Worked for Tickets

If it hadn't been for some recent tragedies in my life, I'd bet my yearly Philippine Airlines ID 00 international tickets that I would still be working my  lazy ass off in the Reservations and Ticketing department of the oldest airline in Asia.

I loved working there, if only for the tickets and the friends I've made.  We were (and I bet my friends still are) working for pennies but the almost monthly trips that I took all over the Philippines, Asia and beyond more than made up for the less than $400 a month that I took home.  Couldn't care less about the salary, as long as I had tickets to anywhere PAL flies to.  Jeez, good thing I was living at my parents' home and still slightly dependent on my father.

The biggest problem I'd had was where to go to next and who I can drag along with me who hadn't been, or who's willing to go back, to the place I'd set my heart on for that month.  I had a seven-year love affair with Philippine Airlines.  We had our ups and downs but to me, it was mostly love because PAL took me to paradise beaches and the most exciting locales.  My lust for travel had been satisfied over and over again by this crazy, old, proud and haughty Philippine flag carrier.

The succeeding entries would be reminiscences of a woman in her more carefree days who enjoyed everything that her young life and low-paying job had to offer.

Top 5 Reasons I Attended the NY Times Travel Show

I just came from The New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 34th St., and 11th Ave.  It's more convenient for me (and for everybody else, I would think) to indicate the crossroads for everything in Manhattan rather than the number of the building.  It's easier to know what closest subway station to get off at and if I have to walk 10 million blocks in the pouring rain to get to the damned convention center.

Number 5 --  I wanted to find out if subscribing to The New York Times Weekender (with its travel section) is worth it. 

Number 4 --  I wanted to meet people who like what I like and are waaaaay more knowledgeable than I am in this field.

Number 3  --  I wanted to learn more about the Caribbean, South America and Europe.

Number 2  --  I learned how much of a dunce I am when it comes to social media.  I am THE anti-social media if only because I don't do Facebook and Twitter.  And since when did people start worrying about SEOs when they want to blog?

Number 1  --  I love anything travel.  It was like a homecoming of sorts.

I'm Not Moving

I met up with an airline friend based in Manila who was visiting New York for a few weeks.  She had been trying to contact me the past week and I had only one day free to go brunching.  I ym'd her to meet me at Starbucks in 71st and Continental at about 1330H.  Haha, what a relief to be using military time without getting confused looks.

 Photo by Chensiyuan, 2010

I took her to my favorite spot in Manhattan, Union Square on 14th St. and Broadway.  It felt a bit like the University Belt in Manila with all the preppy types, if not a little better dressed, and with more quaint restaurants than you can imagine.  We had lunch at Saigon Market and then walked over to the best bookstore ever, with its 18 miles of new, old and out of print books.  Strand is located on 12th St. and Broadway. 

I would happily volunteer to get lost here.  I told Trina as soon as we entered the store, "Ok, let's meet out front whenever you're ready.  Wala nang pansinan to."  I couldn't be bothered by anyone and I hadn't even moved from the first shelf.  I bought The Catcher in the Rye and Flowers for Algernon, both cheaper here than in my regular libraries Borders and Barnes&Noble. 

Of course, my rest and relaxation day with a friend won't be complete without an $10 banana/Nutella/ice cream crepe at Vive Le Crepe.

Then had a few drinks with another friend in this Asian bar that serves sake and fruit-flavored soju.  This is so bad, I can't even remember the name of the bar.

Clams Crazed

Somebody recommended that I try Dani's House of Pizza down by Lefferts Boulevard just a few blocks from the deli.  I loved the linguini with clam sauce and Clams Oreganata that I tried at Portofino on Ascan Avenue and I've been on the look out for something similar that's a little less fine dining and a lot more like a cheap thrill.

So I had a late lunch with myself yesterday at 5pm and ordered French Onion Soup and the much recommended Cheese Tortellini with Vodka Sauce that wasn't even on the menu.  The French Onion Soup I've had better in Olive Garden and the pasta with vodka sauce I get at the deli all the time.  I don't have the heart to tell Paul that so I'll gush to high heavens but order something else next time.

A lawyerly-looking man was sitting on the next table and being the shy girl that I am, I asked, "So, how was your day?"  Good conversation starter, don't you think?

Spur of the Moment

We just spent the most romantic Valentine's Day watching the San Antonio Spurs beat the s#!t out of the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils in Ugly Town, aka Newark. 

New Jersey Devils Hockey Team

The triad of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan was just too much for the whole Nets team and management combined.

I wasn't interested in the game much, I knew it was a mismatch even before the Spurs got ahead and got a 20-point lead.  I was interested in Baby Fox right here.

Neruda got good seats and then I found out why. 

NBA for Neruda and US vs Argentina football match for me in March at the Meadowlands.  I can't wait to sit on Messi's lap.

Philly in Two Hours

I've been wanting to go back to Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia since the first time I went there last year.  Of course, once an idea strikes me, it has to happen one way or another.

On a very cold Thursday morning, we set out for Maryland with Philadelphia as a via point.  It was way too cold to go walking out in the streets visiting the regular Philly tourist spots like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. 

The Reading Terminal Market is arguably the most popular market in Philly developed by William Penn in the late 17th century.  It was established to gather in a common place all the farmers, fishermen and all other sort of merchants hawking their goods in an open area along the Delaware River.

The Reading Terminal Market was the perfect place for creatures of habit, seafood and banana Nutella crepe for me and a Philly cheese steak for Neruda.

 

I enjoy walking and visiting these gentrified marketplaces.  However, being a semi-New Yorker, I still feel that Chelsea Market is the palengke for me.

Looney Park in Coney Island

Jeez, it took me almost two hours to get to Coney Island and I can’t say it was worth the trip.  What did I expect?  It’s the dead of winter and NY is supposed to get another dose of sleet til tomorrow morning.  Everybody's taking cover and I was the only one out tonight.

 I'm two months too early.

I felt so free (and a little numb from the cold), didn't have to worry about going to work and have always wanted to see Coney Island.  Now I have a different view of Luna Park than what everybody else have seen.  

I must say my view of it is quite poetic in its loneliness.

Brooklyn-Bound

I've been living here for almost two years and I've never been to Brooklyn.  So when Linda told me this afternoon not to come to work because the store had to close for the day due to plumbing problems, I decided to go out.  

Actually, I only decided to go to Coney Island when I was on the subway and was reading the last stop on the F train.  Of course, it was just like me to forget to bring a scarf in this hellish winter so I had to look for one in Union Square.  I found Cookie Monster and a pink gorilla instead.

Six Flags: Great Adventure in the Wild Safari

I don't want to join the bandwagon and start whining, "I'm so tired of this freaking snow!!!  I can't wait for summer!"  Summer's not til June and to think these whiners were born here.  I was born in sunny paradise and they don't hear me complaining.  I just write about it.

This is my way of coping.  Reminisce about the fun times.  I remember asking Neruda where the zookeepers keep the animals during winter.  He said they probably keep them in tiny heated apartments in Manhattan.