Promdi in Shanghai Log – April 3, 2004 ---- Woke-up with a big head-ache. my sister was in her usual 'Wake-up-you-all!' routine. Very much like Mom. I fly to Shanghai today, and she, along with my Brother and his girlfriend, were bringing me to the airport. The plan to have my good friend Marky drive me over fell through. Good thing, my brother was able to squeeze me in his hectic Saturday schedule (he’s headed out of town with his boss or something). My Mom calls us up on the cellphone, and along with Dad are telling me to eat well, make sure I have vitamins, what to do when dysmenoria strikes, and not to worry about them. I was half asleep, and was giving these long, sleepy, moan-like responses.... “yeeeeeeessss, a-haaaaaa... opoooooo... So I finally got up, showered, and got into my travelling garb – jeans, black long sleeved v-neck shirt from 1999, and a pair of black all-star shoes. Not to shabby, I thought. Of course that thought changed when I got into Shanghai. But that is getting ahead of the story. Anyway, so off we go to the airport. My brother used the government vehicle, which for some reason, the MMDA seemed to completely ignore – and my brother broke a lot of rules that day…i.e. counterflow, driving beyond the yellow-line, swerving, and what not. It was unbelievable! I know what I need to get when I get back --- a government plate. When my brother pulled-over in front of NAIA, we saw other people being brought in by their families. And there was one interesting sight. One group had someone come in wearing just a duster. You know, the kind you sleep in with or the kind you wear when you’re in a beach. And it appeared that she was one of the passengers. Being the weird one, I cracked a joke about it, and my brother made “hirit” that it was good – because it meant that she will not have a hard time going through all those security checks. That comment almost killed me. Sense of humor does run in the family. So after hugs and goodbye’s, I got shooed into the NAIA, and my, it is such a big mess. People are like everywhere! We really need that NAIA 3 up and running. So I fall in line in Cathay Pacific, and the line was super long – giving me a lot of time to do needless things like, people watch and making comments inside my head. There was this one guy in the line who looked like that dancing dude in the axe commercial… you know, that weird, nerdy, projected-to-be-cool- dancing dude. Each time he falls within my sight, that dance music turns on inside my head, and then I can’t help but laugh. The things the brain does when it’s bored. The plane ride to Hongkong was short, but I was able to catch some sleep, eat haggen daz ice cream, and chat with a sea-man en-route to Japan. He was going to be in one of those Tankers. God Bless him. He keeps our economy alive. While waiting for “Dragon Air” to get ready, I met two Noy-Pi’s from Phillips, also going to SH for training. Instant friends we became… and we had pictures taken with Dragon Air in the background. The plane ride to Shanghai was interesing though. That Axe commercial dude look-alike was actually in the same flight. He seemed a little surprised to see me too. Girl on the intercom speaks excellent English… the accent was very hard to classify… not British, but not American either. Soccer seems to be a big sport in SH because the newspapers showed lots of pictures of Rolando and those hunky soccer stars. The 2 people seated in front of me is an interesting pair. The girl actually looks like this babe from a fashion magazine, her hair in reddish highlights, and the guy she was with is this old dude, who looks rich, but not very good looking. Well, that was an understatement. He actually looks a lot like Kuya Germs. The bombshell on the other hand had this exceptionally pointy boots with a “mala-tigre” accent, and surprisingly has huge boobs. Babby M. would have liked this one.