Into Africa, Day 0

I only have 30 mins free use of the Taiwan Beef Noodle Restuarant's internet service here in HK Airport, so naturally I went to Facebook (ditto the other 2 Pinoy ladies next to me) before logging on here. Flight to Johannesburg less than 2 hours away. The 2-hour Cathay Pacific flight from Manila to HK before that breezed by thanks to multiple viewings of Family Guy.

New plane, new controls, better video-by-demand service. Improved chairs even have sliding seats for leaning, a mini-hanger for your bag, and even an outlet for your laptop to charge in, but it's 110 volts.

Small world rears its way again, as 2 of my companions are Bacolodian Beijinoys --siblings Albri and Che-- who were in the same batch as my cousin AiAi during their China stint, so they know Beyz, Lyndon, Manol and The Contessa.

Currently reading Shootout: Surviving Fame and (Mis)Fortune in Hollywood by Peters Bart and Guber. MP3 function on the celphone has The Ricky Gervais Guide to: The Human Body.

Circle of Jet-Lag: South Africa Itinerary Inna Nutshell

Now if I was a celebrity (or worse, Marlene Aguilar), I'd be worried about posting my holiday itinerary for Holy Week next week, in this case a "South African Sojourn 10 Day Tour" (as it sez on the photocopied folded flyer) w/ 3-Ku, cousins TinTin and AiAi, and their friends.

But I'm not, so here's the breakdownsies:

Total time in the air = approx. 32.5 hours

What's killer is the 13+ flight from HK to Johannesburg (and vice versa a week after), otherwise the other 4 (out of 6) plane rides we'll be taking are a couple of hours each. I smell lotsa naptime.

Total # of lodgings = 4

Sun City Palace Hotel for 3 days, Mabula Game Lodge for 2 days (more like overnight), Johannesburg Crowne Plaza Hotel for 2 days and Capetown Le Vendome Hotel for 4 days. Mabula Game Lodge looks to be the most interesting of the 4, so of course we're not staying long enough to explore "12,000 hectares of malaria free reserve."

Total # of Chinese restaurants we're eating in = 4

Not sure if this is stereotyping the Tsinoy tourists, but lemme put it this way: we don't go to China to look for a Big Mac, so why would we go to South Africa for Chinese food? If it's for "familiarity" or a "taste of home" they're missing the mark. Show me a Jollibee in Johannesburg and then I'll be pleasantly surprised. On the other hand the Carnivore Restaurant offers the chance to taste "crocodile, zebra or giraffe and more. " Guess that's one way to control the safari animal population. Madagascar movie fans may wince.

Total cost of trip= Thank God I'm sponsored, coz at my current salary it would take me over a decade to even consider this.

Sunday, Dopeyz Sunday

Last Sunday half of the original Dopeyz met up at SM Mezza residences in Sta. Mesa to celebrate the 3rd birthday of one of their spawn. That'd be ZAC*, the girl on the right wearing the flower tiara.

The place was one jeep ride away from my house, and this was my first time to step inside the 4-Tower condo spread, where ZAC's 3rd birthday party was being held. When I arrived at the 5th floor (not that I had much of a choice w/their lobby elevator only having 3 buttons: G, 2 and 5) the party was slowly on its way. Mommy Anne and her family are set to move into Tower 3 while final ownership legalities are being finalized, w/c might explain why a lot of apartment doors were still sealed/wrapped in plastic and the inside covered in tacky show-curtains. In the meantime they get to use the "Amenities Floor," w/c houses 2 swimming pools (one swimming, one wading), a huge lawn and party area, and a bar section that was naturally empty since this was a kid's party. Game organizing could've used some improvement but the weather wasn't being cooperative as we were visited by drizzles and strong winds.

While walking around and shooting the breeze w/ Lynette I learned that LRT3 riders won't be getting a view of the Amenities Floor, just the other way around since the place was elevated high enough. (Take that, would-be locomotive peeping toms.) Dopeyz-wise I learned one of us was regretting getting married to who-turned out to be a controlling spouse. (That said, this is 3rd-hand info and non-libelous, but nonetheless intriguing to hear, since I use that Dopey as an example of how even the longest-lasting couplings among us don't end up they way you expected, i.e. together. Eight months is nothing compared to 7 years.)

*ZAC is an acronym of birthday girl's name, w/c I found out too late and had already gotten her an Iron Man action figure. Man, first I miss the kid's baptism, now this.

The Internet: Good for Porn, Bad for Romance.

Two days ago I met w/ a girl I like for coffee. She was running late so I killed the time browsing in-shop mags (though how Cebu Pacific's in-flight mag ended up here, who knows).

Finally she arrived and declined my offer to get her coffee, saying she had a late lunch. In hindsight I probably should have insisted of getting at least a cafe latte, but I was feeling more practical than chivalrous and took her for her word. I also didn't want to break our conversation, so I didn't order, either.

During the chat she mentioned Gymboree, and I said my friend from Cotabato (The Contessa) wanted to work there some time ago. When she asked for The Contessa's last name, it turned out she was "very good friends" w/ her older brother. (Competition? wink nudge)

And that wasn't the surreal part yet, small planet that we have. Just a coinkydink.

Cut to yesterday. On YM I relayed this tale to The Contessa. She said that yes, her brother "mentions her a lot" (wink nudge). Coupla minutes later guess who was texting her brother about a un-coffee date? And asking/telling him about me?

What got my attention was two things she mentioned about yesterday (as least what The Contessa's brother said she told him). WARNING: STOP READING NOW if you think this will take a turn for the voyeuristic. Got it? 'Kay, to continue...

One: I was "too observant" about her Facebook page.

Two: I didn't even order her coffee.

Now, two things I learned from that:

1. Gauging what constitutes as "disturbing amount of knowledge" when it comes to someone else's Facebook page info. I can be the curious and resourceful kind, but for her to be a little bamboozled about knowing common acquaintaces that Facebook itself published? It's not like I was hacking into accounts.

This kind of thing happens to me a lot, where it could start from something as odd as people asking me how I knew when their birthday was (school batch directory, etc.) or wondering how I was able to reach them (Uh, you gave me your card...). The amount the personal information my friends place online is not as odd as their callousness in keeping it unprotected

The impression I got was she was perturbed/perplexed by the amount of mutual acquaintances, even though she brought it up. (Her cousin is Jessel Monteverde, who's my batchmate and related to Mother Lily.) The one that genuinely surprised me was that she knew Aimee Uy from her days when she worked at PhilAm. Including Junius and Darwin, that brings the number of batchmates she know to four. (That said, I know her old batchmate Yvette, and by extension DJ and Goldy. Facebook snooping? No. Deductive reasoning? Yes.)

2. Insisted on buying her coffee.

In conclusion: while no fault of my own, hopefully I didn't blow it.