Category: My Journey
The Ugly American Dad at Christmas
I don’t know how Ward Cleaver (for those of you old enough to remember Leave it to Beaver) could be so calm as a father. I, on the other hand, living in the Philippines with four kids, think that I’ve developed the reputation of being [...]
Life After Sixty: Searching for Myself Again
In a scene from one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has a memorable quote: “My momma always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.’” As much as I loved the movie, it was [...]
A Sixty Year Old Backpacking in Hong Kong
My stay in Hong Kong was like three nights in Pathankot, India trying to protect my heart from being ripped out by Mola Ram (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). This year, keeping to a tight budget, I decided to stay at a hostel [...]
Life After Sixty I: Starting Life Over
As a survivor of the sixties and seventies, I lived through the anti-establishment, anti-war, don’t trust anyone over thirty era. Now, forty years later, I see that Bob Dylan one of my heroes, is still doing tours at the age of seventy. Rod Stewart, a [...]
Living in Davao: A Day in the Life of an Expatriate
Woke up this morning and read the news on Mindanao. As an expatriate living on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, it’s pretty much a requirement to stay on top of the news. Mindanao is an area that the US Department of State has [...]
Fighting the Mumu in the CR
Children growing up in the Philippines are often taught about the existence of the mumu – a evil supernatural entity. The mumu is the equivalent to the boogeyman in the United States. Parents, grandparents, and nannies will frequently ‘scare’ children with the mumu as a [...]
My Personal Reasons for Retirement Abroad
Since the sixteenth century, moving to America has been the dream of people from all over the world. To fuel its Industrial Revolution, America gladly opened its doors to millions or immigrants from Europe, Asia and other continents to pursue the American Dream. But today, [...]
How McDonalds Lead to My Decision to Retire Abroad
Although I was a youthful 50 something, I had just enough years at my job for an early retirement on a decent pension. In fact, my income was just starting to peak and my job was getting easier … sometimes too easy. But my dream [...]
First Month Progress Report
“Maaung hapon. Asa ang kasilyas?” is the first complex set of phrases that I have learned in Cebuano, the local dialect of Cebu. It translates into “Good afternoon. Where’s the bathroom?” And that pretty much represents my first month living in the Philippines – becoming [...]
