Wow, its been a busy couple of weeks. Lots of fun, some headaches and a new PET MONKEY! Yesterday I had someone deliver a monkey to me and it didn't cost me a dime toward the cost of the monkey. Monkey Rescue A member of this site and my sites knew I lost a monkey a year ago. It appears one of the children in the area killed it. I'll never be certain. His name was George and he is irreplaceable. Our new monkey is not going to replace George. Hopefully she will just add to it. We are working on building her a monkey mansion to keep her safe. I'd be happy keeping her inside but we've already had one battle with the landlord … [Read more...]
The complainers
March 31, 2009 By 146 Comments
Last week, I invited a group of Filipino friends over to my house to sample some of my freshly roasted and brewed coffee. I know that these people are serious coffee lovers, because I see them often in local coffee shops, so I decided to invite them over for some seriously good coffee! We not only enjoyed good coffee, we also had some great conversation. I know all of these people pretty well, and enjoy their company, although I don't get to socialize with them too often because we kind of run in different crowds, and I am also older than they are, so the times we get together are really not often enough due to the circumstances. During … [Read more...]
Travel tax from Cebu Pacific
March 30, 2009 By 46 Comments
I just want to let you the readers know of a problem I am having with booking a flight, and at the time of this article I have still not sorted it out or got a full explanation. I have a tourist visa and every two months I pay an immigration fee and have my passport duly stamped and last year the rules changed so that I could be here not twelve months but up to 16 months without causing any problems, and as far as my dealings with immigration here in Davao I have no problems at all. So my 16 months is up in June so I have booked a flight to Bangkok for one week and paid Cebu Pacific and went home pleased with the booking I had made. However, … [Read more...]
Quagmire in Mindanao
March 30, 2009 By 70 Comments
The Government of the Philippines finds itself in a quagmire these days. What is a quagmire? Well, the definition of a quagmire is a difficult, precarious or entrapping situation. Unfortunately, that is where the Government of the Philippines sits at this time when it comes to the situation in Mindanao. Of course, as I often say, the great majority of the Island of Mindanao is a safe place, but in selected areas, the island is very dangerous. Right now, the dangers are amplified. After years of relative quiet on the kidnapping front, Mindanao has once again become a hot spot for kidnapping. It seems that people of all kinds are … [Read more...]
Watch Out! Creep!
March 29, 2009 By 5 Comments
Now I know what many of you are thinking, but I am sorry, this article is not about exposing unsavory individuals or catching trouble-makers in the act. Instead, this article focuses on recurring expenses and how they tend to creep up on the owners of small businesses. Small business owners in the Philippines need to watch out for many of these expenses that creep upwards over time, because they really do eat away at cash flow and this can come as a shock to your bottom line when you least expect it. Most small business owners start out on the right track. They watch their input costs like a hawk, and because funds are limited, costs are kept … [Read more...]
Cell Phone Use in the Car
March 28, 2009 By 32 Comments
The topic has been discussed over and over: Driving a car in the Philippines! I am still glad, to have my own driver. It's not because I am too lazy or too afraid. Of course, not! Being a holder of an International Driver License I used to drive myself in many countries of the world - even in Mexico or South Africa... But never in the Philippines! Don't get me wrong - I just enjoyed to have the privilege to lean back - and, somebody else will take care of the traffic. It happened last week. A blue Pajero in front of us became slower and slower. Almost 20 meters away from the signal light the Pajero stopped. When we tried to overtake, … [Read more...]
Buying “Palayoks”, “Pugon”, and “Kalans” in Iguig
March 27, 2009 By 19 Comments
When you travel North from Tuguegarao, you reach a small town, after 20 km or so, named Iguig. What’s in Iguig? Well, not much: An old church; a Petron station; a few carinderias and sari-sari stores, and.... A few dozen pottery makers with stands along the side of the road. Like most towns in the Philippines, Iguig comes under the “One Town One Product” focus of the government, encouraging local people to produce a single product. Now, there are many advantages and disadvantages to this program. The advantages are primarily related to economies of scale, with many makers sharing resources, such as skills or government assistance. So, in … [Read more...]
Oops! American thinking!
March 27, 2009 By 67 Comments
The other day I wrote about how two of my kids will be starting high school in a couple of months. My oldest son is already 17 years old. I have another son who is turning 9 years old today too. So, as my kids are growing up quickly, over the past couple of years, Feyma and I have been starting to think about our lives after the kids move on to life beyond our household. I mean, think about it. One kid who is 17, two entering high school, and another who is nine. The two entering high school will be in college in the blink of an eye, just 4 years from now. It's hard for me to believe, but my days of having kids in the house are … [Read more...]
Blackout again and again!
March 26, 2009 By 36 Comments
Whats going on with Davao lately? Ever since Thursday until yesterday blackout (we call it here brownout) twice a day. It's early Wednesday here so maybe later it will have another blackout again. I am also wondering if its in Davao and a little bit in GenSan only. I spoke with my sister when we had our first blackout and she said they also had blackout. It's really annoying. I never heard any advisory on TV or radio about it. I don't know if they did and we just didn't see and hear it. Before they usually give an announcement and the details even on TV and radio AM/FM and newspaper too, but this time I didn't see one. The thing also in our … [Read more...]
Wow, I just realized something
March 26, 2009 By 29 Comments
Did you ever have a time when something that is a sort of important fact went unnoticed, and then it just hit you? That just happened to me! I just realized something that I had not thought about before, and it is something kind of important too. In my life, I have moved around a lot. I have lived in a lot of different locations around the USA, and the world. For the past 9 years I have lived in the Philippines. What I just realized is that I have lived in Davao for longer than I have lived in any other place in my life! I guess that makes me a real Davaoenyo. Let's have a look: I was born in Port Townsend, Washington, and I lived … [Read more...]
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