higher

i was on the phone trying to redeem a cash gift card with my credit card rewards points.

i went, 'so that's 8,000 points, right?'

phone banker:  no, ma'am.  10,000.

me:  oh?!  which is the 8?  the gift check?

phone banker:  the gift check's also 10,000 points, ma'am.

me:  hmmm... which one is 8?

phone banker:  they used to be 8,000 points, ma'am, now they're 10.

me:  ooops... since when did they become 10?

phone banker:  end of june, ma'am.

ouch!  i'm a month late...  : }

almeria facebook posts II (2010)

JUNE 7

6:48pm
i've booked my flights for my mama in's birthday in almeria next month. she's my second mom. she took care of me (and my siblings) from the time i was a baby to until after i got married. i was booking through the web and initially could not decide on the available flight times. by the time i've made my choice, the lower fare was not anymore available. gone in a matter of minutes : }


JULY 4

12:38am
ano ba???!!! i've booked my flights, ba't ngayon nag-si-seat sale 'tong mga 'to (PAL, cebu pacific, tiger)??? ugh!


JULY 9

8:46pm
going to almeria, biliran... leaving manila for tacloban, july 10, 9:10 am, PAL PR 391... coming back july 12, 5:00 pm, PR 394... still don't know how to get to almeria from tacloban... i've been there just once, last year... i've forgotten... : }

11:05pm
grabee, nagulat 'yung ibang shoppers kasi bigla akong napasigaw ng 'aaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!! huwag!!!'... kasi naman 'yung saleslady, 'yung binili kong shirt and slippers, pagsasamahin ba naman sa isang bag! ano ba????!!!


JULY 10

7:01am
cab now... yesterday my officemate was asking whether i want someone to drop me off at the airport. i asked, 'guwapo ba 'yan?' she chuckled and said, 'slight.' haha... ok, thanks... i'll just take a cab... ; )

8:21am
ooops, a guy just stood up here at the waiting area and took a pic arms high. dunno whether i'm just being conceited but it seems from that angle the pic he took has me at the center... oh, well... i hope he didn't catch my tummy bulge... had i known i would have inhaled, haha...

8:41am
boarding now...

10:07am
just landed in tacloban... hmmm... dunno yet what's next, haha... what do i take to get to almeria? where? i'll ask around...

10:47am
at robinsons tacloban to buy additional pasalubong... : )

11:10am
nice shirt print: stand for what is right even if you stand alone...

12:28pm
hey, they have a jr. version of pakil's ping-as here in tacloban... theirs is a smaller white cross at mid-mountain level...

12:31pm
at van now going to naval...

1:00pm
i'm sleepy... van has no headrest... : } ... i slept at 4 this morning... got up at 5:30... -_-

3:11pm
naval now on board jeep to almeria... good thing one of the passengers knows my mama linda's house... i don't... : }

3:23pm
ano baaa???!!! tumutulo 'yung luha ko!!! OA, huh?. papunta pa lang kaya! ugh!

4:59pm
grabeee!!! parang pelikula... my mama in was in the porch when she saw me in the jeep. she immediately went out to meet me, barefoot (!), and hugged me in the middle of the street... aaaawww!!! thank God she looks healthy... thank God we were not run over... ; )

10:05pm
back to basics... cooking with firewood... sleeping on a bamboo bed... it's good every once in a while...


JULY 11

3:55am
awakened by early morming serenade (mananita) for my mama linda on her birhday...

10:55am
heard sunday mass. nope, not the usual catholic service. this time it's aglipayan (iglesia filipina independiente) -> in visayan... i could not understand the words... but my heart understood the message... thanks be to God...

7:50pm
someone asked for my number. i don't usually give it out... but then i didn't have the heart to turn down this guy's request... oh, well... i'm leaving tomorrow anyway.... we'll be too far apart...


JULY 12

6:44am
hahaha... guhit-guhit ako... the blanket i used as bedsheet on my bamboo bed / couch moved while i was asleep, i ended up in direct contact with the bamboo. now i have vertical marks on my arms and legs. para akong striped whatever... ; )

11:52am
leaving for naval -> in my bedroom slippers... i'm leaving my footwear in almeria , they'll find it useful there...i'll just buy slippers in naval...

12:15pm
i said i didn't want to ride a motorcycle (from almeria to naval) this time. i said i'll just take the jeepney. guess what, they rented me a jeepney! soooo spacious! ugh! i meant public jeepney... they pass in front of the house...

12:31pm
leaving naval for tacloban... i wasn't able to buy slippers... : }

1:50pm
tulog na 'yung babaeng katabi ko sa van. nakasandal sa 'kin. napipisa ako... : }

2:50pm
van passed by the palo metropolitan cathedral... so nice the, dunno what you call it, carillon, belfry, whatever...

3:06pm
tacloban airport now -> in my bedroom slippers : } so long the queue for check-in...

3:40pm
checked-in... flight is at 5 pm yet... no footwear being sold here at the airport... i can't believe i'm traveling from almeria to manila in my bedroom slippers... ang laki ng bedroom mo, huh!

3:55pm
waaahhh! natapon pala sa loob ng bag ko 'yung sabaw nu'ng paksiw na lechon na padala ni mama in... : (

4:33pm
haha, shirt print: one tequila | two tequila | three tequila | floor... ; )

4:49pm
hey, our plane is here now. well, i'm ready for the walk at the tacloban city airport tarmac. unlike last year when i was wearing a skirt, this time i'm wearing knickers. hah! the wind can't blow this away... ; )

6:26pm
NAIA 2 now (centennial airport)... plane has landed... : )

6:41pm
ooops... long queue for cabs... ba't naman kasi up to now wala pa rin akong sundo... :' (

6:47pm
bait naman,,, a guy (foreigner) let me go ahead of him in rhe queue... thanks... : )

7:11pm
home now... thank 5od for a safe trip...

within my control

i received a call landline.  talk, talk, talk.  and then before hanging up, the caller told me he already has my cell phone number.

oh, ok.  (i wonder how he got it.  i should have asked.)

and then he asked whether he could text me.

huh?!  i don't really remember anyone asking me permission to text before.  they just text.  they just call.  anyway, i said ok.

the question actually is whether i would text back... ; )

continental drift theory

' dunno why but this exchange that happened over a month ago suddenly crossed my mind.

i was dining out with a friend and he was telling me that this girl i knew he liked a lot already has a boyfriend.

i comforted him with something i saw from tumblr which amused me so much:

kung ang taong mahal mo,


may mahal ng iba..


huwag kang mag-alala.


tandaan lang ang continental drift theory


kung ang mga pulo nga naghihiwalay, sila pa kaya?!




->  if the one you love


already loves someone else,


don't worry.


just remember the continental drift theory.


if islands break up, what more them?




his reply dampened my amusement:

ang mga pulo walang kontrata.


->  islands don't have a contract.



ooops... ouch! : }

who matters more

haha... clicked the app Inside The Head... it turns out it's not just plain and simple random... you have to type a facebook friend's name to find out what's inside their head...

i typed a guy's name, what came out was '(guy1) thinks you're cute'

oh, ok.

i typed another, 'twas '(guy2) likes you'

hey, i like that.

and then a third, '(guy3) thinks you to be cool'

uh-huh...

a fourth, '(guy4) adores you'

up to now?!

a fifth, '(guy5) dreams about you everyday'

aw, sweet...

wait... no 'loves you'?  LOL!

anyway, in terms of thrill and elation, the fifth should be it, right?  but no, '(guy2) likes you' brought me most joy.  i think it's as much the phrase as the guy himself.

on hindsight, too, the order in which i entered the guy's names probably is an indication of something, too.  their rank in my heart maybe.  ' am not really sure.

and i'm actually surprised now at the sequence of two names.  how come i checked this one ahead of the other?  i thought i liked the other more?  hmmm... hmmm... hmmm...

? ? ?