I had to give up this project.  I was sick with a month-long migraine and I couldn't find the time to record all the chapters.   This project is now complete through the collaboration of librivox readers who picked it up after I raised the white flag.   It's a great book and i did read the first six chapters. 

Check it out!  The Woman in the Alcove

annyong haseyo!  I have developed an addiction to watching sub-titled Korean Movies.  who knew? I have now watched at least 10 full shows.  One of them, "Yi San" (which is a favorite) had 77 episodes.  I favor the period dramas where the male characters wear robes and those tall, weird-looking hats that look like they're made out some sort of stiff mesh. 

I am now watching Jumong -another historical drama.  I've watched a few comedies and they were okay until you got to the very end.  I have yet to watch one that has a good ending.  Korean movies have very lame endings.

Erik thinks I'm weird for not watching Filipino movies instead.  Are you kidding me?  Pinoy movies are corny and lack the cinematic quality of their Korean counterparts. 

So, check them out - if you can read fast like me, you will probably acquire the addiction.  some of the korean actors are actually cute....!

So to continue...

The night before my departure, I was packing up and getting ready and in the process, I remembered that I haven't checked my passport.  It was 12:30 at night.  When I opened my passport wallet, I broke into tears.  My passport has been expired for 5 days!  In my frantic excitement, I forgot the most important document for my journey back home.  I was frustrated and cried all night.  Erik was sympathetic but what can he do?  I called the NWA to cancel my flight.  They gave me a credit for a round trip travel.  I can reschedule as soon as I get a new passport.  I am not a US citizen yet -- which worked in my favor since the Philippine Embassy will issue an emergency passport if I make it to their office in Washington DC by 2:00 pm the next day.  It was 1:00 am and I was miserable.

I then called my sister in Minnesota.  I was supposed to be on a flight that leaves Raleigh at 8:30 am and arrives at St. Paul, MN around 10:30 am.  From there, my sister and I were to be on the same flight to Manila.  I told her what happened.  She will now have to go by herself and I was to let her know if I am able to get another flight and hopefully make it to Manila by Friday night.  There is a 13 hour time difference.

I drove alone to Washington DC the following day.  Left at 7:00 am and got there by 2:00 pm, got my passport by 5:00 and broke free from the rush hour traffic around 7:00 pm for my 6 hour trip back to NC.  I got home at 1:00 am.  My husband booked me on another flight with Cathay Pacfiic that leaves at 8:00 am that day.  I told him to set the clock for 4:00 am.  Well... we overslept.  I was tired. The airport is an hour and a half from our house.  I grabbed my luggage and we got out of the house like it was on fire.  By the time I arrived at the airport, that flight had already left.  What else can possibly happen???
 
The lady at the check-in counter said she can put me on the next flight leaving for NY but that I will not be able to take my 2 check in  luggages since by the time I get there, I will only have a half hour to make it to the gate to catch the flight leaving for Hongkong to Manila, the only flight leaving that day.  There will be no time to retrieve them, check them in and go through security.

I got on that flight with just my carry-on.  I stuffed what I can carry into it and went. 

So I made it to the wedding.  Barely, but I made it.   And it was worth it.  I had a great time with my family.  My niece was a vision of beauty and the celebration of her wedding was spectacular.  Will I do it again?  Heck no.  Next time, I'm checking my passport before I even book my flight.  Forrest Gump has the last word on me on this one... "stupid is as stupid does."   

I went home to the Philippines in February to attend my niece's wedding.  I have been planning to go for about six months and I was able to convince my sister Carina, who lives in Minnesota to go with me so we can have a family reunion.  She planned to go earlier to visit her son who she hasn't seen in seven years while waiting for her immigration status but I told her to wait until February so she can attend the wedding.  I thought coming home to a celebration will lift her spirits up since she's been through a lot of difficulties with her health and from being separated from her son.  Our parents passed away a few years back.  My father in 1983 and my mom just recently. Now there is only me, my brother Ronette, and my sisters Pam and Carina and it has been 15 years, if not more, since we were last together. 

I packed two large suitcases with "pasalubong' or gifts for my family.  Stuff they want, stuff they need that I didn't and stuff from the massive throve in the garage and in the shed outside that were gathering dust and may be worthless to me but worth a ton to them.  I bought 15 tubes of toothpaste from the Dollar Tree,  15 bottles of body wash,  25 bars of soap, 5 packs of dental floss --not saying that my family is a bunch of slobs but that it is a commodity there and I figured if I bought them a few months' supply then they can spend their money on other more important stuff like food.

to be continued....

 

at the last minute... i found the perfect  lilac dress to wear to my niece's wedding.  in this photo with my Aunt Cora and my brother Ronette at the entrance to the reception.