(One of the) World's Best Airlines

Alaska Airlines is a great airline.  Maybe one of the best in the world, and definitely the best US-based airline.  Over 20+ years of travels and have fortunately been to more than 50 airlines.  My regret, why didn't I consider Alaska Airlines before.

This June, I flew from San Francisco to Anchorage, Alaska.  Delta does not have a flight that will allow me to get to my connecting flight, so they tapped their partner airline.


The ground staff of Alaska Airlines at the San Francisco Airport are the nicest people I have ever met.  Very willing to accommodate me and my 3 oversized-luggages.  Highly-efficient, highly-trained and true professionals.  I admire people whose love for their work show on how they deal with customers.

They serve Starbucks coffee even at the economy class section.

I have flown with Delta/Northwest for more than a decade and they always give me the crappiest seat.  First time to fly at Alaska and I am at Seat 6a!  According to experts, this is the best seat on the plane.

I usually get the aisle seat, unless the window seat is 6a.  I was treated to a nice view en route from SanFo to Anchorage, Alaska.

Thank you Alaska Airlines and I promise to be a customer again when I get back to the US.

Best Seat in the Plane

I ride the plane around 50 times a year.  This year being in Cebu, I had taken almost 200 flights from October 2011-June 2012.  Sheer math, and I had spend more than 2 months in the airport and on the plane in the past 8 months.

Seats are not that important for me.  As long as I give me an aisle seat, I am usually fine.  The worst seat was 32B in a Manila-Cebu flight courtesy of Cebu Pacific.  This was during the PAL strike, so not only did I pay 7,000 for the round-trip but got the worst possible seat - last row middle seat, behind the comfort rooms.

The best seats in the plane are of course the First Class or Business Class seats.  In my opinion, any First Class seat beat the best economy seat.  So no debate there.  But the question is,  what is the best economy seat in the plane?

Skyscanner.com survey 1,000 people and confirmed that a "best seat" exists.  And it is 6a!  Of course aircrafts vary and so does seat configuration.  But on a standard aircraft, an astounding 46% of passengers selected 6a as their favorite "perfect" seat.

Confirmation from skycanner.com's survey

If you want to see the best seat depends on airline configuration, you can visit seat.expert.com
www.seatexpert.com


Related articles about the best seat in the plane are here:
http://www.skyscanner.net/news/articles/2012/04/012444-skyscanner-reveals-the-perfect-seat.html

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/04/27/best-seat-on-plane-is-row-is-6a/

Game Over: The Generational Divide on Computer Games

I grew up playing Game and Watch.  Very simple games compared to today's games.  Left, Right, Up Down, A and B Buttons, that's about it.  In several Game and Watch Games it it just Left and Right and the A button, so pretty straightforward.

Whether it is Egg, Octopus, or Parachute you played, Game Over means 3 lives.  If one of the Octopus's tentacles clawed you, or if you missed catching a parachute with your boat, that is one life lost.  The goal is to reach 999 points.  So if you have 980 points, but lost your third life you will have to start all over again.  Mistakes are fatal, so we gamers are well-concentrated on the game.  There is a need to be very focused.

Nintendo Game and Watch Parachute

 Today, not only are games more sophisticated in terms of visuals, they are ultra interactive as well.  With touch screen technology, gamers are able to extend the slingshot and angle the birds, or quickly touch the sun coming from above or from the sunflowers.

But the two more glaring differences between the games of the past and the games of the newer generation are 1. modularity and 2. the definition of Game Over.

Computer games of today tend to be longer and tied to stories of longer quests or missions.  But they are more modular.  So missions are divided into stages, phases, levels, even sub-levels.  So Angry Birds would have the Poached Eggs Stage which are further divided into Levels and Sub-levels.  You would have Poached Eggs 1-1...up to 1-15 or 20 depends on the gadget you are using. 

There is Game Over in Angry Birds and in Plants vs. Zombies.  But since the games are modular, you start on the level you ended.   If a Zombie ate your brain at level 3-3, then you will restart at level 3-3 not at 1-1.  In any Game and Watch game, Game Over means going back to 0, regardless of whether you have 100 points or 988 points.

Is there a correlation between the attitude of older generations and newer generations as manifestations of the computer games they play?

I am no psychologist nor a sociology expert, but I do notice that the younger generation are more impatient, restless and more risk-takers.  And these are not necessarily negative traits.  At work, I have spoken with several Generation Y's who want to become managers right away, without undergoing the usual career progression.  These are individuals who cannot and would not wait to take on more responsibilities whether they are prepared for it or not.  Gen Y's also take more risks compared to the more calculating albeit more conservative Gen X's.  And Gen Y's frown on the concept of "if you fail, you are out".     

Computer games are not just games.  Especially when billions of people all over the world regularly play.  Maybe, the nature of the games have influenced how people treat school, work, socials and life.   

Mixed Emotions about Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu

I purchased a voucher last October 2011 for a 50% discount at an overnight stay at Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu.  I called their reservations last week to book a room over the weekend.

Spoke to a lady who said there was no available room for the price I paid for, if I wanted the give me an Executive room where I need to add 2,500 pesos.  Tempting, but I said I will have to think about it.  I did not want to pay extra because I felt it would defeat the purpose of the discounted voucher.

Not an hour after, I called reservations again.  Lo and behold, they now have available rooms.  According to the new lady I am talking to, there are several available rooms.  I made sure I booked a room first (Father's Day so could be hectic), then lodged my complaint.  Left my mobile number with them and said I will wait for an explanation.  I have not received a call from Shangri-la.  Maybe, miraculously rooms suddenly became available within 40 minutes.

But will be objective in reviewing the overnight experience.

Cleanliness and attention to detail, Shangri-la has consistently mastered.  Even their ash trays are classy.

Their lobby decor for June is elegantly simple.

The Seaview rooms are very simple.  And remember to close the veranda door, I mean really really close it.  Otherwise, the aircon will not work.  Part of their sustainability program.

The simplicity of the rooms are contrasted by the majesty of the CHI spa.  Simply, one of the most luxurious spas in the Philippines.  Balinese-inspired, there is certain feeling of serenity and of course   class.

Main entrance of CHI spa.  Really luxurious.

I learned that Shang-Mactan has a promo for BPO companies for the month of June.  Garden view rooms are available at 6,000 a night, compared to the usual 9,000.  Probably explains why there is unusually many Pinoys at the place.  Hey, Pinoys are practical.  

Surprised to see more than 30% of breakfast goers at Tides are Pinoys.  Usually it is just us, or maybe just ourselves and another table.

The verdict?

RESERVATIONS:  Very bad.  See post above.  If you pay around 15,000pesos for a room, you also expect that pre-arrival services are at least consistent.  I hate the feeling that I am being cheated because I am using a voucher

HOTEL SERVICE:  On the contrary, once you get to the hotel, the service is exceptional.  Hotel staff are polite but friendly.  The complimentary mango juice is a quite tasty for a welcome drink.

Unlike in Imperial Hotel, where I feel everyone is suspecting whether I am a checked-in guest or not, Shangri-la manages to implement this with respect to the guest.  And we appreciated this.

ROOM:  Just OK.  I was really expecting to see something more fancy especially with the price.  But it is OK.  Room is clean, albeit small.  Bathroom amenities are also OK.  Nothing spectacular and nothing stands out.

SPA:  The best!  Definitely one of, if not the best spas in the Philippines.  

BEACH:  Just OK.  A lot of area for improvement but I cannot fully attribute this to Shangri-la.  A beach is a beach.  Maybe their location is bad, or maybe the beach situation has deteriorated over the years beyond their control.  Don't get me wrong, the beach sand area is really good.  But the ocean floor near the beach front leaves too much to be desired.  Too much little corals, and too much stones.  Again, I can't blame the resort for this.  It is what it is.  In the grand raffle of beaches , maybe Shang just got the last pick.  Maybe karma from bad reservation service =).

FOOD:  Tides has to be the worst Shangri-la buffet place in the Philippines.  Breakfast food is too greasy and selection is very limited.  My first breakfast at Tides was in May 2009, and was really surprised to see a lot of people getting apples or mangoes  I thought maybe they just eat healthy.  Until I tasted their sausages, bacon and tocino.  I did not manage to finish the food and starting getting apples and mangoes for myself.  

If breakfast at Circles is a perfect 10.  And at Heat maybe a 6 or a 7.  At Tides, I would score it a 3.  You pay 1,000pesos ++ for that food, come on.  As I was looking at my food I got reminded of our breakfast food at Holiday Inn.  But hey, Holiday Inn charges 250 pesos, so in the end (I could not believe I am saying this)...Holiday Inn is better than Tides at Shangri-la Mactan.  

I often complain about the exorbitant price of breakfast at Marriott Hotel Manila which is closer to 2,000 than 1,000.  But at least, food there is good.  

In summary, Reservations and food at Tides are really really bad at Shangri-la Mactan.  Beach is forgettable, again not totally blaming the resort for it.  Rooms are OK, could be better.  Everything else though is exceptionally well.  That includes the cafe at the lobby, where the show band is also good.

Will I come back there again?  Probably not very soon.  Especially now that I heard Crimson Hotel in Mactan is having a sale - 5,000 a night.  That I will have to try. 

Top In demand courses in the Philippines

If you know a nursing graduate in the Philippines in the last 3-4 years, you probably heard their stories.  Unemployed, underemployed or paying an exorbitant amount to hospitals just so they can work as interns performing the job of a nurse.  Really sad.  Not long ago, nurses are in demand in the Philippines and especially abroad.  Interesting how things have changed drastically.

I had the opportunity to speak with University Deans and Placement Officers last week.  I learned that nursing classes have significantly shrunk.  4 years ago, one big University had 35 nursing sections.  This year they have 4.  And the story is very similar with other universities.  According to them nursing as a course and as a global career is cyclical in nature.  I guess we have to wait for the next cycle.

According to the university officials, the most popular courses in universities are:

1) HRM
2) PT, OT, Medical-related courses
3) Education
4) Business Administration
5) Engineering
6) IT Related courses

I am not surprised to see HRM as the most popular course.  But I wonder if it is the most popular course that companies look for.  I also know of several unemployed and underemployed HRM graduates out there.

Biggest surprise is Education.  I am happy to know that Education is becoming a preferred course for students. According to the University Leads, teachers are becoming in demand abroad, especially in big countries like Australia and Canada.  Not sure if this global demand is sustainable though.  Very concerned that this may suffer the same consequences  as nursing.

Another surprise is that IT-related courses are still not that popular among students.  Considering the Philippine IT industry is raising the white flag that they need more resources.  So there seems to be a huge gap between what the companies and industries want and the top courses in schools.
 

Las Vegas Character

Ahhh Las Vegas, either you love it or completely despise it.  There are very few big cities in the world that has this polarizing effect.

It is difficult to describe Las Vegas without oxymorons.  It is crass but sophisticated.  Dirty but immaculately clean.  Dark but bright.  There had been very few cities in the world that managed to keep its persona over the years.  Las Vegas is one of them.

Slot Machines inviting right after the passenger gets off the plane

In contrast to the old and not so tidy airport, a stretch limo awaits a VIP guest

There is character with the imitation of the Statue of Liberty at New York New York Casino

100x smaller, the Eiffel Tower at Paris Casino towers the Las Vegas Strip

The authentic sophistication of the famed Bellagio fountain show on a man-made fake lake 

Even nights and mornings are manufactured at Ceasar's Palace Hotel 

H&M turns up the volume here in Las Vegas

Disneyland for the Gamblers - Harrah's Las Vegas

And then you have culture like the LOVE Cirque de Soleil

The ceiling centerpiece at Bellagio

Pinoy Products in the US

I was in the US West Coast last month, and was delighted to see a strong Pinoy community.  We were in Vallejo, so already had an inkling that Pinoys abound there.  It was validated when we went downtown Vallejo and saw the signs ourselves.

Max's Fried Chicken Meal for $14.99

Chowking was also there.

Not surprised to see their famous Halo-Halo, costing 4bucks.

Sister company Red Ribbon was also there.  With their cakes priced like a US-cake, but of course

And of course, the Bee has to be there.

The menu looks the same as that of Manila's with the glaring exception of this Chickenjoy Popcorn, available outside the Philippines.   And by the way the Jollibee gravy is called "World Famous Gravy".  

It felt a little strange to see very familiar Pinoy products but with Dollar tags.  Like these famous chips for example, priced at 4 for 3$.  Of course expensive, but not that expensive compared to local(US) chips.

Confirmed! The infamous Pinoy Coconut Juice has strong following in the Western Hemisphere

Cupp Keyk and Skyflakes must bridge the homesickness of Pinoys in the US

Much Ado About Hunger Games

My reading the book, Hunger Games got delayed by a few months simply because the book had been unavailable in Manila bookstores ever since the movie hit the big screen.  So when I was in the US, the book was available but quite pricey.  Price ranged from $15 to the hardbound edition which was $24.95.  The trilogy edition was also available for $39.95.  I did not want to part with the money, especially considering the price of the book in Manila is around 300 pesos. (or less than $10).

Walmart saved the day.  A lone copy was sitting on the shelf at $5.99.  Was a golden find.

I learned that the movie was huge in the Philippines.  And the direct impact was people started to buy the book.  This is actually a common trend among Pinoys (watching the movie then reading the book), probably with the exception of the Harry Potter series.

When I learned that Hunger Games was a teenager book,  I got really scared.  I have avoided the Twilight series on purpose because am not really a big fan of saccharine-sweet love stories.  It was a delight that Hunger Games is none of that.  Of course it has a love plot, in fact a triangle, but set in a completely different tone.  Less of "I love you till the day I die", but more of "I will kill them for my love for you".  

After reading the book, I learned that there was a controversy about the movie version.  A rather serious one as it was about sexism and racism.  Apparently, several readers of the books expressed thru Twitter their dissatisfaction on the movie casting.  First were questions on the casting of Jennifer Lawrence in the title role.  Some tweets argue that she was unbelievable as Katniss Everdeen given her body size.  Honestly,  I could have never imagined Jennifer as Katniss while reading the book.  I actually did not recognize her right away since I know she has blonde hair.  But she gave a riveting performance that made me forget that she is on the voluptuous side in real life.  Her characterization also made me forget that the actress was 4 years older than the character, Katniss.  She was a darn good actress and I fell in love with her character.  She was adorable when she cared for others.  She was adorable when she was feisty with others.  So I did not understand the criticism.

The second and graver controversy was about the casting of Rue, Tresh and Cinna of black actors.  Apparently, many readers had different images of the characters when they were reading the book.  Although the book explicitly described Rue with dark skin, and Tresh with the same skin tone as Rue, readers complained and question why black actors were cast in the roles.    Obviously, this I completely do not understand.  The controversy arose from how the tweets were written, and they were outright racist, not even on the gray area.

Here are some coverage of the issue on the net:

http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made

http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Hunger_Games_Face_Racism_On_Twitter/21932840

Pacquiao Bradley Fight: The Aftermath

Are we just bitter losers?  24-hours passed and most are still questioning the decision of the judges.  I am not a big fan of the new Pacquiao - the one that incorrectly spews bible quotes regardless of context and question.  But I do believe he won the fight.  Yes!  I am also one of the most.

The numbers speak for themselves.  Judging is subjective but it should have been a little more objective if they rely on the stat cards.  Number of punches thrown and landed are counted for a reason.  So when the audience saw the Final Punchstats, that only made them furious.  For it was not even close, as you can see below.

Adding fuel to the fire, new Champion Bradley attended the press conference in a wheel chair!  So when was the last time such a thing happened.

In fairness to Bradley, he was quick, strong, bullish and he gave a good fight.  In my opinion, the match was close, but not that close.  I thought it was going to be 115-113, 115-113, 115-113, all in favor of Pacquiao.  That's how I saw it.

It is not only the Pinoys who are vocal about the results of the fight.  Many took it out on Facebook and especially on Twitter.

Here are some tweets that's gaining popularity in the internet.  First is from boxing correspondent and ringside interviewer Mario Lopez,  then from former boxing champ Oscar dela Hoya, next is from a popular Pinoy twitter FaceBuko trying humor to offset, and lastly by ESPN boxing Analyst, Nigel Collins.

Mario Lopez

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@MarioLopezExtra

I'm so disgusted. The JUDGES need to be drug tested! What fight were they watching?! I called the international broadcast and was on the...

9 Jun 12

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Mario Lopez

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@MarioLopezExtra

...apron and Pacquiao simply outclassed him. Wasn't even close in my eyes... Unbelievable. So disappointed in my sport. Boxing is killing me

9 Jun 12

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Video Replay embed only from YouTube:

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   Bradley should have given the belt and announce victory to paquiao right after the decision.

   
   

   Oscar De La Hoya

   
   

   a day ago

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1. BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Drilon, hiniling ang SALN ng dalawang judges na pumabor kay Bradley. Maaari raw silang i-impeach. #PacBradley #PacShet

   
   

   facebuko.com

   
   

   a day ago

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Nigel Collins@ESPNFNF

A tragic night for Pacquiao and boxing. It was perhaps the worse dec. I've ever seen. Anybody who thinks it was incompetence is a fool.  

10 Jun 12

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