Best Posts in Forum: Off-Topic Forum

I enjoy waking up knowing i do not have to do anything i dont want to, My last 2 years at sea were a drag and its only the last few that i could be bothered looking at the ocean. so NO i do not miss working

 

Good news! I beat the Grim Reaper this time.

 

Its not just immigration though or LTO but virtually every government connected office has fixers be it getting a business license, getting a firearms license (didn't you hear after all a foreigner with firearms license already is 100% safe! hahaha), getting an annulment, or anything else. It doesn't protect you should they ever look over the stuff and see its not legit or had been fixed. Saying you didn't know is NOT an excuse to them or that the person seemed legit. Its not even an excuse if the fixer actually even worked for the office in question and was a genuine employee.

Simple rule of thumb, if anyone says they can take care of it real quick even if they say or don't say about its likely an illegal fixer. The Philippine government no matter what office is extremely slow, extremely annoying, and makes no sense. If what your doing seems fast, not so annoying, and makes sense.... it is NOT legit.

I've even been told by a government worker (forget what permit office though) and another foreigner that they knew the right people who could get me a firearm permit as a foreigner and both swore that if I had the permit granted it would fully protect me from the police or anyone questioning how me as a foreigner have it. I wasn't gullible though and laughed them off but to many suckers out there.

 

There are enough western style restuarants that you can go out 7 evenings a week at a different restaurant and get good "western" style food. During you transition period from US living to the Philipines you can rely on the just recently added 7-11 in town. They may have those 7-11 hot dogs, as I saw a couple of their employee chasing some stray dogs around the streets. Actually seeing the glaring bright colors of 7-11 sign in the background of the historic Church tower tonight did not make me feel we were making progress here, but just becoming "modernized" which I do not consider to be progress in all cases.

Some Western style restaurants with Filipino dishes for your spouse: Coco Amigos on the boulevard, KRI accross from Silliman U, (great food with smaller portions for those days you are on a diet) ., KFC for fast food in the mall (with white rice or mashed potatoes freshly out of the box), Why Not (European, Western and Filipino) on the boulevard, Casa Blanca on the boulevard, Mike's Beach Resort in Dauin (great American Hamburger), Jerry's Beach side RestoBar (Great Pizza and other things) in San Miguel, and Takkries French Resto-Snack House at the 7 Km marker in Bacong (Run by a french man and his Filipina wife... great pasta...NO white rice). Oxmox in Valencia with a number of Western dishes. I am sure you will get other recommendations but that will get you through the first week... oh Yeah there is a new McDonald's in town too. Do not fear you will get your daily required "dosage" of western food here now.

 

Nothing but positive experience with my wife's extended family. Honest, hard working and they know the limits of what we will do to help financially (health emergencies etc), which we always do. Maybe it's their upbringing. We are employing brothers to do minor construction works right now (please, no comments about local builder quality) while the fishing is not good.
We also help by housing and assisting a few nephews and nieces to attend college - breaks the spiral of poverty, so a long term investment.

 

67 when my son was born here and 6 years later, I can't imagine life without him

 

Merry Christmas everyone on this site.. We can only hope next Christmas is a lot better than this one..

 

This is simplistic and missing the mark. The issue isn't eating white rice, but rather what a typical diet high in rice is missing.

White rice and sugary beverages are absorbed quickly by the body, but much of your digestion is handled by the bacteria in your digestive system. This bacteria is known as your "micro biome". Your micro biome is important for the overall health of your body and you can't survive without it. A proper diet feeds this micro biome as well as your body. Sugar and meat don't feed this ecosystem (and too much meat creates other issues, such as throwing your bile out of balance by creating too much).

To feed the micro biome, you need fiber. Most Western diets don't meet the suggested minimum in fiber, which leaves the bacteria to feed on the cells of the walls of your digestive system. As the bacteria eats away at the walls, your digestive system becomes porous and food particles may leak into your bloodstream. The body then attacks these particles as invaders, triggering inflammation as an immune response (AKA, leaky gut syndrome). This response can cause all sorts of issues with your body and could be a partial cause of many modern diseases.

Additionally, doctors in the Philippines have an issue with being too quick to prescribe antibiotics. And the mindset of Filipino's doesn't help. At least in the U.S. doctors are aware of problems of bacterial resistance due to over-prescribing antiobiotics. I don't go to hospitals often, but when I got sick as a kid I remember that I would usually get tested for a bacterial infection before receiving a prescription. In the Philippines, I always hear "have you taken your medicine?" when I tell people I'm sick. People can't seem to grasp that antibiotics don't do anything for a viral infection and the kids I watched after never got tested for an infection. And doctors are an authority and high status here, so foreigners should just know their place and shut up.

The problem with antibiotics is that it affects the essential bacteria as well as that which you are trying to get rid of. One prescription of antibiotics can throw off your micro biome for a year, which can lead to weight gain and other problems.

Advice on diet fails because it doesn't take the whole picture into account. You may adjust on advice, but you then miss the core problems. This article is addressing symptoms. For a proper diet, balance is key.

The science around the micro biome is recent. The above is my understanding, which may be off. Take a look at the linked article. There is a lot of great material out there for further reading. If you want to get to the full understanding of dieting, look at the micro biome.

What Your Food Is Really Doing to Your Body