On the road

May 12th
Well, trains, planes and an automobile.

Interesting, getting to the airport and seeing the long lines to check in. Then remembering that I am traveling business class and I walk over to the place with no lines.
A nice young lady checks me in, asks of seat preference. Aisle is the only one.
She noticed my size, and gave me an emergency exit row on my connecting flight. No need to ask. Such a nice, observant clerk.
Since the flight is not full, she explains, there will be no need to stop in Guam for fuel. A nineteen hour flight shrinks to fourteen. That makes it easier for a smoker, but long flights have never bothered me.
A few cigarettes in the cool San Francisco air. It is to be enjoyed, for Cebu is hot and humid.
Business class is very different. Besides the bigger seats and wonderful leg room, you are not expected to do anything. I am not used to being waited on, but I can survive.
A full meal and then I say awake as long as possible. Sleep takes me for eight hours.
Breakfast served by cheerful faces, I wonder if they got to sleep a little. I hope so.
I have lost all track of time. Is it 10 am at home, or 1am in Cebu. Am I supposed to take my cholesterol drug now? Later? What about my allergy meds, and will I really need them? I guess I’ll wait until I get to the airport.

I could have changed to an earlier flight from Manila, to Cebu, since I’ll be arriving much earlier; but there is no way to call the driver and arrange for a pickup. So a three hour layover in Manila is to be endured. At least they are civilized and there is a smoking section with a coffee shop. Perhaps one latte will get me there. It’s 5AM here, 2PM at home and I wonder what my sweetheart is doing? Probably relaxing with a Pepsi, after mowing lawns and cleaning up the yard. This will be the longest ever that you and I have been apart for over twenty-five years. Perhaps I will have more to keep me busy, miss you not so much.
I miss you now.


Arrival part 2
I worked on a story, while waiting for my connecting flight to Cebu. I can polish it later. I begin to feel sleepy, so the last half hour was spent walking the airport.
I managed a little sleep on the plane.

The driver picked me up on time and it was an interesting drive to the hotel. A mix of new construction and run down poor areas. I am still not sure how people manage to drive with the mix of controlled chaos, but they manage.

I was a little early getting to the hotel, eleven o’clock, but they had a clean room ready so I was able to get settled right away. A nice shower, then a few hours nap.

I awoke mostly refreshed and made it to the lobby in time to meet the first of the PPG’s, Blossom. We walked over to the mall and meet Buttercup, then Bubbles. We wandered around, then sat at a café and caught up with our lives.
It is so nice to have friends in faraway places! I don’t miss my sweetheart quite as much.
Then we all went upstairs and had a nice dinner. All the time yaking.
We eventually finished and went back to the hotel. Blossom drove, she finally had her license and her BF let her use the car. She is still a little nervous, but she drives okay.
They waited in the lobby, while I went to the room and got their gifts.
A short goodbye and I was off to sleep.
PPG's and me

Monday and Tuesday have been a bit of a blur. Meeting the planning group and chatting with them for a while. Then meeting the call center supervisors and chatting for a while. Mostly covering who would meet with whom, what would be talked about and setting up meetings.
Tuesday I started the training of a planner, then two late sessions with the call center agents. It went well and I hope tomorrow, they will have more questions. Part of that was just to get them comfortable with me.
Got back to the room at 12:30 am and now I am relaxing before I go to sleep.

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I am kept quite busy, but not too busy to miss my Wonder Girl! It is the quiet times like right now, as I write to her, that I miss her the most. To look at her pretty face and see her smile. The pictures she sent help, but they also make me miss her more.

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Sunday

Saturday I slept in, took my time getting ready. I swam and sat by the pool, then got cleaned up and went for a walk in the mall.
At 2pm, I met with some of the call center people and we went for a drive around the city.
We stopped at Magellan’s cross and looked in the old cathedral there.
Then it was off to the old Spanish fort of San Diego.
As we drove through certain parts of town, Leeza would tell me that these were not places for an American to walk by himself!
Then a long drive up into the hills to a Taoist temple. There were some good views of Cebu and it was a little cooler. From there we went higher to a nature park and messed around. There were some good views from there too.

Then we all piled back into the van and went to another great dinner. They neglected to tell me not to eat this green leaf in the soup! I almost burned my tongue off! The soup was good, but I was careful after that.

Some people went home then and the remaining six of us went to a karaoke place and spent an hour singing songs and being silly. I would show you the video, but there is a law in California against subjecting people to cruel and unusual things.

Interesting, the differences in the PPGs. While Bubbles was a little quiet today, Leeza was all excited. She has a fun smile and personality like WG’s mom. Everything was a fun adventure. Even when we were not sure where we were going, it was all an adventure!



Sunday I was up early and we were off to the beach resort. Once there, we rented a boat for the day and went ‘island hopping’. You cruise for a while in the small catamaran, then stop and swim. Most everyone would wear a life jacket, except Sharon. So she and I would swim around and dive down to look at the fish.
If you take some brad and hold it in your hand, all the little fishes swarm around your hand, nibbling the bread. They also nibble your hand! Kinda of a weird feeling! It was fun listening to the ladies squeal as the fish swarmed around them!

We ate roasted chicken, rice balls, peeled ripe mangoes with our teeth and fingers. Laughed and made messes. The PPG’s made a point to bring a couple of beers for me to enjoy.

We traveled to several islands and swam at each one.

By the end of the day, we were tired. But Josie(the call center manager) came back to the hotel at five and took me out to dinner, with her two teenage sons, and a friend of theirs.
They are all so much fun!
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I try to write to my sweetheart, but it is difficult.
I would like to tell her how much I miss her, but my eyes fill with tears too easily and it is hard to type.
I cannot wait to be back in her arms again, where I belong.

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Thursday

My work here is almost done. One more day, then I fly to Manila and see Pip. Two more days and I’ll be back in my sweethearts’ arms. In twenty-five years of marriage, this is the longest that we have been apart. It has been tough, but everyone is so warm and friendly here, it makes it bearable. I almost feel bad about leaving them.
Almost, but not quite.

The training has gone well and I think that the lines of communication are stronger now. It is tough, being a in the Keep on the borderlands. You are far from the center of the Kingdom and word can travel slowly and get garbled. Being there in person, one can pass the knowledge better. Better that it is a nice, smiling face. It helps people understand how things work back at the hub. It helps us understand the issues of being far away from the hub.
I build friendships this way. Friendships that last and are renewed when I return. It makes the stay here so pleasant.

The supervisors and their manager have training today, for three days. Luckily, it was here in the Marriott. When I got back to the Hotel, I met them in the lobby. Yes, there was the joke about them being my ‘lobby ladies’. It was raining, so we took a cab over to the other end of the mall and had a drink and some dinner. Cathy loves Baily’s Irish Cream. While we snacked, we chatted up a storm. You learn a few more things about each person. I already know Bubbles and Buttercup, getting to know Josie, but I have not had a lot of time to chat with Cathy. (note, I seriously need nicknames for J & C)
(folks, if you travel to Cebu, go local. And not just because the Cerveza Negra is quite good, but they are not so good at American food. They are great at the local specialties and when they mix Cebuano cooking with Chinese. So eat the local food, it is sooo good)

An amusing note. We were seated near the air conditioner and I was loving it! Poor Cathy was getting cold. Now usually, a guy would offer his coat; but there is no way I would even carry a coat in this heat and humidity. Funny how people get acclimated to the local weather, weather that does not change a lot. I am used to broader swings in temperature and I do like cooler weather more than hot.

Then it was time to go. They had to be home and to bed, for they had more training

Friday.
May 26th
So it was goodbye hugs all around and Josie says that she will have me back. I welcome a return, but if I have done my job well, I will not need to be back for some time. I will miss their smiling faces.

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Notes-
Okay guys, it doesn’t work.
The bathrooms at the plant are not air-conditioned. So it is hot and humid in there. So, what do they give you to dry your hands? One of those hot air blowers. Come on! The air is already saturated, so nothing evaporates off your hands!