Today is the anniversary of my retirement and also my arrival in the Philippines.
Got on a plane that same day and started my new life here in the PI. Hopefully y’all have been following along with my “adventures” here at LTG.
Like anything else I suppose, you fall into your routines and rituals in retirement life. Finding ways to pass the hours, not necessarily in a meaningful way, but hopefully in a satisfying way. Reading the blog you might have concluded that pretty much all I do is walk and drink beer. Come to think of it, that is pretty much all I do.
I’m not complaining. Life isn’t perfect here but it’s comfortable at least. Probably my biggest disappointment has been not finding love, which I thought would be relatively easy once I made the move. In large part I know that failure is on me. As more than one reader has pointed out, I’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places. I think in a fucked up kind of way I’m purposely setting myself up for failure. I’m honestly not wanting to put myself out there in such a way that I can be hurt again. Maybe that makes me a coward. Or maybe that makes me smart. Either way, for now I’m probably going to continue playing it safe.
I’ve also had a learning curve when it comes to friendships, at least with Filipinas. Eva proved to be a tremendous disappointment, “ghosting” me for reasons I still don’t understand. Gem simply took the money and ran. Who says you can’t put a price tag on friendship? So my track record at being a good judge of character remains pretty close to 0%. Ah well, live and learn. I don’t make friends easily anyway. I’d say I’ve established some friendly acquaintances amongst the expat community here, and maybe that’s enough.
On a more positive note, I do feel I’ve made good progress on my “making a difference” goal. I have my charity work, primarily with the orphanage. And four Filipinos on my payroll. And then there’s these two guys:
So yeah, on balance I’m happy with the move. It’s a long way from my USA home and family but that life just doesn’t work for me anymore. There are certainly frustrating aspects to living in the Philippines, but on the plus side I’m learning to be patient (deep breath, relax, accept the Filipino way). And even on the worst of days, this is the view from my living room window:
Let’s see what year two holds in store, shall we?
This is the day of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers, wild gamblers
That’s all in the pastYou call me a fool
You say it’s a crazy scheme
This one’s for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I’ll make it this time
I’m ready to cross that fine line
UPDATE: Well damn, I used the “one year in” title for a post in January 2006. In that case I was talking about completing my first year in Korea. It was kind of interesting (to me) comparing my perspectives from then and now. What a ride it has truly been!
A year well spent, I think. And as you wrote earlier, you’re now part of a community of people who refuse to take life lying down. Congrats on surviving and thriving a whole year in the PI! Here’s to many more equally constructive and instructive years.
Thanks for coming along for the ride. I do appreciate your insights and support.
So I’ve been reading about your adventures for 15 years…time flies and all that, eh?
It’s interesting how you say that life in the states won’t work for you anymore; I’m the complete opposite – different strokes, as they say ;). At one point in my life, I was planning on living in Korea as long as possible, but obviously, that changed. Once the little things, the ones that previously never bothered me, started really getting on my nerves, I knew it was time to go before I turned into one of those bitter expats that lived there yet bitched about everything all day long.
I’m so glad we came back here…I don’t watch or read very much news so the BS pretty much goes by without being noticed and I haven’t seen the stupidity affect the people I come in contact with. The people here that I know go to work, go fishing, go shopping and out to eat, spend time working in their yards and with their families; in other words, normal, routine, middle America stuff. I like having Lowe’s, Home Depot, Kroger, and Publix, access to quality health care if my family needs it, unlimited options for entertainment, my 1/4 acre of grass and a riding mower to cut it with as I wave to the little people using their push mowers LOL.
On the other hand, you seem very comfortable with having cut the cord and are living a simple and comfortable life away from all this; which as you said primarily consists of walking, drinking, and playing darts and if that works for you, then great.
Looking forward to many more years of following your adventures.
Thanks, Frank. I’ve not forgotten how much I enjoyed the Lost Nomad days!
You know, before my Korean wife dumped me I rather enjoyed the suburban lifestyle we shared in the USA. And then every six months we’d spice it up with a return to Korea. Best of both worlds kind of thing. Now all that remains are the memories and they mostly just make me sad.
I really appreciate your long time suffering, er, I mean readership! That’s for coming along.