AZKAL or ASK ALL?

With this post, I might be breaking a lot of girls' hearts, or even boys for that matter.Quite a few die-hard fans might probably hate me or even worse threaten to take my life... nah that may be a bit exaggerated. But what I will post is something that will surely disappoint a lot of Azkals fan.  Those who are not from the Philippines might be wondering AZ-what? AZKALS is the Philippine national football team. They have recently revived the country's interest in the sport. The team is currently enormously popular, comparable to the local celebrities' popularity. Why? See this photo and notice that majority of the players look like they are not from the Philippines. But they are,or  at least one of their parents. With surnames like Etheridge, Younghusband, Gier, Greatwich, Ott and Schrock, it doesn't take someone with a genius IQ rating to know that these goodlooking young men with such foreign -sounding surnames could probably speak at most 300 Filipino words.   

They have been hailed as heroes. I have no objection to that. But somehow, one Azkal has definitely outgrown his hat. This Azkal arrived just in time for his flight. When I say just in time, I mean it is at that point wherein almost all passengers has been checked in. He arrives and while being processed, playfully asked the agent for an "azkal upgrade". The agent, although admittedly swooned, had the presence of mind to gracefully decline the request as the flight was not full and an upgrade to business class was not expected. Since this azkal was among the last to check-in, he was assisted to the terminal fee counter and to the immigration. This is something we do to all "almost late" passengers. Just to ensure that they will be able to be at the boarding gate in time for boarding and to make sure that despite them being late for check-in, the on time performance of the flight will not be affected. When advised to prepare 750 pesos for terminal fee payment, Mr. ASK - ALL asked teasingly for an "azkal discount". Of course this is not possible as the terminal fee is levied on all passengers, except for infants, OFW's and others. Mr. ASK-ALL has probably been previously exempted from paying this, on official trips wherein he would be part of the team representing the country in a football event. 

The check-in agent who processed this ASK-ALL had followed him on twitter and later received a twit from Mr. ASK-ALL telling her that since she did not show up at the boarding gate to give him a business class boarding pass, he proceeded to seat at the business class section and is trying to see how long he can stay there until the cabin finds out. Of course he soon was asked to return to his economy class seat, and the check-in agent was asked to explain if she did promise an upgrade.  

So who is this Azkal player who seem to be having a GREAT time riding on the team's popularity? I dare not say!

another YO post

Another source of yogurt-related happiness. After introducing my new flavor of choice comes another reason for my taste buds to celebrate. see this

Click the photo now to get the details of my first ever Ensogo voucher purchase. Ensogo is offering a great deal! For on 65 pesos, you can get a medium -sized california berry yogurt with 3 toppings! A 50% discount since this normally costs 130 pesos.

Frozen yogurt, or FROYO was first introduced to me by a cousin. A bit more expensive than your usual ice cream treat but since this is yogurt, a lot healthier they say. My first Froyo experience happened at Kenny Rogers, a buy 1 take 1 treat!

Interested in knowing more about California Berry? click here!

Wanna get the same deal I got from Ensogo? Better do it now, as many as 10700 vouchers has been sold as I write... I guess a lot of yogurt lovers thinks this is a good deal. Click away, only 100 hours to go before this offer expires.

yogurt mania

The latest object of my taste buds' affection. Saw this by chance at my usual brunch place...7-11 at terminal 3. At first I was hesitant, after all I am not a hardcore yogurt fan, but curiosity took over me and I had to try it. I grabbed a banana and snatched a cup of this off the chiller:

Sweet little langka bits, in ube flavored base. I am used to eating yogurt in all its fruity glory.. mango, strawberry, melon and raspberry, a bit sour, but this one is sweet, a bit too sweet for something that is supposed to be healthy, but the sweet tooth in me is not complaining. 

Got this for 35 pesos at 7-11, but had a trip to the supermarket and bought a few cups for 28 pesos! Looks like I'll be munching on this for the next few days.

my 8-hour Cebu experience

Have a look at these boarding passes:

As someone who has worked in the airport for 1/3 of my life, I guess it is safe to say that I have encountered more than a million passenger. And whenever I come across a traveler who says they are traveling on duty; I tell them I am jealous. Who wouldn't want to be paid to travel for free? But more often than not, seasoned business travelers tell me that I shouldn't be jealous. And now I know why.

Last Tuesday, my company asked me to go to Cebu to handle a Dangerous Goods training class. A class normally takes 4 hours, or even shorter depending on the participants' willingness to participate.

So after my counter duties at terminal 3 ended at 1002h, I took a heavy brunch for I know that no meals are served for domestic flights. After my agents were shuttled to terminal 1 for their 2nd airline duties, I asked the company driver to bring me to the domestic terminal of Philippine Airlines. I reached the airport at 1115h, enough time to check in for my 1245h flight. I guess it was not a full flight because I did not have to wait to be attended to at the check - in counter. After which, I proceeded straight to the boarding gate and waited. Having been awake since 0430h, I was able to take a quick nap at the holding area before my flight boarded at 1225h.

I must admit though that I was a bit surprised at how the boarding was handled. There were only 2 agents at the boarding gate, 1 did the announcement, which really did not sound very impressive, and the other agent tore the boarding passes. Nobody was there to control the flow of passengers, so even the business class passengers had to wait in line.

T'was a cloudy day, I was seated by the aisle and slept immediately. After what seemed like 20 minutes, I woke up to meal service. A pack of peanuts, a fudgee bar and choice or coffee, tea or water. I asked for coffee and later asked for 2 glasses of water.

I arrived Cebu at 1410h, was met by a pretty Cebuana. Being the naturally chatty me, we engaged in small talk and later learned that they have been very busy for most part of the day since another boss of our company was also visiting. I was guided to the PAL admin office to meet out training manager.

His class ended at exactly 1600h, my cue to start mine. I just waited for 15 minutes to let the group settle.

I found our Cebuano agents to be quite a happy bunch. I enjoyed my little class with them as they do live up to the warm and friendly Cebuano reputation.

I finished my class a little before 2000h. Dismissed the class and went to the nearby Marina Mall with our training manager. I was not really in the mood to eat, I was glad to see a shawarwa stand in front of the supermarket. My colleague paid for it and I had my avocado shake. That is dinner and I am happy. Knowing that our manager had to rest for he still have to prepare for his class the next day, I told him to head back to his hotel room and I shall find my way back to the airport.

I was back at the terminal by 2100h. I was early but I had nowhere else to do, I've been to Cebu 3 times before and I know that there is not much I can do in 2 hours time. I decided to just do a bit of work : check the exams that I earlier gave so I can inform the manager if a retake needs to done. Luckily all agents passed.

The flight was slightly delayed, but sadly no announcement was made. It was said that boarding will start at 2150h, we did not board until 2224h.

I again slept in the cabin.a pack of peanuts was again served this time paired with a pack of sumo mini cookies. This time around I asked for a cup of tea. After sipping my tea, I went back to sleeping.

The flight arrived manila at 2340h, as instructed, the company driver met me and drove me home.

-an hour spent awaiting boarding in Manila for my flight to Cebu

-an hour spent on board

-an hour spent waiting for my class to start

-roughly 4 hours of talking

-an hour spent for dinner

-an hour and half awaiting boarding in Cebu for my flight back home

-an hour spent on board

Guess I really should not be jealous of all those business travelers.

i am a TRY - athlete

That is no typo.. I did not mean to announce that I am a triathlete, I mean to say that I am A TRY-athlete.. a trying hard athlete! For as long as I can remember, sports has always been a part of me. Taekwondo in grade school, Swimming class in high school. In college, I was part of my batch's volleyball team. But don't be deceived, true enough that I did try out to be part of the team, I was a shoo in not because my volleyball skills was spectacular, but because they needed at least 12 players for the team, and only 8 showed up for the tryouts. PE in college was fun, I was able to try table tennis and soccer. 

Despite being employed, I still find time to play badminton, a sport that I have been playing almost 7 years now but still has no confidence yet to play it competitively. I also had a short love affair with tennis, but that sport proved to be too expensive. I also have a pair of boxing gloves collecting dust now  And lately I have been running 5k's.

Last year, I participated in 3 out of 4 events in a company sponsored sportsfest. 

I played basketball but was not able to shoot a single ball. I felt confident about my badminton game, we finished second. The volleyball event was also a pleasant surprise, I felt.. needed and important as I was assigned the tosser and we also finished second. The only event that I did not join was bowling. Balls are too heavy.. not my sport really. 

But I guess there is no escaping bowling. For my Thai Airways group's team building, they have decided to have a friendly competition at the bowling alley. The 7 supervisors of Thai Airways were each assigned a color and drew names from a bowl. I was picked by sir Toti and we were assigned the color red. 

When I learned that I needed to play bowling, I panicked. I have never held a bowling ball! Good thing I was picked by sir Toti, because everybody knows he is very competitive so he had scheduled a day of practice for us. As expected, I performed badly. My balls tend to run straight for a few feet but slowly turns to the sides before it reaches the pins. I was so concerned about me looking stupid on the event that I have asked my mom to accompany me to the bowling alley and practice. My mom obliged and she turned out to be a better bowler than me.

I have surrendered to the fact that I will only make a fool of myself in the bowling alley. But I was still determined to have fun with my friends. And I was pretty sure it was going to be 1 colorful event. With this in mind, I have asked my cousin Ken top borrow his sister's nice camera to document the event. 

Here are some photos of the event:

Here is my team in action

ever poised ms. Phet

nice form from sir Toti!

Greg in action

Monique throws like a boy! My idol!

our most dominant player! 

me of course!

 Guess which group was declared champion?

we are the champions!

After the games, we stayed on for some more photos. Here's me with my photographer and his assistant! HAHAHA

the photographer's assistant

my demanding photographer!

We goofed around the bowling alley after...

jumping is difficult!

more so with an 8-pound ball!

but my photographer needs more shots!

I am not sure if it was the bowling game or the pictorial that made me burn calories. 

My TANABATA experience

   Today is the 7th day of the 7th month of the year. For those who are in Japan, I am sure they will be celebrating the TANABATA festival. Tanaba-what? Tanabata is a Japanese tradition wherein people  write their wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches.Tanabata is celebrated on July 7th of each year. Being a closeted hopeless romantic, a festival that is based on a love story surely hits the spot. click here to read the full story of Tanabata festival's origin.

  

   I was giddy with excitement when I learned some time late last June that our station will participate in the Tanabata festival. I wanted to learn more about the event so I googled it right away. I immediately looked for a bamboo tree supplier and gave the information to our supervisor. After learning that origami can also be hanged on the bamboo tree , I spent a whole afternoon looking for origami crane-making tutorials on you tube. I got more excited when we were shown the  tanzakus that was brought in from Japan. who wouldn't want to write their wishes on these dainty looking pieces of paper?

   We actually had the bamboo trees available for wish hanging for two days, July 6 and 7, but since I would want to hang my wish on the exact date of the festival, I held on to my wish and only placed them on the bamboo tree this morning.  I placed a chain of origami crane because I read that hanging one means wishing for  safety and health of family and longlife! a 3-in-1 wish! lovely! Have a look at how our trees looked like after it was decorated by wishes:

passengers hanging their tanzakus being assisted by yukata wearing staff

my crane!

colorful wishes

my two lovely co-workers wearing Japanese traditional summer outfit  called yukata

wishes wishes wishes!

   A lot of the passengers , specially those who have experienced this for the first time gamely participated and wrote down their heart's desires on the tanzaku. Aside from providing the bamboo trees, we also distributed fans to passengers and since this celebration is also known as the star festival in Japan, star-shaped cookies were also given to the passengers. After the flight, the bamboo trees were kept in the office. The wishes hanged on the trees will be collected and sent to Japan and will serve as an offering to a shrine. 

   I hope that my wishes will be granted.. I also wish that we get to do this again next year!

two thumbs up for coca cola

This is something I have yet to see but I am really glad coca-cola did this. Beverage giant Coca-Cola Philippines teamed up with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) to create the very first plant billboard in the country. A 60 x 60 ft. plant billboard , located along Northbound EDSA - Forbes:

image from WWF- Philippines /  Lory Tan

The green stuff around the Coca-Cola bottle are Fukien tea plants. Keeping the environment in mind, recyclable materials were used to make this billboard. Recycled bottles of various Coca-Cola products were used as pots for 3,600 plants. Fukien tea plant is a popular choice for bonsai hobbyists. Up close they look like this :

It is said that this billboard can help lessen air pollution by absorbing approximately 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a year. Aesthetically and environmentally pleasing! Truly a sight to behold!

cochinillo y canonigo

Freshly learned Spanish words recently learned through a hearty buffet sponsored by a good friend!

Honestly, I don't find going to the Alabang area particularly entertaining, but if it is a particularly special co-worker who invites me over to sleepover at her place or just bond, I would wholeheartedly oblige. I filed for a vacation leave with no particular plan in mind. I just had so much leave credits that I felt I had to use unless I would want it forfeited at the end of the year. Luckily, most of my very close female friends were also free yesterday. Finally we were able to realize our dream of eating at Alba Restaurante Español at Alabang.

We arrived at the restaurant a little before 1pm. We all prepared for this lunch buffet so nobody really had a decent breakfast. The first thing that was served to us was soup. I am not a huge fan of soup, but I enjoyed their Sopa de Cebollas (fresh onion soup). After my soup, I went to the buffet table to get some crackers and quezorizo (a smooth blend of cream cheese and something else i can not pronounce) I also took some cold cuts.  After this appetizers, I was ready for everything else the buffet has to offer. 

Being a very picky eater, I am not someone who is a good contender for a buffet.  But my friend insisted we all take the buffet and since she is the one paying, who was I to decline her marvelous offer? Armed with the biggest plate I could find, I conquered the buffet!

The first thing that caught my eye was the cochinillo asado (tender oven-roasted suckling pig) served with liver sauce. Have a look at this and tell me if it is not worth cheating on your diet:

The skin is as crispy as chicharon, the meat was so tender. It was so good I swear I have wanted to eat just this but there were other things on the buffet table that needed my attention. For that cloudy afternoon, the following are the things that passed through my esophagus:

* Pollo Cordon Bleu -Chicken stuffed with ham, cheese in creamy mushroom sauce.I am a chicken lover. I loved the creamy mushroom sauce.

* Solomillo a la Pimienta - Peppered steak with roasted capsicums in a spicy tomato sauce. This is served with thinly sliced fried potato. Don't be deceived by the name. It is not as spicy as it sounds.

* Albondigas de Vaca - Beef meatballs in red wine sauce. The meatballs were just the right size. 

* Lapu-Lapu a la Romana    -  Pan-fried fillet of Lapu-Lapu with garlic mayonnaise. So creamy it melts in your mouth.

Of course, all these were eaten with Paella Valenciana -valencian rice dish with chicken, pork, seafood & vegetables.

Time for dessert! I ate all the canonigo I could digest! It was the very first time I tasted a canonigo and it was love at first bite! Meringue so soft. With the sweetest , creamiest custard sauce and just the right caramel base! It is very similar to a brazo de mercedes only yummier. I liked the canonigo so much that I didn't even took a slice of the grape Panna cotta that looked so inviting. The fruit salad looked dry so i opted not to take some of it too.

I purposely did not take any photos, I wouldn't want my friend who paid for the lunch to be embarrassed by my obvious excitement! So the photos on this entry are all grabbed from somewhere. 

Looks like my blog is slowly turning into a food blog. For those who would want to know about this Spanish restaurant; Check out this link: ALBA RESTAURANTE ESPAÑOLA

I chickened out after 4

What could better than spending your day off with family eating sarap-to-bones Max's fried chicken? 

... Eating as much as you can for just 200 pesos... and the best part is if  you are not paying for it!

My cousin Carlo celebrated his birthday last June 8, unfortunately (or fortunately?) It was a stormy day so I decided to not join him and his family for the celebration. So as his birthday treat, we have decided to avail of the Max's chicken-all-you-can promo. For 1 whole month (June 10 to July 10, 2011) customers can eat all the fried chicken quarters that they can for just 199 pesos. This is available from 6pm to 10pm at all Max's restaurant. This also comes with a free glass of Pepsi.A glass is not enough? Add 28 pesos and your glass of Pepsi gets filled non-stop.. 227 pesos for free flowing chicken and drinks... Not bad! Max's offered the same promo last year. Needless to say, I think it was a huge success for them to be offering it again this year.

Carlo's brother Ken, documented the event by taking a photo of me everytime i finish a piece and asks for my next one.  The following photos will show you the chicken-glutton me:

 

1-2-3-4 ! four chicken quarters! I'm not a math genius, but that surely is a whole chicken!

me and the birthday boy!

a whole bunch of happy chicken eaters!

so.. i think some birds got angry after what we did with the chickens!

 Only 7 of use took the eat-all-you-can promo. So how many chicken pieces did we eat that night? Let's have a look at the official tally :

Our official tally. I being the only girl and the oldest consumed the least. A total of 37 pieces! hahaha

Until we meet again chicken - all- you-can! I will definitely see you next month... and hopefully next year!

   

Want to get more info about this promo? Click here

 

McDonalds goes groovy

I am a huge McDonalds fan. French fries tops my list of comfort food, then there's nuggets, coke float, quarter pounder, and the list goes on and on. I'd gladly choose a McDonalds date over a formal dinner date. Aside from their food, what endears McDo more to me is their recent commercial. For those who have yet to see it, have look here:

This is definitely a better one than their previously released ad, the one that got too much attention from different sectors to the point that McDo had to voluntarily stop airing it. I myself did not like this:

After I saw this ad, I even posted this on my facebook wall " Don't go for the girl who only wants fries, go for the one who could buy her own fries" .

Enough said, all this mention of fries just made me crave for one. 

i expected a polvoron

I have been to 3 run so far and for my next run, and my judgment on whether or not to join a specific run will be based on the following criteria:

1st it should be an event organized by RUNRIO because I have noticed that runs organized by them are ummm  Organized? and second the it should be an event where my favorite couple Elaine and Emer should be running too. 

I joined the Goldilocks 45th anniversary run last May 15 because it was organized by runrio and Emer and Elaine will be running too. Not to mention the fact that the singlet was branded ( New balance) and I heard that the loot bags are nicely loaded . I did not expect a lot of runners because it coincided with at least 2 other runs and because the registration fee was a bit pricey. I was surprised to see it well attended, and most of the runners were female. Could it be because the ladies were expecting Goldilocks' endorser eye candy Dindong Dantes to run?

Had to do an early morning commute and met with the Emer and Elaine at 4:20am. We went straight to Bonifacio Global City and did our stretching first by Emer's car. We affixed our bibs and D-tags (timing chips) before going to the place where most runners were already congregating, We soon found ourselves behind the stage where a few celebrities were doing their pre-run stretch. The host for the event were DJ's from 89.9. Shivaker is indeed a looker.

Since there were a lot of runners, they have decided to have both the 10k and 5k  in 2 waves. We were running the 5k and have decided to run the on the 1st wave. We were guided to stretch while we were lined up and waiting for gun start. On the huge LED screen, images of Dingdong Dantes, the Eigenmann brothers and Wendell Ramos' huge arms were shown. They were to run the 5k too. After the gun start, Me, Elaine and Emer has decided to go our separate ways and just meet on left side of the finish line.

I definitely felt the difference of running with and without practice. As compared to my 1st 5k run, wherein I felt so tired after running for just 1k, this time, I breezed by the 1k mark still comfortably breathing. I have decided to try jogging until I reach 3k, however a little before 2k, I took a phonecall informing me that I have manpower issues at work. I had to make some phonecalls and fix it so I had no choice but to walk just so the person on the other line could understand what I was saying. After being able to create a temporary fix for my work-related trouble, I resumed running, this time a little bit faster, because I have come to realize that I would be needing to report for duty after the run. 

My official time for the run was 45:03. I chopped of a whole minute from my previous 5k run. I finished  a little before 7:00am and by that time the sun was already shining mightily. I immediately looked for Emer since I saw him pass me by early on in the race, I saw him already holding his loot bag and told me to get mine as well. I had to tell him that I will be needing his help to drive me to the airport after the run since I will be going on duty.

I had high expectations for this run's lootbag. After all it was an event sponsored by one of the biggest bakeshop chains in the country. Much to my disappointment, there was not 1 baked product in the lootbag!!! All I had was a pouch full of over-the-counter drugs, a can of tuna meatloaf,a bottle of water and a sportsdrink! I chugged the sports drink immediately. Here is a photo of the lootbag taken by Elaine who just like me got no use for the pain killers since we both are allergic to them.

 

 I felt bad  that I somewhat forced Emer and Elaine to leave the venue immediately. I know they have wanted to explore the other activities. We had time though to take some photos. Here's me and Elaine with running enthusiast and socialite Tessa Prieto Valdez:

 

Since this was the first race where we all wore a D-tag, Elaine took a photo of our shoes as well:

 

And here is a photo of me and Elaine. My face was still flushed. 

The race results was posted on BazuSports. Too bad I still can not download the photos from their site. I hope all runrio runs will post the race results like the way they posted it for the Goldilocks run. Click here to see my results. It's something more interesting than brag-worthy.

a day at the cove

I used to be a regular at Island cove.  Back in 2005, I lost major poundage playing tennis there. But I had to stop. Mainly because it was financial suicide if I continue. I was not playing competitively, I played with a trainer. So I had to pay for court usage charges, pay for the trainer fees and pay for the ball boy. Back then, what I was shelling out for my twice-weekly game was equivalent to a quarter of my monthly salary. 

My officemate recently spent a day with her family at Island cove and told me that her kids had loads of fun with what the place had to offer. I heard her say that they swam and biked around.  So in my endless quest to keep fit, I asked my nephew to go with me for an early morning bike.

Much has changed since the last time I was there. Very noticeable was the new CAVITEX. The new road that connects Kawit to Coastal road. So for those who will be coming from Manila, you can now be spared of the gruesome traffic along E. Aguinaldo Highway. Me, my nephew Jermaine and cousin Lara walked to the entrance.  Way back in 2005, I used to just enter freely and announce that I would be playing tennis, thereby exempting me from resort entrance charges. But when we got there, we were asked to pay 100 pesos each in exchange for IC (Island Cove... I guess) money that we could use for purchases inside the resort.Fair enough since I heard we are to pay 100 pesos for an hour of bike rental. This is a mandatory charge for everybody. Since I have also tried running inside the resort before. I can not help but ask if I will be charged should I not use any of the resort's facilities and just run around. Yup! I still need to pay entrance fees! I guess nothing really is free. But they offered me membership to their runner's club. For 300 pesos, I will be given an ID to grant me free access to the resort to run. This card is valid for a year. No thank you.

I was not aware that the bike rentals will not be available until 8:00 am ( We went there on a Friday, we were told that on weekends, they operate an hour earlier) We were there as early as 7:00 am. We walked around, visited the fishing village and spent a few moments by the poolside. Since I noticed that my nephew was losing his enthusiasm and was starting to feel bored. I challenged him to a game of chess. Here's a few shots courtesy of my cousin Lara:

 

Here is Maine with his Queen!

After our game.. actually once we saw the bike rental counter was already opened. We rearranged the chess pieces and chose our bikes. Lara and Jermaine picked mountain bikes, old fashioned me, I picked a BMX. After an hour of butt-punishing-leg-torturing biking, we decided to call it a day, or half a day and went home to a hearty breakfast. 

Find out more about ISLAND COVE.For a quick getaway from the summer heat!

There goes my February fund

Two consecutive blog posts? Does this mean I actually have a lot of time to keep my blog updated? Partly true. I have a lot of time because I am staying home...I am staying home because I am sick. Yup. Been calling in sick for two days. Truth is I really don't like using my sick leave credits. Because all my remaining sick leaves at the end of the year gets paid and they normally release it together with our February 15 salary. Yeah it may not be much. But it is something that I don't have to work hard for and it is something that I don't have to share with the government. I guess I just sneezed off 2 days of untaxable dough!

Another thing that makes being on sick leave so unappealing to me is the fact that even if I am not on duty, I still have to ensure that the schedule does not get interrupted. So should I be absent, I still should find a way to have the plottings ready for the days that I am away. I live, breath,dream schedule... I guess no one will be surprised, after all this is how my bed looks like:

The "Burberry" bedsheet was something I bought at a public market in Macau some 4 years back. Those hanging from my bed's headboard is something similar to what I post on our bulletin board: Staff roster.  The blue phone by my pillow is the 24/7 hotline for sick calls. And the book under it is something I would want to read someday!

What I got for 63 pesos

After almost a month, I did my second run.Most runners I know do their runs progressively, I did the exact opposite: I ran my 5k first before running my 3k! 

I would have wanted to run in the 5k as I have survived my 1st. but the event that I joined required a child partner and my only willing nephew was 10-year old Jermaine. Although he was willing to run in the 5k, he was only qualified to run in the 3k.

I registered for this run on the last day of registration as my nephew did not always show enthusiasm towards running. There would be days he'd wake me up early so we could jog around, but there were also times he'd rather stay home and play with his computer games. So before I finally registered, I had to get his 100% commitment, after all I wouldn't want to waste 500pesos.

After my duty last May 1 (last day for registration), I took an MRT ride to Ayala station.  I had to walk to Greenbelt 1. I am a rehabilitated mall rat, so I did not find the walk from Glorietta to Greenbelt amusing.  After what seemed like a lifetime of walking, I reached L time studio only to find out that they can no longer accept registrations for the 3k run. Bummer! But they advised me to proceed to SM Mall of Asia's Hypermart as ALASKA has set-up a booth for registration there. Not wanting to break my nephew's heart. I hailed a taxicab and went straight to Mall of Asia. 

I reached MOA a little before 5:00pm. Was so delighted to know that all i needed to do was purchase a few Alaska Chocolate drinks and my registration will be free of charge but I had to do it quickly since the registration will be closed by 6:00pm. After I paid for the drinks, went back to the booth and filled-up a registration form, I was handed 2 bib numbers for me and my nephew and another chocolate drink. No shirt was issued to us as only the 1st 500 finishers will be given a finisher shirt.

Come race day, me and my nephew woke up early to go the the Mall of Asia grounds. We just took a bus to Baclaran and took a cab ride to MOA. Gun start was set at 6:30am, we were there at 6:00am as I wanted to be there early since I was unfamiliar with the place. 

2 rehydration stations were set up at the starting point, I told my nephew to have a drink first before we position ourselves to the starting point. Here is Jermaine with his Gatorade cup. Which he did not finish because he said it tasted bad. Hahaha

As this was virtually a free run, it was well attended. I had a hard time looking for the starting point. I was confused because I saw a lot of adult-child pairs wearing the same bib color as ours but they were lined up behind the "FINISH" sign. It turned out that they have placed the signs wrongly. We really had to start at the finish point. At that point I already had a feeling that the run will not be as organized as my first run.

The runners were not guided to stretch so I just asked my nephew to do our usual stretching routine whenever we run. After waiting for around 30 minutes, amidst the whining of children getting impatient, I heard the gun shot that signified our start.

Jermaine started strongly, I always checked on him and kept reminding him that he should tell me when he is already tired. I was a bit worried since he is asthmatic. After the 500m mark, he said he was already tired so we walked. He complained of side stitches every once in a while so I had to remind him to breathe deeply. At the 1km marker, we already saw pairs on their way back, that gave me very small hope that we will be able to get a finisher shirt.

We finished the run in 27 minutes. After the run we lined up for the loot bags. I expected to get just Alaska products but got the surprise of my life when we got finisher shirts! The loot bag contained 4 Alaska yoghurt drink and a sports bottle.Here is my happy Jermaine with his sweaty hair, wearing his finisher shirt and showing his loot bag:

So let's do the math, I paid 63 pesos and got the following:

• 7 pieces of Alaska chocolate drink
• 2 finisher shirts
• 2 loot bags containing a total of 2 sports bottles and 8 Alaska yoghurt drinks
• 3 km run 
• and priceless bonding moment with my sumpungin nephew. 

Needless to say, that is probably the best deal I ever got for 63 pesos.

saying goodbye to my first blog

September 3, 2005, I saw my first blog post on my 2nd blog. I think I started blogging in the 2004, but it was my friendster blog ANNtold stories that I kept updated for more than 4 years. 4 years of memories i need to say goodbye to because friendster will throw them away as they will no longer be a social networking site.

I am no techie, so I really am not sure if there is a way to transfer it to another site or something. but I hope there is.

In the meantime, I will just have to be contented with reading my posts again. Sad moments, trying times, young-carefree moments with my airport friends way back when we were still starting our career, parties, boy troubles,those days of feeling mature in independent in Macau. hopes, dreams, fears, frustrations.

Goodbye friendster... 

UA... Unbelievably Annoying

I have been trying my very best not to write about stuff that concerns my work.. but my experience this morning is something that I can't afford to not share.

The customer service of UNITED AIRLINES sucks big time. Call their ticketing hotline and I bet all my little toes you will end up using up all the patience you have allocated for the entire year.. no make that for the entire decade.

Read on and find out what made me lose every bit of my sanity

0918h - I called their ticketing hotline and was told that I was "important to them" but I will have to wait since all their agents are engaged.

0922h - A certain Kelvin took my call. I explained to him that I am from a ground handling company in manila and that the flight that I was handling will depart in 25 minutes. I informed him that I have a parent and an infant traveling together but the infant's ticket was not yet rerouted and can not be used on our flight. After giving him the necessary information (ticket number , name..stuff like that) I was again placed on hold.

0930h - Now a girl named Mabel told me that their Chicago office has been made aware of my concern and that they are working on it. And then I was ... well right guess! Placed on hold.

0940h - Mabel gave me a series of numbers, and advised me that the rerouted ticket for the infant has been issued and can now be used on our flight. I thanked her profusely.  Great! looks like our flight will not be delayed. So the passenger was allowed to board the flight.

0943h - Since I was confident that the tickets are now in order,I attended to dispatching the flight first.  After all the passengers have boarded and the flight was awaiting pushback, I started to amend the infant's record.  This is when I saw that the new ticket that Mabel gave me was voided.

0945h - My 5-foot frame was filled with panic as I raced back to the telephone to contact United Airlines again. The phone rang and once again I was made aware of my "importance" to them and I waited to be attended to.

and waited...

and waited...

and waited...

1105h - At last! Kelvin took my call again. As i started to introduce myself, Kelvin sounded something like -yeah yeah so what do you want now--- But when I informed him that the ticket information that his colleague gave me was voided, he too got the shock of his life.

1110h - I was again transferred to Mabel. She apologized for the booboo and told me that she will again get in touch with their Chicago office. She then asked for my contact details, but I decided to stay on the line and wait. So I once again waited....

and waited...

and waited... 

and waited...

1205h - Mabel gave me the details of the new ticket of the infant... but before that sarcasm filled the airport. I might have threatened to take her life too... or maybe not. I can't be sure, maybe I was already hallucinating since I haven't eaten anything since I reported for duty at 6am.

2 hours and 20 minutes.  I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes with 1 hand holding the phone against an ear and the other hand wiping away the tears that was already streaming down my cheeks... yup I cried... out of frustration... and maybe because I can not believe that such incompetence exist! 

running away

     I have been wanting to try running for the longest time, and with Ma'am Emily's encouragement and cheerful support, I bravely went pavement pounding last April 10 and successfully finished my first 5k run.

My company decided to send participants to this run...

With free registration fee, free shuttle service, the chance to bond with my colleagues in a healthy environment plus a hearty breakfast, I must say I chose the best way to kick start my running. My official time read 46.09. not bad for a first time runner... Not bad at all for someone who almost gave up when, after feeling like running my legs out, I saw the 1k marker...hahaha

I'm running out of words , I will just let the following photos tell my story.

T'was still dark, we were waiting for our run to start, gray numbers are for 5 k, green for 3k.

A few seconds before we officially started to run... With pretty mommy Joy!

Happy finisher! 

After everybody has finished, we all went to a nearby parking lot where our shuttle was parked for a little bit more picture-taking before we had our breakfast.

Friends for more than a decade....

Now this what we were served for breakfast,

Of course I ate the banana first!

I didn't have a camera that day, so all these photos were right-clicked from Meg, Elaine, Tin and Sir Eric!

Next up:

Yup, I will be running in the ALASKA FUN RUN with my 10-year old nephew. I love the fact that he is more excited than I am. I hope to have time to blog about this too.