April 16, 2024

6 thoughts on “Friday – 10 Jun 2011”

  1. Hi, JJ!

    I don’t know how many days I’ve missed of your blog, but I’m trying to catch up. I normally skip a calendar date when it looks like it’s just reprinted news. It would be nice if there was code in the calendar on the right of the screen that would tell me when you’re actually blogging.

    Where does the air-conditioned passenger van take you to in Tacloban? You were wondering how to get to Robinson mall and it suddenly dawned on me that you were coming into Tac from the other side, while I would pass Palo and Robinson mall before I reach the city.

    There are licensed “taxis” that look like slightly dressed-up jeepneys; you have to share with others but it takes you to a specific destination which you tell the driver before you get in for a slightly higher fare than a jeepney. No meters. A store clerk told me about it. The driver will stop for others along the way if there’s still room, but it gets you right to the door of your destination faster. I can’t remember the color but these “taxis” are all painted the same color, I think. I just used it twice when my van was in the motor vehicle ‘hospital.’ Actually, Nissan Cebu sends a mechanic to Tac [or Sogod, or Maasin, or Ormoc, etc., – not to the hick towns] if you make an appointment. The hick towns won’t have hydraulic lifts. So you meet this mech at a particular gas station, leave your MV if you have other things to do, and use public transportation to get around the city. The old city of downtown Tacloban is so small anyway that one can walk all over. But it’s brutal when the sun’s out in full force.

    You’re right, taking the passenger buses or vans is a much cheaper way to go. And it very pleasantly surprised me to find that the bus drivers actually drive like the good drivers in the Western countries, following safety rules on top of driving well! The steep national road between Silago and Abuyog could actually wreck the engine if you have an idiot at the wheel. Yes, I had the horrible misfortune of getting just such an idiot when I borrowed a friend’s large truck to haul supplies from CitiHardware. He advertised himself as THE king of the road to get hired. I almost told him to stop, get out and take the wheel myself if we had not been going back at night, hitting the mountains around 10-11 at an excruciating crawl as he grinds the motor. I’m lucky it didn’t break down. But I digress.

    How’s the Saturday weigh in going? I haven’t seen it lately. Or am I just missing them? And who is Jasper?

    Is your family back in the States still checking your blog? I haven’t read comments from your sister or niece like the “early” days of your blog life. Or are they just emailing you directly? They’re OK, I hope.

    Keep typing!

    1. Hey Winda…long time no hear. I put that reprinted news on there because it draws a lot of people from the Internet and sometimes I put something on there that even regular readers of Philippines News missed.
      I know that if the date is darkened on the calendar on the front page that means I did a new post that day, but I think it darkens for ANY post, not just the “My Posts”.
      The Grand Tour van from Calbayog goes to the van station in Catbalogan and from there we can get a van to either the van station in Tacloban or straight to the airport. The one to the airport is P270 and to the van station is P200. They may have one that goes to Robinson Mall also, I just never checked, but taking a regular taxi from the van station in Tacloban to Robinson Mall will be okay. I’ll have to find out the distance and I’ll ask at the van station in Tacloban just how much it should cost to travel there, so the taxi driver can’t rip me off. Of course the option of calling Jun or Jhunnel to pick us up is always an option, if they are not busy and they want to do it. They live there in Tacloban and know their way around well.
      As for the van drivers driving “like the good drivers in the Western countries”, well they are not all like that. The first one we got was speeding on a wet road and I thought he’d lose it a couple of times, but he didn’t.
      Saturday weigh ins I pretty much stopped for now. I’m pretty stagnate as far as the weight goes. I really would like to get to the gym to work out on the cardio-vascular machines, but Lita wants me to wait until she can get a tricycle special made for me and I can take her to town everyday, maybe twice a day. That’s a 2 mile round trip, 4 miles for 2 trips. I say when I get the tricycle, I will be able to ride it to the gym.
      I guess the family is checking the blog. Neither of my sisters or my niece have left a message for awhile, but I see the town come up every now and then. I do talk to them via e-mail at times, but I don’t bring up the blog much. They know about it so I don’t want to harp on it. If they read, they read…if they don’t, they don’t. To the best of my knowledge they are doing fine. My niece is pregnant for the 2nd time though. Oh joy, I get to be a “great” Uncle again.
      I’ll keep typing if you keep reading.

      1. Yes, there’s the occasional nut who probably doesn’t have a license and thinks going 100 kph at 50 kph curves shows his passengers that he’s a hotshot. But the ones who have taken the driving course and bothered to get a license appear to be growing in numbers. Yay!

        Once, going back to SL from Tac on a decent passenger bus with a good driver at the wheel (!), I had the luxury of just soaking in the scenery with the glowing orange sun going down west where it hides at night, there were places up high in the mountains, that literally took one’s breath away. Good to be alive, at times more so than others.

        You missed this: who’s Jasper? 🙂

        And yes, the brown outs are the pits. To think that the other provinces on both sides of the island get their electricity from Leyte! Ironic. What a crock.

        Solar power. We`ve got to find a cheap source that sells the panels and rechargeable batteries. You`d think the PH would be just crawling with them. Then the electric companies can go fly their !+Q*$%&* kites. 🙂

        1. I’ve seen that scenery and you’re right.
          Jasper…I explained in one of the posts…is Emie’s son. Which would make him a 2nd cousin to Lita.
          I guess it’s one of the posts that you missed. It also was only 1 paragraph.
          Other provinces on Samar get their electric from Leyte? Really?
          I’d love to be able to afford solar power, wind power, water power…any power except the high taxed and fee full thing I do have now.

  2. John havnt heard anything about brownouts latly,do they happen often and how long are they lasting.that is the one thing that would really bug me if they are long and often.I think there are to manny books out there about livinging in the PI,I still think that maybe some flyers in the hotels that dont have cars
    that would adverties your car service,it sure is a good business
    in angeles and subic.with the flyers more peaple might see your services.

    1. We have had a few brown outs recently, and I did put them in the blog, but nothing super long, a few hours. Recently there have not been so many, but still too many for me. Hopefully someday they will be a thing of the past, but I don’t see that in the foreseeable future.
      Well those fliers would be a good thing if all or vehicles were always ready to go, but they are not. My Nissan still needs an alternator and Mar with his 2 vehicles are gone about 1/4 of the time with at least one of them. The only constant thing we have had is the multi-cab and the tricycle, along with at least 1 of Mar’s cars. Mar’s little Maverick though does not have a working a/c. No one has asked about the multi-cab or the tricycle either. Someday if we ever get our stuff together in that department, and we will, I will probably do as you suggest. It’s a good idea. Of course it’ll have to wait until after I get my printer so I can make the fliers. Thanks for the suggestion.

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