Life In the Philippines

Life in the Philippines

There has been a tropical storm sitting to the east of the Philippines for the past week, so we having been having a bit more rain than usually, don't have to water the garden so often, it seems the Philippines missed the worst of the storm but a few fishing boats were lost.

A journalist and crew went missing in Jolo on Independence day. Jolo is an Island between Malaysia and the Philippines SW of Mindanao, where I live and is a base for local is a base of a Muslim terrorist group. The government has taken no action as there is still debate as to if he is missing or not and until that is resolved, or a ransom note is received no action can be taken.

I am still searching for a KJV Bible for Jay but it is proving a difficult task, I have however found a small store that sells 2nd had novels, so that might be useful for the future. I have even started searching online bust so far no success.

Local schools are back, so need to avoid town at start and end of school day due to traffic jams

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+639991141149

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The idea of working from home is spreading quickly through families worldwide. Most people begin to think about taking this low cost risk when they involve themselves with a reputable company with a solid track record and a valuable product or service people need. Just think about it for a minute. The ability to work when you want, as long as you want, without having to commute, spend money on gas or live the day to day stress of a 9-5 job. This is a very appealing business model to me. I am that person who does not handle authority very well-especially when that authority gets to dictate the pay I get regardless of how hard I work.

You see, with a home based business model, I get to choose my pay, when I get a raise and how hard I would like to work. When building a business in the beginning, it is extremely important to work as hard as you can with "productive work" as opposed to "busy work".

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Life In the Philippines

Life in the Philippines

The past week has proved to me that the contractor who installed my gate is not to be trusted as he substituted a poor quality gate instead of what was specified, the installation is crude, and it will be virtually impossible to upgrade for remote control.

The Philippines celebrates it independence day on Tuesday, and our routine shopping day, yesterday was interrupted dues to road closures caused by processions with bands and dancers who were also celebrating the foundation of the state of Zanorte. Our quest was to find a book store where we could purchase a holy Bible King James version in English.

Books are hard to find in Dipolog city and looking online we found references to a book store in Friendly Mart, so we went there and the store guide pointed to the fourth floor, but no sign of any books, however a further search revealed a small section in the stationary department and I was able to purchase a English(US) dictionary, but no sign of a bible.

When locals refer to English here they are actually talking about American English many do not realise that, English spellings and meanings are different in American English. Words such as colour spelt as color and trousers are referred to as pants in American.

Security in out gated sub-division is being beefed up following a couple of break ins in another estate, until now the security guards tended to let anyone in. they are now planning a possible wireless entry system, security cameras and also radios for the security guards rather than mobile phones.

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832

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With everything we do in our lives, motivation is the biggest determining factor of whether something will get done or not. This could be any task no matter how large or small. Let's say you own a home based business. What is defined to be the drive for success? How do we stay motivated to succeed? With your own business it is very easy to get sidetracked and become lazy. After all, you are the boss right? Procrastination takes its course embedding the mind with non-productive thoughts to steer away any and all motivation.

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Life In the Philippines - alternative to Local TV

Life in the Philippines
TV in the Philippines

I am so happy that I can get access to UK television programs here in the Philippines, the main providers here such as Cignal, Globe and cable TV serve up a mix of local and US based series. the programming of which is unreliable as they change the program mix in your subscriptions on a regular basis and often cancel scheduled programs.

The weather here with heavy rainstorms also result in programs being interrupted sue to loss of signal. I have also been comparing watching formula 1 on ESPN HD with BBC1 and its great to be able to watch an event without adverts which often appear at critical moments.

New TV's are available with Internet and wireless connections so it is getting easier to send Internet action to larger screens, I for one have plans to have a new TV in my office, which I will also be able to use as a computer monitor as, just have to work out where I am going to position it.

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832

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Productive work is what will make you money for the long term. Busy work is a waste if time which has no guarantee. Of course in the long term, that so called "busy work" might pay off; yet, in the start of building a business from home it is crucial to use the phone and talk to real people and have actual conversations to build rapport and trust. This is the key to building a successful home based business.

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Life In the Philippines

Life in the Philippines
End of another Month

We have now been in our house for four months and it is still not completed, its nearly their Mediatrix did not finish their work inside the house, otherwise we could sign it off as complete. They did however request that we apply a sticker to our car so that security will not stop us from entering. I pointed out to the management that it would be better to have an automated barrier system operated by a tag or card, which provides better security. I do not want to have a sticker on my car as it identifies where I live which could cause potential problems for my personal security where kidnapping is a risk. am automated barrier would also relieve the gatehouse from having to always open and close the gates.

Talking of gates yes I have my gates installed but they still have to be painted, but I am not happy with the installation because as soon as I ran my car over the gutter a piece of concrete cracked off. I had been assured that a metal gutter had been installed, but no its just concrete. the whole gate saga has been a bit of a fiasco with the contractor telling lies. The original gate was supposed to be made from aluminum and shipped across from Cebu, but the contractor used the money for another project and then had a steel gate manufactured locally and it has been a problem ever since.

I have now been in the Philippines for over a year and my visa expires in September to when my local paper advertised low cost airfare from Cebu to Hongkong at 448 PHP I jumped at it, but like a lot of advertising it was a bit of a con as for two people the return flight was 1952 PHP plus 6902.14 PHP for tax, fuel surcharge and fees. 1450 PHP for baggage and to add insult to injury 400 PHP for booking via the Internet. Yes there is a saving of 1911 PHP per sector so booking now saved me a total 7644 PHP. But I would prefer the Cebu Pacific website be a little more truthful about the actual cost by including the main elements such as tax fuel charges etc in their advertising, which are unavoidable cost. We did opt out of additional costs of seat reservations and hot meals.

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832

Life In the Philippines

Life in the Philippines
The weekend

Finally this weekend it seem that things are falling into place, A gang of men have worked through the weekend uncovering the pavement that runs in front of the house, it has been buried for the past year. the job is note quite finished as mud from the empty lot next door also needs to be cleared away.

The electrician is due today to fit blanking plates in the spaces where the old switches were removed. So the only outstanding work to complete our house is the sink top in the main kitchen, which needs to have the concrete removed so that it functions correctly.

Our front gates are due to be completed today, however based on history of the job I think this will drag out over another week, but the end is in site.

I have waited patiently for quotes for house insurance and it was a worthwhile exercise, in fact the final quote was not only the cheapest but also offered some valuable extras such as limited medical coverage and liability insurance plus a hotline for the like of household repairs, so I will be confirming the policy with the Metrobank today.

Saturday marked another day without electricity, so we went out in search of a waterfall, which is supposed to be a good place to swim. Unfortunately we had no map and I was unable to download information from the Internet. we tried a few different routes but ended up returning to the coast at Dapitan and having a snack before returning home. the Falls will have to wait for another day.

Till the next time

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832

Life In the Philippines - leisure

Life in the Philippines
Conquering Linabo Peak

I have had a goal of climbing Linabo peak for over a year now, as it dominates the horizon when viewed from my house in Mediatrix Hill. I finished my daily business routine early and as the set was shining, set of with Jasmin and a friend to climb the 3003 steps.

We drove to the foot of the hill and signed the visitors book to start the climb. Concrete steps make it quite easy and there are 15 stations where you can take a breather plus a few toilets for those who get caught short. The climb was quite easy and even in the heat I hardly broke a sweat, but the two girls had quite a struggle, puffing and blowing. Arriving near the top the steps were replaced by a concrete path through a small hamlet with an elementary school before it terminated below the wireless masts that dominate the ridge. The final section was a steep rocky path with topes set up as handholds , and this was the highlight of the trip, together with the 360 degrees views from the top. One can really appreciate just how small Dipolog city really is, surrounded by extensive rice fields. Away from the coastal zone stretches mile upon mile of coconut trees and the like stretching towards distant hills, with virtually no tracks, although I can feel the urge to explore as there are occasional houses.

The return was a little harder, steps down put a lot of strain on the knees, so I just relaxed and let myself go at a steady jog keeping my knee bent. Meeting up with the girls at the bottom to drive home for lunch.

The Contractor fixing our gate arrived in the afternoon to finish fixing a channel for the gate to run in and I went into town on my mountain bike to pick up my house insurance policy. all in all a good day.

Till the next time

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832

Life In the Philippines -Service

Life in the Philippines
Things are moving

As a result of complaints earlier this weeks, things are beginning to move, it seems you have to start getting really angry before people start to pay attention, they are just too laid back here to do very much to help. I have now received tow replies for house insurance so once I have read through the small print I will be able to make a decision. Now the Philippines suffers a lot from bad weather but even with comprehensive cover for flood and typhoons, there are many loopholes in the cover offered so it definitely a case of buyer be aware. One thing is good though the premiums for living in a gated community are much lower than elsewhere.

Yesterday after some four months of arguments my building contractor finally moved my light switches from inside the bathrooms to outside the bathrooms to reduce chances of electric shock when switching light on an off. Electrical safety does not seem to be of much concern here, I offered to switch of the lighting circuits, but the electrician was quite happy to work with the circuits still live!

The saga of my front gates is still ongoing, my sliding gate has been installed, however the track guide, needs some modification to keep the gate on the rails, so doubtless this will take another week. still no sign of side gate which was promised for today. Our dogs however now have freedom to roam in the garden after months of being tied up.

Till the next time

David Ogden
Dipolog city
+63659082832