A day of mix ups, errors and airpockets to beat records
July 31, 2008
catesbool
"Today is a good day to die", says Kieffer Sutherland in that medical drama movie he did with Julia Roberts before they got engaged and she ditched him.
I suppose, I could have said a different version of that line when I woke up this morning. I was curled up under the covers and my daughter was giving me all those kisses and telling me she’s going off for school already. I didn’t want to get up. My husband was practically trying to pull me out of bed. I was having this dreadful feeling inside my stomach.
I thought it was just PMS setting in. As I showered and dressed and my husband shoved me inside a cab, the dreadful feeling was growing into that sinking feeling. I was like, "Shit. Something’s about to happen." So maybe that was my version of Kieffer S.
My morning went on as busily as it should be. Lunch time started the chain of events. Nobody moved to eat lunch. Those who did, they started out at 1300.
I had my quickie lunch and prepared to go over at ACO to bring my luggage over and to attend the initial orientation for the ALFS delegates. I jumped in on a cab and directed the driver to head towards Greenbelt 3. Halfway there, lo and behold, all hell broke loose. The rains cometh.
When the orientation was done at ACO, I jumped in at the van together with some students from Ateneo, UP and St. Mary’s University with their guardians to take them back at the Office. As I waited for Champ’s party to follow, I hastily prepared for the Company presentation. Ten minutes later, Champ calls me and tells me they went ahead to the airport to beat a highly anticipated traffic jam as a result of the heavy rains. So off I go to shepherd out my sheeps and we hastily went to the airport.
Bloody driver of the van thought we’re supposed to use PAL flight to Cebu. At 1630, Champ and I discovered that my party was on the wrong terminal! And the flight was scheduled at around 1700! Gaaaawwwddd!
Barely, my party made it at the other terminal and checked in to discover there were some slight delays in the flight. Took a catnap on the flight in. Attendants of Cebu Pacific gave a rather dry round of games. The engine of the plane was so noisy.
Then the flight steward was telling us that we were about to make our final approach to Cebu. Guess what happens?
A series of small shakes inside the plane and a sudden dip which made some people shriek like they were on top of a roller coaster. The guy beside me made the sign of the cross as the flight steward’s voice calmly said "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. We are only experiencing a slight air pocket."
And I had to laugh out loud! Slight airpocket, my foot. I experienced airpocket on the flight to the Netherlands around Sept. 2005 and the captain of the plane was telling all crew members to buckle up. I experienced another one on my way to Macedonia in August 2006 and the captain of the plane was saying the same thing. Netherlands airpocket was the record-holder in my history of traveling by air. The flight to Cebu this evening just beat Netherlands by my standards. I was hearing people shrieking and they call it slight airpocket. Tsk, tsk..
It would have been okay sana. Problem was when the plane was landing, I can feel that it was coming in too fast and that the pilot was exerting a lot of effort in trying to control the plane. It wasn’t the smoothest ride and it may well be the worst.
Ach! i’m alive. i’m at the hotel. I’m supposed to wake up at 5 am tomorrow and I probably should be sleeping now anyway. Today was probably not a good day to die. the universe was just a little unsettled, probably. and it made its presence felt through the rains, the mix ups and the airpockets.
i guess the greater loss was me not being able to introduce ms. bevs before the delegates this afternoon as the super gandacious and gorgeous babe of the company. =)
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