Merlin and Myrna's Musings

August 2009

Vacation!!!  And it’s almost over.  I’ve had a busy week and a half.  It started last Thursday.  Don Williams and I loaded up the T-bird on a U-haul.  It had been in storage for over 15 or more years – the last 11 here in Willmar in rented storage.  It was a real burden – I couldn’t move it because the wheels were locked up – the brakes frozen.  Don – a handyman who can do anything – was able to loosen them up and helped me get it loaded on to a U-haul.  I couldn’t have done it without him – I wouldn’t have known how.  Myrna and I hauled it up to Fargo to put in the third stall up there – I don’t know if I will ever restore it or not.

Friday, I met Becca in the Twin Cities and we spent the a couple days together.  Myrna had a wedding shower to attend on Saturday and I was supposed to give a talk to an MS support group in the cities but it was cancelled but I had already gotten a hotel room so I went anyway.  We went to the Seafood Palace on south Nicollet which has the best honey walnut shrimp.  We went to a couple of Chinese stores after looking for a Filipino broom called a ting ting but no one had it.  We then went to Como Park and walked around a bit (see gallery) then to Barnes and Noble in Roseville and then back to the hotel. 

Saturday AM we had breakfast at the hotel then to the National Wildlife Refuge Center where we walked till Becca got bored.  Then we were off to Fort Snelling – the State Park first then the historical buildings.  I remember my dad saying he was hospitalized there with meningitis when he was in the army during WW2.  We hit a tennis store then to Quangs for lunch and then the Bad Waitress Cafe for coffee.  The waitress wasn’t bad but had a pink Mohawk spiked up about 3 inches.  We browsed our magazines until it was time for the baseball game – Twins vs Cleveland Indians at the Metrodome.  We left at the 7th inning because it was getting boring and the Twins were losing 7 to 2.

Sunday after meeting we headed up to Duluth but had a nice supper at moms and then an attempted bonfire at the Heimbruch’s but the wood was all wet and Loyd couldn’t get it lit.  Monday and Tuesday we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned at Becca’s place in Proctor.  Wednesday we were off to Wisconsin Dells for the PMMA conference.  I gave a talk on headache on Thursday morning but we stayed for the whole conference.  We’re back to Willmar tomorrow and see David Armstrong (Sarah’s boyfriend) off to Ireland on Sunday.  That’s about it for my vacation then it will be back to work as usual

Willmar, Minnesota

I’ve been back to work about 2 1/2 weeks.  Things always seem more clear after vacation. I should probably replace the weather in Manila with our next vacation spot. 

Pictures:

Currently converting over 5000 raw images to digital negatives (DNG).   I had noticed that the pictures I had posted and from lightroom did not have the geotagging data embedded.  So I’m embedding them with name of the location where they were taken at the same time.  That requires internet access which I didn’t always have on my trip.  The program had been running for 36 hours this morning and was only 40% done.  I will not post any more pictures until this is done so I don’t have to duplicate the work.

I’ve printed a few 16 x 20 photos last night – My large format printer (hp 130) hadn’t been used in awhile and I had to buy 2 new printheads before I could print.  They look nice.

I’ve printed off about 50 8 by 10’s for Alex which I will get in the mail in an album soon.  I’m going to make another album for Ate Aida as well.

I received my lens back from repair yesterday – the 28-70 2.8.  It’ll be good to use that again.

Last night I heard the cars racing on the dirt track at the fairground here in Willmar.  I need to get over there and get some pictures on a Thursday night sometime.

Life:

We’re going to Fargo/Moorhead in a couple of weeks.  Ryan and Jes may have some plans.  I have a conference on a Thursday night at Hotel Donaldson and would consider going out to Medora, ND where there is biking, camping and an evening outdoor show or musical of some kind.

Myrna and I are going to Chicago the end of June – just overnight.  I have a Saturday AM conference. Price was right only $120 round trip.  Will sight see Friday – arrive at 9:30 AM and Myrna can shop Saturday AM.  Staying at Sofitel Water Tower downtown.

We plan to go to Emo, Ontario in July

We’d like to spend some time with Becca as well in Duluth.  She’s going to summer school so doesn’t get much of a break.  Maybe we can get a quick jaunt over to Cable Wisconsin for biking, canoeing or kayaking.

Going Home

Japan seems sterile – I miss the smiling Pilipino faces.

What I didn’t do – I never checked my work messages – I wonder what awaits me (problems tend to take care of themselves – it will wait).

And you thought Minnesota goodbyes lasted forever – Hello!!! – You’ve never been to the Philippines.

I’m already thinking about whether we can go again next year.

I wonder how many lurkers are out there? – show yourselves – How come I get all these nice comments from spammers such as “interesting, stimulating?” 

I didn’t put that smiley face in the last post – but it seems fitting – just smile.

I now have silver elite status on Northwest Airlines –

Lessons learned – Recoup at a nice hotel – plan ahead but don’t be afraid to change plans – enjoy the culture – get out on the street – sweat – smile – go to bed early – get up early – don’t wait for the last day to take your pictures or get some ones address.

Guess what I’m eating?  My eyes are closed.  Balut!!!!! – (for the uninformed – check the link.)

Lastly (warning technical jargon) – my gear – Acer Aspire one – 140 gb hard drive, no CD, 3 USB ports loaded with Adobe Lightroom 2.2, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0, Microsoft LiveWriter, to post to this blog (thanks Ryan), Open Office 3.0, Gisteq PhotoTrackr (mentioned before and used only to save the GPS log file), Breeze Downloader Pro (used to download photos from compact flash, back up to 2 external 500 gb seagate free agent hard drives simultaneously and geotag from log at the same time and able to open multiple copies at the same time so you can leave it unattended and go about your business – in other words I have very high praise for this software), external hard drives as mentioned, Canon 5D Mark II, F 4.0 24-105 L lens, Canon 16-35 F2.8 L rarely used but should have used more, Tamron 2x extender (rarely used), Canon close-up lens (rarely used), ND graduated filter (mid range only) – should have used more for sunsets, Manfrotto tripod – light plastic – worked well.  I would have liked a 200 mm telephoto with wide aperture for more candid discrete shots but my 70-200 is way to heavy to lug around (may need to hire an aide next time – Ha! – Becca??).  Should probably have brought the 40D body for more range.  Loved the High Def video on the Canon 5D but noticed some trouble with focusing (done manually as no autofocus) – tried to do short segments and should have used tripod more for them and got more shots of family.  Brought the 580 EX flash but used only once – just increased ISO into 1600 to 3200 range commonly (5D has no built in flash).  Comments on the bag mentioned previously.  People on the street asked me cost of camera – made me a little concerned for mugging but I took it mostly as genuine interest.  There should really be a back-up laptop – I’d have been in real trouble this Aspire One had crashed.  Total pictures taken – about 10,000 – many with multiple exposures to create HDR photos.

Now at hotel – 3:00 Minnesota time (pm not am) – that must me about 4:00 Philippine time (am not pm, the next day – Tuesday) – Now awake more than 24 hours – time to go to bed.

On the way home

We are now on our way home – Flight 22 from Manila to Tokyo – seats 27a and 27b.  Uncle Alec Wright is beside me – our brother worker from South Africa – who is on his way to Japan for 3 weeks for convention while we go on to Minneapolis.  Here’s how our day started:   3:15 am (not pm)– alarm rings  – into the shower – cold – all the way – not luke warm.  Ac and fan on – feels good – no clean underwear – so on with the old – no t-shirt – shirt not tucked in – finish packing the bags – good – 10 minutes of quiet time till 4:10 AM (not pm).  Bring the bags downstairs – quiet now – Kuya Armando De Castro’ niece, Celia, awakens – bags outside on the street – torrential rains last night but sweat, sweat, sweat, with any exertion – no clearing of the air with the rain – 4:15 (am not pm) – where is Fernando? – 4:20 Fernando arrives – bags on top of the Mitsubishi SUV – not tied down for the 6 houses down the street to the convention grounds – 4:30 (am not pm) – at the grounds – May (my sister in law) and Linda Brist get in the back with their bags on top now tied down – where’s Alec?  Is he awake?  Friends and workers arrive – I get in the back seat – it’s dark – windows down  – hands in thru the windows – well wishing – Alec gets in front – we’re ready – hands are still reaching in – Fernando starts to back the SUV up (he’s done this before) – hands are still inside – goodbyes still being said – 4:40 (am not pm) – we’re on our way – what happened?  It happened so fast – the whole trip – noooo!!!  I can’t believe it’s over.

5:30 (am not pm) Airport – checkpoint 1 coming in – flashlight into the glove box  – disembark with Linda and Alec – Goodbye to May and Ate Ote (short for Dorothy) and Kuya Fer (short for Fernando).  Checkpoint 2 (after 15 minutes in line) – show e-ticket and passport.  Checkpoint 3 – bags and me thru scanner – Checkpoint 4 – get in line for NWA Flight 22 bag check-in – get red sticker on my shirt – wait 20 minutes in line –complete immigration form in line – Linda finds out her flight to Japan is delayed til 5 something (pm not am) because heavy rain closed runway last night – Call Ate Ote – to let the workers in Japan know she will be late – checkpoint 5 – show ticket and passport and get directed to another checkpoint (#6) with questions about who packed my bags – Checkpoint 7 – Print boarding passes “with assistance” at “self check in” kiosk – directed  to another lane for baggage check-in (checkpoint – passports scanned– no questions about weight (baggage not mine), directed towards green sign for “terminal fee” – check boarding pass and passport (9) before getting there – pay terminal fee (750 pesos) each (10) – go thru security (x-ray, bags scanned, shoes off) (11) – Next is immigration – turn in immigration card – stamp passport – (checkpoint 12) – go to gate 11 – dying for coffee by this time – check boarding pass before entering NWA gates (13) – go down stairs – get coffee and 7-up for Alec – sandwich and water for Myrna – no pandesal – no you can’t take drinks thru security (checkpoint 14) – eat and drink – go thru checkpoint 14 (x-ray, shoes off) – at last at the gate at 7:30 (am not pm).  Myrna and Alec have to go to the bathroom – I watch the bag – wait a minute – they can’t  get back in – bathroom is outside last checkpoint – number 14, I believe, so she and Alec have to go thru again – Can you see the steam rising – not off the tarmac but off my wife as the sun rises over Manila and our departure from her homeland.

Patience is a virtue

Possess it if you can

It is seldom found in women

But always in a man

Quote from Uncle Alec

“You may now use electronic devices.” – I pull out the laptop and Alec pulls out his USB thumb-drive freshly loaded with a video Renante gave him at 4:15 (am not pm)  this morning and we spend 30 minutes reviewing the preparations and hard work at the convention.  Tears come to my eyes as I think back of my great time in the Philippine Islands (1 l and 2 p’s”) with dear family and dear friends.  I will never forget these days.  These notes are for me, so I do not forget how I’ve felt and changed from this trip.

Some want pictures – they will come in due time – patience is a virtue…….

Myrna’s Home Coming

We arrived at Cavite Tuesday.  Fernando and Dorothy brought May to pick us up.  We had breakfast buffet together at the hotel then of course the ladies (Myrna and May) had to get something at the mall but finally we were on our way.  Once we arrived we brought our things to Kuya Mando’s home where we stay 6 houses down from the convention.  He is a widower at 73 yo but knew Myrna and her family well including Demy, Benny, Bert, Junior and Aida.  Then we were off to Robinsons (another mall) with some of the visitors for halo-halo at Max’s.  Wednesday we took the workers picture at 5:45 AM and I (with some help) worked on that until after lunch sometime. Yesterday was first day of convention – breakfast at 6:30 AM, Meeting at 9:00 AM, lunch at 11:00 AM, Meeting at 1:00 PM, supper at 5:30 PM, Meeting at 7:00 PM and then to bed.  I help wash the dishes, Myrna helps with the vegetables.  5 AM now and Myrna is showered and ready to head to the convention to help so will wrap this up.

People I met on the streets of Calinog

Thoughts of Fargo/Moorhead

The river says – “I shall return” with another flood crest of 38 feet.

Iloilo

Our grand niece, Jeiya Nicole DeCastro, won the announcing competition last year.  You can see the youtube video here.  She is very photogenic.  But so is her cousin, Nina  (pronounced Ninya), by the water with the hat and her sister, Mikie, by the  white curtain.

PI 2009

Paper is precious – everyone (except us – until now) carries their own toilet paper it seems in the PI – you can see it reflected in the windshield of the car we took to Baguio.

Armed guards accompanied us today on the ferry to Corregidor (everyone knows when you see the word underlined like that you can click it to be linked to more information, right) today.  Hotel Sofitel has gates with guards, bomb sniffing dogs check our bags when we arrive,  a metal detector is at the front door of the hotel, our bags are “checked” when we come and go.  I’m not sure if I feel more safe or less safe.  When Myrna commented on the body guards gun – and he said it was an M-16 – Myrna said she was scared and he said “Oh no, this is our friend”. 

About the “checked” – it’s in quotation marks because it’s a cursory check.  Maybe it’s racial profiling (double click on the underlined words to get more info) because the only person I saw held back was someone at the mall who looked like a homeless person.  I saw the use of mirrors to look under cars, one car may have it’s trunk “checked” and one time we had our glove box “checked”.  It’s not the kind of check we get at the US border which I was used to.  They’re just probably looking for suspicious characters (which we are not.)

Cebu Pacific airbus doesn’t like my geotracker.  I accidently forgot it on (ah hem) and we where just getting airborne when there is this loud beeping.  I thought it was coming from the airplane because I had heard it before on the trip to Iloilo (that’s 2 i’s, 2 l’s, and 2 o’s).  Then I realize everyone is looking at me and Myrna is poking me and I open my shirt and by George, it is me or should I say the geotracker which I forgot to turn off (Ah hem) is going wild.

I recommend the Hotel Sofitel.  It’s a great rest point only a short distance from the airport – 800 pesos (16 dollars) for the Hotel to send a car and have them meet you –displaying a sign inside the gates where the general public can not come and away from the pandemonium.  Rates per night are about 120.00 to 150.0 thru Expedia (you won’t have the advantage of a niece who works here and can arrange a nice full ocean view room like she did for us.)

I love halo halo.  Christy – we need to open a shop in Willmar or sell it at the Becker market.  That’s my second bowel I’m eating on Sunday afternoon at the Iloilo SM mall.  Shiela and Xavier treated us again today at with some at Chowking after our trip to Corregidor.  I also love mangos (ask Ate Aida) and Alex’s fish – catfish, mudfish and it seems there was one more kind of fish.  Not fried, but grilled over a fire – those body guards sure know how to cook (well at least one of them).

Manila

Back in Manila at Sofitel – Half asleep at 10:32 PM but wanted to get some photos uploaded – 160+ loading as I write – check the gallery – no labels – they will come later – you may recognize some of the people.  Corregidor tomorrow.