If the letter was your first introduction to this blog: Welcome! (But don't get your hopes up; spelling mistakes and obscure internet references abound making this blog the third least legible page on the net.)
If you've been here before seeing the letter: I apologize for the atrocities to literature you've witnessed in the name of friendship.
The first reports of people receiving my Festivus letter are trickling in. So I figure it must be way past time to have a post in which to comment and vote on my Web 2.0 approach to apartment improvements.
This current stint in the Philippines has sorely lacked in the blog update department. Sorry about that! I've been working way too much and haven't had time to plan any trips. I'm going slightly stir crazy so I'm planning some epic weekend trips. I've got 3 weekends left and each has an alloted excursion. Hopefully I'll have some pictures or stories to upload next week. Until then, Happy (Belated) Festivus!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Massive Update?
This site has become sadly unkempt. For that I apologize.
There really is no way to rectify that so let's just pretend that since the last post:
So now I'm back in the Philippines for what I'm told will be the shortest and final trip. (Talk about fantasies!) Before I get into the details of this current trip let me tell you a story:
My flight on Sunday night was scheduled by the companies new travel agent. It was last minute so I called them up 3 days before and asked for a flight leaving SFO on the 12th. She tells me that flight is booked and asks if I want to leave earlier. That is certainly my last consideration, so instead I ask for a flight on Sunday the 13th. She confirms the date and price, I have my boss authorize it, she books the flight and sends me an e-ticket which I print and throw in my bag. I enjoy my long weekend then hit the airport with just enough time to check in, clear security, walk to the gate, and board. (Sadly I have the timing down that well)
It would have all gone smoothly except the lady behind the check in counter tells me she can't find my name on the flight registry. So I show her my e-ticket and read along with her. We realize at about the same time that the e-ticket reads Saturday the 12th in big black letters. Obviously my travel agent decided to do me a favor by squeezing me into the flight I wanted but just forgot to tell me. So there I am, fully confident that I can show up for an international flight some 75 minutes before the departure time, grab my seat just as we taxi out and just cruise over to the Philippines.
She looked at me and thought:
< / zen rant >
There really is no way to rectify that so let's just pretend that since the last post:
- I went go carting, racing against my driver who let me win
- Flew back to the states
- Flew to Hawai'i (the Big Island) and went scuba diving etc.
- Flew home then flew back to the Philippines
- During the home stays I saw many friends and had many a good meal
- And most importantly, that I kept you up to date with frequent or even twice daily updates to this site.
So now I'm back in the Philippines for what I'm told will be the shortest and final trip. (Talk about fantasies!) Before I get into the details of this current trip let me tell you a story:
My flight on Sunday night was scheduled by the companies new travel agent. It was last minute so I called them up 3 days before and asked for a flight leaving SFO on the 12th. She tells me that flight is booked and asks if I want to leave earlier. That is certainly my last consideration, so instead I ask for a flight on Sunday the 13th. She confirms the date and price, I have my boss authorize it, she books the flight and sends me an e-ticket which I print and throw in my bag. I enjoy my long weekend then hit the airport with just enough time to check in, clear security, walk to the gate, and board. (Sadly I have the timing down that well)
It would have all gone smoothly except the lady behind the check in counter tells me she can't find my name on the flight registry. So I show her my e-ticket and read along with her. We realize at about the same time that the e-ticket reads Saturday the 12th in big black letters. Obviously my travel agent decided to do me a favor by squeezing me into the flight I wanted but just forgot to tell me. So there I am, fully confident that I can show up for an international flight some 75 minutes before the departure time, grab my seat just as we taxi out and just cruise over to the Philippines.
She looked at me and thought:
"What an idiot! How can you show up 22.75 hours late to your flight and not know! I hope he doesn't flip out and yell and scream demanding a new flight and a first class upgrade etc"What runs through my head is:
"Oh crap, I just had the company pay $2400 for a flight I missed, will show up to work in Manila several days late if at all, had my driver circle the Manila airport for hours looking for me, and gave my car and house keys over to someone whose cell number I don't have."So I was in deep shit. So I laughed, she smiled, and I asked if there was any room on the flight leaving within the hour. At 30000 feet somewhere over the Pacific I realized that life is so much easier when "stress" is measured in MPa (material science) not in blood pressure.
< / zen rant >
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