Today is Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 and it is now 5:40 PM here in the US.
Music wise, not listening to anything at the moment but have been listening to various Buddha Bar compliations as well as a Frankie Kuckles streamlined mix I had managed to snag on my MP4 before leaving the Philippines.
Knuckles is considered one of the instrumental people behind the entire House Music phenomenon. A native of Chicago, in the US, he and some cohorts were the driving force that created the genre Chicago House, which eventually gave way to the myriad of genres now known as "Dance," "Trace" and so on.
Books? I have been reading reams of mimeographed "Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Journals," which were late
19th/early 20th Century academic journals dealing with anthropology, archaeology, and social issues in the then Ottoman controlled "Palestine."
So...My trip...I did not want to talk about it before hand because first and foremost I am always cognisant of security related issues. Mindanao is an extremely dangerous place, as some may have gathered.
Then, I was not actually sure that I was even going to be travelling until I got my results letting me know that my Hep-C Treatment had failed. Although I did not mention it, I was also told then that I had a serious reaction to my latest PPD (Tubercular Skin Exposure Test). Obviously I was tested in the Philippines but not wanting to leave things to chance i sought my primary US provider's input as a second opinion, as to the results.
I had gone to the Butuan Doctor's Hospital, the best chain in the country as far as chains hospitals go, and was very sure I had something I had to deal with...but had my X-Rays sent to NYC for that second word...
My test last year was negative so I must have been exposed here on Mindanao, and I can only say that if it had to be something, better TB than Dengue, right? Dengue of course has no cure, whereas TB if caught early enough is not really an issue.
I also had some other things tot ake care of over here so I figured NY as opposed to Israel, though I would love to spend time with my grandchild in Israel.
However, my luck ran out as far as my flat in the Bronx and so I had to ensure that those things I cared about ended up in the right place,instead of left in the Project Courtyard, etc.
I hate this country but to be honest I needed a break, I need to decide what I am going to do with this situation concerning Rizza.
It is very complicated given the fact that Bisaya marry for life, and I have known her since she was an infant, blah, blah and blah. So, she is there, I am here and we will see how it goes, that is as much as I can say about it at this point...though I will not be here for long, either way.
I am in Brooklyn, in the Syrian-Jewish enclave, or as we call it in English, the "Enclave." it is where I spent my first few years on the planet, something I mentioned in "My Life" entries. It is better than Israel as far as a sense of community, for me, because here we are all in one small area, on top of one another where as in Israel, it has not been like that since the 1940s when we left Aleppo and Damascus, though it was really shattered in 29 in the Hebron Pogrom, something I have talked about ad naseum.
For those that might care, in the "Religion" Forum, there is a thread on "Cultures of Honor" (sic). In it, I posted a hyperlink to an article that talks about my Clan, and the Enclave here, so if anyone wants to know more (I have no idea why anyone would)...
Trip here sucked, as always. Took Cathay-
Pacific again...Took the ferry up to Manila where Dad and my eldest brother-in-law Ariel Tarik were already staying, since he finally gort his Visa for Northern Ireland, and they had to get the medical crap, etc out of the way. He will be reading at university there for 2 years if all goes well.
The ferry is a drag, 36 hours if there is no delay. Spent my time liberally indulging in Oxy and morphine for a chaser...got to Manila. spent a day hobknobbing with Dad and Ariel, had some good Chinese in Quiapo...You would think that with something like 12% of the Philippines being heavily Chinese in background that you would find great Chinese food all over the nation. Not so.
Chinatown in Davao is only good for bootleg electronics and only 3 or 4 stores at that! Chinese are the Jews of Asia, and like us they manage to infuriate a great many people since they tend to dominate business and education wherever they mograte.
In Mindanao "Chinoy" aka "Tsinoy," as the Filipinos of Chinese background are commonly known are targetted for kidnappings more than the rest of the population, and it is like that from Mindanao down south into Sulu. Just 2 weeks ago in Maguindanao they snatched a 20 something Chinoy out of the family warehouse.
Usually it is Abu Sayyaf, but there are gangs slash terrorist groups like al Khobar who specialise in this.
In Manila I also spent half a day at the only synagouge in the Philippines. it is in Salcedo Village, in Makati which for all intensive purposes is apart of Manila, out near Aquino, the international Air Port.
My Clan was 1 of 2 Syrian Jewish Clans that built the synagouge and imported the Rabbi, since we are all over Asia (though for some reason not in the Philippines...Go figure), but most people using it are Embassy Staff and the like...
I took a night flight into HK, spent an overnight on the free internet they have, and caught my next leg into Kennedy arriving this morning. I declared my morphine (having wisely finished my Oxy in HK), and again had no problem...though I did not exceed 50 tablets.
So, that means tomorrow will be spent getting on methadone for however long I am forced to stay here.
Next, I will be heading to Ruili in Yunnan, on the Chinese Burmese border, and after that perhaps Laos before they shut down the last commercial opium dens. I meant to head up there on my last trip into Cambodia but got lazy with that fat habit I developed...
Then, we will see about Mindanao...
Music wise, not listening to anything at the moment but have been listening to various Buddha Bar compliations as well as a Frankie Kuckles streamlined mix I had managed to snag on my MP4 before leaving the Philippines.
Knuckles is considered one of the instrumental people behind the entire House Music phenomenon. A native of Chicago, in the US, he and some cohorts were the driving force that created the genre Chicago House, which eventually gave way to the myriad of genres now known as "Dance," "Trace" and so on.
Books? I have been reading reams of mimeographed "Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Journals," which were late
19th/early 20th Century academic journals dealing with anthropology, archaeology, and social issues in the then Ottoman controlled "Palestine."
So...My trip...I did not want to talk about it before hand because first and foremost I am always cognisant of security related issues. Mindanao is an extremely dangerous place, as some may have gathered.
Then, I was not actually sure that I was even going to be travelling until I got my results letting me know that my Hep-C Treatment had failed. Although I did not mention it, I was also told then that I had a serious reaction to my latest PPD (Tubercular Skin Exposure Test). Obviously I was tested in the Philippines but not wanting to leave things to chance i sought my primary US provider's input as a second opinion, as to the results.
I had gone to the Butuan Doctor's Hospital, the best chain in the country as far as chains hospitals go, and was very sure I had something I had to deal with...but had my X-Rays sent to NYC for that second word...
My test last year was negative so I must have been exposed here on Mindanao, and I can only say that if it had to be something, better TB than Dengue, right? Dengue of course has no cure, whereas TB if caught early enough is not really an issue.
I also had some other things tot ake care of over here so I figured NY as opposed to Israel, though I would love to spend time with my grandchild in Israel.
However, my luck ran out as far as my flat in the Bronx and so I had to ensure that those things I cared about ended up in the right place,instead of left in the Project Courtyard, etc.
I hate this country but to be honest I needed a break, I need to decide what I am going to do with this situation concerning Rizza.
It is very complicated given the fact that Bisaya marry for life, and I have known her since she was an infant, blah, blah and blah. So, she is there, I am here and we will see how it goes, that is as much as I can say about it at this point...though I will not be here for long, either way.
I am in Brooklyn, in the Syrian-Jewish enclave, or as we call it in English, the "Enclave." it is where I spent my first few years on the planet, something I mentioned in "My Life" entries. It is better than Israel as far as a sense of community, for me, because here we are all in one small area, on top of one another where as in Israel, it has not been like that since the 1940s when we left Aleppo and Damascus, though it was really shattered in 29 in the Hebron Pogrom, something I have talked about ad naseum.
For those that might care, in the "Religion" Forum, there is a thread on "Cultures of Honor" (sic). In it, I posted a hyperlink to an article that talks about my Clan, and the Enclave here, so if anyone wants to know more (I have no idea why anyone would)...
Trip here sucked, as always. Took Cathay-
Pacific again...Took the ferry up to Manila where Dad and my eldest brother-in-law Ariel Tarik were already staying, since he finally gort his Visa for Northern Ireland, and they had to get the medical crap, etc out of the way. He will be reading at university there for 2 years if all goes well.
The ferry is a drag, 36 hours if there is no delay. Spent my time liberally indulging in Oxy and morphine for a chaser...got to Manila. spent a day hobknobbing with Dad and Ariel, had some good Chinese in Quiapo...You would think that with something like 12% of the Philippines being heavily Chinese in background that you would find great Chinese food all over the nation. Not so.
Chinatown in Davao is only good for bootleg electronics and only 3 or 4 stores at that! Chinese are the Jews of Asia, and like us they manage to infuriate a great many people since they tend to dominate business and education wherever they mograte.
In Mindanao "Chinoy" aka "Tsinoy," as the Filipinos of Chinese background are commonly known are targetted for kidnappings more than the rest of the population, and it is like that from Mindanao down south into Sulu. Just 2 weeks ago in Maguindanao they snatched a 20 something Chinoy out of the family warehouse.
Usually it is Abu Sayyaf, but there are gangs slash terrorist groups like al Khobar who specialise in this.
In Manila I also spent half a day at the only synagouge in the Philippines. it is in Salcedo Village, in Makati which for all intensive purposes is apart of Manila, out near Aquino, the international Air Port.
My Clan was 1 of 2 Syrian Jewish Clans that built the synagouge and imported the Rabbi, since we are all over Asia (though for some reason not in the Philippines...Go figure), but most people using it are Embassy Staff and the like...
I took a night flight into HK, spent an overnight on the free internet they have, and caught my next leg into Kennedy arriving this morning. I declared my morphine (having wisely finished my Oxy in HK), and again had no problem...though I did not exceed 50 tablets.
So, that means tomorrow will be spent getting on methadone for however long I am forced to stay here.
Next, I will be heading to Ruili in Yunnan, on the Chinese Burmese border, and after that perhaps Laos before they shut down the last commercial opium dens. I meant to head up there on my last trip into Cambodia but got lazy with that fat habit I developed...
Then, we will see about Mindanao...
