RETIRED WARRANT

Celebrating Media Noche

I am beginning to really hate blogdrive. This darned thing can be such a challenge at times, erasing your entries in mid stream, screwing up links, and other hiccups that happen, but then I guess I am used to it. I guess that is why I usualy post by typing something in word first and then publishing it in Blogdrive Editor.

Of course, this morning is not one of those days and I have already erased this post twice. Anyway, here goes another attempt, and since I am not using word please forgive any spelling errors until Laila, my spellchecker and text editor gets her hands on it.

Last night was New Year’s Eve, and though I blogged about the fireworks, I did not say anything about the day. Laila and I will try and fix yesterday’s post complete with video sometime today.

Yesterday, we got up early so we could go to mass at 7 AM across the street at Sto. Cristo Chapel. Rev. Fr. Viviano, the Italian priest, gave the mass in Tagalog, and Laila translated it for me once in a while.

Yesterday was the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph which is quite a long title for the mass. We got there a couple of minutes late as Laila was a little slow getting ready, women.

The first reading as 1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28. The second reading was 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24. The Gospel was Luke 2: 41-52. The mass was about family.

Rev. Fr. Viviano explained that we have three families. We have our immediate family, our spiritual family and our church family. Our immediate family is important for companionship and love. Our spiritual family is Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and that is for our spiritual well being. We then have our church family for a social ,family and companionship, kind of a community family.

The father also made it a point to tell us we were not a good church family member if we go to church but do not live the teachings. Anyway, that is what I got out of the mass between the Tagalog, Laila’s translation and some of the English the father used.

After church, Laila, her kids, and I went to McDonalds for a good Filipino big breakfast, then I helped Jun Jun with his school project. We then watched the last couple episodes of CSI (2nd Season) then in the afternoon, I cooked (thick cut) Steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn, for dinner while Laila made the gravy. I was kind of sick and collapsed while cooking due to exposure to heat and humidity but, Laila caught me before I fell on my knees on the floor. Junjun also helped me go back to the room and was able to cool down infront of the a/c. Although exhausted, I managed to have dinner with Laila’s mother and kids.

After dinner, we watched Passion of Christ while Laila napped in between some scenes. It was past eleven in the evening when we all went to the Balcony and watched the fireworks. In Philippine culture, the midnight dinner or Media Noche is served after welcoming the New Year but since we’re still full, we only served Goldilocks cake. Well, we will try to share and get our little video edited and posted.

Have a great New Years Day everyone.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Laila’s house in the Philippines. I am going to post a video clip we took from her balcony. Hopefully it will work.

This is what her neighborhood looks and sounds like on New Years Eve. Smile

Ooops won’t work Sad so I will try and post it tomorrow. Time for bed right now if the noise tames down a bit.

These video things are new to both Laila and myself, but at least I got my camera to record it. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. Shocked

See you all tomorrow.

No water

Wow, today I got to have a new experience.

We slept in until 7 AM this morning, and when we got up, there was no running water. That kind of made taking a shower a little impossible, but then I got to experience the primitive way of taking a bath. As Laila calls it the “Arroyo’s future plans for the Filipinos.”

Before Arroyo there were no additional 12% (VAT) taxes on everything, there was running water, and government officials critical of the government did not disappear, or turn up mysteriously dead as they do now.

Anyway since we did not have running water we got to take a shower by tabo. Laila has a drum of water that she stores in her bathroom. She also stores water in the laundry and the kitchen areas. When we have a day like today where there is no water we took a quick bath with a little ½ gallon size pail with a handle called a tabo. It was cold but at least, we had a bath with a minimum of water being used.

After that we then said our prayers and then went to cook breakfast. Earlier in the week, Laila cooked what she called a Monte Cristo sandwich for breakfast. It kind of resembled French Toast and so I have had French Toast on my mind since then. Yesterday, when we were at SM grocery, I bought some cinnamon and vanilla and this morning I made French Toast while Laila made hot dogs and Pancit Canton. For the Americans, reading the blog Filipino’s treat hot dogs like we treat sausages. This morning, however, I had a couple of mishaps.

Laila has a gas operated stove but it is quite a bit different than I am used to in the States. It is a counter top model that has some oversized burners on it. A few times in the past I have had some close calls when the pans were too small for the burners and slipped or tipped.

This morning her good Teflon frying pan tipped while I was making the French Toast and I tried to catch it as it slid. When I grabbed at the pan I got burnt, the pan hit the floor making a big mess, and the handle broke off her good frying pan. We cleaned up the mess and I told her I would get her a new pan. Of course she said don’t worry about it as most of her pans have broken handles. I guess this sort of thing happens all the time.

Anyhow, thanks God no one among us had a serious burn in our legs. Right after that, I continued cooking the French Toast and decided to add some more butter to the pan. Sure enough, splat, I dropped the butter all over the floor.

I finished the French Toast with no further incidents, and we went ahead and started getting the Pancit Canton ready. She mixed sliced cabbage with Lucky Me instant pancit noodles. Against her better judgment, she had me stir the noodles while she continued to set the table and all. Luckily, I did not dump that pot so the rest of the morning as far as accidents go, was over.

I almost forgot, sometime about 4 or 5 in the morning Laila’s cell phone went off and started ringing. It says, “An American found guilty of raping a Filipino woman is being turned over to US Custody..” blah blah blah. Quite a few months ago a marine lance corporal and a few buddies were accused of rape in Olongapo City, near the old Subic Bay Naval Base. The marine was tried in the press as well as the court, and he was found guilty. As is usually the case the US Government rather than have this person rot away in a foreign prison, was trying to take custody of the marine and imprison him in the US embassy while awaiting appeal and if he loses the appeal the US Government would like him to serve his prison sentence in the US Prison system.

If the guy is guilty, I see no harm in keeping him in the US Federal Prison System where at least the fellow prisoners abusing him are at least Americans. Also I see no problem with the US embassy holding him while awaiting appeal. I would like to see this tried in the court and not in the press though. Olongapo City was notorious back in the 70’s and 80’s for being a place where American Servicemen were shaken down by less savory characters. I never had any bad experiences but I have seen many people charged falsely of rape, assault, or breach of promise. From what I have seen of this case there are a lot of questions to be asked of both sides. I don’t really know all the details and all, but I know Laila sided with the girl, on this one. Of course this would not be the first time we disagreed on something nor will it be the last.

Anyway, I guess we will see what happens in the future. I do know that is has affected some things politically like the war games jointly held with American and Filipino forces has been cancelled for next year as a result of this case.

Sometimes you have to wonder about the Philippine Government. Earlier this week I saw where the Government of the Philippines started to demand that the workers from the Philippines working in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and other places increase the minimum wage paid. The said countries responded by hiring more people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries that supply domestic workers.

The Government of the Philippines is also a little upset at the US over the marine deal and says that the United States is in danger of losing the strategic value of the Philippines.

Hey Gloria and other officials of the Philippines. This is not World War II any more. When Subic closed down because the Philippines Government demanded too much the US moved it’s assets to Guam, Singapore, and Japan. Guess what, it still has had no effect on readiness. When the US Military comes to the Philippines now, it is to help you as we can train anywhere now.

Puerto Rico is learning the same thing right now when they demanded the Navy abandon a bombing range. The US Navy moved on, can still hold the same training elsewhere, but when the Navy left so did the big money being paid for the use of the range. Now the Puerto Ricans in the area are screaming, because unemployment is up, income is down. Sound familiar, Philippine Government? Back in the late 80’s just before Mount Pinatubo erupted the Philippine Government decided that it would go ahead and either get a whole lot more money for its US bases or turn the base areas into a commercial port catering to the Japanese, and their shipping industry.

Talks fell through with the Japanese and Mount Pinatubo erupted sealing the fate of America’s involvement with the Philippines. The bases were ruined and it was more cost effective to move to Guam, Singapore and elsewhere in Asia. What was funny is that the many of the same shipyard workers working in the Philippines were now working in Singapore and Guam at the shipyards there.

The only thing that changed was that the Philippine Government lost what Laila would say is its share. The Philippines people are very hard working and when given a chance normally excel in what they do. The problem as I see it is that their corrupt government in wanting to line their own pockets and is preventing opportunities from being presented to the Philippine people.

Business will always seek to get its products and projects done by the lowest priced manufacturer or company. There are many third world companies competing with the Philippines for business. Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, and India as well as many other countries are competing for jobs in the same industries. The Philippines Government has decided that for the good of the country they will charge more, and then whine and cry when that new call center springs up in New Delhi or that new assembly plant is built in Penang. They just don’t get it, and their people don’t seem to get it. The people keep electing the same people that have held them back for years or the famous people who do not have a clue as to how to manage anything. In fact, without folks to manage their money where would some of these sports figures and actors be?

Anyway, I would like to see the Government of the Philippines start cooperating with the rest of the world. The Islands have a lot to offer, if their Government would quit sabotaging everything out of greed and corruption.

I read a letter to the editor earlier this week about the Subic rape case, written by a so called American. Sorry, to me this person may somehow have gotten American Citizenship, but he sure missed the boat as far as the way things go in America. He was saying that this marine would have been prosecuted and tucked away in jail really quick and that the prison system would never let this guy go.

Only about one in five rape cases are successfully prosecuted in the United States and a court case in the United States will usually take over a year or so to complete. If the guy were to be convicted there is an excellent chance that the case would be overturned by appeal, or the sentence reduced. Also if the guy did keep his sentence and actually go to prison then after getting time off for good behavior and all how much time would be actually served?

All that is happening by having this guy turned over to the US is making sure that he gets a guy named Bubba for a cellmate and boyfriend rather than a Filipino cellmate for a boyfriend. He will have to serve the full sentence and all.

Anyway enough on all of that, I got off on a tangent again.

This morning while we were eating breakfast the buzzer rang letting us know we had visitors. Laila and I went out on the balcony and it was a bunch of kids who wrongly buzzed her unit, three of them in wheelchairs begging for money. Laila referred to it as the new Arroyo health care system.

Laila is very much against the way the Arroyo Presidency has gone too far, and while we don’t always agree with the reasons, things are the way they are, the causes, or things like that we both are smart enough to realize that if changes are not made then there is no future for the Filipino people.

The middle class in the Philippines is an endangered species. Since no one has much in the way of income, the income tax is not taking in enough to support the politicians in the style they are use to experiencing so they have the sales tax. Since people can’t afford to buy anything that is also not keeping the elite up to the style they are accustomed to, so in comes the VAT tax of 12% on top of everything else.

Since that is not keeping the people down enough lets go ahead and cut their water but then we will also charge them more for the water we are not giving them. Oh and lets jack up the price of gas, electricity, phones services, and all other necessary services.

Right now people in Laila’s middle class neighborhood are having to move away because the tax and raise prices realization has led them to the point where if they hope to survive they have to move to a cheaper area.

As they move out they either hire caretakers, who live in their homes with no water, electricity and other services just to prevent squatters from moving in. Squatters move into the abandoned places and basically live there free of charge until run off.

I have been visiting the Philippines off and on since 1976 when as a young Petty Officer Third Class I pulled into Subic Bay on the USS White Plains (AFS-4). Over the years I say it change toward the better, the ouster of the Marcos regime, saw it get better under Cory Aquino, and now I am seeing it tank again under Arroyo.

I am passionate beyond all other things in my life to get Laila out of here and to the United States where things are also going down the tubes, but not to this extent. Also at least, there, I can move to a place with a nice cost of living and continue working.

Well I guess that is about it for today. I have blogged far too much today, but when I get a chance to just wildly blog my opinion, I sometimes go on a rampage. Anyway, time to get to helping Jun Jun with his project so have a great day everyone.

Shopping Rush

This afternoon we finally got out of the house and took off to get some last minute things done before everything shuts down for the holidays. It was a little difficult to get Laila ready to leave. We got up early enough but then after we made breakfast and all she got busy cleaning this and that while I was updating my blogs and then she got interested in some stuff on the Internet after that.

In addition to updating my blog I also tried to locate the remaining two components for Jun Jun’s project. The only place I could find them was in New York City and so that was definitely out of the question. I decided instead of using those Field Effect Transistors (FET’s), I would instead look up some that we matched and also close in value. I needed both an N channel and a P channel. I found a pair that looked like it would do the job, and then tried to get Laila ready to go. Tin Tin was also going with us so now I was waiting on both of them.

As an after thought I decided to also look up a pair of power transistors, just in case I could not get the FET’s. Our first stop after getting a cap was the PCI Equitable Bank. We had a little problem a while back where I sent Laila some cash via Xoom. Pearl went to take some money out but the machine was out of cash. It still charged her though and Laila has been trying to get I straightened out since. Of course dealing with a bank is like dealing with the government. If you owe them they take it right away, but if they owe you you’ll see it sometime in the future, but not right away.

After paying our visit to the bank and reminding them we did not forget about the missing money, we hailed down a cab, which was a little difficult and then headed for Cyberzone.

When we got to Cyberzone we went immediately to the component store where they did not have the FET’s but they did have the power transistors. Everything cost less than 100 pesos which made Laila very happy and after paying for them we set off for SM to get some groceries.

When we got to SM Laila sent Tin Tin to pay the electric bill while we went to the department store section to get a few items. We then headed for the grocery store and it was extremely crowded today, I guess because of the upcoming holiday weekend and all. The big problem with the heavy crowds is that the pickpockets are also out in force, along with the shoplifters and other opportunists.

Last year at this time I did not have any troubles with anyone at the stores or anything. I have traveled overseas enough to know that there are a few things to do to prevent pickpockets and all. The first thing is don’t carry more cash than you are willing to lose. The second is to carry your wallet in your front pocket.

The day before yesterday I had some guy bump me on three different occasions at SM and I definitely knew why. I was waiting to grab his wrist as it hit one of my pockets but he never got close to my wallet, saw that I knew what he was up to, and beat a hasty retreat before I alerted the store security.

Well some similar things happened today, but again I did manage to make it home unscathed. Again today the traffic trying to get out of the mall was really slow. The big problem is that the parking lot was full. When that happens the drivers, as most people here that ca afford cars also hire drivers, just circle the mall holding up traffic and some just park in the middle of the street which really messes things up. Anyway we finally after quite a while managed to get out of the parking lot and then just had to fight all the traffic home.

When we did get home it was kind of a little late to cook anything for dinner so we went ahead and called McDonalds and they delivered dinner. Yes, McDonalds delivers here. We had a meal of Spaghetti, Fried Chicken and White Rice. McDonalds is a little different here. Also Laila heated up her left over Pancit Bijon and we ate a good dinner.

We then watched the news before coming in here for me to blog and Laila to get one of her accounts caught up.

Anyway, again the authorities were calling for folks to be careful with fireworks and to stop using firecrackers as too many people are getting hurt and too many fires are getting started. Of course nobody is listening as I have heard some really big bangs all night, and some sounded as large as M-80’s.

Also there has been a very interesting like soap opera thing going on here. Towards the end of last week a local congressman and on of his bodyguards were assassinated while leaving a wedding at a local church. They caught one of the shooters and after confessing he implemented the former deputy Mayor or Quezon City as well as the Governor as the mastermind behind the assassination. Today they stopped and searched the Governor’s mini van and found some automatic weapons and a lot of ammunition. Additionally to add gravy to the plot some suspicions of the Governor being unfaithful to his wife have also come out. The Governor of course is saying he is innocent and is being framed, as all crooked politicians do. Laila seems to trust this guy and believes he is being set up. I think he is behind it, so I guess we will see what happens in the future.

Well Laila is now happy, as they have found her money and credited her account. And it only took 20 days to get this straightened out. Well at least now she knows one thing not to do in the future.

Well I think it is time to convince Laila to get off the PC and we should curl up and watch some TV. Have a great day and a great holiday.

Lagging Issues due to Taiwan Earthquake

Well today is the 29th Philippines time so that means that this trip is rapidly drawing to an end and soon I will be on my way back to California. That has got me down just a bit, but then again I do have to make money so I can support us.

Laila and I were looking over World Net Daily today, because I remember seeing a story about the Taiwan quake from the other day affecting the Internet throughout Southeast Asia. The kids had been complaining about how Rose Online, the game they play, was running really slowly. Well since it is a joint venture between the Philippines and South Korea, and since the fiber optic cables off Taiwan were affected, I figured that was the cause.

Well it seems that six of the seven cables are cut and the seventh is damaged so Internet and communications will be disrupted for the next two weeks or maybe longer depending on how long it takes to repair it.

Also, while checking out World Net Daily I saw where another drunk illegal alien ran into a family of six, killing three of the family members. Why don’t we start giving the death penalty to drunk drivers who kill?

Saddam Hussein is due to be executed over the weekend, and I figure that is great news. They are threatening violence, but I kind of think that as some of these bad folks are executed that some of these attacks will start tapering off, since they are not stopping the movement from continuing toward democracy. I mean, after all the only places being attacked are all within view of the foreign reporters, or in the vicinity of Baghdad. The attacks coincide with the morning news reports here in the states. It is all a game being played by the terrorists to make the west look foolish, which our press more than happily will oblige.

Oh yeah, I forgot, I hope Donald Trump sues the ever loving crap out of that big foul mouthed poor excuse for a human being Rosie O’Donnell. While I can’t stand either of them, at least I don’t see Trump out their insulting American values all the time. Rosie O’Donnell is a, has been, washed up, angry woman. I don’t know what her problem is, and why she has to insult every class of people on the planet, but I would like to see the Donald sue her for everything she has, ever hopes to have, and to see her disappear from the airwaves.

Just because you are a star, and just because you have a soapbox to stand on, and just because you think you are superior and listened to as gospel, doesn’t mean you are. Just ask Tim Robbins, Janine Garafalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Harris, and many others who have disappeared graciously from our Television sets feel about shooting their mouths off.

Well, I guess that is about it for now, since I have to look up a couple of suitable substitute components for Jun Jun’s project.

Have a great day.

Christmas Eve

Sunday is here and even though we went to bed early last night, it was impossible for me to get Laila up in time for the 7 AM mass this morning so we will go to the 5 PM mass instead. I really wanted to go to the morning mass as that way we could go to mass and eat breakfast outside of the house, keeping us from having to clean up and do dishes and all.

Now that we are going to the 5 PM mass we will have to deal with traffic and then also I had plans on cooking a good Christmas Eve Dinner, but since we will be at church from 5 PM to whenever we will just eat outside and then go to the Christmas Eve 10 PM mass, leaving no real time to cook or clean up from a dinner at home.

Anyway, since we didn’t go to church we made breakfast this morning, then we checked out some news stories, and I checked out a few news sites. We were discussing how poor the Philippines is and how her government seems to be doing nothing about the people’s situation.

I then pointed out where our country is selling out the taxpayers to foreign investors through the SPP, which I have blogged about before. That is that superhighway being constructed from Mexico to Canada for the rapid transport of Chinese goods. It is being sold under the radar as a program for mutual protection of the countries in North America. Actually I wonder if it is setting up future infrastructure for when China decides to take over the United States.

Also last week I think I blogged on how China is purposely devaluating the dollar and have been working on that since Thanksgiving. I showed where some stories about the true American Government and the bridges to nowhere in Alaska. Want to know why the country is so broke and is afraid to report the real national debt. It is because they will spend the taxpayers money that you pay in, for unneeded bridges in Alaska so the 50 inhabitants don’t have to take a 5 to 10 minute ferry ride.

In the meantime the Government will not tell you that if they took 100% of what everyone in the country makes and apply it to the national debt, the debt will not be paid. This was also from a previous post and due to Internet time I don’t have time to look for the links.

All in all the world of today is scaring me. The ACLU will spend millions protecting those that would do our country harm, child molesters, and atheists. Our own President along with the Presidents of Canada and Mexico have this secret plan to sell off our sovereignty to foreign businesses, mainly China, a future and potentially dangerous future enemy.

Want to find out why Bush and Congress do not want to stop the illegals from coming across the border. That is because by 2010 there will be no borders so why get the future inhabitants of the borderless North America upset with us.

And where is Congress while all of this is going on? Well let’s see, home for Christmas, working on their next campaign, trying to get the next presidential hopeful selected. You know anything other than protecting the country. I have read a lot about this here SPP over the past few months and I can not believe that the congressmen and senators in Washington have no clue to what is going on. Rick Roberts has been reporting this on his radio show for over a year now.

Where is O’Reilly, Hannity, or any of the main stream media? The article I read on the Michael Savage site stated Lou Dobbs from CNN has been reporting on it, but then I don’t watch CNN.

I am just wondering if anyone is going to do anything about it before it is too late and one day we wake up to no United States. It looks as if the day is coming.

Anyhow I guess I should go ahead and start getting ready to go to church soon. Enough said on the sad state of American politics and politicians, as frankly I have had it with all of them.

I will just go ahead and try and have a nice holiday and forget about the Washington buffoons.

Anyway, everyone, have a great Christmas and a great New Year.

OK we are back from church so I figured I would just add it to this post. We left the house at 4:20 which was plenty of time to get to the church. We first stopped at the Perpetual Help Parish over by the mall but they changed their schedule so we then went to Sto. Domingo. There was quite a bit of traffic and Sto. Domingo was quite a ways away, so we were about ten minutes late. The place was only about half full and we got seats up close to the front.

The mass was given by a Bishop but I did not catch the name, I could just tell by the special robes and all. The first reading was from Micah 5:1-4a. The second reading was from Hebrews 10:5-10. The gospel was Luke 1:39-45. The message was about sharing, and I had to depend on Laila for that as the mass was in Tagalog. I caught parts about fancy gifts and trips and big meals, and I think his message was that while we are celebrating, we should not forget about the poor.

After mass we were going to go to the SM Mall and eat at the Super Bowl of China. Laila loves it as it is a Chinese food place, but the kids were not too impressed. I guess that is one of Pearl’s least favorite places to eat, so instead we went to a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Laila got the spicy chicken and we each got a plate of spaghetti. She got the spicy chicken because it was already done and we would have had to wait 20 minutes or more for the regular chicken to be cooked. I guess they were not prepared for all the customers they had last night and yes it was very crowded.

After eating we had a really hard time catching a cab. A lot of the drivers wanted to charge inflated rates for the holidays. We finally got a cab and the ride back to the apartment was a different route then I am used to. We went past the compound where her father’s family lives. Her father’s family has their nose too far up in the air to have the extended family live there. As far as they are concerned Laila, her siblings, and all the grandchildren do not exist.

We also went past her old high school and her sister’s house on the way home. When we got home the kids and Laila started playing Rose online and I took a short nap while waiting to go to the 10 PM Christmas Celebration Mass at Sto. Cristo. We left at 9:40 and just had to cross the street, but when we got there the place was full. We managed to get inside but there were no seats so we stood for the mass. Pearl also managed to get inside but Jun Jun, Tin Tin, and Denise had to stand outside along with hundreds of others.

I guess when times are hard Filipinos as with many other folks turn towards God, and I have seen the churches packed here during the holidays. After all times are hard. The Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed by President Arroyo is absurd to people earning so little. Inflation has the prices higher, the VAT is adding extra expense to anything they buy, and then they are being denied but billed for basic services such as water.

So it does not surprise me that they are turning to God and begging for relief. Their government has a deaf ear, much like the government of the United States. The political elections are more of a popularity contest here with the top twelve well known people elected to the Senate and they are not responsible to any specific region as our Senators are. Instead they represent the whole country, and I feel that is a bad thing.

What the Philippines have for elected officials is people with name recognition. Their politicians are made up of singers, actors, sports personalities, or anyone else that makes a name for themselves.

They have lots of name recognition but no experience. They are from the upper class and have money so they are oblivious to the plight of the common Filipino. So as a result they turn into followers, and they follow the career politicians that have power and desire to hold office, no matter what the costs to the people.

Right now as we ride around Quezon City there are signs on almost every lamp post and telephone pole wishing you a Merry Christmas from local councilmen, the Mayor, and other elected officials. While I don’t know much about how Philippines local politics go, if it is like the States these signs placed everywhere are being paid for with public funds I would be willing to bet. So while Laila still does not have reliable water service and still has no landline phone service, while being billed for both, they are spending the public funds for name recognition for the next election.

Well anyway, I guess this is the same anywhere though. I also saw something about Katrina victims being upset about something again yesterday. Maybe they will finally be happy in 20 or 30 years when all their wants and needs have been taken care of or when FEMA is broke and disbanded. Then of course 150 years from now we will have to deal with the reparations debate as some Je$$e Jack$on, or Al $harpton comes along showing them how they were wronged by the government many years ago and must pay, pay, pay and pay again.

Anyway it is Christmas Eve so I guess I should write about hope for the future. Over the next couple of days I will think of my wishes for the New Year. Stand by because they may be interesting.

Anyway, on a positive note, I would like to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends. I also hope everyone gets some useful and desired items.

Make sure that you do not forget the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our lord Jesus Christ and don’t cave into the commercialism. Also I hope no one has any of those typical Christmas Disasters, like missing parts to things you need to assemble, no batteries or the wrong batteries for those must have kids toys, or the wrong connections for the video game equipment. Just past things that have happened to me used as examples.

Remember fire safety and keep an eye on that tree and the Christmas Lights. Again be safe and have a great day.

Laila and I, and both our families wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2007!

Day 7 in Manila

Day seven of this trip has arrived and it is really hard to believe the time is going by so quickly. I haven’t been so great at keeping this blog up as I would like to be. I have been writing updates on my laptop, but then we will get doing something and I will forget transfer the file over to the blog.

Today we got up at 6 AM again, and we showered and made breakfast and all. Then along came the battle to wake up the kids and all. They like to stay up all night playing Rose Online and do not go to bed until we shut down the router, usually when one of us has to make a nature call in the middle of the night.

Laila had a few chores to get done and so I was encouraging her to get everything done in the morning before the traffic got bad. With the holidays everything is really crowded, especially a large shopping mall like SM.

My goal was to get to the money exchange, our first stop and then to the bank by 10 AM. We left at 10:30 AM because we were on Philippines time which is kind of, if you leave before noon that is just as good as being somewhere by 10 AM.

We got the money changed and deposited and then managed to get to the mall by about 11 AM. We bought a few items and then headed for home. We had all of our running around done for the day and so we got to hang out in the apartment the rest of the day.

I chatted with my kids at home and heard that Judy dyed Carlos’ hair. David thought it was hilarious so it could be interesting to look at when I get home. I guess the middle is brown and the sides are black. I guess I will have to wait and see what it looks like.

We then updated our Neopets accounts with the daily freebies, then took a nap for a while waking up just in time to get dinner started.

Laila wanted an authentic American Home Cooked Hamburger so while I was doing that she cooked up some Authentic Pancit Bihon, her favorite Filipino dish. While we were cooking her Mother stopped by so we invited her to join us for dinner. I guess they were all kind of surprised at how big the hamburgers were, but then that is how my mother taught me to make them. Everyone seemed to like them and both dishes were so filling that we had a lot of leftovers.

After dinner Laila came in to do her Rose Online stuff, and then at eight we continued something we have been doing. I brought several CD’s from home. In the hotel we started watching “CSI” and “NCIS” and then at 8 PM each night we have been watching “NCIS” here with the kids.

Last night I switched up what we were watching and threw in “Dead Like Me” for the evening viewing. My kids loved the show and from watching last night Laila’s kids loved it too. We watched the pilot and two episodes before Laila decided it was time to go to bed for the evening.

Anyway tomorrow is the anniversary of the first time we met in person so we will have to do something special. We will see what I can do to make things a little special. I always have my unique way of making things a little interesting.

Now it is time for us to shut down everything and get to bed. Have great holiday season.

Staying with the kids

Today was the first day where I slept over at our apartment this trip so it was time to get back into the cooking breakfast mode.

We woke up at 6 AM. I have Laila adjusted to getting up early now. We took a shower and then said our prayers. After that we went out to the kitchen and proceeded to prepare breakfast.

We made some bacon, hot dogs, toast, and some omelet. Laila loves her vegetable slicer and has been making up reasons to use it. The only thing is now that we have adjusted our schedules the kids have not, so it was a battle to wake them up for breakfast.

We ate breakfast and then we took a nap for a little while. We wanted to go to the SM Mall and exchange the coffee maker, due to some problems with it, and there were a few items we forgot to get yesterday, so we figured we would nap for 20 minutes and then go to the mall. Several hours later when we woke up we then set out for the mall, and by then the traffic was terrible.

We went to the Abenson appliance store and they showed us that the adapter we had been using was malfunctioning, and gave us a good one for free. After that we bought some more Christmas decorations and a soldering iron so I could repair the converter. We then bought some more groceries and then headed for home so we could get dinner cooked.

Last night we had pork chops, Rice a Roni, white rice, and a salad. It was really tasty and everyone seemed to like it. We then continued decorating the apartment, actually we started before cooking and then we completed decorating after dinner. It looked really good but Laila keeps changing her mind so we shall see how everything looks at the end.

One thing that has been going on that I haven’t talked about is the fact that all weekend long Laila has been getting News alerts and I have also been trying to keep up with the Philippines news.

As you know from reading my blog the Philippine Government has been going through some turmoil as the President and Majority of the congress want to have a charter change to amend the constitution and move to a Parliamentary type government. After being defeated by the Senate and the courts, the house decided to go ahead and change the rules and take it upon themselves to change the laws so that the House could just vote it in.

At first the President backed what the House did, until the Catholic Church along with others decided to rally against what the House did. Arroyo then changes sides, after a conference with businessmen from Makati, and she then said she was against it.

Over the weekend the marches were held, but since the President had come out against what the House had done most people figured they would stay home and get their Christmas shopping done instead of participate in the protest march, so there was a lower turnout than expected.

Now Arroyo and others in her party took that as a sign of weakness and are going for Cha-Cha with a renewed strength. I do not even live here and hear of the unhappiness and hopelessness of the people. Cab drivers and people I meet are against this government, the Cha-Cha, Arroyo, and the VAT Tax. I just see where the people are just looking for an excuse to rise up and toss these politicians out of office.

After the rally, rather than count her blessings and let the hype cool the folks down Arroyo did just the opposite. She has called investigations to be started against the Catholic Bishops and others. She is going to let the House go ahead and vote, and they are doing it under the cover of Christmas. She thinks her people are too stupid and too uneducated to get it.

Her people are unhappy. Utility companies are charging for services not provided and using strong arm techniques against the regular citizen. Stroll by any PLDT office and see the people waiting to complain about billing or lack of service.

What about the lack of water in Metro Manila? I saw where the rates will be raised next year, but when we turn on the faucet, no water comes out. Just as in Washington, the government here has no clue of the plight of the average citizen, who about half go to bed hungry. Instead, they are busy conniving ways to gain more power, remain in office longer, and see how much they can line their pockets with pesos.

Just as Washington does not get it with Illegal Immigration, the Government of the Philippines does not get it with poverty. The people will not continue to go hungry forever and as the rich get richer and the lines of hungry people gets longer things will come to a head in the future and God help those in power, who forgot about the people that put them in office.

Anyway I am kind of interested in seeing what more people have to say as I see the rosy picture Arroyo is trying to paint for the world to see and then staying here in one of the more middle class portions of the country I see what the real people think.

That is it for now. I have to get to bed so I stay on my new schedule.

Day 3 in Manila

Today was a lazy day kind of. We got up early and ran right up to the breakfast buffet. We wanted to be the first in line when the fresh food came out and sure enough we were the first in line. After that we came up and said our prayers and watched some TV. We took a few naps through the day and watched some TV until the early evening time when we decided to go to dinner.

We decided to go to Shakey’s pizza for dinner and wound up getting a couple of their platter meals. We had chicken, salad, pizza, and a few other things. Actually there was too much food. We wound up getting a doggie bag and then on the way home to the hotel we saw some hungry kids so we gave them the leftovers.

We then watched some more TV until 11 and then went to bed. In the morning we shall pack up and head for Laila’s house and celebrate the holidays with her kids. After our little vacation we are very well rested and I have just about adjusted my sleep pattern to Manila time.

Other than that things have been great. Judy called us yesterday to ask about the dogs and the fact that the sun room where they stay was getting pretty cold. There is a space heater out there so I told her to use that. I think they should be fine as the weather will never get too cold for their coats since they will be indoors and out of the weather. Even though it gets cold it should never get that cold.

We will talk to her and Carlos on Skype after we get done moving and getting some shopping done. Well I guess that is it. I will get these posted and online tomorrow. Have a great week everyone and we will try and get our blogs caught up as soon as possible.

Day 2 in Manila

Today started out quiet and all with me waking up early and then waking up Laila fairly early. After a shower and all we went up to the penthouse pool area for a buffet breakfast but picked kind of a bad table as the sun came up as we were eating and shined right in Laila’s eyes. I gave myself a mental note to pick a better table for tomorrow.

The food was good and we really pigged out on ham, eggs and all. We also had some juice and coffee.

After breakfast we went back to the room and took an after breakfast nap. We slept for a while and then had the cleaning folks come and make up the room and all. We also got a few extra things for the room.

After that we went to Santo Domingo Catholic Church with the kids. The service was pretty cool and most of it was in English, though the songs were in Tagalog. Yesterday was the Third Sunday of Advent and though they did not do the candle lighting ceremony as we do in our church the mass was fun.

The first reading was Zephaniah 3:14-18a, the second reading was Philipians 4:4-7, and the Gospel was from Luke 3:10-18. The message the Father put out was about sharing.

After mass we all went to Dad’s Ultimate Buffet and met with Laila’s sister Ate Neth, and Laila’s friends, Sherwyn, Vera, and Delia. We all filed up having many trips to the Buffet table and were really stuffed by the time we got home.

Laila and I then watched a couple of episodes of NCIS before we were both tired and had to go to sleep for the night.