Boldly Go…BERBY 2008! Resistance is Futile!

earthdate 082208, supplemental: riza's birthday celebration

 

Riza's birthday celebration at Shey's.

earthdate 082208: LM G2G

Despedida for April (to Germany) and Allan (to NY).  Bon Voyage, you two!

earthdate 080908: Ablan Day 2008

Rained cats and dogs!!!

Cool birthday cake for RA, Sr.; KARB with Miah, Ella, Jr. (photo taken by Rosanne).

earthdate 082108: brewing coffee!

...and Shey finally puts a stop to my instant coffee experiment --- a super-mini-coffee-maker-giveaway!

earthdate 082008: instant coffee review part 2

 

Kopiko, 20g, P3.45 (SRP on sale at Robinson’s Place Manila Supermarket; regular price stated is P4.00) – It tastes like parang brewed Filipino coffee, although it is imported. I find it actually good, compared with the other instant coffee packs I’ve tried. Although parang faint lang the smell. Does my cup justice. Atleast no bad after-taste! For a cheapo instant 3-in-1 coffee, this one gets my vote for a repeat.

 

 

 

Good Day, 20g, The Original variant, P6.00? (SRP at Robinson’s Place Manila Supermarket) – okay, at first glance, I go, “what the hell is this?” Hahaha, but in this quest for good instant coffee, sige, buy na rin a sachet of this. According to the package, this one is produced in Indonesia. Bleaaaah! It’s like sweet brown liquid lang. Despite filling my cup full, ang sweet pa rin! Smells like and somewhat tastes like burned rice. Two thumbs down! P.S. I saw packs of these being sold sa S&R in BHS. Maybe the other variants are good. But, nah, won’t try them na.

 

 

 

Old Town White Coffee (Classic), P160 per box of 10 sachets at Robinson’s Place Manila Supermarket and Cash and Carry Supermarket, 40g per sachet,– I blogged about this before, raving when I tasted it in KL, Malaysia. Really creamy strong coffee. I liked it sooo much that I was sooo happy there is an instant version. Na-hook din si Betty. If you’re going to make puyat, this one is your best company! With its 40g, kayang-kaya (or even lagpas pa) sa isang usual-Christmas-gift-mug!

 

 

 

Jimm’s, 21g, 7-in1 variant, P12.?? (SRP at Mercury Drug Store). For real?! Hindi lang sila nakuntento sa 5-in-1, may 7-in-1 na rin! The latter has Coffee, cream, sugar, Agaricus Mushroom, Spirulina, Korean Ginseng, and Ganoderma. Unfortunately, I tried this over the weekend; thus, I was not able to use my standard cup in the office. With the big cup at Kris’ house, mej malabnaw pagkakatimpla. Or maybe, dahil sa dami ng components nito, medyo na-lose na the coffee taste? Overall, I like the 5-in-1 variant better. Good thing going for this one is wala rin siyang bad instant coffee aftertaste. P.S. May nakita akong Jimm’s 4-in-1 variant. Ang funny naman, may combi-combi pa sila!

KARB WedPrep Update # (ewan ko na kung ano. hehe)

Been very busy for the wedding lately; but, I am still not satisfied with what we have done so far.  Still soooo many things to do!  Sigh, I really blame all the emotional/psychological/political issues that slowed us down in moving on with the real and actual wedprep matters. Tuloy now, we're cramming for a lot of stuff...and still saddled with many dramah!

I sometimes compare all these wedprep with preparing for the bar.  Parang napakahaba ng panahon kailangang maghanda, pero sa dulo, cram gallore pa rin.  Plus ang daming kaba, luha, dasal, at pagod na pinagdadaanan para sa isang araw/subject lang! 

Some updates:

1. Marriage License on the way.  Ang funny lang, I found out that the requirements per city are not the same pala.  Pero siempre, of all cities, sa Laoag ang may pinakanakakatawa at pasakit na requirement --- a photo of the couple na nag-ti-tree planting!  For real?!  And talagang for Marriage License application po ba ang requirement na ito?  Oh well, when we submitted our documents (hoping false item ito and thinking to follow na lang said photo if ever), hindi naman kami sinabihang mag-tanim muna ng puno at magpa-kodak habang ginagawa ito. Hahahaha :o)

Another side note, siempre, bawat stop namin sa City Hall, may mga typical requests pinaparating kay Board Member Kris.  Hay, political through and through!

Thank you Badette and Baby for being our witnesses.







2. Done with pre-cana --- mahaba pa dadaanan ng church documents though, with Kris being a Protestant and Sta. Monica not being my parish. Thank you for being our witnesses, Ella and Rosanne!












3. Invites...keeping mum, for now, with my displeasure.  Iniisip ko na lang, our printer is like a restaurant.  Wag galitin muna sa mga reklamo ko habang nakahain sa kanila ang aking order or else baka duraan ang food, or in this case, papangitin lalo ang invitation.



4. Entourage gowns - done and very happy with them.  Happy na may bonus beadwork pa! I was apprehensive at first how they turned out; pero I was very, very satisfied when I saw them on Betty and Rosanne na.



Here is a partial of a bridesmaid's gown







5. Bridal gown - first fitting done; next week ang 2nd fitting.  Still can't imagine it.  Dang my blasted shoulders...and sigh, I'm soooo fat pa rin.  Hehehe, no real reason to complain.  As I say, why deprive myself with food and be miserable all together considering I already get a lot of crap from certain people.  At least keep sane with food di ba? Hassle nga lang my sprain months ago; held me back from the running I intended to do. 


6. Hotel Bookings - first batch of reservations done when I went to Laoag for Ablan day two weeks ago.


7. Florist -- downpayment paid and had an ocular with him sa church and garden.


8. Divisoria errands -- bought some cloth for decors. Hahaha, finally, nakahatak na rin ako ng kargador, albeit a reklamador one.












9. Paper stuff --- Rosanne and Angel are my handy paper cutters.  Thanks, you two.  More to come! hahahaha.

10. Shirts of ushers -- bought and stenciled na..super thanks, Shey!

11. Giveaways -- mass production on-going na.

13. Wedding bands --- ordered na.

14. Four fingers burned na ako by my glue gun/molten glue stick drippings. Oh well, as Betty commented, worth it naman as the outcome of the bags I did are nice kahit papaano. More burning sessions to go...dyoshkopuh!

15. List of principal sponsors and guests --- ay, hopeless since January...anong petsa na?!  Thousands? Thousands?! San nila kukunin mga taong yun?! 

As I have been requesting Kris, please get me an oso (bear) --- you know, the one that balances on a ball and grunts.  Kasi, hindi na wedding ito eh --- circus na! Hwehwehwe. 

earthdate 0808-1108: Berby in Ilocos

hello from the supposedly sunny city of Laoag!  here for Ablan Day and to attend to some KARB WedPrep. 

Funny, it's my second year to attend said local holiday; also, it's their second year to have heavy rains drenching everyone during the celebration.  Bakit kaya...? Hahaha.

I took a CebuPacific flight to go here --- amazingly, no glitch whatsoever.  To think we even arrived five minutes earlier (according to the pilot).

Boarded at Terminal 3 of the NAIA.  How was it?
1.  Shiny nga!
2. Maluwag.
3. Nakakaligaw --- kulang sa mga signages and friendly ground staff to direct people where to go. 
4. Medyo magulo ang CebuPacific (haha, what is new with this statement?) -- my boarding pass states Gate 120, pero the flight monitor stated Gate 134.  Hmmm.  Not amusing considering magkalayo those two gates. When I inquired, the guards directed me to just follow my boarding pass. Yeah, Gate 120 nga --- pero sa counter, nakasulat Iloilo naman. However, the CebuPac people confirmed Laoag Gate nga rin yun.  Sige na, baka kulang pa sila sa mga signage lang talaga. 
5. Konti pa lang mga food stalls and stores.  Marami pang blank and dark spaces along the corridors leading to the gates (bare concrete, no paint, no life).
6. The boarding tubes are meant for big planes --- hindi kayang idikit sa mga small aircrafts ng CebuPacific. And so, passengers go through the tube, then exit and take the metal stairs to walk towards the plane. Hahaha, pahirapan daw ba ang mga pasahero.
7. Malaki at malawak ang buong terminal.  Ang Gate 120 ay nasa dulo.  With all my bags, napagod talaga ako kakalakad.  To think, I even took a moving walkway (yung flat escalator moving horizontally).  Hahaha, no, it's not really just because I am not a fit person.  Mahaba talaga ang lakad kasi pahaba yung terminal.

The flight made me reminisce the Giant Swing in Singapore and the feeling of having 'suspended-tummy' whenever one is aboard a vehicle which suddenly went down a bridge/fly-over.  Tapos, super bumpy ride din due to the bad weather nga!  I normally enjoy mga turbulence; but those we encountered really made me pray and reach for my rosary!

70% successful with my Ilocos errands.  Fun bonding with Rosanne, JR, Ella, and Miah.  Pig-out on Ilocos empanada and isaw/fishballs/kikiam! Woohoo!

Took a CebuPac flight back to Manila.  Amazingly, again, no glitches. Actually, na-delay lang 'coz our flight had to wait for eight lucky passengers from the PAL flight who were able to exchange their tickets.  Kasi, the PAL plane which should have gone ahead of the CebuPac, nagka-technical trouble.  Tuloy na-cancel ang flight and hindi makabalik ng Manila yung aircraft.  Wow, na-talo pa ng CebuPac ang PAL this time! Am I really not dreaming?!

Ay, yeah, I had a glitch sa flights ko rin pala --- maka-katabi ng talkative  persons.  Hahaha, really wondered if I got a sign sa forehead ko na "talk with me, please!!!"  Flight to Laoag, ang wide and ang tindi topics --- to the point of me knowing a churchmate of hers whose kid committed suicide.  Flight back to Manila --- a brit who later on started blaming the Catholic Religion for our people being delusional etc. Oh well, at least they seem to have enjoyed my company.

Thanks for the sundo sa T3, Betchay!  

earthdate 081208: instant coffee review I

(above: the instant coffee sachets I tried.  below: my standard cup)

Nescafe Original, 14g, P4.50 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) - prior the “new improved taste,” it was substantial compliance for an instant coffee. When it changed, it became sweeter, fake-smelling, and got a stronger-bad-breath-like after taste. To get the right balance (at hindi malabnaw na kape), I just pour ¾ hot water in my cup for one sachet of this. Hardly a wake-upper.

 

 

 

SanMig (Original variant) – I find it having the most fake smell of a coffee, like they made the smell stronger to send immediate drinking-coffee-signal to the brain before actually taking in the liquid coffee. Try pouting after finishing a whole cup, your lips are marked by said strong fake-coffee scent. Also, to get the right balance (at hindi malabnaw na kape), I just pour ¾ hot water in my cup for one sachet of this. Hardly a wake-upper. I tried the Strong variant din -- yeah matapang nga, pero same review as a whole. The Sugarfree variant parang may less the fake-coffee scent.

 

 

 

Jimm’s, 21g, P13.50 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) – really crappy commercial, but delivers as a product. It somewhat tastes like a milder version of Old Town (Malaysian coffee) or Kopi Rotti's coffee --- parang creamy na brewed coffee of sorts. It does my whole cup justice; actually, I think I can go for a little more water pa nga kasi kinda matapang pa rin the taste. A wake-upper.

 

 

 

Barako, 18g, P9.75 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) – This also does a whole cup justice. Sweet tasting coffee; no bad after-taste like Nescafe. A little wake-upper.

 

 

 

Cowhead, 20g, P7.25 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) – I don’t know if it’s just the brand’s power of suggestion, but I found this coffee kinda creamy --- in a good way. Nice taste; no awful after taste; does my cup justice, hardly a wake-upper.  However,  I was very puyat when I had this so I am not sure if that’s just the reason why I still felt sleepy despite drinking so.

 

 

 

Maxwell House, 9g – A better version of a combined Nescafe and SanMig. Between the three, I’d just get this one. Although it has a mild after-taste, it is not as bad as the first two. However, like the two, I just pour ¾ hot water in my cup for one sachet of this. Hardly a wake-upper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nescafe FIT, 6.5g, P7.75 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) – I thought this one would not even make the hot water in my cup brown ‘coz it’s just 6.5g! At first, I just half-filled my cup --- bleah, taste is still strong! Poured ¼ more water (making my coffee ¾ of my cup) --- bleah, still strong!  With a full cup of hot water, I even had to add a teaspoon of creamer just to lessen the bitter coffee taste.  Amazing! Must be the “teavigo” component..? As for the overall taste; hmm, tastes (and aftertastes) like a regular Nescafe, na mas matapang lang than the regular “new and improved” variant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nescafe Relax, 14g P7.75 (SRP at Mercury Drugstore) – Good coffee taste, parang passable knockoff of a Starbucks hot latte. The wee bit hint of chamomile is yummy. Since 14g lang, I just pour ¾ hot water in my cup; pero I think I could have gone a bit more and may taste pa rin. Siempre not a wake-upper ‘coz decaffeinated and with chamomile pa. Thumbs up if you just want the taste of coffee and not to perk you up.

On to my next batch of instant coffee sachets. Hahaha, despite the many things I need to do/focus on, obviously enjoyed my self-imposed coffee-taste-testing project to have spent time and effort doing the whole thing and writing about it.

Fwd about horrible service of CebuPac

I got this from my email.  My goodness, is this for real?!  Over na talaga CebuPacific if ever!

- - - - -

CEBU PACIFIC FLIGHT 5J 389 – THE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!

 

 

 

I have been flying to and from Manila and Cagayan de Oro every month and I’ve normally enjoyed flying. I’ve tried all the airlines and have concluded that apart from the usual delays and little imperfections, every company seemed satisfactory. That is, until August 1, 2008 when I had the most horrible and unfortunate incident with Cebu Pacific.

 

 

 

My flight was scheduled at 2:50 PM . I was excited because this was the first day that the NAIA terminal 3 had opened so I opted for an early check in. I arrived at 1:00 PM and had a normal, uneventful check in. Shortly after I got my boarding pass, I proceeded to the inner terminal. As I passed through security and x rays, the next sight that I saw was shocking. Instead of the usual airport bustle and people orderly going to their boarding gates, I saw hundreds of confused passengers trying to ask anyone for help. Some were sitting on the floor with their luggage, others just looked lost.

 

 

 

I tried to look for any directional signs to where I was supposed to go. As I looked at my boarding pass to get information, I noticed that the space for the boarding gate was blank! After wandering around for a few minutes, I found a girl in a Cebu Pacific shirt. She directed me to a tiny crowded counter. There, surrounded by hundreds of noisy passengers  was one girl who was as confused as we were. She couldn’t give any concrete information about any of the flights!

 

 

 

After 30 minutes of waiting, she  asked us to go down to the boarding gates and wait. That was 3:00 PM , past our flight time. We went down and waited for 30 minutes, only to be told that the flight was further delayed and that our new boarding gate was back upstairs.

 

 

 

Carrying our heavy luggage, we went up several flights of stairs and waited for boarding. At 4:30 PM , we finally boarded the plane. After 30 minutes of waiting, the pilot announced that the flight has been cancelled because it was too late to fly and it was impossible to land in CDO airport when its dark!

 

 

 

We went down the plane angry and confused. When we asked the crew what the reason was, they said that the flight couldn’t take off because thirteen passengers were missing! Of course, how would these poor lost passengers know what was going on? The ground crew didn’t have a PA system and the Cebu Pacific people were giving vague information. We also found out that several other flights were cancelled that day due to their incompetence.

 

 

 

We waited in front of the counter while a girl was giving us flimsy excuses and asking us to pick up our luggage. There was no representative from management to at least apologize to us. They said there was none present at the airport. This was highly impossible as I saw Cebu Pacific top officials having a lunch party at the area adjacent to the check in counters! Don’t tell me they didn’t know what was going on!

 

 

 

People were fuming mad. After a while, they told us that there will be a special flight for us at 5 am and that they were going book us in a hotel and that the shuttle bus was waiting outside.

 

 

 

We waited for the bus for 30 minutes. We were about a hundred thirty. Finally two buses (capacity about 40 plus each) and the staff stuffed us in. We felt like sardines during the 30 minute ride.

 

 

 

To add insult to injury, they brought us to a dank, sleazy hotel somewhere in Malate where prostitutes were lurking in the doorway, offering sex and massage to the foreigners who were with us. The passengers included several minors whose parents were shocked at this too. The rooms were musty and the included in the list of items in the bathroom item menu were local and imported condoms! It was disgusting! They put us in a motel! And according to the staff this was their “official hotel”! This airline’s sister companies are Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza  !!!! Why didn’t they put us in there? They then offered us a poor meal at around 8:30 in the evening.

 

 

They woke us up at 1 AM, put us on the bus at 2 AM, gave us packed food on the bus (half a bangus and rice) but they didn’t give us any water or drink!

 

 

 

We arrived at the terminal at 2:30PM , lacking sleep and very tired. We were shocked to be told that there was no special check in lane and we had to go and check in like the other new passengers. One foreigner, who was a doctor who came for a Charitable medical mission in Mindanao yelled something like this: “ Get me out of the Philippines !” This is horrible! “ Another foreigner, who was a pilot for an airline told us that he has never experienced such incompetence, unprofessionalism and humiliation in his life because of a delayed flight. Not only did Cebu Pacific make their passengers mad, they have shamed our country!

 

 

 

At this point, we got mad and demanded that a special lane be provided for us. The duty manager didn’t come until 30 minutes after and the people in the counters were rude to us. They were not listening and they were turning their backs to us whenever we’d talk to them.

 

 

 

We finally got to check in after we made a big fuss. When they handed us our boarding pass, they told us to go to gate 131. Our boarding time was supposedly 4:30 AM .  We waited for thirty minutes, only to be told that we should transfer to gate 134 and that the flight was delayed.

 

 

 

In counter 134, passengers were demanding for the one way ticket travel voucher that was promised to us. They gave it only after an hour and after we asked for it and the counter clerk told us we had to pay travel and fuel taxes! The nerve of management to put us through this and give us something worth nothing! Meanwhile, another flight delay was announced.

 

 

 

At this point, we demanded that the duty manager speak to us. The counter personnel was giving excuses. We asked for names and they could just give us first names and they said they didn’t know the officers’ family names because they were “just newly hired”!

 

 

 

We made our own initiative and proceeded to the check in counter to demand for the duty manager. We finally talked to her and we demanded that she apologize and explain to us passengers why this all happened. We also told her to provide food especially for the children.

 

 

 

On the way back to the terminal, the manager was stopped by passengers from other flights asking for directions. One angry foreigner who missed his Dumaguete flight was so upset! It turns out that we were not the only ones inconvenienced by their incompetence.

 

 

 

When we finally got to gate 134, we told the manager to make the announcements. Another person arrived with a radio. We overheard that there were no available plane for us! They lied to us! They never arranged for a special flight! They were about to announce another flight cancellation when people went wild. The manager had no choice but to request that the plane from Butuan be given to us.

 

 

 

A staff member arrived and they announced that they were going to give us breakfast. They distributed 2 packets of Dewberry cookies and the tiniest mineral water bottle for each passenger! They call that breakfast? After approximately seven hours of waiting deprived of sleep, they couldn’t even offer us a decent meal! There were more that 10 children there and when we asked that they at least given some Jollibee breakfast, the manager said “We’re sorry but we cant do anything. This is all the management allowed to give us.”. How could they do this to us?

 

 

 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we boarded the plane at around 9:00 AM . When we took off, the passengers applauded. A few minutes after, the flight was completely quiet because all of us were tired. We slept but not soundly enough, being constantly reminded about the nightmare that we had just gone through.

 

 

 

We got to Cagayan de Oro and we were thankful to be safe. However, we all resolved to relate this horrible experience to all our family and friends until it reaches Cebu Pacific management. We also all signed a manifesto/complaint to be submitted to concerned agencies so that this unfortunate incident wouldn’t be duplicated.

 

 

 

To date, we are still hearing of cancelled flights and complaints because of incompetence from Cebu Pacific management and staff. We could understand that no one is perfect but there is no excuse for treating people badly. We were not expecting VIP treatment although some airlines give this to their inconvenienced passengers. What made this all intolerable was that fact that we were not treated as human beings. We especially pity the children who had experienced this ordeal. Their innocence has been marred by an airline’s lack of consideration and disrespect for their customers.

 

 

 

We hope that if this reaches the management, they will do something to rectify this mistake. They just lost more than 70 passengers and they will lose so much more soon.

 

This is a horrible experience that anyone shouldn’t be able to go through. I hope it doesn’t happen to any of you.

 

 

 

 

 

May Salvana - Unchuan

earthdate 080608: Some more lessons learned

1.  Not everything sourced from Divisoria is cheaper --- yes the materials are initially cheaper; but the production opens many other unforeseen expenses that at the end of the day, it really does seem better to just contract with someone to do a particular thing (from materials, to labor, to packaging) --- would come off a bit cheaper and less the hassle.  

 

 

 

2.  Warning to companies --- never ever cross lawyers who are bloggers. Hahahaha, imagine the shit we will write about the bad dealings we had. As my theme goes the past months, but-just-complying-with-Kris’-plea-to-just-unleash-my-wrath-after-the-wedding, Berby Strikes Back…Resistance is Futile! Boo-yeah this will be awesome!

 

 

 

3. Mas masaya talaga pumunta sa Divisoria ng weekday or Saturday. Maraming sarado kapag Sunday. Iba rin ang presyo nakukuha ko when I buy on a Saturday and a Sunday. 

 

 

 

4.  Barely two months to go, ngayon pa lang namin hi-ne-headache yung usual na headaches of couples preparing for weddings (bad faith of invite printer, errors sa seamstress et cetera). Soooooo much time lost and wasted over communication barriers with some people kasi, the vetoes on our initial plans, the emotional agony of having to fight for even the simplest decisions that should have been ours to make i.e. date of the wedding, time of the liturgical celebration, venue of reception, godparents. Really frustrating and beyond the realm of a wedding talaga mga issues. Thus, as some of my friends would comment, it is amazing that we are putting up with all these and pushing through the event. At night, I am in awe din and then force myself to sleep or else, the most fantastic solution would really shine through: abort all plans.

 

 

 

5. Ang Marie France, ayaw mag-bigay ng rates via phone. When you go to their clinic, be prepared to come out with a contract worth at the least P50,000.00 (swiped from your credit card)! Hep hep hep, hindi ko personal experience to. I got no such moolah for pagpapa-payat.

 

 

 

6. Clarity has more reasonable laser hair removal package compared with SWI, Belo, Godiva. Pero, mas winner pa rin daw sa derma ni Shey for the same machine used by those mentioned. Ask her if you’re interested J 

 

 

 

7. Fitness First is way more pricey than SWI --- pero, for me, understandable kasi they got better machines, lay-out, and bathrooms. Plus, may sauna pa sila sa bath area.