It isn’t even nice to visit, which is why I’ve managed to avoid Manila for the last two years or more. The traffic, the grime and grit, and a big city vibe that I don’t find pleasant are more than enough to keep me away. Sure, there are nice places like Makati, but even there, you can’t escape the gridlock and crowds. But Manila is home to the US Embassy, and I had business to attend to there, so off I went.
My appointment for notary service was at 1:30. I arrived a little after eleven, had my phone and Fitbit confiscated at security, and took a seat in an outdoor waiting area. I got to chatting with another expat also there for notarization who lives out near Boracay. He was a friendly guy and agreed to be one of the witnesses required for my notarized signature. He kept trying to veer the conversation towards politics, but I didn’t take the bait. He was one of the anti-DOGE crowd and clearly indoctrinated in the lefty worldview. Still, talking helped pass the time until 1 p.m., when we were invited to enter the building and continue waiting there. Still, when my turn came, things went relatively smoothly. A notary service was fifty bucks a shot, and I had two POAs notarized, just to be on the safe side in case the one I mail back to the States gets lost. My driver charged 6500 pesos for the round trip drive, but given that he spent a full day in my service, that seems like a fair price. I got what I came for and made it home safe and sound, so that’s a win. Now, I just need to get the Power of Attorney back to my daughter. The service I tried this morning doesn’t do international shipments. I’ll try another this afternoon, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go into Olongapo and try to find a FedEx.
So, we left home around 8 a.m. and got back at 6:30. I just stayed home last night and had zero Zeros.
Facebook memories from this date in history:
Today’s YouTube video might be AI-narrated, but the images are nice, and the descriptions seem accurate. Despite my frequent criticisms, there is much to love and enjoy here in the PI. It is just easier for me to live in a place like Barretto.
Hmm, it won’t let me embed for some reason. Watch it here if you so desire.
As a bonus, here is a video about the good and bad of Manila. It may be AI-generated, too; I’m not sure, but the content seems consistent with reality.
Humor time:
Anyway, that’s how I spent my Tuesday this week. Of course, the things I usually do on Tuesday weren’t done, so I’ll have to fill in those gaps as best I can as the week goes on.
I’m glad everything went fairly smoothly. Too bad your friendly interlocutor turned out to be a wokie. Good luck to your family as they sell that property.
Re: Your house in the states.
Dont mean to pry but I thought you wrote about the saga of selling your house in the US. I assume this is a different one, or maybe I misread your earlier post regarding this.
Re: All dressed up…
Probably just the lighting/reflection, as I assume that in your business portrait behind you, you are not wearing a red suit and have red tinged hair. LOL
Re: Embassy
I have been trying to photograph every embassy and consulate in Bangkok. Chance to wander around various neighborhoods, etc. Haven’t been yelled at yet, but always try to be discrete, especially when photographing embassies of places such as China, Iran, etc.
Brian, this house belongs to my daughter but the loan and title are in my name because she couldn’t qualify for the mortgage. Now she wants to sell it and can’t list it without my POA.
Yeah, that photo is old and faded like me and the light from the open door distorted the view.
Interesting photo project. I can understand security sensitivity about taking pics on the grounds of the embassy, but I was out by the public sidewalk. Maybe there are holding some USAID secrets in there! 🙂
Thanks, Kevin. Despite our different viewpoints, it was nice of the stranger to help me out as a witness.