Well, I just wanted to share some of our little issues with the office lately as well as our apartment. Right now, we have decided to look for a new place. We prefer something far from the main (read: polluted) roads and not on a high-rise apartment complex. We still want to stay within the vicinity though. The past few days, we have also been dealing with leaks in our office. It has gone to the point where the ceiling has holes now from the water damage. The administration here is not very helpful. They have only come here to repair one Saturday and didn’t finish the work. Today, something equally bad happened: airconditioner stopped cooling. When we called the engineering of our building they first told us that they will check from the outside. After a few hours we tried to follow up on them and this time they said that it is not anymore their responsibility (!!). At this point, we just called our local partner who usually deals with stuff like these. Tomorrow, the owner of the office unit will be sending someone to deal with it. Let’s see what happens next.
We have cancelled our plans to put partitions due to the fact that we no longer see ourselves staying here next year if not earlier. We are pretty sure by now we won’t be renewing the lease.

With regards to the work, MrC’s team is on a crunch time now. They even had to do overtime last weekend. So, it’s really quite sad that while everyone had to work a little extra hard these days.. the facilities are not working so well.

It’s hard to deny that the pollution is bothering us a bit. We have put a 3M filter and it turns black after one week. We also have an ionizer/air purifier that also turns black after a couple of days. It seems that our patience is running out also with regards to our apartment. We need a bit of order and breathing room and looks like the place just isn’t something we see ourselves staying for more than 6 months.

This week, I went to the Commission on Elections to register as a voter.  The last time I voted was in the 90’s, the one that eventually elected President Ramos.  I think I was still in college.  It was my first time to vote so I was quite excited.  Flashback to 14 or so years.  I left the country and missed out in all the political “circus” that happened for the last 14 or so years.  I was not there when Mr. Estrada was elected.  I am really sorry for missing out on what was happening back home.  I had no idea that there was such a thing as “Absentee Voting”.  Anyways, I was probably just apathetic.  Anyways, now that I am back and having reacquired my Filipino citizenship, I felt again excited to vote in the 2010 election.  It’s like being 18 again. [Read more →]

This weekend, after googling about “GPS Devices in the Philippines” I came across several good leads.  The first one was the article from Yugatech and it revealed a new GPS device called AVT 800.   It uses a very good map provider called Accu-map.   We are already familiar and quite satisfied with this map provider, their Metro Manila map booklet is highly recommended for everyone.  I also read in their website that they update the map regularly for free on the first (?) year and then for a fee afterwards.   Please consult the website for more details. I called several numbers of their authorized dealers most if not all of them were auto dealerships.   I called the ones that were nearby.  The website says the list price is 18,500 PHP but Toyota Shaw gave me a quote of 22,000 and could not give me any good reason why their price is much higher.  I called other Dealers, one of them had it at the correct listed price but it was in the Araneta branch.  They could get it for me by Monday if I choose to order.

Second Google find was a website called Car-Navi.ph I still have to verify if this site is not a hoax.  All they say is that it is now available but I couldn’t find any information on how I could order.  The device also do not have a model or brand name.

The third and last find was someone mentioning that Garmin sold in V-mall had already Philippine map in it.  We went to V-mall last Sunday and only found one store called Infomax but they didn’t have a car navigation device.  They couldn’t say at all if and ever they would have one in stock at all.  So, I am still not sure now if I would still pursue the Garmin device.  I hope someone could give me any info on where I could buy this here in the Philippines.   I could still wait for a few months though and just buy it in the US when I visit in October but I think we can’t wait that long.

So for now, it looks like we’ll have to wait and see.  The search continues.

We are now here for almost six months. Time flew by so fast — it felt like a roller coaster ride.  Here is an update of our life here in the Philippines:

We arrived on the first week of December last year and moved in directly to our two bedroom apartment in Mandaluyong my mom found for us.  We reconnected with the people we met during our first trip.  We visited my relatives over in Cebu and attended a wedding and also my relatives in Quezon City.  We were also invited to a company Christmas party by the beach by the Dutch businessman we met in September who eventually provided us with a lot of hospitality during our stay here.  Later on, our personal effects arrived here but we had to wrestle and play phone tag with the customs brokers to get it all done.  In the end, we spent a great deal of money and trips to North harbor just get it delivered right into our apartment.  We got them all now.

We started getting Globe broadband internet at home after one week of waiting.  Meanwhile, I was still unsure of what I am supposed to do here.  It was a confusing time for me.  My feelings about our move here were still mixed.  I explored various options.  At the same time I also considered it my Sabbatical.

In January, we visited Baguio.  The weather was perfect.  I explored the city a bit was impressed by the amount of parks that are still there and well maintained.  However, the city somehow lost its “charm” and “magic” that I had in my childhood memories of summer visits with my family.  Maybe part of it is the worsening air pollution and the scent of pine was not anymore there.   The pine trees are definitely much much less now than 25 years ago.

For my birthday, we also visited Kyoto for a long weekend.

A few more days .. and then next thing you know, we were at the brink of a major business deal with MrC’s clients.  And in a few days, we spent time, looking for office spaces and finalizing our deal with the Dutch businessman who would later provide us with our first team here of programmers.  We had our official office blessing in March and MrC’s father and business partner came all the way from Amsterdam to visit us.  I am glad that during this time, my role in the company is now more clearly defined.

I spent a great deal of time with MrC’s father showing him various places here in Metro Manila.  We also had a big adventure right at the crater of Taal volcano.  That was indeed something we wouldn’t forget.  We also went to Subic and drove through the scenic SCTEX highway.  I tell you, that 30 minute stretch of highway westward to Subic has beautiful scenery both sides of the highway that would rival any scenic highway in the world.  I am not exaggerating.  I am very much convinced that the Philippines is really BEAUTIFUL and BLESSED with natural wonders.  There are many places that one still has to discover.  And also, that Philippines IS NOT MANILA.  Many people outright judge our country by what they see in Manila but Manila is just its major city and but a speck compared to many other places in the Philippines.   Our decision to stay in Manila is really mostly driven by business alone ;-).

For example when I was  in Santorini, Greece in 2006,  I thought  .. hmm.. why do I have this feeling that I have seen this before. Think Taal volcano.  Also, Subic or SBMA is also quite nice, it is somewhat like “Little America”.  I think this is worthy of its own blog entry.

In April, we traveled back to Amsterdam.  According to MrC, it was just a business trip.  He was right.  We were never relaxed and rested there.  We had to go and see people, and in between work.  At least I was able to spend few days in London by myself!  But during this whole 3 week stay my feelings about the Philippines have been more clear.  I want to be back here, in the Philippines and life in the Netherlands is certainly over for both of us.  MrC shared the same sentiment.  I also realize how nice and easy our life here now compared to there.  Ok, we admit, we got spoiled here.  We have someone coming over here once a week to cook delicious food for us and on other days we have someone come over and do housecleaning.  Our laundry is also picked up and delivered to us.   All for much much less than what we pay our cleaning lady in Amsterdam who comes 3x a week (combined).   We go out and have dinner or lunch as much as we want but we still prefer our homecooked meals most of the time anyways.  The amount we pay for an Indonesian or Chinese takeout in Amsterdam will buy both of us a meal at a fine dining restaurant here.  A 5 star hotel buffet costs the same or less as a Wok buffet in Hoofddorp.  A movie theater ticket costs 2 Euros.  And I haven’t told you yet about the pirated DVD’s … hehe.. that’s a secret!

I’ve been working almost daily now since we came back. We work Dutch time which means between 2pm to 11pm.  It wasn’t hard after coming back from Amsterdam due to the jet lag.

And by the way, we had a nice dinner with our team a few weeks ago and we commend them for their outstanding work.  Our clients are very happy and pleasantly surprised at how we are pro-actively dealing with their issues.  Business is good then.   MrC is working really hard and it’s getting to be too much for him — I could see it.  It’s time that we take a break so we stayed in a nice resort in Subic by the bay just doing NOTHING.  However, going back  It’s kind of getting hard again for me to work late nights.

This week, we finally gave in and purchased a brand new car.  We also hired a driver, who was referred by our business partner.  We know the guy already coz he also drove us before using our Dutch business partner’s car.  He’s probably starting next week. Geez.. if this is a dream I don’t wanna wake up

This week, I saw Filipino Talent showcased right before me. I want to admit that I am quite late catching on the Pacquiao fever so what I did was to orient myself a bit on his background. I went online and read and found videos. There I witnessed the 4-part documentary of Pacquiao and Hatton’s training and saw each boxer’s character showing through the documentary. Hatton’s (and his trainer’s) flamboyant, colorful persona which locally, people would find a bit like a “show-off” or cocky, is so much in contrast with the professionalism, focus and humble demeanor of Pacquiao’s team. You can see that they were dedicated and serious right from the start. You can see that the talent is there, and that there is mutual respect in both parties and most of all I hear repeatedly how his trainer tells that Pacquiao is trainable — he listens to his coach, gets what his saying and delivers! Pacquiao is also very spiritual and full of Faith in God, as most Filipinos are. As I’ve seen his victory in the last match, I wasn’t so surprised. In the boxing arena, Pacquiao is “made”. He is ripe and he doesn’t come cheap — With only like 5 minutes he earned 20 Million dollars. Talk about ultra - high hourly rate!

MrC and I have been interviewing several candidates for our .net Team and I’m somehow exhausted but at the same time delighted to know how good and talented the programmers we have been seeing so far. All of them are low-key, honest to goodness professionals in their field who know their thing. And, I am also somehow relieved that their salaries are on the higher end of the scale here (I have the same skill-set and that’s something good to know in case I actually need to get a job locally). The only difference that MrC is looking for is someone who is really self-driven, meaning someone who likes to learn new things by himself at home, out of pure geeky interest. Not merely seeing the job as a money making venture but an obsession to learn the technology.. ok ok that’s too much I guess to ask. But actually, for me I am already having a hard time choosing myself. It’s really hard to predict if someone will like the work or stay long in the job, and even better know how to get things done the right way and not get stressed about it. But one thing I am really happy to see is that, Filipino workers are talented, highly trainable, but also full of hope. You see it in our smiles.