Turkey month, not celebrated here, but remembered by me...

Nov 01, 2010

Actually, yesterday, we ended up going to the Mecauyan for awhile, purchased a new broom for inside and had doughnuts and a drink. Nora did some shopping for food items and then we came back home.

About 5:30 we were taken to the party for Alex's father in law and a couple others... we ate and then Nora abscounded with plates full of leftovers (into plastic bags) and away we went into the night with our bellies full and food for the next day to boot... All the time she is stashing the food, she is grinning like the proverbial fox who raided the hen house... funny !!

Back home, took a bath and readied for bed.

We awoke before 7 this morning, had coffee and then Nora, in view of the fact that Alex forgot about our trip to Marikina to visit Noras Mom's grave, decided to rearrange and cover a rickety old table that we use to store food and dishes on in the Kitchen/bedroom. It looks better, but still Oh so much I have for her at home... She cannot even imagine.

She is hanging out some clothes and taking some down, I am not sure what the remainder of the day will bring, surprises for sure but of what nature I can only guess...

If we lived in better conditions and were afforded the natural privacy one would expect our lives would be less hectic I think... the kids and especially the baby introduce a level of stress that I am not accustomed to and Nora acknowledges that point also... I wanted to Marry her, not the baby. I deal with it but will be glad when we can separate the two.

Well off to the yellow brick road once again... later my minions.

From denny's iPad...

End of the month, Halloween, spooks, ghosts and Goblins... Trick or Treat???

Oct 31, 2010

Halloween in the states, and it is also celebrated here in the Philippines and the children have their little masks and costumes (those that can afford such things). I don't believe that they do the typical American thing of 'Trick or Treat' though. Fireworks seems to be prevelant though, sans the restrictions you find in the USA.

We awoke this A.M. at about 6:50. Both of us slept well it seems and Nora was in a good mood and already to tackle her facebook and Farmville stuff... I told her again that once in America, the phones and iPad will not be in the bedroom. It seems that those types of distractions have really gained her attention... which means that attention must be taken from something else... get my drift??

Today, we want to go to Mecauyan for some street shopping and perhaps a repair of Kenneth's cell phone. I also want to buy a new broom for inside the house as the old one is shot.

Alex's father in law's birthday is today and there are two other birthdays also so there is some celebration to be had and we've been invited so that will have to be put onto the schedule, Nora wants to go to church so the day has managed to populate itself with varied events... should make it go by faster though.

I finally got 'We Farm and We City' loaded onto her phone and the iPad so now there are many games available to play and occupy time with.

Chatted with Lollie via YM yesterday for a bit, the connection could have been a little better, the conversations were choppy but we managed just fine. They were going to watch the 3rd game of the world series today so that will of course be interesting.

Should more occur, more will be written...

From denny's iPad...

(4) Thats right... "Four" day weekend here...

Oct 30, 2010

Good night, nothing special with the exception of a few noises that we could not account for right here in the Kitchen/bedroom during the night... Nora took a flashlite and looked but saw nothing unusual.

Yesterday, I downloaded some games for her on my iPad... We City, We Rule and another one. She wanted to play them last night after coming to bed and I told her that those are not the games I have in mind when I am in bed... we slept. dammit.

Woke up this morning before 7am, today we are supposed to go to her Mother's gravesite in Marikina, I don't know just when, but she told me that she and Alex talked about it last night... It should be sometime this morning as Alex's father-in-law's birthday is today according to Nora.

We also would like to make a trip to the SM mall and take Kenneth's Sony Erickson phone in to get an estimate for repair... it may well be that the phone is too old to justify putting much money into it. That is my thoughts anyway

Coffee is served so I will take a few moments to enjoy it... the time at this moment is 7:18 AM.

Today is Saturday here in the Philippines and the beginning of a four day holiday weekend for Nora and the kids. Tomorrow is 'Halloween" and November 1 is "All Souls Day" and then November 2 is "All Saints Day". So, that my dear friends is how the filipinos manage to wring 3 holidays out of our one... The last two are of course religious holidays.

I shall close this little post and as the day unfolds, perhaps I can tickle your imagination with happenings that occur here, in the Philippines, so far from home...

••• Nora and I spent a couple of hours at the SM mall, we bought her two tops for 99p which is only about 2 dollars USD.  We also stopped at Shakeys and had an order of MoJo's and two super shakes, her a strawberry and I a chocolate one.  One the way out of the mall after getting Joyces folders and tape, we stopped at the bread store and got some rolls and sliced bread. The evening was for the most part uneventful except that Ana told me that she would have to delay repaying us the 5,000p until maybe Monday... (I doubt she will pay then either).  It is from Nora's budget so the urgency, considering that it is the beginning of the month, is not so great as it would have been had she loaned it to her at the end of the month when her money is short.  I don't like loaning the money to relatives, but it seems like it will continue to happen.  Alex didn't tell me that he could not repay me the 1,000p I loaned him, but we will likely speak of it tomorrow... Off to bed now.

From denny's iPad...

Optimism shall rule this day... I command it.

October 29, 2010

Slept very well although I didn't start the process until late last evening, the unfolding of the days event had left me in a rather funky mood and unsettled state of mind. I woke about 7am and boiled the water for coffee and Nora is up and has her nose stuck in the phone and Facebook/Farmville.

Today is Friday, the last of a short week for Nora and the beginning of a 4 day weekend for her as Monday and Tuesday are holidays. She will have a very short week this next coming one and I am really glad for her for that reason. She will probably go to get her police check today, if not, next Wed. I need to contact Korean Air and figure out when to fly back to the USA. I have free rebooking for up to one year from the date of purchase so May 15 is the latest that I can book a flight for free and then fees will be accessed.

Not sure what today will bring, it is my hope to resolve the router issue and hopefully with a cooler head than I had yesterday.

I relocated the fan that we use to keep cool when sleeping so that it does not blow air directly on the face and that is by far more comfortable to me.

As a side note to myself, Alex borrowed 1,000p yesterday with a promised repay time of this weekend. Filipino Flex-time is a concept I could probably endorse more easily had I not spent the major portion of my working time in the strict structure of the military... amazing how habits like that are so difficult to break. We Americans have the tendancy to place too much importance on our selves and our time schedules. Everything seems to get done here in the Philippines even with the relaxed attitude toward time, and if one checkes the incidence of heart attack and stress related illnesses, you find that the Americans are the ones that suffer the most from it. Perhaps there is a lesson of value to be gleaned from these statistics... me thinks so.

Well my hope is that I shall manange to climb the walls of the well of despair that I stumbled into yesterday and find myself in the presence of sunny skies and moderate temperatures (well, I can dream can't I??). I will certainly have on my hiking boots because there is a life to live and lives to enjoy and I entend to do both to the best of my ability. "Blessings", as my frind Leann would say, to one and all... after all, Christmas is coming !!!

••• Well, I am finding that crow can be served in many different and tantalizing ways, the latest dish I have enjoyed was derived from my own mid-deeds in that I turned off the 'Java Script' on my computer and phone and thus disabled many of the features that webpages offer such as button actions and such as can be found on places like my dLink router control page...are you getting the idea yet??? I, meaning me, disable the ability of the page to react to my button pushes so me, being the connoisseur of various flavors of crow, caused and in effect disabled my own router... Ah, the flavor excites me tongue and humble pie for dessert too !!! how much better can it be???  All is well now in router land and I've tendered my apologies to all affected parties... a lesson to be learned is lurking herein...

From denny's iPad...

Mundane, Humdrum and otherwise uninspiring day...

Oct 28, 2010

Yesterday was a good day all in all, the evening was nice and Nora made a good dinner... we went to bed about 10pm. There were two brownouts during the night, Nora lit candles for one of them but not the second time which occurred later in the morning. She always unplugs the refrigerator for some reason, afraid of a surge or something. Modern electronics compensate for that though.

We went to sleep happy although it was warm... she tossed and turned all night it seemed and complained of the heat, I, on the other hand actually was somewhat comfortable.

Nothing special is planned for today other than Nora may go to get her police clearance which she will need to renew her passport.

Kenneth will have to go to the college again today as he forgot to take his picture yesterday for his student ID.

Today is Sean's birthday, I must send him a card.

Sorry that there is nothing interesting to tell you today yet, perhaps somehing will happen worth writing about as the day progresses.

••• Well, as the day progressed, I found that Alex, a cousin by marriage now, got a desktop computer from a Korean friend of his, that led to the question could he hook it up, with my assistance to connect to my wireless service?.  I of course told him yes, we could do that.  I was unable to make it connect, for whatever reason so he had a guy from the Internet Cafe come later that afternoon to help set it up. I was in process of resetting my router to allow for full access and discovered, to my dismay, that I no longer have admin privileges on the router, (hmmm the same one that I bought and pay 1,000php a month to use).  Seems that the fellow from the Cafe did something that took away my ability to control my router.  I was, in a word, Livid.  Today it is my hope and desire to speak to this guy and have the situation remedied... my alternative would be to pull the plug then nobody uses it... I cannot understand why this guy would take away my admin priviledges without even speaking to me... I will investigate the issue.

From denny's iPad...

College Tuition, AC Mall and the always dreaded "Halo Halo'...

Oct 27, 2010

Last night proved peaceful, Nora was tired and went to sleep quickly and I followed shortly thereafter. Slept pretty well, it wasn't really cool, but also no the stifling heat that sometimes lingers all night long.

I woke before 7am and got the coffee for us, Nora was much more reluctant to release her grasp on sleepville. She is up now and talking to someone who called... I don't know who yet, but will when the call ends and she shares that with me.

Today, we will go to Kenneths College, obtain the deposit slip then put his tuition money in the China bank afterwhich we will take the deposit slip from the bank back to the College so that they can annotate his account as paid in full. This, to the best of my knowledge, will be the last time he attends college here in the Philippines as their semesters are 6 months long.

Today is my late mothers's birthday she would be in her 89th year. I miss you mom. I hope you are happy and healthy there with our Lord.

Not much else is actually planned for today, perhaps I can get the contact information for Korean Air and possibly go there this week yet to reschedule my return flight to the States.. I don't know what date yet so there will be some discussion with them regarding the options that I have open. I purchased the ticket on May the 15th and it is supposed to be good for up to a year.

I don't know what the weather is supposed to be like here today, but it seems to follow a pretty predictable pattern... Hot and humid or Humid and hot so my choices are few and consistent.

Enjoy what you do today for if you dally, the opportunity may not present itself again...

Later Gators ;)

From denny's iPad...

Immigration day and Mall hopping perhaps... Another week begins.

Oct 26, 2010

Yesterday afternoon remained uneventful, we never did make it to the SM mall as Nora just didn't feel like going there or anywhere for that matter. She was tired after doing the laundry and I can understand that.

We retired just before 10pm, I took a couple of tylenol PM pills as my back was acting up somewhat. I remember getting up once to use the bathroom, and it seems like I felt drugged (which I was, albiet mildly). I woke at 5:40am this morning and laid in bed for about 10 minutes then got up. Nora is in the bath now and we are on schedule as near as I can tell. We should leave the house right about 7am.

Immigration will be the first stop, our appt is at 10am and that is to get the one year extension on my stay here and get the iCard application on the way to processing... supposed to take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to get one.

After Immigration is done, we will head to St. Lukes clinic and see if they will see Nora a little early. Once that is done, we will go to the SM mall in Manila, Nora tells me that there are many malls in Manila so we will surely find one fairly close to St. Lukes clinic.

After that, I am not sure what we have planned, I think we have to go and pay for Kenneths next term in College but if we don't do it today, perhaps tomorrow. I don't know the time frame that we have to pay it. Kenneth will go to the school today to give them whatever information and a picture for his student I.D. card.

I will update this if anything of significance occurs during the remainder of the day...

We got to Immigration early so went to have some coffee before the appointment time of 10:00am.  The attorney was late, so it was about 10:40 before we got to see him.  He told me that I needed to go to the Philippines counsulate to have the divorce papers verified and we haggled back and forth about that for awhile and then, Nora said something to him which escaped me and then he asked her where she lived and come to find out that they both live in the same area and somehow, thru witchcraft or Voodoo or philippine magic, the requirements that we discussed seemed to evaporate.  Now, we are to call the phone number in two weeks to see if we are approved... I don't for the life of me understand except that somehow they made a connection and cut thru the red tape. It will be interesting to me to see if, in two weeks, my application for a non-immigrent visa gets approved sans a visit to the philippine counsulate by me. We then went to St. Lukes clinic and Nora once again cheated the inevitable and was seen very quickly.  We then went to the Mall that is close to St. Lukes clinic and spent a couple hours including having lunch, there.  We then came home and arrived here about 2:45pm.  Nora is with the baby and the yard is full of little brown bodies playing an assortment of games that baffle me.  I believe that children of all different cultures devise games to occupy themselves and if we look deeply inside our memories, we played games of a similar but different name when we were young. Have a wonderful time where ever you are my friends.

From denny's iPad...

Voting day in the Provinces... and a day off for Nora !!!

Oct 25, 2010

Looking back, last night I have to admit we rested fairly well. It was not cool, but not repressively hot either. I don't recall Nora getting up either so her nights rest must have been good also Nothing like home, mind you, but as good as it is likely to get here in the Tropics.

Nora fixed some breakfast after I had prepard our coffee, we had some thin ham slices and fried egg with bread rolls. I tire of bread and eggs every day, but have not decided on a decent alternative as milk is not redily available here in the province... it is available in the supermarkets in town, but not here. I am particularly attracted to Mallorie dairy milk so anything else just isn't the same for me so I won't have milk again until we return to the States.

We are contemplating going once again to the SM mall today, it is the last day of Nora's 3 day weekend break from St. Lukes clinic. She is doing the remainder of the laundry this morning, she decided not to hire the laundry lady this weekend.

I have been attempting to play the game 'FarmVille HD' a recent addition to the all famous 'Farmville' game played by millions of people online and sponsored by 'FaceBook'. The edition that I use on the iPad crashes all the time with the message that my farm is 'out of sync' and then I loose all the updated that I have done and have to start over... I finally said to heck with it and took it off the iPad... Nora plays and older version of it and seems to do just fine, I checked online on a site named "App Comments' and found that almost nobody likes the new version for the same reasons I have. Perhaps they will update it yet again and hopefully cure the problems that plague it. It actually is a fun game.

Lollie and Gareth are in the bay but probably are getting ready or already are on the way back home... My sister is predictable, the doctor told her after her wrist operation to not do anything that would stress it at all for at least 3 weeks... Not her, at Bonnies she jumped into the fray and helped bonnie prepare for the party they were having for the newly weds...she is so stubborn. Takes after Nora I think.

Well, the ants are trying to make me their meal so I am going to sign off for a bit, perhaps I will add more later depending on the days events...

Ronda, if you read this, go further back, I started this blog series back in late August or Early September... you will know what I've been up to.

Cathy, hope your mom is ok.

Leann... Omar should be here with me...

From denny's iPad...

Sunday... a day for potential miracles... which one awaits you???

Oct 24, 2010

Last night proved peaceful, sleep came a little hesitantly as the sticky factor was ever present but come it did in it's own good time. Nora also seemed to sleep well, covered up as she was. I do find that early in the mornings, I've managed to cover also with a light sheet, just to keep the wind from the fan from reaching my skin. This morning, the fan is on low but the air that it moves is not cool. More the consistensy temperaturewise of tepid bath water if you can imagine that.

We are planning on attending church this morning and I am rather certain we will stop at the Divine market (also the name of the chapel) and pick up somethings that Nora will decide we must have (food, not junk). She is by habit and probably necessity, a daily shopper... close Sister, she is close to your habits regarding that.

Nora is really enjoying the game of Farmville and even the smallest of successes entices a gleeful little laugh from her. In someways, she is childlike in the sense that it doesn't take complicated and expensive things to put a smile on her face... I do love that about her. I am so wishing that she had been able to come to the States last April as we had hoped... this journey, though doable, is ardous and at times difficult for me... the hardest thing is watching her do without all the conveniences that I will be able to give her once there... I know, patience dear man... Not a strong suit of mine I fear but I am gaining on it.

Lollie it is your Saturday... my assumption is that you are either in the Bay area or have made great progress in that direction... please, remember to give our love and prayers to Bonnie, Ed and their family and of course, our best wishes to the newlyweds also.

Have fun and the phone will be on should you have access to wifi and or YM and desire to call. Love always,

denny and Nora and family

p.s. Leann, how goes the battle, days or nights???

pps Cathy, how is your Mom??

Later my readers... take care

From denny's iPad...

Rain, Money, Pain and more Rain...

Oct 23, 2010

Sleep was interuptus maximus due to the heat and sticky conditions. Nora, bless her little brown heart, as we went to bed, she covers up with a sheet blanket... I cannot fathom putting on anything let alone a blanket no matter how light in weight in this repressive weather. Aclimating her and the children to Oregons wet and chilly climate will be an experience I will likely not soon forget.

We awoke about 7 or so to the sounds of the baby. I believe he was playing. We had coffee, and pancakes prepared by Kenneth. Nora, in her usual OCD fashion, was cleaning this and arranging that all the while keeping tabs on her Farmville game. My plan for a 9:40 departure came and went without much todoo. We eventually left the Apt. about 11am.

We stopped at Kenneth's college and found that the tuition for the next 6 months had gone from 7,000p to 9,800p. As I said once before it is always more money. From there, we went to the Mall, which coincedentally is just across the street from the College.

In there, we bought a new battery for the Sony Erickson, and also some new underware for Nora, looked at some thongs for me but couldn't find any I liked. We had lunch at the food court and they have nothing that appeals to my taste buds but I did have some chicken and a strange variety of fried rice... One thing I will never get used to is sweet gravy... seems to go against the laws of nature.

After lunch, Nora went to the supermarket in the Mall and got bread and bread products and then we caught a Jeepney ride to Marilao market where she did some more quick shopping and from that point we caught a tricycle ride on home.

To accommodate the schools policy in payment, we will deposit 9,800p in the China bank then take the deposit slip to the school where they will apply the amount to our account for Kenneth's tuition fees.

It is as usual, raining here and will probably do so every single day un til well into the first quarter of next year at which time my case of cabin fever should have reached critical mass... Thank you Lord for the patience I just know you will bestow on me.

We got the battery for Kenneths phone, but alas, it didn't change the phone at all so Nora will take it to a cell phone repairman and see how much to fix it.

It it now 3:50 PM and I shall post this in the hopes that it brings just a touch of humor into your lives.

Leann... Hello !!! and you too Cathy - by the way, how's Mom??

Later my dear readers... too much mental pollution may cause accelerated decay of brain matter...

From denny's iPad...

Scratch, itch, scratch...when does it quit??

Oct 22, 2010

The remainder of yesterday was uneventful. Nora got home, we didn't do much but watch some TV and the kids and Nora were on the internet... Nora is becoming quite good at the game 'Farmville' and joins millions of other addicted players worldwide. It seems to make her happy to see her little plot of ground develope and generate revenue for her... perhaps a dream world that she cannot achieve in reality I don't know but it makes her happy.

We slept well I think, but it was hot or so it appeared to me, the familiar feeling of being sticky and not being able to turn over smoothly in bed... I miss home.

Nora had to get up several times during the night because of the rash that is on both of her arms... I want to make an appt with a dermatologist today for her to get some relief. I don't have any Benadryl but she is familiar with it and took it before when her hands broke out and itched from the allergic reaction to using a cheap dishwashing liquid. I am sure the rash on her arms is a reaction to something but am clueless as to what.

It is about 7:40am and I have had my bath and Nora is in the CR now but I doubt that she will take a full bath this early, she waits until closer to the time she needs to leave for St. Lukes clinic.

Coffee is by me now so I will pause a bit to slurp a little (excuse me).. Ahhhh that is the way to get the day started I believe...

Yes, it is not as good as your coffee Sister, but for here, it is wonderful. We will be enjoying some of your coffee before you know it.

Well Nora just informed me that she wants to buy some salve that she used last year when her hands bothered her so much and then, should that prove unsuccessful, we will see a Doctor. I told you, I don't win many of these logical arguments with her. I could insist, but to what end??

I hope all is well with those who stop buy to see how my world is doing. I pray yours is good and providing you with much happiness and fulfillment. Smile and always remember that God, with or without your blessings is keeping an eye out for you and performing miracles that would amaze you.

More maybe later, we shall see...

From denny's iPad...

Wet and dreary and maybe also WET !!!

Oct 21, 2010

We woke at about 6:30 or close to 7am this morning. Slept good and the weather, due to the massive rainfall, was cooler which makes sleep come easier.

Nora was up and had coffee going and was busy checking her facebook, seems ritualistic anymore. Got breakfast over and starting to get the day in order... she approached me for an advance of budget (which comes tomorrow) and I refused as there was no pressing need for her to spend more money today. I will give her the weeks money tomorrow, which Friday and the day she normally gets it.

Alex came by about 9:30 or closer to 10 and was ready to leave for the Asian plaza and the store where he sells most of his cookies and then on to Manila to pick up 50kilos of sugar to put together the next order.

I got home about 12:35 or so and Nora, bless her little brown heart had left for St. Lukes clinic to keep her appointed date with DOT. I sent her a text msg thanking her for keeping her appt. I know it was raining hard here when she left so she had to be not too happy about going. She doesn't like getting wet, but then who does??

I want to go to SM on Saturday morning and this time I am buying her a rain coat and hat... hopefully something that will fold up into a small package and be convenient for her to carry with her. The rainy season is not going away anytime soon so it is something she really needs to have. Also, we need to finally get Kenneth a battery for the Sony phone.

I want to look in the Divine market for a couple of the outside brooms, one will be used to clean the drains in the CR so that the water can drain properly... I should look for some drain cleaner too.

Kenneth is using my iPhone right now, a privilege I didn't give earlier but have decided to be more open in sharing it with the family as after all, it is just a phone and not some greatly prized item... expensive yes but that is all. My priorities seem to be changing, I wish it would happen quicker but at least it is happening.

I will post this now... perhaps I will add more later or maybe not... depends on the remainder of the day.

From denny's iPad...

Ka-Ching at every line and door you pass.

Oct 20, 2010

A very busy day, and it started at 5am this morning, my alarm on my phone went off and I tried to open my eyes but found I could not, for a brief moment terror, but not long lived... I finally pried the lids open and located my phone to turn off the alarm.

Rising from bed, I set the water to boil for the morning coffee and then commenced to try to pry Nora from her comfort zone, mainly sleep.

We skipped breakfast and left the house about 6:30 or so. The cripple at the end of the lane gave us a ride to the bus (luckily this time an AC equipped one) and we were off to Manila. Once in the city, Nora hailed a Jeepster that took us to the BI and it was then that the day began to be long in the tooth.

After going to line after line, we had the forms needed then needed to go to an attorney to draw up an official letter from Nora requesting the powers to be to process my request for extended stay, that being the first step in getting an iCard. Every line I stood in managed to lighten my wallet... the day eventually cost me a little over 10,000p with yet another 8,000p needing to be spent. We left the BI with an appointment date for next Tuesday at 10am in room 401 for an interview (part of the approval process and fund gathering routine I think)

We then went in search of some groceries and after that to locate the ribbon that Joyce needs for the project at highschool... hard to find item believe it or not.

Nora finally located the ribbon and once she gathered me from the store, we finally headed back to Marilao. The bus coming home was also AC so that made the trip easier... Nora is so tired though, she fell asleep on the bus. Been a long couple of days for us.

We will probably have spaghetti for dinner tonight. I did buy a can of spam so we will see how the family likes that. My most recent memories of it are quite old... perhaps they've changed it a little... although I actuall doubt that.

It is now 3:08 PM and I will post this, much later than usual, but at least you will know of the days doings.

As the afternoon progressed nothing out of the ordinary happened, Nora and the kids were busy doing the facebook thing... I might mention at this time that brining two iPhones and an iPad here and providing the family with a wireless internet connection has certainly given them something to enjoy.  They all have facebook accounts and Nora is activily pursuing a career in FarmVille while Kenneth is able to keep up with his classmates and Joyce has been putting pictures on her page as well as does Jenny... it is though, a double edged sword, as much pleasure as the wireless provides, it is also a major distraction to daily interactivity... something I will probably need to address in some way in the near future. Advances in technology bring not only convenience to our lives, it also manages to interject a dark and insidious net around us that can and often does separate us from reality. Enough !!  I sleep now. From denny's iPad...

This is actually the 19th post...a day late

Oct 19, 2010

Well, we thought the storm would miss us, but during most of the night it rained and blew hard enough to make me wonder. I don't know what the rainfall amount was, but I can tell you it sure was hard... it finally let up about 4:20am. I had my alarm set for 5am to get Joyce up for her 6am school time (can you imagine an American kid going to school at 6am???).

We have experience numerous brown outs since about the time it quit raining. I am not sure but suspect that they are storm induced and will likely continue most of the morning.

It appears that we will be going to the Immigration department of the Philippines tomorrow but that could change to today, I don't know for sure yet. We may be on candle power for a little while The worst thing about a brown out is the loss of the cooling of the fans.

I should write a book of the experiences I have had and will continue to have here in the Islands.

It was sure nice to see the 3 copies of our Marriage Certificate on NSO paper... that makes it all totally legal. Being married under Philippines law is much different than the laws that encapsulate the American idea of marriage... I like this one better because it at least has some substance and expectations... those values have eroded from the institution of marriage in America today... I feel it is so sad to have foregone those values and don't know if we, as a people, will ever recapture that commitment.

I cannot post this at this time: 6:32 AM but will when we get the internet back again.

The connection resumed, on and off again and the weather has been extremely wet to say the least.

Nora chose to not go to St. Lukes clinic again and this time because of the weather and flooding in Manila so she says. We got in a tiff about that as every day she misses is one more day we will have to stay here at the end...

The day remained somewhat tense and it wasn't until I wrote her a letter explaining how I felt and why that we patched it up.... nothing serious, just another of the situations where communications must be learned.

Tomorrow we will rise early to go to the BI (Bureau of Immigration) to extend my visa and apply for a change of status from tourist to non-immigrant visa which will allow me 1 year in country here.

Enough for now... enjoy your day and my ramblings...

From denny's iPad...

The storm is passsing, no appreciable damage here

Oct 19, 2010

Well, we thought the storm would miss us, but during most of the night it rained and blew hard enough to make me wonder. I don't know what the rainfall amount was, but I can tell you it sure was hard... it finally let up about 4:20am. I had my alarm set for 5am to get Joyce up for her 6am school time (can you imagine an American kid going to school at 6am???).

We have experience numerous brown outs since about the time it quit raining. I am not sure but suspect that they are storm induced and will likely continue most of the morning.

It appears that we will be going to the Immigration department of the Philippines tomorrow but that could change to today, I don't know for sure yet. We may be on candle power for a little while The worst thing about a brown out is the loss of the cooling of the fans.

I should write a book of the experiences I have had and will continue to have here in the Islands.

It was sure nice to see the 3 copies of our Marriage Certificate on NSO paper... that makes it all totally legal. Being married under Philippines law is much different than the laws that encapsulate the American idea of marriage... I like this one better because it at least has some substance and expectations... those values have eroded from the institution of marriage in America today... I feel it is so sad to have foregone those values and don't know if we, as a people, will ever recapture that commitment.

I cannot post this at this time: 6:32 AM but will when we get the internet back again.

From denny's iPad...

A night of "Blood Sweat and Tears" minus the blood and tears.

Oct 18, 2010

Last night was strange, I woke up numerous times and was very hot, but my body had not broken out in a sweat... but to the touch, my skin was very warm. Nora became quite concerned and had me take an ibuprophen... I fell asleep again and then after some time, she checked me again and said I was still very hot. I felt OK and told her that. Sometime after that she woke me and said that I was soaking wet, my back, my head and chest were swamped in presperation so I assume that I must have contracted a fever of some kind. I am fine now, but don't know where or from what the fever came... I did have two beers at the birthday party but that was all.

Here, in the Philippines, one can come down with things with virtually no warning at all, a simple innocent bug bite can bring on a fever and have nasty effects on your body. There are so many different little critters around here, we find them in the bed, crawling on the furniture and some are so small, all you can do is feel them crawling on your skin, but cannot see them. It was like that in Viet Nam also. I guess it is a fact that you never sleep 'alone' here.

This morning I feel good, although I didn't feel bad last night. No fever now so that is good... fevers are very destructive even though they are the body's warning system and internal method of killing what ever ails it. Heat, the eternal cleanser.

Monday morning, Joyce has been ironing her school uniform and now is preparing her breakfast, she needs to be at school at 9:30am. Kenneth is on vacation from college for awhile, I believe a week. He wanted to go to Bicol for the week, but I said no because we will be going there in Dec for about 3 weeks.

We had a good time at the party in Kalookan last night, one thing for sure Alex knows how to drive in Philippines traffic, it was amazing to say the least. I met another cousin there that wants me to try and find his father. He served in the USN and was separated from the boy at early age, the father came back to the Philippines twice to find the boy but the boys grandparents each time hid the boy from him for some reason I don't know. I will see if I can search online and find out some information such as if he is still alive and if so where or how to contact him.

I wish I were home to do that as the iMac is better equipped to do things like that I think... the iPad is great for what it does, but as a portable device, it has it's limitations also. Some of them will hopefully be overcome with the next rendition of software, but we will have to wait till November to see.

Nora starts yet another week of treatment, thankfully she will not have to contend with the Typhoon as it appears to have missed this area. If I understand her correctly, it has made landfall and will not live long.

More, will come if more happens...

From denny's iPad...

To the 'Tomb' and back again...

Oct 17, 2010

4am came very early this morning, but even at that, the family was up and getting about very quickly. We left in the van at about 5:30 I think and it was about a 3 hour trip to the Step Mothers house of Jimmy. We visited there for about 1/2 hour then proceeded to a very old and run down cemetery and to the above ground tomb of Nora's late husband, Jimmy. We spent about an hour there and then dropped off the Stepmother and a boy then proceeded to get on the SCTEX hiway, it was built during the hey days of Clark AFB and Subic Bay. Made good time till we stopped to eat at Chow King. From that point on it was only about 1/2 hour to make it back home.

We spent 1,000 on fuel 330 on tolls, about 700 for lunch and I will give Alex 1,500 so the total was arouind 3,300p for the whole trip. It was good as Nora got closure as well as did Joyce and Kenneth... hard to tell about Joyce Anne as she is so quiet and reserved.

Nora's nephew has a birthday so we will be leaving again for Kalookin this afternoon about 3pm. We will probably be there thru dinner and then come back home here to Marilao.

The day has been good, we are somewhat bushed as the sleep was very short and there was no time to really nap today. I should imagine that we will retire early this evening in hopes of getting a good nights sleep.

Not much else to say so hope you have a great Sunday when it comes to your part of the globe... Mine has been... good.

From denny's iPad...

Another weekend and another Typhoon coming... excitement is in the air

Oct 16, 2010

Nora woke early, and immediately went to make coffee and see the baby... she came back then and we teased a little then she started getting laundry ready for the lady tomorrow and Kenneth prepared pancakes (tough this time) for breakfast.

I had Lollie call me via YM and she got to chat with Nora for about 1/2 hour. They both enjoyed the call although Nora was reluctant to talk at first but she did very well and was sitting here on the bed beside me the whole time. She and Lollie seem to be getting along very very well...

We plan to leave the house about 9:40 for the SM mall and get the things that she needs there. I think she plans to grocery shop some more also as there are things that she cannot get at the local street markets. I have a recording on the phone about the things that we need to pick up that were forgotten last time...

I hope it is not too hot today, although, being in the mall will negate the heat outside but lordy, once you step out of the mall it hits you like a ton of bricks. Typhoon Megi is coming also so that will certainly have some effect on the local weather... I hope it doesn't bring too much rain, the winds could be very very strong though. The forecasters say it could turn into a 'Super Typhoon' by the time it gets here to Northern Luzon. I hope not.

More to follow, stay tuned my ardent fans...

We did go to the mall and had a pretty good time, bought some stuff for Nora, slippers for Kenneth and some other stuff including a clock for the front room.  I bought some meds for the girls special times and some 'Tiger Balm' for bites etc.  We both had 'Halo Halo' and it was good.  Nora is addicted to FarmVille now... I should have known. Nora and Lollie (via a sneaky move by me) had a great chat via the new Yahoo Messenger voip service... I loved listening to her chatting with my Sister on the iPhone... this is something I don't understand why Apple couldn't have incorporated into their 'FaceTime' application... I am sure they will soon or risk loosing revenue to Yahoo.   Looks like our trip is still on for tomorrow, unless the weather really gets bad overnight and I can't really foresee that happening but then I've never been thru a Typhoon before either. We got back from SM and relaxed for awhile then about 45 minutes ago time now is 5:48 PM she had me take her to the Divine market where she bought veggies and pork for tonight's dinner.  We had some chicken at KFC while at the mall but please, don't envision the same menu that we see in the States... not here anyway.  Tolerable, but just a little 'off'. Probably last post for the day, catch you tomorrow after we get back.

From denny's iPad...

TGIF... means something where you are... to me ~ another day

Oct 15, 2010

Last night, before finally getting to sleep, the air was so thick that it made breathing difficult for me, I told Nora that this had happened once before when the humidity was very high. I finally did get to sleep and it is tolerable now, 77˚ and not terribly humid. The remnants of my time in Viet Nam I think, that is the only time I've ever had heat stroke and I've been sensitive to heat ever since then.

Joyce needs to be at school at 9:30 this morning so there is no great push. Nora slept pretty well I think last night, she didn't have to get up and Thank God, the baby had another good night too. One comes to appreciate a solid nights sleep when you have been deprived of such for several days.

Nothing special today, I will of course give Nora her weekly allowance today of 5,600p.... I read again yesterday that the dollar isn't worth the paper to wipe your butt with... I don't know where in the hell the good old US of A is headed, but financially it is in dire straits... to think that not all that long ago it was the currency that led the way... I guess it still is, just changed direction.

Tomorrow I plan (we all know about my plans) a trip to the SM mall and get some things that we forgot on our last trip there. It is supposed to be cloudy, overcast and hot today and stormy this weekend. Lovely winter ??? weather. I promise you I will NOT get used to it but I WILL endure it.

Don't know what will transpire the rest of the day, but if it unfolds like most of my days have, I will be adding to this blog later.

••• Nora left about 12:15pm for St. Lukes clinic.  I didn't do too much, although Lollie came on and we were able to make a voip call using Yahoo Messenger and the clarity of it was nothing short of phenominal.  It was like they were in the same room with me.  Anyway after that, Jenny said that the neighbor girl said we could use their old crib to make a gate way to keep baby inside the house... I disassembled the old crib and cut a section to size and nailed it up on the door frame... you need to step over it to enter or exit, but will be perfect for the baby. I ordered a couple of cold Red Horse beers for later tonight and bought a large RC to share with the kids.  I have another section of the old crib that I will incorporate into a gate keeping the baby out of the kitchen/bedroom or ours.  Too many things in the kitchen area that could cause him harm.  I've not quite figured out how to attach it so that we can move it out of the way when not needed... all cement walls make it complicated to put something in place like that. I also really wanted to or shall I say want to put up a shelf over the counter area in the kitchen for Nora but need to run that thru the thought mill a little more too.  Gosh it was nice talking to my Sister and Gareth... we must have chatted almost 45 minutes... and just think all for free not a stinking dime went to AT&T or to Smart.  I love technology.  It is now 3:18pm so Nora will likely be home within the hour.  She will likely stop to shop a little bit first though, at least she said that before she left. This has been a good, albiet hot, day.

From denny's iPad...

All Quiet on the Asian Front... (cheesy I know)

Oct 14, 2010

"Uneventful" would be the term to describe last night, not terribly hot and no disruptions. A welcome change to be sure. I heard absolutely nothing outside of Nora getting up to use the CR a couple times, nothing from the baby until after 6am. Perhaps there truly is a light at the end of the tunnel...

Nora was not anxious to get up at 6am, but I wanted to check and make sure that Joyce was up as her school day starts at 7:30 this morning... She was already up and had ironed her blouse already so I was happy about that. She is normally the first riser in the house and was so when we were in Basud also.

Lately, I have had this nagging feeling that I should perhaps pursue writing... a book, short novel or perhaps, given my propensity for fictional situations, a childrens book. I will ponder that thought awhile and perhaps do something along those lines, maybe even something for the Readers Digest or something like that.

Uncle and Auntie and Alex will be attending the funeral of Auntie's brother today. A solemn occasion to be sure. We have a very full weekend planned, especially Sunday when Nora and the children will pay their respects to Jimmie, Father and husband. I suppose in some ways, this closes one door and opens yet another... putting the past to rest I suppose, this is the first time Nora will have been to the grave and also the first time for Joyce and Kenneth. Nora was in Taiwan working when Jimmy passed. Closure is good.

I will get my day started now and catch you up later as events unravel.

From denny's iPad...

Visitors from afar lighten the day...

Oct 13, 2010

The evening was good, Nora slept pretty well, except for the fact that it is the time of her monthly cycle so with that comes discomfort and perhaps mental tenderness in some cases. All in all, she weathers that storm pretty well, especially since I introduced her to Midol. I slept OK.

Early this morning, Linda and Edwin appeared and it has been, as I expected, non-stop chatter and even more people in an already too cramped apt. They will not be staying with us, but with their son who occupies another unit here.

Baby had another good night which I was and shall forever be thankful. It appears that the measles are more disconcerting to look at than to experience, but as I foggily remember, they itch, at least at some point they do. The rash is only supposed to last for about 3 days according to the baby's doctor.

Unfortunately, though I truly enjoy seeing Edwin and Linda, they don't use english so once again I am the outsider... It often saddens me as they know english, are taught english, but revert always to tagalog. I will always feel the part of a 3rd wheel I suppose as I really am not in a position to master their dialect in the short time I am here.

I don't know what is planned for today outside of Nora's daily journey to Manila. I suppose something but only God knows for sure and he is keeping the secret well hidden from me.

Should the day reveal anything that might tantalize your thoughts, I will certainly add it here to this running account of my day.

Take care those who read this blog... Oh, Cathy, if you are still reading it, glad you had a good trip to Oregon...

I just sent myself and Nora a reload for the phones... I know mine was empty and hers had to be close too. Kenneth asked to text mom, when I asked why, he told me that he needed tuition for college so he can take the final exam tomorrow... I thought that Nora had paid for the whole 6 months, but seems she only paid 6,000 of the 7,000p for the term.  She held back a thousand with the understanding that she would need to purchase books, come to find out that she did not have to purchase books so she forgot to pay off the tuition, which cost me an additional 200p in interest... That ain't gonna happen again. She is home now from St. Lukes clinic and Kenneth is paying the school the tuition.  Next month I have to pay another 6 month's tuition which will be an additional 7,000p.  It is the last term he will go here I believe as we will leave hopefully in May. Nora fixed me another hamburger (filipino style) and a salad and also some fried chicken for the kids and her.  It was good, but can I tell you how much I yearn and can you, my friends, guess for what??? anyway, it will come in time. Now, tonight, Nora tells me she wants to go to Basud around the 20th for the provinces holidays.  I would rather not but considering, I will do it for her.  I absolutely dread the long and torturous bus ride there and back.  She told me tonight that she Text'd her father for money to reimburse me for baby's visits to the hospital. The things we need at the SM Mall are as follows: 1. battery for kenneths Sony cellphone 2. mop for kitchen floor 3. Wall clock 4. facial wash for nora 5. Midol for the ladies 6.  I am sure there will be others that are needed also.  We plan to get up or leave at 5am on the 17th to go to Jimmie's gravesite.  Alex will drive us for a total car cost of 2,500p  I am sure that there will be other costs associated with this journey also. So ends the day and the random postings of a somewhat wearied mind.

From denny's iPad...

Peace, Quiet, Happiness... (and it's only Tuesday)

Oct 12, 2010

Last night was probably the best one for over a week or so... no baby sick, no dogs barking and no loud motorcycles... I honestly can say that I slept well and so did Nora... a rariety these days. She was up early to fix Joyce's breakfast and has already made coffee for us and it is only 7:15am. I believe Joyce has school at 7:30 this morning.

I've not been outside yet, although the bucket bath is accomplished. Nora is taking a moments reprieve and laying here watching a YouTube video... We plan, or should I say I plan for us to leave here about 9:40am and go to SM mall for a couple of hours.

Nora told me last night that her Auntie Linda and Uncle Edwin are coming here today... seems Auntie's brother died, he was the eldest and they will come for the funeral. They are supposed to be here about a week according to Nora. They are the ones that live next door to Father in Basud. Nora considers Linda a second mom.

At SM, I need to buy a wall clock, ours died and perhaps a battery for the sony phone so Kenneth will have one.ss The weather feels a little cooler today, but I am quite convinced that it will not last all day. Nora will be later coming home from St. Lukes clinic I think as we will maybe be at the mall after her normal time to go to Manila.

I will post more should circumstances provide anything of interest...

••• Oddly enough, this addition is also due to baby denny and the ongoing saga of his health.  Seems the lad has acquired measles to further complicate an already full little life.  I truly just never know what the next minute is going to bring me... another 500p spent at the hospital. Nora and I finally made it to the SM mall about 11am.  We shopped, I bought and umbrella for her and 18 pairs of panties to be divided between the three females in the apt.  Nora will likely keep her 6 and maybe some of the girls for herself... selfish little thing she is. It is cooler today, when we got up, it was only 76˚ so that was tolerable and it has been drizzeling most of the day so that has kept the temperature slightly moderate compared to the days just passed. The baby seems in good spirits, which tends to make being in close proximity to him much more enjoyable for me at least.  I told Nora last night that I was ashamed of the fact that I am jealous of the baby, but she understands and pointed out to me that she wants to spend as much time with him as possible as when we leave here, it will be a long stretch before she gets to see him again... I was humbled.  It takes so little to put things into perspective and I appreciate her comment. This is a journey and as journeys go, there are twists and turns in the road and pot holes that one can fall into if you don't keep your eyes open... my vision is improving...

From denny's iPad...

The welcome of "Sleep", unencumbered...

Oct 11, 2010

We retired early last night, the fuel in our tanks was low and everyone in the home needed a good nights rest and we all prayed, I am sure, that the baby would have a good night too.

As it was, I gave Nora an ambien... coupled with her sleep deprivation, the pill did an exceptional job, within 15 minutes she was out like a light and I soon there after. We woke once, when the baby was hungry, but I only let Nora hold him for a couple minutes then told Jenny, you take care of the baby and told Nora to go back to bed which she did.

We slept peacefully until about 7:15am and now the house is busy with children getting ready for the day and them rolling up the bed and clearing the night things off the floor (that is where they sleep) Kinda gives a new meaning to "4 on the floor". Anyway, to sum it up, the night went quite nicely and Nora got a goodly amount of sleep, though I doubt she has paid back all she lost over the weekend.

I am happy to report though that the baby seems in good spirits and is exhibiting none of the symptoms he had earlier so perhaps this crisis has come to a final scene and we can gingerly move forward toward the eventual end that I see in the future. Thank you God for the baby's health and my mental recovery... it HAS been some kind of weekend.

Monday, as it is now, starts yet another cycle for Nora and St. Lukes clinic. Next week, we will be busy with her going to the NSO to get our marriage certificates and then us going to immigration so she can petition me for an i-Card. Well, at least that activity will allow the week to move quickly by and slide into the past... I am pretty certain that the holiday season will increase the passage of time also and I look forward to that.

I will post this much now and perhaps add to it as the day progresses.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, lightning and rain, sometimes hard rain.  Nora doesn't want to go to St. Lukes clinic and is upset because I told her she must go even if it is raining... my logic: simple, life doesn't stop because it rains, it just requires one to be prepared.  She is getting ready to go pretty soon, but is not terribly pleased with me at the moment. I suppose she thinks that I am inconsiderate, making her go to a mandated treatment when it is raining, but the fact is that this is the rainy season here in the Philippines and you cannot stop existing and taking care of daily requirements just because it is not comfortable to do so.  Part of the filipino psychology I believe is "put it off till later or tomorrow if you don't want to do it today..." that might work in some circumstances, but when you have required appointments to meet, it floats like a rock. Kenneth is ready also to go to school so she won't be the only one who gets a little wet... I even offered to buy her a raincoat...she for some reason doesn't want one even though it would provide the best protection against a downpour. I particularly do not like making her upset or mad, but explaining my logic to her is at times very challenging, partly because the filipino people can be and often are quite lazy and redily admit it. Take care, each of you.

From denny's iPad...

It ain't over till it's over friends...

Oct 10, 2010

I suppose I was living on wishful thinking yesterday as we got ready to retire. Nora then informed me that she would be spending the night with the baby because she is worried about him. I told her that was fine and that I of course understood her concerns. At about midnight, she woke me to tell me that they were headed back to the hospital again with the baby who's temp had again risen to 40˚ celcius. They had a cab pick them up here at the apt and away they went...

Nora and the baby and Jenny got back home about 5am and Nora told me that the emergency room Dr. just gave him a suppository and in 1 hour his temp was back to normal... I slept for another couple of hours.
Jenny, Joyce and baby went to the hospital today again, to take the urine sample but they wanted fresh urine so the girls had to wait till baby peed again. According to lab results, there is no infection viral or otherwise so perhaps just the cold is causing the high temp spikes at night. Jenny will go to Mercury drugs in a little while and get suppositories that will bring the fever down... she would have gotten them at the hospital today, but had no money left after paying the 300p visit bill/lab fee.

The girls and baby got home about 2:30pm and then were helping to fold the laundry. Nora hired a lady to do laundry for 250p. She will do it once a week. I think that Nora is taking a bath now, when the kids finish folding the laundry, they will get ice cream (sorbet) as a treat.

A small thunder/lightning storm accompanied by a light rain has passed thru prompting the removal of laundry from the outside lines. The good thing is that it cleans the chicken, turkey, dog, ant and children droppings off the sidewalks (don't think of sidewalks like we have in America though.

Enough of the rambling for this day, enjoy your comforts my friends, I surely miss mine.

From denny's iPad...

"Hell Night" at home... (interesting honeymoon...)

Oct 09, 2010

If there truly is something called "Hell Night", then I must have experienced it last night. Yesterday morning, the baby started out the day with the best impression of an active volcano that I have ever seen... I have had occasions to lose the contents of my stomach before, but never have I actually seen a baby hurl... denny projectile vomited more food than I thought possible for him to have inside him.

This continued most of the day and then late afternoon he developed a fever of about 39 to 40˚ celcius which is around 101 to 102˚ or so. I believe some viral infection of the stomach maybe, as there was no diahrreah involved, touching him confirmed a very warm little body and sweating of the head confirmed that he was overheated. For some reason I cannot fathom, Nora is very resistant to cooling the baby using either a cold bath or a fan to help reduce the body temperature... I believe that the procedure is to cool the body first then treat the cause of the fever as the heat is destructive and can actually be fatal. (Leann, if you are reading this, can you confirm or deny my assumptions...) They should make prestone for children.

Long story short, Nora was up with him all night long... he would be quiet for at most 5 minutes then start crying again... No one in the house got any sleep so tempers today could be on the short side... I will put forth great effort to contain mine... Heat seems to bring out the worst in me so I will really need to watch my tongue.

Jenny and Joyce and the baby are just about to leave for the clinic as it is first come first served. It is now 9:10am. Nora wants to go to the doctor about her breast at 10am but I think it will be later than that before we get there. I had planned on a nice trip to SM mall for Nora and I, but that may not go quite as planned due to the circumstances of last night.

She brought up the budget last night and according to her calculations, we should have an excess of about 2,400p per month, I need to look at that again as I really thought I had it nailed down but then I make mistakes so perhaps... but I am usually pretty diligent about finances.

We are in great hope that the baby will have a good night tonight as another without sleep could be foul...

From Denny's iPad

The week whithers in preperation for a new beginning...

Oct 08, 2010

I suppose it could be said that I spoke in haste as I closed out yesterday's journal, baby denny managed to develope a little fever sometime early this morning, just after midnight I think, and that of course elicited an immediate response from Nora who as with most mothers, has superwoman hearing when it comes to children... (they are amazingly deaf though to husband sounds...) anyway, after addressing the baby's needs, she returned to the lair.

I had one, "Red Horse" beer last night about 8pm... I have noticed that if I drink alcohol, beer in particular, I will prespire during the night much more than is ordinalry normal for me. I was hot all night and uncomfortable... the ambient heat here only amplifies the discomfort. Odd though that it affects me in that way.

No apparent indications of impending Gout attack so hopefully just the one beer did not cause any ill effects outside of the presperation issue... hard to believe that something I really love could cause me a problem... but then maybe if it were cooler here, the effects would not be noticeable.

It is Friday today and it makes both Nora and I so happy, yet another week is coming to a close which just puts us closer to going home.   I will give Nora her weekly allowance of 5,600p today.  Last night she approached me with the idea of hiring a laundry lady... it would cost her 250p per week, based on laundry being done once a week.  If she can fit that into her budget it is fine, if not then she will not be able to hire a lady.

Nora had a dream last night that we were in America and living in a house with a lot of her relatives and two babies... I myself would have considered that a bit of a nightmare, but just the same, it is what you see here often times... several generations occupy the same house.

My intention is that we go to SM mall tomorrow, I really hope to buy the things to make french toast for the family, I have threatened to do it often but seem to always lack some ingiedient or another to accomplish the feat.

I cannot think of anything special that will need to be taken care of today, but then it is still early, only 7:45am and much of the day has yet to 'happen'. I almost forgot that Nora told me that she wants to go to see the Doctor tomorrow about one of her breasts, seems that it has been overly tender lately, no lumps or swelling or discolorization, but tender and only in certain areas... I pray that it is nothing, but you never know so it is better to have it checked out.

Well, that should get you started my faithful few... I will add anything significant later...

Gonna be a long night... The baby is still running a fever, almost 102 now.  He is very lethargic and feels quite warm to the touch.  Not being a baby Dr., I can only suppose what might be wrong with him.  Teething, possible mstomach viral infection... Who knows what he might have injested off the floor.  Conditions here are marginal at best.  If he isn't better in the morning, Jenny will have to take him to the doctor. Nora and Jenny somehow decided to take the baby to a witch doctor better known here as a 'Faith healer', the legitimacy of which I often think should come into question.  Although, in this case, the doctor that she took the baby to and the faith healer both seem to agree that the problem stems from a minor throat infection.  Hopefully the drugs they prescribed will be effective and the baby will return to normal healthy ways. Take care and remember me as I remember you...

From denny's iPad...

Thursday, starts with a bang, hope it ends quietly though.

Oct 07, 2010

Thursday morning, once again, Joyce is the source of anxiety at least on the part of Nora, Joyce's school time today according to her was 7am. She was late in getting up and didn't leave the house until after 8am. I suppose the only way to ensure that she will get up in time is to ask her each evening what time she must arrive at school the following day and then set an alarm and get her up myself. Seems though that I will get Nora up and let her deal with Joyce in the mornings.

For a very quiet and shy girl, she brings a fair amount of drama to the table. They always say to be wary of the quiet types... I hope that is not true of this lovely girl.

Sleep was slow in arriving last night, mostly because of the clamy feeling that accompanies the high humidity of the tropics. We did finally sleep though, Nora can usually go to sleep quicker than I in this weather.

Nothing that I am aware of is planned for today that would be considered out of the ordinary, Saturday, we will probably go to SM mall and buy a new wall clock and perhaps some thongs for Kenneth as his literally fell apart.

Kenneth is in the CR now washing his white shirt for school, I doubt that it will be dry for him but maybe. It is now about 8:30am

Nora asked if I could take baby and Jenny to the clinic, baby is due another shot so off I go, it is on the way to the cafe we went to when we printed out Nora's appt. sheet. If I had the extra money, I would buy another scooter for here, but fear that selling it when I leave would pose problems.

From denny's iPad...

Today is a continuation... another day in a long line of days...

Oct 06, 2010

Sleep did finally come last night, but it was very warm and the feeling of being sticky could not be ignored. Finally though I did fall asleep.

We got up about 7am this morning and I am enjoying a cup of coffee as I pen this days events. Joyce anne told Nora of a project that she had to do for school, but Nora forgot to buy the suppliies for her so we will have to make a trip to the market about 8am to find them.

I have come to learn that Nora does not remember things well, it may be that her life is so busy that they just slip away, but it would seem to me that she should make some notes or a list to help her keep organized and remember those little things. Another thing that I've noticed is that many times I will speak to her and she either cannot or does not hear me... perhaps I need to speak louder or maybe it is a case of where she has learned to tune out people I am not sure which... but when we are back in the USA in a more controlled and peaceful setting I think those issues will go away.

Today is of course Wednesday, or as we affectionately call it "Hump day" meaning that we are on the peak of the week and coming to the finish of it. One less week to take treatments and bus rides for her.

I will never forget how difficult this year has been for her... perhaps not in the purely physical sense, but the emotional hoops she has been put thru and the missing of her Father and friends in Basud... That is the biggest reason that I endure being here, if she can do that for me, I most certainly can be here to support her not only financially but also and most importantly, emotionally.

We in the US, rarely have to encounter the difficulties that the people here in the Philippines encounter on a daily basis, it totally makes one appreciate the things we so quickly take for granted... My hope is that I will carry these memories with me the rest of my life.

Well, this day is barely an hour old for me and I've already written a lot... we shall see how the day unfolds from here. Well as the morning progressed Nora wanted to go to the Divine market to get some materials for a project that Joyce had in school... as luck would have it nothing was available (small market). We went to several other locations trying to find someplace that sold material but no luck so Joyce is not happy with Mommy who 'forgot' to buy the stuff when she was in Manila yesterday... can't blame Joyce, she told Nora in plenty of time.

Nora asked me for 100p to buy it with, that in itself is bothersome as she should have it allocated for in the budget. Anyway after Nora was ready to leave I find that Jenny and a couple of the neighorhood girls were headed to SM mall for the afternoon... good for them, it is good to get away from the house now and then, I get cabin fever often just like they do.

This afternoon proved quite dull, no one is home except me and the files and a few ants... right not, a little curious neighborhood boy is sitting and watching me type this... I am now waiting for Nora to txt me that she is ready to be picked up.

I bought Mover + for the iPad and the phone, they work good in transferring pictures and videos and contacts etc...

I am going to post this now to the blog... happy reading.

From denny's iPad...

Tuesday, clear, beautiful and hot again...

Oct 05, 2010

This morning, I am not sure exactly what time we woke up, Nora was up before me as I guess that Joyce was supposed to be at school at 7am and she was still taking a bath at 7. Something should happen to cause her to be more on time, but I am not sure what.

We slept well last night even though it was warmer than I would like. After having coffee, I took a bath and then my morning medications... I feel good but am losing weight, I can tell that, and Nora has mentioned it also.

I spoke with Alex this morning about getting one of the green 40 gallon barrels that he gets some of his supplies in to use as a new water barrel in the comfort room, known in my country as a bathroom. The one we have is all rust stained, Nora cleans it, but it is too many years of neglect that have stained it beyond cleaning. The new barrel will be free and having one of the guys scrub it will only cost me 6 cigarettes.

I will perhaps add to this entry later... if not, have a wonderful day.

Not sure that there are any particular plans intended for today other than the daily trip to St. Lukes clinic that Nora makes. We spoke again to Alex about using the van for the trip to Jimmies grave, Nora narrowed it down to either the 9th or the 16th.

From denny's iPad...

A Fresh beginning again... Mondays are like that you know !!

Oct 04, 2010 A new day dawns here in the islands, there was a marathon Mahjong game going last night, it started yesterday afternoon and just never bothered to stop.  As of 7:30am they are still at it. Last evening, I gave Nora the final 5,000p payment for her to give her father for the piece of land we purchased in Basud.  I have no idea what we will do with that land, but at the time of the purchase, it was very important to Nora to keep it in the family and especially out of the hands of Lyn, her estranged sister in Korea. Also last night Nora told me that Lyn is bringing her children to Manila next year and will want Father to take care of them, her intent as I know it is to leave her husband whom she professes to no longer be in love with.  She told Father that she would rent a condo in Manila... I cannot fathom where she would get that kind of money plus the fact that Father is already taking care of Lalaine's 4 children in Basud.  I would hope Nora can talk her Father out of this but here, in the Philippines, family has a deeper sense of commitment than you normally see. Monday, a wonderful day as it means that we will soon put yet another week of treatment behind us and also will be one week closer to fulfilling the dream of living in America, a land that I surely do miss. Good day to you Leann, you are probably the only reader I have. Continuing the story, Nora went to St. Lukes clinic and returned in the early afternoon, I picked her up at the main junction on Alex's scooter. We then went to Divine market where she bought a couple minor things, primarily some medications for Kenneth's sore throat. She made me a hamburger for dinner and a salad and it was a nice change for me.  We discussed going to Jimmie's gravesite and she chose either the 9th or the 16th of October... Alex said he would drive us for about 2,000 or a little more. I figured on about 2,500 for all of us in an AC equipped van would be reasonable. Not much else for this day I guess, perhaps I will dream something tonight to enlighten you with tomorrow...

This is The Lords Day, make it great !!!

Oct 03, 2010

Sunday morning, actually not bad, we slept quite soundly and without interruption until baby woke up. Uneventful morning, we bathed and about 8:45 we left to attend the 9am mass at Divine Mercy Catholic church. Mass was good, or so I am told, it is performed entirely in Tagalog so I am left knowing only when to stand and when to sit. The Catholic religion has too much too do and tradition for me to really enjoy it anymore... I go to keep Nora happy.

We looked at the street market vendors that only appear on Sundays and found few things outside of some coffee cups and a spaghetti noodle ladle that Nora wanted. She bought a little charcoal and some sweets and I bought two packages of pork rinds... not great nutritionally, but it sated the taste buds... Alex bought some oysters to that will be a nice treat... Nora has Kenneth preparing fish, I believe steamed on the bbq... Point of interest, you really have to see one of these bbq's to believe it, made of scrap wood and a piece of tin to hold the charcoal fire... it works though.

Nora is doing the white clothes this afternoon so the kids will have something to wear and some of our clothing also I suspect. I was thinking while in church, it has been 42 years since I was in Viet Nam. A lot of water has flowed under this bridge since then.

Hope you who might read this blog have a wonderful day... for us, it is Sunday and for you?? who knows.

Nora was in a fuss about getting the application form printed for her appt with the DFA, problem is, no long bond paper... I went to Pams internet cafe and stopped at two stores along the way to see if we could find some long bond paper but no luck, once at Pams, they are unable to print PDF documents (rather unheard of this day and age), anyway, no luck there so then I took Alex's motor and went do Divine gift shop, no luck, internet cafe in market place is closed so no luck there, came back home and by chance asked the young girl that works in the store next to the house if she had any and luck would have it she had one sheet that she gave me... Nora and I went back to Pams and once again were told that they don't print PDF forms, Guy's neice took us to another cafe down the road where Nora was able to get it printed out. Back home now and wondering how the evening is going to go... Nora just asked me to change the wifi password... I wonder about that... anyway, the new name is ... really? you thought I would put it up here?? you been drinking too much McDonalds coffee... From denny's iPad...

'tis the second of October... I keep thinking it should be brisk in the morning...

Oct 02, 2010

Last night, the nose gave me a break, but the cold has moved into the cough stage now and unfortunately that keeps others awake. We take medication, but I truly believe that God has given us the cold to help us appreciate good health... Not really.

Nora wanted to sleep until 8am this morning, but was wide awake at a little before 7am and brought the baby into our bed, something that I still don't particularly like, I need a little time to wake up before being subjected to that much energy in a tiny bundle.

Today, we are supposed to pay the electricity bill and also buy the rice for the month... Nora told me she would buy either 1,400 or 1.500 p of rice... I reminded her that the budget calls for 1,400p to spend on the rice.

Actually I was just thinking about the budget... I figured it based on a 31 day month including the trans costs which actually are less than 31 days... for Kenneth it is 24 days and Joyce is 20 and Nora is 20 so hopefully that will allow a little surplus of money towards the end of the month.

I suppose that keeping this daily diary keeps me sane, at times, here with the children and everything else, it taxes my patience, I don't mean for it to, but it does. Sometimes I am short with Nora and that is probably a culmination of the weather, my cold, all the other things that are happening, my need for American or at least english stimulation... I am absolutely starved for a meaningful conversation with someone fluent with my language... here they try, but at best it is a compromise...

God is teaching me important lessons in this stay here in the Philippines. I appreciate it because in the end, when I have my family back home, I will be a better person and definetly a stronger man.

From denny's iPad...

The 1st day of October... the end beckons...

Oct 01, 2010

Last night was in a word, miserable, between the coughing and the runny nose and having to pee every hour, I was not having a good time at all. Nora is a cuddler, but her little body exudes so much heat that it is just impossible to enjoy it here in the Philippines.

We finally got up just after the 5:30 alarm went off, had some coffee and then I re-computed Nora's money for the week. It appears that she will be able to have 800p a day (including the transportation costs for her and the kids).

We had one helluva trip to get to the bus, then the road leading to Marilao is under construction and it was just a shitty trip period, then once on the bus it was nut to butt only almost all the way into Manila.

The trip to the embassy was by cab and then once there I was seen almost immediately. The lady I spoke with said that I needed to check with DHS window 35 which deals with immigrent and visa stuff... the guy there told me I need to get my i-card and then I can submit the I-130 package from here in the Philippines. The i-card will be good for a 1 year stay and cost me about 10 to 15,000p but it is supposed to be a one time charge and according to another customer, it is permanent.

When finished there, Nora and I went to St. Lukes clinic and she only had to wait about 10 minutes to be seen so that went quite well. From there we stopped at Chow King for some lunch.

We came back home then and I napped for about 30 minutes then we headed out on the journey from hell, going on the same road we took this morning only following it all the way to SM Mall Marilao... Actually, once you get past the national hiway interchange it went pretty quick. Nora shopped for essentials, and a little food and I surfed the net a little bit. We stopped for a snack at the food court.

The trip home proved to be ardouous also because it was not only rush hour (rush???) but the exhaust was overbearing... and then there was the 'Nose'... plus Nora wanted to stop at Divine market on the way.

Back home now and all is well, Nora put the stuff away that she got at the Divine market. Dinner will be about 7 I suppose, there is no reason that I know of that will cause us to rise early tomorrow...

From denny's iPad...