Today is July 16th, 2010 and it is now 557AM on a ferry in the Sulu Sea, en route to Mindanao, from Manila.
Recap: See above, shit ain't changed.
This entry: Well, I guess something has changed since the typhoon, which became a cyclone and killed more than 1000 people here has ended. Mindanao has everything wrong with it that can go wrong: floods, mudslides, famine, volcanoes,tsunamis, dengue,cholera, malaria, schitomosis (Rizza's mom has it, so called "Snail Disease"), piracy and of course multiple insurgencies. It does not have typhoons though. Luzon on the other hand has several each year.
Sun is coming up over the water, absolutely stunning tropical sunrises are. Last night we pulled into Mindoro for 12 hours, the waters were too rough even for an ocean going ferry. Basically bounced around in a bay, they can't anchor in a storm apparently, so they just moved to and fro, the bay being sheltered made it calmer and safer.
I just took a double dose of morphine and nodded off into some goat and rice I bought off an enterprising old lady here in Economy, sucked without water but that's life.
Got another offline from Rizza, just a note telling me she was online and wanting to IM. She had said in that other note, the 1 that pissed me off, that she wanted to move to England and be a Care Giver but needs money for some bullshit course.
She has a BS, then she was in nursing school but quit when she shacked up with Mr.Goiter so hey, go ask Bumpy Neck, I am supporting a woman I don't love in Manila, 1 is enough even if you have paper on me.
I have been thinking for a little while now to offload my investments here, preferablly to her parents. Even if they don't want to waste the capital I would accept payments with a decent down payment first. I had never wanted to settle here, it was all for Rizza whose parents I had promised. I had been saying for years that when I left the IDF Rizza and I would settle in the compound and give them grandchildren. That worked out sooooooo well and now I am stuck.
If given a choice? Pnohm Pehn all the way! I would love to settle in Yunnan in China but can't swing the residency. I love Cambodia but then, with no woman, no family I would be like those tumbleweeds, in their 50s and 60s hanging out in backpacker digs.
In PP the breakfast of choice for locals, and for me, is cracked steamed white rice (white rice chopped up with a cleaver), roasted fat back (like gristly porkchop) or alternatively a roasted chicken wing with hardly any meat. The obiquitous condiment is some shredded cabbage and carrot and a cloyingly sweet and sour sauce.
This costs all of 3000 Riel (4200 Riel equals 1 US or did last trip in 2 years ago). Not bad, fills you right up and I loved mine with 1200 mgs DHC (dihydrocdeinone), 60 mgs valium and and a nice antihistamine, promethazine, but I"m funny that way.
Anyway, each morning at sunrise, as I waded out, "waded" because streets on or around Street 85 were absolute bogs, I would see one of those older, rootless souls. His clothes were formal but threadbare and I always felt badly for the man.
I shouldn't have, he is in a place where 1 can live on 4 US a day, food included and all sorts of debauchery abounds, never bored.
Still, when I think of moving there I end up shuddering thinking of him...
Recap: See above, shit ain't changed.
This entry: Well, I guess something has changed since the typhoon, which became a cyclone and killed more than 1000 people here has ended. Mindanao has everything wrong with it that can go wrong: floods, mudslides, famine, volcanoes,tsunamis, dengue,cholera, malaria, schitomosis (Rizza's mom has it, so called "Snail Disease"), piracy and of course multiple insurgencies. It does not have typhoons though. Luzon on the other hand has several each year.
Sun is coming up over the water, absolutely stunning tropical sunrises are. Last night we pulled into Mindoro for 12 hours, the waters were too rough even for an ocean going ferry. Basically bounced around in a bay, they can't anchor in a storm apparently, so they just moved to and fro, the bay being sheltered made it calmer and safer.
I just took a double dose of morphine and nodded off into some goat and rice I bought off an enterprising old lady here in Economy, sucked without water but that's life.
Got another offline from Rizza, just a note telling me she was online and wanting to IM. She had said in that other note, the 1 that pissed me off, that she wanted to move to England and be a Care Giver but needs money for some bullshit course.
She has a BS, then she was in nursing school but quit when she shacked up with Mr.Goiter so hey, go ask Bumpy Neck, I am supporting a woman I don't love in Manila, 1 is enough even if you have paper on me.
I have been thinking for a little while now to offload my investments here, preferablly to her parents. Even if they don't want to waste the capital I would accept payments with a decent down payment first. I had never wanted to settle here, it was all for Rizza whose parents I had promised. I had been saying for years that when I left the IDF Rizza and I would settle in the compound and give them grandchildren. That worked out sooooooo well and now I am stuck.
If given a choice? Pnohm Pehn all the way! I would love to settle in Yunnan in China but can't swing the residency. I love Cambodia but then, with no woman, no family I would be like those tumbleweeds, in their 50s and 60s hanging out in backpacker digs.
In PP the breakfast of choice for locals, and for me, is cracked steamed white rice (white rice chopped up with a cleaver), roasted fat back (like gristly porkchop) or alternatively a roasted chicken wing with hardly any meat. The obiquitous condiment is some shredded cabbage and carrot and a cloyingly sweet and sour sauce.
This costs all of 3000 Riel (4200 Riel equals 1 US or did last trip in 2 years ago). Not bad, fills you right up and I loved mine with 1200 mgs DHC (dihydrocdeinone), 60 mgs valium and and a nice antihistamine, promethazine, but I"m funny that way.
Anyway, each morning at sunrise, as I waded out, "waded" because streets on or around Street 85 were absolute bogs, I would see one of those older, rootless souls. His clothes were formal but threadbare and I always felt badly for the man.
I shouldn't have, he is in a place where 1 can live on 4 US a day, food included and all sorts of debauchery abounds, never bored.
Still, when I think of moving there I end up shuddering thinking of him...