Happiness is not a warm puppy

At least not when the temperature gets up to 103(39c). That was a few days ago, and now we are a little cooler. I think we got up to only 95(35c) today. The good thing was, when it got to 103, the humidity was only 20%. Today it was only 37%. A far cry from when I was in Cebu, 85(30c) and 90% humidity.

So you really don’t really feel like snuggling with a warm dog when it gets this hot. Poor Tommy, a serious lack of tummy rubs!

And it make me wonder about my friends in Cebu. Since it never really gets cold there, they might not snuggle their dogs as much, give them as many tummy rubs?

Poor doggies!

Lobby Ladies

As they walk by the gate to the hotel pool, they peer at the white boys. Are they window shopping?
“Look how pale they are, they must be sick.”
“There’s a fat one, he’s an easy target.”
It’s too easy to think the worst of them, to dismiss them.

Bag-boy coined the phrase, ‘The Lobby ladies’; or maybe he got it from someone else. Others like the phrase and use it.
And it is fun to sit there in the lobby of the Cebu Marriott and watch the parade of people. As you watch, over the days, you start to see a pattern. Young, good looking Filipinas with older, less desirable, white men.
Perhaps they are married, here to visit her family. Perhaps they are coworkers? Internet pen pals?
Or perhaps just companions for the day, the night? Well paid tour guide? What sights do they show them? The sight of the site?

I have never been approached by one, but others have. They tell stories of politely declining their inquiries.
Amusing
During my last visit, I either had my wife with me or DT. They usually took a seat where they could watch the parade of people. I think they also kept the LLs at bay.

Maybe weekdays are the slow days. Regardless, I have seen only a few questionable matches. My one weekend in Cebu was pretty busy and I did not have the chance to sit and watch the parade. Perhaps this is the offseason for lone white guys?

Thursday, the manager and supervisors had a training class at the Marriott. The plan was for me to meet them in the lobby, have a drink, then go to dinner. One of them announced that Thursday night, I would have four lobby ladies to keep me company. It is fun when people have a good sense of humor.
Now, of course, I will walk through the lobby with pride. One lone guy with four good looking young women with him! Oh yeah!
And it will be better for them too. If I was there with just one of them, people might think the wrong idea,. Think less of her. But with an entourage of four, well it will be obvious that we are all friends. (or they might wonder about my size thirteen shoes!)
And besides, they will be with the Warthog.
Despite the song saying that, ‘No one ever wants to court a warthog’, some people do like them as friends.

During my whole stay there, no one ever ‘approached’ me. For that, I am glad.
Perhaps I had an unapproachable look? I didn’t make eye contact. And the nights I would quietly sip a beer in the lobby, write notes about the days' events. I suppose I did not look approachable. Or perhaps I did not look hungry? Regardless, I am glad I was left alone. I had too much to think over, too much to plan. I didn’t want to chit-chat and I sure didn’t need that kind of trouble.

Or does he just say, 'oops!'

There is always some smug, self righteous person who says, ‘God never gives you more than you can handle.’
I always want to answer, ‘Yeah, tell that to all the suicides.’

Just a nice day

A call from my son, a quiet morning with my wife.
Trip to dad’s and visit with most of the family.
A good steak dinner with the family.

One bird flew over the West Nile Virus

WG found a dead pigeon by the bird feeder and asked me to dispose of it. No problem, it is my job. After that was done, she reminded me that we are supposed to report dead birds. You know, West Nile virus. So I found the local web site and reported it. I figured that if they wanted to come pick the bird up, I’d hear from someone next week, long after the garbage has been picked up.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rings and it’s the dead bird guy.
Being late on a Friday, it was too late of him to send out someone to pick up the bird for testing. But he thanked me for calling it in.

I was impressed by how fast he called me. Nice to know the local government is working well.

Looking for Betty look a likes, Part two.

(look at part 1, 1-25-05)

It just dawned on me why she hunts down her look a likes and kills them.

She mentioned a few years ago, how she was having problems with her kidneys. Now she never mentions it.
She used to wear a bikini at the beach, a halter top at other times. Oh, she still wears snug clothes, so I can tell she still has her slim figure and flat stomach. She just never shows them anymore.
The last time I visited, I remember when she stood on her tip-toes, to reach a high shelf. Her short tee shirt pulled up for just a second, revealing two matching scars on either side of her stomach. It also revealed the end of the long scar where they had opened up her chest.
I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. She was one of the first, one of the few that escaped. But as a prototype, she is imperfect and her organs are starting to fail.
So she hunts her younger, newer look a likes. For that is her only sure source of replacement parts.
And they keep experimenting, replacing the ones she makes vanish.

And now I don’t know what to do. Continue to tell her when I see a look a like? Help to keep my friend alive? And at the same time, promoting the endless slaughter of the new ones?
For even though they are the same, none of them are Betty.
Nature vs. nurture.
Same cute, petite figure, blonde hair, and blue-gray eyes. But none of them have the same devilish smile and sparkle in their eyes.

Clean the blood off the wall, please.

“I need to do something about my gut”, she said. “Loose fifteen pounds.”
(Amusing how a Kilogram chick worries in pounds.)
Maybe, kinda. Anyone can lose a few pounds, well except Willow.
But it isn’t always true, that they need to. A few extra pound can round out a figure very nicely.
If those few pounds make the tummy bulge, then I can understand the desire to remove them. If they just add a little more curve to the hips or butt, then you have less to worry about.

But she knows the answer as well as I do, eat less, exercise more. Everyone knows that by now, but perhaps we are too lazy :-)

I try to help, reassure them. Do they understand? (Perhaps I am a bit of a Bolero, does Bugoy also fit? I do not have a good definition.) But do they understand that I will use a compliment occasionally, just to be nice? It’s not as if I am looking to sweet-talk them into bed. I think it is important to compliment a woman, help her see that there are attractive aspects to who and what she is.
If I say that she has a pretty smile, then it’s pretty. If I say that she is wonderfully curvy, then she is. I am not trying to avoid saying fat. If I think she’s fat, I will say nothing. But you all know that if a woman has a defective mental image of herself, then you have to dance around her silly ideas and try to help change them, perhaps just a little. And maybe, over time, get her to stop using terrible worlds to describe what the rest of us find so alluring.

So I continue to bang head against the wall. Stopping only occasionally to wash the blood off.

Danger Girl!

And you wonder how Danger-girl got the nickname?

There seem to be two sides to Santa, at the Nature park in the hills above Cebu city.

Blossom snuggling up to Santa. So sweet!













Dannger-girl finding the bad side of Santa!
And she touched it!

Manila, no vanilla,

Sunday May 28th

So I flew from Cebu city to Manila. And Pip met me at the airport. At first I did not recognize her in the sea of smiling, tan faces. I almost expected to see her holding up a sign that read ‘White Butt’. (she told me later that she thought of that idea too.)
Three years have pass since WG and I saw here. Not much has changed with her. (bitch has seriously not seemed to age!)
Okay, I think that maybe a jean with a slightly higher rise might look better. And girl, I know it was a casual day, but you could have treated me to better fitting jeans. You have a cute butt, but those jeans just didn’t help. (Yes, I am only thinking of myself. If I cannot be seen with my sweetheart, then I want people to see me with some other pretty woman.)

Well, I gave her the wrong arrival time(she missed some sleep because of that), my plane was late, Pip is starving. “So I’m your Bitch because of all that?”
“Damn straight you’re my bitch tonight.”
“Then tell me where you want to eat, and I’ll buy you dinner.”
Good old Pip. Wonderful sense of humor; but with that little chip on her shoulder and a slightly narrow view of things. I could so push her buttons and rile her up. But friends don’t need to do that to one another.

Into her little puddle-jumper and off to the hotel and dinner. The rest of the night was the endless questions, answers, tangents to stories, then back to the questions. You can chat on IM, send emails; but nothing beats a face to face gab session.

Dinner at Bubba Gumps then desert and a beer at a little eatery a short drive away.
I really got a chance to talk with her, listen to her life. See what she is, what she wants, what she wants to become. Sorry, I didn’t more gossip.

She is so much a princess, in the bad type of way. Not her fault, it happens to guys and gals here. Nannies/housekeepers here are so cheap, that lots of people have them. And that spoils them into princes and princesses. They get used to being taken care of. Now add to that, Pip’s ideal mate. Someone who can bend and shape themselves to fit her world. I sense a lack of compromise on her part.
At one point Pip asked me if she was ‘high maintenance’; unfortunately, yes.
It’s too bad, for that seems to structure her life, forcing fewer options on her, setting patterns. The longer that structure stands, the more she walks the patterns; the harder it will be to change.
I fear she will have a chance for something, but miss it because she cannot change the structure.

Yes, easy for me to say, I who do not need the structure and patterns as much. The few useful ones, WG and myself have created together, sometimes as a compromise.
Yes, I have patterns in my life and I am irked at times when they change; but they are not absolutes. Plus I have my patterns and structure with Wonder Girl. It’s taken twenty five years to make them and we are comfortable with the structure. It is harder for two people to adjust their structures after they have been single and in their own world that they have created.
It’s not just Pip, but I do enjoy picking on her from time to time. But as we get older, lots of us get really entrenched in the structure and the patterns. So much so that we become inflexible. And life can pass you by, unreachable.


And now I see I am totally off topic.

Saturday, she picked me up around 11am and we were off for a drive to the volcano and it’s crater lake.
A latte, cinnamon roll and the adventure begins.
Pip was following a different route that her brother gave her. A road less traveled. Pip made one wrong turn and we found ourselves defiantly not on a ‘rode less travailed’.
We ended up at the city dump!
So, get directions, turn around and off again. We ended up back at the toll road and soon we were on the right track again
It is really nice to drive out of the city and see the countryside. See things outside of the big city.
Lunch at a quiet restaurant. They grow most of their own food in the fields surrounding the restaurant.
The food was excellent and the company couldn’t be beat.

Back on the road. Beautiful, lush all the way to the small resort at the edge of the crater rim.
The hotel we stopped at sits on the crater’s rim. There is a big outdoor patio with a lawn that slopes down to a low wall. All of this give you a great view of the lake in the crater and the small volcanic islands in the lake.
Just a beautiful place.

Too soon, it was time to go back to Manila and catch my flight home. It has been so much fun, spending time with Pip. We have gotten to know each other better and that builds a friendship. The next time I am here, I will make it a point to see her again. Perhaps she will have her house remodeled and I can see it.

But there is another reason for cultivating friends in faraway places. I miss my wife terribly. Seeing friends distracts me for a while and eases the pain.

On the road

May 12th
Well, trains, planes and an automobile.

Interesting, getting to the airport and seeing the long lines to check in. Then remembering that I am traveling business class and I walk over to the place with no lines.
A nice young lady checks me in, asks of seat preference. Aisle is the only one.
She noticed my size, and gave me an emergency exit row on my connecting flight. No need to ask. Such a nice, observant clerk.
Since the flight is not full, she explains, there will be no need to stop in Guam for fuel. A nineteen hour flight shrinks to fourteen. That makes it easier for a smoker, but long flights have never bothered me.
A few cigarettes in the cool San Francisco air. It is to be enjoyed, for Cebu is hot and humid.
Business class is very different. Besides the bigger seats and wonderful leg room, you are not expected to do anything. I am not used to being waited on, but I can survive.
A full meal and then I say awake as long as possible. Sleep takes me for eight hours.
Breakfast served by cheerful faces, I wonder if they got to sleep a little. I hope so.
I have lost all track of time. Is it 10 am at home, or 1am in Cebu. Am I supposed to take my cholesterol drug now? Later? What about my allergy meds, and will I really need them? I guess I’ll wait until I get to the airport.

I could have changed to an earlier flight from Manila, to Cebu, since I’ll be arriving much earlier; but there is no way to call the driver and arrange for a pickup. So a three hour layover in Manila is to be endured. At least they are civilized and there is a smoking section with a coffee shop. Perhaps one latte will get me there. It’s 5AM here, 2PM at home and I wonder what my sweetheart is doing? Probably relaxing with a Pepsi, after mowing lawns and cleaning up the yard. This will be the longest ever that you and I have been apart for over twenty-five years. Perhaps I will have more to keep me busy, miss you not so much.
I miss you now.


Arrival part 2
I worked on a story, while waiting for my connecting flight to Cebu. I can polish it later. I begin to feel sleepy, so the last half hour was spent walking the airport.
I managed a little sleep on the plane.

The driver picked me up on time and it was an interesting drive to the hotel. A mix of new construction and run down poor areas. I am still not sure how people manage to drive with the mix of controlled chaos, but they manage.

I was a little early getting to the hotel, eleven o’clock, but they had a clean room ready so I was able to get settled right away. A nice shower, then a few hours nap.

I awoke mostly refreshed and made it to the lobby in time to meet the first of the PPG’s, Blossom. We walked over to the mall and meet Buttercup, then Bubbles. We wandered around, then sat at a café and caught up with our lives.
It is so nice to have friends in faraway places! I don’t miss my sweetheart quite as much.
Then we all went upstairs and had a nice dinner. All the time yaking.
We eventually finished and went back to the hotel. Blossom drove, she finally had her license and her BF let her use the car. She is still a little nervous, but she drives okay.
They waited in the lobby, while I went to the room and got their gifts.
A short goodbye and I was off to sleep.
PPG's and me

Monday and Tuesday have been a bit of a blur. Meeting the planning group and chatting with them for a while. Then meeting the call center supervisors and chatting for a while. Mostly covering who would meet with whom, what would be talked about and setting up meetings.
Tuesday I started the training of a planner, then two late sessions with the call center agents. It went well and I hope tomorrow, they will have more questions. Part of that was just to get them comfortable with me.
Got back to the room at 12:30 am and now I am relaxing before I go to sleep.

--
I am kept quite busy, but not too busy to miss my Wonder Girl! It is the quiet times like right now, as I write to her, that I miss her the most. To look at her pretty face and see her smile. The pictures she sent help, but they also make me miss her more.

--
Sunday

Saturday I slept in, took my time getting ready. I swam and sat by the pool, then got cleaned up and went for a walk in the mall.
At 2pm, I met with some of the call center people and we went for a drive around the city.
We stopped at Magellan’s cross and looked in the old cathedral there.
Then it was off to the old Spanish fort of San Diego.
As we drove through certain parts of town, Leeza would tell me that these were not places for an American to walk by himself!
Then a long drive up into the hills to a Taoist temple. There were some good views of Cebu and it was a little cooler. From there we went higher to a nature park and messed around. There were some good views from there too.

Then we all piled back into the van and went to another great dinner. They neglected to tell me not to eat this green leaf in the soup! I almost burned my tongue off! The soup was good, but I was careful after that.

Some people went home then and the remaining six of us went to a karaoke place and spent an hour singing songs and being silly. I would show you the video, but there is a law in California against subjecting people to cruel and unusual things.

Interesting, the differences in the PPGs. While Bubbles was a little quiet today, Leeza was all excited. She has a fun smile and personality like WG’s mom. Everything was a fun adventure. Even when we were not sure where we were going, it was all an adventure!



Sunday I was up early and we were off to the beach resort. Once there, we rented a boat for the day and went ‘island hopping’. You cruise for a while in the small catamaran, then stop and swim. Most everyone would wear a life jacket, except Sharon. So she and I would swim around and dive down to look at the fish.
If you take some brad and hold it in your hand, all the little fishes swarm around your hand, nibbling the bread. They also nibble your hand! Kinda of a weird feeling! It was fun listening to the ladies squeal as the fish swarmed around them!

We ate roasted chicken, rice balls, peeled ripe mangoes with our teeth and fingers. Laughed and made messes. The PPG’s made a point to bring a couple of beers for me to enjoy.

We traveled to several islands and swam at each one.

By the end of the day, we were tired. But Josie(the call center manager) came back to the hotel at five and took me out to dinner, with her two teenage sons, and a friend of theirs.
They are all so much fun!
--
I try to write to my sweetheart, but it is difficult.
I would like to tell her how much I miss her, but my eyes fill with tears too easily and it is hard to type.
I cannot wait to be back in her arms again, where I belong.

--
Thursday

My work here is almost done. One more day, then I fly to Manila and see Pip. Two more days and I’ll be back in my sweethearts’ arms. In twenty-five years of marriage, this is the longest that we have been apart. It has been tough, but everyone is so warm and friendly here, it makes it bearable. I almost feel bad about leaving them.
Almost, but not quite.

The training has gone well and I think that the lines of communication are stronger now. It is tough, being a in the Keep on the borderlands. You are far from the center of the Kingdom and word can travel slowly and get garbled. Being there in person, one can pass the knowledge better. Better that it is a nice, smiling face. It helps people understand how things work back at the hub. It helps us understand the issues of being far away from the hub.
I build friendships this way. Friendships that last and are renewed when I return. It makes the stay here so pleasant.

The supervisors and their manager have training today, for three days. Luckily, it was here in the Marriott. When I got back to the Hotel, I met them in the lobby. Yes, there was the joke about them being my ‘lobby ladies’. It was raining, so we took a cab over to the other end of the mall and had a drink and some dinner. Cathy loves Baily’s Irish Cream. While we snacked, we chatted up a storm. You learn a few more things about each person. I already know Bubbles and Buttercup, getting to know Josie, but I have not had a lot of time to chat with Cathy. (note, I seriously need nicknames for J & C)
(folks, if you travel to Cebu, go local. And not just because the Cerveza Negra is quite good, but they are not so good at American food. They are great at the local specialties and when they mix Cebuano cooking with Chinese. So eat the local food, it is sooo good)

An amusing note. We were seated near the air conditioner and I was loving it! Poor Cathy was getting cold. Now usually, a guy would offer his coat; but there is no way I would even carry a coat in this heat and humidity. Funny how people get acclimated to the local weather, weather that does not change a lot. I am used to broader swings in temperature and I do like cooler weather more than hot.

Then it was time to go. They had to be home and to bed, for they had more training

Friday.
May 26th
So it was goodbye hugs all around and Josie says that she will have me back. I welcome a return, but if I have done my job well, I will not need to be back for some time. I will miss their smiling faces.

--
Notes-
Okay guys, it doesn’t work.
The bathrooms at the plant are not air-conditioned. So it is hot and humid in there. So, what do they give you to dry your hands? One of those hot air blowers. Come on! The air is already saturated, so nothing evaporates off your hands!

Cebu and you

All I can say is that I had way too much fun with my friends in Cebu; and with Miss Vanilla Manila.
I recovered from the jet lag and I'll start writing my story of the fun in PI.
GW