missed opportunities

Just this week, our country has experienced one of the most–how do I say this–uhm, “profound” emotional roller coaster rides we’ve had in recent memory.  From a very shocking, disappointing, and unimaginably embarrassing resolution of the Manila Bus Hostage drama, to an uplifting, pain-soothing fifth place finish in the Miss Universe pageant.  Still, days after, we’re still reeling from the backlash–both positive and negative–from those two events.  And while everybody has had their fair share (myself included) in commenting, criticizing, analyzing, swearing, and blaming on these two incidents, the bottomline is this:  we both had opportunities to step up to the plate, hold our heads high and do our country proud in front of the entire world.  But alas, we failed.

The series of events on August 23, 2010 is a prime example of a deteriorating situation.  A 10-hour fuse that was lit and the only end of that was a bomb.  Hong Kong tourists, on a last day of happily frolicking in our nation’s capital before going back to the reality of their homeland, instead met the mind of an unstable, trigger-happy, cordite-sniffing, disgruntled ex-policeman who probably watched the premiere showing of “The Taking of Pelham 123″ on HBO the night before and woke up Monday morning telling himself, “if Ryder (the character in the movie) can get New York City to give him money, maybe I can get back my job by doing the same.  Only this time, I’ll raise the stakes and hostage tourists instead of locals.”  Upon receiving initial word of the incident, the top brass of the Manila Police District thought that this dismissed cop was just looking for publicity, and thus failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation.  They probably thought, “he was one of us, so it’ll be easy to talk to him.”  Probably so, and with his constant release of some of the hostages, they then fell into a false sense of security that the situation will end peacefully and in a short amount of time.  I’m no expert, but should all hostage incidents have the same high level of seriousness elicited from the police?  In all accounts, from the lack of perimeter security from both media and on-lookers, the constant, casual parading of the hostage-taker on the front door of the bus and brandishing his firearms, to the involvement of the hostage-taker’s brother, the police force failed to enforce what I think should be rule number one in this case:  secure the situation.  From controlling the media and the gathering crowd, to having a systematic, singular talking point to the hostage taker.  That wasn’t clearly established.  And did they ever think that with the hostage-taker’s demand to get back his job, isn’t that enough information that this would end with him laid out on a stretcher?  I mean, who in the right mind would ask to get back a lost job by taking hostages?  Is there any simple logic in that?  And of course, we all saw what happened when the so-called “assault” on the bus happened that night.  I need not emphasize any further.  The writing’s clearly on the wall and I’ll leave what was shown on live TV all over the world to speak for itself.

Now, we’re suffering the wrath of Hong Kong citizens and dismayed people all over the world for a seriously botched police undertaking.  One other thing:  positioned snipers reported numerous times early on in the afternoon that they had clear shots to take out the hostage-taker.  It’s either the ground commander was too chicken to give the order to kill a fellow policeman, or he doesn’t want to face the ire of the Commission on Human Rights for violations.  I know this much:  I’d rather see one hostage-taker dead from a lone sniper shot that would’ve ended everything at once, have zero hostage casualties and earned the respect and admiration of Hong Kong and perhaps the world, than have a hostage incident drag way into the night and have one hostage-taker together with seven hostages dead through an embarrassing, asses-kicked “rescue” operation that had a worldwide audience watching their every mistake.

But that’s just one part.  The all-powerful local media is as much to blame as the police in how badly the situation ended.  In eagerness to get exclusive vantage points and bring the latest developments to stunned and shocked viewers, they overlooked what was then ever-present:  the element of danger.  Not to the reporters and cameramen (who were later ego-fed by being called “brave” by one news anchor at the end of the news program), but of the hostages themselves.  These media outfits should know that in any hostage scenario, maximum publicity is the goal of the hostage-taker.  Giving in via live updates and reports only fans the flame that would lead–or in this case, have led–to how things ended.  They never thought that the hostage-taker has access to radio and TV on the bus (which almost all buses have) and could see the developments outside the bus.  If you have watched Die Hard 1 and 2, the character of Richard Thornburg (a local news reporter) has the same attitude as what our local media giants have.  Never mind the danger that can be caused to the hostages by live reporting, as long as it is being made “for the benefit of everyone.”  It’s high time that our local media, in extremely sensitive and dangerous scenarios such as hostage incidents, should exercise responsibility, forward-thinking and that not everything is a ratings game.

With a very sad Monday ending, the country turned its eyes to our representative to the Miss Universe pageant to help us save face by giving it her all in the competition that aired the next day.  Personally, I wondered if she’ll ever get selected to the top 15 because I never really found her beautiful.  Or rather, Miss Universe material.  Not one bit.  Okay, so the pre-pageant thingies made her an early favorite, but i was still skeptical.  This much I knew:  if she can get to the top 15, top 10, or top five, I was very, very sure that she wouldn’t win it all.  It was a hunch I had long ago when her Miss Philippines crown was given back to her after that birth certificate scandal she went through.  I actually chose Miss Australia to make a run for the crown.  When she did make it to the top five together with our candidate, I was confident about my pick.  Just like with what happened the day before, we all saw–together with the entire world–what went down in the final question.  I was actually expecting a difficult question from Mr. Baldwin to test our candidate’s intellect.  But no.  Her question was, for me, by far the easiest among all the other questions that were asked.  And what did our candidate answer?  She answered with her nervousness and let pressure take over.  Even though you treat mistakes as learning points in life, she should’ve at least singled out one out of her many (i’m sure she has many, because hey, everybody makes mistakes) that she has had.  When she gave her answer (and in the way she said it), i clasped my hands and was definitely convinced that she will not be crowned Miss Universe.  Being the first to be called as fourth runner-up further cemented the effect her answer had, and what I knew from the very start.

In her defense, people say that it is hard when you’re on stage in front of the entire world answering a question that’ll make or break your chances of winning.  But then I ask, isn’t that what training for the pageant is there for?  I mean, it was even shown on one local news report how she was being trained by being asked questions by different people on a round table, and even on a small stage.  I’m also thinking that there’s another thing that led to her being overcome by pressure:  her attitude.  Either she was too confident of herself because of her being labeled a pre-pageant favorite, or that she was just “happy to be in” the top 15, top 10, and top five.  And what did she say afterwards regarding the missed chance to win it all?  Nothing.  It’s like, if she was back there again and asked the same question, she’ll give the exact same answer.  Are you nuts?!  That kind of thinking is what probably made you fourth-runner up!  And you still had the fortitude to smile about it?  I would’ve respected you more if you admitted and apologized for your mistake and maybe even sulked in one corner for blowing the chance you had.  I mean, I may be a “lowered-expectations” kinda guy, but if i’m given the chance to win big for flag and country and lost due to a simple thing, I would’ve beaten myself and apologized immensely.  And her thinking is what affects most of us.  We’re “ok” with what she has accomplished and that’s enough.  We don’t strive hard enough to be number one, or to be the best.  Not that there’s nothing wrong with what she’s brought to the country–especially after what happened the day before–but we should, moving forward, change the attitude in sending delegates to any competition.  We cannot just represent, we have to have that mindset that we’ll compete to win, and win big.  Being happy to be there should only occupy about five percent of the overall mindset of any competitor, beauty queen delegate, or any other contestant our country sends.  The rest should be focused on winning.

These two worldwide witnessed events have taught us and our country a lesson.  More so, in hindsight, it showed opportunities that we missed in order to have things we should’ve had, or finished things the way it should’ve been.  But all is not lost.  The Manila Bus Hostage incident is nowhere near what happened in the Mumbai shootings.  Both are isolated incidents for each country.  Of course tourism will be affected for the immediate future.  But as with all negative things, we can always find a positive way to rise up from it.  We as a country and as a people can and will recover from this.  This is now an opportunity for the government to save face and do everything it has to do to look into the events objectively and punish those that are needed to be punished.  As for the Miss Universe crown, well, there’s always next year.  But again, we have to start changing the way we compete in events, and more importantly, change the mindset not just of the representatives, but of us as a society.  Otherwise, we’ll be counting missed opportunities left and right and play the blame game again and again.  We have this chance.  Let’s not waste it again.

Boracay breakaway (part one)

moving on up

my two-month hiatus is coming to an end.  i’ll be officially employed again and will start my new job on march 17.  well, primarily, it’ll just be a four-day orientation before i get my hands dirty.  good thing is, i’m still eligible for the holy week break, so the last day of the orientation will resume on easter monday, then i get assigned to my post the following day.  how do i feel?  honestly, i feel excited and raring to go back to work after my long vacation.  but before i describe what i’ll be doing, let me just take this time to thank one person, who without her telling me about the job openings in this particular company, i wouldn’t be landing the job.  so to my former officemate and friend, chille, who will also be a future officemate again as well, since we both got hired by the same company and we’ll both be attending the orientation on the 17th, thank you and i owe you one big time!  i’m also looking forward to working with you again.

so, on to the job details.  well, as you may have noticed, i don’t really give specifics.  even company names and job titles.  but since most of you who read my blog know me that well, i may have already told some of you what i’ll be doing.  but for the benefit of those who are keeping score with my life through this blog, let me just give some details about what i have gotten into… hmmm… did that sound right?  nah, just joking!  i’m really that excited!  ok, first of all, the job level.  but first, a disclaimer:  what i’m about to tell you is based on what i was told by the person who interviewed me for the post, a.k.a., my future boss (whom i keep constant communication with ever since the interview since she believed that i’m the person qualified for the job).  ok, from my previous job where i handled a team, i’ll be going two levels up.  that’s reason for excitement number one.  she was leaning on my years of experiences with the previous two call centers i worked for plus the latest one, with a major financial company.  she’s giving me the free hand to analyze how the operations are going and recommend changes and revisions in the operations if needed.  i’m shaking in excitement even right now when i just typed that last sentence.  i’ll be using the experiences i’ve had on how operations should be running.  for sure, i won’t be running things the way my former superior used to do.  how things were at my former employer are still fresh in my mind and it’s something i vowed not to emulate.

secondly, the company i’ll be working for is the same nature as my previous employer.  the only difference is that this new one is a local company.  so that means, my work schedule revolves on how local companies operate.  which means, no more graveyard shift for me!  that’s reason for excitement number two.  imagine, my life will finally be back to normal after six years of working for US customers, including local holidays!  this means a big deal for my health and personal life.  no more missing out on family affairs, weekends will be real weekends and i can finally decide if i would want to catch a movie or go to a party after work!  and the best thing, my body clock will continue to run normally as i sleep during the night!  need i say more?  well, reason for excitement number three is the compensation package, but that’s a given in any new job going two levels up, but still, the package being offered is very attractive to say the least.

of course, there’s no such thing as a perfect job.  the one minor drawback of this new job is its location.  i’ll be based in greenhills after the orientation with occasional visits in the makati operations area whenever needed since my position covers both sites, if i’m not mistaken.  good thing c5 road is almost always traffic-free compared to edsa.  with a pro-and-con ratio of 3:1, it’s still a good deal.  one more thing to add, me going local instead of staying put in a US based call center may prove to be a good transfer.  with recession fears haunting the US economy, most outsourcing companies are slowing down in terms of expansion, if not some have started to pull out.  most investors are playing safe rather than waste their money for a sure return of losses instead of profits.  one thing i’m surprised about is, with all the other call centers i applied and had interviews with, whether it be US, UK, or austrailia-based, not one came back with any single feedback.  whether they stopped hiring due to impending losses had something to do with how the US economy is faring, i don’t know.  but i couldn’t stop thinking that it had played some sort of role in it.

so, there it is.  i have the rest of the week to enjoy the remaining hours of being unemployed and it’s back to the grind by next week.  i’m rested, recharged, re-energized and itching to get back in the thick of things.  for those of you who continued to keep faith and prayed for me in order to get a new job, i thank you as well.  with the bitter exit i experienced on my previous job, i believe that good karma repaid me with this new one.  it’s something that i’m very, very thankful for and one that i would give my very best for, just like any of the jobs i have had.  this would also be an entirely new learning experience for me, and with that, i guess that’s one more reason to be excited about.

catching up

it’s now halfway through the first month of 2008 and to bring everyone up to speed as to what’s going on lately with me (since all i have been posting are my stories from my vacation), to put it nicely, let’s just say that things could be better since i couldn’t imagine it being much worse.  i guess the worst part has come and gone, but damages have been done.  damages so irrepairable–if not too difficult to mend–that it just instantly sucked the drive to go to work out of me.  how did this all happen, you may ask?  well, read on…

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stateside retreat - part five

this is the last installment (finally) of my series of stories about my US trip.  this may be longer than usual, since it covers three days, including my trip and arrival back home.  as always, i do hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy telling it. 

november 22-24, 2007 - thursday to saturday - "mixed emotions" - these three days felt like one big, long day for me.  i woke up early since we're supposed to attend thanksgiving mass at 9AM.  one thing that was constant in my head was that i was already leaving that night.  i don't know if i was excited, apprehensive, sad, or whatever.  subconsciously, my six-day vacation changed some things in me.  i didn't know how or why, but it was the first time i felt strange in such a long, long time.  i immediately took a shower upon getting up and i can already smell the turkey from the kitchen being cooked for tonight's celebration.  we had a light breakfast before heading off to church.  it was way colder than usual, as i shivered upon getting off the car and walking towards the church entrance.  we had brought some canned goods to be offered as per instructions by the priest this past sunday during mass.  when the mass started, the church was fully packed with people.  again, it was very solemn and meaningful, and i felt moved by the event.  after the mass, everybody was greeting each other "happy thanksgiving" so i naturally got caught up in the emotion and joined in.  hugs and handshakes were all around outside the church grounds even with the very cold temperature as both friend and stranger greeted each other on their way to their separate destinations.

thanksgiving holiday in the US is compared to holy week in the philippines where virtually everything shuts down.  very, very few cars were on the road and what i was used to seeing during the last couple of days was way different from today.  good thing denny's was open so we decided to have brunch there since we'll be busy preparing for tonight and not have time for lunch.  i got the breakfast platter consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, two kinds of sausage, and muffins.  we went over the plans for tonight since the thanksgiving celebration will be held at one of my cousins' house in vacaville.  the plan was to be there by 6pm and have dinner at 7pm, then leave at around 9:30pm for the airport for my flight scheduled at 12:15am.  we got back home just before noon and my aunt immediately continued to work on the turkey, my mom with the fruit salad, while i went over my things one last time to check if everything is in place and ready to go.  my mom would occasionally help me with my stuff, especially with the handcarry luggage i'll be bringing, carefully deciding which items would be included so as not to look bulky.  princess dropped by (much to my forbidden delight) to see her aunt and get some stuff to bring to the party.  she was still unsure if she will make it on time for dinner, but will definitely follow.  she went over to me and gave me a tight hug, pecked a kiss on my cheek (incresing forbidden delight!) and wished me a safe trip back home right there and then, just in case she won't make it in time for me to still be at the party.  i reciprocated the act and said "thank you and i still hope to see you later at the party,"  to which she replied, "yeah, i hope i make it" and then left.  at least i got to say goodbye to her and froze that hug and kiss in my head while i watched tv, with all my things done.

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stateside retreat - part four

november 20, 2007 - tuesday - day five - "privileged shopping" - 'twas the first time i woke up a little later than usual in days.  not much on the itenerary for the day, except for shopping some more stuff to bring back home at the mall inside travis airforce base where my uncle was a retired officer of the military, therefore having the privelege of using the facilities inside the base.  oh, and the prices at that mall are marked down from their regular retail prices on normal stores.  not much activity happened during the earlier part of the day.  i just stayed home and watched TFC, espn and other sports channels, plus made some adjustments on the items to be placed on the box.  i needed to make some more space since we'll be meeting my mom's college classmate tomorrow for dinner and she might have some items for me to bring back home as well.

we left for travis air force base after lunch.  again, 'twas a long drive, about two to two and a half hours on the freeway.  i was kinda starting to get bored with these long drives.  the trips we made everyday were equivalent to going to the province back and forth.  we reached the mall around mid-afternoon and started to wander around.  i checked out the DVDs section hoping to find titles that can be played on the dvd player back home but found out that all discs were encoded for region one only.  bummer.  i also checked out the prices for the playstation3, which, on tv were advertised to be starting at USD$299 down from USD$399.  though i didn't have enough money to buy one, i just did the math to find out how much it'll cost back home.  my mom got herself some more stuff for herself to use during her stay, while i just made the most out of my remaining pocket money and got only the important stuff which i'll be needing and using back home.

it was already dark when we went back to the car.  i had a picture taken beneath a vintage air force plane displayed at the parking lot area, but somehow when the picture came out, the plane can be hardly seen.  i fell asleep on the long drive back home.  we arrived at around 8pm, had dinner, got some of the stuff we bought and placed it on the box, then called it a day.  'twas the only day that i felt was uneventful.

november 21, 2007 - wednesday - day six - "a whole lotta chinese…. food" - after having an early breakfast, we headed out to vallejo post office to have some packages sent.  my brother had a colleague based also in california and had some stuff sent her way.  unfortunately, we weren't able to meet and give her the package due to scheduling conflicts, so after a phone conversation with her and my mom, it was decided that the package be mailed instead.  the post office was near vallejo marina, which was our next stop.  the marina has a ferry service going to and from san francisco, so there were a lot of parked cars around the area where people take advantage of the ferry instead of driving all the way to frisco.  it also had a park and a walkway for joggers, bikers and tourists.  on the other side of the river bank was mare island, an old industrial complex that was first used by the military during world war two, then it was abandoned and left unused for decades.  we strolled along the walkway, soaking up the sun and watching some of the locals setting up to go fishing along the river.  we even managed to come across a group of filipino tourists, who made initial contact by asking, "are you filipinos?"  we chatted for a bit and found out that they came all the way from new york to spend thanksgiving in the west coast.  back home, they were based in pampanga.  we then continued on the walkway and had pictures taken in front of the marina office.

quite tired from walking up and down the marina, we then headed to szechuan chinese restaurant near the area for an early lunch.  food was great, though i think we ordered too much since my mom and i forgot that the servings were far greater than back home.  we had noodles, rice, vegetable, lemon chicken, calamares and some beef.  food quality was excellent, and we had to take home what was left.  'twas one of the more "filling" meals i had during my stay there.  we went back home after lunch, and my aunt started preparing for the big thanksgiving feast tomorrow night.  she was in charge of the turkey and my mom chipped in by preparing fruit salad.  i, on the other hand, was busy organizing the box.  i had it taped, and started putting the items on their permanent places, though not yet sealing the box since there may be some more items that can be placed after tonight.

my mom's college classmate (who i also call aunt) and her husband picked us up at the house around 5pm.  they were in a sleek mercedes benz so i was quite giddy that i'll be able to set my ass on a mercedes!  the car was very, very comfy.  we then proceded to their place in hercules.  we had to drop off some things at my aunt's house before having dinner at a nearby restaurant.  it has been years since they last saw each other, and i can hardly remember the last time i saw her.  the drive to hercules was filled with conversations, mostly about me.  we then arrived at a restaurant, and when i entered, it was another chinese restaurant.  my mom and i looked at each other, knowing that we had chinese food for lunch and that we're about to have the same for dinner.  we decided to just keep silent about it, since they chose the place.  i tried to find other cuisine that was different from what we had earlier and suggested it to my aunt.  good thing we didn't have the same ones we had for lunch.  still, the restaurant was more upscale than the one we were in earlier, but the food tasted the same… obviously.  after dinner, we went back to their house and got a glimpse of how years of hardwork in a foreign country paid off.  it looked simple on the outside, but grand on the inside.  in between more conversations, they showed us photo albums of their son and daughter's weddings and had dessert.  at around 9 in the evening, we decided to call it a night, and they drove us back to vallejo.  naturally, they gave me some stuff to bring back home.

we arrived back in vallejo at around 10:30pm and realizing that there'll be less time to prepare my stuff tomorrow, i immediately went to work on the box.  we even went back out to raley's to buy some rope for the box to be easily moved around.  good thing that raley's was still open and since that it was the eve before thanksgiving, they were open until midnight.  i was able to finish and seal the box and secure my other check-in luggage just after midnight.  thanksgiving will be my last day, and it'll be quite a short celebration for me since i had to be at the airport just before midnight to check-in for my flight back home.  i was having mixed emotions already as i went to bed, convincing myself that the week's vacation is coming to an end.

on the final installment, my thanksgiving celebration and the flight back home.

delayed greetings and recharging those batteries

before the festive mood of the holidays completely dissipate, allow me to convey my own holiday greetings–albeit a bit late i might add–to one and all.  i know there's no excuse in missing out posting even a simple christmas greeting here as i have done since i started blogging, but my reason–not excuse–for not doing so is that i just simply didn't have that urge to log in to my blog lately.  i even left the conclusion of my tell-all tale of my US trip hanging (which i'll try to close this weekend) and missed out blogging on some recent episodes both good and bad.  i guess the combination of being burned out and unhealthy office environment (read:  work atmosphere and how things are being done) took it's toll on me and adversely affected my writing senses.  to be completely honest, it even affected my celebration of christmas this year.  looking at the bright side though, spending the holidays with my immediate and extended family was enough to lift my spirits up and look forward to a new year filled with hope, promise, and a renewed sense of knowing what i want for myself and my family.

i hope everyone had a safe and joyous new year's celebration.  i know i did.  i'll resume my normal writing activities starting with concluding the story of my US trip in a couple of days.  for those who frequent the site for new entries, thank you for continuing to be patient amidst the non-updates.  again, thank you.  here's to the new year, the year of the rat (which astrologists say are lucky for those who were born on the year of the dragon, that's me), and may it bring all the things all of you wish for… and more.  BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

stateside retreat - part three

on to part three of my highlights of my US trip.  things have been increasingly hectic at work so i apologize for taking kinda long in following up my stories.  anyways, here we go:

november 19, 2007 - monday - day four - "casino royale" - i noticed during the longer i stay on that part of the world, the more times i wake up during the night (wee hours of the morning) and have trouble getting back to sleep.  i don't know if it's the weather, but if it is, then it doesn't make sense because i sleep comfortably on cool nights.  in any case, i woke up at around 7AM and had breakfast.  our itenerary for the day is to go to cache creek and check out their newly opened casino resort, as opposed to the plans of going to reno this past weekend.  the drive to cache creek is about two and a half hours long, so for us to make the most out of the day, we left at 8am but had to pick up my aunt's sister who was also joining us.

the long drive began and immediately, my mom, aunt, and her sister began talking.  me, well, silent as always, trying to enjoy the scenery along the way.  my aunt's sister and i would have conversations from time to time, but mostly it was about her asking me about my life back home since it was the first time she met me.  we drove through an indian reservation land, orange plantations, and crossed some small towns reminiscent of the countryside scenarios i have seen on hollywood movies.  upon arriving at the area, i marveled at the sheer size of the structure.  it was like the only modern landmark put up on an isolated area.  we then proceeded to the registration area.  first-timers get a free US$25 loaded card that can be used on all slot machines upon presentation of identification, so good thing we brought our passports along.  i still have the card with me in my wallet as a souvenir.  since my aunt was a regular casino goer together with my uncle, she showed us how to play a certain slot machine game.  it was not the old-school slots where there is a lever on the right side, and you insert a coin, pull the lever, and hope to the high heavens you get the three sevens for the jackpot prize.  i was actually imagining it to be that way, but things are much more sophisticated now.  there are now computer-based game slots where patterns are analyzed and a certain combinations had to be made in order to get back an amount from what you initially bet on.  at least that's how i understand it… sorry, first timer here… hehehehe….

my aunt settled on her favorite game and i was on her right side, watching her play.  she then showed me how to operate the game where i was at, from placing bets, to playing the game itself, and all the mumbo-jumbo of hoping the big money pieces turn up.  i got the hang of it pretty quick and started playing on my own in no time.  my mom also started playing on the opposite side from where my aunt was.  for about 45 minutes of playing, i won some and lost some, but not completely using up my game card.  i continued playing until i noticed that my winnings were piling up.  i tried not to be conscious about it, for i think that's where losing starts.  so i played on, until the remaining US$8 i had on my game card rose to near US$50!  my aunt was noticing that my money was piling up and quickly suggested that i cash out.  it seemed a good idea at that time, so i hit the "cash out" button, and a voucher came out with a value of US$50.65.  my aunt told me that there is an atm-like machine where i can insert the voucher and the money will be cashed out.  i suppose beginner's luck was with me and i felt good about my first casino experience.  we then took a break to have lunch at a chinese restaurant within the casino premises.  as we walked towards the restaurant, we passed by all sorts of slot machines and different gambling tables for blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps.  the place was really huge, yet it wasn't full of people due to it being a monday.

after having a sumptous lunch, we tried the other machines for fun.  since i had already more money than when i came in, i gamely hopped from one machine to another.  big mistake.  slowly, what winnings i had turned into losing streaks, and trying new machines didn't bring back the beginner's luck i had earlier until i was now inserting bills i had since my game card read zero.  i finally thought of going back to the first game i played in the hopes that familiarity with the game can bring back my winning ways.  i started playing again, until the familiar sounds of winning were being heard.  playing safe, i calculated how much i put in, and waited until it reached the total of all that i had bet on, and then cashed out.  break-even sounds better than pushing my luck to win, only to lose.

we had other plans that day, mainly to go to costco to continue shopping for items that i'll be bringing back home and for my aunt to buy the thanksgiving turkey in order to avoid the rush on the eve of the holiday.  so after an eventful day at cache creek casino resort, we headed back to vallejo.  my aunt's sister's daughter–princess–called, asking where we were.  she replied where we're going, and asked if she wanted to meet us at costco.  her daughter agreed and told her she'll meet us up in a couple of hours.  i fell asleep along the way, and woke up when we're just about to park the car.  it was 6PM already, but the skies were already dark.  weather was chilly as always as we headed inside the store.  princess was already there and my aunt finally introduced me to her and her to me.  "nice to finally meet you," she greeted me with a handshake.  now, if only i could see myself while she offered that handshake to me, i swear that i was like a deer-caught-in-the-headlights-stunned to see a beautiful relative smile at me.  now i admit that i'm a sucker for women i can't have, but come on!!  i was like, "she's my cousin?!?  like, are you sure??"  not that i said that out loud, but inside i was screaming, "how cruel can this be?!"  i later found out that i was double-whammied.  first, she's my cousin, second, she's only 20 years old.  i swear to you, she don't look like no 20-year old hottie.  damn…..  while all of this was going through my mind, i kept a straight face, making sure that no one realizes how utterly disappointed and dejected i am in meeting a beautiful young woman who happens to be my…. cousin.  son of a….

realizing that my silent whining would get me nowhere, i just focused on getting the items that we came for.  i also took some time to look around some of the cool stuff for sale.  we got mostly food items like chocolates, mac n' cheese, cookies, etc.  i paid for everything by the way.  that's what the loan was for…. hehehehe….  so, we then had our items paid and headed back to the car.  i learned that princess was driving her own car and saw that she was parked not too far from where we were.  she's driving a 2006 honda civic, which was not bad.  we passed by a filipino grocery store to get a box that i'll be using to pack the stuff to be brought back home.  as we parted ways, princess waved at me and told me, "nice meeting you!"  i just smiled back and waved at her in acknowledgement.  within a few minutes, we were back home.

i unfolded the box and started to see if what we bought would fit.  everything wasn't final though, as i still have my other check-in luggage to fill.  we had dinner, i watched sportscenter until eventually i became sleepy.  as i was settling in bed, only one highlight of the day was present in my mind…  and i guess you all know what that was….

on the upcoming installments, more chinese food, getting to finally ride in a mercedes benz, a walk in the park, the universal thanksgiving greeting, having my first thanksgiving celebration, and the flight back home.

stateside retreat - part two

this is the second installment of what happened during my recent US trip.  again, please bear with me as this may be another long entry.  but i do hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy writing it down.

november 17, 2007 - saturday - day two - "unscheduled stop" - i woke up to a foggy, 10-degree celcius temperature, yet i was able to sleep fairly well on my first night.  my mom and my aunt were already up and at the dining table having breakfast.  i joined them and had a traditional filipino breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs and pan de sal which was bought at a filipino store not far from where we're staying.  i also got the chance to watch tv and surfed through the different cable channels like usa network, spike tv, vh1, fsn, espn and espn2, plus the local affiliates of cbs, fox, abc and nbc.  our plans that day were to go to the bank, a weekend street market, as well as check out the mall at vacaville where manufacturers like nike, adiddas, polo, and other brand name apparels are being sold at factory prices.  but before we go to those places, we had to make a quick stop at my aunt's office in oakland.  after breakfast, i took a very warm shower which felt good, but immediately started shaking after stepping out of the bathroom.  yet in spite of the cold temperature i was able to hack it, since i was used to cold temperatures in the office.

it was around 9 in the morning when my aunt, mom and myself left the house.  bank of america was our first stop.  i was kinda surprised that a stand-alone bank branch is open on weekends, but according to my aunt, they're only open until noon on saturdays.  'twas a quick stop, and we were on our way to the street market.  now, if you have seen the movie notting hill, you're probably familiar with the scene where one whole street was closed and lined up with sellers of different kinds.  from fruits to vegetables, plants, flowers, etc.  that was similar to what i saw on the street market which i found quite nice.  my aunt bought some radishes, and some veggies, while my mom got some strawberries.  we wandered a bit more, but my aunt told us that she needs to get to her office, so we were then off to oakland.  the drive took around an hour and a half on the freeway.  my aunt works at a restaurant supply company, called east bay restaurant supply, incorporated.  she just had to check some work-related stuff which she missed out since she was taking a week-long vacation on thanksgiving week, and had to make sure that things are in order.  upon arriving at her work area, she found out that she had work that day since one of her co-workers swapped schedules with her in order for her to be granted the thanksgiving week vacation.  so what was supposed to be a whole day trip turned out to be hanging out in the office on a saturday.  it was fine by me and my mom, since we were just tagging along and it prompted a chance for me and my aunt to have a little bonding session by talking to each other the whole afternoon while she was working.  we also wandered around the warehouse-slash-store since they were having a pre-thanksgiving sale that day as well, but we didn't buy anything.  had kfc for lunch, which really tasted better than what we have here in the philippines.

my aunt's schedule that day was until 4 in the afternoon, so we waited and once 4pm hit, we left immediately.  the skies were already getting dark that early, and since the drive back to vallejo was another hour and a half, we decided to push our scheduled activities to tomorrow and headed back home.  my aunt asked me what i wanted for dinner and i suggested we order take out at panda express, one restaurant which food i enjoyed very much during my first visit.  there was one on the way home, so we passed by and ordered orange chicken, chow mein, spicy beef, and sweet & sour tofu.  the smell of the food inside the car had my taste buds going since it's been that long the last time i had a chance to savor their food.  dinner was hearty upon arriving at the house and i had successfully done one of the things i enjoyed during my first visit–eat good food.  sunday mass the next day was scheduled at 8AM, so after watching sportscenter, i decided to call it a day and headed off to sleep.

november 18, 2007 - sunday - day three - "three stops, two masses, and the biggest dog i've ever seen" - i immediately took a shower upon waking up to get myself freshened up, as well as remove any trace of sleepiness i had.  after a short breakfast, we headed off to church.  my aunt was active in the parish community, and she was scheduled to be one of the lectors during the mass, so my mom and i seated ourselves near the front of the altar.  the church seemed to me like a small cathedral and i was awed by the nice paintings behind the altar.  the mass began after a couple of minutes of waiting.  all i can say about the mass is that it's more solemn compared to how masses are celebrated here.  the parish priest at the beginning asked everyone to greet one another, and it was my first time to shake hands with americans and filipinos alike during a holy celebration.  the homily was quite different since during that day, there was an organization fair where different parish groups are presented and everyone was asked to stand up and wander around to see if they might be interested in joining a particular group–all during the homily.  my mom and i didn't, though since i was just there for a week.  i really felt good after the mass ended, but as it turned out, my aunt had to stay for another mass celebration.  this time, her role was one of the coordinators for one of the religous groups during the fair.  we were not familiar with the area, so instead of going back to the house through local transport, my mom and i stayed and heard mass for a second time.  talk about making up for masses unattended!  hahahaha!

we immediately left after the second mass.  my aunt and my mom were talking about going to reno, nevada via a shuttle bus that leaves in the afternoon so we went first to lucky tours to inquire about the schedule.  unfortunately, all tour packages leave on fridays and saturdays only, so there goes our possible reno rendevouz.  my aunt then said that there is a new casino in cache creek so we decided to go there tomorrow.  for the rest of the day, we planned on going to vacaville and to the house of one of her sons in the same area as well.  we headed back to the house and had lunch, and shortly after, began the drive to vacaville.  after driving for an hour, we reached our destination and began to check out the different shops.  i got a pair of adiddas shoes for US$30 which had an SRP of US$45, a shirt from nike priced at US$12 which had an SRP of US$25, both good deals.  i bought a shirt and a cap for my brother, while my mom bought a pair of slippers for my sister.  we checked out some of the other stores, but i didn't buy some more, since i have a limited budget.  after a couple of hours wandering and checking out more stores, we then headed to a local suburb of vacaville, where my cousin–my aunt's son–was living.  she called him up, but unfortunately, he wasn't home, but since she had a key, we decided to go anyway for me and my mom to check the place out and see his pet dog.  it was an alaskan huskie of some sort, according to my aunt and it was about six months old.

we bought pizza along the way which we planned to have as dinner to be eaten at my cousin's place.  it was a short drive from the mall and it was late in the afternoon when we arrived at his place.  it was a typical american home, but my cousin is still single, so it turned out to be a bachelor's pad complete with a 42-inch plasma HDTV, a small weight room, and stuff you can find in a single guy's place.  my aunt then called for juno, the dog and when he entered the living room, my eyes were witness to the biggest dog i have ever seen in my life!  when i take a knee, i'm already face-to-face with it!  it's that big!  it's not afraid or uneasy with strangers, but it's very playful.  a picture of me with juno can be found on my friendster account.  i wish i had a pet dog like that.  we ate dinner–with juno–and after playing with him some more, we decided to head back home.

i felt sleepy on the way back and dozed off a little.  it was a tiring day and as soon as we reached the house, i changed to my sleepwear and headed off to bed.  little did i know that some of my other cousins were on the way to the house and unfortunately, i was already asleep when they arrived.  they were indeed looking for me, but my mom decided not to wake me up.  and for good reason.  i didn't want to look sleepy in front of them… hehehehehe!  but there were still opportunities to meet them before i leave.  and i wasn't expecting that it'll happen on the next day…

on part three, my very first casino experience, and finally meeting my cousins… one of which i wish wasn't… hahahahaha!!!!

stateside retreat - part one

before i begin, i would like to apologize for taking this long to finally talk about my recent US trip.  things have been hectic since i arrived, and i still haven't been up to speed with everything that is going on at work.  on top of that, there are things that are happening currently that i would rather discuss after the series of posts about my vacation.  it won't make a lot of sense–story-wise–talking about things happening today, then go back a couple of weeks, and then go back to the present.  this ain't no back to the future remake, so i'd rather tell things sequentially correct.  a short disclaimer though, these next couple of entries for sure will be long reads, so please don't say that i didn't inform you beforehand.  anyway, enough with the intros, so here it goes:

november 16, 2007 - day one - departure flight - "one looong day" - all i was thinking upon waking up was, "i never thought this day would come."  my mom offered a mass for the safety of our trip that morning at 7AM, and since i haven't been going to mass for quite a while now due to my work schedule, i went with her to church.  our flight was scheduled later in the afternoon, so i still had half the day to make some last minute arrangements.  i got cash, shopped for groceries, talked to some friends via sms, and finalized the luggage i was bringing along with me all in a span of four hours.  after lunch, we then headed to the airport.  all that time, i was thinking, "is this really happening?"  different emotions ran through me like fast traffic on a well-paved highway.  upon arriving at the airport, my mom bade goodbye to my brother and sister since she'll be staying longer than i am and we headed straight to ticketing.  i was still feeling surreal as we checked our baggage, cleared immigration and waited for our boarding time.

the flight to taipei was faster than i expected.  i was trying to recall the feeling i had 10 years ago when i first traveled by plane and the one thing that stood out was that feeling it does to my ears.  other than that, the food, the service of the stewardesses–i noticed they were a bit… old–and the ride itself was smooth.  it was cool looking outside the window while taking off and how the houses and buildings grew smaller and smaller as we went higher into the air.  we landed at taipei international airport at around 7:30PM and we went to our transit gate.  it was quite far off from where we landed because we had to take the skytrain to the other terminal were our departing gate was.  but since our departing flight was more than four hours away, my mom and i took our time and marveled at the monstrosity of the airport.  upon arriving at our gate, my mom just took a seat and waited, sometimes talked to fellow filipino passengers on the same connecting flight, while i decided to shoot my first video journal using my mobile phone.  i also had my phone's roaming service activated, so when i turned it on, there was a signal coming from TW Mobile, which meant that that network supported my local network at home.  i wandered around as well, and found a free internet station so i checked it out.  i wrote an entry and browsed through the web for about an hour then i went back to the waiting lounge near our gate and just listened to music on my ipod.

after what seemed to be six hours instead of four, we finally boarded the plane for san francisco.  there were lots of other passengers, mostly asian, who also boarded the plane.  after about half an hour, the plane started to taxi to the takeoff runway.  "here goes that feeling in the ears again," i said to myself after the pilot hit the forward thrust lever to send the plane barrelling down the runway.  meals were served again a couple of minutes after takeoff and the in-flight movie, transformers, was shown.  i fell asleep on and off during the movie and there was turbulence most of the way.  my mom had trouble sleeping because of the plane shaking, while i dozed off and on, as if the turbulence was rocking me to sleep then waking me up again.  the flight was pretty, pretty long to say the least.  i got up and went to the lavatory to stretch my arms and legs just once during the entire trip.  i forgot the titles of the two other in-flight movies that were shown, but from what i recall, those were not something that had star power written on it.  i was awakened by the captain's voice announcing that our plane was approaching san francisco.  i peered through the window and saw the bright lights of the city slowly coming into view.  it took about another half hour before the plane started it's runway approach and i was able to get a night time bird's eye view of the land i last set foot upon 10 years and six months ago.

as the plane's wheels touched the runway and slowly came to the arriving gate, all i said to myself was, "i'm here… i'm here."  maybe i was trying to convince myself that this really wasn't a dream and that i'll be stepping off into a world halfway where i came from.  i finally got my legs walking again as we headed to immigration.  my mom and i were the last passengers on our flight to queue up the immigration line since we both stopped along the way to go to the restroom.  i also turned on my mobile phone and AT&T's network came on.  while i was talking to my mom about going through immigration, i noticed that another group of passengers from a succeeding flight came queing up the line.  i didn't make a big deal out of it, and just proceeded to wait in line.  as i was surveying the surroundings, i managed to look at the line behind me, and lo and behold, of all the people i would be running into this part of the world, it was… my boss.  he was having a conversation wth the person directly behind me, so out of courtesy, i called his attention.  we shook hands and i introduced him to my mom.  he came from a non-stop flight from manila.  though i knew that he was also going to the US the same time i was, he was supposed to be flying in yesterday.  but he explained that he was a chance passenger and the flight yesterday was fully booked, so he took the next one.  his father was an airline pilot, so his airfare was free… lucky bastard.  there were two sets of immigration areas, one for US citizens and the other was for visitors/foreigners.  the line on our side was getting long, so the people at the other area decided to accomodate the passengers of the flight right after ours, so my boss went to that side (thankfully).  he told me that he also brought his mobile phone with him and that he'll try to get in touch with me and ask me go along with him and his friends.  i just nodded back at him with the feeling that he was just telling me that out of courtesy, perhaps.

my mom and i breezed through immigration and our passports were both stamped "may 15, 2007," which meant that we were given six months to stay.  we also had no trouble with our luggage at customs, then we were finally out.  i felt overwhelmed as i stepped out of the no re-entry zone, like there were things i wanted to express, but i didn't know where to start.  my mom then called her cousin (technically, she's still considered a relative, so i call her aunt) who was supposed to pick us up and was told that she was on her way and that it'll take another 20 to 30 minutes before she gets to the airport.  so we waited until only there were only a few of us who arrived were left.  as i stepped outside of the arrival area to have a seat on one of the benches, i felt that old, chilling feeling of 10 degrees centigrade which kinda felt different, yet comfy in some ways.  i observed the surrounding area and wandered off a little until my aunt arrived in a new 2008 mitsubishi lancer which was the first time i saw such a vehicle and i immediately fell in love with it.  we exchanged pleasantries and then loaded our luggage in the car and off we went.  vallejo was around more than an hour's travel by car from the airport so my mom and my aunt immediately started talking.  i was still silent and waiting for the feeling to sink in that i am finally here.  it was around 7:30PM local time (pacfic time), still on a friday, so i realized that i experienced the longest friday i ever had.  i also dozed on and off during the car trip and finally, we arrived at the house where i'll be staying for the next six days.  even though my mom and i were both weary from the 13-hour flight, we still stayed up late at night getting settled into our room and having conversations with my aunt.  i also sent a message to my brother telling him that we have arrived at our destination safely.  we had a light dinner and more conversations of what we'll be doing during the coming days and we finally decided to call it a night.

as i settled into bed wearing jogging pants, an inside shirt, a long-sleeved thick shirt, socks, and covered by two blankets, i still can't believe that i'm actually at that part of the globe.  i had no feeling of jet lag since my schedule at work is the same as the time frame where i was, so it's as if i never left.  questions like, what will happen tomorrow?  where will we go?  who will i meet?  what will i experience?  ran through my mind.  i decided to let everything play by ear and see how things go, taking it one step at a time.  'twas a very long day, yet the journey has just begun.

on part two, my trip to oakland, first taste of good food, and meeting relatives that i wish weren't…