My Move to the Philippines |

I would like to thank all of my readers for helping me push my followers on Twitter to over 1,000 this weekend. I know that many of you follow me to keep up with progress on my move to the Philippines and I am grateful. If you don’t know what twitter is I would describe it as a social network where you can make a short post of 140 characters telling people what you are doing. I post alot throughout the day and all followers are alerted to a new post on this blog automatically as soon as it is posted. This way you don’t have to manually go to my website everytime you want to see if there is new content, just check out your twitter account, it’s much easier. I am listed as dan1658 on twitter but if you’d like to follow me just click here. I promise to follow you also and keep up to date with what is going on in your life too.

I’m also on the favorite social website in the Philippines Friendster my user name is Daniel Mihaliak and it is the same on Facebook. I wanted to mention that the subscribers to this website has been climbing also and if you’d like to subscribe to this website just click here it’s free of charge. Once again THANK YOU to my many twitter followers and subscribers. I hope that I can provide some helpful and entertaining information for your enjoyment.

 In my last post I talked about going to the Pavilion Mall almost everyday. I always seemed to have something to pick up at the mall and I would get my exercise by walking, usually in the morning, to the mall for a paper or whatever. One thing I needed for the walk back was refreshment and that refreshment was Zagu Pearl Shakes.

Zagu Pearl Shakes are the brainchild of a young woman who was a graduate of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. To this date Zagu has served over 40 million of their shakes in such flavors as black forest, creme brulee, halo-halo, watermelon and my favorite natural mango. These are only a few of the flavors and at the bottom or throughout the shake you have these pearls which are tapioca that are about the same as the bubbles in bubble tea.

So when I was writing that post a few days ago I started getting cravings for the Zagu Shake but I will have to wait until fall when I return to the Philippines. I think I may have to have two a day to make up for the lost time. If you are near a Zagu Kiosk do me a favor and have one for me.

In closing I would like to say Rest In Peace Michael Jackson, who just passed away this afternoon. Your music has been a big part of my life and I appreciate every thing you’ve given the world. Thank You!

When my wife picked the area where we would build our house in the Philippines she didn’t let me know and wanted to suprise me. After visiting the area of Laguna we decided to settle in, it was a very good suprise. One of the best parts of that area are the malls around it. In particular, is the Pavilion Mall, which is located in Binan. This mall is actually a 5-10 minute delightful walk from our home in Laguna.

The Pavilion Mall, although not classified as a Super Mall, has the shops that are most important for visiting frequently. Also, it is a great place for one of my favorite pastimes which is people watching. Within the walls of the mall are stores such as CDRKing which I can’t pass without spending a few minutes even though my wife is trying to drag me away. Also there is a hardware store which I can’t recall the name of which is very well stocked with things I use around the house.

Of course, the ever important Western Union Money Transfer which can be a life saver for Americans living in the Philippines. Along with that there is a National Bookstore where I spend much of my time due to loving books and office supplies. Another important place is Mercury Drug Store, a friendly store where I had to do some buying on my last trip (bronchitis). There is also the BMP Magazine kiosk where I bought my daily paper every morning and the Time Zone arcade which gave me some quality time with my young niece. Top it off with the Ink for Less kiosk and Asianics Computer Store, very important places.

Now you’ve probably thought, he’s left off the most important part of the mall. No it’s not the beauty parlors of which there are some, Ricky Reyes comes to mind, it’s the food. Yes there are plenty of opportunities for getting food. How about Shakey’s Pizza or Pizza Hut Kiosk for starters. I have never been a fan of pizza in the Philippines as I was spoiled growing up in a city full of Italian people and eateries. I don’t like assembly line pizzas from anywhere. Greenwich pizza is also in the Pavilion so now I believe I’ve covered all the pizza.

My two favorite places to eat in the Philippines are well represented in the Pavilion Mall. There is a ChowKing and their delicious halo-halo and Jolibee and their french fries which are a daily staple of my niece Zyra’s diet. Top all that good eating off with the Goldilocks bakery and we would be about ready to make the walk home. But of course I have to stop at the Puregold Supermarket for some groceries and one those Zagu Shakes like halo-halo. So now you see why I am glad that my home in the Philippines is where it is.

Reading the news today I found a statistic that surprised and disturbed me. The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported Friday that of the estimated eight million Filipinos employed in foreign countries nearly half or 35% are ages 15 to 24. That really surprised me because my idea of an OFW is someone such as a man working as a seaman or a Filipina nurse, jobs that would require at least a few years of schooling. I know there are many OFW’s in my wife’s family and all of them have had at least two years of college education and some have four year degrees. Not all, but most, at least graduated from high school.

It has me wondering how many of the said 35% are under the age of say 21. Being 21 and above is young, but not too young to move away from home. I would think as you would look through each age you would see that the percentage grows as the age grows. That would make sense but I’m also wondering if there are any OFW’s under the age of 15? What would a 15 or 16 year old do for a living abroad? The only thing I could think of would be illegal things because even in the U.S. any person under the age of 18 is restricted from most jobs and their hours are kept to a minimum by law.

If it is true that minors are working abroad illegally, how are they getting immigration papers? Is it possible that certain parts of the government are looking the other way and permitting recruiting agencies to ship these children abroad? If it is, then there is a real problem and it needs to be looked at by authorities.

Generally when minor children are working they get a lower rate of pay and I would guess that they don’t contribute as much to the $16 billion that was remitted in 2008 from overseas workers. It seems that even though the U.S. economy has been suffering, 2008 was still a good year for OFW’s. When I read things like this it starts that old machine in my head going but since I’m growing older it takes a little more oil to prime it.

I have one more question that I’d like someone to comment on. Question: Since my wife is now a dual citizen of the US-Philippines is she counted as an OFW? I’ll leave you with that!

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What a year for Charice Pempengco! She has burst on the scene by appearing on the Oprah show as well as performing with Celine Dion on stage and other celebrities. She has traveled the world and performed on many stages. Now another jewel in her crown and this one is really a dream come true, and as she explains it “another blessing from God”. On June 27th at 8pm Charice will be performing for Filipino fans in her first major concert. The concert is entitled Charice: The Journey Begins and Charice will be performing with Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez. Charice describes The Journey Begins as the story of her life, her humble beginnings, and her dreams. After the concert Charice is scheduled to go back to the U.S. to continue recording an album and then start a world tour beginning in Canada.

Here is a video of Charice singing her 1st single Note to God

Friday Manny Pacquiao was in New York to receive his second Boxing Writers Association (BWAA) Fighter of the Year trophy. This was after a hurried flight from Manila to Tokyo then to JFK. He landed at about 3 p.m. New York time and the festivities began at around 6 p.m.

Manny’s award this year came as the result of his victories in 2008 against Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz, and Oscar De La Hoya. He was awarded the trophy in 2006 highlighting a year when he knocked out Erik Morales in two different fights. Predictions are that when he fights later this year and if he wins he could take home another trophy for 2009. This year so far he has knocked out Ricky Hatton, and his next fight should be against another premier boxer.

Pacquiao was a hit with the crowd when he promised that “boxing fans will see a more exciting Manny Pacquiao every round, every minute, and every second I fight on top of the ring.”Also Manny credited his family and countrymen’s support for his success in boxing. Along with the Pac Man receiving his trophy was trainer Freddy Roach who was awarded his third Trainer of the Year award. Roach said that his preference for the next fight would be Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both men will be in New York until Sunday to attend Miguel Cotto’s fight. Cotto is also a possibility as Manny’s next opponent.

I have been looking closely at this website’s statistics and analysis lately to find the reason people are visiting. Maybe it’s just the interesting posts I make but it probably isn’t. Although I enjoy writing here when I get a chance, my main goal is to help other people make their the move to the Philippines. What I’ve noticed is my site is coming up with quite a few more searches on my older posts vice my newer posts. I can take the results two ways. Either I’m getting boring or many more people are considering a move to the Philippines. I think I’m pretty sure that more people are considering the move.

In an article for the website MelissaData.com, David Bancroft Avrick uses U.S. census numbers to show that last year 40,093,000 people moved from their original address. Out of that 40+ million 1,269,000 moved to a new country. Now that number could be higher because basically I think they are using the number of people who filed change of address notices to the post office. But I was curious of how many of those 1+ million moved to the Philippines. That research isn’t done yet and when I finish that I’ll post it here. But getting back to my original thought the number of people that are visiting this site looking for what they need to take with them when they move to the Philippines is just amazing. I wouldn’t think many Filipinos living in the U.S. would visit my site looking for what to do or what to take back so I’m assuming these are Americans moving. The ratio of how many are moving to the Philippines to how many are just doing the research is beyond me but my question for today is two part: Do you think the numbers of people moving to the Philippines are up? And Will they be up enough for the Philipppine government to notice or take some kind of action?

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I was just reading over at the website of the Philippine Star that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has been testing samples of Red Bull Energy Drink imported into the Philippines from Thailand for cocaine. Thus far the samples they have tested came up negative for the drug but more testing is in store and the final results will be released Monday.

Red Bull is a popular drink in the U.S. and Philippines as well as worldwide among young adults and teenagers. Basically, it contains the same amount of caffiene as a cup of coffee but has other energy boosters like carbohydrates for that extra burst. When I worked a night time job a couple of years ago they couldn’t keep enough of it in the vending machines. It is also popular in the U.S. as a mixer in various alcoholic drinks. I don’t like the taste so I guess I’ll stick to a good cup of coffee  myself.

Anyway it looks like some supermarkets in the Philippines are taking precautions and removing Red Bull from their shelves although they have not been ordered to at this time. PDEA labs are currently testing other energy drinks for traces of cocaine but none were mentioned by name in the article. If you are worried about your teenagers that drink Red Bull and other energy drinks please have them refrain from drinking it until the word comes out. I myself wouldn’t think a company in such high standing worldwide would risk losing everything to have an illegal ingredient so I just am going to file this one under rumors and urban legends for the moment.

To read the Philippine Star article in full click here

As you all know my wife’s family and friends survived a very bad cyclone in their province recently. Although everyone is fine many houses were destroyed and power is still out in the area. Not that you could say much for the power situation prior to that but they did have electricity. Anyway the power situation there calls for a generator in case this ever happens again. Since we are building a house in the province I want a generator available for my use when I am there.

So, I have been asking questions of my family over there about buying two generators, one for the province and one for my home in Laguna. Being that I saw them in Ace Hardware at SM Mall I know they are readily available but I really don’t remember the price. The Ace Hardware website has little information on their inventory in stores in the Philippines. So I’m bringing it to my informed readers of this blog to help me out.

Basically I’m looking for something to keep the lights on and keep the fridge from getting warm. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not so if you may, just bring me down to earth. I looked at generators here in the states and got into questions such as which type fuel would I use and voltage and wattage. So again I’m asking for someone who has purchased and uses generators in the Philippines to let me know what I need and a price range. In the meantime I will go back to watching my Happy Slip videos on YouTube and to thank you in advance. I’ll share my recent favorite with you below.

Not much to say except I hope everyone is enjoying Memorial Day.  Just remember and maybe take some time out to honor the heroes who have served their country or countries. Please remember all who are currently serving whether at home or overseas as my son in Iraq is doing. I have one more son leaving tomorrow to go over and we are trying to honor him some this week and spend some family time with him. To all the veterans who have served Thank You for your service.