Can't Hold my breath that long

Well for those of you who don't know it I finally home. Yesterday on the plane I was imagining walking up the front stairs and thinking about what I would do first. Of course the way I planned things never turn out the way you think they will, always a bit of a funny twist to them. :)

Travel Log:

5 Am leave Hotel in Manila. It was kind of weird turning over the room keys to someone that morning. I hadn't grown fond of the room but it felt unreal leaving it.

Around 6am arrived finally at the NW Business class secret room, for those of you who plan on ever flying out of Manila to the US you have to pay this unknown fee to the tune of $20 to leave the airport and board your plane, which was the crazies thing I ever heard about. I was lucky that my co-worker had a few extra bucks on him and I was about to pass GO.

The flight from Manila to Japan was about 3 hours and just remember eating and maybe watching a bit of a movie. I was pretty tired but decided that I must stay awake so that I would sleep on the 10 hour flight from Japan to LAX.

6pm Japan time: Finally left the airport after being delayed for a 3 hours, I never got the story about why we were delayed. I guess it will have to go into the same pot about why there were never any toilet seats in the womans restroom at the call center. HUM?

The Japan flight was a little more blurry then the Manila flight. I think I ate dinner and desert then I was out like a light. But before dinner I was able to exchange stories with the guy next to me who was coming home from Japan after a 2 week stay. Oh boy Japan sounds so much like Irvine, the exact opposite of Manila. He said that the cars actually drove inside the lines, and if it was a 3 car lane then 3 cars were in the lane unlike Manila were you might find up to 6 cars in 3 lanes. Oh man that was crazy. TJ said it sounded much like the drivers of Washington. I just laughed.

So at the Japan airport the guys wanted to get a bite to eat can you guess were this was taken
?



As you might have guessed the closer I got to LAX the more my ADD started to kick in. My co-workers couldn't help by laugh at me. I think I would be laughing also if I could see myself.

Anyhow we landed and finally got our bags after a bit of a misunderstanding and headed though customs and finally out the door to my awaiting town car. It was kind of cool to see my name on a sign with someone waiting for me.

About half way home I had finished my calls to my friends and family letting them know I had arrived home safely.





When it came time to tip the driver the only thing I had on me was 500 peso's, a dollar in Yen, and one US dollar, and $100 US dollars hiding in my room. I asked the guy if would brake the $100 and he said No, and gave me a look like are you crazy. I then asked him what he wanted the Yen or 500 pesco's. told him that the peso's value was like 12.50 and that was the best deal that I could give him.

He took the peso's but not after giving me the crazy look again.

As soon as I dropped my bags in my room and showered and then promptly headed off to IN N' Out with a friend and finally ate real US beef for the first time in 3 weeks!

To be continued....

(for those of you who don't know yet I am headed back in 2 weeks, for another week stay!)

Hello CPK!

Last Post in Manila for a while?

The other day, my co-workers from Irvine finally met up with us in Manila. On the second day there were here they decided to go guitar shopping and see a few sites. We checked out the mall and found only a small selection and so they decided to hit the streets. With that we hired a driver and set out to the small music shops of Manila. While out I spotted some kids out with their mom and grandma and decided to take a few pics. At first they were like many of the people I have met on the streets, not really sure and a little shy to have their picture taken by an American. With a little help from our driver I was able to get the kids to smile for me.

After finding guitars we headed off to get some lunch and see some sites. Pizza and soda not the same as the states, but I ate it. Got to go CPK to get some good pizza or just any good food around here. Anyways, we told the driver that we wanted to see the Japanese Gardens and he was like sure. Not know where he was going we headed out. After asking several people where the gardens were we found them. Oh boy I have seen some Japanese Gardens in my time but nothing was like this. Don't let the pics fool you. This place was something special. They changed 5 peso's as an entrance fee but I think this was just to make sure that most of the trash was picked up. If you would like more details on this crazy garden and park I will be happy to tell you the story personally. Like I said it was unlike any gardens I had ever seen.

After the garden we walked around the park it was in and took some pics of the area and the locals. One of the guys there saw me taking his pic and asked me to get a better detailed shot and give him a copy. I told him that we were leaving and would not be back I hope he was ok with that.

After that we headed back to the hotel and I dropped like a fly, I was tired. (Really looking forward to sleeping at night and not during the day)

That was pretty much the last outing we took, I think it just might be the last one on this trip.

One funny thing that happened on the way to breakfast one morning a little girl was in the elevator with her grandma and looked at me and said America. Her grandma made some comment back about how she didn't speak english but I turned to her and said I think she knows a little, Barbie, Dora. The little girl smiled a toothless smile. (toothless as in all her teeth had rotted out!).

Over all things are good, i am looking forward to coming home and seeing all of you and sharing my stories with you in person in 1.5 days!

PS. I have already started packing the other day. Can you tell I am excited?
Oh how I miss the OC and Balboa Island.

Pictures again can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/supercalla/
Love to hear you comments!

Out on my own

Yesterday I took the jump and decided to go out on my own with a driver from the hotel and see Manila outside the hotel. I was hoping to see some of the Shanties but ended up seeing what the driver had in mind which wasn't bad. I saw three locations yesterday, Manila Bay, Fort Santiago, and one of the oldest churches in Manila, Church of San Agustin. I was only out for three hours and so I didn't have much time to screw around but I took some pics of what I was able to see.

Let lets just say it was an adventure and my driver thought it was fun to flirt with me. I don't think I really liked the mound of questions he had like, "Are you married?" and such. He started out introducing himself as my little body guard and pretty boy. An intro like this made me feel a little weird but I just rolled with the punches. For all of you worried right now I was perfectly safe and had fun taking pics. One of the pics I really enjoyed taking was this pic of the little boy down by the bay who I called my favorite model. I saw him and had the driver stop so I could get some shots of him. It did take the kid long to figure out what I was doing and started to show me that he didn't really like the fact that I was taking his picture. So I rattled off a few shots and they gave him 20 peso for his time. To any kid this is alot of money (about 50 cents in the US). He opened up the crumpled bill and smiled from ear to ear he was now the star of the day.

He and the married couple got me thinking about what else I could do with my skills while I am here. Going to make a few calls and see what I can come up with.

More pics to be found on the flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supercalla/

I would love to hear your comments.

-t

Going to the temple and .....

Well today I finally made it to the temple. It was so hard to get up in the middle of the day knowing that I could stay and sleep (only 4 hours tonight) or go do the lords work. So I decided that I better go while I had the chance. I went a little sleepy eyed but that would wouldn't last long. As soon as I got out of the cab I was hit with a blast of hot sticky air, more then usual, and was like I have to shoot in this for the next hour in a hot dress. Oh man I want my bed. So I started in the back and worked my way around. By the time I got to the front I was surprised to see a couple coming out in white holding hands with family and friends all around. Yes, indeed it was a couple coming out from getting married. I stood in the background taking shots with my killer new lens watching what was going on and taking pics without anyone but the kids and grounds workers knowing what I was doing.

Started to come out further I noticed that they didn't have a wedding photographer. What no photographer! I have to put an end to this. I walked up and talked to one of the temple workers and told them that I was a wedding photographer from California and I wanted to take pictures of the couple. She was beaming with joy and went and asked the couple if I could take some pics of them as a wedding gift. The temple worker came back and she said that the couple would be so touched I would do such a thing. As I waited for things to get into place I found out that this was a special couple to the people of the Manila temple. This couple worked in the MTC (of manila) and was greatly loved by all. Hearing that i was able to help someone so loved it really touched me.

In true wedding style I had different groups of shots taken in 10 minutes right before I went into the 4 pm session.

All through the session I kept thinking about what I have been told so many times that my gifts are not mine they are the lords and that I need to share. Thinking about this kept me awake throughout the whole session.

As I participated it was funny being the tallest women in the room, I felt like a giant! But I guess I am a 5'2 giant here. Funny to think of that. Everyone here is like a size 0, I am truely not the little one here.

So back to my story. So as soon as I got back to the hotel I found the good pics and headed off to the mall to get a blank CD and a frame for the couple as a wedding gift.

After burning the CD I wrapped the gift and put it at the front desk for the couple to pick up. I couldn't remember their name so it was hard trying to convince front desk guys that I wanted to leave a package for someone that I didn't know their name.

But they finally took it and I hope they come by and find it. If not, I know where to send it.

I posted some more pics at the same address.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supercalla/

Oh and I forgot to add that I met a missionary from Utah that has parasites and he also agreed that the food here is gross and doesn't know why anyone would want to live here. He thinks he is being set home to get better then get transfered somewhere else. I can understand that.



Peace out guys!

Weekend 1

This past weekend started out pretty uneventful, Saturday it rained so I just walked around the malls, after walking for several hours I finally headed back to the hotel and went to sleep. Sunday morning and woke up to no rain and pooled a few of the guys together and headed outside of Manila about 1.5 hours south to a place called Hidden Valley Springs in Laguna. On the way there I saw many things that I had not seen ever before, i am guessing it is pretty similar to mexico with houses or huts made out of whatever can be found from piles of garbage. Lots of houses were made out of pieces of metal just pieced together without running water and kids running through the streets duty and wearing shorts and T-shirts of places they would only dream of going. Many times I felt very fortunate to live in a place in which I didn't have to worry about if I was going to get a bath or have something to eat.

Once we reached hidden Valley Springs the land was lush with greenery and plants I had only seen in nurseries. Banana trees and coconut trees grew all around and the air smelled clean which was a first in over a week. We breathed deeply and listened to the sounds of birds as we drove into the park. Without doing much research and only going off what the hotel door man had to say I had no idea of what to really expect. After entering the park, we received our tickets for lunch and began walking to the pools. As we walked I was amazed at the pants all around me. After we reached the pool I was a struck at the wonders of nature and how things can change so dramatically by just driving 1.5 hours. After taking some pics of the pool area I finally gave in and bought a swimming suit that reminds me of an old woman. But I found that it was well worth it. The pool was just about body temp and all naturally heated and so relaxing. We stayed in the pool for what I guess was over an hour just floating around and enjoying the beauty around us. My boss was with us and he joked about putting a call center poolside. Wouldn't that be a nice business trip?

After swimming we changed and got the buffet lunch that came with the package. It was pretty good except for a few things that I reflused to eat, one being OX tribe, which is Ox stomach. Oh my not my idea of dinner.

After lunch we headed back to manila and on the way back to the hotel we stopped for fresh coconut water and meat. That was the best.

Next we stopped at a place our driver felt was a good place to get handy crafts. There I picked up a few more things to bring home. After that we went back to the hotel and fell asleep after an eventful day.

Oh man did it feel good to leave the city behind.

Due to the large amount of photos I have decided to place them on flickr in hopes of managing them.

Some of these were taken though the cars tinted windows as we drove so it isn't my best work.

Hopefully tomorrow the temple!

Here is a link to the photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supercalla/

Day 3 & 4

Am I in Florida?


Working the graveyard shift things tend to blend together hence the day 3 &4. My adventures for the last two days have been pretty uneventful but still interesting. Yesterday for the first time I left the hotel for the first time by myself without the other guys. I had been on a search for a banana so I went back to the crazy grocery store with all the many checkout lines. While there I spotted a few more things that reminded me of home. Do any of these look familiar.


Trying to find someWhile there I also went looking for some meds for my bug bites. I think the lower the English skills the worker has lower the wage. Finding anti-ich med was quite the adventure talking to several different people until I finally found something that was somewhat helpful. Today I learned that things like anti-ich cream and malox can only be found behind the counter of a pharmacy, no prescription needed just need to give money and ask for it. Kind of a pain that I couldn't just get it off the shelf and buy it.


Last night was the first time that fell asleep at work, everyone got a big kick out of it. I am just glad that Pete and Richard weren't around to see that one. The guys said that must have been out for at least 20 minutes. I did wake up and feel refreshed, tonight I think I will try not to repeat that.

In one of my last bloggs I talked about going to the hotel spa. I went back this morning and took some pics of the first building that you enter. The spa lasted 2.5 hours and it was pretty good. At first it felt a little weird to have someone clean my feet. All I could think about was Jesus and how he cleaned peoples feet. Overall the spa was very good, I don't think it was really my idea of fun. I still prefer to take pics or hangout with my chickens, Alicia, MacKenzie and Emily, and can't forget baby Caleb. Maya and Mason are also quite the chickens also. Which reminds me if the chickens are good to the rooster then I have presents for you. Something to do with fairies. I can see Mackenzie and Emily jumping up and down for joy right now.





By request some of you have asked to see the seat less toilets from the call center. So here is pic of the toilets in the womens room. I seem that from what the guys have told me that mens room has seats. I wonder why the ladies room doesn't have any.


I called the temple this morning before my morning sleep to see what sessions were in English and it turns out that most of the sessions are. I got talking to one of the temple workers and she was going to call around and see if she could find someone to give me a tour of Manila. She also gave me the phone number to a couple who runs an Academy for Adults that teaches how to start a business, who would be more then happy to show me around one of the the local islands. I thought that would be pretty sweet. Next week we may have a few down days hopefully were I can fly out, 30 min flight, and check out some more local stuff. I really want to see more then just the hotel at this point. FYI, I am sick of the hotel food other then breakfast hurray for cereal!

Anyhow I was unable to go to the temple because they were closed for cleaning or something and that they will be open on Tuesday. Hopefully I will be able to attend a session then.

Ok I am going to see if I can take a power nap before I have to head off to work.
Peace out.

Day 2
Last time I talked about how Manila has alot of America's finer shops. Below are a few pics of just a few stores that I saw when we went to the mall across the street. The mall doesn't look like much but pretty nice inside but no South Coast Plaza.


Don't have this at South Coast Plaza. And yes that is a machine gun. Everytime you go in and out of the mall your bags are searched and you are given a pat down. This guy is also at the door to meet you. Sorry this isn't the best just the little camera for today.
Look my friend Pooh Bear and friends, boy he really gets around.
Anyone in the mood for pizza?
I think the hot light was on!
This was a grocery store that is inside the mall. I think that might be 20+ check stands. Those check stand lights go on forever. Not only do the sell groceries but also nice jewelry and perfume. Kind of like a really nice Super Walmart.
We just completed the first round of training at about 5 am. I had to sip coke throughout the class to stay awake but I made it. At 10 we have a spa treatment setup that lasts for 2.5 hours. This will really help with sleeping at 1pm.

Day 1 in Manila

Well for all of you who are dying to know about my trip to Manila here is what has happened so far.

As far as the flight the only way to travel is business class or first class. During the first flight I got up and walked around downstairs in coach and it was tight down there and lot and lots of people. I think that plane holds like 800 people. The seats made me think I was in a big electric wheel chair without any wheels. It had lots of adjustments and not to bad to sleep in just feel like you are slipping out because you can't have your legs as high up as your head. On the first flight to Japan, I mostly watched movies and read Kite Runner that Kaleena let me borrow. Thanks Kaleena it is pretty good so far and pretty handy to make your eyes tired when you need to sleep in the middle of the day. Yes if you haven't heard we are working from 10pm - 6am Manila time, which will mostly be California days. So I might see some of you online while in training. Right now it is almost 2 am and I am going pretty strong, not in training just trying to adjust right now. On the second flight, Japan to Manila I so crashed, put my pooh bear blanket, that my mommy made me, over my head and I was out. I faintly remember something about a dream and a bus and it leaving me behind. I kind of also remember talking in my sleep or maybe yelling something to the tone of "Get back here". Once I woke up it was nearly time to land and the lady next to me just smiled at me which made me think I was doing something in my sleep. I was so tired I didn't even wake when they tired to wake me when the food came. One of the guys from work said when he got up to use the restroom he saw me all covered with blankets and he just laughed.

So far pretty good times. I took some tylonel PM once I got to the hotel I felt sick from the lack of sleep and just sitting for hours during pretty much nothing. It kind of reminded me of being sick as a kid and you just lay on the coach and watch hours of TV. You like it but it still sucks that you can't go anywhere. But before I fell asleep I took a hot bath and that helped me feel better and it make me more sleepy. Got out of the tub and ordered room service, can you guess what it was? If you guessed cold cereal with toast you were right. It was pretty good the only downside was that they only had corn flakes and coco puffs. So I got the corn flakes, it was pretty good, just what I needed to make me feel at home.

This morning I got up and settled in and took a hot shower and noticed that I left my deodorant and shave gel in Newport. I was lucky and found them at a drug store near by. It is kind of weird to think about how 500 php is equal to about $10 us.

Today the big adventure was shopping at Greenhills mall. I have a few pics for you. While waiting for the mall to open I went in and experienced a local church that was held in a restruant. There was singing and people waving there hands in the air. Sound familiar? From what I have seen manila is poor but it is alot like LA, tall buildings and a starbucks on every corner if not two. After shopping we came back and went to California Pizza Kitchen which from what I understand it one of the up scale places to eat. The wait staff it very attentive to our needs, I want to say it is because they know that we US dollars to spend.

The hotel is 5 star but I remember seeing better while in Kauai, remember those Nat. But the hotel meets my needs and the bed is pretty good but mine is better. I think even Gina would think so.

After lunch at CPK came back and thought I would go for a swim but the sun had moved and the pool wasn't as warm as I wanted it so no swim, maybe tomorrow. So after the pool it was time for a nap and try to begin getting ready for the night shift. I slept until about 9pm and then the guys and I went to dinner and got to here some local live music. You would have never guessed we were in manila. After dinner we went and sat by the pool and tried to not get eaten by the bugs and the local bat. Pretty much is has been a pretty mellow day. Feel free to email me at tanni.tronsen@gmail.com if you have any questions I will try to blog my adventures a few times a week. I hope you enjoy the pics.