Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 11)

Day 11 (July 6, 2008)

Sunday today =) yey! baket? wala lang happy ako... shopping day today eh hahaha!

So we went to church with Joy's family today. It was my first Christian service. Maganda sya, it wasn't what I expected kasi para cyang isang malaking cell group. The sort of thing we have during my days in UPSCA.  So I really liked it =).

Nag-bonding kami ng kids ni Joy ngayon, mula sa church hehehehe =) Zyjay and I were playing during the service hahaha! super sweet nung batang yun talaga.. tapos nun inseparable na kami hahaha! nakahanap ako ng playmate! =)

After the service may merienda pa sa parang session hall dun sa church tapos meron silang isa pang worship service may acoustic chorva. Again, kahit sandali lang kami dun, I really liked the service. Zoe was there na din kasi her sunday school activities ended na by that time. Zyjay had lots of cake ... natuwa ang bata kumain ng independence day cake! he ate around 3 slices yata! =)

After church we went to Costco to buy pasalubong and to look for the other stuff the people back home asked us to buy. We pretty much got everything pero super ayaw ko na bitawan ang iPod na kulay pink! haha! ... need mag-isip-isip muna ... hmmm... sapagkat laptop ang mas kailangan... need to rationalize expenses muna... shet ... that was a hard time hahaha! PERO... naibsan ang aking stressful to buy or not to buy iPod moment nang makit ko ang chocolate covered almonds! as in nagningning ang mga mata ko ... at yun na lang ang hindi ko pinakawalan... hahahaha! kahit pa sabi ni Joy na matutunaw yun .. i don't care haha!
So tapos nun, ang katuparan ng pangako ni M'Ed haha! we ate at I-Hop! =) dapat breakfast ang kakainin namin dahil yun daw ang specialty dun, kaya lang since we had merienda sa church, nag-lunch kami dun. The food was good =) yummy... I had steak and mashed potatoes =). Pagkatapos nun, natupad din ang prediction ni Joy ... ang choco almonds ko ay natunaw haha! pero i still don't care hahaha! peborit ko pa din sya!

After that, we went around a few stores muna for M'Ed's shopping needs. So yun, after that we went home to Joy's muna to start arranging the stuff we need to pack and list down th ethings we still need to buy. While Joy was doing some work Zoe, S'Arnel and I played Wii! aliw! mali... super aliw!!! as in nag-enjoy ako at si S'Arnel! nag tennis at bowling sila ni Zoe hahaha! nate-tempt na nga yata si S'Arnel bumili ng Wii eh =).

We went out again to buy the stuff we forgot and to look for Balikbayan boxes and buy dinner. We ended up in BBW ulet (for the nth time haha!) While waiting for S'Arnel, Joy, Zoe and I went to Starbucks muna located inside a Barnes and Nobles store. Ang ganda nung set-up nila... nate-tempt na nga ako mag-browse ng books kaya lang super mahal kasi dun eh, compared sa pinas.

Tapos nun, we finally decided to just buy fish and shrimp and cook dinner na lang at Joy's house imbes na lumabas pa kami or bumili sa Max's. We went to a Filipino supermarket and bought salmon, shrimps at kangkong ... ang kangkong na matagal inisip ni S'Arnel kung talagang kangkong nga ba yun at pinagtanong pa nya yun sa kinauukulan ha! di mapakali ang lolo ko at baka hindi daw kangkong ang mabili eh ang dapat daw sa sinigang na isda kangkong!!

matapos ang kangkong moment ng lolo ko umuwi na kami. Joy and M'Ed cooked dinner while S'Arnel and I packed the stuff we were going to send home. Zoe helped me with my box, while S'Arnel busied himself by making the boxes impenetrable ... o di ba??? totoo! nag-adik ang lolo ko sa pagbalot sa balikbayan box ng packaging tape para daw matibay... kaya ng puting balikbayan box ang naging semi-silver sa dami ng packaging tape hahaha! pero in fuhrnezzz.... matibay nga naman sya.

So yun, matapos ang lahat, nagdinner na kami ng super sarap na sinigang na salmon at chili garlic shrimp ni Joyski =) yummy yummy! dami namin nakain! That was one of the best meals I had dun!

After nun, uwi na kami sa hotel, super aga kasi ng flight namin the next day for Washington. I'm really going to miss the kids =(. Di na ako nakapagpaalam kay Zyjay kasi tulog na sya nun. Zoe was waving goodbye sa window until we left ... sana when I see them again, playmates pa din kami =).

Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 10)

Day 10 (July 5, 2008) - Los Angeles

Back to work today. Joy picked us up from the hotel and we went around a few stores in LA to check on store procedures, product standards and stuff. So its basically a real work day today. I don't want to bore you with all the boring details but what we pretty much did is observe store practices then do product tests. By product test i mean we taste the products sold in the store. So i got an overload of Jollibee products ... as in super overload. Kaw ba naman, eh we went around 4 stores and we did product tests for all 4 stores... waaaaaaa! oh well, i liked the halo-halo... wala kasi sa pinas nun eh hehehe... and the iced coffees! its really yummy! if you're in LA, try our Jolly iced coffee, masarap sya, pramis!

BUT, we did manage to sneak in an hour or so of shopping hehe =). Nasa mall kasi yung isang store so we took the chance and went around a bit to buy the stuff that people back home asked for .. so yun, pati si S'Arnel na-engganyo naming bumili ng BBW hehehe =).

Lunch was super nice .. we ate at a japanese buffet restaurant c/o M'Beth, our country head in LA. Super duper yummy sya! Joy and I has a blast eating haha! buti na lang ala na sya allergies kasi andaming seafood! pyesta sa sahimi, maki at tempura ang nangyari sakin! hehehe =)

We also tried other fastfood chains and as usual tasted their products so, lunch lang talaga ang naiiba today. All in all, it was pretty much uneventful ... We went back early sa hotel so we could start packing na our stuff and the stuff we needed to ship out.

BUKAS ... itinerary: church and shopping ... hehehe... teka, may utang pang breakfast sa I-Hop si M'Ed samin ahhhh... tuparin kaya bukas? abangan...

Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 9)

Day 9 - Los Angeles (July 4, 2008)

Happy Independence Day!!! nyahahahaha! It's a HAPYY DAY!!!! We're going to DISNEYLAND woohoo! (di ako excited ... hindeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee wahahahahaha! <<< sinapian).

seriously, super happy ako kasi makakadaupang palad ko na si mickey =). the last time na binalak kong pumunta sa disneyland when I was in HK last year, eh naunsyami... kaya ngayon, hangga't hindi nagkatotoo hindi ko iniisip (drama queen etoh hahaha! <<< nag-iinarte).

So eto na sya ... we went to a few stores first since S'Arnel wanted to work a bit and check out a few of our equipment in the stores before we go to Disney ... work effect muna hahaha! so mejo late na kami nakarating sa anaheim. pero i don't care! basta makapunta lang .. grabe! feeling bata ako as in ... kulang na lang magpabili ako ng lobo at cotton candy sa tuwa! hahaha! totoo pala yun .. someone told me kasi na when you step in the magical world of disney, as in instant yun ... feeling kid ka ulet ... kahit cna s'arnel nag-iba ang aura - pramis! he looks happy and free! o di ba!!! as in nabawasan ang stiffness ng lolo ko! kakaaliw!

pero eto ang glitch .. dahil 4th of july supeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr daming tao! as in! ang pila sa rides took around 1 hour to 1 and a half hours = average pila time, tapos the ride is like 5 mins - 10 mins lang. pero i don't care ulet! ininda ko ang pila ng rides at kung anu-ano pa, pati ang pagkirot ng namamaga ko pa ring paa na may benda na ngayon na tunay at hindi na sya naka-bandanna (yey!) tiniis ko ... para kay mickey ... pero hindi ko man lang sya nalapitan =( ang layo kasi namin nung nag parade, pero okay na yun, masaya pa din ako .. belat ... hahaha!

we rode the amazing rivers chorva, kaaliw syang ride! may kwento eto at nagsusulputang hippopotamus na nambubuga ng tubig at ang daming PEPANT!!! woohoo =) (adik ...) tapos we went to Indiana Jones the next. It was the best ride I had doon. As in! saya sya... para kang kasali ni Indiana Jones sa kanyang adventures at feeling mo eh sasagasaan ka din ng higanteng boulder =) (sasagasaan na nga masaya pa din ako hahaha!)... tapos nun we rode the pirates of the caribbean ride - it was a relaxing ride, more of sights and stories lang .. pero nakakaaliw yung mga wax figures .. para kang nanood nung mga lumang palabas sa COD pag pasko pero mas high tech eto at nakasakay ka pa sa bangka .. with matching movements and song and dance numbers - - - worth the pila =).

next we got on the magic mountain ride - - - super saya as in super saya - take log jam and multiply it by 20!!! hahahahaha! yun lang ang masasabi ko .. pumasok ka nang tuyo, paglabas mo sabon na lang ang kulang, bagong ligo na ang dating mo hahahaha!

last ride we got on was the matterhorn - - its a fast ride with lots of twists and turns --- it was exhilarating (sosyal! - - salamat manong webster for this uber descriptive word hehehe). Pero I think the ride was bitin ... either that's really true o sadyang adik lang ako haha!

after nun, we were supposed to ride the submarine thingy kaya lang super haba ang pila at ang pila time daw is almost two hours - - ay pass na eto .. need na namin pumunta dun sa harap daw ng castle kasi malapit na ang fireworks chorva.

sa super dami ng tao, hindi mahulugang karayom ang paligid ng pagdadausan ng fireworks ... we waited ... and waited... and waited some more .. pero patigasan etoh, alang alisan!! hahaha! .. tapos biglang may nag-mega announce... "due to the weather, we may only be able to show the modified version of the show .. we hope you understand .. blah blah blah" sabi nung katabi ko... "what? they shouldn't have announced that ... now we know that we are getting the modified one .. as if we knew what the original one was ... " good point ... feeling mo tuloy naisahan ka hehehe.

so yun... start na sya, it was great ... and everyone was really into the fireworks thingy kaya lang parang halfway pa lang ... boom... they STOPPED THE SHOW ... shet ... kasi nga due to weather conditions .. pero in fairness, malakas nga talaga ang hangin and the disney people were just really being careful .. and realistic .. mahirap na .. pero we were still disappointed nonetheless.

so yun .. uwian na lang eto, di na kami nanood nung laser light show as originally planned, mukhang pagod na din kasi ang mga thunderbolts na kasama ko... kaw ba naman, buong araw ka na-hyper eh parang hindi naman sila ganun lagi hahahaha!

bago umalis, nakiusap ako na if i can go visit a disney store to get souvenirs. Umoo naman cla pero hindi na daw sila papasok, wait na lang daw nila ako ... ay pressure etoh!!! marathon ever ang ginawa ko sa loob ng store ... para akong bata na may dala-dalang basket at load ever ang ginawa .. i just rationalized the cost nung mejo halfway na hahahahaha ... kaya nagbawas ako bigla .. ala tuloy ako disney jacket =( pero hindi ko binitawan si mickey!!!! may mickey ako .. pinalitan ko nga lang ng mas maliit na size yung stuffed mickey ko kasi feeling ko mahaharass sya sa bag ko pag-uwi ko ng pinas hehehe =).

after nun we went out to get a ride home, pero sa kasamaang palad... alang taxi .. as in ala... di yata nila nabalitaan na naputol ang fireworks show kaya late na cla nagdatingan. ang ending .. lumabas na kami ng disney at naghanap ng makakainan. Well, across the park is a restaurant strip so mejo malapit lang naman sya. We ended up eating in Tony Roma's. As usual, the servings were super duper big, as in fiesta plate ... este fiesta bandehado size eto ! pramis! pero the food was good ... until that time feeling ko happy kid pa din ako .. na may dalang loot bag hahaha!

after nun, we went out to search for a taxi .. swerte naman, nakakuha kami agad kasi it was getting really cold, and i only had a shirt and a light jacket on. nanginginig na ang mga bilbil ko eh hahaha! ... pero sa kamalas-malasan (na naman) bago ako sumakay ng taxi .. cnara ni s'arnel ang pinto nya sa front seat at NAIPIT AKO!!!! ano na!!! walking danger magnet yata ang drama ko dito sa states .. pambihira!! pero luckily hindi sya masakit .. at hindi naman ako nabalian .. may magic ang pinto ng manong taxi at puro rubber ang tumama sa kin... God loves me today hahahaha!

so yun .. umuwi na kami at naramdaman ko lang ang pagod nang nakaupo na ako sa taxi. all in all i had a wonderful day! as in .. i really felt like a kid again .. thanks to the magic of disney =)

Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 8)

Day 8 – Los Angeles (July 3, 2008)

I had a good hearty breakfast today sapagkat may breakfast buffet ang hotel namin ngayon!!! Yehey!!! (lets do the dance of joy!!!!). Simple lang naman cya pero happy na ako dun, sa New Orleans nga ala eh, 1 cup of coffee lang sa umaga tsaka unlimited supply ng green apples ang libre haha! =)

I ate waffles that I made myself (proud etoh!) pero nakagawa lang ako ng waffle pagkatapos ko basahin ang procedure na nakapaskil dun sa waffle maker at para maging sigurado eh nagtanong pa ko kay S’Ariel kung tama nga ba ang pinaggagagawa ko sa buhay ko. Ang resulta – tostadong waffle hahaha! Pero masarap sya (justifying haha!) ... pramis!!!! cross my heart and hope to ... to... hhmmm.. pramis! hehehe... Try nyo 'to : waffle with maple syrup, butter at peanut butter!!! Yummy!!! =)

So pagkatapos kong mag-adik sa waffle sinundo na kami ni Joy and we went out and checked our stores in the vicinity (sosyal … vicinity…. Thank you Webster for this valuable word haha!). That’s what we pretty much did the whole day, checking store procedures, product testing sa stores and checking documents. We went to our US head office and did the rest of our work there until the afternoon.

Kakainis nga lang kasi strict sila sa US kung ilang tao lang ang pwede sumakay sa sasakyan. So, since sina S’Ariel ay babalik na sa Pinas earlier than us eh need na nilang mag-shop. To make the short story shorter, susunduin nila ang mga bossing ko na galing Arkansas tonight at 2 lang ang pwedeng isama ni Joy sa kotse (gumugulo ang short story ko teka… rewind)… ganito kasi yan, may outlet store na malapit sa airport kung saan susunduin ang mga bossing. So, ang sistema, Joy will drop them off sa Outlet Mall tapos dadaanan na lang sila pagbalik .. whew!!! Naikwneto ko din … hirap magsulat pag bangag … need to catch up on sleep na …

Ang ending? Naiwan ako haha! Sapagkat pag sumama pa ko sobra na sila sa car … unless isakay nila ako sa trunk hehehe =) (pero in feyrness, inisip ko yun hahaha! Malakas ang tawag sa kin ng mall ….). Nagpaiwan na lang ako sa hotel para tapusin ang mga nararapat bago pa dumating ang aking mader boss at baka matanong ako kung anong pinaggagagawa ko sa buhay ko habang wala sya =). So yun, martyr ever ang drama ko sa hotel habang hinihintay ko ang kanilang pagbabalik.

When they arrived, nagdinner kami with Joy’s family sa Taipan, a Chinese restaurant na super like ko yung beef wonton noodles ... sarap!!! (hhmmm… puro pagkain ang pampasaya ko today ah! Haha!) Joy’s kids were super-duper cute! Ang laki na nila Zoe and Zyjay =).

After dinner we went back sa hotel at nagpahinga na. Unahan na eto matulog!!! Haha! Baka matanong pa ko eh hehehe =)

Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 7)

Day 7 (July 2, 2008) – New Orleans / LA

Last day in New Orleans today =) am sooooo looking forward to LA, mejo tahimik kasi sa New Orleans tapos ala pa masyado mapasyalan. So ganun na nga, we flew to LA while two of my bosses, went to Arkansas for a plant visit. Yey! I have one night na ako lang sa room haha! (sama ko ba?) Eh kasi naman, roommate ko yung boss ko since we got here, so parang mula paggising hanggang pagtulog sa gabi eh mejo conscious akesh … you know… hahaha! So anyways, isa yun sa nilu-look forward ko … ang matulog mag-isa =)

When we got to LA, Joy met us sa airport and drove us to our hotel. We stayed in Quality Inn and Suites in Maple. It’s a nice place, comfortable enough, and homey =). Pero bago kami makarating sa hotel, kumain muna kami, ang request namin?? Filipino food!!!! Haha! Naloka si Joy!!! Pero grabe, namiss namin ang kanin at ulam. Buti na lang sa LA dami Pinoy at maraming Pinoy establishments. So we ate in Pinoy Pinay and we really enjoyed the food! =) parang nakauwi ka ang dating, plus the fact na we were surrounded by Pinoys doon hehehe =)

So, ang unang purchase ko sa LA pagkatapos kumain??? Hulaan nyo … hhhmmm… MALI! Hindi sapatos, tama na muna ang kasapatusan .. hehehe… ang una kong binili ay BANDAGES at SALONPAS o di ba???? Sapagkat namamaga pa din ang aking napetot na ankle and its sporting a new look – mejo may violet and green tinge na sya – parang talong ang combination. Kaloka – pero in fairness, nakakalakad na ako, and that’s what matters. Ibig sabihin lang alang nabaling buto – okay na yun, napilipit lang hehehe =). So yun, my mom went ballistic as in all caps ang text when I told her about the petot incident and she called Ghina (ang pinsan kong PT) kaya eto mega text na need ko bumili ng bandage at dapat daw may support ang ankle ko until the swelling subsides, plus a host of other instructions … itaas ang paa sa gabi … I-hot compress chorva chorva ….

We went grocery shopping in a Filipino supermarket … natuwa ako dahil may C2 apple kaya bumili ako ng apat!! Adik kung adik etoh atsaka eto ha .. only in the US … Goldilocks Biscotti! Sosyal! Ala sa Pinas nyan, sa pinas meron lang mamon tostado.

The day passed by quickly and we retired early .. need rest at bukas eh trabaho etoh. It was really great to see Joy again =) at super naaliw ako sa car navigation system chorva nya hehehe … may nagsasalita na “turn left … if possible make a LEGAL u-turn” … aliw!!!!

Shipped to the US in Business Class (Day 6)

Day 6 (July 1, 2008) – New Orleans

It’s a miracle!!! I can walk!!! Yey!!! Slowly nga lang … but still, hindi na ako parang kangaroo na kumakandirit ever!!!! Wehehehehehe! Thank you Lord! =)

It’s rinna’s last day today and she met us sa may lobby before she went off to spend a few days kina ate hess in ohio. We went to church today. The church is located near the French Quarter so parang pasyal na din eto, so to complete it, may fecture-teyking na naganap sa loob ng simbahan pagkatapos ng misa =) tapos fecture-fecture ulet sa labas ng church at sa may park. Tapos nun balik na kami sa convention.

So dapat pakitang gilas ako ngayon kasi bukod sa napetot ako, kulang pa ako sa enthusiasm! (kaloka ever …) so dapat bubbly and hyper ang dating ko .. makalaklak nga ng maraming asukal – sugar high ang kelangan dito…

I was able to attend a session I enjoyed today – sa wakas!!!! Wehehehe kaya happy ako =) tapos nun we went around the convention hall to catch the other exhibits. I discovered where the books are displayed!!! Piyesta!!! Kaya lang super mahal .. discounted na din daw yun … ala kasi masyado technical books available locally kaya aliw na aliw ako dun … enthusiasm pala ha ????

The day passed by uneventfully … we had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel that served good food =) yey! Nakakain ako ng kanin sa wakas! Actually, the restaurant was a second option. The first option was Ruth Chris Steakhouse – sabi kasi ng boss naming super sarap daw dun… kaya lag bukod sa mejo mahaba ang waiting list eh super mahal ang food … hhhmmm …. Steak o per diem considerations … obviously the per diem consideration won :P