Dino and Toni closed for summer

tough luck! i arrived sheraton roma in rome on a monday. took a nap and met up with my colleague. we were meaning to go to warner village for a pizza in this very good pizzeria. it was a good thing that we asked the front desk before heading out. we learned that the pizzeria is closed on mondays. bummer!

we ended up ordering food by the pool at the hotel. the ambience was really nice. the weather was perfect and the company of my colleague was comforting. the red wine that i ordered was not that great it costs €12 raim merlot. the iceberg and rocket salad €12 didn't have any rockets in it. i had to ask the waiter for the missing rockets. i thought it flew off to outerspace.

for my main course i ordered for pasta with tuna, olives and capers €18. it was nothing great and i was disappointed. all in all my rating would be a 4 out of 10. it was better than nothing i would say at least we satisfied our hunger pangs.

the next day we headed to the vatican to eat at Dino and Toni along Via Leone IV. We missed our stop and just trusted my nose. we asked around and found out after 30 minutes of walking that we were trodding the wrong path the whole time! it was not actually totally wrong but it would take us an hour and hundreds of steps if we would continue to tread the path that we were taking. it was totally my fault i admit. so i decided to hail a cab. the cab costs €10 and i was willing to pay it fully but my colleagues were insistent that we all share the cost.

finally we stopped in front of Dino and Toni...it was CLOSED!!! bugger!!! i took a closer look and it was just my luck that it was closed from August 04 - August 30 for the summer holidays. i was really looking forward to having that home cooked italian meal at dino and toni. they don't have a menu but the antipasti and pasta dishes that they will serve you will surely satisfy your discerning palate. the host is very accomodating as well even if he could not speak much english. the last time i was there they even offered us limoncello for free after the meal. we took pictures and tried to know each other thru little english and sign language. i was really really disappointed that it was closed. after all the walking and wasted time that we had to go through we ended up eating at the fast food next door. the food was lousy.

after looking at bags at via condotti (the main street where all the high end name brands are housed) snapping some pictures at the spanish steps, eating local gelato and buying a bag and wallet, we headed for our shuttle bus. while walking in via del corso (the main street) we were looking for the pizzeria where we were planning to get some pizza for take away. it was fucking closed!

all in all the experience was highly frustrating if not for the company of my funny and patient colleagues. hopefully the pizzeria at the warner village is open tonight where we will have our dinner...i'm keeping my fingers and my legs crossed.

i saw the sign!!!

yes! everyday i see signs wherever i go. sometimes i find it weird but most of the time i find it exciting it makes my heart skip a beat. i used to pass by these signs before and they never meant anything to me. now i pay more attention to them...i maybe even overly paying attention to them. it could not mean anything...or it could mean everything.

it makes me wonder if men pay attention to signs too? or is it just us women who overthink things and give meaning to any minute detail that come our way or happen to our lives that we account it to signs and significance. beats me...i'm a girl, how would i know?

gone fishing

it was a beautiful sunny day and the warmth of the sun kissed my skin. the day was not to be spent in front of the computer i said to myself. my days have been rolling along like the spinning wheel of a clock. it just kept on spinning around and around. passing the same way over and over again. i figured i was bored. time to do something exciting.

i asked my friend the mouse if she can go fishing with me. this mouse was a very busy mouse. day in and day out she would go out to find food. she was interested and so we went.

the first lake that we visited was huge...it boasted of pristine waters and well manicured bermuda grass with lush gardens. the flowers were oh so colorful and humongous. it was nothing like you've ever seen before. i am positive though that i have been here before. it was so familiar. the smell of the freshly cut grass and the sound of the artificial waterfalls at the farthest side of the lake. i remember being so fond of this lake fishing, swimming to beat the heat or just hanging out up until a migrating alligator spoiled the fun.

this time i have to be wary. i tested the water it was lukewarm. it was very inviting. though i wasn't quite sure if the water was really lukewarm at the deepest end or is it all throughout the lake. i went inside and felt that it was cold below. i could not stand the coldness so i had to get out of the water without catching a fish.

i was a bit hungry by noontime. i have decided that if by mid afternoon i have not caught any fish, i will head to this not so well known river. that would be my last resort. there i am certain that i will catch some fish. eventhough that river did not appear pleasant, i am sure that fish is bountiful there. at least i have a last resort i thought to myself.

mouse in tow we headed for this not-so-grand-looking lake but very inviting and homey at the same time. we felt at home right away and the prospects of catching a fish was great. the mouse didn't want any fish...she just wanted to watch me go for the kill. i normally catch fish with my bear hands or rather claws but this time i also brought my fishing rod along with me.

i was getting ready to go into the water when i stopped halfway. i could not possibly dive into the water. what in the world was i doing? i'm a cat! cats don't do that! but this lake had a hypnotizing effect on me. i was sinking little by little...inch by inch. i had to fight the overpowering effect that this lake has on me. i have to ask for help...

wait...mouse! mouse! mouse? why are you applauding me and cheering at me even? gosh! mouse thought i was a dog! mouse thought i was just waving at her! oh my gosh! what should i do?! cat's can't swim!!! when i said i can catch fish with my barehands, i catch them in the fish bowl! when i almost touched the bottom of the lake i paddled hard with my claws out and finally reached the surface again.

i was catching my breath when i was lying on the carabao grass with mouse.

"why didn't you save me or asked for help?" i asked mouse

"you looked good inside the lake. i thought you were lovin' it." replied the mouse

it was evening already. empty-handed i was not hungry anymore. i couldn't muster any enough energy to go to the river. the experience that i had in that second lake was too much to handle. i love fish but no thanks...i'll stick with fancy feast.

oh no!

it was a rude awakening. i heard his voice...is it true? could it be him? i opened my eyes. oh fuck! it was a familiar face but it wasn't him. then an old familiar feeling ran through my body. how could it be that after 8 years it's all coming back to me now?

i knew it...i made a mistake. why on earth do i have to dig into something that was well kept under the ground for so long? i don't understand. i am confused. why would i want to hurt myself all over again? why would i want to ride that rollercoaster ride again when i know that it has more and bigger loops now?

it is the mouse's fault. i have to stop now. i don't want this overwhelming feeling again. i can't. it's too much trouble. i'm fucked...again. tangina

a very curious cat

i am a curious cat. a very curious cat. i will not stay inside the house and check if that ugly slobbering dog is outside the house waiting for me. i'll risk the chase. i will have a distraction though. i have talked to the mouse and the mouse will step out of that door with me.

i would like to find out if that dog will scare me of or maybe i can scare him off. i might be bigger than that old dog for all i know. i have to prepare myself for this. i can't be taken down without a fight.

off for the chase.

what have i done?

oh no! what have i done?! i have opened pandora's box. i kept it hidden under the bed for so many years. it's been a while since i have last seen that box. i used to clean it all the time and try to pry it open to no avail. now...the time has come. it baffles me...what is inside that box? am i ready to see the revelation of this mysterious case? i have to admit...it scares me.

why are we so scared to find out the unknown? do we really want to know the truth? are we ready to embrace the spectacle of life being held inside the box? what is it that we truly want to know?

what's wrong with me? is daily life too hohum for me that i seek for adventure in that dark forbidden forest of the east. i shall find out for i am a curious cat.

delayed again...what's new?

darn it! why is does it always happen to me? our wake up call and pick up time has been delayed for 15 mins. i knew something fishy was going on. somehow i can sense that the delay will be more than that. somehow i could feel that when we get to jfk airport we will still need to wait for an hour or so. i know that the company is aware of the delay but for some reason want us out of the hotel and hang around at the airport.

the first time it happened to me, i was still in my hotel room all made up for the flight, when at 11:30am i didn't receive any wake up call. wtf?! we waited and waited and waited. good thing my friend the gullible sent me a big platter of quesadillas with edible orchids. i shared it with my colleagues of the same nationality (we stuck together on that flight). we didn't get any instructions from the company or the airport manager. at 6pm i was so worried about the rest of the crew who might be getting hungry because everybody was standing by their phones. i called the manager (who's running around like a headless chicken i suppose) and got the word that we were leaving the next day because of technical problems. we left the next day indeed.

the funny thing is, CBA regulations are very strict on the maximum flying time or duty time of crew members. our rest periods are essential to the safety of the flights. the more rested the crew are, the better they can function. the maximum duty time that we can operate is 19 hours and upon the captain's discretion it can be up to 21 hours.

when we got to the airport we were given food vouchers that we can use at the fast food shops. half of the crew decided to get mc donald's, the other half wanted to get starbucks. i went with starbucks. you guessed it...the young ones went to the other store and the older ones to the other. i won't tell at which age group i ended up going with...but you will know anyway. each of us were to spend $5.00 only, yay! that would go a long way! haha. i got a hot green tea to wake me up and a croissant just in case. after the last crew got her drink, there was still $8.00 left to spend since not everyone got to spend the whole $5.00 each. we got 2 brownies just to spend all the money.

finally after 3 hours of waiting at the airport the ground staff and the captain decided to let us rest at the closest hotel. he reasoned that we can either operate up until we reach korea or japan then another set of crew will take over and operate the rest of the leg, or stay at the nearest hotel and have a minimum of 10 hours of rest.

i would opt for the first one if you will ask me. i want to get to our base ASAP and catch a flight back home. i still have to set up for a party in one of the hotels. which reminds me, my partner will kill me for i have the decorations needed at the party. i just picked it up here in new york.

we were billeted at the best western kennedy inn. my gosh...the lobby so tiny that some of us had to stand outside of the hotel! it was about the size of one room. the front desk was totally not ready for us. we waited for more than 30 minutes to get our room keys. the elevator could fit 2 people and there was only one of them. no room service whatsoever. we were in the middle of nowhere. we are not familiar with this area so we have decided to either stay in the hotel and starve or go out together to grab some food.

i was lucky enough to have my croissant with me that i got from starbucks. i might need it for later. my only regret..i was thinking of filling up my small evian water before we left the doubletree hotel earlier and carry it with me. i decided not to because we have a lot of bottled water inflight anyway. that's what i thought! lesson learned.

now i have to get some rest (which started some 2 hours ago) and hopefully won't be getting hungry anytime soon. otherwise i'll chew on my nails...

the only good thing about this place...free internet! woo hoo! that's why i was able to upload this blog. thank you best western. you are not that bad after all.

just a dream

i should not have written a blog about you. now i still think about you.

okay let's see. if i get it out of my chest, maybe then you will go away. please go away?

now i will try to recall the moments that we shared that seemed like a dream.

first time i laid my eyes on you, i was at the tail of the plane at the farthest distance from you when you walked in. i spotted you right away. at 50 feet or so i could still make out your inexplicable regalness and towering good looks. you surely caught my eye. i made sure that within that 2 hours and a half flight i will find out something about you.

i instantly recognized your name. of course! it's printed in one of the country's denominations. now that made me more curious for i am a curious cat. my fascination grew when i talked to you.

after that first encounter, like my colleagues, i will just drool all over you whenever you are on board. you would make my day. you were just a dream.

i left my old job for greener pastures. one fateful night my phone rang and it was you at the other end of the line. you just don't know...you made my dream come true. funny how we talked for hours and met so many times. trying to hide our feelings from each other with the company of your employee.

the problem was...even if i was living the dream, it still felt like it was a dream. even if i was in it, i was still dreaming about it. the plane that you own and fly, the island, the car racing, i loved the excitement of knowing that i was travelling with you when you were campaigning for your dad as the president. you were my sport, my adrenaline rush.

i felt your sadness, i felt your fears, i even thought you would break down in tears. i loved you and how i loved that you loved me too. then i realized we were different. we could not possibly be together. you have your responsibilities and i have mine. the time was not right when we almost woke up to that deafening alarm.

i had to go. i had to let you go. i had to wake up from that deep slumber. i was hoping you'd wake up too.

but one night you came into my dream again. it was too late. i was in another person's dream. wrong dream i said right into your face. it was sad. up to this day i don't know if it was right for me to have woken up from that dream without you.

now i'm falling asleep. i beg you please not to get into my dreams again.