SFO to SEA

I'm sitting at my gate the airport, waiting for boarding.

Last night, my godmother called to say that they've arrived in Stockton. I thought I wouldn't have a chance to see them, but, around 6pm, Dee noticed a small woman pass by the window and ring the doorbell. We looked at each other wondering who it might be.

It took me a couple of seconds to recognize Ninang Rosie. Uncle Pol came to the door soon after she came in. They decided to come and visit us anyway since I was leaving the next day.

After hellos and introductions to the kids ("She's Ninang Lea's ninang." "Ninang" means "godmother".), Mom and Ninang Rosie decided to go out for dinner. Dee and family had Bible study scheduled that night, so it was just me, Mom, Ninang Rosie, and Uncle Pol.

We went to an Italian restaurant on Lone Tree Way with Uncle Pol driving their rental car and me giving directions.

Both Uncle Pol and I had the honey-pecan salmon salad. Yum. Mom had lasagna which she only half-finished. Ninang Rosie had meatballs and spaghetti which she barely ate and had to box up. But in the end, we shared a tiramisu that was *very* good.

Then they dropped us off.

I had a hard time falling asleep in the evening, so I only have four hours of sleep. Maybe less. So, I think I'll be plopping into bed as soon as I get home.

Jazz and sushi

Dee suggested going to a jazz place to take my nephew Ian for our outing this time. I always spend one-on-one time with him everytime I visit and it's getting harder to find things to do that we would both enjoy.

Lately, he's been into jazz and music in general, so it sounded like a good idea. I found sfjazz.org online and had planned to be here the first week of October for it. Because of my grandmother's passing, we didn't catch the shows I thought we could go see.

Dee recommended a jazz place called Yoshi's. She said that Ian went there once before with his cousin and that he enjoyed it.

Yoshi's is a sushi restaurant and jazz club. There's one in San Francisco and another in Jack London Square in Oakland. Ian said that it's a bit on the expensive side, so we decided to have dinner at Silver Dragon in Oakland's Chinatown before the show. Ian also suggested going to the 8pm show, because they usually let people stay for the 10pm show if there aren't many people for it.

I ordered our tickets online, which is surprisingly cheap -- for each person, $10 + $3 processing fee.

Anyway, I had to take care of a few things so we started out late. I decided we would just eat at Yoshi's anyway.

We got there at 7:30pm, picked up our tickets at the Will Call window and went into the club. We ordered some sushi and hot tea.

The sushi was very fresh and very good, especially the Rainbow Sushi dish that Ian ordered. The fish was so fresh that there was a certain sweetness to it.

And the show was also very good and there was good energy in the crowd. The 10pm show was cancelled altogether (not surprising, since it was a weeknight), so the band played until 10pm.

Ian, being primarily a drummer himself, was watching the drummer carefully, but he didn't want to go and chat with him after the show. But he said he enjoyed the show. And so did I.

MNL to SFO

Am at Dee's house, freshly showered. And I tell ya, I feel much cleaner after a shower here. For one, I'm not sweating as soon as I get out of the shower.

The flight started out a bit worrisome. Even before they started serving dinner, we hit turbulence. After dinner, they turned the cabin lights off so people could sleep. I'm not sure how many hours I slept before I got woken up by the plane pitching back and forth and up and down like a roller coaster. It was the worse flight turbulence I had encountered ever. At one point, I think the plane angled about 45 degrees clockwise, but the pilot straightened the plane right away.

I lifted the eye cover they gave us to check on Mom. (Philippine Airlines gives away this satiny pouch which contains a pair of socks, an eye cover, and a travel toothbrush and toothpaste.) She looked worried. I went back to sleep. I didn't want her to see me worried too. Eventually, she did the same.

That was before we hit the dateline. The TV monitor showed the map with the plane and the route marked in red. The second half was relatively smooth, although there was still some turbulence.

A couple of hours before landing, they woke us up and served breakfast. Landing was uneventful.

There seems to be a custom, only in Philippine Airlines: After landing, the passengers would applaud. I don't think I've seen it in other airlines.

Well, I dunno about that applause. One would think that landing a plane safely should be par for the course. Otherwise, the pilot should be looking for another job, don't you agree?

That kinda reminds me of one of Mom's stories:

A priest and a jeepney driver die at the same time and they both go to heaven. Just as they believed, they were rewarded with things they could not have on earth. It was the driver who was first granted a huge mansion to live in. The priest was excited and he thought that, surely, he deserved an even bigger mansion.

But when he was lead to his new home in heaven, it was a very small cottage. He asked God why the jeepney driver got a huge mansion, while he -- who did God's work most of his life -- only got a small cottage. God replied, "That's because, when you say Mass, the people fall asleep in church. But when he drives, all his passengers pray."

I suppose that flight's pilot will be getting a big mansion.

Candelaria to Manila

Going home was a big production. *sigh* I would have preferred a quiet exit, but since Mom was with me, I suppose Auntie Eying felt it was necessary to give us a big send-off.

We were woken up on Sunday morning at 3:45am by my aunt, knocking on our door. I quickly took a shower (Mom took hers the night before) and we all hurriedly finished packing. The van had arrived at 1am from Manila to pick us up.

By 5:00am, we were piling into the van. It wasn't as full as it was when my cousins went back to Manila, but it was still full. The driver Benny came with Zaldy's right-hand Mator, who sat in front with Boyet. Mom, Auntie Eying and I sat in the middle row. JJ sat in the back with the luggage.

We picked up Auntie Baby in Amungan an hour later. She had been waiting since 5am with Uncle Use and her son Jeffrey. And off we went.

Well, when you have Mom, Auntie Eying, and Auntie Baby all in one vehicle, don't expect to get any sleep. They were chatting and joking and laughing all the way to Manila, reminiscing about old incidents, telling funny stories about schoolchildren (both Auntie Eying and Auntie Baby are grade school teachers), retelling familiar jokes.

We stopped at the JollyBee in SBMA (Subic Bay Military Area?) for breakfast, then we were off again. We arrived in Manila close to lunch.

On Friday, I made reservations online for Rothmann Hotel where I stayed last May. Unfortunately, they couldn't process my reservation for two business days. I just assumed they would have an opening. So when Zaldy et al arrived, I asked him to confirm my reservation, and it turned out that they were full. (I later found an email where they responded to my question but no confirmation of my reservation.) They recommended the hostel across the street.

So, we drove to the hostel and they luckily had vacancies. But the rooms were very small. It's about half the size of a regular hotel room. But, at least, there were private bathrooms. The clerk gave us "deluxe" rooms, which were slightly bigger, for the same price as regular rooms. And they allowed us to have three people in each room, so we only had to rent two rooms. The price was PhP1900 for each room with breakfast for two, plus PhP450 for an additional person and PhP200 for an additional breakfast. Then I purchased a 16-hour internet access card for PhP965.

They had a small dining area in the front of the lobby where the cousins laid out the food they brought with them. Judith brought several boxes of buko pie; we took two. I ordered 200 pieces of yema from Sonia, but she refused to charge me for it. She even made extras for us to eat right there. And they were better than the ones I brought home in May. She made them with finely ground peanuts, which adds a unique flavor to them. I'm gonna have to learn how to make them.

Two days prior, Mom had ordered some pastillas from a local maker and they were very good too. They are softer and a much better quality than the premade ones that are sold at the bus depot and other roadside stores. Then she asked Auntie Baby to buy PhP1000 worth of linga, which is sweetened sesame seed sticks. We were snacking on them on the way to Manila.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure we made such a ruckus at the hotel with all the little children running around and arguing about a video game. It was already 3pm when the last of the cousins left. Mom and Auntie Baby decided to go shopping at the nearby Robinsons Mall. I went upstairs to work.

In the evening, Auntie Eying, JJ and Mom went back to Robinsons for dinner. Auntie Baby stayed behind until I finished work and we headed out to search for them. We thought Boyet was with them, but it turned out that he got left behind. When we found them, they were at a restaurant right next to Goldilocks and they weren't happy with the food at all. Auntie Baby and I decided to go to Goldilocks after hearing that review.

We ordered bangus belly sinigang, laing (gabi leaves cooked in coconut milk), barbequed pork on a stick, and sago at gulaman for drinks. It was a very good meal. When Mom, Auntie Eying, and JJ joined us, we ordered halo-halo for dessert. I was stuffed.

Then we headed home and I worked some more, while Mom and Auntie Baby went over to the other room to play cards. We all went to bed by 9pm, but I got up around 2am to prepare for the burning of a virtual temple. A little after 4am, I took a nap for a little over an hour then got up again around 5:30am. The temple burn ended at 7am.

Everybody had already woken up and were clamoring for breakfast. Boyet had left very early in the morning for his 5am flight. Mom and Auntie Baby took a shower before I did. I was having problems with the preparation for the second burn, so I said I'd follow them downstairs. They were able to claim their free breakfast tickets and I asked for my breakfast to be packed. I rushed back to the room to keep working. JJ delivered my breakfast soon after.

The hotel's wireless network proved to be less reliable than the internet cafe. Thankfully, I had some help. The second burn ended at 7am, but I took care of a few things before signing out and taking another half hour nap.

The hotel allowed half-day rentals, so I extended our room for a half day so I could take a nap. Auntie Eying and JJ had to go to the Veterans Administration, then they checked out of their room and moved their things to our room. Mom and Auntie Baby left for lunch while I was taking a nap. They came back with very good food that they purchased from a turo-turo (literally "point-point", it's a small eatery or cafeteria where you point at what dishes you want). I had tinola (a chicken dish with broth and green papaya), lechon kawali (pan fried pork), and rice. I set the dried fish aside for Auntie Eying.

Then I alternated between napping and using up my internet minutes. I was able to show Auntie Baby the YouTube video of my nephews, and another of my niece and sister.

At 5:30pm, we got ready to leave. We said goodbye to Auntie Baby, Auntie Eying, and JJ in front of the hotel as our ride arrived.

There was traffic as we expected. We decided to go with the hotel's airport transportation for PhP700. They said a cab would have cost us PhP300. (I'll have to check how much it cost me last May.) But for our safety, we decided to go with the hotel car. Mom was chatting with the driver the whole time. And we were lucky to get a glimpse of the infamous sunset over Manila Bay as we turned into Roxas Boulevard.

Check-in was fairly easy. As I expected, we went through security three times. But there was a porter who helped us with our luggage from the car to the check-in counter.

We just got through the third and final security and documents check before we board, and we're waiting fohr our flight. Two more hours....

Filipino food!

We went to Amungan to visit Auntie Baby today. Mom, Auntie Eying, Boyet, JJ, Aling Meding (who took care of Mamang). JJ's brother Michael drove his grandmother's van.

When we piled into the van, Michael asked me to explain to Mom that the van doesn't have air conditioning. I told him to just open up the windows and tell her that it's "natural" air conditioning. After we got going, the breeze was so nice and cool. Auntie Eying was feeling cold.

We left Candelaria at 9am and got to Amungan in half an hour or so and, as soon as we got there, they started serving food -- puto, suman, and buko juice. (Puto is steamed bread. Suman is sticky rice wrapped in palm leaves. Buko is young coconut.)

And talk, talk, talk.

At noon, they served lunch. With rice, we had pusit (calamari), alimasag (crab), nilagang baboy (pork boiled with vegetables), pinakbet (vegetables cooked a certain way) with fish, and more buko juice.

More talk, talk, talk.

Auntie Baby has two grandsons with her son Jeffrey and his wife Maricel -- Ivan and James. When I was last here in 2005, I met them for the first time. Ivan was fierce and carried around a real bolo (a kind of hatchet) that was bigger than him. James (whom Ivan calls "James Bond" or "JemsBan" in the local accent ;) ) was still a babe then. James is now three and takes a liking to me. He has huge enticing eyes. Everytime I ask him something, his response is "Opo," which is the respectful version of "yes." The boy is a charmer.

When Jeffrey arrives, he showed us a monitor lizard that got caught in a trap. Thankfully, it was tied up. The kids hovered around it and weren't afraid at all.

Auntie Eying sent a text to Paz, whom we met during the wake. It turned out that Paz got training as a massage therapist and she had given Mom a full body massage for PhP100. Yes, that's US$2. And then she had the misfortune of playing "tong-its" (a card game) with Mom during Mamang's wake. Their agreement was that, if Paz won, Mom would pay her double the price of the massage, and, if Mom won, the massage was free. Needless to say, by the end of the evening, Paz owed Mom eight hours of massage. Poor Paz.

Anyway, Paz arrived in a tricycle after lunch, and more relatives who live in the baybay (seashore) passed by after finding out from the tricycle driver that there were guests. Soon, there were a lot of people, but that's not unusual at Auntie Baby's house. Her house is Grand Central Station of Amungan.

Around 1pm, while Paz was paying for her debt (i.e.: giving Mom a massage), a vendor of rice cakes arrived. She was selling a huge tray of bibingka, which is sticky rice topped with sticky caramel sauce. And it was freshly made and still very hot. She sold us quite a bit.

Someone came by with four large yellow-fin fish, freshly caught, for PhP400. Mom said to give PhP500. We left one with Auntie Baby and gave one to Michael, who only charged us for fuel.

After Mom's massage, we started back since I'm on a deadline and had to get to the internet cafe. When we got back, I took a quick nap and when I woke up, we had again snacked on Auntie Eying's macaroni salad. Then JJ and I headed to the internet cafe. It was 3pm.

JJ had to wait a couple of hours because the internet cafe was full. I was able to work right away because I had my own laptop and they just provided me with a network cable and a power outlet. I usually sit just outside the door where it's cooler and less crowded. While he waited, JJ bought some pastillas (a milk candy shaped into sticks) and shared with me.

The internet cafe usually closes at 7pm, but they stayed open a little later today. But as I was finishing up, JJ asked if I wanted some barbequed chicken intestines on a stick. They also had barbequed meat on a stick and we decided to get that. And since Mom and Auntie Eying had been talking about balut, we decided to get ten of those too. For those who are not in the know, balut is an infamous Filipino delicacy.

Really, it's just boiled egg...

Boiled duck egg...

Boiled fertilized duck egg...

Yes, with a duck fetus inside...

But very yummy.

So we took the yummy stuff home, had dinner and enjoyed our balut. Then we watched the mermaid show "Dyezebel" until bedtime.

Yeah, I think we were eating once an hour today. So much good stuff.

SEA to SFO to MNL

Sept 22 Mon

I was up by 7:30am. The Shuttle Express driver called me at 8:50 and said that he would be early. I was still rushing through breakfast. He picked up another passenger first, and he arrived at 9:15 as secheduled. By 10:30am, I had checked in, gone through security, and found a seat at my gate. I took a nap and got woken up by a business traveller having a meeting on his cellphone. At 11:45am, I went off to find lunch.

SeaTac Airport has changed a lot since I last flew in May. There's a new food court area that I overheard an airlines agent recommend to another traveller. The food court is a wide open space with shops and restaurants; it kinda reminds me of the Minneapolis airport.

I found Ivar's and ordered a bowl of white clam chowder. There wasn't much time to wait for anything more than that. Then I rushed back to my gate with the brown bag and wolfed down my clam chowder as the previous flight was unboarding. I was done by the time they started boarding the business class.

The flight was delayed, so it was already 3:00pm by the time I got my bag at the baggage claim at SFO and walked out to the curb to meet Dee. Then we rushed to downtown San Francisco to pick up my mom's passport. Dee was telling me how they were also rushing and running late that morning for my mom's appointment, because my mom didn't bring her cellphone and she was looking for a bathroom. I was authorized to pick it up so that she wouldn't have to park. She warned me of the security checkpoint, so I left my things and only took my ID and my cellphone with me. It was an easy pick-up. Then we headed to my dad's, chatting and catching up on news on the way there.

We had to go to the bank and I had to wire some money using my dad's computer, so I didn't really have time to nap at all. I had a snack and, by 6:30pm, we were rushing to pick up my mom with my little nephew in tow.

Dee just dropped us off in front of the international terminal and we were on our own. It was after 8:00pm. We checked in and waited for a wheelchair for my mom. It turned out that the flight would be non-stop after all; the itinerary said that there was a stop in Guam. When we got to our gate, I went and bought a sandwich for her and a salad for me, and two bottles of water.

At 9:30pm, they started boarding the folks in wheelchairs first. We were lucky to get a two-seater row. I initially sat on the aisle seat, but we traded later because my mom had to go to the bathroom more frequently. The flight was delayed for more than an hour while they figured out why the computers were saying that the plane was 1,500 lbs heavier than the available fuel. We didn't leave until after 11:30pm.

The flight was a little less than 14 hours long. We mostly slept and read and ate when we were served. I was reading "I, Avatar" by Mark Stephen Meadows; it made me miss Second Life less.


Sep 24 Wed

We still got to Manila on time, a little after 5:00am local time (GMT+8). Yes, Tuesday was compressed into about eight hours, and I slept most of that, so there's no point talking about it.

In Manila, going through immigration was very easy, surprisingly. A lady agent was directing traffic in the lines while she whistled a happy tune. And the agent behind the booth smiled when I came up and he didn't ask any questions at all. He just stamped my passport, took his copy of the form and smiled again as I thanked him. The aide who was pushing mom's wheelchair also assisted us with getting our luggage. Going through customs was even quicker. And we found Zaldy quickly enough.

Zaldy hired the same driver Benny, who took us to the Victory Liner station the last time I visited. This time, he was driving a red SUV and it was full. There was Benny and Zaldy in front, me, my mom and one of Zaldy's neighbor Mator (his real name is Anthony but his brother nicknamed him after a cartoon series), Obet (Nancy's husband) with two of their kids in the back next to the luggage. It was about 6:00am when we started off. Then we stopped at a rest area. We had breakfast at a Chow King and I was able to buy a sim card for my phone. Forty-five minutes later, we were on our way again.

Zaldy said that there's a new road that goes faster because it bypasses the zigzaggy area. So, we took that route, except it seemed we had to pay toll at least three times. We also encountered three accidents on the road -- a small truck in a ditch, a head-on collision, and another collision with a car ending up perpendicular to the road. It didn't look like there were any injuries in any of them, but the vehicles looked really dented. We saw an ambulance come up behind us and then go in the opposite direction a few minutes later, with sirens both ways.

There was supposed to be a tropical storm, but the wettest weather we encountered was heavy drizzle. Some roads had flooding on the sides though, and most of the rivers had high waters. But something about the cloudiness, the blue mountains in the distance, the thick green foliage, and the quietness of the fields where the new road run through. It reminded me of my high school days when we lived in Bataan. And it was very soothing. Very quieting and refreshing to the soul. I hadn't felt that for a very long time.

It was already noon by the time we arrived in Candelaria.

I touched Auntie Eying's hand to my forehead (a traditional form of greeting an elder) and hugged JJ, who had been my helper during my last trip and who had kept me informed via email of what was going on with Mamang since my last trip.

I hugged Ate Hels, whom I hadn't seen since 1982. "Ate" (pronounced "ah'te") is an honorific title for an older sister but is often used for any older female relative in the same generation. Ate Hels is Auntie Eying's oldest daughter and Zaldy's sister. Auntie Soling, whom I saw during my trip here last May, was seated by the coffin and I gave her a hug too.

Auntie Soling stood up with me while I viewed Mamang's body. It doesn't look like Mamang at all. It doesn't feel like her. It was as though it was a stranger's body lying there.

Soon, we were called for lunch and I went and joined the rest. Zaldy, Mator, and Benny headed back to Manila soon after lunch. They'll be picking up Zaldy's other siblings in the next couple of days.

Mom is in good spirits. I think seeing her sister and my cousins and other relatives is helping buffer the whole thing for her. She said it hasn't sunk in yet.

Mount Vernon

Was short on sleep again. I woke up at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep so I went online. By 9am, I started getting ready. Checked out of the hotel by 11am and headed to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home.

It was already after noon when I got there. It was hot. The parking was diverted to a neighboring lot, which was mostly gravelly. I wanted to do the "National Treasure Tour" but it was already sold out for the day, so I just paid for the admission, which included a tour of the mansion.

I knew I wouldn't have time to do everything, but I think I covered the major points. There were a couple of short films to watch at the orientation building. And the host was funny. He said that photography was allowed everywhere else except the inside of the mansion and the inside of the museum and especially not the infamous dentures, which I didn't see anyway.

After the films, I headed for the mansion tour right away, passing by the Liberty Bell replica, which a young boy volunteered to ring. The wait for the tour was supposed to be 25 minutes but it was mostly in the shade of the trees. Yay for Washington planting those trees.

Instead of leading groups of people around, the tour guides stood at key areas of the mansion, and they just kept repeating the blurbs as the line of people go through. I went through part of the virtual tour online the night before, so I kinda looked out for the items mentioned in the virtual tour.

After the tour, I walked around behind the mansion to take pictures of the gorgeous view of the Potomac, then I headed to the old tomb and the new tomb and ended up at the museum.

At the entrance of the museum, there's a big relief of Washington's face that seemed to follow you as you moved side to side. Nobody mentioned it but I noticed it as I was looking for a good angle to take a picture. Then I mentioned it to a lady near me, and she mentioned it to her son, and pretty soon, a lot of people were walking sideways to see the face move. :D

The stuff inside the museum are very interesting. There were jewelry and clothing and tools. And there were also samples of the china for each presidency.

After the museum, I had a bit of time, so I went to the food court for a very late lunch. Then off I went to the airport. I had to return the car by 5pm to avoid being charged for another day. But my flight wasn't until 8:40pm so I had a long wait. I got a book of sudoku puzzles and was breezing through them. (They were easy ones.)

The first leg from DC to Las Vegas was 4.5 hours and I slept through most of it. I even slept through the beverages. But I was awake enough to notice that the flight attendant in the PA system said, as we approached Las Vegas, "On behalf of the flight crew, we welcome you to Lost Wages." :D

The flight from Las Vegas to SeaTac was also very full but I was lucky enough to have an empty seat between me and the guy on the aisle seat. I thought I could stay awake, but as soon as we started pulling out of the terminal, I promptly fell asleep. I woke up briefly as we took off. Then forced myself to stay awake when they served beverages. A few more sudoku puzzles, then back to sleep.

When I got to baggage claim, I saw my luggage just coming by on the ramp, so it was perfect timing. Went over to the ground transportation area and called for a shuttle to the parking lot. There was an older couple who were picked up by their shuttle. And then the same guy who sat near me on the plane also arrive. But my shuttle got there first.

At the parking lot, there were three sheriff cars. The driver said there had been an accident. My car's hood was up and I wondered if it was my car. Well, long story short, apparently, someone purposely ran over a pedestrian and the shift manager of the parking garage was an eye witness so he was being interviewed. Meanwhile, as he was getting my car ready, he realized that my battery was dead, so he jumped it with his own car.

And, for some reason, there was a clicking noise as though my emergency blinkers were on, but they're not. And all the lights were flashing. Well, I was obviously upset. I had just gotten an oil change the day before my flight out and my car was just fine when I left it there. And to add insult to injury, they didn't wash my car, even though I already paid for it. And I'd have to email them to get a refund.

Anyway, he charged it again for a longer time but realized that it won't hold a charge. He said that sometimes the car stalls after a while, so he offered to drive to where I was if I got stalled on the way home. I said that was fine, I had AAA. Well, at least, he was very professional and very helpful.

I bet one of their employees turned my blinkers on all week and that's why my battery died.

I got home safely with only one brief scary moment when the car jerked and all the lights flashed again. The clicking noise persisted until I got home. When I turned off the engine, the light started flashing again. I guess, my battery is really dead. Will have to call AAA later today to get towed to the dealer. *sigh*

Monuments and memorials

What's the difference between a monument and a memorial? That's the question posed to us by Melvin, the tour guide of the TourMobile twilight tour. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Huaying suggested that I get up early for the tours because the price is the same and they go from 9am to 5pm. You get off where you want and reboard another tourbus later. Well, I only had four hours of sleep (I had to take care of a few things online in the morning) so I figured I wouldn't last from 9am to 5pm anyway. Besides, I could only do the twilight tour on Monday, since I have an online class on Tuesday night and I fly out on Wednesday night.

Kiss and Ride

So I didn't leave the hotel until 11am or so. I headed to the Van Dorn Street station, which was the closest Alexandria station with parking. It was only five miles or so from my hotel. When I got there, there were signs for "Kiss and Ride" (isn't that cute?) and "Park and Ride". Since I was alone and didn't have anyone to kiss, I followed the Park and Ride signs. Well, it turned out that the lot was full and there was no street parking. So I searched my GPS for the next nearest station and found the Huntington station which had a multi-level garage.

Apparently, I wasn't the only tourist in town because the station manager was busy answering questions from two other families. I got a Smartrip card, which I needed to get out of the garage. Right off the bat, Metro gets $5 just for the card. So you pay $10 and you get a $5 value. Parking costs $4.50/day. So I had to add more money to for train fare. I asked another agent on the loading platform which train to take to get to the White House and she advised me to take either of the trains parked there (whichever would leave first), exit at King Street for the red line train and get off at MacPherson. I decided to get off at Federal Triangle, where the Old Town Trolley Tour map said to get off for the White House Visitor Center.

Federal Triangle turned out to be more than a Metro stop. There was a food court and just outside was a plaza where there was a performance of African drummers and dancers. I was about to enter the Ronald Reagan Building to cut across, when I noticed that they were going through a search process, so I asked someone behind me how to get to the White House Visitor Center. He directed me to Pennsylvania Avenue and said that it was a block or two away.

It turned out to be easy to find. There were about as many tourists on the sidewalks as there were locals. You could tell them apart by the way they dressed (casual vs. business attire) and the way they walked (more leisurely vs. more hurriedly). Of course, the strollers and the cameras were a dead giveaway.

The White House

You go through a security screening just to enter the visitor center. I have no idea why. There was nothing there that you wouldn't find in any other tourist museum anywhere else in the country. There were two corners showing the same video about the White House. There were displays with pictures along one long wall. There was a chair from the Blue Room. Some china. A gift shop. A model of the White House. And that was it. There was a police kiosk and a ranger kiosk, but, apparently, there were no tours. The ranger said that you'd have to apply for a tour of the White House six months in advance.

So, off I went north on 15th Street towards the White House. I hoped to at least see it from the outside. Meanwhile, I took pictures of the Treasury building and other interesting buildings. Along the way, a caravan of black cars, preceded and followed by police cars with blaring sirens, drove past going south. Soon, it was followed by another caravan going north.

I couldn't find where the White House was and I turned left on a small street where I saw a number of people turn. It turned out to be Pennsylvania Avenue, which was the back side of the White House. There were police everywhere! On foot, on bikes, on cars.

I asked one if it was okay to take pictures and she said it was. I only took a few. The White House wasn't as big as I thought it was, although it was supposed to have 132 rooms.

Washington to Lincoln

Then I headed south on 17th Street towards the Washington Monument. There were still a lot of police, especially in front. We were forbidden to turn into State Place. Instead I ended up at the Ellipse, which was right in front of the White House. But I was so focused on heading towards the monument that I didn't think to turn around to look. It was later in the twilight tour that I realized I could have seen the White House between the trees if I walked a little more towards the center. Well, there were tourists stopped by police there anyway, so I decided to keep going.

I walked back to 17th Street where there was a line of vending vans (roach coaches) that alternately sold food or souvenirs. I had a hotdog and ice tea, then walked down a bit to buy some souvenirs for the kids -- a sack bag saying "You don't know me... Federal Witness Protection" for Ian, a couple of smaller sack bags with the presidential seal for Cooper and Stoney, and a pink onesie saying "Future President" for Kihra.

Then I kept walking south and turned into the Washington Monument area and got REALLY close. Then I headed west to the WWII Memorial, where I found the Philippines listed among the states and territories. Then I walked along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. It was after 5pm and my feet were killing me.

I figured I'd make my way to the Union Station where I would have dinner and catch the twilight tour.

The guide in a booth inside the Lincoln Memorial said that I could go back to 17th Street (the equivalent of 6 blocks away) and catch a bus. I asked the water vendor outside to see if he knew a shorter alternative and he took out a map showing that the nearest Metro was in Foggy Bottom, eight blocks north on 23rd Street. Well, at least the Metro was more of a certainty. I knew that it would take me right to Union Station. So, off I went and trudged 8 blocks on my achy feet. People were getting off work so it was busy. I had to get off at Metro Center to catch the red line to Union Station.

Union Station

The Union Station is really beautiful, especially the main hall. Outside the Metro area, there are shops and cafes and a huge food court. It looks more like a Las Vegas hotel without the slot machines. And just as busy. Apparently, there are other train companies like Amtrak that use it as a station, too. The Amtrack area is like an airport terminal with numbered gates and public announcements reminding people to keep their handcarries with them.

After paying for my ticket for the TourMobile twilight tour, I found an Indian cuisine restaurant in the food court and got chicken saag (spinach) and chicken korma with rice and naan. I would have gone with the chicken curry but it said that it's spicy and I couldn't risk it.

A young man approached me asking if I could help him. I couldn't understand what he was saying because it was so noisy. Then he was called by someone behind him and he left. I think he was panhandling but he didn't look like he needed it. He was dressed better than I was.

Twilight tour

Close to 6:30pm, I headed outside to catch the TourMobile bus. I saw two busses and the driver of the second one showed me where I should get in line. (The driver of the first one was missing.) But I figured I had a little time to take pictures of the outside of the station. When I got back, several others were already on the bus and the conductor was taking tickets. When I got to the front of the line, he asked me where I was from. After I said Seattle, he said, "Oh, the *other* Washington." I sat all the way in the back.

The bus is a regular large bus with an extension/trailer. They took out the window panes and instead had plastic curtains over the windows, like the ones you'd see in a softshelled Jeep. Melvin, the conductor, came around and retracted the curtains since it wasn't raining anyway. He said he hated those himself. When the driver of the second bus walked by, I asked which was the best side for taking pictures and he said that the other side (left side) was, until after the Jefferson Memorial. So, I moved to the left side. And a good thing too, because the bus was almost full. And soon we were off for a three-hour tour... a three-hour tour.

Melvin turned out to be a very funny and very entertaining tour guide. It rained for a short while as we wound our way through the streets towards the Jefferson Memorial. We drove around the Capitol, which I missed earlier. There was a museum that supposedly had the only DaVinci paintings and sketches in the US. And Melvin talked about a couple of displays in the Smithsonian Museum of Gems -- the Hope diamond and the largest sapphire in the world. He told us about one of his tours when a girl blurted out that her companion is the granddaughter of the donor of the sapphire.

Jefferson and Roosevelt

When the rain let up, we got a beautiful sunset and a double rainbow. And the sky was just perfect for good pictures. We stopped at the Jefferson Memorial for about a half hour, when we roamed on our own. Then we went to the Roosevelt Memorial, where Melvin gave us a quick tour through the four different areas, representing each of Roosevelt's terms in office. On one side, there was a small field with lots of fireflies and he told an anecdote about a family from California who, upon seeing the fireflies, remarked, "It's just like Disney!"

Faces on the wall

After the Roosevelt Memorial, our next stop is the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Memorial right next to it. Melvin said that after dark is the best time to view the Korean War Memorial. (I skipped it earlier in the day.) The reason was that, in the daytime, it's easy to miss the faces on the wall. So, out of curiosity, I went to see it. And it was amazing. The faces were photorealistic, but in negative so they looked (perhaps appropriately) like ghosts. It was hard taking a picture of it because the light is so subtle, my camera refused to take a picture. And a flash would just ruin the whole thing. So it's something that has to be seen in person.

But before you get to the wall, you'll see several statues of soldiers as they're crossing a field. Melvin said that at nighttime, it's easier to feel as though you were right in that field with them. And when it rains and the water streams down from their parkas, the sculpture pulls you deeper into it and gets another dimension of realism added to it.

While we were still on the bus, Melvin mentioned the polished black marble in rows, but I didn't hear all of it because of noise. It wasn't until I was heading towards the Lincoln Memorial that I realized what they were meant for. The reflection of the street lamps on the black marble made them look like long pools of water. Just like in rice paddies. And *that* caught my breath.

But I only had 15 minutes, so I went to the walkway between the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial to take a picture of both the memorial and the Washington Monument with its reflection. The colors were incredibly more dramatic than earlier in the day. Times like that, I wish I had a tripod. I went up the steps a little bit to get a better view of Lincoln's statue (there were still a lot of people hanging out at the steps), then I headed back to the bus.

The final stop is the WWII Memorial and I decided to stay in the bus. My feet couldn't take anymore. Besides, it was already 10pm. The wind was blowing cold but it was a beautiful night. At 10:30pm, the group came back and we headed back to the Union Station, passing by a bridge heading towards Arlington National Cemetery so we could see the "eternal flame" where Kennedy is buried.

Falling in love

So what's the difference between a monument and a memorial? There were two guesses among the passengers. The lady behind me heard from another tour guide that the Washington Monument is the only monument and everything else built after that was a memorial. A teenager ventured that a monument is for a single person, whereas a memorial is for an event or a group of people. The real answer: A monument is built to honor a living person, and a memorial is built to honor a deceased. The Washington Monument was started while George Washington was still alive, although it was completed after he died.

Anyway, if you ever go to Washington, DC, take a twilight tour with Melvin. He was born in the city, he graduated with a Pharmacy degree in the city, he performed in a theater in the city, his father is buried in the Arlington Cemetery, he eats, lives, and breathes the city. And he loves the city so much, he'll make you fall in love with it too.

Cruising the Potomac

I found a cruise that originates at Alexandria on a tour guide book that the hotel clerk gave me. David had suggested doing the cruise on Sunday because there would be too many tourists in DC on weekends. It was after 2pm when I got to the Alexandria waterfront. I found a garage only a half block from the ticket booth.

I got my ticket and had about an hour left before the boat got there. For a short while, I watched a group of entertainers dressed in 19th century costumes teaching tourists how to square dance. Then I went into the Torpedo Factory next door.

The Torpedo Factory really used to be a torpedo factory. They even had a couple of torpedoes lying around. ;) But now, it houses a large group of artist studios, where artists create and sell their work. The entrance from the wharf side brings you in through the back of the building. There are two intersecting hallways that form a cross. The front-to-back is the shorter one. One end of the long hallway had a semi-circular staircase, whose bannister had panels made of sculptures and other art. There are three floors (I only got to see the bottom two) and each room housed one or more artists. There were the traditional painters and sculptors. There was a place that made dreamy fabric art and beadings. There was a potter who made vases that looked like women's dresses. But the best I saw were ceramic tile works shaped and decorated like kimonos. Next to them was a book describing how the artist made it. However, at around $4,000 each, they were out of my price range. ;)

When I got out, I saw a crowd around the gazebo, so I went over to check it out. There was a woman balancing on a stretched rope (low on the ground, of course) and juggling knives and lit torches and other tricks. She introduced herself as the "amazing and beautiful Signora Bella".

Soon the Matthew Hayes ferry arrived and a group of us hopped on.

Well, the boat trip wasn't that impressive. We were so far from the shore that it was difficult to take pictures of anything. The most interesting part was watching two imposing government helicopters as they flew overhead. The Lincoln Memorial from the water is an amazing view, however.

Forty-five minutes later, we were at Georgetown. The Georgetown wharf was packed full of people, probably hundreds. There were outdoor restaurants and cafes with tables outdoors and they were all packed full. You'd think there was a festival going on.

I walked out to K Street and beyond, and found the building with the gold dome that David and I passed by as we were driving through Georgetown. I took a picture of that and turned down that street.

I saw a TourMobile bus at the same corner but decided against it since it was already 4:30pm. I kept walking, looking at the restaurants after I remembered I hadn't had lunch yet. There were a lot of expensive Italian and French restaurants, as well as burger joints and bars. Then I found a tent sign that offered crepes and bubble tea and pointed down a side street. I like crepes and I *love* bubble tea, so I went down that street. This was a street of tiny but charming old brick houses packed against each other. The cafe was one of those houses. Well, as the sign suggested, the menu was a strange mix of French (crepes) and Thai (satay and curry), and wherever bubble tea originated. I had the impression the bubble tea came from China. But the combination works.

I had the chicken satay crepe with mango-flavored bubble tea. And, oh, my, the chicken satay crepe was incredibly wonderful! The satay was the perfect blend of flavor and spice, the chicken was moist, and the crepe was perfectly made. And the bubble tea was very refreshing.

After that, I continued down the street and came upon a bridge. I stopped and took pictures of what initially looked like a dam. Then I realized, it was a lock. I followed the creek downstream and found more locks. I saw a few people sitting on benches, enjoying the nice day. There were three people having lunches by the creek. Joggers. Walkers. But generally a very quiet area. The locks ended near a minor freeway. I continued up to that minor freeway and a short block later, there was an exit to the right with a tunnel. A car turned into that exit so I knew that it went through. I followed, feeling a bit nervous. But it was a short tunnel and I saw that it lead back to K Street. As I was walking through the tunnel, a police car came to the intersection just after the tunnel and backed up into the tunnel. I guess, it was where they park to catch errant motorists.

A block or two down, I crossed K Street and headed towards the water. I was close to the wharf. After lingering around the boat house taking pictures, I headed towards the ticket booth for the cruise and traded in my ticket for an earlier return trip. Then I sat on the pier until the boat arrived.

The return trip was more relaxing since I wasn't trying to take pictures anymore. There was a noisy crowd of people on the boat, but it was generally a more relaxing trip.

Back at the wharf in Alexandria, I followed a group into the food court and got a gyro with baklava to go. Great service and good food. Yummmmm.

A cathedral after the wedding

Huaying had asked her friend David to take me on a tour of Washington, DC. So after the wedding, we headed off across the Potomac River. Of course, even with a GPS, we still got lost. But we got to drive through Georgetown, which is a long stretch of little shops and cafes with a gazillion undergrads in seductive shorts and mini-skirts, walking around with large shopping bags.

Eventually, we found Kennedy Center of Performing Arts, where we were charged $16 for parking. The building itself was a large rectangular structure, which wouldn't be impressive if it weren't for the fact that the exterior and interior walls were made of white marble, and the interior floors, of varnished hardwood. The first floor had the Hall of Nations where flags hung from the high ceilings. On another corridor, there was a sculpture of the head of President Kennedy, and on each end of the corridor were theater stages where they had performances that were free to the public.

We took the elevator to the top floor, which was mostly empty except for the cafe staff and a couple of security guards. There was a very wide terrace that went all the way around so you could get a 360-degree view of the city. And that's what we did. David pointed out different monuments and significant buildings. Most of them are too far to get a good picture of without telescopic lenses, but it was a great idea to go there to see most of the city.

One of the places he pointed out was the National Cathedral, which took 80 years to complete because everything was handcarved. It was at the highest point in the entire city. And, since it was still early and it was not likely that the cathedral would be part of the bus tours, we decided to go. David admitted he had an ulterior motive for suggesting the cathedral -- he lived only a couple of blocks from it, so I could just drop him off.

Well, even though we couldn't go inside, we were able to walk around it and take lots of pictures. There was so much detail. Each relief was different. So was each gargoyle. And the sun cooperated, so I got good contrast between light and shadow.

Afterwards, we plotted my route using the GPS, then I dropped David off and headed back to the hotel. After getting lost again, of course.

Washington (State) to Washington (DC)

It was difficult finding cheap fares to Washington, DC, because of the high gas prices, but I found one through CheapTickets.com for under $500. The problem is that it's not refundable, but then I just purchased travel insurance.

I didn't sleep and I had to pack in a hurry. By 3am, I was on the road to the airport. Harmony gave me the link to a cheaper parking lot than the one I found. The counter guy talked too fast. Either that or my brain is mush that I had to keep asking him to repeat what he just said. The shuttle driver was very friendly, on the other hand.

My flight was with US Airways and I couldn't reserve a seat online. It was a very full flight. Thankfully, I got the window seat in the bulkhead row, right behind first class. I only had 45 minutes to get to my second plane in Phoenix, so I figured I needed to be able to get out of the plane faster. Well, it took me a while (short on sleep, remember?) to figure out that US Airways load up their planes differently. From what I can figure, they assign zones so that people in the windows load up first, as opposed to loading up the back of the plane first.

Anyway, we arrived at Phoenix a bit early and we were only a few gates from the gate where I had to go. So I had time to grab some Asian Chicken Salad for breakfast.

On the second leg, I was on the exit aisle. Those window seats were the only window seats available. I think it was my first time sitting in an exit aisle. We were supposed to put all our bags, including our purses in the overhead compartment, but I kept mine right under my feet. It's not like it's going to get in the way, unless we had to open the exit doors. I slept a bit on this leg of the trip.

Reagan National Airport is pretty much like an ordinary airport. I didn't notice much in terms of exhibits, like sculptures and such. But then it's only a secondary airport.

I called Budget to get instructions how to get to their booth, caught a bus to the garage, picked up my rental car, turned on my GPS, and off I went.

Well, there's a point where the GPS kept beeping at me because the turns were right next to each other, so I missed the exit to 394S. So I ended up going towards Washington. I saw the obelisk almost as soon as I got out of the airport anyway. I just saw a bit more.

What struck me was how wide open the place feels. I mean, there are almost as many trees here as in Seattle, but there are no tall buildings, and the buildings are miles from each other. Well, there are probably more buildings behind the trees, but that's the impression I got from the freeway.

I guess I'll find out more tomorrow. I'm gonna try to go for a tourbus tomorrow and maybe a cruise on Friday.

MNL to SEA - Interrogated at the airport

We were able to get my grandmother home from the hospital the day before I was supposed to head to Manila. There was still no electricity, so we were taking turns fanning her. It was very hot and humid. I was able to get Ron-Ron (one of the little brats) to fan her for a short while, in exchange for a coin.

The next day, Auntie Baby and I headed to Manila on the Victory Liner. Zaldy was unable to meet us at the bus station in Manila, so we took a cab. But he was able to meet us on the way to the hotel. The service was mediocre, and the front desk clerks were snooty. But it was cheaper than my last hotel.

Auntie Baby and I had a lot of errands to do. I had to do some paperwork for my new real-estate lawyer, like signing a power of attorney, which had to be notarized in the Philippines or in a Philippine consulate. Since it would be inconvenient for me to fly to San Francisco, we had to hurry up and do it in Manila. Well, notarizing a document in the Philippines is a whole lot complicated than in the US. The notaries actually *read* the document as though they were lawyers. And the notary cost is a percentage of whatever amount is written in the document.

After that was done, we went to Robinson Plaza, a mall near the hotel to mail the documents to my lawyer and to do some shopping for pasalubong.

Later, Uncle Larry came by with his daughter Winnie, his daughter-in-law Malou, and the kids Leanne, Arianne and Mik. They took us to the Mall of Asia, part of which Winnie designed. Winnie is an architect. We had lunch at a restaurant called Fish & Co and it looked like another restaurant in the US with theme artifacts all around near the ceiling. The restaurant is part of Winnie's design, but the owner didn't use Winnie's contractors, so Winnie was not happy with some of the detail work.

The next day, Auntie Baby and I took a cab to the airport. We said goodbye at the curb and she took a cab back to the Victory Liner station.

The flight back was fairly uneventful but very tiring because I was short on sleep. But when I got to SeaTac airport, I had the misfortune of being randomly picked for inspection. And just my luck, I had to get a young woman who seemed to be new to the job. She had never seen the native candies that I took with me. She had to show them to the inspector in the next booth and he even said that they taste very good. Then she called in a supervisor, who smiled at me and said the foods in my bags were okay. Still, she asked me so many questions about my job history and my personal finances and how I could afford this trip. Most people, when they hear that I've worked at Microsoft, already figure that I'm well off. This woman continued to ask probing questions right there in public! For crying out loud, I was a woman travelling alone! She could have just put me in danger of mugging if someone of questionable character was nearby and listening in! And what did my finances have to do with agriculture?!? I got worse treatment in a US airport than I did in the Philippines!

After about an hour, she told me I could put my things back in my bags and go. I was so pissed. I grew up under martial law in the Philippines during the Marcos regime; this is what it feels like to be under martial law.

An encounter with Cosme

Cosme was a severe tropical storm that hit Northern Luzon, right where I was. We lost power and water. Later, we also lost cellphone signal.

We were going to bring my grandmother home from the hospital but it didn't look like we would be able to with the rain.

The previous day, I had sent my nephews to buy a pack of cards so we would have something to do, so we played cards during the storm. But we noticed my cousin-in-law was nailing down a tarp over the windows on the southern side of the house, so I went out to hold up the tarp while he hammered.

The rain water felt so good. Even the strong winds felt good. The last time I purposely got wet with rain, I was still a child.

When I came back into the house soaking wet, my aunt, who always sees the silver lining in every situation, remembered that children were usually sent out to play in the first rain of May for good luck. Well, let's hope I get a lot of that good luck, since it was a big storm. I changed into dry clothes and continued to play cards with my nephews.

The next day, we went out to look at the storm's aftermath. There were a lot of overturned trees on the road. Some houses lost their roofs. As I walked around the town taking pictures with my EOS, people were directing me to the houses that were badly damaged. They assumed I was from the press.

Afterwards, I headed back and helped Obet clear the broken branches in Auntie Eying's yard.

The three Stooges

My cousin Nancy and her hubby Obet were visiting for the summer with and their three little boys -- RapRap (4), Ayem (5) and RonRon (6).

Imagine Dennis, the Menace, then multiply that by ten. That's what *each* of those boys is like. They do whatever they want, they demand what they want, they scream if they don't get it, they fight with each other, they don't do what they're told and they do what they're forbidden.

The day after I arrived, we came back from the hospital and the three rushed out to meet the tricycle and held out their hands upon seeing me with my purse out to pay the driver. Auntie Eying said, five pesos was enough so I placed five-peso coins into each hand.

The next day, the same thing happened, but, this time, I asked them why I should give them coins. They couldn't answer, but they kept insisting that I give them money. So I told them to sing. RonRon was only too willing, so he started singing and his siblings joined him. And they sounded good too! They earned a peso each that day. The adults were laughing.

On the third day, I took them to the corner store for a treat. Ayem ran ahead and picked a candy before the rest of us got there. He had already torn the wrapper, but, when he saw that RonRon picked a gum with a temporary tatoo, he wanted the same thing. We told him that he had to stick to his original decision because he had already opened it. He threw a fit. So I said he wasn't going to get anything, except his original choice. We started heading back. He refused and sat on the street, whining and screaming and crying. But while they had their backs turned, I went back into the store and got one more gum and hid it in my purse so I used that as bribe to get him to quiet down. *sigh*

My grandmother has her own little house built to US standards. The little kids were forbidden to go in it because they bothered my grandmother. But, since my grandmother was in the hospital, we allowed them to come in only if they behaved. Well, they rarely behaved and, when we ordered them out as punishment, there was always a struggle. At one point, they wanted to come inside and they were pushing their way in, even as their cousin Vincent and the help JhonJhon blocked the doorway. So I intervened and got them to sit on the bamboo couch outside the door and told them that they may come in only if they sat there quietly for 10 minutes. And they did. Even their mom laughed when she saw why it was suddenly quiet.

Don't get sick in Candelaria, Zambales

My grandmother has been in the local hospital in Candelaria, Zambales since I got here from Manila. She has anemia and she's 91 years old.

When I finally got to see her the following day, I was shocked at the state of the room she was in. The tile floor was dirty and the grout very dark. There was a rack for an airconditioner, but no airconditioner. The window panes are broken or missing. The sink was slow. The toilet was plugged. There were mosquitoes and flies and ants and other tiny crawly things.

The "private room" came with two hospital beds with fitted sheets and nothing else, a plastic cupboard, and a metal piece that looks like a shoe rack. You bring your own pillows, your own blankets, your own chairs, your own fan, your own plates and spoons and forks, your own bath tissue, your own soap, your own food and water. If medication or dextrose is needed, you have to go to the pharmacy and buy it yourself. If you need blood, you have to buy your own styrofoam cooler and ice, go to Red Cross yourself, buy the blood yourself, and transport it yourself. Oh, yeah, I forgot... They *do* provide you with a plastic bedpan. But that's all they do: provide it and nothing else.

I understand very well why they provide minimal supplies and minimal service. It's a poor community, most people have no health insurance, and a large part can't afford their health expenses. The hospital can't get any return on their investment. In fact, they might not even get their investment back at all.

The staff isn't probably paid much. So, it's entirely understandable that the staff does very little. The nurses come by to take blood pressure, pulse, and temperature readings, follow the doctors around on their rounds, then sit and gossip at the nurses' station.

My grandmother was still getting extreme chest pains everytime she moves or is moved even after her blood transfusion and even with the nitroglycerin patches. Everytime she got up to eat, we would wait for at least 15 minutes after she gets up for the pain to subside before she could start eating. She was cleared for release day before yesterday, but she was in so much pain that we couldn't even get her into a wheelchair. So my aunt asked a female doctor to allow her to stay a while longer; the doctor, who isn't my grandmother's regular doctor, reluctantly agreed.

My aunt was wondering why the doctors were anxious to discharge my grandmother in her condition. She said that she discussed it with a technician last night and she was told that the hospital's efficiency is based on the mortality rate in the hospital. The higher the mortality, the lower the hospital's efficiency rating is. So, it's no wonder that, if they think a patient is about to die, they shoo them out of the hospital.

Well, to be fair, it's not all bad. Some of the doctors *are* competent. Dr Duque (my grandmother's doctor), in particular, treats his patients and their families with respect. He explains what's wrong and why he proposes certain medications. He answers questions and clarifies his answers until he's understood. All that and with great consideration for his patients and their families. And there was one nurse who came in one night to take my grandmother's blood pressure, saw the pain she was in, and agreed to come back later.

Mediocre employees use up their time and energy in meeting minimum expections, which usually covers only basic technical knowledge and skills. On the other hand, when employees are very capable technically, they can devote more energy to customer service, to finding better ways to improve the customer experience, to going beyond what's required of them. It's no wonder then that, when customers get great service, they also get the impression that the service provider is technically proficient, with good reason.

In addition, management must be careful about how they measure competence. In service-oriented companies, like technical support and call centers, if management measures how fast representatives turn calls around, they get representatives who don't listen to customers and give stock answers that may not address the customer's concern at all. The customer feels they were dismissed too abruptly and they go to the competitor with better customer service. A hospital *is* a business. If their efficiency is measured by how quickly they churn out patients, they'll pick and choose the easy cases and send home the patients that need care the most. Unfortunately, in small towns, hospitals are a monopoly. So patients and their families have little or no recourse.

Unexpected wedding photographer

Auntie Eying said there was supposed to be a wedding and the children would be offering flowers to the Virgin Mary, so I decided to join them at church on Mother's Day to take pictures.

After the children offered flowers and most of the parishioners have left the church after the first Mass of the day, I noticed three little girls in green gowns. I realized they were the flower girls for the wedding. They looked at me when I started taking pictures of them. But when I saw the four bridesmaids in the back, they were more suspicious of me, asking what the pictures were for. I gave my card with my Smugmug URL to one of them. They reluctantly allowed me to take a picture.

I later spoke with one of the guests who told me that there was no official photographer. She asked me how much my services cost. I told her it was free. Their only cost was to have the pictures taken. I would send Auntie Eying a CD or DVD with the pictures and they could take it to a digital photo processing center.

Anyway, just before the bride arrived, a man came running carrying a professional video recorder on his shoulders. Later I saw another guy taking still photos. As the ceremony went on, the three of us started working together.

I was chatting briefly with the photographer as the videographer was arranging the family members and the wedding members for formal photos. The photographer also has a digital camera but chose to use his film camera because development of film is cheaper than printing out digital photos. He was amazed that I could take so many pictures and not run out of memory. I told him that I had a 4-gigabyte memory. I meant I had a 4G compact flash card, but I think he assumed that the 4 gigs was internal memory. He joked that his was unlimited, since he could just change the film.

Anyway, I didn't take enough good pictures. I even forgot to take a picture of the rings. I was too rushed and too sweaty and too self-conscious that people were watching *me*, being the strange face in a small town where everybody knows everybody and being an older woman with a semi-pro camera, not your stereotypical photographer.

It turned out that the videographer hired the photographer, and they were supposed to be the official photographers. I waved goodbye to the photographer as he hopped on a jeep to go the reception. I gave the videographer my card and said goodbye as he left with the bride and groom. Auntie Eying said that they were probably hired by one of the relatives.

Manila to Zambales

My cousin Zaldy picked me up at 6am yesterday. We were trying to avoid the traffic. He hired one of his suki (regulars) with an SUV to drive us to the bus station. Cost: 1300PhP (32USD)

After buying our tickets to Candelaria, a town in the northern part of Zambales, we had breakfast at the station. Well, Zaldy had rice and fish right there, and I got a ham and egg sandwich to go. The bus fare is about 400PhP each and Zaldy said the trip takes 6 hours. We sat all the way in the back of the bus where there was room for my handcarry and we each took a window seat.

I ate my ham and egg sandwich and took a short nap. An hour into the trip, we stopped at a rest area and we got a chance to use the bathroom and buy food for lunch. Apparently, the bus won't stop at another rest area again.

I bought bibingka for 38PhP. The bibingka is like a fat pancake, about six inches across and a half-inch thick, baked on top of banana leaves and topped with salty eggs.

When we got to Olongapo, vendors came up to the bus to sell their wares. I got a pack of boiled peanuts for 20PhP, but the guy didn't have enough change for my 50PhP, which was the smallest denomination I had, so I bought a pack of six bird eggs for another 10PhP. He gave me 20PhP in change and was happy for the extra sale. He gave me two small plastic bags to put the peanut shells and the egg shells in.

I dug into the peanuts right away, and although the quality isn't that great, it was all gone when we got to Subic. The peanuts reminded me of a time when I was a college freshman in Manila. During a class, some friends and I surreptitiously shared a big bag of boiled peanuts in the back of the class and even passed it around. Eating in class was unheard of, but our teacher was a good sport. At the end of the class, the floor was littered with peanut shells.

Around noon, we arrived at Iba where the bus stopped for a while. I ate my bibingka and bird eggs. Then a vendor came up the bus and I bought three packs of linga (sesame seed candy) for 100L. Linga is one of my childhood favorites and I ate an entire pack.

Zaldy had moved to a seat halfway up the bus, but he pointed out Amungan to me. I had a brief look at the land of the Basangs and the back half is thick with trees. I can't wait to go and see it up close.

When we got off in Candelaria, Zaldy hailed a tricycle and they were able to load up the big suitcases in the back and tie them down. I sat in the cab with my handcarry and Zaldy hopped on behind the driver. Cost: 20PhP

Dak dinner

After Zaldy and his son Aimiel left last night, Dak arrived.

That's not his real name. :) His real name is Nonoy but his Second Life (tm) name is Dakila, which is the Tagalog word for "heroic". Sometimes, I'm tempted to call him "Dak Dak Goose". :D

Anyway, one of his coworkers recommended a seafood restaurant called Marina which is just walking distance from my hotel. Walking along the streets of Manila is a bit of an experience. People don't use the sidewalks. And no wonder, because cars are parked on them. So pedestrians take up the outer lanes of a four-lane street, or share them with cars and bikes and tricycles.

Marina Restaurant on Jupiter Street was like any other restaurant in the Philippines. The downstairs was about 70-80% full and smoky. The upper floor is the non-smoking area and was empty, but had no airconditioning. So we sat outside where there was a fan blowing.

I ordered the ginataang alimusan (catfish with coconut milk). Dak ordered swordfish; fried, I think. The waiter even came out with a tray with the raw fish on it to get our approval. :D When it arrived, the alimusan was actually curried, and oh-so-yummy! With garlic rice and sago at gulaman, mmmmm-mmm! I was stuffed!

When we were done, I was so sleepy (it was probably 10pm), I wasn't sure if I would make the trek back to my hotel. But I did. The walk back was much shorter than the walk to the restaurant. Dak begged me not to blog that we got lost on the way there, so I'm not blogging why the walk back was shorter. ;D

Parade!

Well, I was trying to take a nap when I heard the tuba, which was a sure sign of a band. I looked out the window and I saw the flashing lights of police cars. It was a parade!

I watched for a while and tried to take pics from my window but my own reflection was in the way. Then cars started pouring into the street again so I thought it was over. Then two more police cars, this time sounding their sirens. So, I rushed out to the elevators and there were kids with their moms who were also trying to catch the parade. And outside we went.

I caught the tail end and thank goodness for the traffic ahead of the parade, they were stuck so that I got a few more pictures of the horse-drawn calesas.

Then my cousin Zaldy called. He went to Binondo to find a power transformer for me. And the merchant was asking for the wattage. Well, it turns out that I didn't need the power transformer after all because the power adapters for all my devices say "AC INPUT: 100 - 240". And since the power outlets in the Philippines are at 220, it's still within the range. Phew! But Zaldy got me a couple of converters (3-prong to 2-prong) anyway.

Mmmmmmmmmango

Okay, so I absolutely love mangoes anyway, but after a so-so breakfast of fried rice, sunny-side-up eggs and adobo, I had a crepe filled with some yellow jam, which turned out to be mango. Well, the crepe is not your usual crepe. The texture is more gelatinous than regular pancake-type crepes. The texture is kinda fun, although the taste is a bit bland. But when I got to the mango filling, mmmmmmm-mmm! It was by far the BEST mango filling I've had. (Dianne, if you're reading this, this is me trying to make you envious. ;) )

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, I got somewhere with my phone calls and spent the afternoon drafting a proposal just so I could send it by email before 5pm. Then I headed up to the rooftop restaurant only to find that there was some event going on, so I went back down and asked the hotel clerk named Ratz, who checked me in when I got here and remembers my name now, although he remembers my married name which is in the front page of my passport. *sigh*

Ratz said that, for Filipino food, I could turn right outside the hotel and I'd find two Filipino restaurants. One of them was Barrio Fiesta on the other side of the street. I can't even remember the name of the other restaurant he mentioned. So, off I went to Barrio Fiesta.

Barrio Fiesta was the premier restaurant chain when I was growing up. If you had a special occasion, you celebrated at Barrio Fiesta. I think they only had two big restaurants in Metro Manila when I was a child, but it looks like they've become a chain with several smaller restaurants, including this one. Barrio Fiesta was well-known for their kare-kare, a peanutty sauce with tripe, oxtail, eggplant, banana hearts, and other odds and ends, and then served with salted brine called alamang. It's a traditional dish, but what makes it special at Barrio Fiesta is that they serve it in a clay pot on top of a little clay cooker with some charcoal inside to keep it warm.

Anyway, I asked for a half-order of that, some rice, and sago at gulaman which is a sweet caramelly drink with pieces of gelatin (gulaman) and tapioca (sago). Mmmmmm!

Meanwhile, a man was playing the guitar and was soon joined by a very friendly young lady wearing traditional costume and she sang some covers from the 70s. Anachronistic, yes, but very much the Filipino way. She had a wonderfully full voice, but she sang the songs as though she were singing with a karaoke machine. On the other hand, I admire her for being able to project her voice in a noisy restaurant without a mic.

Walking back to the hotel, I passed by a street vendor roasting barbeque pork on a stick over a portable pit. Mmmmm... I was so tempted to buy some to take back with me.

In a sense, I'm glad I've been on my own during this first week. It's different when you're alone. Your senses are heightened and you become more open to happy accidents.

For want of a cellphone

Well, today seemed to be focused on getting connected locally. After making a few calls with the landline phone to make appointments (local calls are free), I worked on trying to get cellphone connectivity. I *could* make phone calls without changing anything, but texting is much more popular around here and much cheaper (1 PhP per message sent and the current exchange rate is 41 PhP/USD).

After breakfast, I went downstairs to extend my hotel stay until Friday and asked where I could get a Smart SIM card. Smart and Global are the two major cellphone service providers in the Philippines. The clerk said I just had to cross the street and go to "eMart".

Like most small stores, eMart turned out to be a variety store and cafeteria in one. I got a Smart Buddy 3 SIM card for 90 PhP and a 300 PhP voice and text card. But when I tried to use it on my phone, I got the error "Wrong card".

So, I put back my T-Mobile SIM and tried to send out a few messages using "063" followed by the cellphone number. It looked like the messages go through, but no responses. So I figured I might need to buy a new unit. I found a "Power Plant Mall" in the map on the guest book and it looked like it was close enough to walk.

I ran into Benny (the most helpful clerk who helped me reserve a ride from the airport and who helped me with my bags when I arrived) as I was walking out the door and told him about my cellphone dilemma. I asked if the Power Plant Mall was within walking distance, but Benny tried to dissuade me from walking. He said it's too hot outside (it was around noon), that it would take about 25 minutes to walk, and that there probably won't be much selection there anyway. He suggested going to SM Mall or Glorietta Mall instead which were much bigger. He said the taxi fare would only be about 70PhP. He also suggested a mall in Greenhills if I wanted second-hand cellphones which would be even cheaper. Then he got another hotel employee to help me test sending messages with my T-Mobile SIM. Well, it didn't work. But I, at least, found out that I'm supposed to hold down the "0" key to get the "+". :D *blush* So, Benny hailed a cab for me, told the driver to flag the meter down, and off I went to Glorietta Mall. Cost: 65 PhP, plus 15 PhP tip.

(NOTE: The guest book has a page in the back titled "For Your Safety" and it warns about "seemingly friendly strangers whose real motive is to extort cash." And among the tips: "When using a taxicab, always check that the meter is flagged down before leaving, otherwise, alight from the vehicle.")

Well, Glorietta Mall is like any mall in the US, except it's more crowded and noisier. I was directed to an area called "Vago" which mostly had stalls for electronics and cellphones. The prices are not posted, but the phones are all about the same price anyway. I've been quoted 1,500 PhP (US$37) for a dual-band unit that I can only use locally. The tri-band or quad-band units cost around 4,000 PhP (US$98). And they're much bigger than my old phone. I figured I'd probably get a discount if I upgraded my phone through T-Mobile anyway, so I passed. I ended back at the first stall that I stopped at (first stall up the stairs as soon as I entered Vago). The young lady was very helpful, showing me the models and talking about the tri-band and quad-bands and she mentioned (without being prompted) the fact that these phones are already unlocked, so it would be easy to take them back and use them at home. Ding-ding-ding! That's when I remembered.

Two years ago, I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile so I could easily switch from one SIM to another while travelling. It's cheaper if you buy the SIM locally. And, while still in the US, I remembered to check T-Mobile's site and made sure I was set up for global roaming. There's no monthly fee but you still pay the rates, of course. Anyway, I had totally forgotten about one little thing -- to have T-Mobile unlock my phone.

So I left the mall and hailed a cab. And a young man informed me that there were others ahead of me. That's when I realized that the people standing on one side were supposed to be in line for a cab. So I got in line.

It was a pleasant realization that the culture is changing somewhat. People are learning to get in line! Even if it's only for a cab. People still cut ahead of me in store counters and even the hotel front desk.

The line moved fast so I was in a cab in no time. This one was air-conditioned and the driver was quick. Cost: 45 PhP, plus 5PhP tip. The Law of Diminishing Returning Cab Fare? ;D

Well, T-Mobile's website wasn't much help. Their "Contact Us" page only showed a 1-800 number and a 611 cellphone number that I could call from my cellphone, *if* I were in the US. But an FAQ contained a 1-505 number that I could call if I were outside the US. The representative filed a request for me to unlock the phone. She said it would take about 24 hours. So, I guess I'll sit tight until then.

Maybe I was meant to have another quiet day. But today, I'm having dinner. Yesterday, I forgot to have lunch and fell asleep before dinnertime. Maybe I should head off to dinner now before I fall asleep.

Maybe I'll go sightseeing tomorrow.

SEA to MNL

This has been a very last minute trip. I made the airline reservations only a week prior. I made the hotel reservations a couple of days prior; I even reserved one day too early in my haste. I reserved a shuttle to SeaTac Airport a day prior. I reserved a car from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to my hotel the morning of my flight. And everything fell into place.
I had more than 50k of frequent flyer miles and I used them all up in this trip. I even had to buy a couple of thousand more for $160. Not bad, considering that the regular price for coach is almost $4,000 with gas prices the way they are (around $3.75/gallon in the Seattle area).

The trip went smoothly. I was picked up around 10:45am and got to the airport around 11:30am. My shuttle companions were two very friendly women -- one going to Denver to visit family and the other heading home to San Francisco. The one heading to SF was picked up from an acupuncture clinic and she was having a massage while waiting for us. Oh, how we envied her. :D

Dee suggested chocolates to bring as gifts so Harmony took me to Costco where we got seven or eight big boxes of chocolates. But when I got to the airport, the suitcase with the chocolates turned out to be 84 lbs. Unlike domestic and trans-Atlantic flights, which are only allowed up to 50 lbs, trans-Pacific flights are allowed up to 70 lbs. Those extra 14 lbs would have cost me $450 one way. So I asked the curb-side agent if I could just leave some of the chocolates behind. I had to leave three boxes. A lady who was chatting with me in line took one for her kids. There's normally a $2 charge for curbside service, but the curbside agent said that the chocolates were more than enough, so he didn't charge me. :)

My passport was flagged by the check-in system though because it expires in September, which is less than 6 months from now. But the website said that it was fine as long as there was a consulate or embassy where I was headed so I could get an extension if necessary. The agent confirmed that (I guess it's a new rule), so I was okay. (I'd better renew it as soon as I get back, since Liway is coming to visit in July and she wants to go to Victoria, BC.)

While waiting for my flight, I had chicken udon for lunch, bought a neck pillow, and started reading the book I brought with me, "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci" by Michael Gelb.

The ten-hour flight went by pretty quickly. I was lucky not to have a neighbor in a two-seat row. It wasn't a full flight, and, surprisingly, fewer than half were Asians. I read a little bit, watched a couple of movies ("27 Dresses" and "The Devil Wears Prada"), and slept a lot. I only had two hours of sleep the night before since I was busy packing and getting ready. And I tripped and kinda twisted my ankle that morning, so I was putting my feet up as much as I could.

The two-hour layover in Tokyo wasn't that long either. The flight had almost all Filipinos in it and it was more packed than the first flight, but I was again lucky to have a two-seat row to myself. I slept more on this flight since it's nighttime in the US. I don't know how long our delay was on the tarmac -- probably an hour. I woke up a few times and we were still waiting for the signal before taking off. Tokyo was either foggy or drizzly and apparently very busy at that time. But the delay was built into the schedule so we arrived in Manila on time.

I was still in the Immigration line at 11:45pm when I heard my name paged. I got through the Immigration line around midnight, got my bags, and went to the paging counter. Only the guy collecting the customs forms was bold enough to hint that he was waiting for a bribe by holding out the ticket I just gave him and tapped his thumbs on it. But I pretended I didn't understand what he wanted and he finally tilted his head to signal it was okay for me to go.

I was directed to go outside the building to the "Hotels" lounge across the street. Soon, I found the agent for the hotel and I was loaded up in a van and driven to the hotel. The driver informed me that the fee for the transportation would be added to my hotel bill, but I tipped him anyway. Two very friendly hotel clerks helped unload my bags, one of whom was the person I spoke with when I arranged for airport transportation.

It was only when I was getting ready to take a shower that I noticed my ankles were swollen. So, after my shower, I hopped into bed and fell asleep to music videos of modern Filipino songs.

For some reason, this trip feels more comfortable than the last time I came to the Philippines. I think it's the same as overcoming the fear of driving from the west coast to the midwest. After you've done it, you realize it's more benign than you thought.

I'm not saying that people should let down their guard. There are valid reasons why tourists should be wary. But I think there are many reasons this trip is more comfortable.

First, I only have a couple of tasks to do while I'm here -- take care of a real-estate deal and visit my grandmother. I don't have to see other people, since most of them don't even know I'm here.

Second, I'm staying at <later to be named> Hotel in Makati. At 95USD/night, it's as expensive as a hotel in the US. But the quality is the same as a 3- or 4-star hotel in the US as well. The service is very professional, competent, and friendly. I'd rank the service at five stars.

My mom said that I should have asked my stepbrother to make the reservations for me, so it would be cheaper. Most businesses have two prices -- one for locals and one for international guests. But the service I'm getting is worth the price I'm paying.

For instance, I asked for a power converter or transformer since I couldn't find the one I had. The front desk said they would deliver it to my room. I was expecting it would take an hour or so. But, within minutes, I got a knock on the door from a young man holding a ten-pound 5x5x5 inch transformer. I think it's as old as me. :D And the young man even went back to the storage to find an outlet converter from 3 prongs (which my power strip had) to 2-prong (which the transformer had).

Third, I knew what to expect this time around. There isn't as much of a culture shock as in my trip in 2005.

Fourth, it may also be that this trip is a nice break from the busy-ness of the past few months.

Anyway, today (Sunday) is rest day. I went to bed at 3am, but woke up around 8am anyway and went down to the breakfast buffet around 9am. So maybe it won't be too hard for me to adjust to the time change. The temperature change might be a bit harder to adjust to, however. We were getting temps in the 50s and 60s in Seattle, whereas Manila is getting temps from the high 70s to low 90s and it feels warmer.

And I just have to remember that the exchange rate is 40PHP/USD, not 265L$/USD. :D