THE MIST AND THE ORDEAL

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!