Henry’s Asylum

It’s been a while since my last posting. But I guess that’s to be expected. Things move more slowly, here, in the Philippines and my brain is adjusting to the slower pace. This week has been a bit busy, so far, though. Alma’s brother recently had surgery and there was a call amongst the relatives to donate blood. Five donors were needed and ten relatives showed over a period of several days. However, only two were accepted as donors because of various blood bank restrictions (blood pressure levels, weight, etc.). So, Alma and I trotted down to the facility (which appeared to be modeled after medical institutions depicted in 1940’s films about Great Britain in the late 1800’s) and I was able to assist with a fresh pint of “O” positive. This went quite a ways in my family “public relations”, needless to say. I had a chance to hang out with several new relatives that I normally would not get to see, since they don’t live near us. Although sitting outside the ICU might have been a tad more enjoyable if the hallways were air-conditioned (!!) or if there was even a fan (other than waving a piece of cardboard or relying on the a hand-held Chinese fan) (!!!). Try that sometime in the tropics after donating blood. But, as I mentioned – good PR for the new guy, in the eyes of the family. Plus, it cuts down on the expense of my new brother-in-law’s medical bill. Anyway, that was Monday. On Tuesday, I had an appointment with an American-based company (“TeleDevelopment”) in order to take a battery of exams for a technical position in the local area. I passed all the exams and now it remains for me to be contacted regarding employment. I have other options, of course, which I will also be pursuing. Now that I have my Immigration card, I am free to seek employment.

Other than that, nothing much is really new. I have long since become accustomed to cold showers (since this is the most practical and logical norm in the tropics – the apartments and homes are devoid of water heaters). In case anyone is wondering, you use an electric heater for hot water for tea, etc. However, electricity is expensive here and homes with air conditioners are not that common. Fans do the work. It’s funny – an hour’s cab ride might cost around $5.00, the average weekly family grocery bill is around $25 and a bottle of soda is around 10 cents – but a single small air conditioning unit in someone’s bedroom can add $100 to their monthly electric bill (!!) Personally, I prefer the more simplistic lifestyle. One of the most unusual things about the Philippines is that, even though it’s a poor country, the people are very friendly. In most places, one might equate poverty with violence, theft and hatred. Not so, here. I attribute this to a strong sense of family to be found amongst the locals and a pervasive Catholic sense of values that one might find in Vatican City.

That’s it, for now. Thanks to the charity of some family members who wanted to check out the local cinema – Alma and I had the opportunity to see “The Dark Knight” after I took the employment exams, yesterday. Going to the movies is a far less expensive thing, here, than in the states. My observations will be forth coming…

I’ve been pretty busy over the past few days. But, fortunately, I had some time to go with Alma to the local cinema (as part of a birthday celebration to include a trip to the bookstore and various clothing stores inside the Mega Mall with lunch at a decent Japanese restaurant). We had a choice between Will Smith’s “Hancock” or Morgan Freeman’s “Wanted”. I chose the latter based on reviews from rottentomatoes.com. I was glad that I did.

The premise of “Wanted” is simple. An average guy, who is wasting his life in the role of “loser”, discovers that he (like his father) has the ridiculous ability to slow down his perception of time ,shoot the wings off flies (!!) and fire a bullet with a curved trajectory. He is recruited by a secret group of assassins who use a giant loom (!!!) to decide who they will kill next in order to preserve a sense of harmony in the world.

The film is non-stop action with a sense of goofiness that the director and writers were clever enough to understand and use to their advantage. If this movie had taken itself seriously, it would have been a disaster. But it is suffused with dark humor and understands its own lack of logic. As a result, it is immensely enjoyable. Without giving anything away, let me just say that you have never seen Morgan Freeman in a role like this. The film’s message “What are you doing to take control of your life?” is an interesting one and worth asking (all goofiness aside).

On an ironic note, I recently discovered that my previous job has had my former department outsourced to where I now live (!!). I intend to track them down and apply next week. Other than that – nothing really new. Life has slowed down considerably and I’m adjusting well to my new environment. Alma is quite content, now and so am I.

The past is becoming more of a blur. As if that wasn’t really me all those years. Just a person drifting through a collection of bizarre and less than desirable vignettes. Once I start work and set about the task of building a more permanent dwelling, I suspect that I will have to read through my own blog  in order to remember the details of my former life in the Southern states…

Yesterday marked the end of my first month, here, in the Philippines. The sheer quantity of experiences is far too numerous to catalog on this website, however. As I mentioned to Alma, when we’re riding into town on one of the motorized tricycles (click here), I feel like I’m in the middle of a Jackie Chan movie (one of his Hong Kong titles). Just trying to focus on the hodgepodge of domicile styles (from shack to sumptuous) along with the staggering array of street activities is a daunting challenge. I can only imagine the daily job commute in my future (Once I get my immigration card next Friday, I can begin applying. Fortunately, I have 2 relatives that can assist in that area).

Right now, I’m enjoying the time spent tooling about town as I take care of various errands. There have been several family activities which include grand-niece Casey (almost 4 years old) having secured a modeling contract from Jollibee kid’s clothing (they also have a McDonald’s style fast food restaurant and the parent corporation is huge - click here). She’s amazingly cute and has a natural flair for modeling presentation. As a matter of fact, she won 2^nd place in a regional modeling competition – which was her first ever participation in an event of this nature (!!) the interesting part is that she was the youngest contestant and they made a special allowance for her to compete, since she was only 3 years old and the age cutoff was 4 (!!). At that event, she was offered a contract and has been in a fashion show every weekend. She loves it. Her energy level never seems to wane.

Another event that I attended was a “house blessing” at my sister-in-law’s beautiful new home. It was a catered event with lots of relatives and the presiding priest “Father Willie” was an interesting character. For some reason, he seemed to gravitate to me and engaged me in a most interesting conversation involving metaphysics and clairvoyance. Then he “read” my palm (!!!) – which was very odd. Why? Well, Christian religions (including Catholics) frown deeply on such practices (astrology, palmistry, foretelling of the future, etc.). To run into a priest who advocates them is more than a little strange. But there you go. I liked him a lot. He told me and Alma to visit him – so he could predict if we could have children (!!!!). Ah, the Philippines – it’s not your usual cup of tea.

Speaking of tea, the food has been great, for the most part. Alma is an excellent cook and I enjoy some really tasty meals that don’t seem to add any additional weight to my frame. Breakfast might consist of ham, eggs, toast, coffee and fresh mango slices. Lunch can be fish, stuffed squid and fried rice. Dinner can be a fried chicken leg, fish or pasta salad with rice and vegetables. My niece, two doors down, sells food to the locals and her menu varies from fish bowls (fish, squid and shrimp) to halo-halo (a refreshing fruit and ice dessert). She also has drinks that vary from fresh coconut milk to cantaloupe juice. All very tasty. Up until recently, I have enjoyed just about everything until Alma ordered some Balut for me. She said they were boiled duck eggs. And so they are. Except they have also been featured on the TV show “Fear Factor”. Allow me to clarify. Balut consists of duck eggs that are about 19 days old before boiling (click here). That’s right – duck fetus (!!!). It’s considered a delicacy, here. But then again, the Klingons consider “Gagh” (live, unprocessed serpent worms) a delicacy too. Let’s just say that I ate one – but that’s the extent of my Balut adventure. It’s supposed to be an aphrodisiac, as well, and is usually sold at night. I don’t see how. I certainly didn’t feel sexy while I was picking duck fetus out of my teeth with a toothpick. But I guess – to each his own…

Great short-lived show.

Here I am. Wrapping up my third week in the Philippines and taking care of the usual red tape associated with relocating to another country. Mostly it’s various trips to the local offical buildings (U.S. Embassy, local City Hall, Philippines Immigration,etc.). I still have a ways to go - but the preliminaries are all done. Public transportation is plentiful and quite easy to manage. Most of the short trips involve the use of a small motorbike/enclosed side-car contraption known as a tricycle. These are everywhere and pretty cheap to hire. The trick is getting one big enough so that I’m not permanently wedged inside (which makes getting out a rather comedic affair). A few minute’s patience solves that issue, since there is a new, empty tricycle coming along every few minutes or less. There are also small buses available - but these look like some form of archaic punishment reserved for those who have commited some serious transgression in their lives. Think “cattle car” - but with less air-conditioing. The best way to travel is by air-conditioned cab. The fees are astoundingly cheap. Yesterday, Alma and I went from our home in Pasig City (Metro Manila) to the Philippine Immigration building on the other side of Manila (in rush hour traffic). The trip was lengthy and took slightly longer than an hour. The cost? 256 pesos. In U.S. money, that’s a little over six dollars (!!).Once we were there, we hooked up with a private office to “expedite” my paperwork. Sort of an under the table way of circumventing the hideous processes one encounters in the government building, itself. We were actually directed to one of these ubiquitous private “law firms” by the armed and uniformed security guards at the door (!!!) This is common practice here and in other 2nd world countries (I’m thinking Mexico). You pay extra - but the results eliminate literally weeks (in some cases - months) of bureaucracy. The first step extended my visa (which expired on the 26th) for another 38 days. During this time, I will obtain an ACR identification - which will allow me to live and work here without having to re-register my visa or obtain a seperate work permit while I pertition for citizenship status. Everything in good time. No pictures to post to this site, unfortunately, until I have access to more sophisticated equipment. Also, I stick out enough (as a rare American) without walking around with a camera and taking shots of the local scenery populated by suspicious natives More on the local food, customs,etc. later… 

What’s next? Typhoon “Bob”? Actually, it was typhoon “Fengshen” and what luck - two weeks into my new home, in the Philippines, and we have a deadly typhoon! So far, 229 reported casualties (not counting the ferry boat disaster). Here, in Metro Manila, we were hit pretty hard - but, fortunately, my particular area was spared any major damage or lengthy power outages. This is the first major storm/typhoon I’ve been in since Okinawa (about 11 years ago). It’s over now and the sun is coming out as I write this (about 10 AM on Monday morning). I have a few things to take care of, in town, this afternoon - so I’ll have a better chance to survey the damage at that time.

Soon, starts the job search and the inevitable search for calm normalacy. There’ll be more typhoons in my future (of different varieties) - but I remain optimistic…

Well, it’s been 2 weeks since I arrived in the sunny Philippines (although, actually, it’s the start of the rainy season). I’ve become somewhat acclumated to the temperature/humidity difference and now I’m immersed in a cultural learning curve like no other. I’m still writing these posts on Alma’s tiny laptop connected to the outside world via a relatively “shaky” Internet connection flowing through a borrowed wireless router from next door. Sort of a war-time Resistance communique motif. All that’s missing are Bogart, Claude Raines, Lorre and “The Fat Man”.

Trying to describe my surroundings, at this point is useless since there would be too much to write about. So, I’ll try to do a little at a time, for the sake of economy. We dont have cable TV, yet, so our recreational viewing is limited to 4 channels. One U.S. channel with a decent selections of movies and the most popular shows shown stateside. The other 3 are a mysterious combination of low rent game shows (but with dancers!), news (yes, rice prices CAN be top stories) and soap operas (most of which border on the bizarre - my favorite one is a soap involving a host of mermaids/mermen secretly interacting with the humans topside -My argument was that, having existed, deep underwater, the mermaids should be many times stronger than the humans and could easily conquer them in a brief, but devestating war - Alma was not amused, preferring to focus on the love aspect between the two protagonists. Women.)

Anyway, this morning’s events involved traveling to the market in one of the local motorbikes attached to a covered sidecar (registered by the city). The travelling, in this manner, is always an event. This is due to the crowded streets, lack of traffic lights and stop signs. More on that, later…

I finally made it to the Philippines on Thursday (around midnight, local time). It was a little over a 24 hour trip with a “wonderful” wait at customs, etc. But I’m here, now, and that’s what counts. The lovely Alma is more lovely than I originally imagined and I’m still reeling from all the attention coupled with the different local sights. I’ll have more to write about this later. Right now, I’m visiting my new family and using their Internet connection. I’ll soon have my own, of course - then I can be more verbose. I spoke with Alma’s brother, today who will be introducing me to the Sprint office, locally. This could lead to a job position, conveniently located and easily accesible by public transportation. That would be nice. More on that, later. Anyway, I’m here - and all things considered - that’s what really counts…

This site will be on hiatus until I arrive in Albuquerque, this weekend, to visit my mom, sister and family for a few days. Thereafter, all further updates should be made while sipping coconut milk in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, Philippines. See you there…