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THIRTY ONE Health wise I have not been feeling too well. I have had more severe joint pain for the better part of 8 months. It has kept me from doing many of the things I enjoy and frankly it is pissing me off. Nevertheless, I have found myself settled into a lifestyle a little more sedentary than the last time and it is okay for now. Coffee at Why Not, doing the Soduko puzzles, enjoying Lynn and Joe's fun company. I am dying to get back on the golf course and get wet diving again and nothing will hold me back from this I hope LOL. Have some ideas for a solution now. I think it is related to my coffee consumption. Back in late March my laptop motherboard failed and I was forced to fly to Hong Kong to get it fixed. As it turns out there is no technical support provided by Dell here in the Philippines. The trip was over $700 and I was a little put out by all this. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the trip as I hadn't been there in over 25 years. Nothing much had really changed except for more buildings and more places to shop and eat. I really like the place though. I also got to see Benjie my sister-in-law. Well wouldn't you know it one month after getting back to the Philippines the motherboard failed again. This time I sure as heck wasn't flying back to Hong Kong. Fortunately Benjie was coming to Cebu in late May and she would be happy to bring it back to Hong Kong for me and then bring it back in late June on another planned trip. Also Ruby and Buddy and their son Alfredo were coming from Manila so we could all meet and have some fun. Unfortunately, a day before I was planning to go to Cebu Lynn got some bad news. Her favorite Uncle had died from a stroke. He was a young 64. Immediately, I drove her and Joe to Cebu where they caught a flight to Davao. I on the other hand stayed in Cebu and met up with Benjie, Ruby, Buddy and Alfredo. They were staying in Plantation Bay on Mactan Island. This is a Its a sprawling resort comple where the villas containing the rooms surround big fresh water lagoons you can swim in. Room rates are about USD $150 to $370 night.
The first night we had dinner with the Luhilliers in their new Spanish restaurant in Banilad Cebu. They are the Pawn Broker company owners with about 900 branches around the country. They are so nice and down to earth despite being stinking rich. Their daughter is the famous wedding dress designer Monique Lhuillier. I met a great gal named Jossett. She is a friend of Ruby and has a costume Jewelry business on Mactan Island. We spent a lot of time with her. Her boyfriend Marcos I shit you not is the spitting image of Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines. Amazing.
Anyway she is a very cool person and I know Lynn will like her and her jewelry. Josett lives in probably one of the nicest Condo Complexes in the Philippines. It is called Coral Point and is located on Punta Engano Road on Mactan Island just down the block from the Hilton and Shangri-La Hotels. It has a marina, two pools, restaurant, club house, boat ramp and a great view east toward the Camotes Islands. 2 bedroom units (1600 sq. ft.) sell in excess of 12 million pesos or USD $260,000. Maintenance is 13,000 peso monthly. Definitely worth it if you have the bucks. Mactan is just a few minutes drive from Cebu proper.
There is also a very nice restaurant just down the block I would recommend it to anyone visiting Mactan. It is Called Abaca. I must warn you it is expensive (figure 2000 peso person) but certainly worth the once a year trip for special occasions like valentines, etc.... On the night we all went we ordered a kilo of filet mignon and it was awesome at 400 peso/100 grams it should be!!! so it cost 4,000 pesos and it served four of us comfortably. I had Sea Bass and that was 975.
Forgot to mention, we have a new helper in our new place. Her name is Belle Marie but I find myself calling her Bill Murray.
She is 22 and is very sweet. She works about 6 hours a day - comes in about 7:00am - does the dishes, cleans inside the house, sweeps around the outside of the house, washes the truck, takes Joe's' Lunch to school, puts away the laundry and most importantly massages me most days at around 2 pm. I am in a deep sleep shortly thereafter until about 4 pm when I get ready to pick up Joe from school at 5. I've said it before but if you plan to come here for any real length of time......one of the best things in this country is having inexpensive (politically correct) or cheap labor at your disposal. I mean I don't have to lift a finger for anything if I don't want. I still prefer to do many things on my own but, it isn't necessary. Belle earns about 1,700 pesos a month or $37 and I assure you she is not being exploited by Philippine provincial standards. She is very happy to be with us and we treat her as a human being. 2005 Home, 1a,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, |
