Rain

When it rains here, it RAINS

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is very common here and since it is the rainy season, it is the time for dengue. A little boy across the street from us just died this morning. My brother-in-law was woken up this morning at around 3AM from the boys parents and he gave them a ride to the hospital where he died a few hours later.

I am really trashed about this. The children in the neighborhood are my buddies. I can talk to them as they are less sensitive about using english and always willing to teach me (or make fun of) my tagalog. In some ways, I enjoy the kids more than the adults. Maybe not more, but just in a different way. This little boy who died, Michael, was one of my favorites. He was not shy, when I first moved here he walked right up to me and told me his name. He would ride his bike around the neighborhood, always ignoring my pleas for him to give me a ride. He would try to teach me the rules of this weird cartoon card game they played. When walking past the upstairs window he would call my name and wave. He would run as I would tell my dog (in broken tagalog) to, "Eat Michael". He was vivacious and only eight years old.

The secondary thing that breaks my heart is seeing the other kids crying. For a child to have to deal with death--and not the death of a pet or a grandparent but a friend their own age is heartbreaking to me. Dengue can be fatal but it is often not. I don't know how long he was sick...I saw him a day or two ago so it cannot have been long. Rumors in the neighborhood range from he was sick for five days, a couple of days, a couple of hours. Money for the hospital may have been an issue. Just devastating.

DSL...Finally

As I type this I am sitting in my room on my own computer. Life is good.

Weird Places People Here Wear Slippers

Everybody tells me that part of the bonus of living overseas is learning about all the nuances of a culture. In the Philippines, one of these lovely nuances is the practice of wearing slippers (flip-flops). It is hot here and during the rainy season (just ending now) it floods a lot so seeing people in the streets and malls wearing slippers seemed very normal--much like the states in the summer. There are however some weird (to me) places people wear them. They are as follows:

1. Surgical Nurses in the O.R. They wear them with socks and the little surgical booties but still weird.
2. Construction Workers. Can't be safe.
3. Tricycle Drivers (pedicabs). Don't they worry their toes will get caught in the bicycle wheel spokes?
4. Bank Tellers. Just looks weird to me to see a suit coat, skirt, blouse, and slippers.
5. Garbage Men. Can't be healthy.
6. Janitors. I am specifically referring to people cleaning the sides of roads and freeways. Can't be healthy or safe.
7. Cooks. Can't be safe.

Thing that is still weird to me about all this is I got kicked out of the LTO (DMV) for wearing slippers, yet they are allowed to be worn at work at all the above places?

DSL...Maybe

On Saturday I am supposed to have DSL installed. We gave up on PLDT and switched to a company that offers wireless. A couple of our friends have it and it sucks ass but there are trees where they live and we are in urban world with little to no trees. I am optimistic although it means I have to stay here Saturday and I really wanted to go swimming in Alabang.

S U R V I V O R!

I just found out I can watch Survivor here on a local channel via a live satellite feed!! I bet the commercials are not exactly timed which means I will not be able to call mom on the commercial breaks like I usually do. I am still very excited however. I am kinda a loser.

Kids that Hate Me

There is a little girl down the street name Fiona. She is about a year and a half old. She hates me. When I get near her (within 5 or 10 feet) she cries and runs. My mission in life is to win her over. The other kids in the neighborhood get a kick out of bringing her outside and then calling me over just to watch her cry and run. I am getting better though-- the last couple of days she ran but did not cry.

$5 for Milk

I finally found milk here imported from the US. Paid P219 which is about $4.50 for a half gallon. It was so nice to eat y Grape nuts and actually drink the remaining milk out of the bowl instead of throwing it down the sink.

Stingrays

It is so random that the Crocodile Hunter was killed by a stingray. That is like working as a storm chaser and drowning in a small puddle.

I was thinking back to when we all went diving with the rays and I can't imagine how on earth one would stab you. They were really mellow animals. I also wonder if the dive tours on the big island have suffered loss in business.

Filipino Ingenuity

A friend from the states recently visited here as his grandfather was very sick and not expected to live. 18 family members went to the hospital to visit with him. They all decided to spend the night with him but the room was too small to accommodate their group, so what did they do? They checked a perfectly healthy member of the family into the hospital and had them placed into the room next door. Voila! They had enough space for the family to stay over. A couple of the cousins referred to it as the "day spa" since while they were there they received dermalogical treatments.

Only in the Philippines......

PLDT Still Sucks

Why must I beg a company to provide me with a service I will pay for? PLDT is the only option in m neighborhood and I have somewhat resigned myself to never having DSL. Fricking sucks.