Miss Superlatives

2nd Aug 2013 - Friday. after arriving in sydney international airport at 11am, we went down to board the airport train to the city. we also bought 7-day passes and paid almost AUD 50 each. the trip to the hostel is a mere 15min train ride. i was amazed at the double deck type trains in sydney and the train station is not bad at all compared to the dark and eerie new york subway. arrival in Sydney The nearest station to our backpacker hostel is Central, so we alighted and upon exit, the cool Australian breeze greeted us at around 15 degrees C.  Bounce hotel is just a few blocks away, so getting there was not a huge problem. As soon we paid up and took our card keys, we went to the 2nd floor through the card authorized lift which allows you to go to your intended floor using your personal card for security purposes. The room we've booked was good for 6 persons, so we got two more roommates to expect.  we settled down a bit then later headed out to have a late lunch...

when everyone wants to snuggle in, we want to explore out. that's how em's and my brain works. add in two more canonigo brains and you can just imagine, that if you give them one destination, come hell or high water, it would be a hell of a high!  this time, the theme is a winter summer in australia. while the rest of the world is frolicking on the beach, down under is all under the wraps!  for the newbies em and I, memories of the unexpected 6 degrees C drop in manhattan keeps on flashing back in.  this time we better be prepared. but still the challenge continues. hand carry luggage only at 7kg max. oh boy. how am i going to fit my three hooded sweats, one fleecy jacket and one puffy waterproof thingy? plus, gazillions of socks and thermals?  i can hear em wailing even in my sleep.  that gave him a reason to push the packing task to me. totally. so i had to fit in eveything he wanted to bring. after a few editing ang him bargaining of wha...

this one goes to our lovely reception lady who always makes our coming to work a not-so-Monday feeling :) happy birthday Morni!

the haze psi level has gone down but we are still not too complacent of what might come up later today. but this morning, em and i decided to do our usual Seletar reservoir brekkie amidst   the lurking haze nearby.  we bought our usual $4 packet, usually with noodles, maling (luncheon meat!), sunny side up egg and a couple of chicken nuggets. we added a bottle of Mirinda, Starbucks Frap bottle and Mineral water. Inside my picnic bag - a pack of hotdog buns, Belcube cheddar cheese, mini St Dalfour blackcurrant spread, Sunchips!, some lemonsito and one orange fruit. brekky in the woods We laid everything in our usual concrete bench facing the reservoir.  Em took out his X-mini Speakers and blasted Y101FM through 3G. while i am blogging now, em is relaxing with music blaring. as we wait for the noon sun to consume the shade we have, then we know it's time to pack up and go.  i rested my hand thinking of what to write next and then suddenly. an india...

still very hazy in singapore. with the psi (pollutants standards index) raised up to 321 last night, which is considered hazardous, we could only wait and hope for the best that it goes down on the next reading. it did this morning but it was still high on the index at 198 psi by noon. the wearing of the mask became compulsory for all staff. seletar airport was closed down since morning, no arrivals and departures allowed due to low - zero visibility. the whole airport looked like a scene in one of the "end of the world" movies. after the lunch break, our HR issued memo for all employees to take the afternoon off due to the hazardous condition at work. everyone was relieved but not too happy because we still fear the levels will still rise up tonight.  hope not. hazed!!

a thick haze greeted me out of work today. that means tomorrow i need to don my zorro's. they laughed at me saying the zorro only covers your eyebags and brows and not your nose and eyes. well, that's the whole point, i don't want the haze to mess with those ;)  and they gave me a blank stare.  earlier today was hazier. an accident occured involving one of our known aircrafts. it was towed in this afternoon and boy! the damage was pretty bad. 2 damaged flaps and ldg door got stuck into the inboard flap. really sad but lucky no one was hurt, it could have been worse.

well, here is the dot zip version of the 11-day stroll in the estados unidos. each day has a full page story but i do not want to bore you with the details so these little teasers will be enough idea of what went wrong and... what went wrong :) before the misadventure  uno - hueves - dieceseis changi airport terminal 2 having a sh*tty night with PAL.  delayed, delayed, delayed. what more? delayed. dos - spilling over to viernes - diecesiete ( Singapore / Manila Time) still in changi airport having a wide-awake nightmare with PAL. arrived Manila that morning , the sh*tty night to day continues. as much as i wanted to understand the inconvenience, i did not see any of their attempts of improving the situation. *sad* *currently writing a loooong love letter to PAL* dos y medya - viernes (still!)  - diecesiete (LA Time)  emem and wingwing (hehe dobol2x) arrived in LA at 8am , breezed through immigration and customs. everyone was surprised w...

roll the films back eighteen years ago. this is mount manunggal in all its glory, standing more than a thousand meters above sea level. it was after my first climb in 1995 when i fell in love with the place, and i did came back year after year -  on a weekend closest to march seventeen, where the annual manunggal climb happens. this event is celebrated by every cebuano mountain climber to commemorate the death anniversary of the late Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay. too bad cameras back then were not as common right now, i could have captured the place in all it's very natural state. most of the climbs were unforgettable, and one of those climbs i shared a peak with my best buds Acel and Ryan with a breath taking view behind, though shivering in the morning fog. i cannot remember anymore the year when i last climbed in march. but i do remember that it was the first time i went without any buddy. i went alone and just followed a small group to the night ascent. w...

one of the fondest memories i had with Kucci was taking her out for a ride, with the vehicle windows open. i could see her happiest on those moments, taking all the wind and enjoying every single ride. she was one of the reasons i always come home early or drop by at lunch just to see how she's doing. everyday was such a wonderful day with her. when she was very young, she got sick and was hanging on to dear life when we decided to call on the vet. she was given some shots and meds and after a few days, she was looking a bit better. growing up she was a very funny dog, who easily gets scared even with her own shadow. often times it happens when she enters a room and suddenly sees something "dark" on one side - be it a big bag, luggage, garbage can or just a bunch of "saba" bananas, she would freak out and barks at it endlessly with matching fur show off. she would never get close to the thing and if you lift and take her nearer to it, she would ten...

we got a visitor today at work. pretty enough for us to stop, stare and dig out our cameras to have a pic. the all new G650. the first one. charming.

literally. em and i will be traveling in May this year to... susi (to snoop out) what's going on the other corners of the globe. as i am a wuss for light travels, i have pointed out the rules for this activity - one back pack only per head :P BUT only for outbound :) inbound - that is a different story considering i already have something in mind to bring back that cannot get away with the liquid restrictions at the airport, so we have to check it in (hello, Speculoos cookie butter!) OK. itinerary for two weeks follows: SIN-MLA-LAX-MCO-JFK-LHR-SIN tripping counter clockwise the globe and the Outbound packing list as follows: one back pack for each plus one sling bag for camera and video cam  my pack would contain: 1) 3 tops + 1 worn 2) 1 cardigan + 1 jacket worn 3) 1 jeans + 1 leggings + 1 shorts 4) 1 pair pajamas 5) 1 sandals  + 1 worn sneakers 6) underwear (4 pairs) + the worn ones! 7) socks and tights + worn ones! 8...

pri.me.ro (la primera vez) adj. 1. first 2. first, front 3. ( mejor ) best 4. ( fundamental )  primary, basic 5. ( anterior )  former like everyone else, we all have our first time. but for me it's not the case. i have first times all the time, without end. i have this annoying habit of starting one and even it is not done i have already started a numerous others. and the cycles goes on and on. so consider this the first time but never the last one. keep on reading! :)