Hot in December

Well, it’s my 4th day back home.  I thought I better write things down before I forget.

December 10, Thursday, MN time…
     There was a snow storm the day before so I asked Scott to drive me to work.  I did not want to get into an accident the day before I had to go.  I had my one last day with my favorite baby/toddler, and I had to leave him crying in the gym with the toddlers.  Poor thing, when I come back, he’s going to be in the next room.  I’m going to miss him…I probably should say “poor me” instead.

December 11, Friday, MN time…
     I woke up 20 minutes before 6am, we were on the road by 6:15, and Scott just dropped me off.  I guess I expected him to hang around a bit.  I went to the Continental Airlines counter, tried to check in to get my boarding pass, asked for help, forgot to grab the boarding pass out of the printer, went to the checkpoint, was asked to go back and get a boarding pass…printed a second one out, found the first one too, went back, X-ray person called out “bag check”.  I guess seeing 3 dark cylindrical items on X-ray is something.  So some guy unpacked my duffel bag.  It was the 3 magnet cartridges for the Xyron Creative Station.  And then of course I had problems packing my bag as neatly as I did the first time.

I will have to say that not having check-in luggage made things go so much faster.  So…waited to board the plane…flight delayed because of strong winds in NJ…small jet + strong winds = no good.  I napped a little on the plane.  I guess I don’t like big airports, and I don’t like having to get out of the building and get on the bus to get to the other terminal.  And of course people are different in other places.  The restroom nearest to my gate was being cleaned, and I asked the cleaning lady where the next nearest one is.  She just pointed in the general direction, no talking, no smiling, no nothing.  It was fine; I did find it, but it was just different.

The flight from NJ to Hong Kong was VERRRRRRRRY long.  I guess I wouldn’t have minded it so much if I were sitting next to a different person.  First off, I will say that I did like it that each seat had a screen in front of it.  I do feel that airplanes are getting really cramped (this coming from a small person…not good).  Anyway, I had a slight problem with the guy next to me.  No offense to Chinese people (and I would like to say that my best friend in college with whom I am still in touch is Chinese), but this particular Chinese guy was disgusting.  He got on the plane with a bottle of Snapple.  By the second half of the flight, that empty bottle was on my side of the floor.  He had trash and put it in the pocket in front of him…when the flight attendant came around collecting trash, he did not give her his trash.  And yes, he understands and speaks English.  When he napped, he left his table down with his laptop on it.  I did not have to go to the bathroom, but if I did I would not have wanted to bother him, what with all the things he has to do before I can go by him.  Now the worst part was that he LOVED picking his nose.  He must have spent an hour (a few minutes here and there) of that flight picking his nose with at least 4 different fingers.  And then he was asleep when hot towels were being given before our last meal.  So he ate our last meal, without any grace at all and with disgusting hands.  I was just hoping I wasn’t touching a lot of the same surfaces he was touching.

There was one flight attendant that got me a little bit irritated.  We must have been flying above China by then.  I lifted my shade a bit to see what is below.  Granted, there wasn’t much to see, but it was nice to have some sunlight after hours and hours in the dark.  I was starting to get claustrophobic and bored.  When she walked by, she told me ( not asked me nicely) to put my shade down.  Back in the dark I went.  The whole point of sitting by the window is so I can use the window.  No passenger was complaining about my shade being open, it wasn’t open that much, and it was not that bright out.  It was at least for that flight, MY window.

So, anyway…we landed in Hong Kong…the girl on the other side of the disgusting guy forgot that I am not Chinese (how she could even think I could be Chinese is beyond me) and started talking to me in Chinese, so I went, “I’m sorry, what?”  Then she said it again in English.  She wanted me to move up to where she was standing so she can go back and make sure that she didn’t leave anything behind.

After getting in the airport, there were people waiting and asking where we were headed to make sure we got to our gates in time, because time was pretty tight, what with getting the boarding pass, getting in line for the checkpoint, actually getting through the checkpoint, walking to where the train is, riding the train, going to the gate, getting in line to board, and boarding.  Whew!  I am Filipino, and I don’t mean any disrespect for other Fils, but I have never seen any other group of people clap when the plane lands.  I don’t really get why they do it…to each his own.

December 13, Sunday, Manila time…
     Getting through immigration was a breeze, no check-in luggage meant no waiting, I was out of the plane and out of the building in 15 or 20 minutes.  I waited about 10 minutes outside for my parents to pick me up.  I was pretty easy to spot…the only one waiting without a cart full of luggage.  I am almost sorry that I can’t go back without check-in luggage.  It was so nice not to have so much.

So they picked me up, and I started remember how tightly packed with cars the streets are…and how people drove.  Every day, I feel like I might have a heart attack riding in the car going somewhere.  So…mama…daddy…2 sisters…1 sister elsewhere, brother asleep at home.  We did pick up that one sister (and her BF)…dropped the BF off, went by the condo, had coffee, went home.  And then I couldn’t sleep.  I tried though…but some dog somewhere was barking…some rooster was crowing…and public transport went by every now and then.  So I did not sleep the first night (or very early morning).

When my brother got up, he was talking about how they’re going to do interpretive dance at school.  And then we got some funny dance moves from him in the kitchen.  It was so hilarious.  I wish I’d taken a video of it.

We went to the mall so I can buy clothes (and to keep my dad occupied).  I fed my brother lunch…and discovered how much he could eat and how fast.  I asked him if he remembered about my dad’s surprise birthday party later on, and he assured me he’d have enough space for all the food.  He was not lying.  When we met up with my dad and one of my sisters later on, they were hungry and we sat with them while they ate…my brother ate some of my dad’s food too.  We got to the sky lounge one floor above the condo for the party, and he ate like he did not just eat at the mall.  The kid is a bottomless pit.

It was a nice party, the view was pretty, the food was yummy.  I was tired but still not sleepy, so I thought I might not be able to sleep when we got home.  I did sleep for about 5 hours, until the birds started singing.

Oh, and I got phone cards so I can call DH and the folks to let them know I got here just fine.  I called DH when I got home, then I called the folks’ house, but Mom was not there.

December 14, Monday, Manila time…
     I called Mom first thing in the morning, and we chatted for half an hour.  Normally I would be at their house just hanging out with her.

I greeted my dad happy birthday and said that at last I got the time zone right (well, duh).  I wanted to go shopping for clothes, and I did, but I did not really find much that I liked.  Then I had dinner with my college best buddy, his wife and his daughter.  That was a lot of fun.  For starters, it had been 7 years since I last saw him.  That was the first time I met his wife and child.  So half the dinner conversation was about college classmates.  The other half was about toddlers and what is considered normal for them.  It was fun, and I did like being thought of as the expert on child development (which I kind of am).  I did, however, forget to take pictures.  GRRRR, I hope we have time to meet up in Baguio this weekend to get some pics taken.

December 15, Tuesday, Manila time…
   Well, I was up before 9am, hoping we would get an early start on the day.  I was hoping to find an electric razor with attachments so I can trim my hair and also my brother’s before we go to the studio to have our family picture taken.  We ended up leaving the house after 6pm.  We did not have much done but I did get my brother a new case and a nicer strap for his guitar.  We ate at Shakey’s…one more thing crossed off the list, after taho either Sunday or Monday morning. 

 December 16, Wednesday, Manila time…
     We’re hoping to get more done the next day…that’s today.  We’ll have to wait and see.

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