Were it not for Ria asking me if I have a blog, I would not have remembered that I do have one! I checked my blog stats and since I started it in August last year, there have only been 3 hits so far... all by me! That is as good as no hit at all! I hope to get better stats this year. To be able to do that I need to post more entries so my visitors will have more to read... not just my introductory posting.
Oh, by the way, I am in Canada now, staying at Ody and Ria's house in Winnipeg.
I left Manila for San Francisco in 24 December 2007. Ria booked me at the Crowne Plaza along Airport Blvd. in Burlingame, CA. It is just a few minutes from the airport. The bellboy who brought my luggage to my room upstairs was Mexican but greeted me in Tagalog. He learned it from his co-workers, apparently. Of course, I showed off the little Spanish I know. Thanks to 4 semesters of Espanol in UP! Right after closing the door (Sorry, no tip... I only had a hundred dollar bill in my wallet!), I took advantage of the hotel's free wifi as I lost my connection in Greenwoods more than a week before I left. Talk about being deprived!!!
At 5:00 a.m. on Christmas day, I left the hotel. Rode the free shuttle service again. A Pinoy at the UA curbside check-in counter helped me bring my stuff to the check-in counter inside the building. My online check-in did not work out so I had to do it at the airport. The scanning machine, however, could not read my passport so I was redirected to the C-line (I never bothered to find out what that meant. If any one of you knows what it means, please send a message my way.). Fortunately, I was assisted so I got my boarding passes quickly.
I strolled around the terminal and had a leisurely breakfast at the San Francisco Soup Company before I sat at the pre-departure gate to wait for the boarding announcement. Horror of horrors when I realized that my travel documents were left at the check-in counter. I ran out of the secured area to the check-in counter. I was so relieved to be able to retrieve the documents but that was momentary... As soon as I realized that I had to pass through security check again, I feared that I might miss my flight. Was still lucky to have made it!
We arrived in Denver 6 minutes before the ETA. Had beef sanwich for lunch. Was ready for a 1:30 p.m. ETD as as scheduled but we were only able to fly out at 6:30 p.m. Ody fetched me from the airport and we went directly to cousin Lorna's house for Christmas dinner.
And as I start working on my aim to get more site hits, I am sending this to all of you. Happy freezing New Year from Winnipeg!
