Tag Archives: Metro Manila

The Road to Diamond, Day 73: A Pause for Reality

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 10, 2025, Manila- I went shopping, this afternoon. Looking for a way to settle here, in an intelligent, practical manner has run into the realities of urban finance. I will discuss this further with K, and at least I have a safe, secure Home Base waiting, if the whole plan here turns out to be an impractical mess. I have a duty, to my departed parents, to my little and extended families, and to my beloved, to never again be a burden on anyone. So, with no money having exchanged hands, I am glad that my expedition this afternoon and evening has given me insights.

Long story short-while monthly rent here is fairly cheap, housing entrepreneurs favour “rent to own” systems, which include a doable down payment, followed, however, by a monthly payment that exceeds the average American pensioner’s total monthly income-at least in Metro Manila. No thank you, unless I win the lottery stateside, and even then, it’s the principle of the matter.

I am not shamefaced, to tell you, my readers, this, only a day after being so sure of my Plan 1. I did say, yesterday, that events on the ground this year could change on a dime. Things will likely proceed organically, in quite rapid succession, between now and next Tuesday, as well as for the rest of this year. K and I will continue to have honest, heartfelt conversations, about a number of things-and life will go on nicely. Stay tuned.

The Road to Diamond, Day 61: Return to (Maybe) Forever

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 28, 2025, Pasay– Three robust boys came to me with a request all too familiar, even back at Home Base I: Would I be so kind as to support their youth basketball league, with a small contribution? In a Metro Manila that is all too overrun with urchins thrusting out hands or paper cups, this was worth the small contribution that I gladly offered. Of course, the urchins were there, too, one hanging on my arm for a split second, but I am mindful of the futility that accompanies piecemeal rendering of small change. Like those who want millionaires and billionaires to pay off the national debt of the United States, the folks who scold others for not giving on demand to the people in the street are barking up a limbless tree. The Big Dogs don’t have enough, even collectively, to pay off the debt. The rest of us don’t have enough to keep paying the world’s destitute, ad infinitum. It’s simply best to support programs that can raise up the people; inspire and enlighten, educate and empower them.

I arrived at 10:30 a.m., in Apollo 11 Village, in the Barangay of San Gregorio, in the southeast corner of Pasay, and close enough to the gradually cleaner, but still rather fetid, Estero de Tripa de Gallina, to be a bit pestered by mosquitoes. Apollo 11 Village was in a festive mood,as many were gathered for the 75th birthday of a local matriarch. The scene even became a tourist attraction, with a few European visitors taking pictures of the birthday singing and cake cutting. I demurred on that front, out of respect for the lady and her family. My mission at that point was more quotidian: Walking to Mercury Drug, a mile to the west, to pick up spare razor blades. It was irksome to me, to have a day’s growth of beard, and my razor handle not fit into the blade. (For whatever reason, it would be more cooperative the next day).

My beloved contacted me and talked about all the things that had been going on in her life, over the past two weeks. She is always up front, so long as I give her the space that any person needs and deserves. We may well get closer, this time around. This visit may be a “return to forever” (with apologies to Chick Correa). It will, in any case, be memorable and nurturing, at least for me, and hopefully for both of us.

Here, for fans of the technojazz of the 1970s. is Return to Forever’s Majestic Dance, from their “Romantic Warrior” LP. Yes, it is an acquired taste for many, but I have grown to admire Chick Correa, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola and the rest, for their dedication to consciousness raising.

Pounded

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 16, 2024- No doubt, the wind and water were practically freezing people in their tracks, as the monster called Man-yi, the sixth (or seventh) of its kind to hit the Philippines, in little over a month, wrought floodwaters, mud and collapsing buildings, from Samar, in the central region known as Visayas to Aurora, in northeast Luzon. People who I helped, after the earlier Typhoon Kristine, will not be able to tell me if that aid survived Man-yi (“Pepito”), for several days. They appear to be safe, in either government shelters or with family, elsewhere. Those in Metro Manila, including K, have full plates, I’m sure, keeping track of those close to them who live in Bicol, Catanduanes and Samar. Metro itself does not appear to have suffered.

Here at Home Base, the talk is more about who will serve in what position. What will they do, to cut the national debt? Whose jobs will they cut? Will there be attention paid to what the new “masters” regard as frivolous programs? Will they have frivolous programs of their own? In any adjustment of budgets and spending that involves large numbers of people, there needs to be attention paid to the households, and communities, that will be disrupted if there are mass layoffs and job cuts. This process can not be a frivolity in its own right. It can’t be managed by AI, by people acting like AI or by someone several degrees of separation from those impacted on the ground. (That last has been a sore point with those who, ironically, identify with the populist movement which seems to have prevailed, worldwide.) It stands to reason that meaningful work needs to be generated, at local and state levels, or in the private sector, before the proverbial swamp gets drained.

Nature, in this time of global change, can be brutal and unforgiving. It has consequences, both anticipated and unknown. Government, in this time of rearrangement and a degree of revanchism, does not have to be blinkered, in its pursuit of economy and justice for the small tax payer. Planning ahead and layering of cutbacks can prevent wholesale collapse of local economies from immediate mass cuts in government spending. It is not impossible for jobs to transferred to the private sector or to lower tiers of government, if enough advance planning is exercised.

We don’t need to leave one another feeling pounded. Nature does that well enough, on its own.

Foundation of Gold

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 19,2024, Manila- Many know that the islands of the Malay Archipelago, from Singapore, south and east to Timor and Halmahera, then north to Batanes, had structured, hierarchical societies, based on a chiefly class, prior to the arrival of European traders and colonialists. Relatively few know that these societies were an outgrowth of the successful use of metallurgy, and that the metal most commonly in demand was gold.

The Spanish, Portuguese, British, French and Dutch all had designs on countries which produced a wealth of spices. It was only when the colonialists settled down a bit, and made friends with some of the indigenous people, that they found there was gold to be had. As was their wont, the traders, adventurers and soldiers took the precious metal for themselves, under the guise of “for King and Country”. The rest is known to most of the world.

The Malay people, from their western outpost, in Madagascar in the far west to Taiwan and the Korean island of Jeju, in the north, are related linguistically and culturally to the Micronesian and Polynesian people of Oceania. Various features of Malay people, especially those indigenous to the Philippines, are outlined in exhibits now showing at Ayala Museum, in the southeast corner of Makati, Metro Manila. The foundation of their culture being the mining, smelting and wearing of gold is a point made most deftly.

The golden nature of the Filipino personality, though, is what has outlasted the mineral reserves, to which the Spanish conquistadors and Chinese pirates helped themselves copiously, over several centuries. Filipinos stand their ground, of course, and do not go about their lives foolishly-though anyone navigating the northeast side of Makati on Friday night would wonder about that, as the taxi driver ferrying me to my hostel, after my day with Kathy, could certainly attest. (There was no one to be found, among the drivers, who was obeying traffic signals.)

I was delighted, though, to rejoin her and two other friends this afternoon, at Ayala Museum, experiencing various sensory performances, from a Shadow Play with romantic songs playing in the background to a delightful performance by Manila Symphony Orchestra, which is Asia’s oldest. It was founded in 1926, by Alexander Lippay, and has not skipped a beat (pun intended) ever since. MSO even served as a vehicle of the Resistance, during Japanese occupation. The military governor, not wanting to look like a rube, reportedly attended classical music performances, but missed the message embedded in the program, that the Filipino spirit was alive and well.

The diorama of Philippine history is an area of the museum that would probably take me several hours to properly take in. I may get back there to do just that, on this visit. Otherwise, it’ll wait until February. (Yes, I am skipping out on chilly Prescott, for two weeks in 2/25. Certain matters will need my attention here, at that time.)

Life has taken me to many places of pure gold. I am especially glad for this latest.

Preparation, and Repair

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 14, 2024, Manila- We got word this morning that a longtime Baha’i resident of Metro Manila, who came from Iran, had passed away after a long illness. When something like this happens, plans change, of course, and a”all hands are on deck”. Being on the periphery of preparations for the funeral and memorial, two days from now, my immediate concern was to get a proper shirt and tie, and leather shoes, for the occasion. (I would have done that, anyway, in preparation for an event being planned for this week. That event is postponed until after the honouring of the deceased. ) I will help out, at the ground level, on Wednesday.

The other thing that happened, over the weekend, was that a major kitchen appliance went kaput. We looked at the matter from all angles, and while it may be repairable, the item does not, in other ways, any longer meet the needs of the community. A comparable appliance, different in capacity, will be purchased to take its place.

This is a most intense year of changes happening “on a dime”. There will, no doubt, be others-some of which can be deduced by an educated guess and the rest coming upon us with minimal notice. My time in the Philippines, this go-round, is down to two weeks. Then comes the Presidential election, and for me, on the ground, drives to Carson City, northern New Mexico, southern Arizona and either a flight or road trip to Grapevine.

Then comes 2025, the year of fruition, of tying up loose ends, and of “one door closing and another one opening”. What that means for your truly will somewhat depend on the next 2 1/2 months, as who knows what loose ends will still be dangling. There will, however, be no shortage of preparation, and repair.