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LOL so true, That is about 5k a month, 60K a year... but I will take advantage of the shorter line at the Noreco II and Lee Plaza whenever I can ...

 

Wife and I tried FOOD REHAB Last night. I was NOT IMPRESSED! I had the "What the Truck" ₱199.oo and the wife had the "Aloha Burger" ₱169.oo. She said that she liked her burger. Both of our fires were COLD. I sent the empty ketchup bottle back with a request for one that had some ketchup in it. My request for ketchup was ignored. I ate cold, dry fries. My burger was not completely cooked, raw in the middle. The size of the meal was good but with the cold fries and raw burger I ate less that half of it. I did not bother bringing it home for the dog. I prepared and ate a better meal at home, Chicken Mami Cup-A-Noodle Soup. So much for a night out for dinner with wife.

 

If the amount is less than 100,000 pesos you can go through the small claims system where neither side is allowed to have legal representation. We used this successfully to get back a tenancy bond of 30,000 and surprisingly it took less than a month. You need to get the forms from your nearest courthouse and maintain your cool at all times. It costs about 5,000 to file but you can claim the costs over and above the claimed amount.

 

As Dustin and others mentioned, he was FU staff and on a work visa. It appears that today was his birthday. Amid noise over unwanted expats, Phil appears to be exactly the sort of expat the Philippines is looking for. Looking through his FB feed, he seems to have been involved in helping charities as well as teaching others his craft. He was a positive contributor to this country.

We have a number of lessons to take away from these recent deaths.

Don't jump to conclusions here. Hopefully facts will come out and justice will be served as necessary.

Stay safe. Drinking and driving isn't the only danger of alcohol. Driving and alcohol are two of the most risky factors we may have to deal with both here and at home (and for sure don't combine the two.) Avoid areas where there are large numbers of people getting highly intoxicated. Look for personalities of the locations you do visit. If the location has a reputation for fighting and an out of control environment, stay away. Look for heavy security in places which may be a high risk. We can point fingers all day long but our survival is in our hands.

Personally, I have been moving more towards getting my @ss home shortly after dark and avoiding even city events which draw large crowds. Getting up and out early has its own risk factors though. At 5 AM I still have to dodge drunk drivers when walking to get breakfast.

We're in the jungle. Stay alert. Stay alive.

 

Some of the most valuable lessons are in that first job stocking shelves or doing similar mindless work. Lessons such as getting out the door in time for being at work when you are suppose to start. Getting to work even when you don't feel like it. Having to focus on a task for more than 5 minutes so that you can get something done. Having to deep focus on a task which might take a little brains. Having to sell (your services to your employer, your employer's services to customers.)

The world of work is so different from that world where people don't need to do much to get by, even if they have to go hungry occasionally. They can live off support from their family. Maybe pick up the odd job at their convenience for a little bit of money. Maybe the family hits the OFW or foreigner support lotto. If they don't feel like doing something, it's so easy to stay home and do nothing.

Maybe the actual farms are different. Maybe these people know how to hustle, but probably not in an urban jungle.

A job which pays nothing would be good for a lot of people who would otherwise have nothing else to do. Get the basics down if you have never worked (in the U.S. this would typically be a minimum wage summer job) and then look for something else when you hit your learning plateau. If nothing else, for better or for worse, a job might shift your tempo in life (AKA - entering the rat race.)

Unfortunately, the job world is complex to navigate and some people just don't have it. That's why the U.S. is so competitive, we know how to hustle. We know how to create something out of nothing. When I couldn't find a job doing something I loved in my local area, I created my own job by striking out on my own.

As a region, Asia seems to have difficulty in it's people learning to navigate between black, white and gray. They seem to get stuck on the solids and don't realize that really, everything is gray. For every rule, there is a work-around. A rule which provides information in writing hides much more information in what it doesn't say. They get intimidated, but don't realize that nobody really knows what they are doing (just be a good actor, show confidence, bust @ss and get lucky.) They're afraid of failure and rejection, but don't realize that every great achievement of our time on this planet was met with 90++% failure rate.

I don't know how to teach this stuff. For starters, I'm an alien, and a crazy looking one at that. It seems the kids here only listen to people who have badges of authority handed down from above. You want to make a potential employee feel safe and successful? Hand out ID cards attached to lanyards. Every step of life here from elementary school to college and job comes with a different badge. If you don't have one, then you must have gone off-track somewhere.

People just need to realize that everyone's sh*t stinks. We all do our thinking with a mass of meat so disgusting looking that we would probably pass out if the were to see it on the kitchen counter next to the keys. It's amazing anything works in this world, and in the Philippines, it just BARELY works. Nobody here is special. People who look special are just more effective bullshit artists.

Keep in mind, the global economy basically tracks back to the U.S. creating money out of thin air and hoping everyone just sort of goes along with the illusion. It sort of works. We have made a lot of "progress" in the past 50 years. But it starts with bullshit and ends with bullshit.

Tell the fam to quit taking no for an answer (and don't take yes for an answer either) and just start making stuff happen. Put in the work, but bring plenty of bullshit as well, it's what makes the world go round.

 

@blueskies
@luvdox for future Reference

"Cats n Dogs" Veternary Clinic. Dr Michelle Olarte lic no #6871. DMD Pad, off Valencia Road, Bagacay Opposite Lee Hypermart turn left at Edelweiss coming from Robinsons or right if coming from Hypermart

(035) 420 9067 Landline.

0917 722 4274 cell phone.

Happy Animal care one and All.

JP