Gucci..Gucci...Ayayayay...(to the tune of Lady Marmalade)

a couple of korean girls probably in their mid-twenties were the last to board the aircraft to our flight to singapore. with a number of duty free shopping bags in tow they most probably had a shopping frenzy of designer items while waiting for the flight. you see, a korean traveler psyche is like this: they not only save up for the trip but they also save a LOT of moolah for the shopping in duty free shops inside incheon international airport. before the start of their trip they have already parted with thousands of dollars already buying a gucci bag, cartier watch and chanel sunnies.
anyway back to my story, less than 5 minutes after they boarded a girl came rushing back to the door and said she was missing one shopping bag.
too bad we really had to leave ( do i sense some mocking here, hehehe) and can't delay the flight just for her.
by the way, you know what was inside the shopping bag? A freaking GUCCI BAG!!!!

early this year hubby dropped and broke my bobbi brown shimmer bric compact. so for the longest time i have been using thisi thought i can live with it, with the broken pieces and all, but the small pieces and the ones that has broken down into powdered form leaks out of the case and just scatters its way in my makeup bag.
good thing i had a singapore flight this week and the cosmetics at the airport duty free there are quite cheaper plus airline crew get 5% off.

BETTER!

Toddling Aqi

i was browsing through my brother's multiply site when i saw an updated post--pictures of aqi!
i was teary-eyed when i saw the pictures... probably because it's been 11 days since i last saw him and seeing him even only in pictures brings me overwhelming joy.

the last time i was at home he was toddling his way around the house with a lampin around his chest for support. for a brief moment he took 2 steps without support and that was because i was so ngalay from holding him. i didn't tell it to the yaya because she might try it.

View From My Window

this was the view from my hotel room window.
this is i think the best hotel that the company has billeted us. nice huh?

5th Best Airline In The World

oh wow.... we ranked 5th on the world airline awards plus we bagged World's Best Cabin Staff and the Best Economy Class award!
there is still more room for improvement like fluent english speaking (korean) cabin crew perhaps? miscommunication is always a problem.
but then again if they learn to speak english fluently then they wouldn't need any more filipina crew. yikes.

news article from
http://www.airlinequality.com/news/110808_airlineawards.htm

2008 WORLD AIRLINE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

SINGAPORE AIRLINES NAMED AIRLINE OF THE YEAR IN WORLD AIRLINE AWARDS


LONDON, 11th August 2008

"For the 3rd time in 10 years, Singapore Airlines has been named World's Best Airline, winning the 2008 Airline of the Year title in the latest World Airline Awards" said Edward Plaisted (CEO of Skytrax). "We extend our congratulations to them for this notable achievement, coinciding with the time that Singapore Airlines was the world's first airline to fly the Airbus A380."

Over 15 million eligible survey interviews were completed during the 11 month Survey period. From Seoul to Sao Paulo, Copenhagen to Cape Town, the scale and breadth of the 2008 survey further strengthens the well-established reputation as the World's Largest Passenger Survey.

Singapore Airlines also collected the Award for Best Business Class in a very competitive section of the survey. "Business Class standards continue to be upgraded by airlines across the world, and Singapore Airlines managed to retain their title amidst this growing level of competition" said Edward Plaisted. "It is the whole business class package that is evaluated, from airport lounges, ground services to the quality of cabin seating, inflight entertainment, catering and of course the cabin staff service."

Cathay Pacific takes 2nd place overall in the 2008 Awards (up from 3rd in 2007), and picks up the Award for World's best First Class, giving due recognition to their new onboard 1st Class product and service concept.

Qantas is ranked 3rd worldwide (5th in 2007) and collects the Award for Best First Class Lounge - achieved in a period where the airline has seen competition ramped up both in its domestic and regional market. "The global rating for Qantas is interesting" says Edward Plaisted. "When we look at more localised studies, reporting etc, we found that Qantas comes under fire from some media that clearly contradicts a more widespread view of Qantas customers that voted for the airline in the survey. We do find that many countries flag-carrier airlines suffer fairly vitriolic levels of reporting in their local regions, and the airline industry remains a business that some areas of the press seem to love-to-hate!"

"Another closely contested Survey category, the Best First Class Lounge Award is a true recognition of top-end quality being delivered, and Qantas have set a clear benchmark with their First Class facilities at Sydney Airport. This lounge in Sydney is the flagship for Qantas. Designed by Australian Marc Newson, the lounge concept for both product and staff service has been modelled around the finest quality you would expect to find in a 5-star hotel or restaurant, and the best part is that the concept is being so well delivered by Qantas" added Plaisted.

Thai Airways maintained a strong ranking, placed 4th worldwide (2nd in 2007) together with picking up 4th place in the Best Cabin Staff section of the Awards.

Asiana Airlines was one of the biggest improvers across the 2008 results, ranked 5th worldwide (up from 12th in 2007), as well as taking the sought-after World's Best Cabin Staff Award and also collecting the Award for Best Economy Class. "This is clearly an airline on the move upwards" says Edward Plaisted. "Smaller than it's national counterpart Korean Air, Asiana Airlines are developing an ever-increasing level of customer support, achieving some of the highest levels of customer satisfaction across today's airline industry. Some innovative cabin service concepts clearly contribute towards their success, but it is more apparent that Asiana Airlines is gaining a worldwide reputation based on the concept of superb customer service."

A Scene from a Flight to India

the scene of the crime

this happened sometime 2005 on a flight from seoul to new delhi.
i was doing my customary walk-around-the-cabin thing when i saw something long in the middle of the aisle. since the lighting of the cabin was dimmed to allow passengers to sleep i initially thought that it was just a shadow of something. upon looking at it at every angle i realized that it was POOP!
someone pooped in the aisle!
omygahd!!!
we tried to investigate who did it and later found out that it was an elderly indian passenger who probably didn't know where the lavatory is. he was travelling with his family and geez the family didn't even apologize for what happened. as in deadma pa.

31 Going on 25

it's funny how my korean colleagues especially my juniors flip over whenever they learn that i'm already married (their eyes wide open) - at 31 years old (their jaws drop) - and have a 10 month old baby (gusto na nilang tumambling).
they would always tell me that i look young. i look younger that most of the juniors.
they'd always make a guessing game of my age and most would guess that i'm around 25 years old.

since i have to adapt to their culture i don't really like to be told that i look young. since seniority is how things get done here it's actually a disadvantage for me because most of the time i get bossed around by those bitchy koreans and later find out that i'm more senior than most of them!

there was also another instance when a latino guy was making small talk and i could sense that he was going to ask me out. he was surprised that i was working for the company for a long time and thought that i skipped college. i told him i actually took a 5-year course and he finally asked for my age (which i've been waiting for him to ask). he was dumbfounded and turned out he was actually 6 years younger than me. he still invited me out but i declined and told him i'm married.

35Pounds in London

i had a london layover last week and was quite pleased that our new hotel was just behind bustling oxford street. the hotel itself wasn't that nice but hey i'm all for the location!
right behind the hotel is Primark a retail clothes and lifestyle store. some of the items are quite cheap and the items are made in ireland not from china. so as second nature to me i breezed through all the racks and bought 2 stretch-y shirts for 2pounds each. i wanted to buy it in all colors because the fit was so nice but i was on a 35pound($70) budget. i bought my mom a tummy and waist girdle for 4pounds and i got a tummy,waist and thigh girdle for 6pounds. all the items were of good quality that is why this store is sooo packed! a lot of tourists and locals apparently shop there because it is unbelievably cheap. it's just like shopping in manila!
i somewhat got culture shocked since all the fitting rooms had endless queues some teenagers opted to fit the items in some corner stripping down to their bra oblivious to the people around them.

while inside i overheard 2 filipinas talking. it seemed that they just met there.

pinay1: bumibili ako para padala
pinay2: di ako taga dito. taga saudi ang amo ko. binigyan nya lang ako ng 50(pounds). bumili daw ako kung ano.

wow inggit ako.... i just had 35pounds as budget and had to struggle with myself whether to change more money or not.

despite of my limited budget i was able to buy a lot of things. the rest of my money I spent doing groceries at marks and spencer. i was able to buy 3 handwash and 3 body lotions for 4pounds. also bought some cookies for a couple of pences(centavos), pasta sauces, pita bread, cheeses and baby food.i had a good time in london and i'm looking forward to my perdiem. *wink!*

Love in Oxford St.

i was walking the stretch of oxford street in london when i saw this lovely couple.
isn't it sweet?

August 10- Aqi Turns 10 Months

at 10 months aqi is picky with his food. refuses to eat table food and is much more comfortable eating semi-pureed meals with pieces of chicken or fish. he loves cheese that is why i often put melted cheddar or cream cheese in his food. he likes munching on biscuits and would always take one big bite that would make the adults shout noooo.... baka ka mabulunan! so far he seems to be able to manage a big bite of biscuit which makes us wonder why he always gag whenever we try to give him mashed rice with soup and ulam.
his vocabulary revolves around mamama.....dadada....and atatata......
on a good day he might show his best baby trick which is "where's the light?" and he would make tingala and look for a light bulb with accompanying pa-cute smile.

Margot Magdalene's Christening

August 3, 2008- we went to the christening of the daughter of a very dear friend at Icebergs in Santana Grove, Sucat. as usual i was late and blamed it on aqi who i fed at home and took longer than the usual time for his lunch(which is actually true).

this is Margot Magdalene M. Palomera. isn't she cute?
glad to know that she is purely breastfed and i somewhat influenced her mom to try it.

true to his temperament during gatherings aqi cried when greeted by people so he and yaya ting stayed outside for the rest of our stay. i think his stranger anxiety is somehow improving because i saw him being carried by two different people.

i was glad to see 3 of my dearest friends. we haven't seen each other for a long time.

preggy noanne, lactating cyril, workingmom me, and spa owner dulce

aqi in mohawk