788 replies to this topic

[Macman]

Thanks, PT. Knowing how you feel about your horse racing, I consider that a real compliment.

Today was pretty much spent waiting in lines. I hate to play the spoiled, whiny American, but ... my God. Because Filipinos don't use checks (at least not where I am), we go to the local offices to pay the bills, and they are almost always crowded. Today we went downtown to pay the internet bill, which took about 45 minutes because it was packed. We then walked over to pay the electric bill, which was not too bad. Some bills, like the internet one, can be payed on line, but I have to wait those 45 days for my American bank check to clear in Angel's account. I'll start depositing my checks monthly, so after that initial waiting period, we should be okay. Maybe. I've learned not to take anything for granted here. The department stores are driving me nuts too. The other day I went to buy running shoes. I asked if they had my size in a particular model. I'm not kidding when I tell you that at least 15 minutes went by before she returned with a negative answer. I then asked about a different model. Another 15 minutes before success. I don't think that there is any method involved in the stocking of their goods. Whenever I pick out an item to purchase, the clerk takes the merchandise, disappears for a few minutes, and comes back with a slip of paper that I am to present at the register. There were bar codes on the products, and bar code scanners at the registers. The girl seems to scan the bar code, but also punches in whatever the salesperson wrote on the slip (sometimes sending an associate to find the clerk to clarify what she wrote down).
Ah, what the hell am I bitching about. I'm here with a beautiful young women who seems to really care for me, who cooks great meals for me, and who treats me with love in every thing we do, and I'm complaining about a few minutes of inconvenience. F**kin' ugly American.

[Surin Nix]

I hate to rub it in Mac, but here's a photo from one of the local DMV's here in the U.S.

See what you're missing?

[Macman]

Hey, TL, I found out that bubblewrap is damn expensive, at least in the States. You're right, maybe I should try and sell it.

Last night I had my first real pang of homesickness. It came out of nowhere, and was like a flashback. Angel and I had a light dinner after church, and then went for a walk. When we got home, we talked for a while until it was time to watch the finals of PGT (Pilipinos Got Talent). About half way through the program, I started to feel hungry, and BOOM - I had this overpowering craving for a couple of ham sandwiches on rye bread with lettuce and butter. I don't know about Manila or other large cities, but here they've never even heard of rye bread, and the ham and lettuce are different. It was no big deal, and it passed quickly, but I'm sure it was only the first of many of those bouts to come. I was able to explain it to Angel by having her imagine living in New York, and suddenly wanting some kwek-kwek or balut. She doesn't eat balut, but she got the point.

I plan on an early-to-bed evening. Tomorrow I'm up at 4:00 AM for golf, and then we have the finals of Angel's friend's beauty pageant at 8:00 PM. We'll go out after the pageant for "party-party", so like the old f**k that I am, I hope to hit the sack around 10:00 PM tonight. Back in the day...

Macman

[petesie]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this blog maccers!

[petesie]

Tip top stuff here Mac, keep it up!

At least the cable guy turned up.... ;-)

[Surin Nix]

fairly large, and the charge is by piece, not weight. I sent 4 boxes. I could have fit the stuff into 2 boxes, but they would have been too heavy for me to handle, so I used a lot of bubble wrap.

Macman

That reminds me of the time I was going to send a buddy of mind a shipment of bubble-wrap. As I was doing so, I thought, "Hey, what the hell do I wrap this in?".

[Macman]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Petesie. And, Nix, if we ever feel like having corn, I now know where I can find some.

Just a quick example of the small inconveniences to which I need to adjust. After I posted this morning, I decided to go for a walk. Angel was still sleeping. I knew that she planned to make pancakes for our breakfast, so I decided to stop at a local store where I knew they sold frying pans. I wanted to pick up an extra pan because we only have the one, and Angel usually makes 4 pancakes, which she has to do one at a time. I got to the store at a little past 9:00 AM. It was open, but the housewares section was roped off and not lit. There was a sign that said that housewares opens at 10:30. It's a really small area of the store, usually manned by only one person. Okay, so I'll walk into town. I went to the department store. No pans. I went to the supermarket. No pans. Now I'm starting to get really hungry and I'm sweating. I was going to take a tricycle back home, but decided I needed the exercise. So I walked a total of about 6 1/2 kilometers (4 miles), with a feeling of satisfaction that I got in my exercise time, but still no frying pan. I was wringing wet by the time I got home. Angel was already up, but I headed straight for the bedroom and that blessed air conditioning.

The pancakes were delicious. Damn, she's a good cook.

Macman

P.S. I showed this post to Angel when I previewed it. She wanted me to post a picture of the pancakes (she takes photos of everything). I said, "It's not really that kind of site, hon. I don't think the guys care that much about seeing pancakes. It's not Facebook."

[thailover57]

Your "Back in the day..." comment reminds me of the Toby Keith tune - I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was. Good reading, glad you're having a positive time. BTW, are you using glow in the dark golf balls? 4:00 AM?

[jayarr]

pancakes maybe not but I enjoyed seeing the little shops in the neighborhood and things

[Macman]

No, thank God, I get up at 4:00, but we tee off around 5:15, TL. We play that early because of the heat. The guys I play with only play 9 holes. I'd like to play 18, but I still can't get a car, so I have to depend on others until I get my ACR card in 3 weeks. Once a month, there's a club tournament, and that'll be 18 holes. The heat then should be a lot of fun.

Yeah, jayarr, I spared you the pancake pics. I'll start taking some more pics soon. Some of the local stuff won't be interesting to the BMs who live in Southeast Asia, and I know that Australia has some pretty varied and strange (to Americans) wildlife, but for instance, this morning as I walked over the bridge across the small river here, there were some carabau grazing there. I didn't have my camera because I was only out for The Great Frying Pan Quest.

Macman

[Macman]

Thanks, Petesie. And thanks for keeping the thread in this section. Having cable allows me to get a little taste of home. Yesterday at lunch, Angel asked me if I'm homesick. Having never been away from her family and friends for any length of time, it's hard to explain the concept to her. Until she flew to Manila to meet me at the airport last October, she had never been on a plane. She had never left the Philippines until we spent last Valentine's Day in Hong Kong. She's a very outgoing type of person, so she has literally hundreds of friends and acquaintances. In February, when we were talking about my moving here, I was trying to explain homesickness. I said, "Just imagine if ...," and started listing people to whom she's close, starting with her little goddaughter. She became upset because I think she thought I was looking for a way out of my commitment. She said, "So don't transfer here then," and we had our first fight. After we made up, I told her that she was going to have to let me vent my feelings to her about things like that from time to time. After all, I feel that she's my friend as well as my lover. I'm okay now, but glimpses of home on TV will probably bring me to tears later on.

Surin, you're right and you're wrong. First of all, most of that Department of Motor Vehicle business can be done on line. I went to renew my license last February in White Plains, NY. It was easily as crowded as the one pictured here, but I was in and out in 15 minutes. They were so efficient that I was shocked. I hadn't been to a DMV office in many years, so I was amazed at what modern technology has done to speed up those types of procedures. More to the point, after my whiny rant last night, I'm going to make an effort to go with the flow. When faced with situations like the bill-paying yesterday, I've been finding myself saying to Angel, "You know, in the U.S., blah, blah, blah...." I've got to stop doing that. I know how annoying it can be. I'm here with someone I love. That should be enough.

I'm going to stay home alone tonight, and catch up on some reading. It seems that the Filipino people are enamored with pageants (or at least the female, gay and transgendered ones are). One of Angel's LB friends is in a pageant tonight. I asked her if she'd be upset if I didn't go. "Of course not, my love. You can just stay home." It's a good thing too, because I'll have to go to one tomorrow night; this one involving gg's. The girl who played cards with us and went ziplining the other day is in it. Angel said I didn't have to go, but I promised her friend I would. It might be fun. Her friend is a very upbeat, outgoing, outrageous and funny girl, and I get along well with her boyfriend. It'll be different, that's for sure. My first pageant.

Well, Angel's still sleeping. I think I'll go for my walk before it gets too hot.

Macman

[Surin Nix]

Are you even over your jetlag yet?

It takes me a full week in LOS....and during the adjustment period, as much as i want to have a good time, it really messes with my mind and mood.