Mga Nakaraang Kabanata

Hectic ang lola nyo these past weeks. Stress Oreña-Drilon levelz.

Actually, January pa lang medyo stressed na ako. May book kasi akong ine-edit na medyo sabog-sabog, plus I was preparing for Fadear's 70th birthday party. Nagkasakit aso ko. Then bumabalik ang headaches ni Sharkteeth (stress-related yata). Buhay ang Ebay sales ko nun (kailangan ng moolah eh). Saka may hinihintay akong shipment ng Cath Kidstons. So there.

Happily, dumating naman yung Cath Kidston loot before we left for Manila. The transit time was very long (~25 days), but that was the only problem I encountered. Claiming at the Customs Office was a breeze. Wala ka-proble-problema. "Claiming at the Customs Office was a breeze. Wala ka-proble-problema" -- sa akin nyo lang yata naririnig ang ganyang linya, ano? Kasi when I check comments [rants?] online, seems everybody's complaining about exorbitant and unfair charges, long lines, rude clerks, etc. It's the opposite here. Everyone is polite and walang hidden charges. Everything is above board.

The pink bookbag is mine, in honor of the Cath Kidston sisterhood. [Sorry, Leah and Diane, di ako mahilig sa dark blue eh.] Yung iba, orders nung dalawa and intended gifts. Ang ku-cute! Pero last na ito for a long stretch. Waley na akong pera. 

Masaya yung party ni Fadear. Andun ang mga friends and family. Ang daming food. As in sobra-sobra. May pa-take-home pa sa guests. :) Pagdating ng hapon, puro thandercatz na ang guests. Tumakas na ako sa party. Niyaya ko si TheHusband mag-Trinoma. Got some stuff in Japan Home.

Aside from the Hello Kitty stuff, I got some window stickers and other anik-aniks. I wasn't planning on buying anything, pagdating ko sa counter, 700+ na ang bill ko!!! Anyare?  Daiso happened. Hehehe...

I met with Diane para iabot yung Cath Kidston bag nya. I would have wanted to stay and chat about our own "Charantia moments," pero medyo excited si TheHusband sa Uniqlo sale, so hit and run lang ang siste namin ni Diane. [Thank you, dear Diane, for the pastries. So sweet of you! Perfect medicine for bitterness.] Pagdating sa Uniqlo, wala namang nabili si TheHusband. :( But he bought me a pair of pink patent loafers sa Forever 21. [Thank you, babe!] So comfy ha?! Di ako umasa ng fabulous na quality (because Forever 21), pero I used them for two days straight, walang breaking-in period, sabak agad sa lakaran. Happily, I didn't get any blisters or foot pain. Yay!

When we returned to Manila, Sharkteeth and I had our annual physical exam in Medicard. The process was okay, but some areas can be improved on. After our checkup and checking in sa GoHotel, TheHusband and Sharkteeth went for some [window] shopping sa Megamall. Naiwan na ako sa hotel to work. ♪♫ All by myself...don't wanna be all by myself anymore ♪♫ Hirap na hirap naman akong mag-work kasi hindi ako sanay sa laptop and only finished a chapter.

On the day of our flight, we went to the wake of the husband of our ninang (sa kasal). :( He was only 71. Too young, if you ask me.

On our way to the airport, nasabak kami sa todong traffic, and surprise, surprise, naiwan kami ng eroplano. SO NOT FUNNY! Well, technically, hindi naman kami naiwan, nandun pa naman ang eroplano, but the passengers were boarding na and they didn't allow us to board anymore. :( Sadness, kasi ang mahal ng bagong tickets, aside from the fact that Sibulan's airport has sunset limitation and the next flight to Dumaguete will be on the next day na. We decided to fly that night to Mactan, Cebu, then take a bus going to Santander, then ferry to Sibulan, and finally, trike to Dumaguete. It was exhausting. Awang-awa ako kay Sharkteeth kasi she really loses her head pag kulang sa tulog or naiistorbo ang tulog. But what can I do naman, diba?

TIPS: If you are in Terminal 3 and your flight is in Terminal 1 or 2, you don't have to go out to get a connecting ride. Dun sa may elevator bank sa right (if you are facing the airport), there's a hallway marked "Transfers," which leads to a PAL counter. After presenting your tickets, they'd fix you up with a van free of charge. It passes inside the airport complex. No need na makipag-unahan at makipagsisikan sa van sa labas, and you can avoid traffic as well. I'm not sure though if it is only available to PAL passengers or there's a different counter for other plane companies. Also, while I rarely fly with PAL because their fares are expensive, for urgent flights, PAL is your best bet, because, as I mentioned in another post, even if you are taking the next available flight, their rates do not change, unlike CebuPac, whose rates increase exponentially as your flight date approaches.

Also, napansin nyo ba, parang mas refined ang crew (both ground and flight) ng PAL -- they are all well-dressed, polite, poised, and proper. Meanwhile, ang dalas kong may nakikitang crew ng CebuPac, huddled together over their phones or what-nots, nakasalampak sa floor ng Terminal 3. Most likely, they have already clocked off, but still, they were wearing their company's colors -- medyo turnoff pa rin. Even the interiors of PAL planes seem better, more spacious, cleaner. Pagpasok namin ng plane, Business Class ang tumambad sa amin. Sharkteeth was so impressed with the wide and plush seats. She thought, or rather hoped, na dun ang seats namin. Crestfallen ang bebe ghel when we were relegated to the economy seats together with the rest of hoi polloi that we truly are. Hahaha! Sus, basta makarating ng maluwalhati sa Cebu, okay na ako. And maluwalhati, it indeed was.

Pier in Santander
You can hardly see it, but the water was so clear that even in the darkness, you can see the bottom.

I like night flights. Manila, while in darkness, is lit beautifully. It's quite a sight. And it brought a certain amount of peace and calm to my cray-cray day. The flight was on time, and it was past 10 pm when we landed at Mactan International Airport. We got a cab to get to South Plaza in Cebu City, where the bus terminals are. We initially thought that the first trip will be around 2 am, but apparently, there are trips leaving every hour, and we were able to leave before 1 am. Ang bilis ng byahe namin going to Santander, the southernmost part of Cebu and closest to Sibulan and Dumaguete. Parang past 3:00 am, nandun na kami. But the first ferry ride leaves at 4:30 pm, and we slept in the port terminal. The ferry ride from Santander to Sibulan was pretty short as well, ~15 minutes. We then rode a trike going to Dumaguete, and after 20 minutes or so, HOME SWEET HOME! Poor bebe ghel and TheHusband, they had to go to school and work, respectively. Meanwhile, moi, ang sarap ng tulog, despite the work awaiting. Mag-a-alas dose na ng tanghali ng magising ako. :)

Ayoko nang maiwan uli ng eroplano. It's so expensive kaya! Plus I'm so thanders na to be doing these plane-cab-bus-ferry-trike transfers all in one night. I'm not even the adventurous sort. Although I gotta admit, I'm proud to say that I didn't lose my patience at all in our "adventure." Admittedly, I was a bit sad kasi nga dagdag expenses, but then, as TheHusband said, we should just be thankful we can afford to buy new tickets. Silver lining, yeah, we should always look for it.