Naga Trip!

This entry is long overdue, so might as well lay it out now before Finals Week and final requirements start to settle in and make me panic and delay this post even further.

That being said, I will withhold any birthday greetings I've missed until the end of this post. You know, for coherence sake.

Anywho, this post details, at least to some extent, the events that took place in my trip to Naga last February 11-12 (Saturday and Sunday for those too lazy to check a calendar or remember). In summary it was a great experience!!! ....at the expense of setbacks along the way. So of course you need to know the facts, so I'll lay it down for you.

The day before (February 10) I was actually with Kai. As a change of pace from the usual itinerary, I suggested that we have dinner at a different restaurant. We settled with eating at Dencio's and sharing large sizzling plate of Krispy Sisig was a nice, simple way to spend the evening together. Of course, that entailed a long drive heading home, not to mention taking Kai home. Of course the parents asked where I was, considering I had early morning plans the following day and I haven't packed. Literally. xD Got home at around 11, did some speed packing, triple checking I had all the necessary equipment to demo our game to our audience the following day before hitting the sack for 4 hours.

Day 1: The day started early, having woken up at 2 in the morning to make last minute preparations, double checking my bag if I had everything before leaving with my mom to pick up Rina and get dropped off at McDonald's, Katipunan by around 3 in the morning. This was the time we'd be meeting with Ma'am Didith, our thesis adviser, who'd be picking us up. I realized that McDo didn't serve breakfast yet so Rina and I settled for ordering from the McCafe instead (she got black tea and a choco chip cookie, while I got peppermint tear and an ensaymada). So Ma'am Didith came, we ate our stuff before leaving to pick up Ma'am Jess at around quarter to 4. Traffic was scarce, as expected early in the day as we headed to NAIA 3 terminal. Our flight was scheduled for 6:40 in the morning, but it pays to be early.

This was my first time flying with Cebu Pacific. And surprisingly or not, the pressure got to my ears since I wasn't chewing on any candy to keep my ears unclogged. The consequence of that was even yawning didn't help pop my ears so I was semi-deaf even after we landed. We got to Naga at around 8-ish. The airport could have been better, but domestic flights are ones I don't expect too much from. Claiming baggage was self-service there, unlike ones that had conveyor belts and the like. But anywho, a shuttle from the hotel we were going to stay at for the evening (Crown Hotel) was already there waiting for us to take us to the main city. Once we got there, we checked in to our own rooms! It had aircon, a warm shower and free wifi! Simple hotel but with the right amenities. I was pleased. x)

So after we got settled in, we prepared to head off to our brother school, Ateneo de Naga University via two tricycles (Ma'am Didith and Rina in one, me and Ma'am Jess in the other). Since we were bringing our laptops and such it was too much of a squeeze to cram into just one, after all. What was funny about this trip was the tricycle Ma'am Jess and I took got ahead of the other, and so we got to the school first. We were dropped off just in front of the gates, and we saw them get dropped off across the street. What was funny was they didn't notice us at all and were looking in the other direction anticipating our arrival. My shouts fell on deaf ears until they finally noticed. Ma'am Jess and I laughed.

As we entered the campus, the guard was asking us where we were headed, and the conversation went something like this:

Guard: Saan po sila? [Where are you going?]
Ma'am Didith: Sa workshop po. [To the workshop]
Me: -spots a flyer of said workshop and points at it- This one.
Ma'am Didith: Ah, dito po. [Ah, here.]
Guard: Aattend po kayo? [Will you be attending?]
Ma'am Didith: No we're presenting.
Guard: Aaah! Sige po, tuloy lang po kayo. [Ah! Okay, you may proceed.] :D

Well, all you need to know was that it was a funny conversation. We navigated our way to the venue of the workshop that led us through the campus' restaurant to the amphitheater where we settled down. We surprisingly started on time, commencing with a series of talks among the four of us, with reasonable breaks in between. When lunch time rolled around, we shared a table with the Computer Studies head Dr. Allan Sioson and Ateneo de Naga University's president, Father Jun Viray. After lunch, Ma'am Didith suggested that I demo'ed our game to Father Jun. I did so, and was pleasantly surprised at the feedback. It was not surprisingly fun, after all. And so the rest of the afternoon came with more talks, until it ended with mine, resulting in grabbing volunteers from the audience. Who knew that the big O notation helped stimulate CS students? xD

The day ended with an early dinner at Bob Marlin, where there was a spread of Crispy Pata, Blue Marlin, Pusit, Laing, Bicol Express, Garlic and Plain Rice, and an array of drinks among the four of us, Sir Allan and other students and faculty from the school. It was a nice experience and one definitely worth the trip!

Day 2: Our day of departure. We had a complimentary breakfast at the affiliate restaurant to the hotel early in the morning at around 6. We were set to be driven back to the airport for our flight, only to find out that the bad weather subsequently cancelled the flights. Of course, rescheduling it to the following day was a definite NO because (1) we had plans for the latter half of the day, (2) there was no way we'd be able to last since there was classes the next day.

So what did we end up doing? We rented a cab that would drive us all the way back to Manila, resulting in one of the best impromptu road trips I've ever been on! It was full of random quips and story telling, jokes and overall matters-of-fact that just ended up in dozens of laughs strewn all over the place. Of course, considering the long hours that had to be put behind us, we did have to stop some time for lunch, so while passing Gumaca, we stopped by Jollibee to order some food for take out, which we nommed and eventually survived on, stacking on top of the several stop-overs. Overall, it accumulated to an 8-hour drive on the road until we finally touched down in Ateneo de Manila. We made it with some hours to spare before the event we wanted to catch up to, but it was well worth the trip. :D