ticket to ride

C2 airport

i am now waiting for my flight to LA w/ mama, papa, ting and bien. carlo and iana and tita mae are on the same flight but they're waiting it out at the Mabuhay Lounge. carlo and iana, being newlyweds, were given the pass by tita Mayanne, who is somewhat a biggie in PAL. tita mae on the other hand is tita Mayanne's close cousin. so i need to either be tita Mayanne's cousin or a newlywed to try waiting for the ride the Mabuhay style.

anyway, it's not that bad waiting outside the lounge. there's Wifi, there are benches to sit and spread my whole body on. the aircon works. i think i only feel bad because i cant wait w/ a buffet to cater to my appetite's every whim.

not that i haven't been spoiling my appetite. in fact, i've been over spoiling it.

earlier, my bro (the bearer of the ever feeling-famished stomach) discovered tuna curry in one of the FEW NUMBER OF STALLS inside the international area of C2 (really C2, i hope you know that once past immigration, i started wishing i were back in NAIA 1). it was really, really good (i'm not a bit surprised it was bro who discovered it). then my mother bought lasagna from deli france.

spoiled bitchy stomach.

i don't know how many meals they will be serving us in the 15-hour flight. 15-hour flight. whew. it's been years since i ever stayed on air for that long. 10 years to be exact on the way to San Francisco. my face was still a ball then (it's, ahem, a oblong-ish now). not to mention, the rest of my body. to Beijing, it was 7 hours. same with Sydney. to the US, 15 freaking-long hours. but i shouldn't complain. i know there will be movies, food, and music, and the sleeping.

i've just written in my twitter how i love airports. but i guess this applies strongly or only in arrival areas. all that hugging and warm smiles and the bloomy bouquets. remember Love Actually? don't even get me started -- but let me just say that that movie originally made me see the romantic atmosphere that captures airports' arrival areas. i believe they could be among the most beautiful places in the world. even in it's in NAIA I, the setting of w/c i'm sorry to say doesn't encourage drama. but the real drama are the people anyway.

i remember arriving in Sydney last year. hordes of people were waiting w/ held-out embraces and dozens of colorful blooms. i would have cried had i not been w/ a couple on the brink of a serious break-up. that was among my most favorite times in my 3-mo stint in Australia -- right there where i first stepped on OZ soil. Carlo and his family, who fetched me and the couple-on-the-brink-of-breakup, did not have any bouquet in hand for us but his beautiful kids and the glee on their faces were clear enough.

only a week ago, tito Papao and the girls welcomed me, Mamita and tita Rina w/ bouquets of beautiful, beautiful flowers to Beijing. that was one of my favorite welcomes to anywhere.

sigh. airport. welcomes. love.

i can't wait to be in LA.