It is cathartic, in a sense, to read your updates Mac. My work-life has been frenzied lately, and reading about your relaxed life, and those photos of the golf-course and jungle.....it all seems a million miles away from my life right now. I'm enjoying your experience vicariously very much.
I suck at golf, but several years ago I found myself frequently in the Phillipines (Luzon) with my work. I began "playing golf" (hacking), and began to see why guys enjoy it so much. The courses were inexpensive, and so lush....and hiring a caddy was very inexpensive.
I never had a lesson, and it showed. I promise, after 3 years of my playiing golf, if it were your first day, ever, to play.....you would win. I don't think I ever beat a single person I played. When I returned to my country, I just put the whole thing to rest and recommenced skydiving. Have hit my target (the earth) with 100% accuracy, every time.
Hope you guys are feeling better.
Keep us updated buddy.
Nix
Moving into a relationship
Started by
Macman
, May 31 2011 01:23 AM
788 replies to this topic
#302
petesie
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Posted 07 July 2011 - 10:07 PM
I'm pretty much in the same camp as SN in regard to your blog... 
It's refreshing to read of how you are settling into your new life with your partner and the daily hurdles you face.
This also has an added effect of how I evaluate my own situation/relationships...
It's refreshing to read of how you are settling into your new life with your partner and the daily hurdles you face.
This also has an added effect of how I evaluate my own situation/relationships...
"My advice is just thank the god that doesnt exist for the rib he didnt take to create the women thats not a women that he didnt make for the naturaly uncut cock n enjoy it, they sure are fun." - Boomdraw
#303
Macman
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Posted 08 July 2011 - 07:38 AM
Thanks, Nix and Petesie, for your encouraging words. As for golf, as a kid in high school I worked on a New York City municipal course in the summers, and I swore that I would never play that stupid game. I thought they were all nuts. About 16 years ago, a friend encouraged me to go out, and I've been hooked ever since.
I am still being surprised by some of what I find here. For instance, when I was filling out the application to open an account in the bank the other day, there was an item on the form (a required field) that asked my religion. There were just 2 boxes: "catholic" and "other". For someone coming from the U.S., that's pretty shocking. Then there's the corruption. It exists in every country, but I'm a little stunned at how open it is here. From what I understand, the same goes for LOS. The city mayor lives a few blocks away from me, and he has what can only be called a mansion. My friend pointed it out to me, and said that most politicians live like that. In the midst of some abject poverty, there's no attempt to hide the wealth that they obtained on the backs of the working class. What I find more amazing is that there doesn't seem to be any resentment about it. It's just the way it is, I guess.
Tomorrow we're going to play 18 holes, and as I mentioned earlier, Angel's been invited to watch us play. She's going there with 2 school teacher ladies that are friends of her family, and who are thinking about taking up golf. She's all excited about it. I'm going to have to caution her to try not to play cheerleader. She has a tendency to get exuberant. I brought over some DVDs from the States. We were watching one the other night. It was a very edge-of-your-seat action/suspense mini-series about a bank robbery. At one particularly tense moment in the story, Angel leaped out of her seat, and began jumping up and down, urging on the good guys. That enthusiasm probably won't translate well on the golf course. BTW, if you ever get the chance, the name of the series is "Kill Point", starring Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. It runs about 7 or 8 hours on 2 DVDs, and I highly recommend it.
I'm fighting the urge to go back to bed. We got rained out after 7 holes this morning. Angel's still sleeping. Ah, what the hell. I'm going back to sleep for a while.
Macman
I am still being surprised by some of what I find here. For instance, when I was filling out the application to open an account in the bank the other day, there was an item on the form (a required field) that asked my religion. There were just 2 boxes: "catholic" and "other". For someone coming from the U.S., that's pretty shocking. Then there's the corruption. It exists in every country, but I'm a little stunned at how open it is here. From what I understand, the same goes for LOS. The city mayor lives a few blocks away from me, and he has what can only be called a mansion. My friend pointed it out to me, and said that most politicians live like that. In the midst of some abject poverty, there's no attempt to hide the wealth that they obtained on the backs of the working class. What I find more amazing is that there doesn't seem to be any resentment about it. It's just the way it is, I guess.
Tomorrow we're going to play 18 holes, and as I mentioned earlier, Angel's been invited to watch us play. She's going there with 2 school teacher ladies that are friends of her family, and who are thinking about taking up golf. She's all excited about it. I'm going to have to caution her to try not to play cheerleader. She has a tendency to get exuberant. I brought over some DVDs from the States. We were watching one the other night. It was a very edge-of-your-seat action/suspense mini-series about a bank robbery. At one particularly tense moment in the story, Angel leaped out of her seat, and began jumping up and down, urging on the good guys. That enthusiasm probably won't translate well on the golf course. BTW, if you ever get the chance, the name of the series is "Kill Point", starring Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. It runs about 7 or 8 hours on 2 DVDs, and I highly recommend it.
I'm fighting the urge to go back to bed. We got rained out after 7 holes this morning. Angel's still sleeping. Ah, what the hell. I'm going back to sleep for a while.
Macman
Actually living the dream.
#304
thailover57
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Posted 08 July 2011 - 04:41 PM
Macman - continue to love your reporting. It's a great journal and has some comparisons to LOS - especially the one about the mayor. Happy for you and Angel. Keep us informed. Wishing you the best.
Old, cantankerous, and sorry if I piss you off - well, not really. Just enjoy!
#305
Macman
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Posted 08 July 2011 - 07:29 PM
Thanks, TL, I appreciate that.
One thing I forgot to mention; when I went to pick up my driver's license, my friend told me that I would have to take a written exam. Even though I had a foreign license, I was considered a new applicant here. Because of my connection, I went into a room with just me, my friend and the examiner. Usually, they administer the tests to groups. Most of the 40 questions were common sense multiple choice, but there were about 8 that actually tested one's knowledge of traffic regulations, such as the maximum allowable speed in a school zone. For a while, I was making educated guesses, but when I saw that there were more than a few of them, I decided that I'd skip it when I came to a question like that, figuring to come back to it later and hazard a guess. When the examiner saw that I was finishing the last question, he walked over to me. I told him that I had left about 5 questions blank, and was about to go back to them. He proceeded to read the questions aloud, and then supply me with the answer. Needless to say, I did very well, and now possess my brand new license. Golf has served me well.
Speaking of golf, I mentioned that Angel was going to come to the course tomorrow. It turns out that the school teachers have a seminar at 8:00 AM. Since we're going to play 18 holes, we'd never get back in time, so Angel and I decided to postpone her spectating until the others can go. It's just as well, because I was going to be nervous in front of her. Damn golf is so friggin' mental.
Macman
One thing I forgot to mention; when I went to pick up my driver's license, my friend told me that I would have to take a written exam. Even though I had a foreign license, I was considered a new applicant here. Because of my connection, I went into a room with just me, my friend and the examiner. Usually, they administer the tests to groups. Most of the 40 questions were common sense multiple choice, but there were about 8 that actually tested one's knowledge of traffic regulations, such as the maximum allowable speed in a school zone. For a while, I was making educated guesses, but when I saw that there were more than a few of them, I decided that I'd skip it when I came to a question like that, figuring to come back to it later and hazard a guess. When the examiner saw that I was finishing the last question, he walked over to me. I told him that I had left about 5 questions blank, and was about to go back to them. He proceeded to read the questions aloud, and then supply me with the answer. Needless to say, I did very well, and now possess my brand new license. Golf has served me well.
Speaking of golf, I mentioned that Angel was going to come to the course tomorrow. It turns out that the school teachers have a seminar at 8:00 AM. Since we're going to play 18 holes, we'd never get back in time, so Angel and I decided to postpone her spectating until the others can go. It's just as well, because I was going to be nervous in front of her. Damn golf is so friggin' mental.
Macman
Actually living the dream.
#306
Surin Nix
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Posted 08 July 2011 - 09:10 PM
That account of the Mayor living in a mansion reminded me of my days when I'd frequent the Phillipines regularly (the 80's).
At the time, Ferdinand Marcos was in power. I remember going to Baguio (great golf, btw Mac), and while there seeing the Marcos mansion which they had, in a remarkable stroke of creativity, named "The Mansion".
This naming of their prize reminded me of the classless too-sexy-for-my-shirt dude I saw driving a 70's Corvette with a vanity license tag stating "The Brad"........Marcos was no different. Kind of a trailer-trash quality to both. Marcos was the more accomplished greaseball and thief though.
....and I also remember the Filipinas being so enamored with Imelda Marcos and her sense of style.....and her shoe-collection, etc.
That kind of stuff just made me want to puke. It was remarkable the lack of outrage among the citizenry though......probably it's just too hot to get worked up over much of anything.
At the time, Ferdinand Marcos was in power. I remember going to Baguio (great golf, btw Mac), and while there seeing the Marcos mansion which they had, in a remarkable stroke of creativity, named "The Mansion".
This naming of their prize reminded me of the classless too-sexy-for-my-shirt dude I saw driving a 70's Corvette with a vanity license tag stating "The Brad"........Marcos was no different. Kind of a trailer-trash quality to both. Marcos was the more accomplished greaseball and thief though.
....and I also remember the Filipinas being so enamored with Imelda Marcos and her sense of style.....and her shoe-collection, etc.
That kind of stuff just made me want to puke. It was remarkable the lack of outrage among the citizenry though......probably it's just too hot to get worked up over much of anything.
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Nix
#307
Macman
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Posted 09 July 2011 - 12:09 PM
Yeah, Nix, it's either the crazy heat, or the people view the situation as so hopeless that they subconsciously force themselves to ignore it.
The differences in culture and attitude continue to amaze me though. My golfing buddy told me a story that immediately brought to memory a reference that Thailover57 made early in this thread. My friend said, "You know in poor parts of the country, they sell dogs meat for food. In fact, in Cebu, the cab drivers have a little sideline. While they're driving, they look for stray dogs to hit. They run them over, and throw them in the trunk. They will sell them later for 300 pesos each. The cab driver that told me this had gotten 4 that day." I guess I have no problem with eating dog, especially if you can't afford anything else - hell, we eat cute little lambs, deer, etc. But, jeez, purposely running them over. When I first read TL's post, I thought, "Oh, well, that was nearly 20 years ago. I'm sure it's a little better now." Guess not.
Macman
The differences in culture and attitude continue to amaze me though. My golfing buddy told me a story that immediately brought to memory a reference that Thailover57 made early in this thread. My friend said, "You know in poor parts of the country, they sell dogs meat for food. In fact, in Cebu, the cab drivers have a little sideline. While they're driving, they look for stray dogs to hit. They run them over, and throw them in the trunk. They will sell them later for 300 pesos each. The cab driver that told me this had gotten 4 that day." I guess I have no problem with eating dog, especially if you can't afford anything else - hell, we eat cute little lambs, deer, etc. But, jeez, purposely running them over. When I first read TL's post, I thought, "Oh, well, that was nearly 20 years ago. I'm sure it's a little better now." Guess not.
Macman
Actually living the dream.
#308
Guest_Vandal_*
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Posted 09 July 2011 - 01:44 PM
does that not happen in chinese takeaways in the uk 
#309
Macman
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Posted 09 July 2011 - 04:09 PM
Vandal, in the U.S., we always say that they serve cat in those restaurants.
Actually living the dream.
#311
Surin Nix
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Posted 11 July 2011 - 08:33 PM
On a somewhat unrelated sidenote to the dog-eating issue....
...Years ago I was on a remote beach in Mexico. While there, I stopped at a little beachside shack that was cooking up some food and offered cold beers sold out of a portable ice chest.
When I asked "what do you have?" (to eat) in my limited spanish, I immediately focused on the one word I did understand in the reply...."pero".
"Pero" = "Dog".
I tried to mask any sense of surprise or revulsion and whispered to my friend "dude, they're serving dog here".
The Mexican, seeing this whispered conversational exchange, looked a little puzzled...thought for awhile, and then in english said:
"Hot dog!".
Seeing our look of relief, he then fully understood what we were talking about, and began laughing and chattering away with his co-workers about the gringos who thought they were about to be served up dog. I'm glad that they were good natured about the misunderstanding....no offense taken by them, and they literally were wiping away tears at the incident.
....anyway, please continue with what's the latest in the PI Mac. Enjoying the read as always. Angel seen you play golf yet?
Please give her my regards.
Nix
...Years ago I was on a remote beach in Mexico. While there, I stopped at a little beachside shack that was cooking up some food and offered cold beers sold out of a portable ice chest.
When I asked "what do you have?" (to eat) in my limited spanish, I immediately focused on the one word I did understand in the reply...."pero".
"Pero" = "Dog".
I tried to mask any sense of surprise or revulsion and whispered to my friend "dude, they're serving dog here".
The Mexican, seeing this whispered conversational exchange, looked a little puzzled...thought for awhile, and then in english said:
"Hot dog!".
Seeing our look of relief, he then fully understood what we were talking about, and began laughing and chattering away with his co-workers about the gringos who thought they were about to be served up dog. I'm glad that they were good natured about the misunderstanding....no offense taken by them, and they literally were wiping away tears at the incident.
....anyway, please continue with what's the latest in the PI Mac. Enjoying the read as always. Angel seen you play golf yet?
Please give her my regards.
Nix
Nix
#312
Macman
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Posted 12 July 2011 - 12:20 PM
Angel hasn't watched me play yet, Nix. Last night she took out one of my clubs, set up a pack of cigarettes on the floor of the living room, and attempted a shot. She missed the pack 3 times before she gave it a good whack. Granted it was one of those small 10-cigarette packs, but ... She would have kept doing it, but I stopped her. The floor is a really nice tile, and I had visions of an imminent disaster. Actually, I'd like her to try the game. We're both left-handed, so she can use my clubs.
There's not much to report. Life is settling into a normal routine. I need to buy a car. My friend tells me that I should stick to either Mitsubishi or Toyota because they have service centers in town, and that I shouldn't buy a new one. He says it will be harder to sell it if I change my mind in a few years and want to return to the States because the price will be too high. I'm thinking of a Mitsubishi Adventure. Buying a used car here is not as easy as in the U.S. You really have to search for one.
My other project is to walk at least a half hour a day in the afternoon sun. I need to get this skin ready. The tournament is on the 23rd, and we'll probably be playing 18 holes during the hottest time of the day. I never use sun screen. Back home, I'm out in the sun for 5 hours a day when I'm playing, but this Philippine sun sure ain't New York sun. Damn, it's brutal.
Macman
There's not much to report. Life is settling into a normal routine. I need to buy a car. My friend tells me that I should stick to either Mitsubishi or Toyota because they have service centers in town, and that I shouldn't buy a new one. He says it will be harder to sell it if I change my mind in a few years and want to return to the States because the price will be too high. I'm thinking of a Mitsubishi Adventure. Buying a used car here is not as easy as in the U.S. You really have to search for one.
My other project is to walk at least a half hour a day in the afternoon sun. I need to get this skin ready. The tournament is on the 23rd, and we'll probably be playing 18 holes during the hottest time of the day. I never use sun screen. Back home, I'm out in the sun for 5 hours a day when I'm playing, but this Philippine sun sure ain't New York sun. Damn, it's brutal.
Macman
Actually living the dream.
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