Cebu trip: A reckoning

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), through BSMG Worldwide, invited Chie and me to the Asia Pacific Launching of their anti-rotavirus vaccine. The launch coincided with the 3rd Asia Pacific Convention on Infectious Diseases (March 7-9) at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu. The GSK vaccine is the first anti-rotavirus vaccine made available in the Philippines, although several other vaccines had been launched in other countries late last year. The actual launch lasted only for two hours, but we stayed in Cebu for three days to see much of the place.

5 things I loved about the Cebu trip

1. I experienced three firsts in this trip: first time to fly; first time to set foot in Cebu; and first time to attend a press briefing with international as well as local (Visayan) press
2. Good accommodation (courtesy of Hilton Hotel) and superb pampering (courtesy of GSK’s PR agency, BSMG Worldwide through Ces, Edcel and Jay). These guys (BSMG group) were not only very efficient, they were likewise very friendly and down-to-earth. Everyone was happy with the way they organized our travel. Kudos to them.
3. Sumptuous food
   Whew! BSMG and GSK spared no expense, especially with our food. We got to taste the best that Cebu has to offer.
4. New friends
5. Spectacular view and historical places
   Mactan, Magellan’s cross, beach, Fernan Marcelo Bridge, and a lot more
   

5 Things I hated about the trip

1. I had to share a room (and the matrimonial bed in it) with Chie. I would not have minded it at all had we not been given a two-bedroom suite. I would have enjoyed my own room if only Chie wasn’t so pathetic she wouldn’t let me get out of her sight because she was afraid of ghosts.
2. I had to wait until Chie was done with the bathroom before I could use it. Again, I could have used the one in the other room but she wouldn’t let me. It would have been all right had she been sensitive enough to move fast because someone was waiting for her to finish up. But she wasn’t, I always had to order her out of the bathroom. Hah!
3. I had to play Chie’s timekeeper all the time because she apparently never heard of the phrase, “time management.” Take for example what happened on our second day. We got out of bed at the same time. Because I wanted to play nice, I let her use the bathroom first, but instead of going there straight, she decided to watch TV first, ignoring me when I told her that she should start moving because we had to get down in a little more than an hour to meet the rest of the group. Only when I switched off the TV did she start to move (I had to do it, sorry!). While she was having shower, I made up OUR bed (oh, that sounds so off!) and prepared everything we needed for the coverage. Only when she was done did I get to use the shower. And yet, ten minutes before we had to get down, she still wasn't ready, while I was already fully dressed. Kakainis!
4. I never got a glimpse of Cebu’s sunset and sunrise. Three days and two nights in Cebu but I didn’t get to see sunrise and sunset. Waaahhhh! I woke up early on our third day just to get a glimpse of sunrise, but as fate would have it, it rained. Oh, how depressed I was. I love watching sunrise and sunset very much!
5. I didn’t get to buy necklaces/earrings and other “anik-anik” as pasalubong for my EXTREMELY DEMANDING friends. On our last day (our schedule to buy souvenirs and see more of the place), we decided to delay going out (upon my suggestion) because it was raining, not knowing that where we were going was very far from the hotel. Our travel consumed our time for shopping that the BSMG group decided we had to do our shopping near where we were having lunch instead (while they order and wait for our food), otherwise we wouldn’t be able to catch our flight back to Manila. Problem was, in the mall we went to, there wasn’t anything that was distinctly Cebu-made. All the things I saw, I could buy in Manila. Twenty minutes at the mall and I still hadn’t seen anything worthy to give my friends, I started to get so annoyed with myself and at everything, I was frowning and very quiet, that Chie, who was talking to Ces endlessly, fell silent too. So did Ces. (Good thing Chie knows how to deal with my moods. She must have advised Ces to ignore me while I was having a fit.) Ten minutes past, and I was ok; I started talking again. Chie and Ces must have felt relieved. (Now you know danger looms when I’m quiet. Hehe!)

Disclaimer
Items 1 to 3 in my “hate” list might have made you think I had a really bad time with Chie. Of course, not. I just had to write something to complete my list. Since there’s nothing really bad that went on during our trip besides items 4 and 5, I had to exaggerate my “annoyance” with Chie, and bully her here. Hehehe! But hear this too: I would not have enjoyed my stay there had it not been for her.

I’m guessing too, that if Chie had a blog and she were to write five things she hated about the trip, I would have figured in her list as well. Chances are, she would be writing about how she had to keep my tickets and my hotel keys for me because she was sure I’d lose them; how she had to carry my things (wallet and some documents) because I was willing to carry only my cellphone and digi-cam; and how she had to stay late at night because I felt I had to work even while we were suppose to be on vacation (What can I do? I'm a type A person!).

But then, she doesn’t have a blog and she doesn’t write, so I’m safe. Or am I?