Noel and Frythy at their Graduation from PNS
In July my two houseboys, Frythy and Noel, graduated with honours from Palawan National School and presented me with their graduation photos for supporting them over the last year. Then they announced they were off to Tatay ( north of Palawan) for the weekend for a Debut ( 18th birthday party) of one of their friends.
As there is no flight from Puerto to Taytay ( about a 4 hour drive) they had to go by bus which took 6 hours and they arrived safely on Thursday night ready for the Debut on Saturday. They, like all the others, sent me pictures to keep me updated.
Noel on the left and Fry in the centre, looking like a young Elvis!
In August Noel will be 18 and they are both waiting for the results of their University applications. They hope to go to Uni here in Puerto to study Nursing. Great news, Noel has been accepted at Holy Trinity University and Frythy at Palawan State University and both will be studying Nursing. Congratulations to them both.
July also saw Jhoanna graduate and sadly ,a few weeks later, her boyfriends mother died leaving the family without parents so she went up North to look after them. That left me with having to so my own shopping ( which I hate ) for the first time in a year!
As usual there was a long queue in Robinsons
I only got dog food, Orange juice and shaving stuff
Chester was also sick twice and ran off and got muddy twice so I had to clear up his mess and shower him twice ( which normally Jhoanna does!). The shower started flooding too! Normally Fry and Noel keep that all clean every Monday and Wednesday!
Then my newest scholar , Chalsee , asked Jhoanna to message me and ask if it was ok for him to go to Manila to do his entrance exam to be a Marine. His older brother , Kit, was already in Aborlan training to be an officer and came to stay for a few days on his way home. I also had a message from Mike in Pattaya to say he is coming to stay in September, and then Rhoda and Baby Zia came to stay for a week. Finally I decided to take Rhoda and Baby home in August and spend 3 nights in El Nido. A busy month ahead!
Kit, Chalsee and Jhoanna when Chalsee joined my scholars
Earlier in the year TJ asked if I would sponsor her for 6 more months until December so she could do her internship including a visit to Manila where the Philippine President is based. With Chalsee starting and another 50,000 pesos for TJ that I had not budgeted for I had to cancel my Vacation and Christmas celebrations. However it was worth the sacrifice for the amazing experience for them. TJ sent me a picture as she set off on the flight.
TJ and her classmate Flordeliza Ann Magbanua
Later she messaged me to tell me she had been to three Museums and was so hot and exhausted from walking around Manila all day , but loving every minute of her time there. She saw the Presidential address and visited the senate house and various shopping malls.
TJ explores one of Manila's Museums
The really spooky thing is that for all of them it was their first flight and their first trip to Manila , and they all flew on the same day but on different planes!
Elay is still here in Puerto, and Grecil is still in Brookes Point and Aimae in Aberawan.
The PSU DL team in their new kit ready to fly to Manila
Next Jovan asked if he could have some extra money as his Frisbee team ( Palawan State University- PSU DL ) had been selected to go to Manila ( also his first flight) to compete in a national Competition ((NUCC) National Ultimate Collegiate Championship) . He swapped his working days from Saturday to Wednesday and , after his sister, Jhoann, gave him some money set off with the team for Manila. The good news is that they won their first three games in their tournament and as I write this he keeps sending me pictures and live stream of the event. It's like being in Manila without leaving home. I have been visiting Manila since I first went there recruiting in 2000 when I was working for Al Homaizi International in Kuwait. The final, which they reached, was nail biting as they were up against previous champions and it was their first time. In the end they lost by a very small margin and came second. Well done PSU DL, I know you will win next year!
Joven and the PSU DL team after winning game one
So that left me at home alone, doing my shopping ( which I hate), cooking ( well actually I started eating out and getting takeaway meals) and washing up.
My fishy lunch at Guni, Guni. Calamari and fish and chips
Roast chicken dinner and apple pie and ice cream at Rustic café
I finally got to try Chicken Satay from the Thai takeaway and Hummus from Fatima Food Hub, which does Middle Eastern food
So, as you can see I have had a fun time on my own- with minimal washing up! .
Chester all clean again, his second shower in a week
In spite of being exhausted after a month of army training Kit, like all his family, washed up and swept and mopped the floors. I took him for breakfast at Rustic Café ( his first visit there) and he tried HP sauce for the first time!
During the two weeks Chester escaped several times, ate someone else’s food ( rice) and was sick all over the office and bedroom floor! It was so long since I had mopped my own floor that I nearly forgot where the dustpan and mop were! Another morning he woke me up at 3 am being sick and then when I took him for his morning walk got off his lead and ran off again and came back covered in mud. He is so makulit! So I had to shower him twice in a week.
Kit and I had a great few days together and I took him to all my Favourite restaurants like Rustic Café and Kinabuch. We also shared a Pizza from Roma. Much better than eating alone or at home!
Kit enjoying a proper breakfast at Rustic café after two weeks on Army rations
I guess I have got used to being spoilt in my
retirement by Frythy, Noel , Joven and Jhoanna! So special thanks to them all
for looking after me so well. Between them they shop, mop, wash up, wash the
car, clean the windows, pick up the leaves and Chesters pooh, and do the
ironong. That leaves me to water the plants and cook! I have also managed a few
Blogs and once I get my new Credit card and pay my Video editing software I
will be back to Vlogging.
I have already told Chester , the Hooman, that there will be no calendar or recipe book next year, and I have now taken over the video editing which he used to do and 2023 was the first year I did not send Christmas or Birthday cards ( because I did not receive any!)
However I am putting together a list of things
I need to buy next year that I put off this year and have asked my brother to
release extra money from my savings. My pension only covers my house and car
and I have had no new clothes ( apart from a few tee shirts I received as gifts
and some I bought as Pasalubong) for over a year. Joven asked where my yellow
pillow case was the other day and I had to confess I had thrown it away as it
had a big hole in. We only have three sets of bedding between two beds so each
week we wash one set and he irons the other which we washed the week before. We
need new pillow cases, sheets, duvet covers ( comforters they call them here)
and mattress protectors as my current ones are over 12 years old! I need some
new camera equipment ( go pro, drone, camera lens) and another AC for the
kitchen as its so hot and humid ( when I arrived only the bedroom had AC then I
bought AC for the office so only the kitchen is hot now ( 30 degrees most of
the time) . My laptop has all sorts of problems ( full hard drive, damaged
keyboard – its been replaced twice, no anti virus, no back up drives- one
drive, dropbox and google drives all full and no credit card to renew any of
the above) and needs replacing . I have cooked so much in the last year we need
some new kitchen utensils ( wok etc) so 2024 is going to be the year for
spending on me rather than my anaks ( dont worry I will still support Grecil,
Chalsee, Kit , and Aimae and still give work to Joven , Fry and Noel to help
them through college. I also need a vacation!
It was great to follow their progress on their travels and have some time to myself with Chester. However I cannot wait for them all to come back and look after me again!
Once again well done to Joven and the PSU DL team
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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