Big Year, Big Break

This guest post is written by Bill Manley.

I don't think I've been more ready for a Christmas break since I was in college, 15 years ago. This year has been a pretty busy one after getting promoted at work, my pay increased, sure but so did the workload, of course! I've been burning the midnight oil pretty regularly here, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, so it's hard to catch up.

Either way, that's why I'm ticking off the days on my calendar until December 23. That's when the wife and I are going to visit our daughter, Sarah, for the first time in a few months. We'll trim the tree, roast marshmallows and sing Christmas songs just like we always did. It's truly going to be great! I'm looking forward to just taking it easy at Sarah's. It will be nice to spend the time with her and her husband, plus her three adorable dogs who may just be spoiled more than a grandchild would be! Plus, after hearing about this great Phoenix sears hvac offer they've started redesigning like every room in the house, so it'll be all brand new when we get there. Can't wait! One more day down!

My Project at Home

When you have limited resources, you could only plan a project according to your capabilities. When I arrived here in the Philippines a month ago, I decided to extend my place. I hired 15 workers and make one bedroom and a dining area. Here are the progress for the last 8 days now.
The picture above is the progress in 5 days. They are done with the second floor flooring.
The picture above is when they did the posts.
Here is when they did the mapping.
This is when they dug the hole for the posts about 4 feet deep.
The second floor concrete flooring was poured in. The picture below is when I took the picture at the second floor showing the street below.
Showing the materials ... the wood framing would costs a lot. So, if you have these wood materials, after the concrete project will be completed....will be useless. On my part, I will either donate it to my relatives or, make a wood house in my aunt's place. These wood framing materials costs almost $1,500.
Some workers were having a fun time up there. PSSTTTT...be careful!
Anyway, it is now in their 8th day, they are framing the rooftop.

They will stop for 8 days after working for 12 days just to season the concrete flooring. They will resume after those days and probably, my project will resume for another 15 days and will be done by then,HOPEFULLY!

Philadelphia Flyers

Guest post of the week by Nestor Nielsen:

I am a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan, so needless to say I was hugely disappointed when Danny Briere was suspended three games for laying the wood on some punk Frans Nielson of the New York Islanders. This is a disturbing trend because my Philly boys are known for toughness, and the nancy boy commissioner Gary Bettman is trying to crack down on the crosschecking and bad boy style of hockey for some reason, even as he encourages fighting and rough play of the legal kind. Like how is my boy supposed to know when to say when? Seems a little contradictory to me, all this encouraging of violence and discouragement of crosschecking.

All of this started when I was watching a game on my expert satellite TV between the aforementioned Islanders and the best team in the history of the world, the Philadelphia Flyers. Anyone who watches the Flyers knows that are awesome and have kick butt colors and will beat your brains out and give you H-E double hockey sticks. So when Frans got laid out it was no surprise, and the crowd cheered and even Islanders fans left the game with renewed respect for Philly. Then the suspensions happened, and now everyone's angry. Seriously Bettman, quit micro-managing the sport.

Lechon in the Philippines

If the US needs to have TURKEY for thanksgiving, in the Philippines, it is LECHON. It's been two weeks since I arrived Cagayan de Oro City and still I am craving to find a tasty lechon. My husband call this roasted pig.

The family of my husband (except the brother) had no idea what's the taste of a lechon. His brother who lived Hawaii for so long, loves lechon and was able to share the preparation of cooking a Hawaiian lechon which is very different in the Philippines. The other siblings of my husband would wonder what's the taste of our lechon but, since we can't find a place to buy or make lechon, there's no way that I can share how delicious lechon is, right?

I Am in the Philippines

March 27, 2008 was the date I traveled to the US for the first time. It was a bitter sweet moment because I left during the reading of honors in the school where I worked for 12 years. That was a decision of no turning back. I sat in the airport lounge thinking of my future. For almost 3 years, I am back to my beloved homeland and I am so happy.

The experiences of seeing the jeepneys, commuting, the crazy traffic, the lechon, and the faces of my family and friends that I longed so dearly got me so excited. I will be in the Philippines for three months and I will make the most of my stay here. It is good to be home.