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I recently posted a list of recommended health professionals, which some people seem to have found useful.

I am thinking of doing the same for Tradesmen - probably splitting it into categories, such as vehicle-related and house-related. I may also add places where related products are best obtained (car/bike parts, building/DIY parts, etc.)

I will search the threads to see what I can find and collate but would welcome any recommendations. For vehicle-related, I have just read a thread where 'Lenny' scores highly for selling cars and a car lot opposite the hypermart for paint jobs. I have heard of Centro as good for car repairs/servicing. It would be useful to know of good general builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, metal workers (for gates etc.), glaziers, etc.

I am not trying to replicate or replace the various Forum subdivisions, without them I would know nothing, but to bring information from them into one posting to save searching and to help newbies.

We should help each other as much as we can because - unlike a recent posting comment - it is good to like each other and help each other.

 

Those wacky Romans!
Some cosmic images from last week.

 

A year or so ago when we were getting our cabinets built for the upstairs dirty kitchen there were 4 little pups in a cage at the entrance to the lumber yard. As a dog person and also not a huge fan of caging dogs, there was a runt of the litter that I took to. She was trying so hard to get past her bigger siblings to say "hi" and lick my finger when I put it through the cage.

Tried to get the owner to give her to us, even offered to buy her but he said they were promised to family. I went back to work in Korea but the wife kept asking about the pup. For whatever reason, one day his worker delivered her to the house.

A great little dog (as many know we have larger dogs) and was quickly the most spoiled or at least as spoiled as our husky. One thing we debated on was what her mix was. The only thing we were told was that the mother was a Japanese Spitz mix. I was convinced with her attitude and such she had to be part Chihuahua.

I ordered a DNA test from the US and when I was home last month we did the cheek swab and once back to Korea I sent it in. It is so difficult to look at a mix dog and try to determine the lineage.

Got the results back the other day and she came up as 62.5% Mini Pinscher, 12.5% Japanese Spitz, 12.5% Pekingese and 12.5% breed group. The breed group included Terrier group (which Chihuahua is a part of), Companion group and Asian group.

The only questions asked by this company was weight (she's under 5lb) and where the dog is located. Nothing about what we may have thought about any breed info.

I thought it was interesting to get this checked out and well worth the cost and time.

Shawn

 

To all those members with a Korean car, can I recommend a parts supplier in Manila. The company is: VGT KOREAN AUTO PARTS. They are on FB and can be contacted though Messenger or by mobile onr
0917 820 3463. The process is simple, agree the part you need, pay into their Metrobank Account. Send copy of deposit to them through Messenger and within an hour they will send back a copy of the Airway bill. I have used them twice, the first order arrived the next day and the second after two days, due to my lateness in send the deposit slip. Each time the bill was half the cost of the part through Hyundai or a local supplier. Knowledgeable staff and great customer service. 5 out of 5.

 

Many of you may know Ron from his bar on south highway. Ron has a stage 4 extremely serious illness and can use prayers and donations. Ron has 4 children here. I will post when I find out how donations will be organised.

 

I'm getting very tired of all the "Merry Christmas, po"s that are constantly bestowed upon me. They just do not sound very sincere to me. So this year I'm celebrating the ancient Roman pagan holiday of Saturnalia, from which Christmas Day was actually derived (the Baby Jesus was not really born on December 25, 1A.D.).
In the spirit of Saturnalia, I offer up some of my favorite images from the last couple of weeks, in case you haven't been paying attention to the sky.
Have a great Saturnalia!

 

I'm a retired expat living in Bangkok for 4 years, and I am very impressed with the posters here (no BS). Why? You are respectful. The largest and most common expat website in Thailand is Thaivisa.com (some of you may know it), and on every thread, at least 30 percent of the responses are sarcastic, cynical snarks. Its so bad we expats just joke about it and accept it is the case. What really got me noticing about the courtesy of folks here is someone had posted a thread about how to meet a nice women in the PI. Oh my gosh...I was ready for a 80% put-down rate, just knew almost all the responses would be who could be the funniest jackass in insulting the poster. I was amazed that there were serious replies, all of them I believe. Now I am wondering why that is...meaning why the posters in Thailand are so jaded.

 

At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,' said the gentleman, taking up a pen, 'it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.'

'Are there no prisons?' asked Scrooge.

'Plenty of prisons,' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

'And the Union workhouses?' demanded Scrooge. 'Are they still in operation?'

'They are. Still,' returned the gentleman, 'I wish I could say they were not.'

'The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?' said Scrooge.

'Both very busy, sir.'

'Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,' said Scrooge. 'I am very glad to hear it.'

'Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,' returned the gentleman, 'a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?'

'Nothing!' Scrooge replied.

'You wish to be anonymous?'

'I wish to be left alone,' said Scrooge. 'Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned—they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.'

'Many can't go there; and many would rather die.'

'If they would rather die,' said Scrooge, 'they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides—excuse me—I don't know that.'

'But you might know it,' observed the gentleman.

'It's not my business,' Scrooge returned. 'It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!'

Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. Scrooge resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more facetious temper than was usual with him.

 

It has been a long time since I wanted to join Dumagueteinfo Forum and have my voice heard. I always postponed it, thinking, why do I need to post my complaints here and maybe spread negative vibes.

But finally I realized that it's important to tell and share my opinions with others so we can all learn new things and grow and improve together.

I live in the Philippines almost 19 yrs. and I have travelled all over the country and finally chosen Dumaguete 10 yrs. ago.

But now I am not satisfied about this city anymore for many reasons, one of them is the high level intolerance that I experience almost every day.

This is one of the many stories I want to tell.

Yesterday I was shopping at Lee Plaza and was going out. At the main entrance there was a Filipino couple in their 50's with a lot of boxes and bags (shopping items from Lee Plaza). The wife was sitting beside the boxes on the stairs and there was plenty of space for other people to access the entrance. The mall was not crowded at all at this time.

The guard approached the woman in a rather unfriendly manner and told the woman that she was not allowed to sit there. Looking at the woman she looked tired from the shopping and obviously with all those boxes she was just waiting for somebody to pick her up. For sure she was not planning to spend the whole day on the stairs.

But the guard insisted that the woman was not allowed to sit there.

I find this instance very annoying to a customer who has done extensive shopping, (maybe feeling tired) in the supermarket and just waiting to be picked up.

You might think, is this important, yes because there are many more episodes of intolerance at Lee Plaza and around the city, I will tell more stories in my future posts.

Note: By far the most customer unfriendly mall I have seen in 30 yrs. of travelling around the world!