788 replies to this topic

[dazedandconfused]

Even though I experienced it last year, it still came as somewhat of a shock when the Christmas songs and carols started on September 1st.

Ah yes, the joy of the 'ber' months starting in the Philippines and the Xmas countdown begins.. As in September, October, etc etc. Same same up here in Manila - we are moving into Xmas mode. Weird thing is that there is the hugely long protracted build up to Christmas and then it's all over and finished by lunchtime on Dec 25th and everything gets put away until next year!

Good as always to read your posts Macman. Glad that things are still working very well for you.

[Macman]

dazedandconfused wrote:

Weird thing is that there is the hugely long protracted build up to Christmas and then it's all over and finished by lunchtime on Dec 25th and everything gets put away until next year!

You're right, D&C. It's very strange. The artificial trees and the decorations are in the stores now. I'll be going back to New York next month for a 2-week visit. Everything there will be about Halloween. BTW, I am really looking forward to the autumn weather.

Thanks for the kind words, D&C. We are doing well, and I'm very happy with Angel. There's a pleasant side-effect too. Back in the States, before moving here, my internist and cardiologist were both after me to take blood pressure medication, which I refused to do. My last reading here a few weeks ago was 115 / 75. At my checkup in New York last May, it was 113 / 70. I don't know if it's because of Angel or the weather or a combination of the two, but obviously something is working.

[Macman]

Tomorrow Angel and I are heading for Cebu. I'm leaving Wednesday for a 2-week visit to New York, and Angel will visit some friends in Manila for the first week of my absence. When I return, I'll be with my older son, who will stay with us for 3 weeks. We're all looking forward to it.

Before we leave, our new car is being delivered. We sold our old Honda CRV and bought a new Toyota Avanza. There's nothing cool about it, but it fits our needs and is very practical. Angel would have preferred something hotter, but ...

We sold the car to a female attorney from a very prominent family. Of course Angel immediately bonded with her and her mother. She was quite flattered when the mother said to her, "You know we don't think of you as being of the third sex. You're so beautiful and feminine." She was beaming after that.

[petesie]

Avanza? I'll have to google that one...

Good to hear the old flame still burns brightly, there's hope for us yet.

Enjoy your trip Mac.

[Macman]

Thanks, Petesie. Actually, the Avanza is made in Thailand. It was delivered to us this morning, just in time.

Angel would kill me if she knew that I forgot to post the most important thing. Yesterday was the day we celebrate as our 2nd anniversary. We use the day when we first physically met after Skyping for a while (October 8, 2010). She bought us matching wedding rings. Even though we can't legally marry, we consider ourselves as wed. She also had t-shirts made up. Hers is pink and mine is aqua. There is a big smiley face on the front. On the back, mine says "Mr. Boang" and hers says "Mrs. Boang" (Mr & Mrs Crazy). I actually had to wear it when we went to town.

[Macman]

My God, time flies. I see that my last post here was right before I went back to The States last October for a visit. As I think I mentioned then, my older son returned with me for a visit, and stayed for 3 weeks. I have a horror story to tell you about me return flight, but I'll save that for another day. Right now I'm back in New York for a visit, so I'm hoping my return flight will not be like the last one.

My son LOVED Angel. He said, "You know, dad, I always thought Cindy (the wife of his friend) was the nicest woman I ever met until I met Angel." Angel is practically half his age, but he called her "mamacita" and she called him "my big baby". She cried when he left, and he had a tear in his eye also. A quick story: my son is something of a hermit. We went to visit a tiny town that he fell in love with. He had noticed a small inn/hotel there, and kept talking about it. He and I had driven there alone, just sight-seeing. Eventually, we went back there with Angel. He wanted to inquire about room rates in case he comes back for another visit. The street was narrow, so I couldn't really park the car without blocking the road, so I sat in the car while Angel went up with him. When they came down, Angel was the first into the car, and said to me, "That place is unlivable." My son Joe followed her into the car while saying, "Oh my god, that place is heaven." He later told me that she had a look of horror on her face when they were up there, and whispered to him, "You are NOT going to stay here. You'll stay with us the whole time." Keep in mind that Angel comes from very modest surroundings and pretty much lived in her very tiny bedroom, so you can imagine what this place was like.

My daughter has expressed interest in coming over to visit. She has talked to Angel on the phone. Here's the interesting part: my son knew about the transgendered thing, but my daughter doesn't. If she comes over, it will be fun to see if she picks up on it. You guys are probably thinking, "Of course she will," but I have to tell you that Angel is very naturally feminine, and not in an over-the-top drag queen manner. I have a young female friend in the U.S. who has Skyped many times with Angel. She said to me, "My god, she makes me feel butch she's so feminine." I had shown her a joke photo we took in Hong Kong with Angel holding some roses, standing between the men's and ladies' rooms, looking perplexed. My friend is very sharp, and usually picks up on stuff that goes over her husband's head. In this case, she said, "Wow, that's adorable," while her hubby burst out laughing. She later said that she had to admit she hadn't gotten the joke. She said that it didn't hit her because she always thinks of Angel as a woman.

[thailover57]

Well, glad to read your post! Having met you both, I agree. Angel is incredibly attractive and feminine. I remember going to Baby Boom and the dancers not realizing. You're a lucky man Mac. And happy for your continued happy relationship.

Want to hear about the bad trip, but also want to hear how long it takes your daughter (if ever) to realize!

[petesie]

Good to hear from you again Mac.

Lovely endearing tales there and it's heartwarming to us all that you and herself are still together, also good to hear the family are getting to know your partner too.

I'm intrigued by the horror story as well...

[dixon cox]

Enjoyable reading as always Mac. Thank you

It is threads like this I miss the most about this forum.

[Coco]

I always look forward to see if you posted .... great read

[Surin Nix]

Great hearing from you Mac. Angel seems quite the angel.

[Macman]

Thanks for all the nice comments, guys.

Okay - the story. I know that The Philippines, like most countries, has a policy of only allowing someone in to visit if he or she has a return flight booked. Twice I had been told by the airline when I was checking in that I needed it, and so I had to buy an open ticket to Hong Kong, and cancel it when I got home. On neither of those occasions, or at any other time, had I been asked to show it by Immigration. When I was coming back with my son, the airline agent didn't say anything, probably because she thought my Philippine visa was still valid, not realizing that it expires as soon as you leave the country. I didn't push it because buying and cancelling a ticket is a pain in the ass. So --- we leave my ex-sister-in-law's place in New York at 6:00 AM. 26 hours later we arrive at Immigration. Keep in mind that my son had never met Angel. He had talked to her briefly on the phone twice, and stuck his head in once when she and I were on Skype. We get up to the counter, my son shows his return ticket, and the agent asks for mine. I tell her that I live in The Philippines, and point out all the friggin' whole-page visa stamps that Southeast Asian countries use for some reason. She says, "You have a tourist I-card, not a resident, so you need to have a return ticket." "Okay," I said, "so can I buy one now?" "No. You're going back where you came from. You've gone back and forth enough times to know the policy." Neither my son or I had been able to sleep on the plane, and had very little sleep the night before we left. I'm dead on my feet, and now I may be faced with getting sent all the way back to the U.S. (remember, Hong Kong has the same policy). My son later said that he would have cried, but he was too tired. I called Angel, who was waiting outside the airport, and explained the situation. Look, I understand the reasons for these regulations, but let's face it, there are not a whole lot of people trying to sneak into The Philippines. Not only that, but seeing that I had been living there for a year and a half (at that time), you would think that they could have allowed me to buy a return ticket at that time. (FFS, I was in an AIRPORT.) By now it was a little after 8:00 PM where I was. My passport was taken from me and given to a flight attendant. I had flown Cathay Pacific, and the plane was making a quick turn-around to Hong Kong. When I got to Hong Kong, a young agent was assigned to me. BTW, after this, I have nothing but the highest regard for that airline. This kid stuck with me for the whole ordeal. The Immigration officials in Hong Kong didn’t quite understand the situation at first, and thought I wanted entry into HK. They explained that I couldn’t do that without a return ticket. They kept bringing in other officials to talk to me until they finally found one who understood. Since I wasn’t allowed to leave the area to get to the ticket counters, an Immigration official escorted me and the airline agent through a passageway used only by Immigration officials into the airport. The Cathay Pacific kid kept calling around until he found a flight back to The Philippines on Cebu Pacific. He had them hold a reservation for me, and then we ran through the airport to the ticket agent counter. He told me it would be close. (I didn't bother to go to my cardiologist on this trip home to the U.S. because I knew I was okay after that damn race.) We made it just in time. I can't say enough about this kid. He was great. I wish I had his name so I could write to Cathay Pacific about him. BTW, I almost forgot to buy a round-trip ticket, which I needed to show Immigration in Cebu. Of course it goes without saying that no one checked for that. The airport was empty, I breezed through Immigration and Customs, caught a cab, and was lying next to Angel by around 5:00 AM.

Later, my son told me that Angel was great. He said she cried for about a half a minute, and then took charge. She calmed him down, and got them settled into the hotel. He felt completely at ease with her. She has that way about her. He did say that he felt one little pang of concern. He didn't realize that I had booked 2 rooms, so he was feeling a little anxious as they approached the door, wondering what the hell the sleeping arrangements were going to be.