James Young Duncan II was my mother’s grandfather. He was born in Scotland back around 1890. Of course we didn’t call him “Lolo,” that’s Tagalog for "Grandpa." I don’t even know if my grandpa ever met anyone from the Philippines, or even had any interest in the Philippines, but he was an international traveler in his own small way, something a remarkable number of Americans can’t figure out how to do. I know little of Lolo Jim’s actual background in Scotland, I believe he was from a working class or perhaps what was then service class background. I’ve seen an old family picture of him on the seat of a two-wheel pony cart, … [Read more...]
Home Sweet Marilao
July 8, 2009 By 14 Comments
As I am sure most of you have already realized, “Editor Bob” suggested all of us who contribute to the Live in the Philippines Web Magazine write an article on our ‘home city’ here where we are living in the Philippines. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me, ‘Where should I live in the Philippines?’ is always a big topic of interest, so these articles should help. My wife Mita (the Unofficial Cook) and I chose to make our home, at least temporarily, in the municipality of Marilao, province of Bulacan, in central Luzon, very close to the NCR (National Capital Region), commonly called Metro Manila. You can learn a bit about Marilao … [Read more...]
Positive Or Negative, Where Do You Fit?
June 26, 2009 By 19 Comments
I was pleasantly surprised at the reaction to my recent article Why You’re Reading About the Philippines. In particular I’m glad that no one took my examples of how repetitive and cyclical our always present world and national crises are … so many things today sound the same as when I listened to the radio at my mother’s knee in 1949 or 1950 or so … my mom would have been glued to CNN 24x7 if she were around today (except when a Mets game was on). She was a bit of a news junkie I would have to say. Frankly, although we get the International edition of CNN here in the Philippines, which is head an shoulders above the drivel you … [Read more...]
Why You Can't Live In The Philippines
June 19, 2009 By 89 Comments
Boy that’s kind of a negative sounding title, isn’t it, Dave? And besides, who died and left you in charge … where do you get off telling me what I can and can’t do? Of course I’m not in charge and of course I can’t tell you what to do... I wouldn’t even if I was able to. But that title just sort of came to mind this morning when I was reading some mail I had answered in the past and remembering some of the many conversations with several thousand (over the past 10 years or so) folks who had 10,000 reasons or more why they can’t make the move and live here in the Philippines. I’m a great believer in a line that is attributed … [Read more...]
Realistic Expectations
June 9, 2009 By 56 Comments
A subject that interests me is the modern day concept of ‘rules’ and the way we deal with them. I guess part of my outlook is shaped by the fact I spent so many years with the military,where you don’t ask why, you do. A day or so back Bob pointed me to a humorous but also slightly troubling post of a blogger he and I both often read, Market Man Manila. The gist of the story is, Market Man (MM) went to the supermarket to buy some groceries and started his shopping with one of those express lane hand baskets. When he was ready to check out, the special hand basket lanes were all backed up but several of the regular ‘silver’ shopping … [Read more...]
Why You're Reading About the Philippines
June 3, 2009 By 26 Comments
I’ve had this post sitting around “un-done” in my drafts folder for some time. Today I was housecleaning (disk cleaning) and I decided to make something out of it rather than giving it the old heave ho. It’s my thought that many of you are reading here for many different reasons, but the various reasons can often be lumped into one general category … entertainment. Let me be quick to say there is nothing wrong at all with any of these particular sub-categories, but perhaps giving a little thought to why you are really here can help make the experience a bit better for you and even to get a little more out of the Live in the … [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...]
Assume You're Right, Then Go Ahead
May 23, 2009 By 36 Comments
My namesake, Davy Crockett, has been credited with the saying, “Be sure you’re right, the go ahead”. Wise words, but a bit to definitive for me. If I waited until I was sure I was right before making a move, I’d still be back in elementary school. It’s nice to be sure of yourself, but especially if you come here to live in the Philippines, it’s just not possible. I prefer my interpretation, which I picked for today’s title. I think things through to the best of my ability, ask advice from the best sources I have available, and then I go ahead and “git ‘er done”. So far it has been working pretty well for me. (and … [Read more...]
The New Philippine Cartographers
May 14, 2009 By 11 Comments
Did you ever see someone’s idea of “cute” in a sign (usually one prohibiting something or another (where they use a grouchy looking person or a cartoon character staring out at the world and saying “This Means You”)? Well for years I have been right at the forefront of people who complain about not being able to find decent maps of the Philippines … and I notice that unlike many of my half-thought out Quixotic (sometimes Idiotic, but we won’t go there) quests, I have seldom marched alone. The state of maps here in the Philippines has been poor to say the least. The The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), … [Read more...]
I May Have to Buy a Mailbox
May 7, 2009 By 27 Comments
I’ve written a number of times in the past, I am sure and certainly on my PhilFAQS blog about the abysmal mail service here in the Philippines. Even though we Americans sometimes almost make a comedy career out of complaining about and dissing our dedicated US Postal Service workers (anybody remember Men in Black II?), your attitude will almost certainly change if you make the move to the Philippines. There is a postal service here … (The Philippine Postal Corporation) they go by the name PhilPost and for a few things they seem to do quite well. But if you live in the provinces, as I do (even though only a few kilometers from the Metro … [Read more...]
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