On Being Sinful and on Riding "Ted"

I'm seated in Gate 83 in LAX airport waiting for the United Airlines flight to Las Vegas. It's been a very eventful day. First, we missed a connecting flight from Los Angeles because we had to endure the intensive security procedure. Another reason why we probably missed our flight was because our arrival was delayed from the connecting hub from Narita. Our plane is pretty small, about an eighty-seat twin engine airbus called Ted. It’s supposed to be the domestic aircraft for all United flights. One of the passengers was actually laughing about naming the plane “Ted”. With a chuckle, he would say, “I wanna ride Ted”, “Hey, guess what?, I just rode Ted”. Well it’s named after its owner, Ted Turner. How narcissistic can this guy be?

I haven't been to LA but I am looking forward to visit this city in the future on an extended period. Among all the cities in the US, it is probably in Los Angeles where most of my US based relatives and friends reside.

We're cruising at just 24,000 feet so you can pretty much see the terrain from the window. Aside from a long stretch of roads, the city is surrounded by caverns and hills filled with faults and crevices. On our way to Nevada, the dessert stretches for miles making one wonder how they were able to put up a thriving metropolis in these lands.

We’re about to land, and I can see “Sin City” from here.

A Distinction of Affluence

I'm inside a coffee bean outlet, in one of these malls along Orchard Road, sipping a cup of coffee from one of the cafe's trademark mugs that looks more like a flute with a cup handle. There were a few magazines at the nearby rack and got two, relatively readable, magazines, with one discussing golf and the other talking about cars.

It's funny how the people in Singapore get into a frenzy upon learning that the COE or Certificate of Entitlement, which allows its citizens to own cars, has falllen to its 80's levels. However, a 4 door toyota sedan here is roughly equivalent to a Benz back in Manila. A typical two room condominium flat here will also get you a nice house in a middle-class enclave near the Ortigas business district. However, given the higher per capita income in this country, whose complaining?

The flight to Singapore is a mere 3 and a half hours away but the distinction is quite apparent between these two Asian countries. One could not miss the distinct affluence of the Lion City over that of the Pearl of the Orient. However, I have to say, that conspicuous consumption seems to be more apprent in the Philppines. The great divide over the haves and have-nots is ever more apparent back home.

Oh well, what the Flipinos tend to lack in financial wealth, they seem to gain when it comes to a sense of humor. Typically, when one coverses with a local, the old adage, "it's hip to be square", does not follow.

Farewell to a beloved Pope

Pope John Paul II

It was a sad that our last day in Italy, the news of Pope John Paul's death hit the papers. Here's a copy of a newspaper daily bidding farewell to a Pope that headed the faithful for 26 years. I remember back in Manila, years ago, where he had an audience of more than 5 million people, the biggest gathering ever, accorded to the head of the Church, in modern times.

A Green Bowl of Soup in Sorrento

Such interesting memories with a green bowl of soup at a restaurant in Sorrento.

My wife and I had dinner at this trattoria near our hotel in Sorrento called the Gabriele D'Annunzio Hotel. Incidentally, a trattoria is a family owned "ristorante", according to our tour guide, Enzo, or "Enzollini", as one of the other members of the tour would call him, given Enzo's frequent references to infrastructure projects of the former Italian dictator, Musollini.

We didn't join the rest of the tour group when they went to this alleged medieval home where they were served a banquet of food reminiscent of a feast of that time.

The green soup was made of pureed brocolli with four balls made of cottage cheese. It tasted really weird and was not the typical "Italian" spread that we expected. Imagine our surprise when the cheque arrived! The soup, and the seafood pasta for that matter, was exhorbitant and we haven't even converted the price, which was of course in euros, to a more familiar currency.

Despite the unforgettable dinner, and the creepy atmosphere as we walked back to the hotel, Sorrento was redeemed in our memories as we woke up to a wonderful view of Mt. Vesuvius. Looking at the dormant volcano, one can't help but wonder how such a peaceful image can be a destructive force that will claim hundreds of lives in the ancient city fo Pompeii. Looks can indeed be deceiving, just like a sumptuous bowl of soup.

The Roman Coleseum: Then and Now

Roman Coleseum

It's funny to learn that in order to discourage pilferage in the Coloseum, the Vatican actually declared it as one of Rome's holiest sites, such that when we were there, the Black Saturday mass was celebrated inside.

Imagine, holding the holy mass, on the same spot where savage duels "to the death" between gladiators, were held. Drinking the blood of Christ in a place where spectators once thirst for the blood of men. One of history's many ironies through the ages.

Wedding Bliss in the Lion City

I just got married yesterday. It was a small, simple and elegant ceremony overlooking the marina and the Raffles City skyline.

In a few days we're off to Italy and New York for a much awaited honeymoon! I've been looking forward to see the contrast between the old empire, Rome, and the new one, NYC.

Countdown to A Wedding

It's approximately 2 more months beforeI get hitched!

Running a school is not easy

IT schools in this country, will not even be close to the same levels where schools were during the IT boom of the mid to late 90's. Now, everybody wants to go into nursing. Even schools, who have no hospital tie-ups are setting up nursing schools. So who says running an IT school is easy?