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!

We think that with just the two of us and our lifestyle we do not really see ourselves having a full time stay-in household help at this time.  Our needs may change but not in the short term.  We like our privacy and having our dishwasher still with us is a big plus.  Probably a few days a week we might have someone do stuff for us but not so much if we are just living in a 2 bedroom furnished apartment (which we still are looking for).  I was getting a bit anxious about that anyways but  MrC commented, “the apartment will find us”.

I surely hope so.

Several prospective renters have looked at the apartment lately.  One couple who came in last Wednesday liked the apartment so much and also wanted to buy some of our furniture and appliances, including the floor.   Here in the Netherlands, most apartments come bare because tenants have to leave it bare whenever they vacate their apartment — and that includes floors and carpets.  And the walls has to be left painted white.  So if you had painted it red, make sure you paint it back white.  We had paid a bit of money on labor to get this apartment painted, bedrooms carpeted and the rest with laminated wood tiles.  MrC and I had put in a lot of time to also install and assemble shelves and furniture!  It’s a bit sad to see everything must go.

MrC’s sister is buying the dining table and a friend of hers is also buying the washing machine.   She is picking those up this weekend.  That means no dining table and no washing machine from then on!  A friend of MrC also is buying our bed.  He is taking it also this weekend (sigh).  So after this weekend, we still have two more weeks of sleeping on the sofa and sofabed .

We have a total of 12 boxes to be shipped to the Philippines through the help of my old employer’s shipping department.   I just sent the necessary information to get the paperwork started today.    While writing this, I received a confirmation e-mail from the manager of our shipping department.

I would say that this is the most organized of all my moves.  Our inventory is maintained in a Google spreadsheet of which both of us can edit at the same time.  All boxes are labeled with a unique identifier and the contents are in the spreadsheet so we know where exactly things are.   Of course, with clothes, I decided not to register every single blouse and pants we own.  That would be too much!

My mom, on the other hand, who is now in the Philippines has volunteered to help me out in apartment hunting.  We are looking for a place with a minimum of 70 sqm in Metro Manila, preferably Mandaluyong, Ortigas, Taguig, Pasig, Makati or  Eastwood area.  We are also open to areas like Alabang, Las Pinas, Paranaque (Merville/Nichols area)  and Quezon City for more spacious but less expensive houses.  The place must be  at least 2 bedrooms and fully furnished and with possibility of having broadband internet connected quickly.  Also, we prefer areas with good security and no water or flooding problems. Our budget is not more than 35,000 and we prefer 6 months lease at the beginning.  Any good referrals is greatly appreciated.

In some countries, to even obtain your dream house meant signing out your life into a 30 year mortgage which you have to make sure that you can pay. And then, this house determines most of your everyday decisions. In this area, a 3 bedroom townhouse/rowhouse will cost between 250K to 300K Euros and a single detached house costs between 300K to 400K! Paying the mortgage every month and other expenses becomes the deciding factor when taking a job. And yes you do need a job! And you better not lose it! We both have to work hard on a job that we may or may not like day after day looking forward to the weekend where you can catch up with you daily housework, maybe take a rest, see friends, or have a lazy day. There’s nothing wrong with that! But somehow, my husband and I seem to find that what we really want is not here in this country where bureaucracy is extreme and the cultural atmosphere prevent us from realizing our plans. We want a nice spacious castle house and a thriving business venture we can call our own but we also do not want to be slaves of our mortgage and car payments either!

But to answer where is home, to my husband, home means any place where he is. He says he feels at home wherever he is. For me, to be honest I do not feel at home in this country. First of all, I don’t even speak the language nor I have the desire to learn it. But I do realize, I have married myself into a Dutch family and being able to hold a conversation with them is important. But believe me, it is not that easy and somehow my heart is not really there. To be honest, my infatuation with the US is still there, however, I am not sure if the country will be in good shape for the next few months or years but is still one of our options (I am pretty much in favor of coming to back to the US if our plans on going to the Philippines is not going to push through). The Philippines, on the other hand fits naturally within our strategic plans and several surprise opportunities are showing up each week. One software firm expressed interest in having him resell their software in the Philippines. And he also told me that software projects for his current client is something that will go on for quite a while so all the signs are good. But of course, we will find out when we go there if it is what we hoped it would be.

For me, I know I am at home when I don’t feel like moving ever! When that happens I’ll let you know.