788 replies to this topic

[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.

[jayarr]

can't remember if you touched on this. is there a language barrier?

[rxpharm]

Well firstly, best of luck. Any relationship IMHO is always full of challenges and I would take it one at a time.
Given the Filipino culture and languages spoken there I'll stick my neck out and say that you're better off in the Philippines than Thailand. On average the communication ought to be better and that'll go a fair way in maintaining the relationship.
Cheers

Most Filipinos speak English, and are keen on western culture, as mentioned earlier by singdick.

[Macman]

I didn't have any jetlag, Surin. My flight left JFK in NY at 1:20 in the morning. I had gotten up early, and was very tired, but I forced myself to stay awake until what was 8:00 AM by my watch, but 8:00 PM at my destination. I have a hard time sleeping on planes anyway, so I popped an Ambien, something I try to do only sparingly. I got about 5 hours sleep that way. After a layover in Hong Kong, I arrived in Cebu at 11:30 in the morning, Philippine time. By the time I got my baggage, and cleared customs and immigration, it was after 12. Angel met me at the airport. She had made a reservation for us at the Mango Park Hotel. I was dying to take a nap, but didn't. We had lunch, and walked around for a while. After dinner, we hit the sack fairly early. When I woke up the next morning, I was on track; a little tired but on the local time schedule.

Rxpharm is correct, jayarr. In the Philippines, most people can speak English with varying degrees of proficiency. Angel told me that all science classes are taught in English here. In this area, everyone speaks 3 languages: Tagalog, English and Bisaya, which is similar to Cebuano. When Angel and I go to church on Sundays, we go to the English mass. The priest will tell a story (usually a humorous one) during his sermon. Many times he has told the whole anecdote or joke in English, right up to the punchline. Then he finishes it in Bisaya. I'm the only one there who isn't laughing. Of course, this whole affair would never have gotten off the ground if Angel couldn't speak English. She and I used to chat for hours every day before i ever visited here.

Well, she went to get her nails done in preparation for attending her friend's beauty pageant tonight. Nap time for me.

Macman

[Legend]

excellent update macman,
am i right in thinking you have retired from working.?
what does angel do for income.? at the moment it sounds like she is on a holiday whilst you are settling in.

i have had filipino,s in my house many a time, they spend hours watching those pageants on youtube.
they go mad for a plastic tiara.
strange behaviour.

[Macman]

I feel the same way, Anthony. It completely escapes me what is so fascinating about those pageants. I'm really glad I don't have to go tonight. I won't mind the one tomorrow because i get a real kick out of her friend, and she keeps asking me if I'm going.

Angel had a small store. It wasn't doing that well, and so we closed it. We're thinking of opening a small shop in a mall in which her cousin has a booth, but I'd really prefer that she not work. The only reason I want to open the shop is that I want her to have something for herself when I kick off (I'm assuming I'm going first). As you can probably guess, opportunities for transsexuals in P.I. are extremely limited. And, yes, I'm retired.

Macman

[thailover57]

Great read Macman. Wish you the best. Sounds like you're acclimating well - hope it continues.

[dazedandconfused]

Hi Macman, am enjoying the read as ever.

You are kind of right about opportuinities for Transexuals being extremely limited in the PI. This is probably true about life in the smaller cities and provinces but here in Manila (for instance) it's not so much of an issue. Call Centres (and this is just about the biggest growth area in the economy) are chock full of TS and LB's. They are on the same relatively ok wages as everyone else and are fully accepted by employers and colleagues.

I also know of quite a few who work in hotels, catering, travel and mainstream offices. One of the cutest LB's I have ever seen here works - front of house - in the best Dept store in Manila.

You often see a lot of LB's working in the smaller cellphone and dvd shops in the malls. Same applies to Cebu to a lesser extent as well.

Apologies for stepping in and interrupting.

Cheers D&C

[Macman]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Thailover.

D&C, that's no interruption. That's exactly the kind of thing that I need to know. I don't think Angel is aware of those opportunities in larger cities. I'm sure she realizes it to some degree, but not to the extent that you describe. (She's still sleeping, but I want to tell her when she wakes up.) I guess that's pretty much the same all over; the big cities are usually much more liberal in their attitudes. When I was very young, on my first real job, I got to know a guy who had moved to New York from Pittsburgh. While people the world over have heard of Pittsburgh (then because of the steel industry and now because of the Steelers), and assume that it's a big city, it really wasn't such back then. It was quite provincial in its thinking. He confided to me that he was gay (in those days, it really was "confiding" because very few people were openly gay). He told me that he had tried to date girls for appearance's sake, even though he knew he was homosexual. He eventually suffered a nervous breakdown, and decided to move to New York City. While he couldn't be "out" at work, at least he was able to live openly away from the job.

While Angel was attending her friend's pageant last night, I caught up on my favorite TV show on DVD. It's the 5th and final season of a show called Friday Night Lights, and I bought the DVD set before I left the States. Damn, I really will miss some of those shows. I've tried to watch via the internet, but I guess there are licensing problems.

Busy day today. We have to shop for a present for Angel's goddaughter, attend her party (at the beach), get back here and get ready for her gg friend's pageant tonight.

Well, I'm going to squeeze in a walk before Angel gets up. I wonder if it's hot out.

[thailover57]

Macman - here's a link to a VPN to the USA so you can tunnel into HULU or whatever you're looking for in USA. http://127.0.0.1:895...3689EC7486F259C

If it doesn't work let me know and I'll look for the original email my friend sent me.

[Macman]

Thanks, Thailover. I tried it with both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, but neither one can open the link. A friend of mine back home also told me there was a link that got around the licensing problems, but he couldn't find it.

Well, yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Angel's goddaughter. She celebrated it with another little girl of the same age (they both were turning 3). My God, they really do a make a big thing of b-days here. There was a whole roast pig, I don't know how many dishes, cases of Coca Cola and Sprite, a big cake and banners with photos of the kids on them. We held it at what they called a beach, but it was actually more like a small picnic area on the bay. When I took my walk this morning, I noticed big banners wishing the mayor of the city happy birthday. Back home, there were many times that I didn't even realize it was my birthday until someone wished me congratulations.

We came back home, took a quick nap, ate dinner, and headed out for the pageant. Angel and some of her friends had told me about "Filipino Time," but I thought they were exaggerating. The night before, when Angel went to the other pageant, it was supposed to start at 7:00 PM. At 9:00, she sent me a text, saying it was just starting. Last night's affair was supposed to start at 7:30, but it was more like 8:45. There wasn't a final judging. There's another stage on the 28th. Afterwards, we went out drinking with a bunch of her friends. I haven't had a drink in longer than a lot of BMs have been alive (the old "One drink is too many and a thousand aren't enough" syndrome), but it was a great time. She really has some nice friends.

I went for my walk this morning, but had to cut it short. I got caught in a downpour. So far it's a lazy day. We were supposed to take Angel's goddaughter for the afternoon, but so far we haven't heard from her mother. She's the cutest kid, and she adores Angel, mimicking her every move. BTW, I love the custom of the kids blessing the older folk by taking the hand and pressing it to their foreheads.

Angel's napping, and I'm going to catch up on some reading.