Brunch at Tinto

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that circumstances had prevented me from attending the regular Thursday brunch with some fellow Americans last week. At one time we'd meet at pretty much the same location every week, but recently we've begun going to a new joint each week. Because I wasn't there last week, I had no say in where we'd meet this time. This week we met at Tinto on E J. Blanco Dr. in Dumaguete.

I arrived a little early and met the "first shift" expats who were leaving as we were to arrive.

As can be seen in the photos, the restaurant's decor is pleasant enough, but it's similar to choosing the proverbial book by the cover. It's the food that's important.

I made the mistake of ordering the fish and chips. I was hoping for something as good as the fish and chips at Thunder Road but I was sadly disappointed. The fries were not bad - pretty good, in fact, but the fish wasn't good at all, and the meal was way over priced at 330 pesos.

One friend had the chili con carne. It did not look at all appetizing and my friend said it tasted like left-overs (and not in a good way). Two of the guys had burger and onion rings. I didn't ask how the burgers were, but burgers are burgers in my book. The one good thing I can say about the place is that they are very generous with their onion rings. I thought one order was actually a double order.

All in all, I did not have a good dining experience at Tinto and it's unlikely that I'll return.

Mango Shake from the Octagon Sports Bar.

Today being Thursday, I met with a group of Americans for a brunch of sorts. Me being the cheap bastard that I am, I always eat at home before going to these get-togethers. Not only is it a lot cheaper, but I can cook as good, or better than the folks here.

Today we met at the Octagon Sports bar in Bacong. In keeping with my usual habit, I decided on a mango shake. It's been quite some time since I've last reviewed a shake from a local eatery.

As can be seen in these photos, the shake was thick and creamy. This one was actually made with mango - you can't say that about all the mango shakes in Dumaguete. This tastes as good as it looks. It's price was only slightly above average. 80 pesos. It was certainly better than some I've had costing 90 and above. I'd recommend the mango shake although the restaurant is really too far from my place to go just for the shake.

Thunder Road Bar and Grill

As I may have mentioned in earlier post, I meet with a group of fellow Americans once a week for (usually) breakfast and conversation. This week we changed our meeting time to a little later in the morning in order to accommodate one of the guys who takes his young son to pre-school. We also changed the location to accommodate another guy who wanted to check out a Mexican restaurant located on the south side of the city. We arrived at Los Mariachis at 10:00 AM, only to discover that the restaurant doesn't open until 11:00.

Rather than wait around for Los Mariachis to open, we voted on trying out a bar and grill across the street - Thunder Road Bar and Grill.

My three companions ordered burgers while I ordered the fish and chips. My only regret is that I failed to get a photo of my food. I have no complaints about my order; I'll have the fish and chips again.

Although I neglected to get a photo of my fish and chips, I did manage to get a few photos of the bar and grill. I can certainly recommend the place.

Heathcliff's Filet-O-Fish Adventure

In a recent posting on his blog, Village Idiot Savant 2016, my friend Dom tells of his less than satisfying Filet-o-Fish sandwich from McDonald’s. He had been rushed that Friday morning and unable to prepare a packed lunch, and it being a Friday during Lent, his choices were very limited.

Dom's mentioning of the Filet-o-Fish sandwich brought to my mind a story told to me by an American friend of mine. Rather than use my friend's real name, I'll substitute the name Heathcliff - not because my American friend is particularly sinister, but I've just finished reading Wuthering Heights and the name is fresh in my mind.

My friend Heathcliff is married to a Filipina from Cebu. At the time this incident took place, Heathcliff's father-in-law, "Pops", had been living with Heathcliff and his wife - originally planning to make the U.S. his home. However, for reasons unknown to me, Pops living there was not working out and he was to return to Cebu.

It was decided that Pops would not be able to fly from Atlanta to Cebu on his own, and as Heathcliff's wife, Gertrude would not be able to take time off from work, Heathcliff would accompany Pops and stay a few weeks at a resort before returning to the U.S..

After seeing Pops home safely, Heathcliff checked into the resort, where, from what I've been told, proceeded to do absolutely nothing for two weeks. The only things he found interesting enough to relate to us, was his regrettable experience with Filipino spaghetti and his decision to live solely on McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwiches for the duration of his stay in Cebu; a filetofishetarian, if you will.

In relating this tale, Heathcliff did not explain to me why he did not alter his diet with the occasional Quarter Pounder w/cheese or Big Mac.

After about a week of Heathcliff's Filet-o-Fish diet, the manager of the McDonald's asked Heathcliff  how long he was planning on staying in the area, as they had served more Filet-o-Fish to my friend than they had ever sold. It was a record for them, and the manager needed to know how much more of the frozen fish fillets he would need to order to keep up with Heathcliff's consumption.

Unfortunately, there is no spectacular ending to this story, other than the fact that my friend Heathcliff lived to tell about it.

It's a Small World......But I Wouldn't Want to Have to Paint It.

They say, "Old habits die hard", and I can certainly attest to that.

During the last two years of my nineteen year stint with Mohawk Industries, I was working at the company's distribution center - a 35 minute commute from my home. During the last year of that commute, the ride was shared with my friend, Mark B. On our way to work each morning, we would tune the car radio to a local Rome, GA radio station, WRGA and listen to Home Town Headlines, the Radio Edition, hosted by another friend, John Druckenmiller.

Now that I'm retired and living with my wife and son in Sibulan, Philippines, I still find myself occasionally listening the radio program over the Internet via the TuneInRadio app on my Android. John and my sister once worked for the same company; he and I knew each other from church (St Mary's Catholic Church) and his son and mine attended the same school - but in different grades- and I consider him a friend. His friendship is not, however, the only reason I listen to his program; it's really the best place to keep up with events in my old stomping ground.

When the U.S. is following Daylight Saving Time, Sibulan is 12 hours ahead of Rome, GA. (it's 13 hours ahead in the winter when GA goes back to EST). I had just finished supper last night around 7:00 PM when I decided to tune into the program. I wanted to let John know that I was listening to the program and I sent a message to him via Facebook. I had no idea that he would give a shout-out to us over the radio. Very nice.

I learned from another former co-worker via Facebook, that my buddy Mark B. was listening to the program on his way to work. Old habits die hard for him as well, I guess.

We've all grown accustomed to the wonders of technology and we often forget just how amazing these times are. It's not so long ago that communicating with friends and family on the other side of the planet, as easily as we do today, would have been unthinkable.

Now, if only traveling back and forth could be as easy.

Festival Update.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the star of our St. Anthony of Padua Feast Day was the Lechon Baboy.

I had taken photos, but was not able to post them at the time.

But, now, without further ado.........

The Lechon Baboy.

Dom and Emily.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post,the highlight of St. Anthony's feast day for me was my finally meeting, face to face, Dom Cimafranca and his charming wife, Emily. I became acquainted with Dom several years ago by way of his blog VillageIdiotSavant and over the years we've developed an on-line friendship.

Managing to take time off from his busy schedule teaching Computer Science and Creative Writing at Ateneo de Davao University, Dom and Emily flew into Dumaguete Tuesday. After connecting with Dom via cell phone, we arranged to meet outside St. Anthony's church in Sibulan on Thursday.

Back to Mama and Papa's house to enjoy the lechon baboy. After lunch, Cathy, J.P. and I joined the Cimafranca's on a little outing to see the sights in Dumaguete. Dom had the use of a car......certainly much better than depending on an "easy ride" or "tricycle" to get about,though I told Dom that I didn't think I was brave enough to try driving a car in Dumaguete.

When asked where we'd like to go first, Cathy and I said we wanted to see Robinson's Mall. It had been built since our last visit and our trip to Dumaguet would have been incomplete without our checking it out. Very impressive.

Then it was off to the Marine Museum to see the crocodiles, giant sea turtle and the museum's whale bone collection.

Lastly, Dom and Emily treated us to ice cream and coffee at a lovely little place called Gaby's Bistro. The photos of the various treats on the menu do not do them justice. J.P.'s ice cream, as you can see, was much too big - even for him.

Having read one or two of Dom's short stories on-line, I let him know that I was a fan. When we met, he gave to me a copy of his book of short stories, " An Unusual Treatment ". I hope the entire book becomes available on-line; Dom deserves a larger audience. I'll be loaning my copy to friends, but it can only go so far.

It's too early to be planning our next trip to Philippines......we haven't left yet. But, come next trip, I want to schedule a side trip to Davao to visit Dom and Emily, our new friends.

On St. Anthony's Feast Day.

Yesterday,Thursday,June 13 was the feast day of St.Anthony of Padua,the patron Saint of Sibulan,Negros Oriental Philippines.

They really take their festivals seriously here in Sibulan.

To start off our day, we were to attend a 5:00 AM thanksgiving mass at St.Anthony's Catholic church but a heavy rainstorm cancelled that - for us,at least. I'm not certain if we were getting the tail end of a typhoon,but it wouldn't surprise me.

Earlier, in preparation for the festival, on Wednesday, I accompanied Cathy's papa and two younger brothers to the old house in Tubtuban where Papa keeps his pigs. In a repeat of my visit six years ago, I helped, in a minor way,slaughter one of the two pigs that would be served up Thursday. thankfully, Cathy's cousin Rolly arrived to take over.

Thursday's star of the day was the lechon baboy - a whole pig,roasted outside on a bamboo spit. There are photos, taken with my 20th century SLR. It will be a few days before any of those photos will get posted online.

The highlight of Thursday,for me, at least, was my finally meeting face to face with Dom Cimafranca and his charming wife, Emily. I've been of fan of Dom's blog, Village Idiot Savant, for a number of years. Cathy, J.P. and I spent a few hours with the Cimafranca's in Dumaguete. I'll have more on that in a later post.

Later, Cathy, J.P. and I topped off the evening by walking to the church with Cathy's sisters and their children. There, we lit candles and prayed.

We returned home to house filled with visitors. As I said, they really take their festivals seriously here in Sibulan

Sunday at Church.

Given more than one option as to when and where we would attend mass Sunday, we decided on the Sunday, 8:30 mass here in Sibulan. Our other choices were going to 6:00 PM mass at St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Dumaguete or one of masses at St.Anthony of Padua in Sibulan at 6:00 or 8:30 AM or 5:30 PM.

Mama and Papa preferred the Mass in Dumaguete but Cathy and I were reluctant to ride to the city because to the horrendous traffic that I wrote of in an earlier post. Cathy wanted to attend the 5:30 PM mass but I doubted I’d be able to get out and about that late in the afternoon. After learning that the 8:30 Mass would be in English, the deal was sealed, even though, for me, the important thing is reception of the Eucharist – a Mass in Tagalog or Visayan would have been OK, as far as that goes.

St.Anthony’s church is relatively close  by, though not close enough to walk; we’d be going  by pedicab (AKA  "putt putt").  Readers from years back will recall that a motorbike with sidecar is called a tricycle. The "putt putt" is a sidecar powered by bicycle. We actually needed to hire two pedicabs – the total weight of me, my wife and son, plus the weight of my wife’s youngest sister would have been too much for one driver.  Each driver was paid 20 pesos (50 cents US) for the approximately 1 mile trip.

At 8:30 AM, it was already hot inside the church. The strategically placed oscillating fans and opened windows helped some, but our parish priest in Rome would not survive here. Father Patrick likes the AC running  full blast. Even in the hottest summer days, it's freezing in St.Mary's church.

The mass in Sibulan may have technically been in English, but following along wasn't easy for me. The liturgy and prayers were understandable but the readings weren't so, due to the lector's heavy accent. The priest's English was better but he liked to add Visayan to his homily, making it difficult for me to completely get his point.

The wafer used in the Eucharistic service was much smaller and thinner than the wafer used in the U.S.; it was nearly translucent in fact. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion were used to help distribute the Blessed Sacrament, but the Precious Blood was not made available to the regular folk. I suppose the reason behind the absence of the blood, as well as the use of the small host was based on economic reasons - perfectly understanding and proper.

Michael Voris would probably be happy to know that the "sign of Peace" here was more restrained that it is in the U.S.. I didn't see anyone else shaking hands - just a simple head nod.

I couldn't help but notice the relatively large number of people who choose not to take Communion. In the U.S. everyone assumes he's "worthy" to take Communion, whether he is or not.

After mass, we hired two more pedicabs for the return trip to the house. It was, all in all a pleasant and  enjoyable experience.

Things Have Changed.

It’s been six years since our last visit to Philippines; it goes without saying that there have been changes over the past few years – some positive while some others, not so much.

J.P. has two additional cousins who hadn't been born our last time here and the two who we have seen before were almost unrecognizable – they’re no longer infants. His youngest aunt, who was only slightly older than he is now,  has grown into a tall, very pretty teen aged young lady.

Most of the family is living in the new house. There’s still more work to be done on the house, but it’s certainly an improvement over the old house.

As expected, not all of the changes that have occurred these past 6 years have been for the best. The traffic in Dumaguete is unbearable. It’s never been what you might call a pleasant experience, but the increased number of vehicles on the streets doesn't add anything to what was once a very charming city.

Worst of all the changes has been the tremendous increase in the price of everything. Some items, such has sacks of rice are still cheaper than in the U.S., but prices on some items are absolutely outrageous. The price of a 50 Kg sack of rice may be half that of the same bag in the U.S. – I purchased a can opener at Super Lee’s yesterday for more than 600 pesos, approx. $15 at the current rate. A can opener which, it turns out, I didn't even need in the first place.

Even as the price of everything has skyrocketed (showing the Philippine peso to have lost value) the value of the U.S. dollar has dropped even more. During my earlier visits, I could easily get 50 pesos per dollar but today the exchange rate is only 41 peso per dollar; a peso that has itself gone down. I don’t know how well other currencies are doing viz a viz the peso, but from what I can see, the global economy is still n a slump.

Some things here haven’t seemed to change. Tiny geckos, slightly longer than a man’s index finger still have reign over the people’s homes. Most of the Americans I know would freak at the thought of little lizards crawling about the house. They don’t, however, get in the way while they keep the number of insects in the home to a minimum.

J.P. seems to be taking everything in stride. He’s adapted to life here faster than I did my first visit. Technically speaking, of course, this isn't his first trip, but he remembers never at all from that visit).

Life in Philippines isn't easy. Most of my fellow Americans would absolutely dread being here. I’m sure I’m out of the ordinary, but I actually like it here.

Go Ahead, Unfriend Me...Part Two.

It's been four days since I last posted - Go Ahead, Unfriend Me - . In that post, I wrote how I had "unfriended" four people on my Facebook friends list over their support of the Boys Scouts of America's changing policy to allow gay boys to become scouts. I see this change as a first step in allowing adult homosexuals to become scout leaders.

I also asked in that post that any of my current Facebook friends who disagreed with me on this issue to "unfriend" me as well. Now, four days later, none have done so.
What can I take from this? That all of my friends agree with me? Hardly likely. I'm sure that more than one person probably believes I'm out of line on this.

Could it be that no one has read that post? I know some have read it, but it would be a good bet that the majority of my Facebook friends haven't even bothered to check out the link I posted on Facebook.

Pretty discouraging, huh?

Even though it may be a monumental waste of time getting some folks attuned to some of the problems we're facing, I guess I'll just slog along with these posts and hope someone, somewhere will pay attention.

Go Ahead, Unfriend Me.

I've just "unfriended" four folks on Facebook.

Like everyone else I know, many of my Facebook "friends" are people I knew growing up......people I haven't seen in ages but who I remember fondly from my youth.

I've decide to remove these former friends because of their support of the Boy Scouts of America's vote to allow openly gay boys .

Many of those who had been pressuring the BSA to accept gay boys have focused their attention on one boy in particular ...... an openly gay boy from Maryland,Pascal Tessier.

I went to high school with Tessier's mother, Tracie Felker, and she's one of the people I've "unfriended".

It's not that I particularly care if Tessier becomes an Eagle Scout or not; that's not really what I object to. This move to permit openly gay boys into Scouting is merely the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. The real goal is to change BSA policy to allow homosexual men to be Scout leaders.

From People:

"Not that the controversy is over. The Scouts' longstanding ban on gay adults remains in force, and many liberal Scout leaders – as well as gay-rights groups – plan to continue pressing for an end to that exclusion even though the BSA's top officials aren't ready for that step."

In an early article,Felker was quoted as saying,"We're not trying to destroy Boy Scouts, we're trying to build it."

It may not have been her intention to destroy Boy Scouts, but that will be the end result.

Religious groups charter 70 percent of the Scout-sponsoring organizations, and while the LDS church "has released a statement expressing their support for the Boy Scouts of America after the youth organization voted to allow openly gay members" , it's unlikely that the majority of Christian churches will follow.

As I've said, I've "unfriended" four Facebook "friends" over this. To my current Facebook friends,if you support the change and I've missed you, feel free to "unfriend" me.

Anger and Forgiveness.

On Monday, Sept.05 I posted a a link to a sermon given by Fr. Robert Barron. I actually posted this link for a particular person. Thanks to Google Analytics, I know this person visits my blog from time to time on his iPod.

No need to provide so many details to those who have no idea who or what I'm referring to. In that same vein, I'm posting today a link to Fr Barrons sermon for Sept. 11, 2011 on - Anger and Forgiveness. Again, although this valuable lesson can pertain to each one of us, I'm posting the link with one person in mind.

Today's first reading during Mass comes from Sirach :
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.

Are you going to hug your wrath and anger forever?

Even if you believe I am the guilty party, you might consider today's Gospel reading from Matthew which has this -

"Then Peter approaching asked him, 'Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?'
Jesus answered, 'I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times........' "

This argument has gone on for far too long. The hatchet should have been buried ages ago.

"If Your Brother Sins Against You..."

From Fr. Robert Barron's Word On Fire.

Sermon 556: "If Your Brother Sins Against You..." : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time.

True Grit.

On the first Saturday of the month my wife and I will get together with a group of friends to pray a Rosary for Our Lady of Fatima. The common thread we share is that nearly all the families involved have a connection to the Philippines - usually the wife.

This month, the first Saturday of the month also happened to be the first Saturday of the year.

The prayer - rightly called a "cenacle" consists of not only the Rosary (with elaborated Mysteries) but singing and a Litany to the Blessed Mother. It takes about an hour. Afterward, we eat. All the families bring food in addition to the usually large amount provided by the host family of the month. Everyone is well fed, with plenty of food to take home.

Depending on who is hosting the prayer, the Filipinas will most often sing karaoke when everyone has finished eating. The men will retire to another part of the house.....or outside on the porch if no other room is available. This past Saturday, when the women were getting ready for the karaoke, the men decided, instead to head off for the movies - there wasn't anywhere in the house we could go to and it was much too cold outside.

We had two choices for the movie.....True Grit and Little Fockers. A couple of the guys felt that a new version of True Grit would be a sacrilege against the Duke. I didn't agree with that view and I was completely against seeing the Fockers movie. I find the name too offensive and not the least bit funny.

True Grit won out. We were all pleased....even the die-hard John Wayne fans. I have to say I enjoyed this version more. The only draw back I saw was the use of the Lord's name in vain by Jeff Bridges. I understand that this is the way the character would probably speak, so I won't completely pan the movie because of this.

If you'd like to read a pretty good review of the film, you can check out True Grit and the Grace of God.
I'd recommend the movie for adults; I wouldn't take my five year old to see it. The old fashioned English might make it difficult for folks who speak English as a second language (like my wife) to understand. All in all, in was a good movie for a group of old farts to watch.

2010.

In a few hours, this year will be over.

January, the first month of the new year is so named in honor of the ancient Roman god, Janus, who is depicted as having 2 heads....one looking forward and the other looking back. It's appropriate, of course, because this is the time of year when we all do the same.

Looking back at 2010, I'd say the most significant thing of this past year is the rather large number of friends and acquaintances who died during the past twelve months. I realize that as one gets older, one can expect to see more old friends and acquaintances pass away, but very few on the list would be considered "old". They are - not in any particular order:

1) BJ. A friend in the Philippines who was, at one time, a co-worker of my wife's mother. He had been ill for quite some time and his passing was not unexpected.

2) SB and

3) LH. both fellow musicians that I've known since High School.

4) My cousin, Cullen.

5) My cousin, Gary.

6) My brother's mother-in-law.

7) My sister's father-in-law.

8) My sister's former father-in-law.

9) the father-in-law of my son's godmother.

10) DB. just a guy I know.

May they all rest in peace.

Looking forward, it's expected that we all make New Year's resolutions. Blogger, LarryD wrote that he resolves to "pray more; read more; be the dad and husband God created me to be." Those sound like pretty good resolutions to me; I'll try to do likewise.

Happy New Year.

Concerning the Eight Commandment.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eight Commandment.

2482 "A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving." The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: "You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.

2484 The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.

2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. The deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. The culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.

2486 Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.

2487 Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of reparation, even if its author has been forgiven. When it is impossible publicly to make reparation for a wrong, it must be made secretly. If someone who has suffered harm cannot be directly compensated, he must be given moral satisfaction in the name of charity. This duty of reparation also concerns offenses against another's reputation. This reparation, moral and sometimes material, must be evaluated in terms of the extent of the damage inflicted. It obliges in conscience.

Detour.

Cathy, J.P. and I recently took a trip to Pittsburgh, PA to visit friends. More about that later. For now, I want to include a Youtube video made during our detour in Montvale, VA on the way home.
The video includes myself, Scott Randolph and David Frank. This is my first time jamming with Scott...though we come from the same small town. (I'm older and we traveled in different circles.)
David and I used to play music together back in the day when we had hair.
The video doesn't record the entire song, and I'm not as good as I used to be .... but it is what it is.