Basketball in Busuanga Dec 3,2009

It has been almost a week since I posted my last blog. Due to the difficulty of getting a signal for my Globe Tattoo I defer posting my blog entry since I can’t also go to Coron to access the internet. I should get a SmartBro dongle so that I could stay connected again. My Mafia Wars and Yakuza Lords are suffering defeats since I can’t move them everyday.
Work yesterday was the same routinary work. You talk to the pilot and Manila Radio and at the same time I was playing Black Hawk Down on my laptop. I also got to talk to the pilot of RPC 1359 or the Eye in the Sky. Since 1359 has an incident while he was the pilot and I was the alpha controller when I was at Manila Tower. The story is he lost his radio while about to land in Runway 13 in Manila. I still have a traffic at that time and I gave him a light gun signal of Steady Red, which means give way to other aircraft and continue circling. Eye in the sky didn’t do any of those, he continued his approach which force me to clear the aircraft lined up on the runway for immediate take off. After the aircraft touchdown he has regained radio contact with Manila Ground and in turn gives me the chance to let a PAL Airbus line up on runway 31 for take-off. (Note: Runway 31 is the opposite end of Runway 13.) I scanned my horizon, which is standard and the most basic rule as a Tower Controller. I noticed that while the PAL Airbus is rolling the Cessna, which is the type of aircraft of Eye in the Sky was also crossing the opposite end of the runway. The pilot told me when we were talking yesterday that he didn’t see the Airbus lined up on the other end. Atleast its good that we were able to talk to that I may be able to hear his side. Regardless of that you still owe me Christian.
After work yesterday we were informed that we would have a basketball game in the barangay league where we joined out of fun. We were laughing since none of us is in shape to play since all we do is sit all day and play with our laptops. The last time I played basketball was in August and I played thru my PS2 not the real physical basketball. We went to Decalantiaw where the basketball game would be held along with the other personnel here in the airport. We would play against the Air Force team that’s also near the compound. On the shoot around the game of basketball became a picture taking session since our star player Emman is doing poses. When the game started we spent the first quarter on the bench. I went in the middle of the 2nd quarter and after just two laps of running up and down. My lungs are burning already. The 3rd quarter started with us playing me and Mario and we had a fun time. I got out after the third and my legs fill stiff after all the running. We ended up winning the game since the Air Force is undermanned, but a win is still a win.

Continuation of my Coron Adventures

These events happened after I uploaded my blog in one of the internet stations here in Coron. Contrary to the belief of some and mine before, Coron has broadband internet connection and its cheaper unlike in Boracay. After we were done checking our facebook and uploading pictures, we ate dinner at Food Trip were they served the best beef teriyaki with buttered vegetables. It’s also the first time after our 5days here that we were able to watch news on TV. We usually listen to the news on the HF radio we used during the duty hours to communicate with Manila.
We then proceeded to Kawayanan Grill, the place is located near Allied Bank. On our way we stopped by the plaza to watch a game of 3 on 3 basketball. When we got there at Kawayanan since we already ate we just settled into one of the huts and ordered beer. San Mig Premium for me and San Mig Light for Mario. The beer cost 50 per bottle of SML and 65 for the Premium. There are a lot of tourist who eat at the place since the ambiance during the night is relaxing along with the choice of music.
We retired to our room at exactly 11pm. In time for us to wake up at 6am to be able to catch the Zest Air service back to the airport. The next morning we woke exactly on the dot at 6:00am. We quickly grab our things and walked to the Zest Air office which by the time we got there is still close. Incidentally in front of the Zest Air office is the 2go branch I was looking for to send the Globe Tattoo back to my girlfriend. We waited for almost 45 minutes there but the service never showed up so we were forced to take a van from the market. It would be 150 pesos out of our pocket instead of the free ride from the Zest Air service.
The travel took about 45 minutes to the airport along with other passengers. When we got to the airport, Emman was also on his way to Coron waiting for the buhay buhay truck that he would hitch on. We had a quick shower and went to work after until the afternoon. When we signed off we decided to go jogging but I was too lazy to so I decided to take a short nap while Mario did his laundry. I woke up around 6:30pm and we had dinner or papaya and tuna stir fried. After dinner it was my turn to do the dishes and also do my laundry. It took me a long time to finish the laundry since I don’t do my laundry in Manila before. After I concluded the washing my back was in knots and aching like hell. I decided to retire to bed. This concludes the Coron Adventures Part 2 stay tuned for the next adventure.