Last week or so I had my sister here with us for my oldest son Chris' birthday. While she's here we went shopping. This time a lot of the malls here were open until midnight. While we went shopping her husband called her up and told my sister that my brother-in-law's sister (we will just name her Amy) was being attacked by the family of her husband. Weeks before that Amy was being attacked by her brother-in-law. He threw something at her and she got hit in the forehead and needed a few stitches. You guys probably wonder where is Amy's husband? Well, he is working abroad. That's the reason why the family of Amy's hubby are mad about. They wanted … [Read more...]
LiPster? LiPBook? LiPped In?
December 31, 2008 By 72 Comments
Let's face it, Social Networking sites dominate the Internet these days. For people here in the Philippines, Friendster is the most popular. In the USA, I would guess that Facebook is the most popular Social Network site. LinkedIn seems to be the Social Networking site of choice for business minded people. Are you into Social Networking? I wrote an article a few months ago about the impact of Friendster here in the Philippines, but these International Sites are also having an impact here. As I said previously, LinkedIn is more focused on business minded people. MySpace seems to focus in on Music and other Entertainment things. Lots … [Read more...]
Bob's 2009 Predictions
December 30, 2008 By 92 Comments
Well, obviously, 2008 is drawing to a close quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were all worried about Y2K issues and such, and here we are almost a decade into the new millennium! How can it be? Well, it's true, so no need to dwell on how fast time flies. With the end of 2008, though, it's time to take a look at the coming year, and see what things might happen if we speculate about possibilities for the year. 2009 promises to be a banner year in many respects. Of course, the United States will get a new President, and for the first time, a person of color will serve as the President of the United States. I hope for the very … [Read more...]
Voracious Little *#!*#!!!!!
December 29, 2008 By 28 Comments
This is a short posting that you might find amusing. I'm up in Abulug now, and am typing this on my Blackberry... So please excuse typos and whatnot. It occurred to me last night that here in the province, the mosquitoes are particularly voracious. How voracious? Well, I'll explain. I was fast asleep in my birthday suit, since it is cooler, dreaming peacefully, and I felt an itch in a rather personal place. Yes, "Little John" was bitten by a bloody mosquito, and boy, did it itch!!!! Now, of all the places I could have been bitten, this was one place that I never expected. I mean, what do you do, other than suffer the indignity of it all. Up … [Read more...]
Spreading Christmas Cheer
December 29, 2008 By 53 Comments
OK, OK, I know that a lot of you have been waiting to hear about the give-away of Christmas food, candy and toys that Feyma and I conducted last week! I am sorry that I didn't post about it immediately after the give-away, but I really wanted to take a little break, and spend more time with my family last week. I hope you all understand. First, let me say that the Christmas funds drive was a great success. This was the first year that I asked for any donations toward this cause, and the response was far greater than I expected. You folks who are reading this really opened up your wallets, and extended great generosity toward the event, … [Read more...]
Harmless Confusion
December 28, 2008 By 24 Comments
I have spent the last 3 years coming and going from the Philippines. I love the people and enjoy the country very much. There are many attractions, some beautiful countryside, mountains and beaches, especially if you know where to look. But best of all is the Filipino hospitality.A foreigner is made to feel so welcome in the Philippines and you definitely reap what you sow. If you are polite and friendly in your outlook and behaviour, then in my experience, you are treated in the same way, if not better by the locals. But over the last 3 years I can honestly say there have been some hilarious confusions that have occurred, mostly to do with … [Read more...]
The Philippines Needs a Good Dictionary
December 28, 2008 By 14 Comments
One of the reasons many Westerners give for visiting or moving to the Philippines is the common use of the English language. It makes a person feel at home ... or lets lazy people like me neglect to spend time learning any of the common Filipino languages such as Tagalog. But one of the things visitors and potential residents need to understand is, just because English is often spoken (and is, indeed, one of the Philippines "official" languages), do not expect that English is English is English. As the words of a song say, "It ain't necessarily so". Let me look for a minute at a word meaning/usage situation that came up for me starting … [Read more...]
Life in the States for me
December 27, 2008 By 23 Comments
As I've posted before it was quite an adjustment for me when I got to the States. I didn't know that it was that hard though. When I first tried eating the meat there I thought of going into vegetarian. ;-) Not really. Any meat tasted gamey to me, no matter how good it looks or even Bob and his family would say that the food is good I still didn't think so. I was really puzzled because I grow up eating meat. What I did every time I would eat meat I will put lots of ketchup on it. Even on pizza. Bob's family was surprised on that, but they know they can't force me to eat stuff that I don't like. I think it just took me like couple of months … [Read more...]
The art of walking
December 27, 2008 By 17 Comments
Walking in Davao I am an English foreigner in Davao. One thing we do a lot in England is to walk to our destinations.I know that one of the reasons we can walk so often in England is because of the climate. It is usually cool and this makes it very pleasant to stroll around, especially in the green countryside or the pretty city parks.So this “habit” of walking everywhere is something that my friend and I have brought with us to Davao city. Oh boy, yes it does feel different, because here in the Philippines it is so much hotter and the humidity makes these walks a very sweaty experience !!!But we still have lots of fun doing it. It always … [Read more...]
The Power of Words
December 26, 2008 By 32 Comments
The religious and philosophical writer Joseph Telushkin stressed a couple of years ago: "If you can't go for 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you have lost control of your tongue!" Joseph Telushkin lectured on the awesome power of words. He suggested taking a revealing "tongue test" to see where you stand. "Monitor your conservation for two days", he said. "Note every time you say something negative about someone, who is not present. Also record, when others do so, as well as your reactions when it happens. Do you try to silence the speaker, or do you ask for more details?" Telushkin concluded, "Most of us who take the test … [Read more...]
Recent Comments