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.
