Adventures right here in my square mile

I have to remind myself to enjoy what the place currently offers.
So with that spirit, I have taken on trying out new restaurants in my little square mile.
Gone to Barney's burgers. Not bad. Excellent taste. The only thing is the meat had a few bits of gristle which is a no no in my book. So reviews went south after that. Such a pity too.

Then, I went back to the old trusted favorites of Souk (all around local cuisine with Vietnamese dishes on the menu as bonus). Good quality chef prepared meals all for less than $8 per dish. 

Went back to visiting Ichiban which had new offerings of marinated oysters which I ate by the bowl. ($15 per head, all the sushi and Chinese/Filipino fusion dishes you can eat)

This past weekend, I went out to the city and ate at the local Chili's franchise. It was a tad expensive since the bill for 2 came out to something like $50. But the taste, I have to say, was dead on. I wonder if they import everything. It is exactly like the Chili's in Tejas. Very pleased with that discovery.

And of course, after a week of eating and another week of getting the summer flu... time to visit our favorite massage place.

 Time to visit the lady with the iron fingers and the magic touch. Got me a full scrub although the salt isn't as coarse as others. Followed by a full body massage and facial. That took care of the remaining time. Had a good walk home through the neighborhood. All is right in the world.

The people in our lives

Hello everybody!
It's been a while, I know. Busy times as always.

This week has been a wonderful week so far. Got to spend a lot of time with friends and family. Shared good food and listened to their stories over the weekend. Lots of good food, if we're being honest! OMG... I could never party like this when I was in the States. I love Uncle Sam but being able to throw a banquet for 60 people for $500 cannot be beat!!!

I really enjoyed seeing my loved ones and being able to spend time with them. Lots and lots of quality time.
We always think they'll be there forever. But we won't have them forever. Today, we visited our sick relatives and those who cannot make it to the party yesterday. I feel lucky and blessed to have good health and that it is we who are visiting and not the other way around. Thankful to have a huge and wonderful extended family. We all pulled together for those in need and it seeing the result today is priceless. Instead of gifts, we passed a gift-wrapped basket around for our needy and very sick relative. And everyone answered. It's been a humbling but very happy experience all around. 

So now I am home, tired from the long drive to 3 houses with 3 separate patients in various stages of illness. Always make time for those you love. Talk with them and share many memories before it's too late. It's gonna be one of those weeks for me. A week with family and friends. With both ends of the spectrum both sad and happy. Mostly happy. And very thankful to have this time to spend with them. Good Night!

Death is never far

Last year and this year have been full of funerals.
Mostly older relatives.
But a cousin my age is not doing well. I fear to say, death may be upon him.
Long story short, he misused medications without the guidance of a Doctor. It's just out of ignorance and belief that his dad knows best (his dad is a quack doctor and knows nothing).
The result is a younger man than I whose kidneys have failed and is on dialysis.
To make matters worse, the loss of kidneys has affected other parts of his body. He's bedridden and suffers from poor circulation and he's almost totally blind.
For an artist to be blind is a terrible fate to contemplate. I really felt for him.

I can only look on as he struggled like that. It is hard to watch it.
I have full command of my faculties, strong and capable.
 There he is, just struggling to survive. Just lying there. In darkness.
Unable to read his comic book collection.

His mom suggested they sell them to buy medication.
I thought it might kill his will to fight completely if that vanishes --I just said it might help to have them around so he can read them if his eyes get better. But I think we all know they won't.
Very sad. And very tragic.

Tonight, I breathe in air, I drink water.
Taste good food. We are lucky.
Lucky to be alive and to be just looking at the internet reading other people's posts.
We're not hungry, wanting or sick...

We are well. And I hope to be that way for a long time.
Because I love life. I want to live a long time.
Death stared at me today.
I have to tell it. not today. Not tomorrow.

And if I and our generation should be lucky and we push hard enough for medical life extensions, maybe not for a long time.
Maybe not ever.

There's so much to see, enjoy and people to talk with and share love...
Let us tell death...
Not today. Not tonight.
I got miles to go before I sleep.

the Year in Review

Hello Everyone,

Hope your Christmas holidays have been good so far.
It's been a busy year for our family. Here's a rundown:
In early Feb, I flew out to the Philippines stopping by California on the way to see my sister's family. Ken, Jerry and the kids were all a delight to be with once again. Always treasure these times with them. Definitely the higlight of my stay was going to the Discovery Science Center in Orange with the whole family. That was a rare treat so thanks to Jerry and Ken for that. I got to lie in a bed of nails which was on display there. Got to try most of the science exhibits and it was a good time all around.
So on to the Philippines.
Good to be back with Mom and Dad. This was a year I would spend the majority of the year here in the Philippines with them as you will see.
Wonderful to see family and friends again. By now, it really feels normal to be back every year. I no longer feel like just a returning visitor.
This trip was also different for I flew with David, a good friend of mine from San Antonio who expressed interest in visiting the Philippines. And so, I volunteered to introduce him to the country.

We went to Morong to watch baby turtles being released into the waters (to return after 25 years to the same beach hopefully).

This was also a time of many trips.

This being a year where I promised myself I'd visit an Asian country, I booked a trip to Taipei, Taiwan along with David. We talked about visiting Asia well before this trip even came about. That was a wonderful trip and very educational. It's a rare thing to go and see another first world and an even rarer opportunity to learn so much. That was a good 4 days and I must say, even if the rest of the year turned bad on me, I'd forever have the trip to Taipei as a highlight.

Lots of other trips ensued in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, my buddy David has moved out of the room he was renting with us and into his own place. We took him on a majority of our family gatherings to get him used to life in the Philippines. He's made a good circle of friends around him and was pursuing a Filipina lady or two. This is where we parted ways and from here, he traveled by himself and back to America I heard.

I too, went back to the USA. But not before one last trial.
Mom got sick with what we thought was a stomach flu. It was bad enough for us to bring her to the hospital. And so, a day before I took off for the USA, I kept vigil that night at the hospital. Those who keep tabs on my facebook account will see the picture I took of me and Mom at the hospital.

Of my return to the US, it's been a blur.
My brother fetched me at the airport as always accompanied by his eldest child. He's the one who always fetches me and brings me to the airport. We've switched roles since he first came here.
I was eager to get back to normal now that I have returned (having flown through Los Angeles in a hurry to attend a convention in Texas).
Things were not well at the office, though. And about those times, I felt like an unwelcome tick.
In all my month long stay, it is with my San Antonio friends that I felt the most welcome.

And so, just over a month in the US, I was flying back on a fast flight to the Philippines through Beijing (where I had the worst Chinese food ever at that airport).
(Mom got sick again so I had to fly back fast)

On my home front, the year has been spent working of course. It's not really a vacation when I go to the Philippines or anywhere for that matter. I just change locations but I still work.


It is during this second trip that we now attended several funerals.

Come to think of it, 2013 is a year of charity work for me... and lots of trips to see ailing relatives. I am thankful we spent that time together and enjoyed each other's company while they were alive.

Our last challenge was this past week where Mom was again hospitalized but for different reasons; it was a stomach ailment this time which led to some bleeding. Thankfully, we brought her to the hospital on time.


And so, despite all the hospitalizations and harships our family had, we are thankful that Mom is still with us and is now back to her old self.

This year was capped by a most wonderful trip out to Hong Kong.
I could not imagine I'd be visiting 2 countries in the same year but it happened. My friend who was going away to Australia some months back told me he planned to go and a bunch of them including my cousin. I did not have the cash at the time (expenses with Mom) and even if I did, I held them in reserve just in case. But my friend was very nice and said he'd front the money if I really wanted to go. It's great to know that of all the years I've been lending out and giving money to others, that it got paid forward to me.

This happened not just with Hong Kong, but with another event also having to do with me needing the cash fast.
During those times, I felt like George Bailey of "It's a Wonderful Life". Very blessed and very lucky to know such wonderful people.
And so this Christmas time, I sit here and am very thankful to have known all of you in my life. My career as an author and artist may not be going great and just treading water, but I am thankful I have all of you in my life. Very thankful.
In that respect, I can consider myself someone who is rich in friends and loved ones.

So a Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year!

P.S., Hong Kong was a blast!

A Well Ordered society even under less than ideal circumstances.

Living out here in the third world... You get exposed to all the facets of life. And you are living in such close proximity to others. Even when I lived in tight quarters in Texas, I barely see anyone outside the apartment complex. This area where I live in is teeming with humanity. You will always see people outside your door. I get to witness more of general life, it's joys and sorrows. Baptisms, funerals and everything in between. Life in all a grand parade just outside your door.

That's a REAL community with real people and relationships. People from all walks of life, vendors and craftsmen always building someone nearby. We even have a couple of nutty people wandering around. In this situation, we have the entire community to deal with them such that they don't turn out to be too much of a nuisance to any one person. I suppose it works because even though the nutty people visit you, you can just say hi and humor them for a bit and then they move on. And when everyone shares in this, somehow, it's not much of a burden. They also obviously go home to someone who cares for them.

And because life is so open, nobody has time to hide away in their own house and occupy themselves with negative activities like hoarding, obsessions or even keeping children prisoners in the basement or some horrible thing like that. Out here, something like that IS unheard of. When people get old or sick, there's always someone to take care of them even with an imperfect social safety net. Even then, the Philippines at least has Phil-health which is really Medicaid for everyone, not just seniors. Anyone who contributes is enrolled into the system. The advantages of living in a real community, indeed. There is plenty to learn from.

The Mortal Coil

Today was a day spent visiting deceased relatives. One a burial, the other a wake.
Both are aunts. One passed away way too young at 55.
The other was 82.
Reminds one of the brief lives we all have sometimes. Cherish close friends and family. Do not waste the best parts of your life on all the wrong people. Save your best hours for those you love.
Take time to tell them how much you love them. More importantly, show them how you care by spending many happy hours in their company.
Until they make genetic engineering possible for the rest of us, this is the only life we will ever have. My 2 poor aunties will never see the dawn of medical immortality. Perhaps with the right diet and lifestyle and more importantly, our active participation with the sciences, we might just yet see it.

For now, do not waste time and never wait till tomorrow.
Do not wait till you're dying to make peace.
Be happy today and resolve most of your conflicts in life.
Cherish your loved ones. You never know when they'll go away forever.

Good night, and good luck!

Unexpected Adventures

I attended the Memorial of the Dead here in the PHilippines. 

Has it been 9 years since my last one?! This event is huge here. Work and school are both suspended and everyone goes to the cemeteries. It's people, vendors and cars galore and restaurants are packed full.

We parked in an empty soil filled lot where the land sloped downwards the deeper you got into it. Then, while at the cemetery with 10,000 other people, vendors and clergy folk, it rained really hard. The lot turned into a swamp with the water collecting near the back of the lot where the car was. I watched as men pushed on a minibus stuck in the mud. It just sank deeper and deeper with each rev and even planks were useless. 

I remember thinking to myself: This is probably how massive ww2 army convoys can spend days navigating only a few miles a day if roads are like this. The car next to me hasn't even left his spot yet and his tires are already spinning uselessly. So when I got to My car, I plotted the route out of the muddy lot to the exit up top. (first I had to shake off 15 pounds of mud from my shoes) With the gear on first engaged, I roared up that muddy slope with mud flying. For about 8 seconds, I was a rally car driver with the vehicle's tires turning sideways and slipping through the muck. But I made it! I even raised a triumphant fist in the air as I whipped by the onlookers watching the other vehicles struggle. Not bad for someone driving a front wheel powered 4 door sedan. :)