I will be posting on my other blog starting today so please check http://huakai69.blogspot.com/ for new updates. Thanks for reading.

We were in Honolulu for about a week. Our friends, the Agbalogs and the Balaticos, graciously opened their beautiful home to us for the duration of our stay. They really made us feel welcome and comfortable the entire time.

While in Honolulu, Peter took the chance to visit his office while I spent some time at the Ala Moana Beach Park. We toured the island, ate at the restaurants on our "LIST OF PLACES or FOODS TO EAT IN HONOLULU", enjoyed some time with old friends at MCC. We even got to have a BBQ party at Gabby and Carla's house in Mililani - beautifully and lovingly renovated and decorated by the couple, you would think that you were inside Pier 1 Imports. :-)

Shopping was limited to just buying new piano music for Church at Logos and some books from Barnes and Noble or Borders.

We returned to Maui on Wednesday evening - 2 hours early because we were able to take the 6p.m. flight instead of our 7:30p.m. flight. Took the cab and got home to a newly carpeted house. The bedrooms were a bit dusty but the kitchen, my goodness, was filled with dead little black insects (the one you find in bags of rice). Apparently they multiply if not taken cared of. There were millions of them scattered all over the kitchen floor, the countertops and the cabinets/cupboards. Tonight I found some live ones still inside the bags of spaghetti noodles. I had to empty our pantry to make sure we get all of them otherwise they will multiply and move into the new carpet. Aargh! All that work I did to make sure everything is inside the cabinets and closets so they won't get dusty, hah! D*** those little bugs.

Learned a lesson here: the more you try to avoid doing something the more you will end up doing it.

Wailuku, Maui

Been back on the Island for two days now. I haven't had the chance to post earlier because I busy cleaning what with all the dead little black insects scattered all over the kitchen floor, countertops, inside the cupboards and closets - you know, those black insects that like to eat the rice, well, they multiplied when we were gone to about a million of them turned the brown rice into flour and even munched on some wood at the same time, how awful! Anyway, they were all dead when we came probably after the Incite Pest people came for their regular spraying. Plus the dust accumulated this past two and a half months was quite thick that you have to go through the floors and shelves twice or thrice to get them out. So much for that right now....

Let me back track and tell you about our adventure the day we left, supposedly left, Manila.

On Wednesday evening my parents, Mang Boy included, took us to the airport after having dinner at a nearby KFC. We got to the airport at exactly 8p.m. Getting into the terminal, checking in, and going through immigration was a breeze. We were inside in less than 30 minutes. So we went straight to one of their lounges, the Club Manila lounge, where we go ourselves a 30 minute back, shoulder and head massage. Peter helped himself to the buffet food they had at the lounge while I stuck to just drinking water. By 9:45p.m. we left the lounge for Gate 2. A few minutes later boarding began. Peter and I were one of the last people to board since we had seats in the forward section of the plane. We got comfortable, sat there and waited until it was ready to take off. We were waiting for the doors to close but instead the pilot comes on the PA system and informs us that while they were checking the flight panel, one light didn't turn on. Upon further investigation, and about 30 minutes of waiting, they needed to replace that part of the engine. We waited. The pilot gave us updates every 15 minutes. Then finally a Continental representative came on line and told the Honolulu bound passengers that we have missed our connecting flight so we will need to stay overnight and either take the same flight the next day or transfer to the Philippine Airlines flight. There were also other passengers connecting from Guam that were going east bound further than Honolulu. So we left the plane along with the other 12 Honolulu bound passengers, and passengers that were going on through to Newark airport. It was a bit chaotic on the gate area because the people wanted to know how they were going to their destination. One lady manager seemed to have it under control.

We got off the plane at almost midnight. Three Continental representatives took charge and took us to where we the bus would pick us up and drop us off at the Manila Hotel. While we were boarding the bus these three reps were arguing between themselves. It was somewhat of an indication that there was something amiss here. I had an experience like this before with Northwest and told Peter that I thought we should have some print outs of our itinerary. So Peter asked them but they simply said that it will be taken cared of at the Hotel. Once everyone was on board the rep. took a final count, got our boarding passes and left. We left the airport at almost 3a.m. (We later found out that the plane finally took off at 4:30a.m.) At the Manila Hotel registration counter Peter again asked about the intinerary and all they said was that we will get a print out about our schedule tomorrow morning. So we took that as a sign that all is well. We were able to get a good night's rest.

In the morning we went down, had our complimentary buffet breakfast which was a bit disappointing - the food was either bland, too watery, too sweet or too meaty. We had enough time to tour the grounds before going back to the room and get some more sleep. By 11 a.m. we got a reminder call about our 12 noon departure for the airport. We got ready and went down to the lobby to wait. By 10 minutes to 12 noon I told Peter to check with the transportation desk, fortunately due to our initiative the shuttle was already outside waiting. The other Honolulu passengers (well, we kind of got to know each other by then) followed us and go in the shuttle while we waited for a few more who were running late. While waiting we got to know the 4 young seamen better. They were hired by the Serenade of the Seas docked at the Honolulu Harbor and was scheduled to leave that week. They weren't sure if the ship was still there when we arrived or if someone was told to pick them up the next day. Peter and I talked story with them and learned about their jobs and their scheduled cruise trips. They were really excited and very young. Anyway, the last two people finally arrived so we left for the airport immediately.

The shuttle driver took us to the PAL/NAIA 2 Centennial Terminal. All of us asked him who was supposed to meet us there. He said he was only told to drop us off and leave. So left to our own. Peter, Mr. Yip (a young Chinese American) and this guy from Waipahu took charge and led us all to the ticketing office to talk to the Supervisor. The guys told her of our dilemma and asked if she could contact Continental for us to check whether someone was going to meet us at the PAL terminal. She called but no one at Continental answered the phone. She checked the computer to see if we were all booked for the flight, all fourteen of us were. But she said there's no way they could let us all in even with a booking if we didn't have the FIM (flight interruption manifest) from Continental. So we waited. We waited for a half hour then Mr. Yip asked if he could try calling Continental. While he was doing that a PAL representative came. We thought that he was the one who was going to escort us into the Terminal. But no, he couldn't do that without the FIM. He was giving the Continental people until 2p.m. that afternoon to come and fetch us (the flight was scheduled for 3:30p.m.). By 2:20p.m. one sweaty guy in Continental uniform came and looked for us. He had all our FIM and was just waiting for our luggages to arrive from the other terminal. Peter went with him to make sure we don't lose him. A few minutes later he came back and told us to come with him. It was really quick after that: we grabbed our luggages, walked through the gate entrance, the x-ray and body check points, checked our baggages, on through to the terminal fee booth (which was waived since we paid it the day before), and the immigration booth. Fortunately the gate was near the immigration booth that all of us were able to make the flight - well, I'm sure they would have waited for us. Whew! That was an experience. We were all relieved that we made it to the PAL flight bound for Honolulu and the plane was not even full, so some of us were able to stretch and sleep well.

The flight was 10 hours and it didn't feel that long. The attendants did their best to make us all comfortable. The food was a surprise, it actually tasted good. And they now clean and disinfect the lavatories mid-flight. Overall PAL has improved since the last time we rode with them.

We arrived Honolulu at 7:45 a.m. Immigration and Customs were a breeze so we were out of the terminal by 8:15 a.m. We met our 4 seamen friends out by the waiting area. They asked Peter to help them call the shipping company for pick-up. He was only too happy to help. He called the number on their information sheet and it was a mainland number, Georgia to be exact. He asked for a local number which was incorrect but was able to get the correct number from that previous number. He got a hold of their supervisor and told him of the situation but he simply said that these 4 guys will just have to take a taxi because no one was picking them up. Well, we felt that it was now our responsibility to take care of these 4 seamen so we rushed to the car rental company and upgraded our compact car to an SUV so we can take them all to Aloha Tower. At the Tower, we went with them to find Pier 11. We walked up and down the cruise lobbies only to find that the Pier 11 lobby was the first door we passed. The boys were so relieved to find the right place. We could see it in their faces how happy and thankful they are that we were there to help them. I took a picture of them and Peter right outside Aloha Tower which I hope to email to one of them soon.

I believe that everything happened for a reason. I am just glad that Peter and I were able to do something for someone else. From misfortunes comes a blessing.

In a half hour we will be leaving my paren'ts home in Lagro to pick up my mom and have dinner at the Quezon City Circle before proceeding to the airport. Our flight is still at 10:55 p.m. so we have some more time to relax. This morning Peter, my Dad and I went to SM Lagro. Peter had an hour of full body massage for only 316 pesos (about $6.50) while my Dad and I did some last minute shopping. He treated us to lunch at Inasal Chicken Bacolod - I know, Chicken Bacolod again! Anyway, we came back home after lunch, my brother was here having his own lunch and stayed for a few minutes before heading back to his apartment. This afternoon is more of just resting and relaxing before our long flight back to Hawaii.

As always, leaving is not easy and makes me feel sad. I know I'll have constant contact with my family but being here and spending time with them is what I enjoy the most. ;-)

Signing off from Quezon City, Philippines.

Meet you tomorrow in Honolulu, HI. Aloha!

This morning we went to SM Fairview to have lunch. We tried this new restaurant, the Congo Grill. From its name you know that their theme is all about the jungle but their menu is filled with delicious Filipino food from North, Central and South Philippine cuisines. Peter and I tried the "tinomok", ground pork wrapped in gabi or taro leaf cooked in coconut milk; the grilled tuna belly; and bagoong (anchovy) rice. For dessert we had the frozen maki - made of a wheat crepe with cream and mango rolled like maki and frozen, served with chocolate sauce. The experience was so-so although I would recommend the "tinomok".

While at SM we bought some school supplies for my cousin and some groceries for our dinner. As always, luck wasn't on our side when we stand in line to pay for the groceries, we always end up in the slowest lane. Today was no different. I thought that the line I chose was good since there were a few people standing in the queue. Unfortunately, the two old women took so long because between the two of them they had to separately pay certain items, then when they paid for most of the items they bought, they paid in 5 peso coins - that answered my question as to why the other woman's bag was pretty heavy, it was filled with 5 peso coins. AND, their total purchase amount was 2,300+ pesos. Imagine how much 5 peso coins there were and how much time it took the cashier to count them all! Boy, that sure was the longest wait I have had to do just for a few items.

This experience adds to the other experiences we've had be it drivers on the road, people on the sidewalk or on the corridor or at an entrance or in a queue, people here seem to not care whether what they were doing would cause other people to be inconvenienced. I know it seems pretty negative but it's simply the truth. You really need an extra dose of patience not to snap at people who inconvenience you in certain ways. So be aware and be ready to react in a more positive way. For me, I've learned to laugh about it or just shake my head or roll my eyes.

This evening we got a visit from our long time friends, Verne and Gia along with their two children, Diwa and Laya. Both kids have grown tall and slim. Laya now wears eye glasses for her astigmatism and gap teeth - really bookish looking. While Diwa has grown taller and more mature. He even came back to the house after leaving to go home and watch his Pokemon show to play for us his violin. He has improved and is now in Book 2 of the Suzuki Violin Pieces. Both kids have learned to socialize with other people well, and eventhough we haven't seen each other for half a year they are able to converse with us and not be shy. It was a nice short visit and hopefully when I return in May they will be able to come and visit us in our beach property, which we hope will be open for use, then.

We were invited by Apple, my brother's friend, for lunch in Tagaytay yesterday. She and her boyfriend, Clark, arrived an hour and a half late for your scheduled 11 a.m. departure for Tagaytay but it was still a good trip. She took us to "Sonya's Garden", a garden, bed and breakfast, restaurant, spa, etc, hidden from the main highway, very secluded and beautiful. To get there you will have to go through a rough, winding and rocky road. When you get there you cannot really see any building sticking out but lots of trees, bushes and a nicely decorated road. Their walkway is a mixture of slabs of tree trunks and white gravel and cement. The buildings are all made of old hard wood, capiz shell, screens, and recycled doors and much more. In between the buildings are beautifully landscaped "english"-type gardens that look wild yet planned. The restaurant is kind of exclusive as they require reservations in advance. It's a building with a high ceiling and looks like a green house covered with screens to give us a sense of being close to nature. The tables, chairs, chandeliers, etc. are all collected from old homes or salvaged from destroyed homes. All collected by the owner, Sonya Garcia. The restaurant do not provide a menu, they simply begin serving the food as soon as you sit down. It's a 4-course meal: first they serve the salad - a big bowl of salad greens freshly picked from their own organic garden, small bowls of toppings like crumbled hard boiled egg, mango, jackfruit, roasted lima beans, cucumber slices, pineapple and a Sonya's Surprise Dressing which was so delicious; second the bread - a basket of warm bread, small bowls of spreads like pate, anchovy paste, pesto, fresh pepper corn, sundried tomato pate; third was the main meal which was fettucini paste served in a huge bowl along with small bowls of toppings and sauces like marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, olives, shiitake mushrooms, fried salmon belly; for dessert we had turon - a sweet lumpia with banana and jackfruit, and sweetend kamote or sweet potato/yam. For drinks they gave us fresh fruit juice, kind of a surprise because the refill tasted different from the previous one but it was good; and with the dessert they gave us a simple hot water with three broken leaves of mint which was surprisingly refreshing and delicious. I don't know how much the cost for this meal was since Apple paid for it. It was probably expensive but the experience and the venue was worth it.

After the meal I went to their bathroom. It is located outside the main dining hall, perched on top of the edge of the hill, decorated with old hard wood, capiz shell doors and native items. As you enter the toilet you immediately see that the window is huge and is just covered with a white screen that looks out into the garden. So while you are doing your thing you could see everything outside. I guess Sonya wants all her guests to feel that they are one with nature. I took pictures of this toilet which I hope to download when I get back to Maui.

When I returned to the table I was given a special pink roses bouquet by the manager, of course, planned and paid for by Apple. She's such a sweet girl. I felt like I just had my debut holding the bouquet with me as we went touring around the property. :-)

We walked around the area checking out the garden where they plant their organic veggies, the massage rooms with it's own bathroom - the floor is simply stepping stones and gravel, really nice, their cottages and the Lavender house which has the 100 yr. old Chinese bed. The place is so conducive to retreats and for honeymooners and for people who simply want to relax.

We left Tagaytay at almost 5 p.m. I had scheduled a meeting with some of my friends that same afternoon solely based on the assumption that we would be back at 3:30 p.m. as per Apple's text message. I didn't take into consideration the "what ifs" like what if she came late, what if there was traffic and what if the weather was bad. Well, they all happened yesterday. Instead of returning to Quezon City before 6 p.m. we arrived at 7:45 p.m. due to the rush hour traffic and the heavy downpour caused by storm "Neneng". My friends were insistent that we still meet them that night but as we neared my brother's place the rains continued to pour and the streets were filling up with water. I decided to just go straight home asking my brother to take us. It would have been very hard and inconvenient for Peter and I to go to my friend's house in the rain, carrying a big bag of pineapples from Tagaytay, then returning home later than night via public jeep. It was a wise decision that we canceled the meeting, to my friends disappointment but I hope she understood.

We got back to Lagro at around 9 p.m. I didn't realize how tire I was. I wanted to start packing our stuff but immediately got so tired that I could barely move, I just wanted to just lie down. I think the exhaustion got to me after a week or so of assisting my aunty, accompanying her wherever she went and then the long trips. I could barely open my eyes or lift my arms. So I slept early hopefully to recharge my batteries.

This morning I still feel groggy and tired. I am not sure if I want to go out and meet with my friend this noon. Maybe this afternoon we could just meet at SM since it's near our house and I don't have to travel far. I'll have to text her....

Anyway, this will be all for today. Please pray that the storm "Neneng" will not pass by Metro Manila tomorrow evening. We leave for Hawaii tomorrow night. Pray for good weather. Thanks.

Update on the lost luggage - it was on the last flight out from Bacolod and on its way to the office of my dad in Quezon City. Peter and I were really not stressed out about this nor were we worried because the bag and its contents are replaceable. But thank God that it has been found.

I forgot to tell you about last night's Vespers Service at the Church of the Risen Lord. As you know typhoon "milenyo" passed through Metro Manila and Quezon City with sustained winds of about 175km/h. A lot of the trees were uprooted and some of the trees surrounding the church fell bring the electric wires down with them. The entire church compound was without power. So we had a nice and intimate candlelit service last night. I was glad to see the Vesper Choir still alive. I remember several years ago when I was a one-woman choir during vespers. Not until I invited my close friends to join me in forming the first Vesper Choir of the 80s - we were called the Vocal Chords (a group of 7 - 2 ladies and 5 gents). The Vesper Choir today is also just a handful of dedicated members. Their repertoire is a bit different from what we used to sing but still they did a great job in providing music for the service.