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I like the Rain

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Fearless Leader “Bob” Martin has established Davao Mindanao as the LiP Headquarters. Last July 6th he mentioned that I should move down south because there is no rainy season. As I thought about It, I realized I’d miss my rainy season, it is something you can depend on, Plus in the dry season we can make plans for a party weeks in advance and never worry if it will get rained out, something you can’t do in Mindanao.

The beach from my Condo

The beach from my Condo

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Another benefit is, we on Luzon have no need for the PagAsa to tell us the weather forecast which will be for the next few months “cloudy and rain.” Not even for typhoons do we need them as, we’ll go on line and track them ourselves and will know more than if we watched every PagAsa news broadcast on TV.

Example: on 4,through 8 July we were affected by Tropical Depression (Turned tropical Storm) Egay, of course Manila flooded, Dinalupihan Bataan received many days of pouring rain, but no wind and because of Newton’s laws of Gravity the rain disappeared as fast as it fell. True we were stuck on the mountain as the low Landers were flooded and the roads semi-impassable. But the Bataan Rice Fields got the water they needed Now on the last day of the Egay. The South Westerly Monsoonal rains started and the wet continued, PagAsa came on the TV and told us what had happened, not a word prior to the storm or what could have happened but a past tense report, kind of nice to know if you’re a history buff.

Remember I mentioned that the pump on the fish tank burned out? I said that with the rain falling I didn’t need to replace it until the next dry season. How wrong can one Kano be, what I forgot is, that not only does it circulate water through the water fall, but there is another valve that will drain excess water from the pond, and damn if that doesn’t require a fully functioning pump. Plan “B” prior to the fish walking on the grass by the overflowing pond; we’ll bring in some guys with buckets to lower the water level. (Yes we also have pond “Guys.”

It is late on July11th as I peck away at this missive and the sun is trying to peek out from behind the disappearing clouds. Not to worry it will rain later today, but that will be regular monsoonal rains and not a storm front. As it is time to send this to LiP Headquarters down south.

Rain and I go back a long way, in Puerto Rico it introduced me to many a single tourist girl laying on the beach behind my condo. I processed a secret knowledge that being that the large mountain behind our town of Luquillo Beach was named El Yunque and was in fact a rain Forrest which at 3pm (Set your Rolex by it) it was going to rain, even if at a quarter to 3 there was not a cloud in the sky. So I would hand them a business card and explain that Happy Hour started at 3pm, and they were most welcome. On most days the tourist ladies would arrive at 3:15 and I’d buy the first drink and hand them a towel. Thank you rain!

1992 in the town of Largo on the left coast (The Gulf of Mexico side) of Florida it was a rainy day and I had the night shift at the bar I managed. My biggest concern was, if the rain stopped in time I could either take my motorcycle or my Jeep CJ-7 to work. Then I heard a freight train and it was moving rather fast, now I remembered that the nearest train tracks were eight miles away, oh my, that is odd. I look towards the landscaping business behind me and see the potted palm trees flying around in the air. Hmmm, now that’s very odd! Oh wait a minute Paul, it’s a tornado roaring straight for you, Well what are you gonna do, shit, blink or go blind? Then within less than a hundred feet, the tail flipped up and broke contract with the earth skipped over my roof touched down on the other side and destroyed the roof of my neighbor house on the other side of the street (I gave back the 7 or 8 potted trees now in my yard) AND YES! Catholic Mass on Sunday and a large donation on the plate, was all that came to mind.
Of course a Mobil Home Park a mile away was destroyed, but then God really hates trailer parks so that was to be expected. Oh I made it to work on time that afternoon and to church 3 days later.

Last but not least my son-in-law and my daughter and granddaughter were here for the weekend, I’ve mentioned before he has a 10 hectare farm in Subic Valley and I one hectare tilapia pond a tad larger than mine and he is quite pleased with these many days of solid rain, now the rice planting can start, and if all goes well he can squeeze in a second crop later in the year. But that is a wait and see, type of deal. I love to show up for the rice harvest, I don’t do much but watch.

So that is just a few of my many experiences with rain, and for some strange reason, I still like the rain. (Since it has rained hard every day from the 4th of July until the 11th, when I sent this to Bob) the discussion on whether or not the rainy season has started is now a moot point.

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Paul Thompson

Paul Thompson; has resided in the Philippines since 1993, living close to Subic Bay. I’m married to a wonderful girl named Maria (AKA Mayang).Who is from Gordon Heights in Olongapo where she grew up with her Mom & Dad and seven siblings Our two daughters are both grown up and have left the nest, the eldest married to a wonderful guy named Chris, and they have blessed us with our granddaughter Heather Colleen Our youngest daughter and her husband Cecil have blessed us with a grandson named. Jayden Logan. I’m a retired U.S. NAVY Senior Chief after 22 years of active duty. After retirement from the Navy I lived for 7 years in Puerto Rico as a Night Club owner. Then Hurricane Hugo told me to find a new line of work, I was hired by Military Sealift Command and went back to sea in Asia as a Merchant Seaman for 10 years. After 30 plus years at sea I buried my anchor on a mountain in the Philippines and am now residing in Dinalupihan (or DinBat for short), Roosevelt, Bataan where we built our home. And last but not least, anything I writes will be pure "Tongue in Cheek "If anybody is offended, I'll lose no sleep over it, but here's a quick Mea Culpa in advance!

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Geri Lamb
7 years ago

I like that. Pero Bob, seems like Davao area has seen more rain that usual from last year. Siguro, it would go back to “normal” this year.

Bob Martin
7 years ago
Reply to  Geri Lamb

Hi Geri – This article is from Paul Thompson. He lives up north in the Subic area. They get a lot more rain than we do. No, we are not having increased rains in Davao.

Geri Lamb
7 years ago
Reply to  Geri Lamb

HI Bob, yup, I read the writer’s bio…. pero, according to Pagasa, last year had more rain than normal daw sa Davao. I want to visit DAvo soon.

Bob Martin
7 years ago
Reply to  Geri Lamb

There has been no appreciable increase in rain in Davao City. Perhaps other parts of the Davao Region (del sur, del norte, occidental or oriental?) I can’t say. But, our rainfall in the city has been very normal!

Hey Joe
7 years ago

I too love the rain, for with it comes a steady supply of fresh water for bathing and doing laundry, which is not an everyday supply here. it also means that the persistent group of JWs will not be walking down the road and coming to my door since their WatchTower Magazines will be soggy and impossible to open. I have nothing against them practicing their beliefs, but I have my own beliefs and I get sorely tired of them trying to convert me to theirs. The rain Prevents the usual hour it takes to politely dispatch them down the… Read more »

Jade
Jade
7 years ago
Reply to  Hey Joe

Hey Joe, I like the sound of that… I’d like to tell you of my heretofore secret JW repellent: One time some time ago they came a knocking on my door. I had never had the experience of them before. I answered the door with my usual polite manner and listened to their spiel. They got the message they wanted to hear. Or so they thought… Me, mentally exhausted with ringing ears ran inside and grabbed a P.B.R. After a few more my soul was cleansed. They came back another 10 or 15 times. Always the same dressed in their… Read more »

Jade
Jade
7 years ago
Reply to  Paul Thompson

Paul-
I forgot to mention that it was overcast all day yesterday. That direct sunlight would’ve taken all the pleasure out of that ride.
Last evenings news stated that a small twister took off some carport and patio (terrace) aluminum roofs at a mobile home park in Largo. You’re right about them being attracted to mobile home parks, hmm…
Jade

papaduck
papaduck
7 years ago

Paul,
The best part of the rain is that it keeps things cool and don’t need to use the A/C or fans. Saves on electricity and plus we are higher up like you and don’t flood.

bigp
bigp
7 years ago

Pond Guys — Good one, I’ll drink to that.
There is nothing more beautiful than a fresh washed world drenched in morning sun light.

Luke Tynan
7 years ago

I like the rain also, but I think here in Gingoog we get more than Davao but less than you Paul, up your way.

john barnes
john barnes
7 years ago

hello paul, always enjoy your stories. I am currently in bayugan city, just south of butuan city. the weather here has been very good since my arrival on june 24. Some days has been just just a few drops of rain; other than a hard rain shower for 10-20 minutes the most i seen here for last 2 weeks.

Derek
7 years ago

Hi Paul another good post, it’s raind for the past 8 days here in pasig no local
Flooding but in other parts of Manila it has, I don’t mind the rain things are a lot
Cooler I’m thinking about washing the car, today’s weather is lots of sunshine
But like I say rain reminds me of home England lol , Derek in sunny pasig.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago

Bob may be correct about metro Davao, since that’s where he lives, so he would know about metro Davao and people outside surely should defer to Bob’s experience there. I haven’t been in metro Davao that often, but it’s always been hot’n’sticky no rain there (though one singular experience on Samar island was already quite different). Most of the rest of Mindanao certainly *does* have a “rainy season” typically starting a month or two before Luzon and seemingly lasting (at least in the interior) through to about Jan. Then again, here in North Cotabato (which is definitely in Mindanao) the… Read more »

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  Paul Thompson

Thanks Paul. One of the advantages of being just behind a huge volcanic ridge is that typhoons find it hard to get to us. It can happen, but typically it’s just a bad storm here while many just an hour’s drive away might lose everything. We count our blessings and pray this part of the planet has long ago moved off the hotspot so that the ancient volcano stays dormant. That’s about as safe weather-wise as I can manage, good so far in that respect. Perhaps I do pay unusual attention to the weather (and climate), something I’ve strangely done… Read more »

John Reyes
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed

The Philippine government should take down PAGASA for good and replace it with Ed as the official one-man weather forecaster for the entire Philippines.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  John Reyes

John, absolutely *NOT*.
In fact PagAsa is one of my inputs.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed

John, I should also have specifically noted that while I have need to pay attention to what’s likely to happen within a few KM of here it’s certainly NOT comprehensive for the entire country, nor in any way intended to be official. Same as if people ask _you_ if it’s likely to rain today,. You’re also very welcome to replace PagaAsa as official forecaster for the entire country – if you do a better job for extremely localized weather you’ll certainly have my and everyone’s thanks. Good luck with that.

GaryM
GaryM
7 years ago

Ever since Typhoon Egay passed over Ilocos it has been on and off rain here. I like the cooler weather that came with it.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  Paul Thompson

Gary, heh, yes! Since here in Mindanao we’re accustomed to several daily “brownouts” typically lasting one to two hours but too often half a day or more depending on precise location. The higher the elevation, the better the ‘hanging’ (air) and thus ability to sleep or even relax without ‘kuryente’ not to mention saving a whole bunch of money. Here I’m half-way between and have learned to keep my “aircon” at 27 Celsius, which mostly is just regulated fan with occasional cooling tripping in. Of course the ongoing brownouts do somewhat defeat the intention, causing wake-up way-too-hot and then way-too-expensive… Read more »

MindanaoBob
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed

Ed, it is not like that in all of Mindanao. Here in Davao, I can’t remember the last time we had a brownout longer than 5 minutes. In the past 12 months we have not had 1 hour of total brownouts.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  MindanaoBob

Yes Bob, I’m told that metro Davao is very privileged much to the detriment of the rest of Mindanao. Others in Mindanao outside metro Davao might care to contribute their ongoing experiences and I hope would do so. Here in Kidapawan (with exceptions hitting us on weekends too), we typically have between one to three “brownouts” of one to three hour duration daily Mon-Fri. Sometimes none, you never know, but you learn to expect those outages. If the power isn’t on in an hour, well, wait another hour, and if not wait a third hour. After that go check to… Read more »

MindanaoBob
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed

It is not a privilege. It is because most of the power used here is generated in Davao. Our politicians here looked out for the needs of the City. You guys in Kidapawan should be in better shape than you are too, given the thermal energy production on Mt. Apo. No reason for Kidapawan to be having so many brownouts.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  MindanaoBob

Yes Bob, given the quite local geothermal production, it’s difficult to fathom all the brownouts unless either the power production is way insufficient at random hours often when the sun goes down, businesses are shut until morning, and overall demand plummets – and the power goes off again for a few hours – candle time again. We’re not talking about a few isolated instances, but more typically multiple daily occurrences at all random hours. Even weirder, annually we may enjoy a week or 2 with no brownout (wow!) and then it’s back to the normally scheduled random brownouts for the… Read more »

GaryM
GaryM
7 years ago
Reply to  Ed

We were without power for about 36 hours. The weather was cool and windy so we did not need aircon. The only reason we started the generator was to fill the water tank, charge the gadgets, and make a few phone calls over magic jack.

Bob New York
Bob New York
7 years ago

There are still scheduled and unscheduled brownouts in Iligan City. Some lasting for a good part of the day. From what is posted on the internet about it by Iligan Light and Power Co. as well as other informative posters, many of these brownouts are due to repair and maintenance of power lines, pole replacements and other assorted work. It seems they have to shut down one or more barangays when they do this work.

Ed
Ed
7 years ago
Reply to  Bob New York

You’re very lucky that they actually post some scheduled brownouts in Ilagan.
Here Cotelco just surprises you at their whim. No chance to shut down your computer and related gear to prevent damage; eventually that takes its toll. Sigh. We’re used to it after all these years, we just pay and pray. “Normal”.

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