friday, 14 march
flew from newark airport to fort lauderdale, florida. yup. bienvenido a miami three and a half hours later. stayed at this cool place in south beach. i love florida! more later.
saturday, 15 march
fort lauderdale back to newark. red-eye flight.
sunday, 16 march
new york jfk airport to burbank. late evening flight. atlanta's weird weather forced us to have a stop-over in salt lake city. flight took more than nine hours. longest ever in y experience travelling within the contoguous united states. well, including hawaii and canada. damn. it was a looooong flight. and jetblue's directv was busted throughout the trip. bummer.
monday, 17 march
burbank airport to las vegas. an almost three-day conference in summerlin (jw marriott), a very idyllic suburbia, minutes from the bright lights of the las vegas strip.
thursday, 20 march
drive back to los angeles. arrived a little past dinner.
friday, 21 march
good friday.
yeah, it has been one hell of a week. to top it all off, i lost my blackberry in south beach! this marks the first time ever that i lost a cellphone. i've been totally dependent on my crackberry (yes, it's that addicting) that i had withdrawal symptoms the first two days. the following two days were liberating. the fifth, unbearable.
i need a phone. asap. it was my watch, my alarm, my datebook, my camera, my everything. funny how this thing spoiled me. i used to memorize numbers easily but since everything was on my address book, i never bothered to remember ny of the numbers stored there. bad thing. also, i never bothered to back up. really bad thing.
once i had a chance to call through a landline phone, i froze. i could not, for the life of me, remember any of my friends'/relatives'/coworkers' numbers. not even significant other's. (sorry!!!) i'm in deep trouble.
Type rest of the post here
Saturday, March 22, 2008
airports
Friday, December 21, 2007
holiday greetings from manila
yes, i am back in manila.
i stayed in LA for only 96 hours, afterwhich i hopped back on a PAL plane en route to Manila. since i arrived, it has been doses of toxicity. hahaha. and i am loving it.
so i arrived again friday morning around 6ish in the morning. i got a txt msg (SMS) from BB's EA saying that we have a meeting around 730. hahaha. no time to even unpack my bags. so off to the meeting. and another one, and another one.
saturday, stuff. sunday morning, off to nasugbu, batangas at the canyon cove for our manila office's christmas party, and i must say that it is the longest christmas party ever. as in. we left manila around 8 am, brunch at the resort, some games, then before you know it, it's party time. called it a night a little past 12. breakfast the following day, snacks, lunch then off to manila. the 30-hour christmas party.
my return flight to LA was supposed to be on the 24th. yeah, bisperas ng pasko. it leaves at 10 pm, so around 2 hours into the flight, maligayang pasko na! then we land in LA at 630 pm, same day. 6 hours to go and noche buena na.
unfortunately, i didn't see myself knocking on friends and relatives door for christmas so i asked BB if i can just spend christmas here. and he said yes. thank you BB!
so i am spending christmas here. new year, i'm not too sure yet. it was left hanging. maybe, maybe not. ganun kahanging.
i have not told my folks that i am back. my brother knows though. i'll just surprise them on the 24th.
we're off to tagaytay tomorrow at around 4 for an early breakfast meeting with brother mike velarde. don't ask me why. i am wondering myself. tomorrow's a saturday by the way.
traffic's been terrible the past few days. i didn't realize i actually missed manila's christmas rush. not.
not when i wait for a cab for about an hour. not when these damn can drivers tell me (a) ser, out of the way po kayo (hello? i'm the passenger and i'm the one paying. out of the way ako?) (b) ay malayo (hello uli. so? i'm paying for the whole trip. is makati-abs really that malayo? come on (c) gagarahe na ako eh (at 630 in the evening? well, this one's possible but then again (d) may susunduin ako eh (magsundo ka na lang kaya for life (e) dagdagan mo na lang ng 50 (na ah, i'm paying twice. no way jose) (f) ma traffic dun (is there any other place in metro manila that has no traffic?
kainis.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
back in LA
toxic.
arrived late saturday after our flight from manila was delayed for a couple of hours. the moment we all got settled in, the announcement from the plane's PA system blared, "Thank you for your patience. We apologize for the delay. We had mechanical problems."
yes, it was that blunt. that upfront. and it was not the nicest thing to hear when you're inside a plane. 'you mean it had mechanical problems? what sort of mechanical problems? did it have something to do with the wheels? the machine?'. that was just plain paranoia for me.
had a good flight, though.
the following day was our christmas party. had to drop by target to buy my $30 gift for the gift-grabbing. hahaha. my bad streak on these things continue. git a good one i liked at first but someone grabbed it (hate you michael!) and the next one i opened i didn't like as much (sorry, malou!). it was a cork screw set. i'm not really a wine drinker so i can't use it as much. oh well. recycle ko na lang. hahaha. joke.
just like last year, we trooped to urth cafe after the party for some tea and three-layer cheesecake. yum. i had a honey latte medium and it kept me awake till 4ish in the morning.
we had a planning conference scheduled at 9 so i was pretty much screwed.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Liveblogging the 20th Philippine Ad Congress
It's actually Day 3 and I just found out that there's free wi-fi at the plenary hall. It's kinda dark though, and I can't see my letters. Hahaha. Some guy is talking about the Cannes Lions Awards and I am way at the back, charging my laptop because the battery's juice is slowly draining.
Had a good breakfast earlier, sponsored by Lamoiyan, makers of Happe toothpaste. Some singers from GMA's Pinoy Pop Superstars performed but I only remembered onename - Brena n Espartinez (simple because he was part of Sine'skwela many, many years ago. my goodness he's grown. and he sings R&Bish pa, although he missed a few notes earlier. kumanta ba naman ng "Rock With You" at 8 in the morning.
Last night was great, food and music-wise. The Dawn, The Company, Nolyn Cabahug and John Lesaca. Dinner was sponsored by Solar Power. They're doing something great, actually. Not good for cable but great for free TV. Starting next year, they will be showing the current season of shows such as Heroes, Prison Break, Nip/Tuck (my favorites!) on Channel 9. Yes, hurrah, free TV!
Lunch yesterday was sponsored by Philippine Star. They're now claiming that they are the top newspaper in the land, and they have facts to boost their claim. Apparently, 47% of the total print advertisers advertise with them, Inquirer has 37 and Manila Bulletin has 16. Edu Manzano hosted the lunch, with Francis Magalona and Parokya ni Edgar proving the entertainment. They raffled off two brand new cars! Not bad.
Jollibee sponsored yesterday's breakfast, and Sarah Geronimo sang while we all ate our longganizas and ham omelettes. The night before, we went to the Yacht Club and caught Hale performing to a quite lukewarm audience. I was telling my colleague that they were probably depressed by Hale's songs. They're not really the banda-type you know, like Bamboo or even Rivermaya. Had a quickie with Champ. Hahaha. It was a threesome with Shaui though.
Type rest of the post here
Saturday, November 17, 2007
A Super Long Day (and How I Lost One Saturday)
I’m flying to Manila today.
A couple of weeks ago, my boss finalized my trip to Manila. He was going there ahead of me. The initial plan was for me to leave New York Friday, stay over for one night in LA, then leave for Manila the following day.
Since I moved to the Big Apple, I have not seen any of my friends, and that has been two months. I’m missing them already. Altogether now, awwww. They even announced it to all our other friends, saying that I will be in LA, one night only.
However, the moment BB arrived in Manila, he called me up and told me that I needed to fly to Manila on Friday, so that I can arrive on Sunday. A meeting with some clients in Batangas has been arranged.
So this morning, while I was on my way to the airport – my layover in LA will be a mere three hours or less - I get a call from my BB’s assistant. She told me that the appointment has been cancelled and that we’ll just meet the following Monday.
I texted my brother to tell him that I am arriving but unfortunately he has not responded. It’s past midnight in Manila, they’re all probably asleep.
I have an hour or so to kill at the JFK airport so I am typing this. I don’t have T-Mobile HotSpot anymore so I cannot post this, which means that I can probably post it in two days.
I’m a wee bit excited to see my family and friends again. Not as excited as I was during my past trips home. What can I say, I left my heart in New York.
Monday, October 29, 2007
quickies
quick updates.
just got back from a four-day trip to the nation's capital, washington, dc. it was alright, although the first two days, i just stayed in my hotel room after all the conference sessions because of the rain.
i have tons of stuff to write, so hopefully, i can summon the energy later (tomorrow) to write. took the bus from the port authority to dc's union station. it was the express trip so it took a little over than four hours from dc to ny.
i have lots to blog about, too, including my new tv faves: dirty sexy money and pushing daisies. great shows. i missed some of my faves this week so i need to catch up.
and also high on my addiction list? pinoy big brother celebrity edition. hahaha. i don't have tfc (yet) here in ny because the cable company doesn't offer it but i really need to thank god for youtube. hehehe. and the good souls who continue to upload and upload despite abs-cbn relentlessly running after their asses, suspending accounts left and right.
i'm happy that jen and that other girl left. she's so noisy and palengkera. i don't like her. period. my faves? gabby (sp?) the race car driver; riza, will, victor and sige na nga, si ethel booba. that woman is funny.
case in point: she was pretending to be a fortune-teller, she took jon's hand and read his palm. she said, "i see it. there's a girl. her name started with letter m" as the housemates laughed. sensing an error, she said, "starting ba?". then someone said, "starts" and she just took it all in stride.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
stress times three
i just had my most stress-related travel/airline woes story!
i should have known from the traffic jam that morning that things were not turning out as i would have wanted. first up, super shuttle picked me up 50 minutes later than what they told me. (full disclosure: the lady at the reservations told me that my waiting time was between 8:05 to 9:30 am. that should have made me think. the range is just too broad. when i called up around 830, they said my pick up time was between 9"05 to 9:30, which made better sense). the shuttle dropped me off at terminal 6. continental airlines.
at the curbside check=in, i gave my itinerary to the guy in charge. then he told me that he couldn't find my name in the system. he asked me to try inside. so i did. quickly. there was a long queue. when it was my turn, i punched in my trip number, my itinerary, my last name,to no avail. i was not in the system. panic set in. i checked the lower half of my e-ticket and saw continental airlines. i looked at the upper half and looked for a sign. something.
then i saw it, staring at me, mocking me.
delta confirmation number. how could i miss that? i wasn't flying continental. i was flying delta! panic set in again. i was lunging around 2 50-pound luggage, plus my hand-carry, and i needed to go to the delta terminal. time was running out.
thankfully, i made it to the delta terminal in time. first stressful moment over.
my flight had a connection in cincinnati. when we landed, i checked the monitors to find out my next gate. next to my flight was a flashing word i dreaded. delayed. still, i proceeded to the gate. my flight has been moved from 6 something to 755. when 755 almost came, they said that it was further delayed to 955. when 955 came, they said it was further delayed to 1155. there was a pattern somewhere. i didn't want to spend the night in some airport in ohio. i was stressing again. shortly past midnight, our flight left cincinnati. second stressful moment over.
i arrived shortly after 2 am. made a beeline to the baggage claim and i was pleasantly surprised to see one of my luggage already waiting for me. for a while, my idea that my third stressful moment would be finding out that my luggage didn't make it to new york was quashed. my luggage was here. well, at least one of them was. i waited until the last freaking bag was removed on the carousel.
weary, sleepy and bordering on angry, i marched towards the baggage office. i told them my story: i checked in two pieces of luggage, one arrived and the other one is missing. how the f*ck did this happen? (minus the f*cked part) they checked and checked. when they couldn't come up with something, they asked me to check it out at the delta airlines terminal. (the cincinnati flight was a code-share with continental airlines, hence my assumption that i was flying continetal all throughout)
i asked my co-worker who picked me up to bring me to delta terminal. there i saw volumes and volumes of luggage, and no official in site. i was getting frustrated. we returned to continental airlines. the guy who helped me earlier gave me a number to call, and told me i didn't need to fall in line anymore. he advised me to just go home, get some sleep and call the number first thing in the morning. stressful moment number three, definitely not yet over.
bottomline: my other luggage was indeed with delta. why? nobody could tell me. we had to return to the airport the next day to pick it up. thank god that the materials i needed for the weekend's expo in secaucus were in the luggage that i have. the missing one had my clothes and most of my stuff.
there it was, my blue luggage. airline officials have no explanation as to why this one didn't arrive and the other one did.
Friday, August 17, 2007
back in LA, off to NY
arrived in los angeles late last night after a 13-hour flight with some minor delays. (saw sarah geronimo and her mom at the mabuhay lounge. they were with someone who i thought looked very, very familiar.) got out of immigration/customs almost around 10. baggage was already waiting for me. for some reason, eight flights arrived within the 20-minute period that our flight arrived so the lines at the immigration was really, really long, considering they had almost 15 counters open.
and as the title says, i'm off to new york as well. i haven't totally recovered from the jet lag and i'm off to a city that's three hours ahead. talk about screwing my body clock. why not. complaining? na-ah. swear!
we're joining the philippine fiesta in new jersey. piolo and pops are going to be the featured guests for the event. this is the biggest fil-am celebration in the east coast, and where there are fil-ams, we're there. hahaha. bad copy. bad.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
food tripping in the lion city
i must have gained at least 10 pounds from all the food i ate in singapore. damn! i never realized that their food is really, really good. i have newfound respect for the chicken rice lah. it's so flavorful. i'm still the biggest fan of teh tarik this side of town. imagine my extreme jopy when i found out that the hotel buffet had teh tarik! goodness, i must have downed five liters just that night. and the coffee buns? kaya toast? laksa? my list can go on and on and on.
here's the chicken rice (the chicken part, at least) from my mum's cuisine,a restaurant inside paragon.
and my teh tarik? patiently made by this guy. he already knew me because of the sheer number of times i went to his booth to ask for some cups of teh tarik. teh tarik. teh tarik. i can't wait to go back to singapore to have more of their food from the hawker stalls, from various kopi tiams or even from their malls' food courts.
i can't also wait to go back to LA to continue my search for teh tarik there. actually, buti pa sa pilipinas, may kopi roti sila, which makes delicious teh tarik as well. plus the yummy coffee buns and kaya toast. my mom loves them too!
heard (and read) that kopi roti originated form singapore. i searched high and low but i couldn't find a single branch back there. my friend told me that they may have closed down a few months ago since it was just a fad. there's one i saw at the underwater world in sentosa and it's called roti mama. i wonder if this is related to the roti mum in megamall.Monday, July 23, 2007
palawan, again
and no, i am not complaining.
i'm beginning to really fall in love with palawan. after my coron/busuanga experience last year, i was very excited to venture into this trip to puerto princesa, where we visited, amopng others, different islands of honda bay, the vietnamese village and the nooks and crannies of puerto princesa city.
sample? here's the beach which is right within the entrance of the st. paul's underground river, which is so breath-takingly beautiful. 
Type rest of the post here
Thursday, June 28, 2007
ssss
that's the department of homeland security's code for "selected for secondary security screening" and i was SSSSd not once, but twice in my recent trip to nyc.
first up was burbank. we were running late so i thought that the reason why we were asked to be screened thoroughly was because of that. i noticed the "ssss" printed at the bottom of my boarding pass. obviously, we (myself, m and l, the indonesian guy) were the last to board because of it.
then yesterday, at jfk, on our way back to LA. there were 7 of us (don't ask why) and all of us were SSSSd. burbank was more strict as they really swabbed all the stuff in my handcarry and put my lipgloss and hand sanitizer inside a ziplock. jfk was alright, they didn't swab all my stuff but they really *really* patted me. it's like i've never really been patted like that before. i had no belt and the guy patting me asked me to unbutton my pants. huwaaaaat?
were we on a list?
yahoo has the answers.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
blogging from the big apple
and yes, i am back in new york city. i really heart ny for multiple reasons, top of which is the atmosphere. and no, i am not talking about the sometimes putrid (hah! haven't used that one in ages) smell when one passes through a mountain of black trash bags strewn all over the sidewalks. i'm talking about the feel, the vibe of the city that can never be matched by any other city in the entire united states. hahaha. i can't believe i'm actually typing (and saying this).
i've been here since thursday. our wednesday night flight (red eye!) was cancelled because of "weather disturbance" so we flew thursday morning. arrived in the afternoon, well around 7ish, after a slightly terrible flight and a hard landing. bree van de camp's son, andrew (hahaha. sue me, i don't remember his screen name) was seated 3 rows away from me. i was seated beside a couple who was travelling with their dog. lady was reviewing a script with the title "the happening." cute couple. cuter dog.
i just googled "the happening". and guess what?
it's a movie! and m night shyamalan is doing it. wow. and could the young lady who sat beside me be zooey deschanel? probably. i don't remember much of her face. but i got the hollywood vibe from her. the i'm-semi-famous-but-i-still-ride-jetblue-because-i'm-cool vibe. yeah, she's cool.
Monday, June 18, 2007
rated B
while bloghopping, i came across a site where one can check the places in the philippines that s/he has visited. i ticked all the places i've been to and what do you know, i was rated B. hehehe.
My Lakbayan grade is B!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.Type rest of the post here
Monday, May 28, 2007
neglected but not forgotten
okay, guilty as charged. i've been terribly busy the past few days that this is all i can do: write an apologetic post. i should be teeming with stories (i am) but i am not. why? i have no time to compose my thoughts to translate them into something readable. i haven't been able to do it for work, much more here.
in a nutshell: i've been covering a lot of stuff, travelling on the side. last last weekend's northern luzon caper was for the books. i almost got carsick, staying inside the car from manila to pangasinan so la union to baguio (one day) then from baguio to vigan to laoag (second day) and from laoag to batac to vigan to pangasinan to tarlac then to manila (third day). unbelievable. my body's still aching from all the tagtag. hah!
and it's not over yet.
i'm off to nasugbu, batangas tomorrow to cover a site visit to sm investment corporation's hamilo coast. it's a multi-billion dollar eco-tourism project that hopes to bring more and more tourists to the philippines.
i attended the launch this evening at the 1 esplanade near the mall of asia and i must say i'm quite impressed. i hope i'd be as impressed tomorrow when i get up close and personal with nasugbu's majestic views.
Monday, May 14, 2007
it's election day!
in the philippines, that is. to my friends here, please don't forget to vote and vote wisely. pakisingit lang po, migz zubiri! hahaha. at prspero pichay, itanim sa senado! seriously, i hope that the voters elect the right people. i've been in the campaign trail for about two weeks now and i've seen some of the candidates'"other" sides, not necessarily their evil sides but different from what they show to the people.
i just got back from cebu a couple of days ago to cover team unity's miting de avance at the fuente osmena. the last time i was in cebu was for the 2005 ad congress. i heart cebu as well. heheheh. just like my other fave cities, it's all about the food. hahaha.
grilled blue marlin @ chika-an sa cebu, a nice casual dining place near the waterfront hotel in lahug.Tuesday, May 08, 2007
on the campaign trail
nope, i did not come all the way to mindanao to campaign for team unity's senatorial candidates. i was invited to cover their mindanao caravan, observe how the well-oiled political machinery of the administration works and mingle with thousands of mindanaoans very eager to meet and talk with the candidates.
took some pics. such as this.
by the roadside in Iligan City, on our way to Cagayan de Oro. Durian - 75 pesos per kilo. 
yum. so sinfully rich. some say smelly. i don't agree.Friday, May 04, 2007
live from cagayan de oro!
who knew i'd be back in my favorite Mindanao city after almost eight years?
well, i am. and i am quite pissed because it's 10 pm and this guy at the cybercafe just told me that they are closing.
i told him i'd finish this first.
done! more later.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
happy camper
...because 'heroes' is back, and it rocked!
who knew? linderman's one of them, and so is gramps. i just don't know what her special talent is. i feel sad that isaac mendez is sorta dead. i'm excited about what's going to happen next week. you versus me, the old hiro versus the future hiro. damn. peter petrelli's not dead and he's not gonna die ever. good for him and claire! (during the last museum of tv and radio event that i attended, the cast said that they get worried when they get their scripts because they do not know as to when they are going to die. the same sentiments said by the cast of 24 a few days later.)
one more reason i'm happy?
i'm off to manila. again. for the third time in the past six months. yay!
i'm surprising my mom. it's her birthday on the 28th and i conspired with my brother. we're making a big surprise birthday party for her and i can't wait. i'm leaving tomorrow.
and there's a third reason why i am happy. but this one's not just happy but a mix of happy/excited/challenged. the whole story in a month.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
spinning, and not the exercise kind
and it's also not the washing machine kind. it's my schedule and my world.
i'm in las vegas right now to cover an event. whew. went around the red rock hotel/casino/resort and i have to say i'm quite impressed with the way the hotel was done - from the ornate ceiling to the well-planned floor. its interiors are tastefully designed and it really looked pretty.
the hotel has 2 starbucks cafes, lots of restaurants, a bowling alley (with 72 lanes!), a cineplex with 16 cinemas, an arcade and lots and lots of well, space. nice!
but that's not where we're staying. boo-hoo. we're at the trusted marriott courtyard because the trip was last-minute and most of the strip hotels are booked because of some conventions and if ever there are available rooms, the prices are quite prohibitive. like almost $500-prohibitive. not good.
i love marriott courtyards because their beds are great; they have free internet access in the rooms and parking is free. hahaha. i hate hotels that charge $9.99 to $14.99 per day for internet access. that's just not cool.
by the way, had dinner at the casino's (red rock) buffet resto and had a really good dinner. i had some rib-eye steak and so much gelato i could still taste the espresso flavor i had. and they had a bulalo-type oxtail soup. and lots of no sugar added desserts.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
i love new york
new york city never fails to amaze, inspire and fascinate me. that's why i had no second thoughts when my boss told me that we're off to the big apple for a couple of weeks. yay!
not to preempt any official announcements, we are expanding our operations to cover new york city! finally! i'm quite excited to be doing the preliminary work here, in the same way that we prepared and worked hard when we opend our san francisco office in 2002 and manila in 2005. it's really challenging and mind-boggling at the same time.
lovely, lovely view. taken @ 9:45 eastern time.had early dinner at krystal's, a filipino turo-turo in queens. it was around 5ish in the afternoon and we were just supposed to have snacks but we were surprised to see a lot of people (full house, almost) already eating dinner. what the heck. we had sinampalukang manok (yumyum. no restaurant in LA cooks sinampalukan like this), grilled galunggong, grilled eggplant, daing na bangus. uh-oh. foooood!
