Peaceful John

RBM, I wish there was a way I could share it with you as I have it in my Kindle library and it's a great read. I do encourage you to consider taking small steps toward using the Amazon fire pad. It's so simple and my library goes with me where ever I go. If you have an amazon account, adding a Kindle account to it is very simple with you Amazon info becoming your Kindle info. Plain and simple. Most books I read are free, and when I select them to read, they download in less than a minute. The Fire Pads are delivered to you already set up with your info once you sign in and you can use it for everything you desire. And they are pretty cheap too in comparison. Just my thoughts my friend. Good luck to you and enjoy the book.

TW, I agree with everything you said. And thank you for sharing your thoughts. To me, the real value in staying here is your roots. I have a wife who I love and adore (although there are days I question that......research Tampo) and 2 kids. I have roots here that push me to see the positive side and make it work. It seems your roots are in Thailand and the act of transplanting them here is going to be a trying journey to say the least (and maybe not worth the effort). Maybe consider a part time PI experience (back and forth every 4 to 6 months) since your lady friend just might be a rare find anywhere and worth investing some time in to see if she is a positive value add to your life. Just my thoughts. In any case, I can truly say if I had the same roots here as you do, I would feel exactly as you do and would definitely rethink returning to the life you are more comfortable with. And by the way (and I'm sure you already know this), but it is completely, 100% normal, for you to be feeling this way at this point in your transition. Follow your heart my friend as it is your best guide. Good luck to you TW and please keep us informed as to what you decide (and if your decide to head back to Thailand, stay connected with us so we can experience your comparisons.

I can assure you that it is physically impossible for it to work as advertised. Just ask Michael Jackson. It will work similar to what shoe polish does on shoes, but that's as far as it goes. It cannot change the pigments in your skin. But even my wife believes it and uses it. Oh well. I love telling her in the morning....."sweetheart, you look so WHITE today".

Hey Wolf! Welcome to the forum. In my experience regarding throw aways, it's a moving target and changes daily, weekly, monthly, etc. In other words, I've not found a specific place that's cheaper, you just have to spend a little time searching for what happens to be the best price at the time you are traveling. And I agree with OnMyWay that at this time round trips might be cheaper too. Each time I purchased a throw away, it was to a different place. Good luck to you my friend and again, welcome to the gang.

Thanks Freebie. I'm currently visiting my family in Hawaii for a few weeks and this One Pass is my greatest fear (getting it right. Your info is greatly appreciated,

Lord help me, but I had to book PAL from Manila to Honolulu on April 3. I've been holding my breath and hoping there's no issues. I, also, swore I would never fly them again, but was forced to this time due to time restraints. So I stopped with my never's. I hurt for you Gas, but I'm happy you and the Wife finally got your money back. Brett, sounds like yours is ending up pretty good. Four weeks and their paying for the room too.

You're exactly correct Dave. It's not only faulty, it's just downright dumb logic, and as with most ideas/decisions coming from that direction, this proposal lacks long term thought or factual evidence that it would do anything BUT help save costs or energy. It would succeed in taking a slow and unproductive government agencies and make them even slower and more unproductive. In regards to corporate and private businesses, most would either ignore it or devise a way to reduce employee pay even more. Most businesses and some gov agencies, already have their hours set at what is most profitable for them. Forcing them into a 10 hour schedule will only create lag time or unprofitable time. This scenario has been "table topped" by hundreds (even thousands) of countries, businesses, etc. over the years, and, after a many hours of study and research, most all of them have found it more costly, less productive, and ultimately a financial loss instead of improvement. Now, after a couple of Johnnie Walker Red's, our hero comes up with a 4 day week during the election season to suggest a reduction of work days, but improved financials. Great idea! 😎

That's exactly what I deal with! Expensive doors, but that are full of duct tape to keep the bugs out and the a/c from escaping. I think having the a/c on the inside, coupled with the heat/humidity on the outside might help it crack. Oh well, my wife tries to make the duct tape look like a decorative design. 😁

This is very true Greg! Great suggestion. And some banks are willing to negotiate without getting offended. Thanks my friend!

On the "Lola" thing also...... Man, you couldn't be more correct!!! I tried for years to convince my wife that it was OK to eat chicken if she had a small rash. Forget it!!! It's nothing but pork and some beef when the rash pops up (even on me). And "no sex" when you're pregnant!!! It can injure the babies head and they are born with dimples on the top of their head. Oh, and their hair won't grow where the dimples are.......😲 As a result.....no more kids for us!!! But I was interested when I read the comment about showing the midriff, so I ask my wife what she thought and as I expected, she believes it too!!! And let's not get started about what can happen to a baby if a pregnant mom or dad pisses off a frog!!! 🤢 On the subject of new/used cars. I agree with you 100%. New is the only way to go and it's much cheaper too in the long run. The local sellers of used cars put outrages prices on them and the DP request is ludicrous!!! They won't guarantee the condition or operations of the vehicle, but the price it 85 to 95% of a new one. Then they demand 40 to 50% DP, when a new car has a warranty and you can get some great deals on all included DPs. The sellers want to recoup every peso they can from when they bought it new. All I can say is....there must be a heck of a lot of used cars sitting around!!!

You're playing word games RBM. What I said WAS true. Exit clearance is exit clearance, no matter what you want to call it. But to satisfy you, EVERYONE must get clearance from the PRA before they depart the country. If you try to leave the country without it, you will be denied. BDM, are you related to this Agency/Agent you are advertising? Please give us the name of this "free" agency so everyone can get this help without a fee.

Interesting Jolly. I checked with 5 different agencies and everyone of them required the same fee. No, I doubt I got ripped off, but I definitely paid for services I did not receive. But it's interesting to know that they are receiving a kickback from the PRA, which amounts to me paying them twice. Oh well, as I said, my choice; my consequences. And by the way, I'm still required to get exit clearance before I can depart the country. Let each make their own decision and my best wishes to all.

Good info Freebie. If you she helped you open a bank account in 5 minutes, then completed a physical in 5 minutes, and then processed you through the NBI in 5 minutes (which according to the PRA, only the Manila NBI office can conduct the clearance needed and provide the documents required by the PRA), then you've got a goldmine with this person. If possible, please share her name and/or agency with me as I could definitely benefit from her services and/or connections. Heck, it took me AND the agent 4 weeks just to get the NBI part done. What a great deal you had. Please share the agency name if possible. Thanks much!

Does Frank look a lot like Biden too? Or is it my inherent mind that makes all dumb-aXXes look the same??? (Sorry guys, I will keep my love and compassion for my countries leader to myself)

To my simple knowledge Freebie, there are 2 key steps. First, make sure your VPN is on your router. The VPN gives instructions on this in their web site. I got the password from a service tech and I gratefully "tipped" him for his excellent service. If you have trouble with this, try GeoffH's recommendation as this works pretty good too. Second, if possible, set up your Fire Stick (ROKU or other streaming stick) in the US, UK, Aussie, or your home country, so it doesn't reflect the Philippines as your base location. If you are already here, try to do the base setup with the VPN on and use the server location you have chosen as your home base. Keep in mind, as was also mentioned in Geoff's entries, this is a constant battle/war going on between the streaming companies and the VPN engineers. It's a pretty wicked fight from what the Express engineer told me. What works for a while, may suddenly not work. We had 3 series we watched regularly on Netflix and I found them on HULU TV and it seems HULU is not involved in the war yet????? Good luck my friend and if I can help, let me know.