A busier than normal Tuesday for me, although I guess that’s not saying much. Here’s what’s happening:

One issue with the new apartment has been a loud noise emanating from my bedroom aircon. The bizarre thing is I’ve never actually turned it on. The problem arises because the upstairs apartment has the exact same floor plan as mine. Which means the upstairs aircon is directly above mine.

Shouldn’t be a big deal, but the problem is these a/c units discharge a lot of water. That water drops down on top of the steel casing of my unit which creates a reverberating percussion sound, not unlike a drummer’s cymbal. Surprisingly loud too–loud enough to make it hard for me to sleep. I actually tried putting a pillow over my head to block the sound, but that didn’t work. I put my headphones on and tried to sleep listening to music, but that created a whole other level of distraction that precluded a peaceful night’s rest.

So, I had the bright idea of putting a cover over my aircon so the dripping water from above wouldn’t land loudly on top of the metal housing. Putting that idea into practice wasn’t so easy though. I’m the ground floor apartment, but with the basement below I’m actually the equivalent of the second floor. That made access to the a/c unit from outside pretty nigh impossible since I don’t possess a ladder. Then I realized I could remove the aircon from the inside, and apply the needed tarpaulin. With the assistance of my basement helper’s boyfriend, we got it done.

At least the electric coop gave us advance notice of this power outage:

Anyway, since I didn’t see much point in sitting around in the dark all day I decided to do my grocery shopping at S&R in San Fernando. S&R is kinda sorta like Costco, although a little less organized. It had been six months since my last visit so I figured, why not? Sometimes you can find things that aren’t available at the local grocery stores. The problem is that it is a major pain in the ass. An hour and half to get there and my driver charged 3500 pesos ($70). So, I did get a few things I’d been craving but overall, probably not worth the trip.

And it looks like I might be investing in a bar. A Filipina friend has been wanting to open a place featuring Filipino favorite foods. Her business model will include preparing meals for the bargirls and delivering them to the bars. She needs some start-up capital and I’m a known sucker I guess. Actually, I think she can make a go of it, even in these tough times. The best deal we found on a building was a very small bar that has been closed for over a year now. We looked at it this afternoon and it appears to be a good fit. Coincidentally, she worked in and managed that bar several years ago. So, maybe this is completing the circle. I might have a beer there now and then, but I AM NOT taking on any responsibility for running the place. Other than the purchase price that is.

They say a fool and his money are soon parted. But, I’m not investing more than I can afford to lose and this is the kind of charity I like–something that is potentially life-changing. Whether it works out or not is all on her, of course. I’m just providing an opportunity.

It has a small kitchen that with some rearranging ought to be adequate for her needs. There is also a small studio apartment upstairs she can live in. The building rent is 12,000 pesos a month, which is a bargain for a location on the National highway. It won’t be a big stretch to make enough profit on food to cover the rent. And who knows, maybe she can bring back some of the old regulars.

I suggested naming it “The Rite Spot”. We’ll see what happens.