Say Hi Haneda!

I don't normally post work related stuff, but I am making an exception just for today. 

I didn't get to take a seat for approximately 4 hours, walked around the airport terminal wearing 3-inch heels. The heat was terrible and I was wearing a blazer. But I am not complaining, it was an event worth the sore legs and blistered toes. I got to witness All Nippon Airways' inaugural flight to Haneda! 

I arrived at the airport at around 11:20am, just in time to witness the customary welcoming of the passengers before the check-in process starts. It was so nice to see familiar faces and it was heartwarming to know that they noticed that I no longer attend to their flights. Have to admit, I really miss handling flights with this group:

The check-in area used to be my turf, walking around and attending to passengers. But now it was different, I had to register, which is not really a bad thing because I was handed an ANA paper bag. Yey! A loot bag with some stuff to read regarding ANA... its history and its monumental success,a luggage tag and a multi-nation travel adapter inside.

thanks for these treats!

A little corner behind the boarding area was set up. It was where most of the guests stayed and where lunch  was served. The passengers were provided canapés (or cupcakes? not sure here.)  served at the boarding area and a group of dancers performed some cultural dances.

The best part of this event: I got to witness a water salute for the first time! As per Wikipedia, a water salute occurs for ceremonial purposes when a vehicle travels under plumes of water expelled by one or more firefighting vehicles. Just like the one below!

Let me tell you a little secret... They currently have a promo and you can avail of round trip tickets to Haneda from Manila for just USD 200.00 plus taxes! More or less PHP21,000.00 taxes included. They will run this promo until the end of April 2014, perfect timing for cherry blossom viewing. I suggest you visit ANA's website for more information.

japan-guide.com

Too bad this is OOB (out of budget) , I have planned a visit to Japan next year, that is what my travel savings is for. Then 2 years from now is Europe! Then Peru... then the terracotta soldiers... and the list goes on and on and on. 

teach them to fish

It is cliche to say "Give a man a fish and he'll have food for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime"... But that is exactly what I did to make my sister realize the value of working for money. See my sister has not been working for quite a few months now a ( since mamu is away), my sister gets to keep the household running. Making sure that meals are cooked, clothes are washed. It is with high hopes that I am thinking that she will find a job as soon as my mom returns, but that is still a couple of weeks from now. And Christmas time is just around the corner. That time of the year when everyone, and I mean everyone needs money. 

With that in mind, I thought of having my sister do something to ensure that she will at least have money to buy presents for her inaanaks, or better yet, buy herself something nice. I thought that if I give her 1,000 pesos, the probability of her spending it all on foodtrips is very likely. So instead of giving her the money, I purchased milk, colorful candy sprinkles and declared that we are making pastillas. 

I had everything planned out, I wanted the pastillas to have fillings, so we made pastillas with strawberry, caramel, nutella and chocolate fillings and had them rolled in colorful sugar. We called it sweet surprise. they look something like this:

The first batch we made was given out for free. All I wanted was for my sister to have at least 5,000.00 profit. But my sister-in-law proved to be the "bestseller"! I sometimes think she can sell even ampalaya -flavored chewing gum! Orders started pouring in. From making 6 dozens every night, a day came when my sister had to produce 50 dozens! I urged my sister to not decline any orders, to strike while the iron is hot.

A month into our operation and my sister has already reached my 5,000.00 peso target. 

I feel good about it. My sister has her own money, my nephews have extra allowance, (they sell them to their friends), they all learn that  making money requires a lot of hardwork... but the most priceless benefit we all get from this pastillas-making activity... is the chance to bond! 

Got to go.. I think my sister needs help in boxing those sweet little milk balls! 

me and Matthew

Matthew and I have been together for more than a year now…my security blanket and dependable companion. Matthew is a pen, an inexpensive blue Pilot retractable ballpen that has been a witness to my ups and downs for the past 18 months.  I named it as such because for me, not losing a pen and using it until the very last drop of its ink is a sign of my Matthew-rity.

But have I really matured? What can be the basis and how can maturity be measured? Can I claim to be matured if I sprained my ankle while power walking in my 3-inch high stilettos instead of having it sprained while crazy-dancing in the rain? Will my newly updated wardrobe consisting of dressy corporate attire add more maturity points as compared to my previous ensemble of sporty sneakers and dri-fit shirts?  Would the recent upgrade of my taste palate from greasy easy fast food to a more sophisticated fine dining experience be tantamount to a more matured me? Should I stop singing and grooving to One Direction’s songs unless I want to be perceived as immature?

That being said, I think maturity is not to be desired as a way of life, but rather as a means to adapt to circumstances. Doesn’t matter if you baby talk, which I actually do, at least just in front of my family, you know, those people who can do nothing but accept it, as long as you know its not to be done while talking to your boss or while you’re in a client meeting. Or pout your lips or stick out your tongue while having your picture taken as long as you are not in the company of distinguished guests… or is having your photo taken for the company’s organizational chart. Doesn’t matter if you frantically wave both arms to say hi to a friend you haven’t seen for ages as long as you know that you need to shake hands firmly when meeting business partners.

Maturity, and all its vagueness. For me, I guess I would have to say maturity is knowing when you can be immature.  For now, hand me my gummy bears, red ones preferably, while I sip my grape-flavored kool-aid and check my email if there are changes in my scheduled meetings … all these before I childlike-ly kiss my mom goodnight.   

a whole new world

neglected, abandoned, deserted, forgotten, forsaken... i have ran out of words to describe how my blog probably feels. 

Did I have a very boring 2012 ending? Not really. Was there nothing to write?  Truth is I was self-regulating my posts...a little self-censorship if I may say. It all happened a week after my last post. I signified my intent to bid for a senior manager position in the operations department. Something I felt confident that I can handle. Went through the process of taking an exam and being interviewed by a 5-member panel of senior managers. A few days later, I was told that I did not get the position.  

Not a week passed and I was again being summoned by the GM. I was told that I may not have been considered for the position I have initially applied for but they would want to offer me the marketing manager position. It was something I was not expecting. Yes I graduated with a degree in marketing, but I was not sure if all the SWOT analyses I did in college was enough experience for me to be able to survive marketing. And while I found time to review the 4 P's of marketing, it was a shock to know that they have grown in number and that I now have to consider 3 more P's! 

 I guess I somewhat survived the initial shock and has now pretty much adjusted to the following:

1. Mix and Matching my clothes since I am not supposed to wear the uniform anymore.
2. Being with Mac 24/7... Yup, they gave me a macbook... nice isn't it? Of course, since I need to check my email before I sleep and the minute I wake up. 
3. Meeting... after meeting... after meeting. Breakfast meeting, followed by lunch meeting. My mom knows how much I eat during these meetings now she has restricted my food intake during my days off.
4. Spell check, grammar check...

Still a lot of adjusting to do. I miss my operations group, I miss not having to think about what to wear. But since I now have time to blog; I guess it is safe to say I am starting to be comfy in this new world I am in.

love at first oily bite

ZARK'S BURGERS !!! Got introduced to this place only last July when they offered the jawbreaker promo. A burger that has 3 patties,bacon,spam...the works, that normally costs 250pesos was being sold for only 150pesos. I wanted to try it, but it was such a great hit that we needed to find the right connection for us  to get to experience it.  I have to admit though that I was a huge failure with the jawbreaker.It was just too much for me. 

For my birthday, considering the huge appetite of my sister and my nephews, I decided to treat them to Zark's too.  

Situated just across DLSU, This place is filled with memorabilia and photos of archers in basketball action. I doubt if an Atenean will feel at home

Notice the catsup dispenser's missing nozzle? This is not a place for Posh Spice but a haven for hungry vikings!

The famous Jawbreaker! 3 patties, bacon, spam, tomatoes,cheese, lettuce, mushroom .... If you think you can finish this in 5 minutes (including the huge serving of fries and a glass of lemon iced tea), then take the jawbreaker challenge and pay nothing for your calorific meal! 

My personal favorite. Double cheeseburger, with mushroom,caramelized onions, lettuce and tomato! Just right for me. I was able to finish this thing without feeling like a bloated blowfish ready to throw up! 

This too looked promising! flame-grilled half-pound black pepper crusted patty. That crunchy looking thing sticking out is a slice of bacon... breaded and deep-fried to crunchy perfection. Got so inspired by this I am thinking of having deep-fried bacon for breakfast some time soon! 

I am not a huge nacho fan but this was a welcome treat too.

3 weeks after my dinner with my nephews, I also brought my airport staff for a very late September birthday celebration. There were 3 of us who turned a year older and the initial plan was to have a pizza feast at Yellow Cab. But we later realized Yellow Cab may not be able to satisfy the group's appetite and most of them got curious with my Zark's stories so we then decided to bring the group to Taft Avenue. Most of them tried the jawbreaker (but none was brave enough to take the 5-minute challenge) but only 3 guys were able to finish the whole thing. most of them left a patty untouched, there was even one who obviously got overwhelmed by the size and only managed to eat the spam! We ordered a total of 25 burgers (including take out for those who were on duty and were not able to join us)and paid less than 6000 pesos. Not bad since we all went home with overstuffed tummies! 

I have only tried 2 Zark's burgers so far, and I plan to try more! They have one wrapped in bacon, patties in between Krispy Kreme donuts, burgers with blue cheese dressing... but I doubt if I will have enough courage to try their tombstone burger! Does the name intrigue you? Have a look at their menu and see if you can handle it.

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!

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!