JDDavao

Has anyone tried the Puerto Rican Coquito? Except maybe for the Cream of Coconut (which isn't coconut cream, it's a product like Coco Lopez), all of the ingredients should be easy to find here. It's not eggnog, of course, but it's got rum in it and it's festive. BTW: If anyone finds Coco Lopez here, let me know. It's requisite for Pina Coladas.

I used the SC transaction number (the LBC guy said that wasn't the tracking number) and got: "Please try again later, we are awaiting tracking info from the carrier."

No, I don't have the LBC tracking number. LBC came with a package for my wife and the guy offered to look for my shipment but the SC tracking number isn't compatible which is a drag. How do you get the LBC number?

Very sorry to hear he's gone, Jack. Such a simple thing and so much heartache from it. My condolences.

I've placed two air cargo shipments with ShippingCart so far. One arrived a couple of days later than their estimate. One arrived a couple of days earlier. I placed two sea cargo orders (heavier items) with them as well. The first was accepted at their "Office 199" on 10/08. The estimated delivery date was 11/19. The last tracking notification I have from them on the web it from 10/12: "Your package has already left our Warehouse and is on its way to your doorstep." On 11/17 I emailed them, told them there had been no tracking updates and asked them about the status. They apologized, declared they'd report the glitch to the department in charge and find out why the tracking hadn't been updated, and told me my shipment was in Customs. On 11/21 I emailed, told them again that tracking for my shipment had still not been updated, and asked them if the shipment had cleared Customs. They apologized (same person as 11/17, BTW) and blamed congestion in the ports of Taiwan and Manila for the delay. (?) They said my shipment had cleared Customs and was at the LBC warehouse undergoing "processing". On 11/27 I emailed, telling them again that there was no tracking update on the web and asking where my shipment was. They (same person as above) apologized and said that it was still undergoing "processing" at the LBC warehouse in Manila and that they would coordinate with their Operations Team and have my shipment expedited ASAP. On 11/30 I emailed, again telling them that there had been no tracking update on the web since 10/12 and asking for the status of my shipment. They (same person) apologized and said the shipment was being forwarded to the Davao LBC hub. 12/4: still no shipment. What is grating is that with each email, they said "it shows that your shipment is..." So there was some way to track the status, it just wasn't getting pushed to the web though I'd been told that department would find out what happened to the tracking glitch. The second sea cargo shipment has been tracked about as well as Atlas does. It showed it had been "accepted" on the 11/13, "stuffed" into the container on the 11/15 (reported on the 19th - 4 days later!), and estimated to arrive in Manila on 12/18. That's about as good as it gets for tracking here. Not angry here. Just reporting for posterity.

Somehow, my wife can hear the phone in her bag when it's one of her friends or family texting. But when I text, she can't hear it "because of the noise". I've developed a complex over this.

Well that exchange went to Tippecanoe in a toboggan.

I'd love to find Weetabix here. I've wanted to try them since I saw Cherry Healey talk about them on Inside The Factory.

I found this in SM - I thought it would taste like the Chex cereals but it tastes much better, IMHO. Like many British foods I've found here and tried, this is delicious and doesn't taste fake like so many American foods do. I usually buy two boxes of it when I see it because it doesn't stay on the SM shelf long before it's gone.

Well at least you can kill two birds with one stone and wash your hands WHILE you go.

Except for my wife, none of her people like turkey. So for Thanksgiving, I had Butterball turkey roast, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce I found at the Swiss Deli here in Davao. We didn't have a big sit-down meal for the family. I pretty much celebrated by myself (and a few members of the Murphy stout family). For Christmas, it's always whatever they make for Noche Buena (ham, fried chicken, pancit, etc.) reheated on the day. For New Year's ham was traditional at my house and so it popular here as well, along with somesort of chicken or fish for the Muslim members of the family. Most of my Philippine family will eat a variety of western food. I still don't understand the rice with spaghetti thing but then, a Hawaiian plate lunch is rice with macaroni salad and I've eaten plenty of those, so...

Filipinos are not emotionally complex people. Deeply superstitious, they believe that the "Amens" actually do something. It's like crossing one's self to ward off evil or rubbing some beads or making a sign with your fingers to ward off the evil eye. It's also a bit like some Western person signing on online petition for or against something. It doesn't do a thing but it feels like you've done something. Also being simple people, sensationalism sells. In the West, we sanitized sensationalism only to revive it with technology to allow us to represent it. We never see what bullets do in the media, but we know the Hero wins with one in the meat of his shoulder. Here, it's still real.

My wife was always afraid to talk to people when we were in the US, in spite of my assurances that her English was really good. In fact, her ability to type/chat in English and even understand and make jokes was one of the things that attracted this deafie to her. My ear doc had my wife come in at my last fitting and tuned my aid to my wife's voice. Because of that, and because I'm used to watching her lips form words, I hear her best. Since we've been here, though, she's digressed a bit. I assume it's from all of the Bisayan/Tagalog she speaks to her family and others every day. But, really, our communication trouble now is her attention. She seems to either be playing her game on the tablet or holding a secondary conversation with her family either live on via text. Sometimes I just mumble some sounds and ask, "Right?" Well, men are never right so that snaps the head up or around!

We usually leave P20. The lady who hails taxis and packs our groceries in the trunk at Savemore gets P20 (and a bottle of sweet sparkling wine at New Years because of her wonderful attitude. I just love that woman.). The guards and taxi packers at S&R get P20 thrown in the trunk because they can't accept tips in the open. Lately, my wife has been double-checking for a service charge on the receipt at restos and won't leave a tip if they charge one. We were at a new resto in the SM City here in Davao when my wife, paying at the register, asked about putting money in the "Tips" jar. The cashier quickly said, "No! Don't put anything in there! The owner keeps it all! If you want to tip, tip on the table."