skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Day 1 Part-A
My ten day trip to the Philippines to meet Merly began the evening of 25 October. I had been nervously excited for this trip; and when the airport shuttle arrived for me, the sensations slightly intensified. The driver was a talkative guy with a good nature. He was giving all sorts of advice about the weather I was to expect, foods to eat and the people in gereral. His next stop before going to san francisco airport was a couple heading for Atlanta. During the ride to the airport, the wife and driver got into a pleasant conversation about the trucking industry. The driver was once a long hauler and the lady was currently operations manager for a local company. The dialog was most interesting and eventually we arrived to the airport at approximately 830pm. Inside the terminal for the area of Philippines AirLines was a ginormously long line. The line filled the roped portion then continued far out into the walkway. I was quietly amazed of how many people were waiting to check in. I also noticed no activity at the counters. The agents were standing about doing nothing. I continued my way to the end of the line which was about 100 yards from the counter. I checked the time of 835pm and had a moment of curiosity: why aren't the passengers getting checked in? As if my question was heard, a staff member came out and announced that there was a computer system problem and it was preventing the check in procedures. Once the system was restored, they would begin check in as fast and efficiently as possible. TIme passed slowly for me so I tried to play my electronic Boggle word game to keep me distracted. Since the scheduled departure time was for 1030pm, I was concerned if we would leave on time. At about 945pm the system was back on line and the line started slowly moving. It took about 35 minutes for me to reach the counter. I kept a pleasant and positive attitude when it was my turn with the agent. I handed her my passport and reservation papers and she asked jokingly if the huge stuffed bear (as Merly's gift) I was carrying also had a passport. For whatever reason I did not know (my physical size or her ability to read my subtle concerns) she assigned me an aisle seat. Then she gave me directions to the security checkpoint as the passengers were boarding. I repeated the directions and took off at a fast walking pace. I approached the checkpoint with passport and boarding pass in one hand and bigbear in the other. One of the security guards stroked the head of bigbear then winked and grinned after checking my documents. In one section of the checkpoint, I had to remove my shoes, belt, watch and any items that could potentially signal the sensors. People were moving as fast as possible and the guards were also moving as possible. The moment I cleared the sensors, I rushed to get my possessions and rushed to the boarding gate. About 1/3 of the way I realized I had forgotten my watch. I hesitated for a moment to decide if I wanted to go back for it or continue on without. Even though I had purchased the watch for only 5 USD, I decided to go back for it mostly because it was orginally intended for my Stargate SG unit costume. (I would later be grateful to have the watch as my cellphone would soon drain out out power and unable to recharge)
I hurried back to the last security checkpoint and looked into the content bins I thought I had just used. I saw nothing and one of the checkers saw me and asked my purpose. I explained of my missing watch so we first went to the office to check the lost and found bins inside. He came back out and said nothing was returned. I was not so bothered as much as I wanted to make sure I got to the plane in time. He directed me to the line that I was in and asked another staff about any missing watches. As I dropped my head to focus on hearing his words and accent, I saw my watch on the floor underneath the table! I got their attention and he reached down to retrieve for me. I gave my appreciations; then this time I ran to the boarding gate with a couple other men. As we approached the gate, we slowed to a fast past and none of us were breathing hard but had the silent grin of comoraderie for that moment. As I waited in the moving line to enter the plane, I could hear the engines of the 747-400 and my thoughts were of Merly. I was now just hours away from holding and kissing her for the first time since we have met over a year ago. There was the fleeting thought of all this effort to meet the lady of my life. The excitement was a delightful sensation. For the first time in my life I was now inside a 747. I quickly scanned the interior as mental images from a lifetime of photographs and movie scenes of 747 cabins flashed in my mind. I located my Seat D Row 85 and stowed my shoulder bag and big bear in the overhead storage. I took my seat and waited for the others to arrive in my row. Once they arrived and got settled into their seats, I buckled in and resumed my thoughts of Merly and trying to mentally calcuate the time differences of san francisco and the Philippines. About another 15 minutes, all the passengers were seated and ready then the aircraft began to move. My excitement slowly turned to a sense of calm as the crew made final preparations for take off; while at the same time, the video variation of the safety procedures played out. Within moments, Philippine Air Lines flight 105 san francisco to Manila with a technical stop in Guam accelerated on the runway. I felt the sensation of sinking into my seat as the acceleration increased then the aircraft angled upwards in the night sky. I also felt the pressure on my ears and I equalized as best as I could and smiled as I was now beginning my journey to my Merlywinda.
My ten day trip to the Philippines to meet Merly began the evening of 25 October. I had been nervously excited for this trip; and when the airport shuttle arrived for me, the sensations slightly intensified. The driver was a talkative guy with a good nature. He was giving all sorts of advice about the weather I was to expect, foods to eat and the people in gereral. His next stop before going to san francisco airport was a couple heading for Atlanta. During the ride to the airport, the wife and driver got into a pleasant conversation about the trucking industry. The driver was once a long hauler and the lady was currently operations manager for a local company. The dialog was most interesting and eventually we arrived to the airport at approximately 830pm. Inside the terminal for the area of Philippines AirLines was a ginormously long line. The line filled the roped portion then continued far out into the walkway. I was quietly amazed of how many people were waiting to check in. I also noticed no activity at the counters. The agents were standing about doing nothing. I continued my way to the end of the line which was about 100 yards from the counter. I checked the time of 835pm and had a moment of curiosity: why aren't the passengers getting checked in? As if my question was heard, a staff member came out and announced that there was a computer system problem and it was preventing the check in procedures. Once the system was restored, they would begin check in as fast and efficiently as possible. TIme passed slowly for me so I tried to play my electronic Boggle word game to keep me distracted. Since the scheduled departure time was for 1030pm, I was concerned if we would leave on time. At about 945pm the system was back on line and the line started slowly moving. It took about 35 minutes for me to reach the counter. I kept a pleasant and positive attitude when it was my turn with the agent. I handed her my passport and reservation papers and she asked jokingly if the huge stuffed bear (as Merly's gift) I was carrying also had a passport. For whatever reason I did not know (my physical size or her ability to read my subtle concerns) she assigned me an aisle seat. Then she gave me directions to the security checkpoint as the passengers were boarding. I repeated the directions and took off at a fast walking pace. I approached the checkpoint with passport and boarding pass in one hand and bigbear in the other. One of the security guards stroked the head of bigbear then winked and grinned after checking my documents. In one section of the checkpoint, I had to remove my shoes, belt, watch and any items that could potentially signal the sensors. People were moving as fast as possible and the guards were also moving as possible. The moment I cleared the sensors, I rushed to get my possessions and rushed to the boarding gate. About 1/3 of the way I realized I had forgotten my watch. I hesitated for a moment to decide if I wanted to go back for it or continue on without. Even though I had purchased the watch for only 5 USD, I decided to go back for it mostly because it was orginally intended for my Stargate SG unit costume. (I would later be grateful to have the watch as my cellphone would soon drain out out power and unable to recharge)
I hurried back to the last security checkpoint and looked into the content bins I thought I had just used. I saw nothing and one of the checkers saw me and asked my purpose. I explained of my missing watch so we first went to the office to check the lost and found bins inside. He came back out and said nothing was returned. I was not so bothered as much as I wanted to make sure I got to the plane in time. He directed me to the line that I was in and asked another staff about any missing watches. As I dropped my head to focus on hearing his words and accent, I saw my watch on the floor underneath the table! I got their attention and he reached down to retrieve for me. I gave my appreciations; then this time I ran to the boarding gate with a couple other men. As we approached the gate, we slowed to a fast past and none of us were breathing hard but had the silent grin of comoraderie for that moment. As I waited in the moving line to enter the plane, I could hear the engines of the 747-400 and my thoughts were of Merly. I was now just hours away from holding and kissing her for the first time since we have met over a year ago. There was the fleeting thought of all this effort to meet the lady of my life. The excitement was a delightful sensation. For the first time in my life I was now inside a 747. I quickly scanned the interior as mental images from a lifetime of photographs and movie scenes of 747 cabins flashed in my mind. I located my Seat D Row 85 and stowed my shoulder bag and big bear in the overhead storage. I took my seat and waited for the others to arrive in my row. Once they arrived and got settled into their seats, I buckled in and resumed my thoughts of Merly and trying to mentally calcuate the time differences of san francisco and the Philippines. About another 15 minutes, all the passengers were seated and ready then the aircraft began to move. My excitement slowly turned to a sense of calm as the crew made final preparations for take off; while at the same time, the video variation of the safety procedures played out. Within moments, Philippine Air Lines flight 105 san francisco to Manila with a technical stop in Guam accelerated on the runway. I felt the sensation of sinking into my seat as the acceleration increased then the aircraft angled upwards in the night sky. I also felt the pressure on my ears and I equalized as best as I could and smiled as I was now beginning my journey to my Merlywinda.
1 comment:
Hello allie001, I read about your trip to Biliran with great interest and I appreciate the level of your narative.
I am planning a trip to Tacloban City this year and to see my Sweetheart who is from the Island of Daram, just east of Biliran.
So all those details about exchanging currency,remembering the gifts,possible overwhelming culture shock, flying high in the sky,etc were interesting to me and I thank you for your attention to detail.
I wish you and your wife all the Best,
Roy
Post a Comment