trip-of-the-year of the tiger

this i'd call my trip of the year 2010!

been to the US for 2 weeks last october 2010. only 2 weeks yet i had a blast. i didn't waste a single moment. been to 5 states...not bad for 2 weeks, right?

i still recall very vividly the day i left...

i left Manila with a heavy heart. i was crying on the way to the airport. i almost canceled my trip because sam was sick. fortunately, the day before i left, i went home earlier than usual so i can finish packing but we ended up bringing sam to her pedia because she was sick (everything she takes in, she takes out by vomiting and/or defecating). it was a good thing we did because her pedia gave her meds to combat the sickness. and another good thing was that my parents were at our place to baby-sit (thank goodness for that). and so i decided to continue with my trip albeit with a heavy, heavy heart.

at the airport, i cant help but cry every time i remember sam's situation. but hubby assured me that everything will be alright. and he had been updating me every now and then. fortunately, the very day that i left, sam's condition has improved and she was ok soon after.

now back to my trip (that was a side trip to the trip-of-the-year), after going through the usual process at the airport, there i was at the gate waiting for boarding. i boarded a delta airlines flight to San Francisco via Narita. i just slept all the way from Manila to Narita. i needed the rest. when we got to Narita, i just bought key chain for my sister and ref magnet for me, then waited at the gate for my departure.

let's jump to SFO (the long ~9hr (?) trip from NRT to SFO was uneventful). i was so anxious during the long queue at the immigration. this will make or break my travel. this is my gateway to the home of the brave and the land of the free. one false move....well, let's think positively. anyway, after a few questions from the immigration officer, i think he just asked me how long will i be staying, to which i answered 10days, he quickly stamped my passport. i smiled broadly and said thank you. whew!, that was it! just like that and off i went to my next trip, the chartered flight from SanFo to Sac.

unfortunately, there was a delay in my trip to Sac, i waited for over 3 hrs. i ended up buying snickers and bottled water for my lunch plus Dan Brown's latest book to pass the time.

i thought i was already primed at how small the chartered plane was. i had my seat reserved online, and the plane only had 11 rows of seat! when i saw it on the hangar, i was so shocked to see how teeny-weeny it looked beside the taxiing jumbo jets. it had a total of 28 seats, 1 (voluptuous) FA and a pilot. i felt so big in that plane and my co-passengers even bigger! i didn't know where they put the luggages...

but the ~2hr flight to Sac was OK. nothing unexpected happened. we landed at the Sacramento Intl Ariport. the airport was old and rusty, even though Sac is the capital of California. it looked deprived compared to the other airports i've been to. must be because very few passengers take off from Sac. most people would go to SanFo, a much bigger and busier city. i was expecting another check point, but i was surprised that arrows led me straight to the exit where my cousin and her husband were anxiously waiting for me...

finally, i was at my final destination. oh, did i mention that i was here to attend a conference? (i seem to have forgotten) i was sent by my company to attend a 3-day conference at Sacramento Convention Center. but im extending my trip in order to visit some relatives and friends and get to feel the life here in the wild, wild west.

i landed in the west coast but being an avid fan of TV series set in NY like Friends, Will & Grace and of course, Sex & the City, i can't pass up the chance to see the east coast...

this is just the beginning....

WARNING: METROCLUB SCAM

hi,

if it's any help

i received a call yesterday (dec 1, 2010) from a certain Senior VP (i didn't catch his name) from "METROCLUB" saying that i was recommended to have a pre-approved "ULTIMATE VIP PLATINUM CARD" he said i was the youngest to be ever given (he knows my exact birthdate). he said it's a discount card and if ever i decide to migrate to Canada and Australia, my visa would be approved immediately, and through the course of our conversations the word "CITY LIMITS" came up. btw, he speaks weird, thick european accent, knows a bit tagalog but slangish (not american-slang).

anyway, when it comes to credit cards, i am really skeptical, im afraid of all the scams that i have heard before. so, being the skeptic that i am, i asked him again his company name to which he said it's METROCLUB, an intl company affiliated to visa and mastercard but not a bank. he speaks real fast.

I asked him who recommended me, but he can't say who specifically, he just reiterated that they are affiliated to banks and accdg to their system, im in good standing daw. so when he asked me how long i've had my credit card (and i really can't recall), i just said, “can't u see it in your system?”. he said just for verification, so i invented a month...but he didn't refute what i said (dubious, right?). and when he asked me my billing address, i just said it's same as my BPI card...(you get my point) i totally distrust the guy.

good thing i was in front of my laptop, and i immediately googled his company. but i can't find any. so i asked him to spell it out for me. and i said i can't find it in google. hesitantly, he told me that their system is undergoing maintenance. i was about to tell him that for a company whom he claims to be huge (affiliated to AIG, Chase Bank etc), isn't it weird that their system is down, but i didnt get the chance coz he immediately hung up on me saying that he'll check their system.

fortunately, i didnt give out any info on my credit card (which is really not a habit of mine). but for my peace of mind, i called my banks, i have BPI and HSBC, to ask if there was any dubious transaction on my account. they said none, i just hope there will never be. later when i checked google again, there appears this website displaying the accounts of the many who have been victims of a scam from a METROCARE company. I have this gut feeling that this is related, that’s why im posting this. Im just glad to be a skeptic and always grateful to the ever-reliable google.

and to those who have experienced worst cases, i hope you'll be able to clear it up. and warn your family and friends that they might be using a different name now (METROCLUB).

good luck to all of you