When I called my Dad the other day, I asked if my niece was in school that morning. He said no because she was still on vacation. I realized that the Philippine school year has not even started yet. But it should, soon. Unlike here in the United States, schools in the Philippines open in June. After a brief Christmas vacation, classes resume usually after the Three Kings in January. And close in March. During my time, we did not have semestral breaks. I was told they started those in 2005. I feel a little disappointed in myself because I haven't finished packing the box that I have been meaning to send to my niece who will be in third grade … [Read more...]
Jose Rizal – MY Hero
May 30, 2009 By 13 Comments
"The dawn is not far. Spain opens the east for her beloved Philippines, and times are changing and I am positive that more are being done than we can imagine!" Dr. JOSE RIZAL, Philippine National Hero I started liking and loving Jose Rizal from that moment I read his book NOLI ME TANGERE. Of course, Rizal was quite subjective in writing it, since his motive was to gain feedback from his people by exposing in beautiful words the evils besetting his own country during that time, thus rallying the people for a peaceful revolution. NOLI ME TANGERE had also drawn ire from indignant censors because of its fearless expose on the colonial evils under … [Read more...]
Soap making!
May 30, 2009 By 32 Comments
A few weeks ago Teacher Bebe invited me to go with her and see how to make a soap. I am glad I went with her. The lady that demonstrated how to make the soap told us that the soap that we were making was to be given to the poor people here in Davao and the native people here too. She will also show them how to make the soap so that they will know and that it will be cheaper for them later. I will share with you guys below on how to make soap and ointment. Honestly, here in the Philippines, a lot of the government organizations are now going to the poor barrios to show the women there how they can make a living even if they are a stay at home … [Read more...]
I Hate Asia
May 29, 2009 By 60 Comments
I recently did a "visa run" as my 16 months in the Philippines were up. After asking around, it became clear that Bangkok was the place to go for a visa run on a budget. Bangkok is a modern city, except for the elephant in the street and the Chinese looking signs, I could have been back in the USA. There were skyscrapers reaching into the sky, flashy lights, tons of traffic and people. There were 7/11 stores, a McDonald's every time I turned around and guys in suits talking about increases in profits and how to get more of them. There were even more pretty girls than here in the Philippines, only problem is, there are so many white … [Read more...]
The new Philippine Office
May 29, 2009 By 45 Comments
Everywhere in the world, the office place has changed in the past decade or two. The Philippines is no different. I have seen dramatic changes in the Philippines in the years that I have lived here. I originally moved to Davao City in 2002, after having lived in GenSan for a couple of years. When I first moved to Davao, you would rarely see people out around town with a laptop computer. Yes, from time to time you would see one, but it was rare. I can recall times when I would see somebody in a Coffee Shop with a laptop, and others in the shop would even mention to them something like "oh, you have a laptop! How nice!" A laptop was … [Read more...]
Putting Objects in the Sentence Structure
May 28, 2009 By 4 Comments
Lesson 11 - Putting Objects in the Sentence Structure We are going to put an object/s in our sentence. In Bisaya or Cebuano, before you put the an object, you need to have a marker before it. It is like an article. Ug/og - is the marker for not specific object. In the previous lessons we have ug it means and. Sa - is a marker for specific object, especially when we are using our possessive pronouns. Formula: Verb + doer + object + ……….. Note: sa marker usually marks this possessive pronouns Note: About is bahin in Cebuano but in … [Read more...]
Can I open a bank account?
May 28, 2009 By 65 Comments
Last week, a good friend whom I originally met from his participation on this site contacted me. This fellow recently moved to the Philippines. He will be living here for a while, but probably not permanently. Because he doesn't expect to be living here permanently, my friend opted not to go for a permanent resident visa. Instead, he was able to obtain a Balikbayan Visa. With a Balikbayan Visa, you can stay in the country for 1 year with no hassles at all. No need to go do any kind of Visa renewals, no checking in at the Bureau of Immigration, no nothing. Just enter the Philippines, get the Balikbayan stamp in your Passport, and … [Read more...]
Davao writers workshop 2009
May 27, 2009 By 11 Comments
Well its not often I feel like proud parent, especially when considering I am gay, but this week I felt just like it. A few weeks ago Migs submitted an essay to the Davao Guild of writers and was accepted to go on a prestigious workshop at Ateneo de Davao University. He was one of a hand full of people across Mindanao and beyond who was chosen to help fine tune their talents, and make them even more able to open up those talents. The morning was open to special guests and families and me!! The speakers at that time were very well known national and local writers of influence, who between them held many international and national awards that … [Read more...]
Let's set a future path for LiP
May 27, 2009 By 136 Comments
Sometimes, the time comes when changes should be made. I feel that LiP is at that point in it's lifespan, and I want to make some changes to the site. I feel that it is a good site already, but I want to make it even better than it already is. I want you to help me do that. The site is as good as it is, despite being relatively young, thanks to the participation of all of the writers on LiP, but especially thanks to the LiP Community. Without the readers, there would be no reason to write. Without participation by the readers through commenting and discussing the issues, the site would not have the character that it has today. I … [Read more...]
Credit Where Credit Is Due
May 26, 2009 By 13 Comments
Everyone who reads one or more of my articles knows the term “curmudgeon” fits me pretty well. I try to call the shots as I see them and if someone is providing poor service or doing something really dumb I am certainly not shy at pointing out the problem. But I’m not an unfair person, so when some business provides service that is “done right’ and even delights me rather than annoys me, it’s only the “right thing” to give credit where credit is due. One of my pet peeves (and actually it’s more than just a peeve, Philippine businesses alone lose billions because of this simple error) are companies who refuse to answer emails. … [Read more...]
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