Bob Martin

A couple of days ago, I wrote a column about Gated Communities, and one of the regular site readers, Carolynn commented that caroling and such during the Christmas season would only last for a few days.  Carolynn has only been here for a short time, so she didn’t understand that Christmas goes on for months in the Philippines.  I responded to Carolynn and explained to her that Christmas would be a lot longer than a few days here in the Philippines.  Don’t think that I am picking on Carolynn, I actually got a little chuckle when she made her comment, and just thought to myself that she will soon find out!

In my comment reply to Carolynn I explained that I had been told (and witnessed) that during times of economic downturns, that Christmas is brought in a little early to get people’s minds off of the poor economy, and make them think happy thoughts.  I even said that I would not be surprised to hear Christmas Songs on the radio soon.

Today, I went for a haircut, which is something that I always enjoy.  The barbers here always take special attention to give you a good service - a great cut, and also the most comfortable and “pampering” experience that you could expect.  As I sat there enjoying my haircut, the radio was playing.  Suddenly, a big smile came to my face when I heard my first Christmas song of the season!  July 24, 2008, I heard “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Charles Brown.  I instantly thought of the discussion a few days ago on this site!

The barber shop where I go has 8 barbers.  I was watching their reaction to the Christmas song that was playing so early in the year.  There was no surprise, just joy on their faces!  Most of them were actually singing along with the song.  After the song was finished, one of the barbers went over and turned off the radio, and the barbers were singing Christmas music on their own after that.  It was as if the Christmas season was just kicked off!

So, now I am expecting that within the next few weeks the Christmas season will be in full swing in the Philippines, or at least in Davao City!  We’ll be seeing the stores carrying Christmas merchandise, Christmas music on the radio, and people will even start wishing each other “Merry Christmas.”  Of course, as a foreigner, it also means that people will start begging on the streets for their “Christmas Present.”

It’s a little early for me.  How about you?

photo credit: SpacePotato

You know what makes appliances and other electric items work, right?  It’s magic smoke that is put inside by the manufacturer.  Have you ever had a small appliance that you plugged into the wall outlet and a puff of smoke came out?  If so, did you notice that the item didn’t work after the smoke came out?  Well, you see, the manufacturer puts that smoke in, and if it escapes, the item is trash!  It’s the smoke that makes it work!  If the smoke escapes, you might as well trash the appliance!

Well, that’s an old joke.  Of course, the smoke is not put inside by the manufacturer, the smoke is produced when there is a short circuit, or when too high of a voltage is fed to the appliance.  Dave Starr has an interesting article about this on his blog from a few days ago.  When I read that article that Dave wrote, it reminded me of my experience with bringing American appliances to the Philippines when we moved here.

You see, when Feyma and I moved to the Philippines in 2000, we brought almost all of our worldly goods with us from the States.  A few things we left behind - either by selling it or giving it away - but most items were loaded into a container and shipped to the Philippines, to our new home.  Of course, this included a lot of 110 Volt appliances from the United States.  The voltage for almost everything in the States is 110V.  Here in the Philippines the voltage at your house is 220V, or roughly double of the nominal voltage in the States.  It’s OK, there are also step-down transformers readily available here.  You simply plug the transformer into the wall outlet, and it converts the voltage to 110V, so that your American appliances can be used here.  It’s that simple!

Well, let me change that…. it’s actually not simple at all.  Over the course of time, you will invariably find that the item will accidently get plugged into the wrong voltage.  Suddenly you plug in that toaster and a puff of magic smoke escapes, rendering your toaster useless!  Believe me, no matter how hard you try, it happens.  If you don’t do it, your maid will!  And believe me, the maid will do it all the time!

What can you do?  Well, items that get “fried” from the wrong voltage can be taken for repair - the transformer inside the item will be rewound, and the item will work again.  You can even have the transformer rewound in a way that the item will work on 220V instead of 110!

Over the years, pretty much all of my electronic items around the house have been fried… some have been fried multiple times!  We are almost completely converted to 220V appliances now, having had things rewound for 220V, or simply replacing them with new appliances purchased here in the Philippines over the years.

I do have one tip for you, though.  If you bring 110V appliances with you when you move to the Philippines, go to the hardware store and purchase a can of red spray paint.  That red spray paint will fix the problem.  How?  Spray the plug red on the end of the cord of every 110V item that you own.  That way, it’s a reminder to the person who goes to plug the item in.  Red = Danger.  So, the message is:  “Hey, danger.  Think before you plug this cord into the wall!”

Personally, if I were moving here again, I probably would not bring any 110V appliances with me, I’d just buy new stuff here.  Because eventually, your stuff will get fried!

photo credit: j / f / photos

For today’s Live in the Philippines Vidcast, I’m going to take you along for a ride through Babak, Samal, and also a short section in Limao, Samal.  I am driving, Feyma is shooting the video, and all you have to do is watch the scenery!

Do you know how Samal Island is set up, administratively?  Well, the entire island is a City!  It is the “Island Garden City of Samal” also known as “IGacOS” by the locals. There are basically two areas on the island that are more commerically developed with stores, gas stations and such.  Those areas are Babak and Penaplata.  Babak is the district in the Northern part of the Island.  Penaplata is located in the Central part of the island, or the north central.  Aside from these two districts, the island is rather undeveloped.  The land that Feyma and I own is in Limao, which is about halfway between these two commercial districts of the Island.

When we live in Samal (probably about 9 years from now) even if the island has not become more commercialized (this is doubtful, I think), for things like grocery shopping and such, either Babak or Penaplata will serve our needs well, as they each have grocery stores and such.

The land on the west side of Samal between Babak and Penaplata is basically one resort after another lining the beach.  Resorts are much fewer south of Penaplata, and virtually non-existant on the east side of the island (although there are a couple of them).

Anyway, I hope that the video gives you a better idea of what Samal is like!

What do you think, would you like to live in a “gated community?”  You don’t know what that is?  Well, let me take a moment to explain it.

A gated community is generally a residential area that is on the upper end of the scale, usually premium houses in a development.  The reason it is called a “gated community” is because there is a wall built around the entire neighborhood, and you must enter through a gate.  Generally speaking, at gated communities in
the Philippines, armed guards are posted at the gates, and if you don’t have some business at the community you will not be allowed to enter.  Normally, residents - either home owners or people renting in the neighborhood - will have stickers that can be affixed to their car.  This sticker acts as a pass, showing the guard that you have permission to enter.  If you don’t have the sticker you must stop and talk to the guard, letting him know why you need to go inside.

I never really wanted to live in a gated community, although I wasn’t really against it either.  After Feyma and I had been living in Davao for about 3 years, we moved to Woodridge Subdivision, which is a very nice gated community here in the City.  Woodridge is really a gorgeous place.  When you enter the development, you would really never know that you are not in the States, or some other Western Country, except for the Coconut Trees and other such indications that you are in the Tropics.  However, it is really first class all the way - perfect streets, quality homes, etc.  The subdivision even has a Country Club with Tennis Courts, a Swimming Pool, etc. It certainly is first class living all the way.

As most of you know, if you are regular readers, I operate my various Internet Businesses from my home.  I have a staff of employees for the businesses.  I have been asked if it created a problem, having employees and such while living in a gated community.  Honestly, it was no problem.  I simply had to get some passes, complete with my employee’s pictures and such for each employee, and they would be granted access to the subdivision each day when they reported for work.  I do not believe that Woodridge would have been agreeable to having a business that generated a lot of traffic and such, but for my business I just had 3 or 4 employees, and we didn’t have any customers or others coming to the place, since everything was done over the net.

In the end, Feyma and I decided that the lifestyle in a gated community was not for us.  The place just didn’t have that “friendly” appeal that we like so much about the Philippines.  You also pay a premium to live in a place like that.  We were renting, and the rent was probably 30% higher for the same house just because it was located in a gated community.  If you purchase land and build a house in such a place, expect to pay up to double the price for the land, just for the exclusivity of living in a gated community.  For me, it didn’t come down to price, but just the feeling of the neighborhood, friendliness of the community and such.  I don’t have anything against others who want to live in such areas, but I learned that it just was not for me.

In Davao, I guess that there must be close to a dozen such communities to choose from.  What about you, do you think this is something you would be interested in?

photo credit: dthinks

After being notified of a movement that has started in the grass roots, but has spread like wildfire from there, a question has come to my mind.  I am asking myself - Is it possible to be President of the United States while living outside the country?

Check this video:

I mean, if my country needs me, what can I say, how could I turn it down?  Yet, honestly, I do not want to go back and live in the United States again.  I love living in the Philippines, and it would be hard for me to leave.

Leave a comment and let me know two things:

1.  Can I still live in the Philippines if I accept the honor?

2.  Do I have your support if I decide to make the run a reality?

There was so much debate about my post on Friday about Transportation Fares, I figure that a lot of people must have decided that I had the economic know-how to straighten out the economy and get things moving again.  I am honored with such a reaction!