GREAT morning

second day in a row of the MRT being unbelievably packed. $#*!!@!! what usually takes me 25 to 30 mins to do (go up the station stairs, pass through baggage "inspection", lineup for the turnstyle, wait on ramp, ride from north ave. to boni station) has taken me 45 minutes in the past two days. can someone tell me WHAT IS UP?!?!?!

i get to the office and attempt to accomplish an errand with cebu pacific. i google their contact number and find (+632) 70-20-888. hotline daw. DEYM. ang kapal ng mukha to call it a hotline. hotline kasi mapapaso ka sa asar at hinding-hindi mo na gugustuhing tumawag ulit sa tinding hirap na dadaanan mo para lang makausap ng isang operator. when i tried calling, either it was (a) busy, (b) "sorry, all circuits are busy now...", (c) napuputol pag pinipindot mo na yung number option na kailangan mo, or (d) kung hindi maputol, eh pagaantayin ka ng husto hanggang mandilim na ang paningin mo sa kahihintay. in my case 10 minutes lang yon. (fine, mainipin ako, eh ang expectation ko kasi pag hotline, CONVENIENT ang proseso eh!)

************

so enough of the morning rant. miel's first text to me this morning was pretty interesting.

"good morning. if my life was a song, what would it be?"

hanep sa pang-gising. ;) napaisip tuloy ako. ang hirap kaya nung tanong. ang unang pumasok sa isip ko, at ang sagot ko sa kanya, ay "Hand in my pocket" by Alanis Morissette.

hindi ko pa iniisip ko ano kaya yung sa'kin, pero parang pwedeng "All I Really Want" -- kasi reklamador nga ako, laging nagdedemand, hehe.

Will not, must not, ever again, procrastinate. Makes me feel like a criminal*

...Dont you tell me to deny it,
Ive done wrong and I want to
Suffer for my sins.
Ive come to you cause I need
Guidance to be true
And I just dont know where I can begin.

What I need is a good defense
cause Im feelin like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed
To the one I sinned against...

*Lines from "Criminal" by Fiona Apple

 

thinking ahead vs. counting down

another case of glass half-full and half-empty. is this a good thing or a bad thing?

i realized that i automatically keep track of….

…number of minutes from office to buendia mrt, from buendia to east ave, from east ave to home
…number of minutes saved if I eat dinner in the car
…number of hours of sleep left if I sleep by this time
…number of tasks that need to be done before i call it a day
…number of tasks that i will not get to do for the day, and have to wait til tomorrow
…number of tasks i will still not get to do tomorrow, and have to wait til next week
…number of red flags in my mail server
…number of calls to be made
…number of nights left til the next presentation
…number of days left til the next paycheck
…number of weeks til the next vacation leave / long weekend

sigh. whatever happened to “it’s about the journey, not the destination?”

April 21, 2009, Zest Air Flight 838

To the Pilot and Cabin Crew of Zest Air Flight 838,

Thank you for a very memorable journey. You guys really made the most out of our P488 fare from Cebu to Manila. Imagine, we spent almost three whole hours in what was supposed to be just a 1-hour, 15-minute flight! How's that for maximizing air travel?

Do you remember how the trip went? No? Well let me refresh your memories…

We were supposed to depart from the Mactan International Airport at 09:45 AM. Unfortunately, our plane which was coming from Manila arrived late, so we had a 45-minute delay and departed Cebu past 10:30 AM.

After 45 minutes of flying from Cebu to Manila, the Pilot announced that we couldn’t land as the runways were full. Apparently, there was already a line, and we were a far 15th on the list. Groans already fell from passengers when this was announced, but there wasn’t really anything people could do but wait.

And wait the people did. A little too calmly for my taste, if you as me. We waited until the speakers finally cracked again, and pilot announced that since we were circling the air for 30 minutes, our fuel ran low and we would have to – wait for it – GO TO CLARK TO REFUEL.

Amazing, right?

Yes, my friends and I couldn’t believe our ears with this news. By that time, the whole flight had already experienced 1.5 hours worth of delay, and we were going to go through even more. And in you even made the bad news more impactful by washing your hands clean about the runway traffic saying “it’s not your fault” and that there was an “unannounced shutdown” of the terminal which resulted in the unexpected queue in landing. Bravo! You sure know how to add insult to injury.

And did you notice that the time was 12:30 PM when this was all happening? And you didn’t even offer to serve snacks or even an extra pack of Zest-O to your passengers who were forced to skip lunch because of the lapse in your service? Masters of service you are.

Going back to the story…So transfer to Clark we did. We landed. We refueled – all the while on our respective seats, restricted from all use of electronics. Remember how you didn’t make us get off the plane which I heard was supposed to be SOP? i.e., no refueling with passengers on board.

We were able to take off from Clark and land in Manila without any further hitch. But, it turns out, the journey wasn’t over. I know, silly me, I should've anticipated the extra surprises. There was more traffic on the runway, which added another 15 minutes of taxi-ing to the old Domestic Terminal.

In the Baggage Claim area, we spent another good 20 minutes or so, as the carousel where we were told to wait was spurting out baggage that belonged to a different flight. It was quite amusing, seeing hoards of people doing the cha-cha from one carousel to the other, trying to figure out by themselves on where the heck they can possibly get their bags.

Amidst it all, I heard on the speakers a terminal attendant calling the attention of “any Zest Air representative” to help them sort out the confusion with the baggage. Hmmm. Looks like your staff was MIA in its own terminal?

Yes, it was a memorable 3 hours indeed. It was packed with anxiety, stress, frustration and confusion – classic elements of an adventure. Except that, we missed out on the good parts. Truly a refreshing experience from Asia’s most refreshing airline.

I do not wish anyone else to go through this hassle, so I hope you will remember this experience and avoid from it happening again. If some delays or other “unannounced” occurrences are beyond your control, then please do something about what is within your control: That is, treating your passengers well.

Apologize. Don’t put the blame unto others (or at least, save yourselves from getting into that defensive position.) Inform passengers of what caused the delay. Keep them updated on what will happen next and how long these things will take. And for crying out loud, address the grumbling stomachs! This is not even going the extra mile. Doing something more than saying “sorry” is the bare minimum for being in a service industry.

Yours truly,
Ina

Let's take it slow...

Nope, not in reference to the same thing that Freestyle was talking about. I'm talking about -- what else? -- the four-letter word starting with a W and ending with a K.

Just when I was recently promoted, here comes the signs that're telling me that it's not about the destination, it's about a journey.

Sure, I hear it all the time...

Ok wait, I take that back, I do hear that all the time about TRAVELING, but not about careers. Nowadays, everyone is just in a friggin' rush to be someone, to be something, to make an impact, to earn a lot, to be out there and successful. But I can't help but see all the people I look up to -- they didn't do it overnight. They're so good at what the do because they worked their way up. Their years and years of experience is what makes them so good! So why am I pressuring myself to be at their level in a span of three years when it took them ten years to get there?

Then here comes Chris Lindner, professional sport climber, to further impress upon me how the journey matters so much to him. He goes around the world with a personal mission to spread word about rock climbing and the benefits of being a rock climber -- both to oneself and to the world around us. Nevermind if he doesn't always get the mesage across, but at least he learns many things along the way, which builds his character and will likely equip him for future encounters, and eventually lead to the fulfillment of his mission, as slowly as it may take.

Then there's Father Nonette, the parish priest in Mapayapa Village I, last Sunday, touching on one my favorite topics in Stephen Covey's Seven Habits -- blocking time for the "big rocks". He reminds us to not lose sight of what's important in life, like moments spent with family and friends, and to remember that all it takes is a little bit of prioritization.

Not that I'm feeling work is getting in the way. I'm not saying that just yet, because I'm still able to find ways to do the things I love. But I just can't help but wonder, What's all the rush about? What am I running after? Is it all about racing to the finish line? Carpe diem, they say. But even that is subject to one's perspective. You can "seize the day" to advance your career, or "seize the day" to maximize the time you can invest on the things you truly love.

I can't get myself to choose between the two extremes right now. Count on me to position myself in the "safe" in-between zone. The only thing I know now is that I'm not hearing any reasons to rush, and I'm more than happy to take my time, to stop and smell the sampaguitas (roses stink), to let all the sceneries and little learnings sink in.

Maybe my mind will change in a year. Maybe it will change in a week. But this is it for now.

dear ben chan

if that picture is worth a thousand trees, why put it up in the first place?

'di ko gets.

bawal magkasakit

maraming rason kung bakit. isa, mahirap maghabol sa trabaho. actually, hindi lang sa trabaho naghahabol -- sa lahat ng workout, training, at pati na din sa social obligations. pangalawa, mahal ang gamot (thanks, clusivol). pangatlo, nagiging unproductive lang talaga ang tao.

pero para sa akin, isa pang malaking dahilan kung bakit ayokong-ayokong magkasakit ay dahil ang PANGIT ng lasa ng gamot. aaminin ko, para akong bata. kelangan ng isang basong tubig para sa isang capsule. kelangan ng mental preparation. kelangan ng appetizer at chaser.

hay, bawal magkasakit.