Epril poses with ketchup as
we sit down to a lunch of
pork adobo and fried chicken.For lunch, Susan cooked some pork adobo with green beans, and fried some chicken, which we enjoyed while sitting in front of the television watching the world's silliest television program, "Wo-wo-wie", which is about 20 minutes of fat fililpino housewives dancing and making kissey-faces at the camera, followed by a 10-minute game show.
After lunch, I went with Epril to the L.T.O (the Land Transportation Office), which is the filipino equivalent of the Department of Motor Vehicles, in order to register my motorcycle and get a temporary license plate... only to find that the motorcycle dealership had never supplied me with an "O.R." or an official receipt.
Going home having accomplished nothing, I called the motorcycle dealership to ask them where my O.R. was, and they told me that it would take 3-4 weeks for them to obtain one, and that they only mail out such requests to their head office in Manila once per week, "maybe this Friday?" they hinted. (This Friday, by the way is Good Friday, the biggest holiday in The Philippines... they'll be closed that day.) Why didn't they mail it out last Friday, 5 days after I bought the motorcycle? I don't know.
Sorry MotorStar of The Philippines. That's enough. Your Panther 150 is of poor quality, with 2 breakdowns and 3 trips to the shop within the first 100 kilometers of operation; and the staff at your Cagayan De Oro dealership are nitwits who apparently don't have a clue to what is necessary for selling or registering a motorcycle. Consider this my official warning to anybody reading to never buy a Motorstar motorcycle in Cagayan De Oro, or anyplace else in The Philippines for that matter.
Yes: I'm keeping the motorcycle. It's not worthless... it's just not worth buying. It's not worth the going through the hassles of ownership... but I already have gone through those hassles.
It's like ordering a dish at a restaurant that isn't very good: You don't really want to fight with the manager about taking it back, and you can still eat the dish although you don't enjoy it very much, but above all else, you will certainly tell all your friends not to buy the same dish.
More people having fun along the
river bank, this time some
students swimming.Anyway, back to the rest of my day: My afternoon of work was a little light. Epril and Susan went shopping.
In the evening, Epril and I watched the final episodes of season one of Heroes. Absolutely excellent... That's all I can say about it. Better than season one of "Battlestar Galactica". Better than season two of "24". I haven't watched "Lost" yet, so I don't know about that, but it is on my list. Does anyone have any other television suggestions?
I think Epril would enjoy "Desperate housewives" and for you jil "The Closer". I also like the show "Medium". They are great shows. I think you can watch these shows on demand on through their websites on the internet. Check out Desperate Housewives is on ABC. The Closer is on NBC. The Closer is on the USA channel. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteDesperate Housewives will make you (JIL) desperate to jump into the ravine that is in back of your house; it is a cliche' soap opera of western women who are never satisfied and cheat on their spouses. LAME (unless your female or gay)
ReplyDeleteNow, for a good show check out "The Wire", it is an HBO series that you can find season 1 and 2 on DVD, you won't be dissapointed.
Heh Issarat: I take any criticism of drama from you with a grain of salt. After all, your idea of good drama is "The Contender". ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations though, both of you above. I'll keep them in mind.
He's right about Desperate Housewives, Jil. I'd rather chew and swallow a handfull of nails than watch one full episode.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any advice on shows - just wanted to say I love the pictures from your home. Beautiful. Makes me cry, as of right now I'm surrounded by the cold and snow in Minnesota. Yep - I'm jealous - I just keep thinking "15 more years till retirement - then hello SE Asia".
ReplyDeletePlease continue showing pictures of the Philippines.
Ding
Hi Jil. I was just enjoying a burger at Bob's TX BBQ and regretting never having run into you before you escaped to PI.
ReplyDeleteAfter the retirement age for Thailand dropped to 50 I decided to take advantage of it and got my O-A visa for a permanent vacation here in Pattaya. No visa runs for me.
Anyway, I'm very curious and interested about your acclimation to the Philippines, especially Mindinao. My impressions in the news made me think it's a volatile place with Abu Whatever "organizations" targeting Americans. A few years ago some Jehovah's Witness missionaries there had their heads sent home in a box.
More than one Filipino gf in the past has offered a PI provincial life, such as in Bicol, but I didn't feel safe when I last visited 10 years ago. That was in Manila.
I appreciate your insight and the next Beer Lao is on me when you're in Pattaya again.
Forgive the "Anonymous" signature but the Blog sign-up page keeps turning to Thai.
eDEE in Pattaya.
Hi Jil,
ReplyDeleteI'm writing this from Mom's computer! :) Anyway, I second the Wire. That would be at the top of our list. Let's see, our list of favorite shows we've watched on NetFlix- The Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos. I think you would LOVE those three. Things we've liked on TV this season, Heroes and Lost and Battelstar Galactica, of course, also Jericho and Friday Night Lights.
Glad to hear things are going well in the Phillipines!