For the past few days we have been having some exceptionally high winds here in Cebu City, Philippines. This is likely due to the passing of the tropical storm Hagupit, which is allegedly becoming a typhoon to be named Nina. Although the storm is not really near the Visayas where I live, you can see from the map that some wisps of its edges are touching the Philippines. The island of Luzon, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. It does appear that it will pass through there. This just after the major typhoon which hit the day before I arrived just short of three months ago.

Wow. Nearly three months already. Not much is really happening now. I am settled, somewhat, into my new place and trying to work out how I will bring in the bacon to pay for upcoming bills. I spent most of my time in the last few days trying to update my sites and promote my services on the freelance job sites. I even found a new and bigger freelance job site that I just recently joined. Once I complete my service profile on that one, I will be able to bid on jobs there as well.

Speaking of internet business in general, I think this whole concept of "free" being the future of business is coming true. Even in the webmaster forums there is talk of how hard it is to get anyone to pay for anything. A number of indie rock bands have begun doing well using their music, which is available free to promote other things, tours, merchandize and the like. I thinking I will do the same with my next big personal project, creating a show, free to view on my site, that will basically promote the other services I offer. I really feel like I am wasting my time on my sites anyway, so I will just stop doing them. Not this one, of course. This site has no business prospects. It's just here so that people can follow my journey.



This morning I went to Ayala to stock up on a few more grocery items. I am starting to notice, by watching some of the locals shop, how to really save money. Granted, compared to prices in American grocery stores I was saving a ton anyway, but I knew I was still spending more than most locals even make. First thing to strike off the list is the imported stuff. Sure, you can find Doritos, Planters Peanuts, Pringles and M&M's in this store, and it will be much much cheaper than buying it in the U.S., but when you look at the local stuff, things change considerably. I got a big bag of local corn chips for 15 peso. That's like a quarter. They were good too! The same goes for other items. When I first shopped I bought prepackaged bags of fruits and veggies, because they were cheap. If you go to the open bins, though, and throw, say, a bunch of onions in a bag, it once again costs about a quarter. I also notice that I had been buying Dole brand bananas, which is still cheap with a big bunch costing around 60 peso, but the local bananas cost about 30 peso and you get a bit more. Canned goods are also cheap, though the cans are smaller (remember they don't eat as much here, or anywhere in the world for that matter, as in the U.S.). While you might pay $2 for a can of something good in Safeway, here a can is about 20 peso, or around 35 cents.

Speaking of eating too much in the U.S., I am going to need some new clothes soon. I am dropping weight like mad. I truly don't understand how these other Americans come over here and maintain their girth. To me it seems so easy to just get into the local pattern. I mean, I know there are plenty of restaurants where you can eat totally American style, with extra large portions, ribs, burgers and all that, but it's expensive! Why come here and do that? It's like going to China to eat at McDonald's! Of course, when I was in China, the other American with me did just that, but that is another story.

There's one item, I guess, that is probably almost impossible to get any cheaper no matter where you are in the world. That would be ramen noodles, here called bachoy. I didn't see every brand available, so there may be cheaper options out there, but this particular brand I bought this morning costs about 6 peso for a pack. That's about 13 cents. That is cheaper than I have seen ramen in California, but even there I know they still have sales where it is ten cents per pack.

So, if I never post again, you know hurricane Nina got us. Otherwise, not much is happening until I get a bit more settled in and get the cash flow worked out. Then I might get into some exploring of other islands here and there. There are 7000 islands in the Philippines and most of them are inhabited, by something...

Yesterday Alona hand washed my clothes. The first problem encountered was that we had no way to dry them. Many people in the building across from us use their terrace with some kind of clothes line or rack on which to hang items outside to dry. Some also hang then inside just in front of the main windows on the back wall of their place. Whichever way we were going to go, we didn't have the line or rack needed to do it. We also didn't have hangers on which to hang anything. Thus, which she washed, I was sent to Ayala to get these things.

I don't like to go to Ayala and go shopping alone, unless I'm, uh... shopping for something besides items in the stores. You see, when I am with Alona, she can do all the talking. The people working in the stores seem to respond to her better and they can speak their own language. If I am alone, the people wrking in the store, though they can speak English, are likely a bit more shy to do so, thus they often avoid making eye contact with me perhaps in the hopes that I won't ask a question.

I looked all over the Metro Gaisano section of Ayala, covering five floors and couldnn't find a simple rack on which to hang clothes. For that matter, I couldn't find hangers either. Both items did exist, though, they just weren't where one might expect. Unlike the Metro Gaisano in Colon downtown, this one didn't really have a complete home department. Things were scattered about in different places. I found a small area that had some home items and they had, next to a ladder for whatever reason, one clothes rack. This was the only clothes rack they had and it was 689 peso, which to me seemed expensive for a couple of bars. Granted, that's only about $15.00 US, but the more you start to think in peso, the more things start to seem overpriced. I am sure there must have been a simpler rack for 200 peso somewhere, probably in Metro Colon.

I wanted to ask if there were any others, but it took some time to get anyone to help me. If Alone was there, she would make one these weird hissing sounds she makes that gets one's attention and someone would come ask if she needs anything. I can't bring myself to try that because it seems a bit aggressive, but I have noticed that's the norm in both stores and restaurants. I finally asked a guy working in a nearby section about the rack and was told this was the only one. I also asked about hangers and he said they were on the fourth floor, a floor I had already scoured and found nothing.



I went to the fourth floor again and this time just asked the counter girls where the hangers were. They pointed to the plastics section where items like Tupperware might be found. Sure enough, hangers were in there. At first i thought these were too expensive too. 3 hangers rubber banded together for something like 149 peso. I remember in Metro Colon hangers were 99 peso per kilo. That probably would have gotten me 10 hangers. Eventually, as I kept looking, I found many more types of hangers, one with a bunch of 8 for 109 peso. I got two of those and I got this item called a Dream Hanger, which is like a hanger with a circular clothes line on it full of clips for hanging smaller items. I went back to the second floor, then, and, no longer caring about the price because I just wanted to go home, picked up the one rack they had, payed for my items and left.

When I returned home, Alona was still washing. I put the rack together and she started hanging clothes outside to dry. She then asked me to cook because she was hungry. After we ate and she finished washing everything, it was all done, and all was nicely hanging on the rack outside on the terrace. That was yesterday, a dark and cloudy day.

Today they are still not dry, though getting close. The sun is out, which is cool, but I need to go do things and I have no clothes. I am running low on cel phone load and wouldn't mind getting some more fruits for breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully, with the sun out, they will be dry before the day ends. Makes me realize why, on other people's terrace, I see only a few items, different items, out each day or so. Wash a little at a time and dry a little at a time. Putting everything you have out to dry at once can make getting around a little difficult.

There's really not much to report, so I just decided to update the gallery a little bit. I made it past the ordeal and finally got a decent gig to work on, and some money to go with it, but I wouldn't say I'm exactly out of the woods yet. I have other clients in the queue and so if I reel them in all will be a well for a while. I have been working on my own original projects, but they have to be completed and put out for sale for anything to become of them. In the meantime, I am mainly working and relaxing with Alona. This time we decided to go shopping.

It's amazing what a shopping experience can be in the Philippines, even at a supposedly "expensive" place like Ayala Mall. Still, you're looking at getting a nice designed t-shirt for $2.00 or so. While looking around, I found Alona a nice t-shirt of her favorite singer, Avril Lavinge. A nice pair of jeans might cost $5.00. Don't get me wrong, they do also bring in the high price American brands like Lee and Levi's but even they cost maybe $25 for a pair of jeans which would surely be $50.00 or more in the states. In the end, I got Alona 2 pairs of jeans, a blouse, an Avril t-shirt, and two sets of bra and panties for about $20.00 total. You'd be lucky to walk out of a mall with one item for that price in California.



I still want to keep up with getting out and seeing the real Philippines, and meeting more new and interesting people. I read a lot of internet sites and forums about Cebu City and the Philippines and many foreigners claim that Ayala is actually a difficult place to meet folks. Must because it is somewhat high class. According to them a better place to go would be SM Mall or something called Calendarias (spelling?) or something. I don't know if that is a restaurant, coffee shop or what, but I guess it is near the University. I'll have to look into it. So for my next outing I think I will actually spend some time in SM and just see who I meet.

The real way to see the real Philippines, though, and meet interesting people, is to hit the streets. That means just go for a nice long walk. Malls are always going to be malls. By hitting the streets and just walking you run into little pockets you can't even imagine and meet the real people living their real lives, and likely those who have no reason to be in any mall. There is also the jeepney, a local mode of transportation popular here. It's like a small bus made by putting a large back onto an old jeep. It's extremely cheap, around 10 peso to ride compared to taking a taxi everywhere, and they are everywhere. I have yet to ride one but many foreigners say it is the way to go. One day I was going to Ayala and I saw a white guy walking out of the building where I stay. I got into a taxi, but he went walking down the street. When I got to Ayala, that guy was there. I am guess he walked out to the main road and hopped on a jeepney. It's definitely something I will have to try.

It's amazing what just getting out in the world can show you as far as difference between your home country and a new place. I have heard it said that if you go to a coffee shop in America, you will likely see many people in their own world, often hurried or very busy and no real socializing going on unless they came in a small group. These groups are, then, very cliquish and keep to their own. Sitting in Bo's Coffee Shop in Ayala yesterday I saw a stark contrast to the experience as it might be in California.

People actually talk to each other! It goes beyond just being freindly and saying hello too. They talk as though they already know you. You feel like you are part of their group or circle. While there I met a few different people and learned of varying experiences. One such person was a woman named Joan who had worked in Japan previously. She was actually there the same year I was last in Japan. She had pictures of herself all dressed up in a traditional kimono with a traditional Japanese hairstyle. She apparently lives out in the province, but was visiting her cousin in the city proper. If I had thought about it, I should have asked to hear her Japanese, since she claimed to be fluent. Maybe she could do voice work on my projects!

I also met a really nice and beautiful Korean girl, who seemed to be really into me. We tried to talk, but her English ability was next to zero. There were two others, a guy and another girl with her, and even though communication was difficult, we were able to laugh and have a good time. It's amazing how many people will just smile, say hello or ask you where you're from.



Communication happens on many levels. I was in Bo's Coffee Shop to use the internet. I, otherwise, pay for use on my 3G modem, which I wrote about back in July. I went to Bo's a couple of days earlier and couldn't connect to the network. I assumed it was just me. This time, though, I noticed a couple of old guys, likely businessmen, with a Macbook Pro sitting near me and they couldn't connect either. Maybe it was an Apple thing since others with laptops were doing fine throughout the place. One of the old guys went up to the counter to ask for help and so I went to. I asked him if he was having trouble connecting and explained I had the same problem. He then noticed my iPhone and starting talking about that. The counter guy said someone would be around to help us.

Jojo was the guy sent to help us. He seemed to know his network stuff, but didn't know Macs. He helped me manually configure my WIFI connection for Bo's Coffee Shop with a static IP. After that I was on and it was working full speed. Since he didn't know Apple computers, we both helped the old businessman get connected through Airport, the Apple WIFI system. It was somewhat new to me too, but I have a Macbook and so at least knew what panels to go to. After that, the old guy was up and running and browsing stocks and trading pages.

There was another girl, who seemed like she might be a mix of Korean and Filipina, very tall and quite cute. She also had a macbook and was using it to do some kind of presentation. I forgot the name of that popular Apple presentation creation tool, but I knew it when I saw it. Looked nice and easy too, like all things Mac. Anyway, Jojo asked for my help to get her up and running, so we went to her table to set her up. Now that I had been through the process on the other guy's Mac it was easy to do it again. After she was up and running she was very thankful and I was able to chat with someone new.

That was all just a couple of hours in a coffee shop. I remember a similar experience at the small coffee shop next to the hotel I was in. There I met a beautiful nursing student and talked about anime for over an hour and also met a woman who was a MLM pro. Imagine if I really get out in the world. It has been recommended to me to just get out and walk around, or ride the jeepney, the local transportation, and go to the place one normally wouldn't go to. That's where you really meet the interesting people and see the real Philippines. I will make it a point, from now, to really get out there more and just experiences people and places, both around my new location and throughout the city. It will just add to the adventure!

The veil has been lifted. The mist has cleared. The ordeal appears to be over for the time being. As I mentioned previously, I contacted the buyer who put the "unauthorized claim" on my Paypal account, causing them to freeze those funds, which made my account very negative. He said it was merely a software problem with their payment system and that they were fixing it. His words apparently rang true, and sometime yesterday I checked my account to find the dispute was removed. I had access to my funds again. Since I had put the contents of my main site on a 50% off sale, I already had a bit of money coming it.

A friend of mine, who doesn't trust Paypal as much as I, possibly foolishly, do once said that when you get money in Paypal, you immediately move it to another account, and then move it again to an account not linked with Paypal. I see the logic in that now. In this case, I went to Ayala mall, here in the Philippines, and withdrew everything from the ATM. I have to say it felt good to be back in business. Now, of course, it would have been nice to go out and have fun, and me and Alona certainly considered taking a quick trip to The Dessert Factory where we enjoyed some great food previously. After a bit of thought thought, however, Alona said it is better to save money and cook in my room. We did just buy all those groceries the day before after all.



So, after we got home, Alona set to work making something quick while I handled the rice end of things. I may have missed those incredibly good wings at The Dessert Factory in Ayala, but it's probably better to play it safe for while and not fall back into any problems. Luckily that veil being lifted and the mist clearing isn't the only good thing to happen. As I mentioned before I had two potentially good gigs that I was working to reel in. Earlier I did a bit of "proof of concept" work to show the client I meant business. It seems to have paid off. It seems the project is going to move forward and I expect a nice deposit payment on it today. I also have another client who seems to be itching to get a project going. I may get a nice safety net of funds in my account very soon, which is good because I expect electricity bills and monthly dues in this place to roll around any day now.

All that remains is one thing... my own work. As I mention in my post about Mars Ravelo, I want to be a creator and tell my stories. In what time I have beyond taking care of these clients, I need to get some of my projects done and up for sale in Japan in this month of September in order to see a hefty reward by November, when my next rent is due. So I am back in business, but I will also be quite busy now. Still, it feels good to see things work out. It feels good to continue the adventure!

For the next couple of days, the mist continued to hang low and heavy. The ordeal was far from over. Food was running low and tensions were running high. This is not to say, though, that there was no light at the end of the tunnel. People in the Philippines deal with hard times on a regular basis, and never let it get them down. I contacted the buyer who put the dispute on my Paypal account, making it over $1000 in the red, and asked him what was up. He claimed that it was a mere software problem with his company's patment system and that they are working with Paypal to fix it. He said the fix may take up to 48 hours. I have no way to confirm whether or not this is true, but I there's little I can do besides wait. But that little, I am doing.

I put the items I sell on my main website at 50% on September 7th. Sales started to come in, but of course into my negative account. At least that got it down to -$925 or so. If the fix that the original buyer speaks of be true, then I will be back in business. Not to leave it at that, though, I already started setting up other means to make money. With other accounts I began prowling the freelance job sites and picked up two very good potential gigs. Both will pay more than enough to survive the storm until my other internet efforts kick in. It will still take a few days for everything to fall into place, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to look brighter.



None of this, though, helped with the immediate needs for food and water. To that end, I did some checking online to see the value of the Sony PSP here. I brought mine with me, primarily thinking I would use it on the 15 hour flight over, but I haven't touched it, not on the plane or since landing. It sat collecting dust for months even before that. I thought it might be time to let it go.

Alona and her friend Miriam, whom she lists as Shumai in her phone, due to the fact that they always eat Shumai (those little Japanese dumplings) together, knew of a place where I could pawn the PSP for quick cash, but also potentially get it back with very low interest. Before the journey out to that place, though, it was time for a swim. This place has a pool, a gym and a nice outdoor lounge area on the 4th floor. We saw all this when Angelo was showing us around, but had yet to make use of it. I still have yet to use of it, having no trunks to swim in, but that is all about to change. For yesterday, though, I was content to simply relax and take pictures of these two beauties as they swam. Since it wasn't the sunniest of days, the water was very cold. I could clearly see Miriam shivering at times, though Alona took to the water very quickly.

After the swim, the girls decided to do a little cooking. Alona prepared some kind of corned beef mix while Miriam handled the rice and dishes. We all sat down to a nice meal before their trek across town. Once they were out the door, I had only to wait. Now one might imagine they could take the PSP and run, but it's not like it's really worth that much. Besides, who'd give up that awesome pool?! Conveniently, the pawn shop was in the same general area as the girl's favorite Shumai joint, so after they got the money from the shop, about 3500 peso, they went and got some Shumai, but that wasn't the only surprise. When they got back, Alona surprised me with a nice new pair of swimming trunks! Only 30 peso at that. I haven't used them yet, but today might just be the day. Yesterday still had things that needed doing though.

After enjoying some very spicy Shumai, we had to return to Metro Ayala to stock up on groceries to weather this ordeal. I was out of smokes for two days. Now any sane man would just quit at that time, but the first thing I did upon entering Ayala was buy a carton of smokes. Yes a carton, and that's about $7 compared to what you might pay for it in the U.S. (especially California where one pack is nearly $5) In the grocery store we got another large bag of rice, plenty of nice canned foods and more bananas, grapes and oranges. I also got a larger bottle of cooking oil as Alona seems to use a lot in her cooking.

On the way out, we stopped in Junrex, the cell phone shop I wrote of before, and I got a 300 peso load card for my phone. I didn't have enough to also get internet load for my Smart Bro wireless modem, but another ray of light shone through the mist to help with that. I was surprised to find numerous wireless signals in this building, and some probably from nearby buildings. Some expect you to pay to use them, but I have found at least one that is free. I haven't tried checking on my laptop, but if I stand by the window with my iPhone, I can check mail, browse the web and do any other net things I like to do on a fast wireless connection from I don't know where. This is good as my internet load is running low and it's something of a waste to use it just to keep checking if this Paypal issue is resolved.

So today, the sun shines a bit brighter. I am currently working on one of those potentially great gigs I wrote of earlier and have been emailing, back and forth, the other potential client to find out if we can come to a nice agreement. I believe this ordeal is almost over and I will be back in the swing of things. Of course I am not forgetting my ultimate goal to be like Mars Ravelo, the comic artist I wrote about in July. I still have to get some good products done and out for sale in Japan this month for my long term plans to take effect. I am already halfway done with one and have good ideas for the next two. If all three get done and up on the Japanese sites this month, I should see a nice chunk of change in November, when my next rent is due!

I awoke yesterday to find a strange mist hanging over the city. Little did I know the ordeal the day of mist would bring with it. The goal for the day was simple, get the essentials and make the place livable. With that in mind, me and Alona went to Metro Gaisano, this time in Ayala, since I didn't want to go all the way downtown again, to get started. We got those things that were considered "must-haves". A broom and dustpan, mop, wash basins, plates, forks, knives and other everyday items most rarely think about. Already my money was low, so I was looking for the best bargains around. 4 plates strapped together for $1 was my kind of deal.

It seemed as though the Metro in Ayala was still slightly higher priced than the one downtown, but it was much closer and I wouldn't have to deal with the downtown crowds. The one downtown in a madhouse. Luckily, the Metro in Ayala also happened to be having a 3 day sale, so even if the prices were normally higher, we found many 50% off items and others "buy one take one". We wanted to get more groceries this time too, but already we had too much to carry. I decided it was best to return to the fort, set some thing up, and then come back.

This turned out to be a good idea since there were a couple of other essentials that needed dealing with. One was drinking water and the other was gas for cooking. Water turned out to be no big deal. We already bought out own dispenser, we just needed to get setup to have the big five gallon jugs delivered. I was lucky enough to find out that all we had to do was go downstairs and ask and they would have a guard bring one up. It costs about 50 peso. Gas, however, was another issue.

Alona really outdid herself cleaning the place up with all our new cleaning supplies. I was on top of the gas issue, and this is where the problems began. First, I tried many times to call the gas company whose lines were always busy. When I finally got through, I was given the lowdown on getting setup. The gas cylinder would be 1000 peso... empty. The contents would be another 700. After that there is the 500 peso regulator valve and the hose. The total was nearly 2500 peso, and most of what I had left. I began to question whether cooking was really that important. Alona assured me that it was. After all, this was only the startup costs and the cylinder would probably last a month. After that refills are only 600-700 peso. The gas man arrived about two hours later, unfortunately tracking a boot print or two on Alona's freshly done floor, and set things up for us. He even hooked it up to our set top gas stove. We were in business, though my wallet was near out of business. All that was left now was to stock up on groceries.

I still don't have a refrigerator so we couldn't buy things like eggs or other perishable items. We bought more fruit, of course, but also stuck to bulk things. Most importantly, a big sack of rice. 460 peso for 10 kilo of rice, which is great, but I wasn't too sure I could fit everything in with what I had left. I switched to a five kilo bag for 230 peso. We also got plenty of cheap canned goods and vegetables that don't necessarily require a fridge.

When we got home, Alona set to work cooking, preparing our first real meal in the new place. It was night now and we could finally relax. I don't know why I didn't think to take pictures of this first meal, but I guess we were both pretty much done for the day. The day was done with us too. I went online to check and I was pretty much out of money. Unfortunately, that's not where the ordeal ends.

This morning I awoke and checked email, hoping I might have some freelance work to do or some sales on my website. What I found instead was an email from Paypal saying there was a dispute on a sale I had made back in June. I sold my desktop computer and large screen TV to a guy in California before I came here. There was no real information about what the dispute was, but Paypal had already put a temporary hold on the amount of that transaction. That basically made my account over $1000 in the red! It's not final, until the dispute is resolved, but if it is not resolved in my favor, that red becomes very real. I tried a few times to call the guy and sent an email as well. I can only hope that it is all just some sort of misunderstanding.

Whoever said adventuring was easy? No one as far as I know. Besides, without adversity is there really an adventure? As usual, I don't know what's going to happen. I am in front of the computer only today, trying to bring in work, promote my own products and do anything else I can think of. Worst case, I have to do enough work or make enough sales to cover that negative and then I can get some money. Still, I will survive. I have, easily, over a week of groceries and that's plenty of time for things to turn around!

Allow me to relate to you the harrowing tale of "Movin' on Up!" As I mentioned previously, one of the places I looked at, the only one I really liked, was a high rise condo which allows rentals like any apartment. It was closer to Ayala than the hotel where I was staying and the view from the room was astonishing. It was also quite expensive by local standards, though cheaper than the pension house I was in for two months, and in typical apartment fashion, they required a deposit equal to one month's rent and two months advance rent. Add to that the fact that it came unfurnished, meaning I had to put stuff in it, and just getting into the place becomes an ordeal. Luckily I had Alona to help me navigate these rough waters. It didn't help, though, that I just didn't have the money.

So last week I decided, of all the places I looked at, that the high rise was the one. I just didn't know how I was going to pull it off. Originally they wanted a deposit equal to two month's rent and they wanted two month's rent in advance as well. No amount of juggling I could do was going to make that happen. Alona called our very helpful agent Angelo (Ahn-Hay-Low) and somehow got him to talk the owner of the place into only one month deposit. That was a start. I still didn't have the money though. Upon further discussion it seemed like it would be possible to pay only the deposit up front, and pay the two months advance rent when I moved in. That I could do. It wasn't going to be easy though.

Note: As I write this, some place appears to be burning up somewhere behind the big church in the picture. Maybe I'll have more on that later.



So I began the juggling. The goal was to get enough money in one place so that I could pull it out of an ATM machine and pay cash to move in on September 1st. Since I work online, money can exist in a number of different places and some of it is not exactly "real" yet. But I starting moving it. Me and Alona, then, went to the high rise to make the deal. We found out, though, that things didn't happen at the location of the property. We had to go to some office deep downtown where a, not so nice, secretary of the owner awaited. She didn't seem aware any agreement to only do one month deposit and pay the two months advance later. After much back and forth, though, everyone came to an understanding and I payed the deposit and signed the papers. I really didn't like this place, and I certainly didn't like being deep downtown carrying a lot of money. Anyway, everything was taken care of. I made them aware that I was waiting for some funds to transfer and the rest would go down on Monday. It was time for a drink.

Monday, September 1st rolled around and I waited and waited for my transfer. I got calls from Angelo, our helpful agent, saying the secretary at the downtown office, was getting very impatient. I knew there was a time zone difference to consider. I expected that by 3:00 PM here, it would be midnight in America and transfers would start moving. So while waiting, me and Alona decided to go to Metro Gaisano, a huge mall downtown, which I wrote about in the previous post, in the thick of city action, to start looking at things with which to furnish the place. We reserved a bed frame, mattress and dining table, saying we would return later that evening to pick them up. Unfortunately I was wrong. Monday was Labor Day. Nothing happened.

Tuesday, September 2nd rolled around and I was sweating. Still no money. We had to call everyone and say that things were pushed back a day. Alona didn't want to make those calls, so I had to do it. As the day rolled on, it started to look like it was all going to happen again. I started searching to see if there was anything I missed. Did I do the transfers wrong? As 4:00 PM rolled around, and I was still searching, I noticed suddenly that the funds were there! I think I should have hit the refresh button! Just being there wasn't enough though. I now had to be able to pull it from a machine without trouble.

Went went to the nearby bank where I usually get cash. You have to go inside to use the ATM and there's plenty of security around. Surprisingly, every machine was either out of order or only had small bills. Even if it had enough I would have had boxes of cash. Where do I go now? I knew there were other banks around and plenty of street machines, but I do I dare pull large amounts from some machine in the street? Alona suggested we go to Ayala, where there are plenty of machines and they are all inside. Once in Ayala I went to my favorite machine, one I call "The Hidden Machine" because it is placed strangely under an escalator. I knew I had to make multiple withdrawals because the machines limit what you can take in one go. The question was whether or not I would be able to get enough.

Two withdrawals from my favorite machine went off without a hitch. On the third attempt, the machine froze. I waited. Did it capture my card? What's it doing. Without explanation, after a long wait, it said the transaction was cancelled, "Except for transfer.." What the hell does that mean? Did it pull the money from my account and then not dispense the bills?! Yes it actually did! I wouldn't find out until later that the machine was at least nice enough to put it back. Still I was standing there without enough to pay for this room! I had no choice but to try another machine. I went to the next machine and made another successful withdrawal. I really wanted to do another, but I didn't want to push my luck. With what I had in my luggage in the room, I knew it would be enough. We went back to the hotel.

We called Angelo and rushed to the evil downtown office, where the secretary said that if we're not there by 5:00, she's gone. We didn't get there by five. Luckily, there was someone there to accept the payment. I handed over the money and got my official receipt. I was in, but it was far from over. Remember that we had pushed everything back one day, and that included the bed and dining table we reserved. Me, Alona and Angelo went to Metro Gaisano to take care of that. It was a good thing too, since only Angelo knew the address where it would all have to be delivered. Still it was not to be. In order to get it delivered that day, it would have been 9:00 PM. We already held Angelo up enough, so we opted for delivery the next morning. No time, however, was given. Still, with everything pretty much in the can, we all decided to go to Lemon Grass, my favorite Thai food place in Ayala, to eat. The food was great as always, but something didn't sit quite right. Alona started to feel sick and even I awoke at 3:00 AM with my stomach kind of bubbling.

Wednesday, September 3rd rolled around. Me and Alona had only to wait. We were watching some strange Tarzan movie made in the Philippines. It was an old movie and was done as something of a comedy. We didn't know when Angelo would call to say the delivery folks were there. Eventually, though, he did call and we went to the room. The delivery guys were already there building the table and bed. They didn't take long and soon everything was ready. Now we had to go and get everything else, especially the essentials, set top gas burner, rice cooker, water dispenser, fan, table cloth, towels, soap, bath tissue, you name it.

We came back to start setting up, but all was not right yet. Even though they said the water was turned on, Alona discovered that we had no pressure in the kitchen and the toilet would not flush. We had to wait for the plumber to come and fix this. He toyed wit things for a while and then called two other guys. What seemed like it should be simple, ended up taking hours. Alona was still not feeling well, yet she setup most everything else while they worked. Then she slept as they continued on. It was almost evening by the time everything was working. We still had a few more items to get. This time we went to Ayala to get, among other things, groceries. I don't have a fridge yet, so I am limited in what I can get for a while. There's still a long way to go. It was time for my first night in a new place. Sleeping was rough. Every sound was something to be checked out. Eventually, though, I dozed off.

Thursday, September 4th rolls around and Alona is home sick, with her mother. Here I am in this new place getting adjusted. This is where the real trial begins. My money is now dangerously low. I have one potential gig in the queue, which should tide me for a while, but it's time to seek out and find more online work and fast. I guess I should be glad I payed 2 months advance rent. Still, there's no telling what's going to happen from here. I will say this, though, it beats "working for the man" any day! On top of that, if it was easy and I knew everything that came next, it wouldn't be an adventure!

Let's face it. That cloud looks so fake. You know there's a UFO in there! It's amazing how many strange cloud formations I see in this tropical paradise. Sometimes I bet they are raging storms off in the distance. Some look like huge nuclear explosions out on the water. None of them, though, have anything to do with this post.

So here I am beginning my third month in the Philippines and it's time for things to change. I am trying to get a new place so that I can live both better and cheaper than staying in a hotel or pension house. I looked at a few places. Even though there are nice places that can be found for around $100 US per month, they are usually too far from the city center for my tastes and they are not such that I could walk outside and hail a taxi. I would maybe even need my own car or motorbike. Places near Ayala, the great mall I wrote of some time ago, are more expensive and some can even reach an amazing $400 US per month. Keep in mind, though, that's a fortune out here.

One of the places I am looking at is a high rise condo unit with a view to die for. It's in that super expensive range I spoke of, but I think it would be more than worth it. I would still be saving money over a hotel and after some startup costs, life would be cheaper. I'd be able to buy groceries, have a refrigerator, even cook, thus saving more money. The downside is the place comes completely unfurnished. That's fine though. My place in California was unfurnished and pretty much stayed that way for three years. I had an airbed, two card tables, pretending to be a computer desk, and a cheap chair. I might do little more with this new place, though, if I get it.



Thinking along those lines I went to a place called Blim's Fine Furniture in Ayala. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me take pictures. Still I made a list of things and their prices. Some things I thought of as essentials and others as things that would be nice to have. Like I saw this awesome bedroom set, which included everything, even the pillows and sheets, a night stand, tall mirror, dresser and side table for PHP 64,998. That's about $1400 at today's exchange rate, where the peso is weakening thanks to the fighting with muslims in the south. I also hear the dollar is finally making a come back. Anyway, I found just about everything I would need, even a set top gas range for cooking, in this store. Some things, though, were certainly expensive, even approaching American prices. This was the mall after all.

I showed my list to Alona and she was not happy. She decided to take me to a place where things could be had much cheaper. Yesterday I had my first experience in Metro Gaisano downtown. I had heard the name many times, and seen the shopping bags from there, but had never visited. This is not exactly a place where you want to pull out an expensive cell phone and start taking pictures, so I have none. There was so much activity downtown. It was amazing. Huge crowds of people everywhere. There are street markets here too. We chose, however, to go inside the huge plaza.

Immediately on the first floor, of this huge five level cube, I saw computer desks, chairs, bed mattresses and other useful things all in the $20 range. I could get a decent rice cooker for about $12 or so. They even had a juicer! The true essentials, though, were where prices really shined. Things like plates, silverware, bowls etc. were in a big pile and they were 99 peso per kilo. Basically you grab a bunch of plates, cups, or whatever and put them on the scale until you have one kilogram, and you pay about $2 for it! The same with coat hangers and other little things you don't normally think about, but have to have when starting in a new place from scratch. Towels, soap, bath tissue and other things were also extremely cheap, yet all very nice quality. This is not 99 cent store quality stuff here. Sometimes it pays to have someone who knows where to shop. Even high quality clothes, though not likely to fit me, could be had for $2 or so per item.

So today it's all about actually getting this awesome place. Rumor has it the owner might even be willing to let it go, so if I really enjoy staying there, I may just consider buying it after a year or so. That could be my base of operations as the adventure continues in other places like China or Japan. I will be sure to post pictures of that amazing view if I do get it. It has to be seen to be believed!