I’m leaving for the Philippines next weekend and have a lot of catching up to do. It’s been three-plus years since I was there last and I’m excited to see my friends again. It’s also been more than a year since the condo we bought was finished and we have yet to see it, except in pictures. This time we’ll be staying there, in a development called Circuit Makati, in Makati, Metro Manila. Circuit is full of restaurants, coffee shops, and shopping, not to mention it is surrounded by large grounds and has a great outdoor music venue.
So much has happened since 2019, including my retirement, a nearly 40-day road trip through the western US, and my resumption of work on a halftime consulting-type basis. What has not made much progress are the word counts for new story ideas (plenty of ideas, not enough word count). I will be working on building my bookish contacts and continuing these drafts of WIPs (mainly to find one that seems like it can stay the course to the finish line). I’ve always found Asia in general and the Philippines specifically very inspiring.
One of the interesting things about the Philippines is that most Filipinos are quite social (speaking very generally, sorry) so finding an acquaintance that is interested in having coffee isn’t difficult. Making that happen, even if you are only 10-15 kilometers away, is much more difficult in a metropolitan with more than 13 million people. No matter how much you’d like to meet, public transportation is woefully underdeveloped, the roads are not planned or funded for the future (or even the present), and the obeying of common traffic laws is non-existent. The typical filipino that commutes to work spends from 1 to 2 hours each way, per day. Their ability to spend another hour each way to meet anywhere is likely much lower than their desire. Even so, I very much appreciate the time I can spend with friends.
I’ll also spend a few days on the beach in Bohol just to remind myself what sand between my toes feels like. I was in the Bohol area in 2016 and am looking forward to being back.