Cutty

We finally got back from our last family trip this summer.  We don't usually take summer trips.  Our summers are usually spent shuttling between home and summer classes.  We find it cheaper to just stay in the city.  We usually take trips during off-peak season. This time it's quite different.  It has been a whirlwind experience since mid-May.  There was a trip to the province for a family reunion.  A weekend visit to Taipei for Vic and me and some in-laws.  You know, the vacation after the vacation.  It was then followed by my father's retirement party, which I semi-organized. Finally, a trip to Baguio before the kids go back to school. All these trips are partially subsidized.  I don't know how we were able to wing it, but we just did. No, this is not a humble brag post.  I just realized that we had help. ============ Last February, I lost one of my sisters-in-law due to uncontrolled diabetes and its complications. ...

Going to the United States with kids in tow is a different experience.  My kids have never traveled that long in a plane.  No yayas were around to look after them.  Vic and I took turns washing them and giving them baths.  We also took turns feeding them. Everyday of that two-week trip, I thanked God for modern conveniences like microwavable food, the dishwasher, Disney Junior and Target pushcarts with built-in forward-facing seats.  It made my job as a mother and a parent easier.  Watching over my boys were not really a chore.  They were big enough to be left alone to play.  Vic and I could just let them sit in front of the TV so we can pack/unpack and do other chores.  I didn't mind doing it until they were being bratty or fighting over toys. Before our trip, here were some of our considerations: Car seats.  I had those items in our budget.  It wasn't expensive at all.  In fact, a pair of  Nine West shoes is more e...

This week, I hit the ground running. Even if yesterday was a holiday, I accomplished a lot. It was Divi in the morning for Christmas tree shopping and a 3-hour TATLO meeting in the afternoon. With around 60 days before the festival, we are starting to feel agitated. Really, there are so many things to do but, so little time. Over the weekend, it was decided that we will end the year and welcome the new one in HK. Vic and I will bring the Johann and Javi. Then Vic wanted to bring ever-loyal Ate Gera with us. So, here I am, getting frantic over getting her passport ready before we leave. I can't do that just yet because she needs her mother's maiden middle name to file for a DFA appointment. Before that, I'd have to get her Birth Certificate and some valid IDs. To top all that, she is only 17, so I'd have to get her a DSWD travel clearance. May I just scream? Aaaarrrgggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Now, I am off to the bank before it opens. Then, to the post office for t...

To escape the rotating power outages in the Eastern part of the metropolis, Vic and I decided to stay at one of the unaffected hotels. It was pretty difficult to get a room in the Ortigas hotels. After all, they too were affected. Malayan had no power. Shangri-la's reservation system was down. We couldn't get any feedback from our contact from Crowne or Holiday Inn. On the second night of blackouts, Mandarin said that they had an available SMOKING room. Hmmm. That didn't sound appealing to me. I called again in the morning, they said they had an available Business Room (de luxe room with free wifi). That sounded good enough. On my way to Mandarin with the kids and yayas, I got a call that we also got a room in Crowne. Ngek. The rest of Vic's family was staying there. I for one, decided to stick to our reservation in Mandarin because they're going to bill me the same rate whether I showed up or not. We were quite happy with the breakfast selection. Joh...

We drove from Vegas to Vallejo. The trip would normally take 8 hours. It took us 12 hours. Since we had senior citizens with us in the car, we had wee-wee breaks every two hours. It was a looooong drive but it was scenic also. We passed through the orchards of Waslo and the cattle ranch beside the freeway. I've never seen an orchard or ranch that spans as far as the eyes can see. Vallejo, like most cities in the Bay Area, has a very pleasant climate. It looks so lush compared to the dryness and heat of Vegas. I can see that there are lot of Pinoys in the area. One said that this is like the Daly City in SanFo. I agree! Even the servers in the restaurants speak Tagalog. We're staying at the hotel fronting the Six Flags Theme Park. We can hear the screams of the people in the roller-coaster as we got out of the car. Exciting! I want to try it out too but no one would go with me. Vic would have a heart-attack if he rode with me. That afternoon we found some time to ...

We've been in the US for 8 days now. Our main purpose of coming all the way to the US is to attend the husband's cousin's wedding. The wedding will be held this afternoon in a Baptist Church in Vallejo. Here's what happened so far. Like what most visitors, we enjoyed the buffet. We had buffet for almost all meals. Buffet is the way to go in Vegas. It is cheaper and is found everywhere. The only catch is we just don't know how long the food is in the same buffet. The Kusina ni Lorraine restaurant Filipino food for a craving Pinoy traveller. Like most Vegas buffets, there is no effort in the presentation. We had our fill of grease and meat. When we were not with our hosts, Vic and I would proceed to our must-visit restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and PF Chang's. We even discovered Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant that served really good Italian food, even better than Maggiano's, Italianni's or Olive Garden. the house in Vegas We tried ou...

Last Monday, we did have a reason to celebrate. The husband got his visa after an hour-and-a-half of waiting. I didn't even finish the prepaid wifi I got from Bayview because I was expecting a much longer wait. The consul didn't even look at his documents. Sayang, I was up at 4am going through piles of paper to look for documents to bring. Anyway, we went to our celebratory lunch at Paseo Uno for lots of cheese, smoked salmon and tempura. Otherwise, that lunch would've been a "cheer me up" lunch. ------------------- In a couple of weeks, I'm leaving for Taipei for a choral festival. They usually require visitors to get a Chinese Visa. They are waiving that policy for people who have valid US Visas. Yay! That means, I don't have to submit requirements again. I don't want to get another set of NSO documents again. At least, not for this year. Besides, it is always difficult to show one's ties to the country if one's unemployed.

I am hanging out at Starbucks across the US Embassy right now. I am waiting for Vic to finish the Visa interview. It is his first time to undergo the interview since his previous visas (multiple indefinite / 10-year-validity) didn't require him to appear before a consul. I am quite nervous since there is no telling what the consul would do. Since we only have our cars and bills under our name (and the rest under the family business' name), I hope he has enough proof and documents to demonstrate his ties to the Philippines. I hope we have a reason to celebrate this afternoon. I'm quite ready to have lunch at Paseo Uno.

I just heard about PAL's Real Deals yesterday. A Round-trip flight to the US is just $418 starting this September. Since this round-trip fare doesn't cover our trip in August, we'd just have to settle for the one-way promo fares. One way to the US/Canada is $303. All fares don't include taxes and surcharges. Even so, the promo would still allow us to save around $200 per person. There's a catch, though. We'd have to purchase the tickets online from April 27 to 28. I hope PAL's site can keep up with the volume. Lagi pa naman nagha -hang yun site. I also hope they don't run out of seats. ------------------- My mother called me up this morning to say that they got a promo from PAL. A pair of travellers to HK will cost only $142 per person. For three people, each person would only have to shell out $112. I am tempted to join them since they "need" a third person. I want to go to the places I failed to visit when I was there last...