Flight Fright

1:25AM

A bit of a scare... Got to NAIA 3 in plebty of time before my flight back to Taipei earlier tonight... All's well, though crowded, check in still went smoothly.... And even with the kind of weather we have been having, the plane took of at exactly the rime it was supposed to....

25 mins into our flight, thr plane made a sharp all aroind left turn... Then the Capt came on the speakers informing us that we have just made a turn back ino Manila , and for the cabin crew to prepare the cabin for landing as we will be landing shortly... No other reason given....

After we have landed...  We taxied and got to a gate - nothing was still said... No additional info... Then, they opened up the door and finally the stewardess got on the intetcom to inform us we will be switching gates... Gates? I think she meant plane.... I hoped she meant plane....

It was plane alright.... A little pass midnite, we are boarding once more... once seated, they Captain just got on the intercom once more and apologized again for the inconvenience - without much more said about what just happened....   Oh well, what do you expect: "Budget Airline, Budgeted Info" - hahahahahahahaha........
  

At about 12:30AM, the time we ahould have arrived in Taipei, we took off for the 2nd time... They did say the 2nd time is a charm, right?

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another disaster upon us...

Am sure by now most, if not all, of us have heard about the Earthquake that shook the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday, Jan 12th. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles west from the Caribbean nation's capital of Port-au-Prince. No confirmed DEATH TOLL count as of yet, but listening to BBC radio this morning, I heard that it is already in the Tens and thousands... so the as soon as some kind of DEATH TOLL appears, it will go down in history as another disaster where countless lives were lost....
So, I was talking with a few friends about the horrors of it all... swapping stories of the BIG Quakes: in San Francisco ('89) and here in Taiwan ('91) - both of which I have managed to experience and survived... of course everyone has a different opinion... Act of God, Mother Nature, and so on... and at times like these, one thing is always sure to be questioned: "WHERE IS GOD?"

Am not really a religious person, but I do hold on to my beliefs... I do believe in God... I believe that he will not give us anymore than we can handle.... and God is everywhere you see/find Love... and in the case of Haiti - God is where the VOLUNTEERS are...

God is where the countless Medical volunteers; the soldiers; the firefighters and the trained sniff dogs; the countries extending a helping hand and sending relief aids, money or otherwise...

God is where the many regular people, such as you and me, who will donate their time, money, material (clothing & food) and whatever else we can that we feel the the victims will be needing...

and God is where the Haitians who suffered from these calamity and still managed to get back and help one another... not take advantage of the situation to loot and cause more havoc....

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Spring Cleaning in Winter...

...NOT A FUN THING AT ALL - no matter what time of the year!!!
This MUST be my HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE!!! and to think, this is the most organized room of all.... LOLs!!!

...Not at all in the Spirit of XMas....

Just a little while ago, my housemate Lyn, was telling me about an article she read on today's, paper earlier today... it happened in Tainan, a couple of hours away from Taipei....

It seems an older man was a victim of hit and run which he survived... but was hit badly that he could not get up fast... it seems no one bothered to help this man at all -- but there were bystanders... along came another car and hit him again - this time fatally...

Alas, no punch lines guys... this is a TRUE STORY right from Taiwan's newspaper for the day...

It is a SAD state when you hear about these things... a simple act of kindness or showing concern for a fellow human being could mean saving a life... and yet, so many people do not want to get involved...

Are we so NUMB to what's going on around us?
And is it maybe from all the SADNESS & DEVASTATION we have witnessed in our lives?
How can we expect to get along with our neighbouring countries when we cannot even show concerns for our own countrymen???

No Matter, there are NO EXCUSES to not knowing that it is our GOD GIVEN RIGHT to lend a hand, show care, & compassion for our fellow men - to just REACH OUT and TOUCH somebody's Hand, somebody's Heart...
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Truly not a story one would like to read in keeping with the Xmas Spirits.... makes one think of all the other bad stuff happening in the world, of late, the mindless bombings in MUMBAI, India.... senselessly, so many lives were lost...

Uh Oh, I Don't Think So!

Just got back from the Supermarket - where I had one of the WORST and BEST experiences ever - shopping... this is my neighborhood supermarket, Carrefour... I go there practically 2 or 3 times a week -- to pick up this and that... so for the most part I know everyone who works there and vice versa... Never had any kinds of problems... I go in... pick up my things... pay... leave.... everything runs smooth as they should - always... TILL TODAY!

I should have known not to get in line to a new employee's counter.... But no choice... she was the only one not helping anyone... that should have tipped me off right of the bat... anyway I just wanted to get my milk and eggs so I go up to her...

-Never mind that she did not say hello or welcome....
-Never mind that she did not even, at least once, smiled... or even look at me...
-Never mind that she did not even ask me for my POINT card... in most places in Taiwan you do get a VIP Point card and you accumulate points for this and that later on...
-Never mind that she did not even hand me back my Point card properly... (she basically threw it on the counter back at me..).

I was trying to IGNORE all that, shrugging it off to the fact that she might be having a BAD day... and just wanting to get done with it and leave... but when I PAID for my things, handed her my Amex card, she took her sweet time swiping it... then just handed me the slip without saying a thing... and after signing it - she did the same thing with my card... threw it on the counter for me to pick up... that did it.... so I had to ask her in my own COMMAND of CHINESE: "XIAOJIE, nii you wenti ma?" (Miss, do you have a problem?)... without even batting an eyelash, she snappily replied: "Meiyou, nii you wenti ma?" (no, do YOU have a problem?).... WHOAH!!! I snapped... so I told her: "Wo bu zhidao wei shemme nii bu gaoxing, keshi wo shi curren eh?" (I do not know why you are so unhappy, but am a customer...)... to which she just replied: "Souyi le?" (and so what?)...

That did me in... nothing to do but cause a scene and call for a MANAGER - i demanded to speak to the Laoban (Manager).... and of course, the minute I asked for a manager she turned red and the expression on her face totally changed.... the manager came, as did the security guard...... and luckily, they were both someone have spoken with before in passing... just simple hello and smiles.... so right off the bat I knew I can explain my side... throughout the salesperson did not deny anything... just looked on with the "so what!" expression on her face.. which was obviously apparent to the manager and security guard too... and to top it all off, she did not even APOLOGIZE.... BIIIG MISTAKE...

To make the long story short, OK shorter, as I know this is already long, the MANAGER Apologized for her.... and then, pulled her aside an gave her a talk in front of me.... basically berated her.... even went as far as to say (with the Security Guy nodding in agreeance) that I am one of their FRIENDLIEST and most POLITE customer - and did not warrant to be treated like so... OKAY, hearing all that made it all up to me already, what she was saying was MUSIC to my ears.... MY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE QUICKLY WENT DOWN, for sure!
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So if there should be any morals to the story, it would be these two things for me:

1) Now and again, it is Good to stand your point... need not be an underdog all the time.... especially when there is a POINT to MAKE!

2) It is always good to be nice, polite and friendly -- as you never know when you will be seeing or needing the help of those others ,you come in contact with on a daily basis, again..
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Okay, Out of the SYSTEM.....
Happy Friday to you all!!!
Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Sunday, Bloody Sunday!!!

Am so glad that this day is just about over.... it was just a loooong roller coaster ride for me today... filled with frustrations, confusions, & plain sadness... Sometimes, I really wish I can just yell at the top of my lungs: "STOP THIS ROLLERCOASTER, I WANT TO GET OFF!!!" But such is life.... my life to be exact.... so, as always, I just go with the flow of things....

Always keeping in mind that it is: "Time to move on. Tomorrow is a new day."

The Happening - Review

Category: Movies
Genre: Horror
M. Night Shyamalan, the writer/director of such hits as Sixth Sense, The Village & Signs, is back with his newest project in two years, The Happening.

A movie that started off with so much promise of an environmental disaster of great proportion ended up being such a let down of a movie. It is not to say that it did not have it's moments... actually so many of the opening scenes were sooooo disturbing I can understand why it did not sell well here in Taiwan. At the showing I caught, an elderly couple even walked out of the theater. At their shocking best, some scenes were so disturbingly so -- I cringed at the edge of my seat and turned away from the screen..... be permeating this invisible monster through the entire movie and making his very first R Rated film, the director boosts the fear factor and delivered some of the scariest moments I have seen in a horror movie. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Ashlyn Sanchez, Betty Buckley.

Unfortunately, overall, the edge-of-your-seat horror and shocking images instilled in the audiences minds are the only things the movie has going for it... Mark Wahlberg did the best he could and Betty Buckley, as an old creepy - loony woman, stands out... but everyone else seems to be NOT affected by what is HAPPENING.... and some acting was downright mediocre.