What was your day like?

[crisipicada]

The internet in the office is back today, and I am so happy For over a month or two, we do not have access to internet and we usually download and upload reports in the inet cafe.

My routine has really change a lot. While staying in the barrio, I need to wake up 4 o'clock early in the morning, prepare myself for the day and to be ready to go to office. I leave home 6 or 6:15 in the morning to be in the office at exactly 7 in the morning. I stayed in the office until 4pm straight with no noon break, since the government agencies, has NO NOON BREAK POLICY. I usually eat when no one is coming at office to transact business.

Almost everyday, I deposit the collection of fire code fees as much as it is over 500 pesos. In that case, I need to be out of office at 2:30pm to catch up the 3pm closing time of the depository bank, The Land Bank of the PHilippines. Usually I stayed more than an hour or two in the bank to wait for my turn. Sometimes, I stay very not so long. Then I go home back to the barrio. If I wont be able to go to the bank for daily transaction, then I usually out 4pm. Therefore, I work straight 9 hours. I think the government is not worried about my working time, where in fact we only allow 8 hours work. But since we are exemption of this rule, we do not have over time pay. We are always on call for duty anytime anywhere, any situation. But thankful to have a job.

Usually, I arrived home 6pm and it is very tiring travel. Since, it has been raining here, I got sick lately but try to think positive to stay healthy. I will be used to the weather. One thing I love, is that, i will be able to look after my mother who is a stroke victim. Also I will be able to talk to my brother and my aunt, with her 2 children, now staying at home.

These has been my daily routine from monday to friday. Quite tiring but very fulfilling.

[Edwin]

Crisi, it is great to have a job, and yes when you do a good job it is fulfilling, even if you do get tired, as long as you don't get too tired! The jobs I had when I was working I really enjoyed, and I liked to work hard. It has been difficult for me to get used to not needing to be on the job and work hard. That would make you tired traveling the distance, having to get up so early to be there on time.

Most jobs I had, I was required to have a lunch break of usually 30 minutes; sometimes an hour, and I would use an hour, but 30 minutes always rushed me to get finished eating because I am so slow eating, spending so much time chewing my food! I always enjoyed my breaks whether lunch or rest. In our country USA usually the employer is required to give a lunch break, and then all a rest break of 10 minutes each 4 hours that you work. Some jobs, like in the sawmill, they needed extra help often, and I could often get as much over time as I wanted, and for any time over 40 hours we got paid time and a half, which really boosted our pay checks. The teaching jobs that I had were paid by the day. We had a certain number of hours in the class with students, and usually a prep period, in which usually it was break time, but sometimes I had to grade students' papers, and do preparation work for my classes. The jobs that we had at the resort in the National Park they discouraged overtime because of having to pay extra money for it, and the owner of the concession wanted as much of the profit for him as possible, so Carol usually didn't get overtime, but then as her health was failing the work was really hard for her, so it was just as well anyway. I had a lazy boss, sorry to say that, and even more so now that he is dead, he was a good fellow, but he had his problems, and I want to say kind things since he is gone now, and we did like/love him. Anyway he didn't want to do even his work, so he had me put in the over time to do the work that he was supposed to do, and it was fine with me because I loved to work, had unending energy, and my boss justified the hours I was putting in to the owner, and he even made fun of me to the owner because I liked to work so well, and they would both have a big laugh, and I was really happy because no one was grouchy that I was putting in so many hours! I loved that job, and both Carol and I loved living in that paradise! I think in many ways that place was like the Philippines, only one community telephone in the entire valley, no internet when we first moved there, no roads into the place from the outside world, huge lake right there,and it was wonderful!

[erwin]

Very hectic schedule in the past.

[Edwin]

This morning I got up one hour later than I usually do, which was 6 a.m., instead of 5 a.m. I never set the alarm except on Sunday, and on Sunday I want to make sure I am ready for church as well as the one hour drive down the hill. I came off the weekend tired for a number of reasons, so I am catching up on my rest. I went ahead and walked the 6.5 miles with the doggies. We ate 3 meals, and watched movies while we ate. I went to sleep while the movie was playing, so we stopped the movie, and I slept in my chair for a while. Then Carol went to sleep, and I shut the movie off, and did this for a while. Then she didn't want to go back to the movie, so I played the piano for a while. We watched the movie while we ate supper. Carol said that she didn't think the movie was very good, and I agreed with her. The movie was "Lincoln," and I wouldn't recommend it. There were too many times the actors took the Lord's name in vain. Also, they had Abraham Lincoln talking the same way, and I refuse to believe that Abraham Lincoln talked that way. It was about Lincolns last days from the time he was trying to get the 13th Amendment into law, the last days of the Civil War, and his assasination. The person playing Abraham Lincoln didn't ring true as being believeable, so I would not suggest watching that movie to anyone!

[Edwin]

I did wake up an hour earlier this morning than yesterday, and I am just back, returned from my 6.5 mile walk with the doggies. I was tired the last few days, resting and sleeping part of the time, but this morning I felt good walking, and the doggies felt like walking too, and my huge doggie, Scooby was wanting to run at the end of our walking, and many times by that time they are tired and sometimes hot. As soon as we eat breakfast and I slower we will be going to town to buy a few groceries. I also need to have my blood drawn for a PSA test, and then an appointment with the doctor July 8th! He better not tell me I need another prostate biopsy! Oh, well, time will tell!

[Edwin]

This day which is our Saturday, I woke up fairly early, and it was a good thing because whenever the clouds disappeared from the sun, the sun was really hot, even for early in the morning. I never set the alarm to wake up except for Sunday, and it would be disaster if I would over sleep on Sunday, but all the other days I have no where I need to go, and I have nothing that absolutely has to be done, so I just sleep until I wake up, which is 5 a.m. on most mornings, but a couple of days ago I wsa really tired and didn't wake up until 6 a.m., but on that day it was cloudy and cool all day, so it would not have mattered when I went walking. My big doggie, Scooby, is a Swiss Mountain Dog, and he can't stand the heat, so I have to walk him when it is cooler. He has laid down several times over the past few years, usually in the shade of some tall weeds. Usually he will lay there until he gets rested and cools down. One time he would not get up, and the heat made him sick, so I waited for a long time, then told him "Let's go home," and he got right up and we headed for home! Today, Carol went to the knitting/spinning guild for a few hours, so I watched an episode of "Ma and Pa Kettle," one where they went to Hawii, and for some reason she does not care for that one. I had peanut butter honey, and drank some milk for my lunch, also a fourth of a bar of dark slightly sweetened chocolate, as well as drinking more milk. While building the chicken house yesterday afternoon, I got too thirsty and dehydrated, so I drank too much orange juice and milk which made me have to run to the toilet a number of times in the night! I still woke up early which is amazing, but I also fell asleep in my chair a couple of times this morning and afternoon!

[Edwin]

This was the Sunday that we had to do the supervision for visits from our youngest daughter's younger daughter. On those Sundays we are not able to attend church, and we miss it greatly, but that is the way it is. What happened is that the girls have an uncle who attends our church, and he started carrying stories home to the girls father and grandparents on that side of the family, so these 2 granddaughters do not want to go back to that church, and it is sad. Carol told one of them today that they need to be in church, and the older one of the two told her if we could find a church where her uncle did not attend, she would go, but I think it is partially an excuse, because I don't think they should let that keep them from attending church, but they feel more sore about the whole thing than I do, so the devil is working, and we need to pray more!

[Edwin]

Anyway, we went to get our granddaughter for the supervised visit, and went to our youngest daughter's house where she was having a couple of her friends put up a fence for 2 goats, and she is getting another young goat from our daughter who lives near Spokane, Washington, USA, and then she will also put a baby Jersy hefer calf in there also that she hopes to raise for a milk cow. We all drink so much milk, and she will have 3 milking goats as well. Two of them she might lose because she rescued them from somone with the help of her friend, and these goats were being neglected, so she might have to give them up, but she will still have a Nubian Milking Goat when that goat grows a while. Otherwise she will have 3 milking goats and one Jersy milk cow, when the calf grows for a couple of years or so.

We went so that our daughter could get some animal feed, then we got a little food, took it home and ate it. Carol, our daughter, her 2 daughters and 2 dogs part of the time got into a large stock watering tank to play and cool off. It was fun for them all. Our daughter is putting down the shinny squares like they put on floors in the Philippines only small squares, and she was cleaning the excess cement off them, and they look pretty! We watched a movie and I slept part of the time. If we had been home we would have shut that movie off, because it was a downer as well as having too much bad language.

Our daughter bought me a Wrangler, western cut bright red shirt with snaps on it. It is make out of pretty heavy material, almost canvas like, so I probably won't wear it until the weather cools down in the fall. The day was a lot of fun!

[Edwin]

This morning I woke up at 5:25 a.m., and I was out walking a little before 6:30 a.m. It was hot enough so that I was glad that I was as early as I was, because my doggie Scooby can't take the heat, but he was fine for our walk, so it is important not to walk much if any later than that! When I got back from my walk, I took a notion to put the airconditioner that my sister gave to me in my bedroom window. It was pretty heavy and Carol kept saying that I should wait for our youngest daughter to come help me, but finally I just decided to do it! I was very careful and didn't hurt my back, so now the airconditioner is running in my bedroom! Our youngest daughter is coming up the hill to our house, and will be here before long. Then we are going to go over to the house of one of our twins near Spokane, where we are going to get a small young goat from her for her yougest sister. It should be fun, and we will bring that goat back in the van!

[Edwin]

We did have a short visit with our other daughter, picked up the little female goat, and returned home with our two doggies along. Rand was a little cramped sitting on the floor at my feet on the front passenger's side. When we got here to our house our daughter put the little goat on our granddaughter's lap, and went on to their home. It was a very good day. It was our hottest day so far, and today is much hotter than yesterday! I think in the Philippine's your hottest days are finished, is that not correct? The heat does not adversely affect me but it feels good when it cools off a bit!