There's No Place Like Home

There have been tons of stories from all sorts of places, and it's been great! I've seen and felt and learned. But now Im looking forward to starting a new chapter in a place called home.

Back in Tokyo! Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu!

After postponing my flight 2 times (due to "Acts of God"... yup! The typhoon Ondoy, aka Ketsana left me stranded in the second floor of my own home for almost a week), I have finally made it to my second home.

I rode Philippine Airlines and was pleasantly surprised to see that they have upgraded some of their planes! Now, not only business class passengers get their own personal TV! YUP, if you're lucky enough, you get the same feature with fiesta class! Not only can you choose your own movies on demand, they also feature games such as Bejeweled, Tetris, etc... (Long gone are those free deck of cards!). There's also radio stations and a number of good CDs you can choose from. You can even create your own playlist. Pretty cool, huh? I dont recall Singapore Airlines having this in economy? Hmmmm... :)

The plane to look for is a Boeing 747-400. 4 hours can go by so quickly... :)




P.S. The practical application of "Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu"

The first few days of this trip has been meeting new co-workers. Thank goodness I brought a new set of business cards. Man do they go fast. A typical business introduction goes like this...

1. There is fumbling (each party awkwardly fumbles for their business card, sometimes it takes so long that Im just standing there waiting...)
2. The awkward stance (you and the person being introduced stand face to face for a few seconds)
3. The speech (he/she introduces himself while holding his/her business card facing you and with two finders of each hand, you dont have to understand it. Basically they say where they are from and their name. Most business cards have an English translation anyway.)
4. The bow (self-eplanatory)
5. The do over (I do the exact same thing he/she did. If Im brave, I try it in Japanese -- "Watashi wa Hahn Regina des". Although I havent been brave this trip yet)
6. And... the final words (this is when they and/or you say either, "Hajimemashte" - "Nice to meet you" or... "Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu" - "Please be nice to me", honestly... I find this statement a little strange, dont you think? Who says "Please be nice to me" after an introduction? Another one of those Japanese things I dont think I'll ever get.)

Yes Tokyo, I am back... Yoroshiko Onegaishimasu.

How To Donate to Victims of Ondoy

TO DONATE IN CASH...

1. PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
Check out their website: http://www.redcross.org.ph/ for more information on how to donate

BANK DEPOSIT
Account Name: The Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross

METROBANK
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 151-3-041-63122-8
Dollar Acct.: 151-2-151-00218-2
Type of Acct. : SAVINGS
Swift Code: MBTC PH MM

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 4991-0010-99
Type of Account: CURRENT

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
UN Branch
Dollar Acct.: 8114-0030-94
Type of Account: SAVINGS
Swift Code: BOPI PH MM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

Credit Card

Please fax the following info to +632.404.09.79 and +632.527.0575: Name of card member, billing address, contact nos. (phone & mobile), credit card no., expiration date, CCV2/ CVC2 (last three digits at the back of the credit card), billing address, amount to be donated.

For online donations you may also visit our website at www.redcross.org.ph .

SMS and G-CASH (Globe)

SMS
text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)

G-CASH
text DONATEAMOUNT 4-digit M-PIN REDCROSS to 2882

2. PAYPAL

Donate via Paypal. Go to TXTPOWER.ORG. All donations coursed through TXTPower will be sent to the Philippine National Red Cross.

TO DONATE IN KIND...

1. PHILIPPINE RED CROSS

In-Kind Donations

LOCAL
Please send in-kind local donations to The Philippine National Red Cross – National Headquarters in Manila. We could also arrange for donation pick-up.

INTERNATIONAL

1. Send a letter of intent to donate to the PNRC
2. A letter of acceptance from PNRC shall be sent back to the donor
3. Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to The Philippine National Red Cross–National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 2803, Philippines.

2. VICTORY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Donations can be brought to:
Victory Fellowship,
Every Nation Building
(across from Market-Market, Fort Bonifacio)

When:
Tentatively until 5pm may may extend hours.
Entire week until Friday.

Contact Person:
Pastor Bernard Marquez
Hotlines: 813-FORT, 8171212
www.twitter.com/VictoryFort

3. LUZON RELIEF

Donations can be brought to:
Renaissance Fitness Center
2nd Floor, Bramante Building,
Renaissance Towers Ortigas,
Meralco Avenue, Pasig City

When:
Starting September 28, 2009, Monday
9am – 7pm

Contact Person:
Warren Habaluyas
(0929) 871 3488
luzonrelief@gmail.com

4. PETRON / 2GO

Visit any Petron or 2GO Branches to drop off your donations.


MAY GOD BLESS AND PROTECT THE FILIPINOS.

Home Is Where The Tummy Is

My standard "Im home" dish is chicken adobo or pork sinigang cooked by our very own Manang... Mom always has them prepare this for me on my first night. This time was a break from the tradition. A great one nonetheless.

After being away for over a month, I came home feeling "makabayan" and craving for the true Filipino lifestyle. Off to Manila we went!!! Spent the afternoon walking Old Manila and Mall of Asia. Dinner was an absolute treat at Seaside! For those that dont know, Seaside is a wet market where you get to buy fresh seafood and have it cooked in any of the strip of restaurants overlooking the bay. Had garlic butter shrimps, kinilaw na tangingue (vinegared raw fish), ensaladang mangga (green manggo with tomatoes, onions and shrimp paste) and the staple, garlic rice! Ofcourse it wasnt right without the cold San Mig Light! To complete the absolutely Filipino outing, we sat by the ledge over Manila Bay, chatting and listening to cheezy Filipino karaoke till 2AM! hahaha :)

Feels good to be home.