A Long Wait

I write this post at the airport, waiting for my boarding. I arrived three hours ahead of my estimated time of departure. News reports and the authorities have advised airport passengers  to do so. I am being obedient as I do not want a repeat of a near-missed flight two years before. 

I never liked waiting. Good if I have company, but this particular flight home  has only myself to keep me company.  I have traveled alone previously and the same feelings on waiting are reinforced by this useless airport exercise. I have failed to bring a book with me, but I have my netbook to keep me occupied for the next hour. When the battery drains, I shall think of other amusing things to do. 

In my list of amusing things is to observe people. I am already making some as I write this. For one, there is a mother sleeping opposite me. She’s so big that she’s occupying two seats. Others, who couldn’t find seats, make the stairs and floor their resting place. In front of me, a Chinese guy in black drinks his Cinnabon hot drink which I suspect is coffee. He’s got earphones plugged in. Beside him is a guy playing with his handheld gadget, which looks like an android cellphone. He is nonchalant of the things around him. A Caucasian guy in his thirties walks in, searching for a seat in a sea of waiting passengers. He gives up and leaves with his baggage in tow. 

I wonder how  would other people see me. I guess they’d say, “a chubby guy is surfing the net with his computer.” The chubby part may be correct, but I am not online. There is not a whiff of free wifi anywhere. Hence, a word document is on.

With half a page still blank, I think of what else to write. I tell myself to talk of my future. My future has something to do with the future of this blog. Why? Because my future tells me that my desire for a car and many other things can materialize by next year. The thought excites me --- driving my own car, getting home smelling of car air conditioning and not of sweat and pollution, exploring areas of the city that have not been done so before.  I have my good fortune to thank for.

You see, 2011 has generally been a good year. I started with my new job in the government sector, and I have to say that this job is certainly the best. With this new job, I was able to travel to Puerto Princesa for free; more travels are to be had in the future, for sure. I have lost count as to how many important people I met and shook hands with. An offshoot of my new job is my more stable finances although much has yet to be desired on that department. I have also met an incredible new set of co-workers. Most importantly, I am happy.

To be happier in the 2012, I tell myself to aim high and to excel more. I have made some major plans including fixing my condo unit and acquiring a car. The former is more doable since we are talking of a few thousand pesos for the walls and divisions. The latter, the car, poses to be a challenge since it will require a lot more money. Still,  I looked at flyers and other materials related to purchasing a car. I became optimistic since a Hyundai model can be had for a downpayment of P18,000 and a monthly payment of a little over P10,000 a month! It is possible, assuring myself. 

I did my math after that. Parking space at P4,500 a month, gasoline probably at P4,000 a month, parking tickets and maintenance that go with keeping a car were factored in the computation. Yeah, I could very well afford it; I’d just have to skip breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next five years. 

But I never say die. The 2012 is 12 months long. It may not be next month, but I’ll work hard for it in the third of fourth quarter of the year. I will have made some progress by then I hope. But for now, I shall be commuter, a dreamer.

How about you, what plans do you have?

November 2011: At the pre-departure area of Puerto Princesa Airport

November 2011: While waiting for my ride home at NAIA Terminal 3

December 2011: Gate 116 of NAIA Terminal 3

I guess I have said a lot. This is what waiting does. My netbook has few minutes left in its battery. The PA system has just announced that our flight is delayed. After I save this document file, I shall strike a conversation with the lady beside me whom I hear is a household service worker from the Middle East. She looks forward to going home like the many others waiting for the PA system to announce “Passengers on Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 8** bound for Zamboanga may now start boarding gate ***.”

Happy New Year!

December 2011: Arrival at Zamboanga International Airport. Waiting for my luggage by the single carousel of the airport

(I published this post when I was in Zamboanga already, a day after I had written the post. There was not a free wifi connection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 where I finished the post. This is also my entry to Gasoline Dude's Blogversary Writing Contest)