We swam to our hearts' content, we roamed, we ate Cyndi Lauper the Crepe, we drank Sex on the Beach, and there was a time we spoke in English so people would think he was Korean. I find doing the last one really amusing.

Despite all these, there were things I planned on doing but I wasn't able to. For one, I didn't have a picture of me caught jumping in midair. I realized this on the trip back to Iloilo and it depressed me for a while. "Jump shots" from previous trips were unsuccessful because point-and-shoot cameras weren't fast enough. The Tamblot's SLR would've eliminated that difficulty and I already imagined what my poses would be to avoid looking funny and awkward.

So much for planning...

Another thing I failed to do was discuss with The Tamblot what the real score is between us. I wasn't going to settle for a commitment-free relationship anymore. There were many chances to do so. Why didn't I? I chickened out, I guess. I was afraid that if I discuss things with him, it'll be the end of it all. I don't know if I'm ready for that. I've read that repeated experiences teach us what we refuse to learn. Do I like the pain? I don't. I detest the cycle. Why then do I keep on coming back? Why can't I simply end things and be done with this phase? I have the power to better my situation. When will I have the courage to move on?

Yes, yaya. I am such a loser.


To Sher Butter, Jabbered Onion, Baller Coyote, Dhon, Big J, and BFF Lapad:

This is a confession. I'm sorry I lied. Please don't give up on me. Don't think that your advices have fallen on deaf ears. They haven't. It may not seem like it but I really am trying. Thank you for your concern.

Bisaya Blogger in Roxas City

Blogging in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines! Beat that for 'coolness'! So what the blazes am I doing here?

Do you remember the Bora trip with The Tamblot? It happens this weekend. We agreed to meet up in Iloilo and then drive our way to Bora. We had to come here first though, because he has to finish some cabling works. It took us about three hours to get here and I think it's going to take four more hours of driving to get to our destination. Poor Tamblot. It's a good thing I don't know how to drive.

We had sizzling tangigue, garlic shrimp (panalo), and kansi (pochero-like) for lunch. Yummy! I cannot recall the restaurant's name but it's definitely worth another visit.

Everybody is speaking in Hiligaynon! Waaaaaaaa! Nosebleed!

Call-in

The Tamblot's job required him to go to Siquijor and he invited me to tag along. He said it's not gonna take him long to finish the task and we could spend the rest of the time there getting to know the place. Driven by the prospect of going to Siquijor for free, of traveling to Dumaguete all on my own, and of seeing The Tamblot, I agreed even if I couldn't find somebody to swap schedules with. What the heck, it's high time I call-in anyway! There's never a better reason than to explore new territories with The Tamblot.

So I called-in sick last Sunday for the first time ever in my career history. I was already in Siquijor when I informed my manager that I couldn't work because I wasn't feeling well. I told him I was in Talisay, Cebu attending to a family emergency that's why I didn't get to sleep the whole day.

You little liar, my conscience said, but I paid no heed. I was hell bent on making most of the little time I have away from the pressures of work.