Daily Report: Plans and Meetings

I was up nice and early again. I'm also starting to eat breakfast again, which is a change from just coffee.

Jun stopped by early to pick up my motorcycle. Last week I had the bike painted with some cool color-shifting paint that I had shipped from America in a friend's balakbayan box. (Balakbayan boxes — the "official" boxes that Filipinos living overseas use to send items back to family here — aren't searched or subject to tariffs (that I am aware of), so you can send paint in them, which normally would require all kinds of paperwork and approvals and meeting of regulations for shipping.) The bike used to be red, but now it is purple... and when the light hits it, it turns green. Jun has taken the bike back to (1) put a final polish on the paint job, (2) paint the front fender the same color, which didn't look right with its faux-carbon-fiber appearance, and (3) see if the electrical output of the engine can be upgraded to run the extra headlights that I have added that keep draining the battery.

There are two gray farings on the each side of the bike that I'm having recreated in local narra hardwood that should be finished this week. After that, I'm having the seat reupholstered in brown leather (probably leather-looking polyester that is water proof). Next, I'm going to have versions of the metal "floor panels" fabricated in copper. Finally, I'm going to have some copper chrome paint shipped from America and I'm going to have all of the plastic and metal "highlight pieces" (rear view mirrors, front plaque, rear cargo rack, transmission cover) changed to copper. As a finishing touch, I'm thinking of having custom bodywork screws made, capped with copper 5-centavo pieces. (Can anybody tell me if that is illegal in The Philippines?)

By the way, Alsa, where I bought the paint, has some of the wildest paints on the planet... color shifting paint, paint that changes color with heat, paint that glows in the dark, paint that looks like marble or granite or wood grain when sprayed on, real chrome paint in a variety of colors... and many of their paints are even sold in (very advanced, 2-chamber) spray cans. Check them out.

Later in the morning, I went to City Hall and met with Mayor Jardin. I talked with him about (1) starting a branch of The Philippine Eagles here in Jasaan, which he was very interested in, but directed me to another fellow in town who he feels would be more helpful; (2) about getting a business license for our soon-to-be-built pizza stand, which he informed me I would not need until after the place was built and could be inspected; (3) about putting some low bushes and grass on the 2-meter wide strip of city property that runs between the street and open sewer in front of my house, to which he referred me to the city engineer (who came over to the house, inspected the area, and gave his approval).

After that, I spent the day working.

In the evening, I invited Ayan (not Ian, as I had spelled it previously... sorry), who runs the beauty pageants, over to my house. I've got a good idea: Ayan knows lots of beauty queens and I know that lots of fellows who read my blog want to meet nice Filipina girls. Since the online dating/introduction services are filled with thousands of girls of random and unknowable integrity, honesty, background, and beauty, I figured that I (with Epril's and Ayan's help) would find and post one local beauty queen every week on this blog (a "Jungle Juliette") who is interested in meeting foreign guys. We here will interview the girl, make sure she's nice, get personal information to put up along with some photos, and then you readers can get in touch with me for her e-mail address. It will be a money-making scheme insofar that, on the honor system, if one of you ever marries a Jungle Juliette, you send us (Epril and I will be sharing with Ayan) a token of your appreciation. Otherwise, it will be free. Also, if I set you up with a correspondence with a Jungle Juliette, I ask that you keep me updated with how things are going, so that I can make sure that nobody is getting played or cheated, and if I find that one of the girls is making promises to several guys that she couldn't possibly keep, or misrepresenting herself, or misleading people, I can put a stop to it. (UPDATE: Via private e-mail, Mike asked me how I would protect the girls from getting played or cheated. The girls will be keeping me updated as well, and the same rules apply to the guys as apply to the girls.)

Oh: I've got a new camera on the way. Bird is picking one up for me in America... 50% less than what it costs here in The Philippines. It will be Epril's first anniversary present. Then, we should have photos back on the blog.