my drama!

Yellloooowwwwwwww……………………….. KumustaS????? It’s been a while ehhh??? I didn’t have anytime chatting when I got back from my trip…. We left NE on Friday the 14th of July to TN & got there late at night. The next day we were just hanging out with our families. We then went to my mother in law to spend the night then hubby’s Grandma called for help to take the BUCKET OFF from their COW“S HEAD!!! Seriously , LOL stupid cow probably got too nosey stuck his head inside the bucket hahahahah too fat to take it out LOL Then Sunday we went to my hubby’s Grandmother for usual hamburger Sunday lunch with everybody. Well, before that they had to get the bucket off coz it was still stuck!! Finally they got the bucket out LOL!!!!!!!! Later for dinner we went to O’Charley’s and had dinner w/everybody ….

We left TN on 17th & arrived in Manila on the 18th… it was raining & had a hell of time waiting to get us a taxi.. Anyway so we finally found one of those airport taxis & they charged us flat rate $550 all the way to Roxas Blvd. Anyway, so we had to gave the driver, the guy who load our stuff & that guy who line the taxi.. When he asked.. I told him I gave it to the other guy..lol he want something else for himself.. And I just gave him another one since I just wanna get the hell out of NAIA. Anyway so the driver drove & stopped to this other place to where you supposed to give the receipt you got from the airport.. And so I asked her if she has any change.. For her tip…. Instead she didn’t want to give out money back………… she said…..”Oh… akala ko pang snack ko na yan…..” me and my husband looked at each other & thought..WHAT THE HELL!!!! So anyway she gave us our money back & I didn’t gave her anything LOL.. So we arrived @ the hotel close to 12. We went to my dad’s room & said our hi’s & goodbyes for the night……I am still mad about my break out always have a rash break out whenever I am on the plane going to another country… I have no idea why….. Probably Philippines doesn’t like me anymore!!! anyway.. 3 ½ hrs. later we got ready for my son’s medical appt.@ St. Luke’s Medical Center. We got there probably 4:30 AM I have to say the St. Luke’s did a very good job in letting people in that early ..so kudos to them!.. They didn’t let my husband inside since they only allowed 1 company per applicant. I guess it worked out fine for us so my husband can get enough rest. So he walked to the hotel by himself.. I got a number for us & filled out paper. I met fellow ASAWA member Fleur (dugong bisaya) & 2 other nice ladies. So we started the processing by filling papers, then they took a picture of my son and then the lady asked me if I am willing to stay the whole day to finish the medical. Which of course I said YES! And so they sent us upstairs to pay the fee, then to pre-physical test interview. She asked me for my son’s vaccination record & we ended up not using it since there’s a discrepancy on my son’s name. But the lady was so nice she just told me that I could get a notarized paper from the lawyer or… I can however just disregard the vaccination record which I did!!!!! I didn’t have any time cancelling the medical date just bec.. Of one wrong letter!!!!!! So then we went back to the lobby & waited for his physical test. We got in 1st & the doctor let my son stripped & check everything.. & OHHH by the way, I have to say this to all the people who are going for their medical…. They don’t give a shit about how nasty your teeth are!!!!!! Some dumb ass Filipina told me about they will fail someone because Of bad teeth!! okay??? anyway so the lady told us to go upstairs for vaccination ( that supposed to be the last step) so we did..& oh… they didn’t asked for any x-ray for my son since he is under 15 . Anyway back to the immunization thingy, we waited for a long time until they called his name…. We waited & waited & there’s one thing too, I met this lady Daria & she asked me if I am from Mambaling (which is in Cebu) I said yes & she said she knew me way back when I was thinner LOL!!!!!!!! She said she didn’t like me a bit coz Of how I walked & how I used to wear skimpy shorts hahahahhaha!!!!!! She thought I was snob!!!???? Really??? that sounds so surprising for me??? LOL… she also went to the same school I was in High School in CIT . anyway so we ended up swapping phone numbers she should be here in Chicago by this time of the month… we talked & we talked ‘til they called my son’s name & we got inside to get his shots! He got 3 shots & a drop of polio thingy… I told him not to cry & whine like the other kids in there LOL…. Well… one kid didn’t wanna do it & they ended up staying there too late… they got called before us & when were done for my son’s vaccine they were still trying to convince him to get his shots done… anyway… we went to the 1st floor where we started & waited for releasing. I saw Daria again & met another Filipina with her hubby & blonde kid???? Seriously she’s probably the 1st pinay I know that has a blonde kid.. We finally got called & the lady told us that everything looked good & they will send the papers together with his passport & photos to the US embassy.. We got out by 3 I think & head back to the hotel.
The next day, we went to RIZAL PARK( surprisingly cleaner than I can remember) CHINESE GARDEN & INTRAMUROS to just wandering around… like there's more to see in Manila!! just kidding Manilinian!!!There’s nothing much to do around Manila unless going to the mall or going to the provinces… There’s a lot of cool stuff around INTRAMUROS though!… we went to CASA MANILA which is very cool. There’s a fee of P40 each to get inside the house.. It was an old historic house with it’s original antique furniture. They didn’t allowed any picture taking unless of course your willing to pay handsomely..but they will be the one who will take it for you!! & they remind you to should always walk on the red carpet so it wont hurt the orig. wood floors , they put strings around the places so you can’t sit on them nor touch them. The house is big & wonderful… we then rent KALESA for touring & then went to CAMP SANTIAGO . There’s a place where you can see DR.JOSE RIZAL’s piece of bone w/bullet in it saved on a bottle, his suit, pictures, medical paraphernalia & his famous books. And as usual no picture taking…………….. BUMMER!!! We then went to SM MALL of ASIA. It’s pretty neat but dang sometimes confusing… but we then got used to it …….

MY Dad & my Brother went back to Cebu …Me ,my hubby & my son went walking along Manila bay dang!!! it‘s DIRRRRRTTTTYYYYYY. I have to say my neighborhood public Bay toilet in cebu smells way better than Manila Bay LOL! !!! I took my son to the Barber shop got his hair butchered & had them put hot oil on his hair.. Oh by the way…… when we went to change Dollars to Pesos.. It’s a total pain in the butt!@!!!! They checked the money left & right…. Probably took 10 minutes just to check it with magnifying glass & crap!!!! Seriously!!!! Some foreign exchange booth don’t accept small head LOL u know that person on the bill??? And you will get lower rate like P45 instead of P52 if the series is under 2003!!!!!!! We always go to Mall of Asia coz they accept small head & under 2003 series but then again it will take a long time just to check it….they also don't accept the ones that scratched badly, have pen marks & even a little rip!! ugh!! I'm telling u!! lots of foreigners got pretty upset about that...but what else can they do??LOL

On the 21st, we decided to go to TAGAYTAY just to free ourselves from boredom!! We paid P2000 to this Taxi driver & when were on our way he stopped @ the gas station & he asked us to pay for the gas we ended up paying half…. But……. Then again… the driver didn’t filled up like what he said.. So we just didn’t say anything…coz he was pretty nice to us LOL we got to Tagaytay 2 hrs. later.. He took us to the place where you can see the view of the volcano but……the sight was just too far… we then got convinced to go to the volcano itself… we paid P2800 for the tour + P300 each for HORSE ride (remember they said HORSE) and another P600 for the van to take us to their resort!!!!! Geeee!!!!!!! But what the hell were on vacation!!!! The taxi driver decided to wait so we took off together with the couple who own the resort. It truly was a long & winding road just to go to their place… we then got off to this gorgeous house w/nice lawn & got us the BANCA (motorboat) all the way to their resort it took probably 30 mins. Ride all the way to the resort where the volcanoes at…. We got off & was surprised coz there was nobody else there except for the people who worked there & other residents… no other guests… they brought 3 ponies!!! Ponies not HORSES!!! I was worried if I fall or something & most of all I felt sorry for those little things …we’re BIG people so it had to be hell for those ponies for us to get in top of them LOL … I found my balance riding those things but still was very cautious not to fall esp. whenever he started saying heehhhhhhh LOL seriously I thought it’s going to die on me!!! HAHAHA well, my hubby squeezed the poop out of his pony!! LOL it kept pooping every time it took a step!!! LOL but dang he was a fast pony though!!! I was worried for a while since he was out of sight together with his guide & I had no idea of half what they’re talking about they spoke diff. dialect so probably they were cursing the hell out of us & I had no idea about it!!! LOL & I got more worried when we passed 3 guys with shotguns… but they all said hello… but then again … still no sight of my hubby… finally we reached the place where they had to let the ponies rest & I saw my hubby smiling hahaha… we then walked all the way to the hut where u can see the actual crater!!!!! NO LAVA that’s’ for sure just the lake.. Well… duh.. that’s’ why they call it TAAL LAKE VOLCANO!!!! See,,, I wasn’t really amazed of the crater view though… in my mind I was screaming “is this it???? I had more fun riding my way up here than actually looking at this thing!!!” the 3 guides told us the story about how they save the guy who fell from the top & how much they got for the reward… not very reassuring!!!… I got tired looking at the view so we decided to go back down…it was faster going down than going up for sure… got us back in the boat & when we got to the place again where we started nobody was there!!!! Luckily the guy who was sitting on his “sidecar” called the owner. So then 20 mins. Later he came & brought us back where the taxi driver was waiting for us. We got so lucky getting out there before the rain started,…. It took us another 2 hrs. going back to Manila.. We got so tired that night….

We stayed at the hotel for the past few days, it rained badly,, there was a typhoon going on that time. Wednesday the 26th of July, we got up by 5 AM & got ready . We ate our breakfast & after we finished we walked across the street which is the US Embassy. There wasn’t anybody in line so I asked the guards where are we supposed to go & he asked the applicant’s name & he read it on the piece of paper & he let us in. he told us to go straight to the booth & they also asked me for the appt. letter then they let us in.. when we got inside there was a lot of people… They were helping the ones who got the earlier appointment while we waited, we were reading the guidelines they provided on the television. Then it’s time for us to get in line for the numbering. They told us to watch out for it on the flashing screen since it’s not by order. Then our number came & went for fingerprinting but my son is under age so they didn’t asked him for that they just asked him what’s his name & his age. After that we then proceed to the cashier where we had to pay the surcharge for the visa fee. After that we waited again to get called. We then proceed to the pre-interview booth. The Filipina interviewer asked me some questions & asked me for some documents.. I was worried a bit since I forgot to bring the pictures of me & my son. But I got lucky I brought some money transfer receipts with me.
After that we waited longer for the actual interview. Finally, our number was flashing again & we then proceed to the little room. The American lady reviewed our papers & gave me back the money transfer receipts. She asked me when I got to the US & how long have we been married & how many kids do we have. She then asked my son how old he was & who am I & the person beside him. After he answered the questions the lady said “everything looks good” & told us to wait again on the waiting room. Minutes past our number flashed again. We then went to the releasing window & she told us to pay the courier for the delivery of my son’s visa. We asked her when do we get it but she never really did gave us an clear answer . They wouldn’t let us go back to the interviewer so we then proceed to the delivery booth & paid the fee. We decided to just use the hotels address for the delivery. We got out from the US Embassy before 1 PM . We then went to the mall & purchased 3 super ferry tickets to go to Cebu. But we cancelled the ticket 3 days before the departure since we still haven’t heard anything about my son’s visa…. We didn’t left the room for how many days just waiting for the delivery guy. I went to the internet café & e-mailed & I sent text messages to the courier company & they told us that they haven’t received anything from the Embassy yet .. I did the same thing for the next day & finally got a response saying that the US Embassy released the visa & they will deliver it the next day.
And I got his visa sometime in August already . We were happy since we didn’t have to be inside the hotel room all the time… we only get out when it’s time to eat or when I had to do the laundry ( LOL u should see me carrying all those dirty clothes to the laundry outside the hotel..well duh... hotellaundry service was so dang expensive!!!P130 for 1 piece of shirt??? who would wanna pay that??) or when it’s weekends!!!! I was about to go crazy esp. when the Philippine Idol contestants came in to the same hotel were staying!!! Golly!!! I don’t sound to be mean but God they’re annoying!!!!! They were loitering , singing while in the hallway.. Some people are actually sleeping u know or at least trying to get some sleep… but in fairness most of them got very wonderful voices.. just.... too annoying sometimes… LOL … That same day we got the visa we then went back to the mall & tried to get a ticket but they couldn’t gave us an exact information about the dimensions & weight for the luggage allowance. We then went to the Airline ticketing but the problem was we are only allowed 1 checked in baggage no more than 20 kilos & 1 carry on bag no more than 5 kilos. Ngeehh we got lots of them big things… it will cost us a fortune ones we get to the airport….& also she has no idea either if they will allow us to bring in all the luggage even if we pay the exceeding fees…. So we decided not to go through it coz what if they wont really let us in??? just a waste of money…& time for us..
They said it’s different if you are from connecting flight from outside the Philippines & they allow baggages but not domestic flights. We then went back to the super ferry ticketing & decided to just try it but then again no ship sailing on that day neither as the next day so it will leave us no more time… we had to be back in Manila on Sunday coz we had to leave on Monday back here in the US .
So even though it was very hard for me…. I agreed not to go to Cebu & just stay in Manila for 5 more days ………. BUMMER!!

We moved to another hotel way nicer than the one across the US Embassy.. And the location was great too…. Just across good old Mc. Donald’s & 3 minute walk to Robinson’s & 2 minute walk to Tia Maria’s restaurant.. Well…. On our first few days, my hubby got sick and so as I but not sure from what though.. We only have bottled water to drink all the time.. We tried so many places to eat. Like Chowking ( which we like at first but just got old ), Jollibee, Wendy’s ( gollly!! Their wendy’;s sucks big time!!!over there!) , mall foods & finally we tried Mc. Donald’s & Tia Maria’s which are good. And we also went to cowboy Grill just on top of Tia Maria’s restaurant they have live bands playing… we ate @ Tia Maria’s almost everyday & I got tired of it!!! So as the other ones.. We then went to Robinson’s mall & I saw Shawarma stand so I let him tried it & he liked it!! We also had some buko salad it was pretty neat salad on the coconut husk. & also we tried THUMBS UP! It was so cute!!! Bite size ice cream on a teensy-weensy cone.. But man!!!! It’s very yummy!!! You can get 5 of dang things you can also choose different flavors !!! Yummy!!!

On the new hotel , we ended up going to the bar downstairs & drank our dilemmas away LOL!!! I tried this new drink called “Storm” it was their drink of the month you get a free stuffed toy every time you order. Man, that drink was yummy!!! It was made of green mango juice, cucumber juice, some kind of a syrup, rum & blue syrup. It was yummy you can’t even tell there’s an alcohol in it!!! Yeah I got 7 of those things!!!! And 10 including 3 free drinks from the house LOL!! We met a nice couple a Filipina & her irish hubby!! Oh by the way,, her hubby was on BRAVEHEART movie .. I have to watch it again to see him there lol.. Oh there’s one thing that drove us to move to that hotel aside that’s it’s nice but also their casino!!! But then!!!! It’s a BUMMER!!!! I went to the casino & started looking on what games do they have which I have no idea on any of it!!! There’s a poker but not Texas Hold ‘Em so that was bad news for me.. & I asked this lady what is Super 6 & she told me all those stuff right then again.. She asked me to pay P1000 coz she will make it P10k yeah right!! What does she think of me retarded??? I mean seriously there’s lots of scammers in that casino! Golly! Anyway after I got bored I tried playing on one of those Slots! They only accept P500 & P1k bills anyway I got bored playing so I cashed out.. Ngeeeehhhh I had to call attendant … he seemed pissed off & I asked him how come do I have to call him. & he said when u play one game one machine you cannot cash out!!! I was like” WELL THAT SOUNDS DUMB!!!! HOW CAN YOU WIN???? “ & another lady told me that you can’t cash out except if you use some kind of card! I’m assuming credit card or some thing.! But yeah u cannot cash out ‘til your money is gone!!!! What kind of foolishness !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL that was plain dumb to me doesn’t it???? I got out from that crap hole & went back to the bar & drink again LOL!!! Oh yeah we also watched movies while were in Manila. The don't have those thing that you can watch the movie over & over again!! I think they're americanized LOL!! they do it like her ein the US you can only watch that certain time length. we watched SUPERMAN RETURNS & by the way we got kicked out when we got in to watch "THE BREAK-UP" they sold us teh ticket let us in but then again...... came inside & told us they can't let my son watched the movie since it's rated R!!! I was like what the hell!! they knew it was their fault they told us we can watched soem other movie so we then watched PIRATES OF THER CARRIBEAN 2 which was okay... cliffhanger prepare yourselves for the 3rd one!!! LOL

I sent all the PASALUBONG I had for my family! And of course bought some stuff for my kids! I didn’t get to bring what I wanted since my bags are all stuffed & I was afraid to go over the limit!!!!!! We bought some souvenirs for our families too. Anyway, on the 7th we are so excited to come back in the US I was sitting on my sons seat which is on Business Class . Since we wanted him to be on the same flight as we have we had to pay the ones on business class coz that’s the only seat that’s available. I got greedy & volunteered to be in his seat. LOL but it wasn’t that special though!!! The food was terrible that was for sure!!!!! I have been to economy class all the time & I am liking their foods but on business class???? Hell no!!! taste like dog food!not that I have tried one but it taste like it!!!! Yeah you get the privilege of reclined bigger seat , individual TV but nahhhh I wasn’t happy! LOL … finally we got to Chicago & I thought that it will take us very long for my sons papers since he is a new immigrant thing but nope!! That was a breeze very fast indeed! I noticed that there’s a lot of confiscated baggage s probably due to what they brought like food & stuff!

So we got to TN by 7 PM & was so happy seeing my kids again!we went bowling with my my hubby,my kids & his cousins John& Amanda also with Samantha & her brother Dakota, My mother in law & my hubby's Aunt Peggy & her hubby Larry. we had fun spending time with them all. My son Shaun got along pretty good with everybody esp. with his brother & sister.. We spent another 2 days in TN & we left on Thursday morning & got home until 10PM . Man, our yard looked terrible!!!!! More chores to do in a couple of days that’s;’ for sure but my hubby did mowed the front lawn! LOL I called the school district for my son & we have an appt. for them to test him. I have to bring him to his pediatrician for more vaccine needed before school starts on the 28th. Anyway got 2 go & clean some a bit more. We have things all over!!!

It’s just nice to be home……. Even though how much I think of Nebraska as a very crappy state but it’s Home!! & there’s no place like it…. Well… that is until if we move to another state LOL !!!

my drama!

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