Pigging Out

i have bee PIGGING OUT lately which signals my monthly period to make its visit in about a couple of days.
just had a layover in LA and couldn't believe i ate a lot - and slept after that too!
it started 3 hours before the flight I ate a Bibimbap meal in the office cafeteria and since it was Chuseok (Thanksgiving) Holiday in korea they also serve Tteok (korean rice cake). i ate them all! during the flight i also ate another Bibimbap meal. when we landed in LA as soon as we arrived the hotel i got out and went to The Grove to go shop. didn't notice that it was getting dark already so i decided to just go back to the hotel and buy takeout from Carl's jr (was surprised to learn that Carl's jr. is already listed in Zagat). i got the Prime Rib Burger and ate it inside my room. while enjoying my meal i started to get sleepy, obviously because i have been up for more than 24hours already and i have just to roll my eyes for prioritizing shopping than resting.
what a slob! i fell asleep after i finished my (heavy) burger. i woke up after 4 hours in the middle of the night and started to munch on some Milano milk chocolate cookies.

now i just brought 1 pair of skinny jeans for my 3 flights.
i'll be a butete for a week!

Tteok

Bibimbap (airplane food)

Carl's jr. Prime Rib Burger

Milano Milk Chocolate Cookies

SFO layover

yes......

it's good to be back in one of my favorite cities in the world-- San Francisco.
we are staying right now at Hotel 480 which i really like because it is located right smack in union square. unlike a year before we were staying at the ramada hotel which is only a couple of blocks away from the shopping area but it was the land of the homeless! walking in broad daylight would still give me the creeps.
Hotel 480 doesn't have a big lobby but the rooms are spacious. it's clean and their complimentary toiletries are from bath and body works.

since I was flying deadhead i had ample rest. in less than hour after check-in i was ready to roam the streets of san francisco or rather i was ready to shop shop shop!
i must admit i had spent a lot. *gulp* but it was still less than my shopping days before. i'm still adjusting on being a mom who needs to save a part of her paycheck for her baby's needs.

mygahd there were so many cutesy stuff at BabyGap. i wanted to buy them all! there were also lots of toys that i wanted to bring for aqi but it wouldn't fit my crew luggage.

*~*~*~*~*~*
hubby texted me and told me that aqi already has 6 teeth out.

whoa.... too fast too soon.....

sigh..... i missed another milestone.

i'm here in seattle right now. we are billeted at the double tree airport hotel. far from downtown but the rooms are nice and cozy and they give out yummy chewy chocolate chip cookies upon check-in. i'm flying with cristina, another filipino crew.
the flight to here was smooth and the passengers were well-behaved. there were a lot of babies on board. there was this caucasian couple who i assumed adopted the baby they were carrying because the little one looked very korean. the baby kept on crying and the mother couldn't pacify him. she was so helpless that she was on the verge of crying. good thing ajumas (married or old woman) who were sitting nearby offered to help calm the baby. i just hope that the baby was just teething and not having stranger anxiety with his new mom. i wonder how the real mother could've given up an adorable and chubby little thing.

we didn't do much during our layover because it kept on raining which is not a surprise though (hello?! it's seattle!). we went to the southcenter mall (because that is the only place that the complimentary shuttle would go) to do a little shopping. i expected to find a foodcourt but unfortunately it was under renovation so we had to go out, cross the street and get drenched in the rain to reach the thai restaurant nearby. mygahd, i ate a lot!
after that we walked over to Target to buy some dry items. i was able to buy Aqi a toy, camo shorts, sandals and a bath wash. i regretted buying shorts yesterday from Gymboree for $6 because there were a lot of $2 shorts at Target.
and oh i lost a shopping bag yesterday with a blouse inside and i don't know where i lost it. good thing it was just $8 but still!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*
i got hubby his plane ticket to new york and mygahd the tax was so expensive! it was an FOC (free of charge) ticket but then we still had to pay for the tax. i forked over 88,000 won which is around $88.

The Crew That Eats Together....

got this from the Fly Away Cafe
didn't know that it's the same way with other airlines.

Q: Does the whole crew get together for meals on layovers?

A: Rarely, although a lot depends on the size of crew.

With smaller crews typical of commuter carriers, a crew may be three people — two pilots and one Flight Attendant. In those case it is fairly typical for the entire crew to get together for dinner. Those layovers tend to be in smaller cities, which means fewer dining options, and it’s easy to coordinate preferences for only a handful of people.

At the major carriers you are talking about a crew of at least five — two pilots and three Flight Attendants — and it goes up in numbers from there. Since that’s the work environment that I’m accustomed to, it’s the one that I can speak to the best.

I haven’t been out for dinner with the entire crew since longer than I can remember. Crew members have their own interests - whether it’s visiting family on a layover, pursuing a personal interest, working out, shopping, or even slam-clicking (going into your hotel room (slam), locking the door (click), and never being seen or heard from until the flight the next day). It’s not typical for everyone to be on the same page about what they want to do on a layover.

Despite what might be portrayed in movies or on television, we don’t always like one another very much. I don’t mean that we hate one another either, but most of the time you don’t share a lot in common with most of your co-workers. If you are fortunate enough to fly with someone that you like, you’ll probably go off and do something together. But no one wants to spend quality layover time with someone that you have nothing in common with.

Another reality is that crew members have different budgets, and that carries over into meal choices. While some might enjoy going on for a leisurely meal and glass of good wine, others subsist off of cheap fast food eaten in a hotel room. The two extremes rarely can find common middle ground to make everyone happy.

Some crew members view their layover time as a time to be alone, away from family at home and passengers on the plane. The layover is a time to decompress, relax, watch mindless television, read a book, etc. The last thing they want is to be around co-workers.

Most Flight Attendants have made all of these choices at one point or another in their career. I know that I have. It’s all about making a personal choice, and rarely is an entire crew going to make the same personal choice.

i just came from a seoul-cebu-seoul flight. aircraft assigned to this flight is the scarebus-321(airbus321). i don't like this aircraft because it is quite small with a single aisle. the galley is so cramped and it's difficult to stow items for the flight as there are not enough space to keep them. we usually end up stowing it in the overhead bins. malas na lang the passenger seated near the galley if he has a big bag to stow.
since the flight was on a sunday we had a couple of honeymooners onboard. fyi, in korean culture couples usually are dressed alike. and they usually take the flight right after the celebration. so just imagine a couple dressed exactly alike from their sporty or casual top down to the shoes with the female still in bride mode hair and makeup. it's like noah's ark inside the plane. hehe...
we also had a couple of families with little kids in tow. apparently for koreans cebu is a honeymoon and a family destination.
we had a smooth inbound and outbound flight. inbound seoul was the best because the passengers were all asleep as the flight was at 1 am.

our hotel in cebu was the Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa. the hotel facilities and service was superb but i didn't like the location though. it's located in mactan island an hour away from cebu downtown. if you will take a taxi it would cost you 700pesos roundtrip. good thing they provide a complimentary shuttle service to the downtown area for their guests.

i have nothing much to share during my layover there because it was quite short. i just went around ayala center to eat and have a pedicure. my korean colleagues on the other hand had a massage outside the hotel. they have a korean contact and according to them the massage is really good.

Vietnam Adventure

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Went to Saigon Square to do a little shopping. It's like Tutuban but smaller. In here you will find a lot of branded shirts and bags.











Since Northface bags are made in Vietnam you'll find a wide array of it on the market at half the price. Actually, you'll also find Kipling, Deuter and Jansport. I don't know if they are knock-offs or quality control rejects but they sure look good to me.

I bought hubby an Angstrom25 flight series. And I bought a MNG top for myself.

Since a lot of Vietnamese ladies have nail arts adorning their nails I decided to go to a nail shop. Manicure and pedicure with nail art only on 2 toes is approximately $1o. The nail artist is pretty good because she really paints them on. It's not stick-ons. The mani/pedi was pretty good. It's not like your neighborhood parlor mani/pedi because they use cuticle creams and nail oil and they buff the nails to a shiny finish. And they use Sally Hansen, Essie and OPI.


I decided to walk going back to the hotel. It was a mean feat to do because crossing the streets of Vietnam such a scary thing to do. Imagine a swarm of motorcycles going right at you!

Shopping in India

Back from New Delhi.
Bought a couple of scarves and shawls. Some of it for selling.
Also bought some medicines for my parents. Medicines in India are so cheap, around 60-50% cheaper. But I am very selective of what I buy. I check first for the pharmaceutical company before I decide if it's worth buying. My parents health is at stake here. Well I also bought StressGuard, an anti-stress capsule. It is herbal based from ayurveda.
I guess i need this supplement because I have 4 of the listed stress triggers.

Surprisingly the weather in India when we were there wasn't too hot. It was a bit overcast therefore we had a pleasant market-hopping experience. We went to Janpath, which is a stone throw away from our hotel, Khan market and the timeless Sarojini Nagar market. It is in this market where we find Mango, Zara, H&M, Gap, Roxy, Billabong tops and dresses. They're quality control rejects but you just have to be patient enough to inspect each item. Also, patience is also needed in bargaining with the tindero. The technique in dealing with indians is to bargain at 50% off the price and if they don't agree just walk away and let them chase you.

Books in India are also very cheap. They're like 30-40% cheaper. I am currently reading Chicken Soup for the New Moms Soul.

I also bought 5 shirts and 2 shorts for Aqi at 75rupees each. So cheap!

Ayan na-miss ko na naman ang baby ko.