It’s another new week ahead and pretty soon it will be October. With just two days to go before the month ends, I am kinda stressed about not being able to meet some of my goals. But I am looking forward to the new month, with my plans of working on another website and fulfilling my health and fitness goals. Tsk…my recent Europe vacation really contributed to my weight increase and more than three people have already commented that I’ve gained weight. Ouch!
So now, I’m back to limiting my rice intake to a small cup per meal, adding more fruits and greens to my diet and minimizing my consumption of sweets. Back in Europe, my diet consisted mostly of meat, pasta, bread, chocolates and ice cream! Thanks to my sisters who never ran out of ice cream and chocolates in their refrigerators. LOL. Now it’s time to bring back those healthy meals in the table once more, and maybe check out on some easy green bean recipes and nutritious vegetables dishes.
Within city centers, most of the streets in Europe are paved with cobblestones, thus if you’re a tourist and would like to do a lot of sightseeing, better not wear those high heels! Here’s one of those cobbled streets in Kutna Hora, another tourist destination in Czech Republic and just few hours trip from Prague.
Now, you wouldn’t want your tiny stiletto heels to be stuck in between the stones, yeah? That’s why it really amazed me to see some lady tourists in their high heeled shoes while we were at the Strahov monastery in Prague. Yup…they were in a group tour and I saw them walking comfortably even in stilettos.
Hmmm…this brings to mind a lady friend, a civil engineer at that, who told me she feels comfortable with heels rather than flats. In fact, she wants her shoes to have at least few inches of heels even when she goes to the construction site. She said her feet feels tired if she’s wearing flats.
Me? I opt for flats or maybe an inch of heel would do, such as those Dansko low-heeled sandals. Maybe because I’m flat-footed…and just few minutes of walking in heels can make my feet cry for help.
How about you? Which type of shoe are you comfortable with?
What a disappointment it was at the Cebu Pacific counter when mom and I checked-in for our domestic flight from Manila to Bacolod. After seeing the 39 kilos total weight of our bags registered on the scale, I was confident we were within the baggage limit.
“Ma’am you have to pay an excess of 9 kilos.” The staff told me. “Huh!? But we’re within the limit. Isn’t it 20 kilos per passenger?” Seeing me so surprised and upset, she explained that the baggage limit is now down to 15 kilograms per passenger, so a total of 30 kilograms for us, thus the excess. She added that it’s a new rule for those who purchased the tickets starting September.
What made the situation more disappointing was the increase from Php50 to Php100 per kilogram of excess weight. The staff suggested that we take some things from our check-in baggage to lessen the amount to be paid which could have been about Php900 (about $19). Few dollars for paying the excess might not hurt those who have extra cash with them, but what about those who brought just enough with them for the trip?
Anyway, we managed to take 3 kilos off our luggage. I felt somewhat cheated since I prepared our bags carefully at home and even bought a weighing scale to ensure that they would be within the baggage limit.
The travel agent where we bought our tickets was clearly not informed of the new rule since the printed information sheet she gave me still stated the previous 20 kilos baggage limit. The staff hinted that it was the fault of the travel agent but I doubt that.
Cebu Pacific should consider their passengers’ welfare and provide updated rules for the travel agents. They only informed their passengers the good news that they moved to the new NAIA Terminal 3. If you visit their website, you can immediately read this: “Advisory: All Flights NOW at NAIA Terminal 3.” IMO, there should have been another conspicuous advisory about the decreased baggage limit but unfortunately this information was hidden somewhere within the interior pages of their site. And there should be some written note like this posted on the travel agents’ offices: “For all tickets bought starting September, all checked-in baggage will be limited to 15 kilograms only. Excess baggage will be charged at Php100 per kilogram.”
It’s definitely the feeling of home-sweet-home for me but just looking at the mess on my bedroom floor makes me want to pack up my bags again and head on to some Caribbean villa rentals for a holiday. Sure…going on a trip is fun, but coming home with your bags and things to be unpacked and arranged, and cleaning up the room is something that’s not enjoyable for me. The pile of clothes for the laundry and the still unarranged stuff on my luggage are screaming for some attention. I hope these things will soon be cleaned up by next week. For now, it’s back to work again!
My little baby niece C is growing up fast! The last time I was in Prague, she was still having difficulty going down the bed and climbing up. Now, she’s climbing up confidently the bed and head board, and going down as well. Then sis sent us a video of little C walking a few steps on the corridor. Wow! I’m one proud auntie indeed! Wasn’t it just few months ago when she was still a tiny baby lying in her crib bedding and kicking her legs enthusiastically? Time sure flies… and now I am missing little C’s laughter and antics. huhuhu…
*Photos from little C’s website, happycaity.com
Yup, how could you eat up all my Php100 load when I was only able to surf for about an hour and after that you cut me off! Then I kept trying to connect to the Internet but to no avail. It’s so disappointing that your program indicated my location is within 3G and I am connected, but I can’t even access a single site. I kept trying to disconnect, and then connect again for the nth time, but always got an error on my browser. And yeah, that explains why my load got used up. Grrrr… You’re just lucky coz I don’t have any other options for now.
NOTE to my dear readers:For those of you planning to purchase Smart Bro, think hard about it! If you plan to use the Internet at home, better get a fixed broadband access. WiFi is best for those who travel and need Internet access while on the go. An important thing to consider is the signal strength which depends very much on your location and so if you’re based on a 2G or HSDPA location, better forget about checking your emails or blogging while on the go. Smart Bro’s promise about connecting to the Internet ANYWHERE is just a big hype.
Related posts:
What’s up with my SmartBro prepaid WiFi account?
Smart BRO prepaid wifi: mobile broadband access for everybody Part 1
Smart BRO prepaid wifi: mobile broadband access for everybody Part 2
These days I’m pleased with myself. Well, let’s just say I managed to start my dance exercise routine again, did some accounting, and read a book! These are just some of the many things-to-do that I’ve had difficulty of acting upon because I had been busy with my vacation. Next on my list would be learning something new and important. Nope, I don’t have time for playstation 3 or any distractions for now.
I’m very much determined to focus on my plans of doing self-study on something that would greatly benefit my future ventures. It’s not yet the New Year and my birthday is still months to go… no important milestone is needed to inspire me to start something new. I just felt a sudden enthusiasm in fulfilling some of my goals.
Finally I’m back in the tropics! So now I have to get oriented with a different time zone again. I should have been sleeping like a log on my first night of arrival but strangely though I woke up at about 3 A.M. and had trouble getting back to sleep again. Yup my body’s time clock is disrupted again. After few days, I’m still trying to adjust to a different daylight schedule. One advantage is being awake early even before 6 A.M., which means I don’t need some talking watches or alarm clocks to wake me up.
Yikes, five more days to go before my Europe vacation ends and I’ll be heading home again to the tropics. It’s a bittersweet feeling… not wanting to leave this dreamy place (yup I sometimes feel like I’m in a dream while walking around the streets here) yet I miss being home in the Philippines as well.
As a travel bug, I wonder when I’ll be touring other parts of the globe especially the US someday (maybe I’ll start with dreaming again, imagining myself billeted in one of those Florida or Vegas hotels)… as I’ve heard a lot of friends telling me to apply for work there, they would also hear my usual reply, “If ever I’ll visit the US, it would be as a tourist and not as somebody applying for work.”
