Tuesday – 9 Aug 2011

[smartads] Since I have been through all the Regions of the Philippines and I still don’t have any decent pictures of my own to post yet, I have decided to start on the Provinces of the Philippines. There are 79 of them and I will feature them in alphabetical order. I will try not to repeat any pictures that I may have used while featuring the Regions that the Provinces are in, but I can’t promise some of them won’t be repeated.

http://abra.gov.ph/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=2&showall=1

Abra is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bangued, and it borders Ilocos Norte and Apayao on the north, Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province on the south, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur on the west, and Kalinga, and Apayao on the east. Known as the Natural Dye Capital of the Philippines.

http://cathybellen.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html

Useless Knowledge:  Sharks have a sixth sense that enables them to detect bioelectrical fields radiated by other sea creatures and to navigate by sensing changes in the earth’s magnetic field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_sense

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectromagnetism

8 Aug – Hits @ 0115 = 859083 = 9817.  Well I’ll be darn. That’s a record. I am pretty sure that if I would have waited another 30 minutes and made it a true 24 hour period, we probably would broken the 10,000 hit mark. I would have except Lita had already gotten the fan about 30 minutes before and I was roasting in here. So if I’m that hot, then you can imagine how hot the computer was getting. It was difficult to touch it without burning your hand. I wasn’t sure it was going to make it another 30 minutes. A temporary record of 10,000 is not worth risking the computer anymore than necessary.I was up early today. Well early for me. It was somewhere between 0730 and 0800. Sometimes I don’t get the time exactly when I’m in a hurry to get to the CR, or I’m sick, or I’m in a I don’t give a crap mood. This morning it was the CR.  I remembered to check the MJTS e-mail, since I’m making it a point of doing that everyday now. Not that I expect to find anyone there, but you never know.

Old Roman Catholic Church – Lagangilang

http://www.filipinasoul.com/2008/05/visit-abra-the-natural-dye-capital-of-the-philippines/

If you want to see the updates for the MJTS, please go to the MJ Services page.  I will also type up a post of my current feelings on our tourist service either tonight, which it will be on there shortly after this one is posted, or maybe it will be early tomorrow.  I learned lots because of this last ‘almost’ opportunity.  Things that I would think would inspire future travelers to give us a try, if they know about us.  Read the new Flier under MJ Services, see what you think and then read my post on it.  Even though it seems the young lady that was going to travel with us changed her mind, I am still encouraged.  In fact, I’m more confident in the MJTS now then I was before.

I’m out in LolyKat again.  I guess it’s going to have to be a regular thing for me to be out here as long as J is in school.  It’s not so bad to be out here as long as I have my book, my puzzles, my cards, the fan and that stupid game.  It is another reason to buy a laptop computer.  I’d be able to keep up with it all while in the store.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting a laptop now, it’s just a matter of when.  Probably not until May or June.  I should be able to find one in the PX at Fort Hood while we are back in Texas.  Or maybe I’ll go to Austin and get one there.  They have lots and lots of places that sell computers.  Or maybe I should buy one here, so I can charge it with the 220 and not have to use a transformer.  I don’t know, I will have to think about it, but most likely I will buy it in Texas.

Abra Bridge

http://www.paraisophilippines.com/category/philippine-provinces/abra/

Well I was back in the house, but it’s 5:17pm now and I’m back in the store again.  I got to take a short nap so that is something good that happen today.  Otherwise it’s pretty boring, but I think I can think of a subject or two that I will be able to expand on for your reading pleasure.

Right in the middle of me trying to heat up my stew, we ran out of propane in the kitchen.  It’s okay though, we have a new one already.  I do hate to run out of propane.

Mga bata are running around the compound screaming like a bunch of wild Indians, so everything is going normally in that department.

http://www.ilocandiatreasures.com/2010/07/rustic-abra.html

I don’t know why they want me to work out in this store.  I keep selling stuff at or below cost.  Our little packets of coffee mate are suppose to be P3, but I just sold one for P1.  My mistake.  I should have looked at the scribbled price list we have on the wall.  If I can get that printer fixed, then I’d be able to make a nice price list and it would be on the computer so I could make any changes and print a nice new list.  The one we have is all scribbled through and even ripped in a couple of places.  It’s a mess, but with no printer it’s about the best we can do for now.

I was explaining to Lita that beginning next month our extra bills will start to dwindle.  In fact every month for the next several months the bills will dwindle more and more.  I now believe that we will be virtually debt free by the end of the year, not including the Nissan.  That’s about 4 or 5 months ahead of my original thinking.  Of course for that to happen, everything will have to be just right, but it could happen and that’s what I will be shooting for.  I hope it happens because we really want to leave for Texas in early March 2012.  I’d like to be home before my father’s birthday on March 12th.

http://hotelsphilippines.info/

The Nissan is suppose to be paid off in May of 2013.  I am pretty sure that, if they will let us, I will be able to pay that off early by  about 5 or 6 months.

So many plans that I now feel I must take charge of so they will be accomplished.  It’s not that I don’t think Lita is capable of handling it, because she is for the most part.  Her problem, which she says she has now conquered, is being too easily swayed by the relatives.  Most of the relatives here have good jobs and in fact have been assisting us pretty much since we have been here, but some of them are still having a rough time and ask for money now and then, that Lita has been saying okay to, but she swears, no more.  It’s good to be nice, but not if it’s going to hurt you while doing it.  I’m kind of a softy in that department also, except when it starts cutting into our finances and thus our livelihood, then I can say No.

Abra River

http://www.flickr.com/photos/storm-crypt/2195480272/

I do have a major weakness for hungry children though, but don’t tell anyone.  I figure that if someone tries to pull the “my children are hungry, they haven’t eaten all day” routine, then I have a plan for that.  First of all I will tell off the parents for being lousy parents, because I can do that.  Then I will tell them to send their children to my house and I will feed them.  They will not be allowed to bring any food home, but they will get to eat.  It might just be some rice or french fries or peanut butter sandwiches, but they will get to eat something.

Any hoot!  I figure, if all goes well, then by this time next year, we will have an nice excess of pesos coming in, that will pretty much not have anything to do with.  That won’t be including the about P2000-P3000 that I plan to save every month, after we are caught up.  If this blog ever starts producing an income, that is not being counted either.

Useless Knowledge:  Catherine the Great of Russia kept her wig maker in an iron cage in her bedroom for more than three years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire

Tayum Church

http://travelingluck.com/Asia/Philippines/Abra/_1732380_Province%20of%20Abra.html#local_map

The MJTS is not counted either because it is so unpredictable, but that is more to me than just money.  When someone uses our service, I and/or Mar plan to be there in person to greet them at whichever of the major airports they arrive at.  If they are an English speaking customer, than I will more likely than not, be the one that shows up.  Maybe with Mar also, but I should be there.  That, of course, means that I get to get out and about.  I’ve been to Cebu and Bohol, but not any of the other places within our tour packages.  Boracay is one of the nicest, if not the nicest, islands in the Philippines, so I would really like to see it.  This service would give me a good excuse to go there.  Of course I would bring my camera with me on all of these trips.  I will take pictures and will post them here for everyone to see, including the customers if they wish to have their picture on the blog.  It’s 6:16pm.

When I turned the computer back on the Envolve was gone again.  I am in contact with the Envolve service center, so I hope to have that problem resolved soon.  It’s the only live chat program I can find that I really like so I really would like to continue using it.

Cordillera Day

http://asiancorrespondent.com/52619/cordillera-day-2011/

Aarrg!  I just smashed a pen up against the wall.  Go to my happy place.  Go to my happy place.  It ‘was’ one of those cheap pens that I bought.  It keeps skipping or just stops writing for awhile.  After I threw it, I figured that maybe part of the problem is the poor grade of paper in these notebooks.  I mean the notebooks only cost P13 (.32) and the pens are only P10 (.25), so I guess I’m cheaping  out on those.  I will however look for a better quality pen in Tacloban that should be able to write on any quality paper.  Sometimes it’s frustrating trying to find things that you want, things that you are use to having that is just not available here.  It’s part of the learning process for living in the Philippines.  That why it’s a good idea to get one of the several books written about living in the Philippines, so you won’t have so much of this to go through.  I should have gotten one of the books, but I thought I knew it all.  I was wrong.

Abrenian Festival

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rizaldy88/page12/

I went out front to get some air again and Titing was already there smoking a cigarette.  We talked mostly about money tonight.  We decided that we didn’t need billions of pesos because millions of pesos would be plenty enough.

Be sure to read the “Today in Philippine History” today.  After the crap the Americans pulled on the Filipinos, I’m surprised that they ever trusted us again.  I guess if it wasn’t for the passion that Douglas MacArthur had for the Filipinos we wouldn’t have ‘returned’ and done anything to help them.  That’s terrible to be lied to like that.  I guess what comes around, goes around though because the Japanese did basically the same thing to us right before they bombed Pearl Harbor.  They were in Washington, negotiating for peace, knowing full well they were getting ready to attack.

http://www.ivanhenares.com/2010/11/abra-tayum-church-bangued-cathedral.html

Useless Knowledge:  Actor Dean Cain, the leading man in TV’s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was signed to play professional football with the Buffalo Bills after his graduation from Princeton. However, he injured his knee three days before his first preseason NFL game. The unfortunate injury forced Cain to pursue a new career.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Cain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_%26_Clark:_The_New_Adventures_of_Superman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bills

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University

Salamat, Palaam

Today in Philippine History

8 AUGUST

Anti-US Imperialist Democrat William J. Bryan

1900 – One and one-half years into the  Philippine-American War (1899-1914), Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryans makes his acceptance speech condemning the United States invasion of the Philippines as an egregious deviation from the most sacred  traditions and principles supposedly held by the Bald Eagle nation; in his speech entirely devoted to the impropriety and adverse effects of American imperialism. he says that: “There can be no doubt that we did so we had full knowledge that they were fighting for their own independence, and I submit that history furnishes no example of greater turpitude than ours if we now substitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke”; Bryan, who would never win the US presidency but would become a leading “anti-imperialist,” also believes that if the Americans were to“govern [the Filipinos] without their consent … we dare not educate them, lest they learn to read the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States and mock us for our inconsistency”; over two years earlier during the second phase of the Philippine Revolution that intersected with the Spanish-American War, Admiral George Dewey forged an “alliance” with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy in fighting Spain, with the latter and other Bald Eagle military and diplomatic officials taking turns in conning Aguinaldo into believing that the U.S. will honor the independence of the Filipinos.