State-hop (Mis)adventures 4: Rain or Shine in Manhattan

Aaah finally, I'm going to New York! It's my second week in the US and all's been good even if I lost my phone. I'm not the type who wouldn't be able to sleep without one anyway. The day after I arrived in New Jersey, my favorite Tito and Tita took me on a tour to the Big Apple -- witwiw!

It may not be as cold as Chicago but it made me wear my jacket. Also unlike Chicago, I didn't like New York at an instant. It had to grow on me. Everything there is fast-paced so they say (so as I've seen too), while Chicago's more laid back. New Yorkers and tourists alike are doing walkathons all the time. It was also challenging figuring out the spaghetti-like subway. But it's my kinda challenge.

So what's the catch this time? Day 1 was wet! It was raining!!! Argh! Haaay oh well! I still enjoyed it anyway. I had to haha! I'll let these pictures speak.

New York from Jersey City

At the Liberty State Park

Grand Central Station

1 E 57th Street

"The Mall", Central Park

Central Park

D' Chubibo at Toys 'R Us

Theatre District

Times Square

Other stops: Trump Tower, Macy's, Mac Store, NBC, Olive Garden Times Sq

Luckily, when we returned to Jersey City on the way home, we chanced upon the amazing view of the full moon over the NY skyline.

Caught between the moon and New York City

That was the first day. I still got 4 days in Jersey and I wasn't going to put that to waste. They were planning to take me to Atlantic City but I ditched it and went back to New York for two more days instead.

Unlike what a lot of people would most likely do, I took a different tour. I wasn't able to go to Liberty due to lack of time. Wasn't able to go to Little Italy, Serendipity, Flatiron Building, MET, etc. Instead of going to what my friends recommended, I've decided to go and look for the filming locations of "You've Got Mail" -- obviously one of my all-time favorite movie. The night before NY day 2, I researched the filming spots and listed down their addresses. All of them are in the upper west (where I started to like the city). As soon as I reached Manhattan again coming from Edison to Penn Station (near Madison Square Garden), I got myself a good map and a 1-day unlimited MTA (subway) ticket. Here's what I found on day 2:

Afternoon at Cafe Lalo, where Tom and Meg's character unexpectedly met.

The bookstore Shop Around The Corner is actually an antique and cheese store.

Part of the New York experience is to watch a broadway musical at the Theatre District. Theatre District is a stretch of broadway theatres, movie theatres, restos and bars in midtown Manhattan, where Times Square is. Tita reserved a ticket for me at the Winter Garden theatre, one of the largest in the area, where I'll be watching... (drum rolls)... Mamma Mia! Woot!

Before watching the play, I had to kill time so after having a cup of mocha in Cafe Lalo, I spent a little under an hour walking in Central Park, taking pictures, and lounging on the soft cool grass. At 6:30pm, and still early, I went out to look for Juilliard School.

Juilliard is one of the world's most prestigious school for performing arts. Notable alumni are Miles Davis, Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve, Marcia Cross, Kevin Spacey, John Williams, and The 5 Browns, to name a few. Juilliard is located at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

Juilliard School

Ah at long last. It's almost 7:30pm so I headed back to the Theatre District. I was so excited! What Neil said is true: "Pag napanood mo na ang Mamma Mia, mamahalin mo ang Abba!" I absolutely loved the music and how they made it fit into the story. It was fun and hilarious! Then it had a mini-concert at the end, that I got up and without a care, danced to my heart's content. Of course when I returned home and told a good friend about it (you know who you are haha!), he hasn't stopped teasing me since.

Day 3 and my last day in NY. I took the Path train dropping me at the World Trade Center just like what we did on day 1. The Path tracks at WTC actually lies underneath the former towers. The train had gone before the buildings collapsed in 2001. This time around, the train passes around what is now Ground Zero giving you a close view of the construction. Kinda creepy.

On the way to the Path Train. To the left is Newark Airport. Up ahead is NYC.

Ground Zero

After getting off Path, I proceeded to searching for the rest of "You've Got Mail" filming locations. I found the 91st Street Riverside Garden, Starbucks, Zabar's, H&H Bagels, Verdi Square and Gray's Papaya.

Riverside Drive

meet my new friend Ginger

Clockwise from top-left: 91st Street Garden, Starbucks at 82nd St, my hotdog sandwich from (next) Gray's Papaya at 72nd St, Verdi Square where I sat to enjoy my hotdog, and Zabar's at 80th St - a haven for cheese lovers.

The tour wouldn't be complete without seeing New York from the top. For my last stop, I went to the Empire State Building. It was already sunset and I thought that would be a perfect time to see the lights. There were lots of tourists lined up then. It was a 45-minute wait before I was able to go up but it was worth it. The entire city looks gorgeous from the 86th floor (1,050 ft)! Oh and by the way, it's COLD up there! Brrrr

Empire State Building

Upstaged by the Chrysler Building

The lights of Times Square

WTC used to be in this view (South). Can you find the Statue of Liberty?

At 9pm, I called it a night and said goodbye to NY. I went out of the building, bought a few more souvenirs, and took the Subway to Path going to the other side of the Hudson River (Jersey) at the Pavonia station, where my Tito and Tita will be picking me up.

When I reached Jersey and met them, we went to the harbour and took more pictures of the NY skyline. It was also the first time for me to see the Empire State Building at night. The floodlights were Red-White-Blue at that time. They change colors depending on the holiday. Sigh. Now I really heart New York. Hehe.

The next day, I left New Jersey for my last state-hop: Texas, where all my other relatives are waiting for me. From the Newark airport in Jersey, I took a 1-hour flight to Atlanta, Georgia. It was rather a dreaded flight because of some really smelly people beside me (guess the nationality). I had to squeeze myself and press my face on the window just so that I can have even a little escape. The flight from Atlanta to Houston was so much better. This time, I'm around cute little kids. They're cry babies but at least they don't smell awful hehehe.

Touchdown Houston. Oh wow, it was so warm hehe. Parang Pinas but not humid. I also had to wait long for my now-49.5-lbs-suitcase (Whew! Almost went over the limit there - 50 lbs). After getting my stuff, I turned around to check if my folks are there already. I had to wait for another 45 minutes wondering, "Hmm... alam kaya nilang dadating ako?" Hehehe.

It was so good to finally see them when they arrived. They've been visiting the Philippines to see us. Now I'm the one visiting them. I spent a week there, hanging out with my Lolos and Lolas, more Titos and Titas, and my cousins. One of my cousins work at Ben & Jerry's in Sugarland so I get free ice cream too! Of course my favorite flavor is Coffee Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz. Heehee!

I headed back home on May 31 taking off from the George Bush International Airport with a 66-lbs balikbayan box and a 65-lbs suitcase, and still with my carry-on, laptop and cow. It was sad leaving everybody; I actually cried a little while waiting for my ride at the gate. The flight took me to Narita, Japan where I stayed for an hour and a half, and then I finally reached Manila at 10:18pm on June 1.

WOW. As in WOW! The trip was even more surreal when it was over. I couldn't believe that I just spent 3 weeks in the US. I got so excited too about going back to work and working on the things that I picked up from the business trip. And of course, I was excited to see my friends. The one thing that I didn't experience though was jet lag. Hehehe!

Needless to say, the trip was awesome. I wouldn't mind going through the entire thing again if I have to. It's almost like a first-time-everything experience. I got to speak English without anyone noticing me sounding exaggerated. Haha! But most importantly, it openned a lot of new possibilities for me-- new things to try, cultures to experience, and of course places to go.

Now where will my next adventure be? Hmmm... lezgow! ;)

Invisible

Not seen.

Not heard.

Not felt.

I am Invisible.

State-hop (Mis)adventures 3: The Survival Challenge

We were running... er... driving late. I have a flight to catch at 3:25pm, we're still in the friggin' highway, and it's... 3:00 already! Well, when I got to O'Hare, I said goodbye to my flight. I'm supposed to go back to Avoca stopping over Philly. My business trip was supposed to be until Monday but it got cut short; had I known, I would've bought plane tickets straight to my next state-hop: New Jersey. Anyway, I had my flight rebooked and I was able to fly out later that night. Up in the air you can see the spectacular lights of downtown Chicago. It was A-mazing! Too bad I couldn't take a picture though.

my cow

After the plane circled the skyline of Philadelphia thrice, we finally landed at 12:30am. Whew! Then after claiming my now 40-lbs suitcase, along with my carry-on, laptop, and cow, I hurried to the nearest payphone and called my Uncle. "Naku naiwan ka na ng mga bus at train dyan." was the first news I got. Wow. Baligtarin pa natin: Wow. And I was told that the first train leaves at 5:25am. Before we put the phone down, my Uncle and Aunt took turns giving me instructions for getting to New Jersey. I was told to take SEPTA (what the h is SEPTA??). The first thing I saw after that was a sign that says "SEPTA Bus". Then I heard stuff like "30th St", "Trenton", "Edison", "Northeast Corridor", "R1", "NJ Transit". That's it. My brain wasn't functioning anymore. So I was just writing down those names and putting arrows everywhere. The last thing I heard was, "magtanong ka diyan ha".

This calls for another challenge! And probably the most challenging part of my trip. It might not be much but it was a test of survival for me. So of course, I didn't go anywhere for the next "few" hours. I took a $3-cart to drag my stuff with and holding my cow, I sat at one corner and waited for the sun to come up. I took naps along with a few other people who spent the night near the baggage claim area of the Philly airport. Suddenly, I felt something in my stomach. Deym! I got hungry! And there's no food, no vendo machine anywhere. As if the thinking bulb lit up in my already tired brain, I openned my suitcase and there they were. The most delicious granola bars in the world-- Kudos!

I woke up at 7:30am. Oh goodie! Finally, I'm going to get out of the airport. So the first thing I need to do is to take SEPTA. I went outside fighting the cooold Philly weather and painfully waited for the SEPTA bus. After 20 minutes, it arrived. I dragged my stuff, went in, and felt relieved that I'm finally going somewhere. Wait a second... going where?? When some of the folks got off, I asked the bus driver if he's going to 30th Street with a huge question mark there. I told him I was going to New Jersey. Eto yung winner. He told me that it's difficult having to lug my stuff around and that I should've taken the R1 train from the airport! I thought, "Aaaah yun pala yung R1...!" Bwahahaha yeah, now I know. So I took a mini tour outside and well, went back to the airport hehe. Somebody told me where the train is so I dragged my stuff on another walk again. And there it was-- R1. Oh and the train says, "SEPTA". Demmet!

Taking the train dragging my stuff was even more difficult. Sheez! And it wasn't just 1 train. I had to transfer three times, on three different tracks! Drag. Drag. Drag. SEPTA took me to 30th Street station, where I took the NJ Transit going to Trenton. Making sense out of these familiar names courtesy of conductors and cashiers gave me such relief and I kept telling myself, "okay, good job Myls!" Haha!

30th Street Station, NJ Transit

It was a long and slow train ride. I finally reached Trenton at 9am. I wondered if it was still Pennsylvania or it was already New Jersey. Hehe. Then I saw a brochure that says "Northeast Corridor" with stations and lots of numbers I couldn't interpret. I didn't know if I was going to take a train or a bus. So I asked a lady but she replied, "No English". Great. I asked a guy but he said, "Oh sorry I'm not from here."

So I took my phone out and searched my phonebook for my Aunt's number. I hopped payphones but none of them seem to work. So I approached a police desk. The officer dialed my Aunt's number for me. When I reached her, she gave me instructions going to my final stop. She told me to ride a train going to Edison, which is near their place. My uncle will pick me up from there. Oh wow, only one more station to go! So I bought the last ticket going to Edison. Train on track two. 10 minutes.

Tired and lovely. Walang mangengeelam!

I dragged my things to track two and waited impatiently for the Edison train. All the NJ Transit trains bound to Newark/New York pass through the same tracks but not all of them stop at certain stations like Edison. Here comes the train! I asked a lady if it will stop at Edison and she said yes so I quickly got on board. Hehe only to find out that it's an express train going (somewhere), and it's not going to stop as Edison. Waaah, ano na naman to' Myls?? So when the conductor came, I told him that I got in the wrong train and that I'm supposed to drop at Edison. Excited kasi eh. He told me to drop and transfer at the New Brunswick station. Aaah yun naman pala. So I dropped and transferred to the next train and a light from above shone brightly on the sign that said "EDISON". I'm here!

Just after getting off the train with the usual drag drag drag, I saw my favorite Uncle (slash Godfather btw). Wow, I've never been soooo HAPPY to see him!!! We haven't seen each other since 1984 anyway hehehe. We hugged, got to Aunt's SUV and drove. And of course I told him everything that's happened. The news spread out to all our relatives there like wildfire. The first thing we did when I got there-- EAT. He asked where I wanted to eat. I said, "ANYWHERE!" So we had a Subway sandwhich.

HOME AT LAST!!! Man! That was some trip! I got into my room overlooking the nice pond with ducks lounging on the grass hehe. Then I quickly went online to buy credits for my phone (yeah, which is why I was never able to use it when I got stranded in Philly). 1K load, bought! Now I can text. Hmmm... how come I didn't hear any alert? So I took my carry-on, openned it, and saw my shoes, my wallet, my ice breakers, my kikay kit... my phone-- was missing!!! Ohhh crap!!! Later on, I figured that I left it on the ticket counter at the Trenton station. Crap!!! I loved that phone! Marami nang na-document yon!!! Good thing though that 99% of the files there are in my laptop already. Oh... well... at least this is going to give me an excuse to buy a new unit hehehe.

Not long after that, I took a most-awaited bath, changed to my PJ's and ZzzzZzzzZzzz like a baby. I woke up at 7pm to meet my Aunt for the first time and we talked about the morning's adventure. Went back to bed at 10.

Tomorrow, we're off to the big apple! Can't wait!!

Saturday Night Feevah!

Start: 8:00pm

What: Death by Avenue Q

Cast: Me, Ron, Noel, Owen, Dyosa, Jeddokun

Read: F-U-N!

Dinner: Cyma

Read: Greek Chicken Adobo - delish!!!

Joined: Rui

Hop: Redbox

Joined: Neilky

Featured: Good Vibes (GV), Rui's dancing prowess, "Stop" by Spicegirls

Breakfast: Next Door

Featured: More GV!

End: 5:30am

State-hop (Mis)adventures 2: Weekend In The Windy City

Ready for a rollercoaster ride? Here it goes: I was supposed to stay in Hazleton originally for 6 business days to receive training. So I thought, I'm going to have a weekend and I'd like to spend it in Chicago! Why Chicago? Well my friend Sally, who's in Illinois, and I have been planning for us to meet for the longest time. I was dead set on going there-- by hook or by crook! After getting my visa and finalizing my departure, we bought roundtrip plane tickets from Avoca (Wilkes-Barre Airport, PA) to O'Hare (Chicago) online for that weekend. I was to leave PA at 6:00am, and leave Chicago the next day at 3:00pm. It cost me a whopping $499!

So here comes my business trip-- Monday. To my disappointment, they told me that the raining is not going to push through. Good thing though that I have other things in my agenda. However, my bosses instructed me to cut the business trip short to two days and make travel arrangements. So I told Sally about it and she was delighted to know that I can make it there earlier after all! I was now to depart on Wednesday, at 1pm. So we had my departure rebooked and paid $197.50. Sheez! I thought well, it's still okay. I'm still going!

The next day, Tuesday, is yet another bad news. They were having issues with the hotel refusing to not charge us for the remainder of the reserved days that I'm not going to use. So the latest note from the bosses-- stay for the rest of the week. I was in shock. We just spent almost $200 on rebooking last night! And now I needed to rebook again. When Bong picked me up later that day and learned about what had happened to my flight to Chicago, we just started to laugh SO HARD! And I started releasing stress from dealing with my screwed up schedules!

Wednesday at the last minute, I was able to rebook and Thank God, I got an earlier flight this time-- Friday 11pm. The plane should land at 12:30am. But I would be taking off from Philly instead of Avoca. So I will be taking the Greyhound bus from HZ to Philly.

Friday came and I hugged the trainers goodbye. And on the same limo service, I'm off to the Greyhound station to catch the 5:30pm bus. I waited at the humble station for almost an hour along with a lot of black kids probably ranging from 15 to 20 years old. And they were really loud. At long last, the bus came. It was difficult lugging my 32-lbs suitcase around where everywhere's self-service. So I threw it neatly in the bus compartment and boarded afterwards. It was sad leaving Hazleton but I was excited to see Sally at the same time.

We had to transfer to another bus that will take us to Philly which took some minutes. Not to mention, the trouble of figuring out how and where I need to throw my suitcase again since the compartment has gotten disorganized. Then one of my busmates, a tall black guy in his 20's asked, "You need any help with that?". I answered, "Oh yes please!" He dropped his white jacket on the wet pavement, took my suitcase and threw it on top of the other baggages. Haha! Of course I said big thanks afterwards.

The supposed 3-hour bus ride got stretched to 4 hours and almost everyone's tension's up because of the delay. They were getting loud again, which was kinda scary. At 9:45pm, we arrived at the Philly Greyhound station. I immediately got off the bus and looked for my bag in the compartment. OMG! I couldn't find it! I'm not someone who'd break into a panic easily but it was starting to get to me! Where the hell is my suitcase?!?! After a few seconds of nearly getting desperate, I thought "Aaaahhh!!! Nilipat lang pala ni manong ng compartment!" I found my friggin' suitcase, took it out and hurried inside where I can ask how to get to the airport. They told me to ride a train from there but don't know where the train is. Luckily there are cabs outside and I took one. I finally arrived at the airport after 15 minutes. Whew!

Unfortunately, my flight got delayed for an hour. I could feel my face getting so oily. Yuck! Finally I boarded, took off, landed, and excitedly waited for Sally. She instructed me to step outside and stay at the outermost lane where she's going to pass. It was soooo cold! I was wearing my thick trench coat and a scarf. The wind was blowing. And I would see other people waiting wearing light clothing. Pang-asar! After 30 minutes, I saw a familiar car -- a black cherry Scion, with the driver and her huge smile. OMG SAAAALLLLLLYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! She stepped out of the car and called out, "MYLEEEEEEEEEENE!!!!!!!!" We hugged. Oh wow, it's been four and a half years! And then later on, she broke into laughter and said, "OMG MYLEEEENE!!! Balut na balot ka! Hahahaha! Kaya mong naka-scarf pa eh! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Yeah and I noticed her just wearing a light jacket without anything on her neck. I said, "ANG YABANG MO AH!!!" Hahahaha!

The first thing that we did is go to a hotdog place fondly called "hatdugan!", because I was so starving. The next day, we're off to go around downtown, have dinner at Carnivale, meet Rui, and of course take LOTS of pictures! These are my favorite:

Tinubuan ng Jordan. United Center.

103rd floor of the Sears Tower

At Carnivale with Sally and Rui

Chicago skyline from Lake Shore drive
(where they shot "When Harry Met Sally")

Illusion by Solleh

Reflection

"What now?"

Tulips of downtown Chicago

I loooved Chicago! If not for the weather, I'd want to move there. I love the skyline at night and if you look closely, you'll see intricately designed architecture, and a variety of fresh tulips lining up the streets. I told Sally that when I go back there, I'll definitely make it at least for 1 week hehe.

Next stop: The Survival Challenge

Another Coffee Jelly Day

I was able to gather up some of my dear friends yesterday for breakfast. No 4am Session makes one hungry (yep, you read it right); but it's actually a blessing in disguise. The cast: Neil, Rui, Owen, Ron and I. We had fun with breakfast at KFC; then Ron said we ought to transfer next door since I was craving for Coffee Jelly.

Coffee Jelly for Ron, Coffee Jelly for me, Panacotta for Rui and Iced Tea for Owen. Neil had to run back up because of pending work. We were sharing the usual funny stories even reminiscing our Bora trip; and making fun of each other hehe. Some of us were excited about the long weekend and we're talking about our agenda. Some of us will be out to party. Some will stay at home and sleep-- including me. We're also excited about our upcoming gimmicks- Avenue Q next week and the next Death By party. I missed chill sessions like this!

We returned to work after a while. Then I wrapped up and went downstairs. I thought I'd say bye first before I leave. So I went to Ron first. We took some time reading hilarious forwarded emails he's been keeping. The next thing I know it's already 11am. We called it a day... er a week. Time flies too fast when you're having fun.

Coffee Jelly never tasted so good :) Sarap ng libre. Thanks Ron!

State-Hop (Mis)adventures

Dos, eto na! Haha!

I was okay listening to stories about my friends' travels out of the country and I would often wonder if I'd be sharing my own story someday. Let me tell you, 2008 has never been better! After tons and tons of patience, I'm finally getting my most-awaited break of travelling in the US for both business and pleasure... too formal eh? Thought so. "State-Hop (Mis)adventures" sounds more like it; hence my entry title. So here's the first installment of the 4-part series. Happy reading!

-oOo-

State-hop (Mis)adventures 1: Lost In Pennsylvania

Out on a business trip, I'm having my very first travel out of the country. Yeah I hear your "no way???" just like everyone else hehe. But yes, it's my first time to go out of the Philippines. My beloved friends are so excited to hear about it (I luuuve em!!!), especially when they learned that I'm going to the US.

My first stop is Hazleton, PA. Needless to say, it was a loooong flight. It just so happens that I can get myself to sleep almost if/when I want to. The last plane I took was a small one from Detroit. The weather's kinda unfriendly so the flight was bumpy. I enjoyed the thrill though hehe. When I stepped out of the plane, it was so cold! Temperature's in the 50's. Brrrr

Because it's mostly suburbs, there wasn't any public transportation available so I had to hire a limo service for my transfer from Wilkes-Barre airport to the hotel. When I saw my ride, I thought, "Hoowaw! Sowshal!". It was a jet-black Lincoln town car waiting for me right there! Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of it (turista haha). Off we went to the hotel and I was taking pictures of... well... trees on the left, trees on the right, and a mountain up ahead. It's like a really huuuuge Camp John Hay in Baguio.

At Corporate Drive. Conveniently, the office is just right across the street from where I'm staying at. It took us 20 minutes to get there (that far!). The people are so friendly. There were hardly anyone who I'd randomly meet who wouldn't say "Hi!". Oh yeah and I think I'm the only Filipino in the area hehe.

After taking my first complementary breakfast, I got ready for work. It was still cold on my first work day. They asked where I'm staying at and how I'm finding the weather. I said, "I'm staying just right across the street... but it's a painful walk from there to the office!" It was drizzling and windy. The temperature dropped to 30's, if I remeber it right. Thank God the next days got up to 60's.

Click the pictures to view a larger version.
Clockwise from top-left: Holiday Inn Express breakfast, Lounge, View from my window, On the way to work.

I had a great time with the business part of the trip; but even had a greater time bonding with our Training counterparts. When we're not talking about business, we're talking about lotsa things under the sun. And I remember one of them, Craig, telling me that eversince I got there, they've all been having lunch together. (Yeah, because I would pop up from nowhere to ask them where everyone's going for lunch.) So I told them how I've been accustomed to have company while taking lunch through the 4am Sessions.

Another trainer, Laura, invited me for some drinks one time after work. I gladly said yes, and met more people during our night out. I nursed just 1 bottle of Miller light while she had 3.

And then there's Jason, who I really clicked with from the group. Feeling ko mahal na nya ko hahaha! He even volunteered to visit and teach a course here. Aba naman! We would seriously talk about business but later on, throw random jokes. He had fun beating me at foosball, and I had fun accusing him of eating dog treats when he was grubbing on Slim Jims beef sticks.

I was also delighted to know that one of our friends, Bong, lives and works in the same state; and he's actually just 5 minutes away from the airport. I ym'ed him before I left for the US. Haven't seen him in three years, I think. So on my Tuesday in PA, he fetched me from the office and we had an awesome time hanging out. He took me to Wal-Mart in HZ, where I kept on saying "hoowaw!! hahaha" while seeing more of Hazleton's suburbs. At 8pm and the sun is still up, we drove back going to Scranton to grab some coffee from Starbucks. Then we noticed that we were passing through narrow streets with small houses that seemed empty. And everytime we turn, it's like we're passing through the same streets. It could only mean one thing-- we're lost! I said, "Friend, nabe-Blair Witch na tayo! Hahaha!" But after some 15 minutes of figuring out where to go and testing our sense of direction, we finally made it to Starbucks. We got our hot coffee and hopped to Barnes & Noble to chill. At 10pm, we decided to call it a night, so Bong drove me back home.

The adventure never stops. It was a smooth drive going back to Hazleton, and we were relying on the street signs to take us there. Upon seeing a sign that said turn right to Hazleton, we took the turn not realizing that we're going the wrong way. When we didn't recognize the place, we started looking for a spot where we can turn the car around but ended up going inside a high-end residential area; we can tell from size of the houses and their cars. As we were slowly driving, we noticed a car following us. It was a police mobile. Uh-oh! But they weren't making any signal which tells us we're not in trouble- or not yet anyway. It was just following us the entire time. But Bong wouldn't let them stop us. So he kept the car steady at 20 kpms and drove as if we know where we're going haha! He took more turns, and then we stopped infront of a garage of a house, and turned off the engine hoping we'll get rid of the mobile. "Kunwari kilala natin yung nakatira hahaha!" After 5 minutes, we saw the mobile going away. We laughed so hard.

So yes, it was a relief. We went out of the village and took a right turn hoping we'll not come across the mobile again. We're finally going home. I'll never forget that street we took- Old Turnpike. Again, we were looking for a spot where we can turn around. But the street was long and narrow, there were only trees, and the only thing that lights it was the one from our car. We got lost for the second time. Ahahaha!

Geez, Old Turnpike sure is a long road. It took us about 5 minutes before we saw an intersection. At the intersection is a street sign and we both screamed "Corporate Drive!!!!" upon reading it on the sign. Thank you Lord! Hahaha! We finally turned left and soon enough, we reached the hotel. What a ride! I miss Bong now, hehe!

On my last day, we all had our last lunch together, and had our pictures taken. I felt like a celebrity haha.

Clockwise from top-left: Craig putting hot sauce on his fries, Jason and Laura with their Nachos, Joanne and Ryan, Me and the Hazleton Training Team.

My limo service was already waiting for me outside when we were taking pictures. That day, they were also having their culminating activity for their top performers. I wouldn't be able to stay and watch but I told them that I'll go and peep for a few minutes. To my surprise, their big boss who was hosting the event called me infront to let me introduce myself. I got a lot of applause. Sabi na nga ba artista ko' eh.

Time to go. It was sad to leave and I miss everyone there. I hugged my new friends goodbye and left in "my" limo ride. I'm off to another state tonight so I had the limo take me to the Greyhound station. The bus will take me to Philly where I'll take the plane to my next destination.

Must say, the week's been awesome. I miss this part of PA; especially the people in it. Next stop: Weekend In The Windy City. Stay tuned :-)