Yes, I am still here! Hey I wonder if people still read this blog, a bit surprising but  yes checking the stats there was still good traffic.   Still a bit dazed about what has happened the past few days.

Now that the smoke (storms and floods ) has cleared, and I am a bit relaxed with my computer in my “climate controlled” 25 Celsius bedroom overlooking our charming front yard I can share what has happened the past few days.
We finally moved most of our belongings mid-September right before Ondoy hit Metro Manila.  We have paid for an extension in the condo up to beginning of October so we don’t get stressed out so much. This proved to be a good idea since furniture deliveries and utility connections were not as fast as we would like them.

Internet Providers

However, our DSL was an exception. I decided to get two different Internet Service Providers this time. First, I ordered the 999 basic broadband cable package from Destiny / Solid Broadband, then after that I also talked to Bayantel to install a 1600 something plan. Solid Broadband came first, however, they did not have an active line so they had to schedule us for maintenance which came after some days.  Bayantel’s phone guys came within 2 days and the DSL the day after and all.    As of now, I would say we are happier with our Bayantel DSL than with this crappy Destiny cable “Broadband” internet.  Destiny’s cable is so slow I can’t even watch streaming videos without a pause every 2 seconds.  Bayantel’s DSL is pretty good, at first I didn’t get the 1.2Mbps but after calling customer service they were able to quickly correct it.  I was almost “scammed” though by their technician who offered me an under the table deal to get a faster connection at a lower price using a user ID he provides for a certain fee. Nevertheless, I did not let myself fall into his scheming ways by trying to make a phone call immediately to rectify the situation.  He asked me not to tell anyone though about this.  Well sorry but I just had a little case of slip of the tongue. ;P

We bought several stuff from SM and Ace Hardware: appliances, futon and whatnot.  Everytime we get asked “do you have an Advantage card Ma’am?”.   Oh well, looking back I should have just paid 150 pesos for this card after having spent so much money at SM stores since December last year.  Well now it’s too late so sorry — I don’t want an Advantage Card and please could you please not ask me one more time if I have it?

The House

We are very very lucky to have chosen this house.  On the 26th of September, as we all know a LOT of rain fell in Metro Manila which brought devastation through flooding in many places.  We are so happy to find out that our house is flood-proof!  The whole street was also flood proof.  Our landlady, who happens to live in the US arrived last week and is now personally supervising renovation of the backyard.  When we rented it, the backyard was a “ditch” for lack of a better word.  Now it’s being cemented and landscaped.  She also accepted our requests among other things like higher gate, and a covered carport.  There are also minor repairs indoors which would hopefully be done in a few days.  We couldn’t ask for more now.  We even have a little kitten now which was found by our driver’s kid.  MrC fed the kitten until now with milk and it’s much much stronger now than when we first found it.   The cat is now indoors in the sunroom but later on it will have to get used to living outdoors.

Household help

Our driver’s family has moved in with us.  They have a toddler and I guess some of the quirks of having a child around the house goes with the package.  The wife of the driver does our household stuff and occasionally cooks for us.  We have initially told them the first month is a trial for both of us.   Let’s see how it goes. However, last week their shack back in Pasig was flooded severely and is still submerged.  In order to get to their house they had to hire a boat so you get the picture.  I guess they don’t miss their house at all.  Back here, they have a safe and dry place with their own CR, good running water, Cable TV, fan, and refrigerator.  I heard news that they still have family stuck there who can’t go to work because of the flood and needing food.  I am thankful I was able to send some goods to them last Sunday through our driver.

The Office

The condo is gone.  I have turned in the keys on the 2nd of October.  The Office is still there though, but in bad condition.  During the storm, a lot of the ceiling dripped and eventually fell apart!  we took a lot of pictures and showed it to the landlord.  Because of this we were able to strengthen our case and was able to get back our checks and break the lease.  We have been looking for a new place the past few days.  There’s a new one under negotiations and it’s a nice bigger place at the heart of Ortigas Center.  We plan to move there as soon as possible!

We had one more guy that started working for us just last week and another one signed up too and will start working soon.  So now all in all there’s 9 of them!

Everything is happening so fast these days I can’t anymore cope up with the stories.   I hope to be able find ways to relax so I can write.  You know, not unlike MrC I can’t just sit and write without some mental conditioning.  Ok, ok, maybe I am just lazy.  Sorry for this - I hope people are still reading this blog.

Oh and another good news is that MrC got his Permanent Residency approved and passport stamped last week!

• Decisions, decisions …
• Preparing to Go Back to the Philippines (Part 2)
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