Makati City, Philippines

[zippyt]

No, I wasn't drunk when I bought them Zippy!

Dude !! I ain't saying Noten !!!
Just dont tell folks about the stuffed wood duck on our wall

[zippyt]

Yeh , keep it up , glad you are haveing a fun time exploring your new home !!!!!

Street food is the GOOD FOOD !!!
You are NOT in Kanasa any more DORTHY !!!!!

[xoxoxoBruce]

200 ml is about 6 1/2 oz which is the size of the heavy glass bottles in the old coke machines.

[slang]

XOB -

Do you know when they disappeared in the US? Late 80s? Late 70s?

I do remember the glass bottles in machines but not that tiny.

Clodfobble -

We are less than a mile away from the Global city which is the richest part of the Philippines. The streets are wide, the buildings are new and modern, there are nice parks with green grass in them.

These are also the only parts of the Phils here that I've had the local law enforcement forbid me to take photos.

Maybe I can get some decent pics being very discreet with the camera.

This is not the part of the city that I like to spend time in anyway. If you are white and in the Global city it is assumed that you are filthy rich, are here in the Phils for business and or generally don't care about what's going on outside the limits of this rich area

For the events...

There are many photos of us and our inlaws but we don't post them. Some are very funny.

For instance, my father in law is 77 years old and is suffering from Parkinson's disease. He was a man that liked to drink and sing in his younger days but now he mostly watches TV.

Two days ago a relative had a birthday party in back [yard] of the main house. There were 5 people drinking beer and eating pork. Inside the house they could be heard talking and laughing.

While we all were not paying much attention, my FIL snuck out back to sit and drink with the party goers.

As I came out to check on the beer level I saw him sitting in his chair just a ways away from the action.

I asked him if he wanted some vodka and he smiled big and nodded yes.

He sat in his chair with a big grin drinking the imported vodka and I took several photos of him. He's not allowed to have booze nowdays but not because of reaction to medication, because of worry for his safety when he is tipsy.

I took the photos of the party and my FIL and later downloaded them into the laptop.

They were so funny that we both laughed out loud. The funny photo could have had a thought balloon over his head that says..

"That's right, I'm drinking booze....and you can kiss my ass, I'm having fun!"

Those are the sorts of pictures that we don't post here.

[slang]

This is one of the pair of cats that we call "ours" here.

The orange one is the daughter of the black one. They do not have names and are referred to as mga pusa (the cats) .

Their role here is much more utility than asthetic. They are mouse and rat chasers and not much else.

I heard from a radio talkshow host that was living in Manila that the life of a cat is much different here. Seeing the cats in the streets here, that's not hard to believe. They are often nasty dirty scavengers and don't care to be around people.

Our pair are not that sort of cats. Both of them are amazingly clean, healthy and trim.

When I first met the cats I tried to pick one up. Everyone looked at me strangely. Like no one had ever picked them up, because no one had.

"I don't know how to tell you this diplomatically kitty cats, but if you are to continue to be on the dole here, I'm picking you up. If you don't like it, too bad."

The black cat seems to like being in my lap and getting brushed. This seems like a totally new concept for everyone here because......it is.

No one seemed to know the purpose of the strange wire type brush that I brought home until seeing it used on the cat.

I think my MIL wondered if I was going to use it myself.

Their life of liesure is not complete however as my wife called me to watch them in action with a big RAT!. They both pounced on the rat one after another and it scurried away quickly.

"That's why we don't have rats here", she smiled.

"Ok, so they are useful.....I'm still picking them up to pet them", I said.

[slang]

Champion rat chasers resting comfortably.

[Cicero]

*Sweeeet*.........oh....

[slang]

We went to a birthday party today and it was a very pleasant surprise.

I dont even know the family or the child and thought that maybe we along with everyone else in a 5 mile radius might have been invited.

As we arrived the kids and clowns were going full blast with their games and singing.

As it turns out, the birthday girl was the most polite and gracious of all the guests. She's cute and very good with people.

It was a good time that I was not expecting.

[slang]

Do clowns work birthday parties in the US? I've not seen any but don't have a lot of exposure to kids there.

The clowns here are fantastic! Sing along, dance along...win gifts and balloon art with these clowns around.

I havent a clue as to how much they may make for a given party but these clowns were especially good.

The kids and the adults were all so very well behaved. Not that most of these turn into fistfights but some are better than others.

[slang]

This little darling held her arms out to me and smiled. How could I resist holding such a cutie?

[slang]

Here is the foods from the party. I didnt eat any of these foods for my policy of waiting until everyone has had a first pass before I finish everything that's left.

There wasn't much left by the time I stepped up to the plate anyway.

[slang]

.

[slang]

An example of one of the balloon creations and one of the dancing girls from the party.

[slang]

Ok, party's over...

This is a house under construction just down the street. It will be the home of one of the extended family.

There is a crew of about 8 men that work on this house during the week.

All concrete, very simple. Three stories with a roof pad. Guessing about 1600-1800 sq ft.

Will the finished house have stucco or some pleasing looking covering over the concrete blocks? Stay tuned to find out.

[slang]

One of the toughest things to do here (for me ) is to keep a regular schedule.

I've zero responisbility, no where that I have to be, no one to see, nothing of any consequence to do.

It's a nice feeling, don't get me wrong.

Sleeping whenever you damn well feel like ( same for getting up ) is something that everyone should experience for a while.


It's 6am here now and I've been up all night reading books about the Philippines and posting on the cellar.

Life could be much worse.