[smartads] It may seem like I’m getting lazier, but I hope I’m not. I decided that getting out of bed at 10:10am today would be okay, so I did. Lita wanted to know why I slept so late, I went to bed at the same time she did. I didn’t have an answer for her. It might be because the 2 nights before last night I didn’t get much sleep and my body was making up for it. Even though I read somewhere once that you can never ‘make up’ for lost sleep, that seems kind of dumb not to think you can, I do it all the time. I told Lita that if she needed me for something, she should have woken me up. I mean she does it all the time anyway, so today shouldn’t have been any different. Maybe she’s running out of things to complain about and she’s scrapping the bottom of the barrel. Nah!, wishful thinking, that will never happen. Anyway I slept later than normal again today.
I got up to go to the CR and Lita was in the kitchen with Lynn cutting up all kinds of meat. Not sure where Vicky was, but someone was outside washing clothes. Lita decided that she would rather just have Vicky wash the clothes instead of hiring someone else. She will just help out a little more, for awhile until J starts working here in January. Her decision, but she better not start overdoing it again. I’ll be on her like white on rice, if she starts getting sick again.
Just got a new reader, Hi Queenie, thanks again for the wonderful comment you left about my blog.
Lita wants me to look for a rice cooker that is still packed in one of the boxes from Texas. She said it is in one of the 2 boxes next to the closet. Oh great, that’s the boxes that I have all my stuff on. I’m going to have to take it all off, find some place to put them temporarily, dig through the top box (hoping it is there), maybe dig through the 2nd box (it better be there), bring rice cooker to kitchen to be sure that’s the one she wants (if I find one), put things back in the box that I had to take out, put the boxes back in place, cover them back up with the Dallas Cowboys curtain, and put the things back on top of it again. I better get started, it might take awhile.
Well it wasn’t in the 1st box (figures) and I didn’t find anything of any great importance in there.
There it is, in the bottom of the 2nd box. At least it is actually here. It’s the one she wants too. Well things seem to be going smoothly now, except for one thing.
While I was moving that ‘cheap’ fan in the computer room, I pressed down on the front too hard and sliced a hole in my finger. I applied some direct pressure and went to the kitchen sink to wash it. Lita got some mercur…mercor…, some monkey blood and put in on the cut. I can’t spell that word. She also had to put 3 band-aids on there. Not that the cut was that big, but the band-aids she bought are not the best quality. The blood has stopped and I’m still kicking, so everything is fine (Mom). I’ve even moved the fan again a couple of times since then. Makes it a little bit harder to type, but not too bad.
Oh wait, now another problem. The rice cooker that I had to dig out has 700W output and the transformer we have in the kitchen is only for 500W. Oh well, I’ve been looking for a good excuse to buy a large transformer for our microwave anyway. It has a 1200W output. I guess on Monday when I go to town, I will find a 1500W transformer with at least 2 110V slots and buy it. If they don’t have one here, and it’s a good possibility that they don’t, then I’ll wait until we go to Robinson Mall in Tacloban next month. There’ s a nice store on the 2nd floor there that will have one for sure. I think I told y’all about them already, so I won’t go into any details about it. I will say though that every time we go to Robinson mall, we go to that store.
I just found out the other day that there are actually 3 malls in Tacloban. Robinson mall is the largest though. Maybe we should go and at least check out the other malls. We just might do that on the next trip, but sometimes we spend so much time at the mall already, we’re just ready to get the heck out of there and go home. It’s times like those that I’m glad I’m not driving, and there are always 2 or 3 other capable drivers with us. I could drive if I had to, but that getting started with a stick shift still puzzles my feet. They can’t seem to get the right touch for the gas and clutch. After 1st gear, there’s no problem, but once I stop and have to start again, then the problem arises again. I’m going to get someone here to let me practice in their car so I won’t have that problem anymore. All the vehicles here are manual, but you can buy an automatic, if you don’t mind paying the extra price.
I did all this talking, almost 1000 words, and I haven’t even started on my 3 subjects that I have written down to tell y’all about today. Guess I won’t have to worry about this being a short post. Before I start on the written down things though, I’m going to eat. Just a preview of what’s coming: New thing at hotel, Lita and Lynn happenings and today was my weigh-in day. Be back in a bit.
Never mind about eating. Everyone is so busy in the kitchen, I’ll just wait. She’s suppose to start cooking spaghetti about 4:00pm, so that’ll be okay. It just now starting raining, again. I’ll just eat some chips and drink some Gatorade or iced tea and eat spaghetti later. She wants me to take out the bacon, but I’ll just wait. By the time it thawed out and I cooked it, it’d be close to 4:00pm anyway. Okay, so I’ll eat the Doritos and drink a Mountain Dew, because that is what I have now. Lita already had the bacon out and I told her that I didn’t ask for her to take it out, so I ended up putting it back. Man that Mountain Dew didn’t last long. I need something else to drink. I’ve got some tea now. Still too hard to get to the ice, so just a bottle of tea.
Okay next subject. The Ciriaco hotel has put out a few “Pls Stay Off The Grass” signs. They have small little patches of grass over there that they have someone watering, when it’s not raining. They’re not much to look at now, but I guess after the the grass gets up and everything else there is finished, it’ll look okay. I should get a picture, but if I do I won’t post it until next week. I’ll have pictures from downtown on the camera then and can download them all at once.
Weigh in day was today. As usually I was worried about the outcome. At times it just doesn’t seem like I’m losing at all. If I am losing weight and it doesn’t seem like it, then that’s a good thing. I guess I must be over that little hump I was stuck at because today’s weight was 132.25 kilos. That’s down 1.65 kilos from last week. So, for all you strictly pounds people out there, and I use to be one of them, I lost slightly over 3 1/2 pounds this past week. I have to have some dealings in kilograms and kilometers whether I like it or not around here.
My finger is starting to hurt now, so I’m going to take a break. I’ll be back in a little while. I’m sure it’ll be like no time at all for y’all.
See, I’ll bet it was like I wasn’t even gone, wasn’t it? My finger didn’t get much rest though. Lita saw me laying down and had me put more drinks in the refrigerator and put the new batch of tea in the bottles. It took 10 1/2 bottles for 1 pot of tea. There’s no more in the refrigerator to put them though. That’s fine. We can just put them in as space becomes available. I’ll just leave them on the other table until there is space.
I hear Grace outside. She shows up every once in awhile just to talk. Usually it’s with her Tatay when he is bringing something over here. They ride over here on their motorcycle. I haven’t seen Juvic for about 2 weeks, don’t know what’s going on with her. I know she got herself in a little trouble not too long ago. Nothing serious, but I don’t really know the details, because no one tells me, unless I ask about it.
I think I’m going to leave the Lita and Lynn situation thing until tomorrow. I’m almost to 1600 words already and you know I’d hate to be short tomorrow. Same old story that probably won’t matter tomorrow anyway.
It’s only 2:48pm and I’m already so far along with this post. I’m still going to wait to post though. Maybe something, I just have to tell you know will happen. Most likely not, but you never know.
Nothing is happening, except it is raining again. I’m going to put in some pictures and publish this post. Maybe something will happen while I’m putting in the pictures.
There was a brownout that lasted about 1 minute, while I was putting in the pictures.
Philippines Trivia: The largest city in the Philippines is Davao City. With an area of 2,211 sq. km., it is about three times the size of the national capital, Metro Manila.
Salamat, Paalam
OK, I can get some pork skins too but I am afraid they will be more pork crushlings than cracklings but we shall see. I picked up some more jerky today along with 4 24oz cans of Dinty Moore beef stew and 2 28oz cans of Van Camps pork and beans, one is sweet onion and other is maple and brown sugar. I did not find any big cans of chicken stew so I grabbed two 15oz Dinty Moore chicken and dumplings bowls.
I wish there was an LBC here so I could fill up a balikbayan box and send you enough stew to last you a long time. One of the few down sides of living in a rural town in a rural state.
All that is good. I won’t bother you with anything else after that. When we go home, we will be sending 2 or 3 balikbayan boxes back, so I’ll fill one of them up. And of course with anything you’d need, if you do. Between what you bring and what I pick up in Tacloban, I should be able to make it to the end of the year anyway. I’ll worry about more after that. We’re suppose to be going to Cebu for our night out, so I’ll look in the Supermarkets there too.
Thanks again for getting me that stuff.
Hey UJ, Glad you enjoyed hearing from me. Be careful with that cut–things can get infected quick uncovered or without some ointment–but I’m sure you know that.
We have a driver too. We figure that many local Filipinos are expert and unflappable drivers, and who needs the hassle anyway? We could never afford a driver in the US so it’s a fun luxury in the Philippines!
I was looking on your map and seeing where Calbayog was situated in Samar. You guys are way up there I see, being closer to Manila than Cebu. My husband spent time as a teenager at a realtive’s place in San Isidro, and it hasn’t changed that much in these many years. That town is a ways from your bigger place I see.
I my observation it seems that for some reason foreigner residents seem to take on the make-up of the place that they settle in. I think that the Visayas region is a pretty laid-back place, and seems to attract more laid-back people. Maybe it’s my imagination…
The cut is covered and will stay that way a couple of days. Then I’ll take off the band-aid, clean the area, treat it and put on another band-aid or 2 for a few more days. Yeah, that’s what I figured, the drivers here are already use to the hazards here, and it’s nice to have a driver and you can sleep if you want to.
I’m not sure we are closer to Manila than Cebu. I’ve never bothered asking, but I always thought Cebu was closer. As for who moves where, well I think you could be right. If you like the real laid back thing, then it is more laid back in the Visayas. I’ve had someone else on here mention the same thing, I think it was Winda. I wanted something in between big city and laid back, and this fit the bill well. So it’s not your imagination.
Years ago, my husband tried teaching me how to drive a stick shift, but it almost cause us a divorce. He gave up and bought me an automatic transmission car instead. I prefer SVU while he likes sports car.
BTW, does anybody know how much will it cost to bring a Harley Davidson (touring bike) to Phil.?
Lita doesn’t drive at all, so I don’t have to worry about that.
No, I don’t know about the Harley, but if I can find out where to check, I will.
I learned driving with a clutch when I was 13 and drove manual transmission cars up until 2001 when I got my first car with an automatic transmission. The car we bought last year in Angeles alos has an automatic transmission which is what I wanted for all the stop and go traffic that happens there, plus I did not want to teach Jen how to drive clutch. I am not sure I would have the patience for that. haha
6 days till I am back in the land of smiles. Jen and George will fly back to Manila on October 8, go to Angeles from there and then come back to pick me up that night as my flight arrives at 10:55pm. I have asked Jen to stop by your place and introduce herself but she is too shy.
I never had the need to learn a clutch, so it never happened. Everyone here drives a stick and it’s cheaper, so we got one. I’m not going to be driving probably ever here, so it doesn’t matter to me. I just might learn though. Only 6 more days, I know it’s killing you too. Oh, I thought of something else you can bring me that is not heavy. It may sound weird to bring this here, being the land of pork, but I’d like some pork skins. The cracklings is what I want. 4 or 5 bags is enough. The cheap stuff they have here does not taste good at all. Don’t get the cheap ones, get some good ones, if you get them. Am I asking too much of you? I know you volunteered to bring me something, but I feel I may be taking advantage. Some day if I’m in the States and you need something, I’ll be happy to get it for you though, no problem.
Yeah, a lot of Filipinas are too shy to do something like that. My wife is not anymore, but she’s older than your wife and has been ‘Americanized’. But still I know some older Filipinas that are still shy.