My Two-wheeled Baby

I’m back! It took me a whole week, but I am now completely readjusted to California time. I arrived at my dorm from LAX Monday morning, and still I was able to catch my 12 noon Music History class! (not to shabby if you ask me). 

Since my arrival I had not slept much at all (maybe about 4-6 hours a night). The jet lag was not the only reason behind this lack of sleep. I think the real culprit was the anticipation for my road bike to arrive. I bought my bike on eBay while I was back in the Philippines. I couldn’t sleep because I was, and am, so excited to ride! I probably have never been excited like this ever before. I think there is something in biking I can’t get anywhere else, not even in cello playing. It is likely the sense of freedom, and the “I can go wherever my wheels will take me” mentality.

                My bike finally arrived yesterday and I was ecstatic. I opened the package and found everything in good condition and as expected. (well except for the brakeset which are Tektro  instead of the SRAM Apex listed in the item’s specs). I emailed the dealer and he said he would ship me the SRAM as soon as possible.

 

 

YAY!

Later this morning, I have a fit appointment with East West bicycles at downtown Fullerton. East West bicycles is what used to be known as Banning’s bicycles a few months ago. It is the shop of Fullerton’s main cycling team, “Team Velocity.” When I visited the shop a few days ago to choose shoes and pedals, I had the pleasure of meeting Sally. She was immensely helpful and encouraging. Sally helped me find the right gear and she even gave me a Cycling 101 talk. It was awesome!  Team Velocity has three divisions: 1,2 and 3. Division one is the group with the easiest pace, two is intermediate and three is the fastest group. Sally encouraged me to join division One’s rides every Saturday morning when I am more confident with my road biking skills. I am very excited!

I have about 4 hours before my fit appointment, so maybe I will use the time to practice cello or go back to sleep, although, sleeping doesn’t seem very likely at this point.

My A-ha Moment at Hong Kong International Airport

My plane arrived landed in Hong Kong at about 11 pm, Jan 22. I was flying back to Los Angeles after a month long break in Cebu. The flight was pretty comfortable, although I did not sleep. It was 2 ½ hours long and I got to watch about three episodes of Angels in America. 

Upon disembarkation from the plane, I was met by a woman with a sign that read: “Flight CX880 Los Angeles.” She was gathering people rush to the departure gate, our flight was 40 minutes delayed and the LA-bound plane was waiting for us. So I hurriedly followed the woman in fear of missing my flight.

All of us passengers rushed across the huge Hong Kong International Airport to get to gate 3. When we got to the gate, I had my bag inspected and promptly presented my boarding pass and passport. The lady had to look twice and tell me: “Sir this isn’t your flight.”

In a swirl of confusion, I looked at my boarding pass and saw: Los Angeles...CX 884...13:05....Jan 23...

January 23^rd, the following day... A-ha.

And so I had to stay about another 13 hours at the airport! My first reaction? Well, first I was perplexed how I overlooked such an important detail.  My second thought?  I wouldn’t make a very good accountant. In the end, however, it all worked out. Soon after, I found the HK Airport traveler’s lounge and slept for about 8 hours. The following day, I wrote this entry and roamed around my temporary home. It was a really interesting experience. I felt like Tom Hanks in his film “The Terminal”, only without Catherine Zeta Jones. 

 

International Traveler's Lounge

But seriously, what I enjoyed most about this experience was being surrounded by so many different kinds people from all over the world: Chinese, Russians, Germans, Americans, Australians, Indians, Filipinos, British, the list goes on.  I like the idea of growing up in an international culture. I think that if more people grew up in such an environment, many incidents of violence and discrimination could have been prevented. At this moment of my life, I don’t really like Nationality as much as I like Internationality. Striving for internationality, we learn the habit of being open to other ways of life. This openness for other cultures translates to an open-mindedness for life in general.

Cloudy Hong Kong skyline view from Gate 4

Anyway, enough of that, now back to my learning. I learned that I shouldn’t be too quick to assume things. Just because I had a connecting flight to Los Angeles, didn’t mean it had to be the first flight out of Hong Kong. Just because one is frustrated, doesn’t mean the first opportunity to quit is the right one. Just because someone (even with authority) tells you what to do, doesn’t mean that that is the right thing to do. 

 This I learned from my A-ha moment at the Hong Kong International Airport.

Some New Year's Resolutions

Hello, this is my very first entry, so welcome! And Happy New Year! I know it’s late, but I am bringing it up because the decision to create this blog was one of my New Year’s resolutions. I think writing entries here will help me grow as a person (and as a writer!). I intend for this blog to serve as a space for me to reflect on the many experiences I am blessed with everyday. So first of all, let me share with you two other New Year’s resolutions: to become fit and to become consistently neat and organized. The former is a goal I have been trying to achieve for a while now. However, this time, I am confident that I will achieve it because I have recently fallen in love with cycling. I just bought my very first road bike and I intend to join the Bike Club of Irvine very soon. Maybe I will join the Saturday morning ride next week. I am very excited to hit the road and feel the breeze!

Biking to Santander!

                Even before I got into road biking, I have always loved to cycle. When I first moved to California, I did not have a car, so I biked to school every day during my first semester at Fullerton College. I would bike about 2.5 miles each way. It was a great experience that introduced me to bike commuting. This last Christmas break,  I did my first decently long ride back in Cebu, Philippines(my home and where I grew up most of my life).  I rode 66km from Moal Boal to Santander via the coastal highway. It was beautiful! I would compare it to a mini version of the PCH in California.  Anyway, that ride is what got me. So now I love road biking! Yay!

My second resolution, to become organized consistently, was actually inspired by my 12 year old brother, Liam. While I was back in Cebu for the Holidays, I noticed how clean his room was. I was amazed by how serious he took order and cleanliness at his age! I asked myself: “If Liam can take care of himself, why can’t I?” So that’s how that went and now, I intend to keep my dorm room neat all the time!

My brother Liam

I have wanted to write about these resolutions since New year’s day. Since then, I have been running on a treadmill every day and I have been keeping my room clean. Hopefully, I will maintain this throughout the year!

That’s all for now! Bye!