a little trackback...

~ tuesday, 8 july ~ 

• frantic last-minute preparations for the coffee shop opening that night
• quick dental appointment at 5:00 in the afternoon and done at 7:0o in the evening!!!
• i missed the opening program of the coffee shop, the ribbon-cutting, the challenging speech from our favorite professor cum academic fraternity adviser in the university, and the inspirational message from our guest Pastor David Kim of the Mercyville Orphanage. 
• but i got to meet all the other guests who were enjoying the dinner prepared by our cook, and i found my mom busy in the kitchen (as usual), and doing the dishes in the speed of light. she's a guru in that, and the kitchen staffs are about to get the training from her.
• friends dropped by, and i said my goodbyes that same night too.
• we were back in the apartment at 12 midnight, and while J and H hurried to their beds again dead-tired, i had to finish packing and cleaning out my crap.
• i fell asleep on the bean bag on the floor, surrounded by an overflowing suitcase which i got tired of attempting to stuff and close and miserably failed at.

~ wednesday, 9 july ~

• i woke up at 6:00 in the morning and finally decided to leave most of the clothes and crafting ephemera, and only made sure i had the barako coffee for kj and the dried fruits from my friend hanah.
• my friend janlee, who works very early at the airport, took my suitcase and ticket with her on her way to work to check me in at the airport early. she knows i'm always running late.
• groggy from what little sleep i managed to have, i called the taxi to pick me up from the apartment and to take the rest of my crap to my parents' house. 
• hanah and i bid our goodbyes and there were lots of tears and sobbings. we were together for more than a year in the apartment and never had one single squabble. she's more like family to me already.
• i dropped by my Lolo Kune to say goodbye, and emotions at this time started running high.
• i was crying in the taxi already until i arrived home, quickly unloaded my crap, gave last minute instructions to my mom what to do with them, then hopped back on the taxi with her and my dad to the airport.
• an hour before my flight, we were at the airport trying to be cheerful, then my friends came, what a beautiful sight, and they were there to say goodbye to me.
• then it was boarding time, and i have to run inside.
• more, more tears, and sobbings, and sniffles, and blowings of the noses.
• then i cried more on the plane, and everything was a blur until i was in manila.

~ thursday, 10 july ~

• had breakfast with my former colleague don at mcdonald's
• my friend chao picked me from the hotel and saw me off with don at the airport
• a little bit sentimental, but the tears were easier to hold
• got text messages from my family and friends before my flight and again, unabashedly cried at the pre-departure gate.
• flew with etihad airways at 4:00 in the afternoon
• arrived in abu dhabi after 7 hours flying for a 6-hour stop-over
• amazed that SO MANY filipinos work in the airport, from the ground personnel to the customer service, to the shops, everywhere!
• was very tired and sleepy and sweaty in abu dhabi, but enjoyed the new sights anyway. a totally different world for me.

~ friday, 11 july ~

• boarded the last leg of my flight at 2:00 in the morning with etihad again. 
• amazed again, so many filipinos on the crew
• sat next with an irishman, and for the first few hours, he gave me life lessons he learned himself, and then he started talking how different a father's love for his daughter is (having 2 daughters himself), and i was crying again. i made him cry too, so we were a sentimental pair high up above the air.
• flying low in dublin and approaching the airport, he pointed down to dublin's gloomy landscape, and said that's summer in ireland.
• arrived in dublin at almost 8:00 in the morning, and we went down right on the tarmac with the COLD wind biting on my face and exposed hands.
• had a smooth interview with immigration official and after a quick touch-up in the restroom, met the husband who was patiently waiting outside.
• *fireworks*
• hugged and kissed with cold hands and lips

~ to be continued, pictures to come tomorrow.... ~