Life in the Philippines

Things have been hectic here again. I guess that is just the normal pace.  Between me having medical woes, the SkyCable not coorperating, and my lousy memory, I forgot to post the grocery prices from the Price is Right blog I did earlier this month. You can read the initial thread here  

For those of you curious about what things costs in the Philippines, these items were bought in Makati City on 08/08/09.  I have ranked them from least expensive to most.

• Oreo Cookie single serving pack, has 3 cookies, 7 pesos (.14)
• A single size lays chips bag (14 pesos) (.28)
• Orchard Fresh Lean and Light Four Seasons Juice Drink, single serving plastic bottle, 16 pesos (.32)
• Oreo Minis pack, 24 pesos (.48)
• Dole Bananas: there are 6 in the bag: 40 pesos (.80)
•  1 Bottle of Lemon and Lime Gin (about the size of a wine bottle and yes I bought it at the Grocery store!), 62 pesos ($1.20)
• 1 Litre of LowFat Milk, 81 pesos ($1.60)
• 1 500 gram (100 cup serving) Coffee Mate, 90 pesos ($1.80)
• 1 Ocean Spray CranApple Juice. 173 pesos ($2.46)
• Energizer Batteries 4 pack AA, 150 pesos ($3)
• A Kilo of Medium level ground Beef (probably equates to an 80/20 in the US) and a Kilo is 2.2 lbs, 160 pesos ($3.20 for 2.2 pounds)
• Bag of Walnuts, 2 1/2 cup, 279 pesos (5.58)
• The Wok it all sits in, 280 pesos ($5.60)

A couple of observations from this list.  The single pack of Oreos is packaged here in the Philippines and the mini oreos were imported.  That dictates the triple price for not much more cookie.  I guess walnuts are expensive everywhere and this was actually cheaper than the first bag we bought which was more than $7. The wok is actually the best deal in comparison to what I would pay for one in the US and it is very sturdy. But the moral of the story, when considering my earlier blogs about $16 cans of ground coffee has to be “Drink Gin Not Coffee!”

I’m often asked how someone can get a job working like I do from home. I didn’t plan it this way. It just kind of happened.  I was retiring from the military and knew a company who was preparing to bid a contract on the base I was leaving.  I wanted to see the Industry side of the Bid and Proposal process so I asked to be on a proposal team. One thing led to another and 8 years later I am still working for them.  I was able to use my Contracting Background to acquire a job working from home. But perhaps you could approach a local company about what you could do for them.  I started working from home for a company in a different state.  I relocated once within the US, and now to the Philippines.   Since my job is done mostly by phone and email I am able to do it from most anywhere. Assuming Sky BroadBand Cable connects for me, it doesnt matter where I plug the laptop in.  The downside of telecommuting from a different side of the world is the difference in timezones.  It’s worth it though. I like my job even if it is stressful at times.

If you can’t find a company to work for to utilize your skills, consider checking out guru.com, elance.com or writing for Associatedcontent.com, Helium.com, or  Bukisa.com. Each of them have options for working to earn money from home.

Another day is about over, and another work week set to begin.  And just to welcome in the new week we have special weather…MORE RAIN.  Rain here is quite different.  It can be absolutely gorgeous outside and before you know it, there will be torrential downpours.  Those downpours may be followed by a short sprinkling period and then it’s gorgeous again.  Of course there are days when it just rains and rains. Latley it is the night time when it pours.  It is a horribly hard rain.  You can’t hear the television because of the noise on the roof.  You know it has rained to much when even the Basset Hound won’t walk in the yard!  Yesterday she was in the back yard and squeezed herself up close to the fence so she could walk around to the front via the sidewalk.  The yard looks fine, but it is definitely decieving. One step into the grass and you’ll feel the mud between your toes.  I guess the royal Duchess doesn’t like that mud on her feet!   The no mud thing should not surprise me, I think she belives she is human. She’s still a pillow dog, loves having one to lay on and loves being right beside you when sit on the couch.Maybe the rain will stop soon.  For the sake of those whose houses flood, and for those who have no houses at all, I sure hope so.

This week I needed some tests run before having a medical procedure. With all the health care discussions in the news today, and knowing what some folks in the US are paying for services received, I found it interesting that a can of Folgers coffee imported to the stores here is more expensive than an EKG.

On the way to Wawa Dam we saw a number of businesses working with bamboo. These shops had harvested and appeared to be preparing to transport the bamboo to other locations.  Bamboo can be used for many things, such a furniture, crafts, and even food when the shoots are harvested.  You can see examples of bamboo crafts online at this site. I never thought about the variations in size of bamboo or what all it was used for until arriving here.  Recently on a trip to Subic Bay we bought a bamboo rain maker stick. Of course here you certainly do not need to do anything to encourange the rain this time of year!  This photo shows the large bundles of bamboo being prepared for transport.