November 21 was probably one of the longest and most tiring days of my life. Here's a detailed account of what happened:

3:30 AM My alarm went off and I punched the snooze button. I still had 30 more minutes of sleep time.

5:00 AM I left the house for the airport. My Philippine Airlines flight to Cagayan de Oro was at 7:10 AM. It was very early in the morning so I figured that it will be a quick trip from Laguna to Paranaque.

5:45 AM I was wrong! I spent more than 30 minutes on standstill near the Sta. Rosa interchange. The morning shift people going to nearby TechnoPark created a huge traffic jam.

6:25 AM I arrived at the NAIA Terminal 2 just in time! I quickly checked-in, got my boarding pass and paid for my terminal fee. Good thing I only had my big handbag and laptop thus no check-in luggage.




6:40 AM My flight was called and I was one of the last who boarded because I had "breakfast" of Red Ribbon Special Mamon and Coke at the waiting lounge.

7:12 AM I put on my sunglasses and pashmina shawl and was fast asleep even before take-off. Manila was dull and cold when I left.




7:30 AM I was awoken by the crew who were chatting noisily at the back of the plane. I also observed that PAL's already cutting cost since they are no longer offering juice inflight.

8:35 AM I arrived in sunny Cagayan De Oro and was pissed at the taxi people who wanted to overcharge for a 2KM trip.

8:50 AM I learned when I arrived at the Clubhouse of Xavier Estates that my presentation for the Mindanao Regional Meeting was moved to 1:00 PM instead of the original 9:00 AM schedule.



9:10 AM I took some some snaps from the beautiful place before hailing another cab to downtown CDO to kill time and explore the place before my presentation.

9:35 AM I arrived in Limketkai and was surprised to see how "sleepy" CDO is. I checked the Body & Sole Spa and Bigby's and both opens at 11:00 am. Despite that I observed that CDO is now more urban and progressive compared to my last visit in 2003.

9:40 AM I ordered a Chocolate Chip Froccino from Bo's Coffee, one of the few establishments open, while reading a tourist info flyer on CDO. I obviously looked for stuff I can do for the next two hours.

9:55 AM I went inside Limketkai Mall and saw this queue near the entrance of SMART Wireless Center. Wow..they can't wait to go inside?



10:20 AM I went to Vanity Works, a local spa place, and asked for a one-hour massage. The receptionist told me that their therapists were not yet in. I got tired of waiting for them so I left and just went on-line to check my work e-mail.

11:30 AM I went to Bigby's and ordered my favorite Grilled Rodeo Chops and Iced Tea. I love their Iced Tea, one of the best I had!



12:30 AM I got back at Xavier Estates for my presentation. The Wireless Center Managers were still eating when I arrived so I reviewed my presentation and watched 90210 on my laptop while waiting.

1:30 AM I presented updates and results for three of our projects this fourth quarter. There were some questions and suggestions. They were also excited when I announced the SMART & Nokia Davao launch of the N96 at Urban Bar on November 28 (everyone is invited!).

2:45 PM Our office van took me back to Cagayan De Oro airport for my flight back to Manila at 3:50 PM.

3:00 PM I checked-in and was told that all the good seats were already taken so I have to settle for a middle seat. I've always been an aisle girl so I was not happy about it. The kind airport personnel even checked if he can upgrade me for free to business class but it was a full flight.

3:10 PM I bought boxes of delicious Pastel (bread with yema filling) and Pastillas for my girls from the office and my family. I also watched 90210 from my iPhone while waiting for my flight.



4:00 PM Turned-off my phone and slept to oblivion as the plane raced through the runway. I woke up a couple of minutes just before landing. I was so tired!

6:19 PM I answered SMS and calls that I missed on my way to SM Mall of Asia for a customer event.

6:30 PM I arrived at Pink Pepper at SM Mall of Asia and was glad to see some very happy subscribers. The food - Pesto Pasta, Steak, Paella, Creme Brulee - were so delicious!



6:45 AM I got a call from Eugene from our Consumer Sales and he told me that I can already get my new handset from my SMART postpaid retention on Monday. Yey!

7:40 PM Marj, Kathy and I left the event after congratulating the South Metro Manila Wireless Operations for their successful and enjoyable "Wine, Dine & iMax to the Max SUKI Celebration".

8:00 PM I was supposed to go home right away but I decided to get a well-deserved Swedish Massage at Body Tune. My usual is Shiatsu but I decided to go for a more relaxing Swedish after the day I just had. It was great!

9:40 PM I went to Fully Booked to look for some interesting reads. I was supposed to get two biographies of the Clintons but I decided against it when I saw the international bestseller bio of Princess Masako. I also bought a copy of Newsweek which has President-elect Obama as cover.



11:15 PM I finally arrived home! I immediately went to bed, read a couple of chapter of the book I bought and finished the last few episodes of West Wing Season 1.

Whew! What a day! :) How's yours?

Pardon for the photos. I forgot to charge my digicam so the above are all iPhone photos.