How happy is your birthday?

My journal entry dated 18.07.2012

Flight 5J-799 Cebu Pacific Departure: 10:10 AM NAIA Terminal 3, Gate 112 

There's nothing to see up in the air. It's a bit of a long travel. 3 hours is a long ride.  I left Manila without having any dollars in hand. By far this is the trip I am most unprepared.  On the eve of the flight I honestly have not packed anything in my bag.  

Disaster 1: Coming to work I have heaps of things in my to-do list. I came in as early as 6 in the morning to get a head start. To be fair, I was able to get a lot of things done. However, when I looked at my tracker, I was not convinced that I have accomplished a lot. To top it all, just when I had that momentum, my office assistant popped up reminding me of the 4pm calibration session with my team, which on a regular basis takes at least 2 hours! So there goes my productivity! 

Disaster 2: Laundry Delay 

Because I had to log off from work late, I wasn't able to catch the laundry shoppe's closing. There goes the packing.  I've nothing to pack!  What  ended up doing was juice up all the gadgets that I am bringing...Ippie, Sammie, Nikkie and even my good o'le Kia!  Cables and chargers were packed and the regular garbage in Sergio's belly unloaded. 

I didn't realize that it'd take me a long time to finish.  With no clothes to pack, I slept just before midnight.  It wasn't so much of a sleep.  It was too shallow.  I wake up in every bit of noise!  Happy Birthday??? My alarm finally broke the silence and it was 3 in the morning. I found some warm greetings for my birthday.  It started with an old friend from years ago. Maris actually sent her greeting a minute after 12!  Then the well wishers came rushing in. I couldn't quite appreciate them at the time because I am pretty much preoccupied with the looming problem of not having anything to put on my backpack...the most important thing! Clothes!  I waited and waited until the laundry shoppe finally opened it's doors.  I was literally rushing back to my room. I tore the package and grabbed some shirts and unmindful, stuck them in my backpack. I changed my shirt and pants, put on my shoes and raced through the door. I took a cab to NAIA T3 and asked the driver to use the Skyway because it was already 30 minutes past the hour of eight! My flight is due to depart at 10:10 am while gate closes 45 minutes before departure!  

On a positive note, international flights doesn't have a queue! And so was the line for paying the sky high Philippine Travel Tax!  

Philippine Travel Tax - pegged at P 1,650 

Airport Terminal Fee - P 550 

Immigration Test 

I called it a test because in the recent past, a friend was offloaded from her flight to Thailand connecting to Dubai.  She was asked why she was leaving the country and her travel documents were not honored.  Hence, the paranoid "OC" in me made the passage through the immigration a bit of a nightmare .  Luckily, I only got a frown and a dismissive look from the immigration officer. He gave me my first departing stamp.  I've learned my lesson from my last flight to Iloilo: it is better to check in your bulky backpack to avoid finding anything that may delay or cancel the trip. I checked-in my baggage and just left Ippie, Sammie, and Nikkie with me along with a bag of local delights for a friend (Des) from a friend (Wei).  

Happy Birthday!  

Checking in was a breeze.  The nice ground crew called my attention so she can assist me even if her counter was for a different flight.  She was so nice and polite throughout the interaction.  I was very pleased.  Boarding was called and I was the first passenger on the plane! To top it all, I got a window seat directly perpendicular to the right wing! This is what I call a birthday! Love love love!