Newness Never Knew News Was A Noose

Lady Reaper Corset I won from the back.

Lady Reaper Corset I won!

So there you have it! Not only a new, updated picture of me, but also a picture of the corset in real life. I think it is just dazzlingly fantastic, and it is my new favorite piece of clothing in my wardrobe.

It took a day to get to me, as the clothing company is stationed right here in the Philippines… From what I can tell, it is a relatively new company, but I know it’s going to do brilliantly, everything is super cheap, and well-made.

Here is the link to their FB page:
Lady Reaper

The weather today had me sweating my darn bollocks off… super humid and hot even though it rained a tiny bit in the afternoon… A lot of the times, the heat is pretty bearable, but sometimes it just really gets to me.
When I first got here though, that was a different story… I could barely breathe all the time, and I was drenching every article of clothing I had in sweat.
In Canada, the average summer temperature is about 27-28 degrees C, but here, the average daily temperature is about 30 degrees C.

On one hand, glorious… on the other, torture if you’re not used to it.

Now that I’ve had time to acclimate it doesn’t effect me as much, and I secretly kinda like giggling maniacally to myself, watching all my friend’s statuses become all about the weather getting colder and sweaters being pulled out of closets while I wipe the sweat off my chin and sit in my underwear.

Another beautiful thing I will never take for granted about the Philippines is the absolute mind-blowing sunsets and sunrises.
I just watched the sun go down, and the way the light framed all these big, poofy clouds with fiery, golden lines was freakin’ amazing.
The sunrises are always a blazing red color, like God himself cut the sky open to watch it bleed into daytime.

That gives me an idea to do a time-lapse video of a sunset, maybe I will soon, you’ll just have to watch this space!

I think Damon and I are going to go photo-hunting tomorrow, pack a picnic and just go driving, so I hope to have a few more good photos soon of the landscape as well. I suggested to Damon we go on a Photowalk that’s happening in the city on the fifth, but he’s not the ‘mingling with others’ type, so I’ll have to settle for taking photos alone with him… I don’t mind it, but I do wish I could hang out with other people and make some friends sometimes… I just wish he would come along, I’m shy as it is, and it’s nice to have someone by my side in social situations.

One small note for those that follow my writing here… since I cannot legally work here without papers and visas, and I can’t technically pay the bills or feed myself with nothing, please consider supporting me and allowing me to continue not only living in this beautiful country, but also to turn writing into a full-time gig. Any amount helps, and I promise in the future there will be perks to your donations.

Please consider buying my groceries?

 

It Was The Myth of a Rainy Night

Well… More than a myth, it’s been a very rainy day and evening here.

I bounced back and forth between two titles today for the bloggity….this one, and a quote by Jack Johnson that says “Can’t you see that it’s just raining? There ain’t no need to go outside.” Because exactly the opposite was true… I had to go update my visa today at immigration, so I definitely needed to go outside. Either way, I decided to go with Kerouac, just because I like his writing, and I have no idea who Mr. Johnson is, beyond being some singer-dude.

On top of it, Damon is deathly sick, and can barely even hold water down, so it’s been a glorious morning, full of the sounds of pitter-patter rain on a tin roof, and violent bursts from Mr. Chucky McVomit from the other room, the poor thing.

Once Raymond, our helper/housekeeper/family friend arrived at the house, I asked him to drive me into town to the Immigration office and got all my paperwork completed for another two months.
I talked about driving being scary here in my last post, but rain-driving is even worse… I have zero idea how Raymond kept us alive today… I had an umbrella on us while we drove, but he said it got in his way and didn’t help at all, so I put it away… Once I did, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, let alone on the road, so I’m pretty darn impressed we didn’t die.

I do love the rain here though.
One moment it can be calm and sunny, and the next, there becomes a downpour so heavy that you can’t even see the houses across the way.
There are static lightning storms practically every night, which is awesome to watch, but not very much thunder, which kinda sucks for me, I am absolutely in love with big, loud thunder crackling and booming… the kind that shakes your house when it erupts.

I got home safe and sound, Ray went home early because he was soaked to the bone, and I tried my hand at making a homemade ragu/marinara from scratch…it turned out okay, but still no comparison to Damon’s sauces.
It was very spicy from the Bird’s Eye chilies I threw in, only three tiny red chilies in a whole pan-full of sauce, but my mouth was on fire… we have a giant bush of them in the back yard, too many to ever use up, it is our best-growing plant in the garden, and they are mighty tasty little things… really darn good in burgers as well.

Now I’m curling up with a coffee and some writing, listening to the crickets and the rain, and occasionally going to check on Husby, and generally just relaxing.
Really not an exciting day at all, but then again, not every day can be a darn party!

The following video is the drive from our house into the mall in town…it wasn’t taken today, but a few weeks ago with Damon. Beware, turn your speakers down, as there is a lot of wind noise on the video, and maybe one or two swear words as well.

 

Keeping Regular – Good for the System

Well, I almost didn’t write a new post today…no news is usually good news, but I suppose being the author of a bloggity…no news is bad views?

So I suppose I shall talk today about driving on the Scoopy.

Way back in the day, when I was a little youngster, I thought it would be awesome to get my driver’s license… a personal milestone of life-changing grandeur, opening a whole new world of opportunities and greatness. I couldn’t wait to turn sixteen and buy a cheap rust-bucket to call my own.
As sixteen got closer and closer to becoming a reality, I realized that having a car was highly overrated, way too expensive, and much more work than I was willing to put in, and in the end, I never ended up getting my license.

When I moved out to the Philippines at first, the roads and traffic terrified me… the people here are insane on the road, and rivaled only by Montreal, in my mind.
My husby Damon told me I would get used to it, and that while it looks chaotic and dangerous, there actually is somewhat of a method for driving here. I thought he was just as insane as the rest, especially after telling me that when he’s alone on the bike, he drifts around corners and reaches speeds of over eighty without a helmet… Can you say potential street pizza???

Eventually though, after about four months of my being here, I got the driving itch. One day when there was nothing going on and I was ready to crawl out of my own skin at the boredom I was feeling, I decided to hop on the bike and go for a spin.

Previous to this, my only experience with the bike was being on the back with him, and one teensy instance of driving it from the Sari-sari to our house…a grand, majestic total of about a two-minute trip down the driveway.
I had never driven a car in my life, let alone a scooter, which is what we own.

So the day I drove alone, I went up the mountain… Deciding that since I hadn’t been up that way yet after months of asking Damon to take me, I’d just go right ahead and take my damn self.

I have to say, it was a lovely drive, the flowers, trees and various plant life here are all breathtaking, not to mention the scenic views of the city from the mountainside.
I could feel the local people all staring at me, and a few tried to get my attention, or said hello as I drove past… but being a foreigner here, it’s getting to be a normal thing for me to experience.

I almost drove myself off the road trying to avoid a baby chicken, and at one point I was stopped by a large herd of goats, but other than that, the ride up was smooth and beautiful.
I found what looks to be a park, that I want to investigate further, and I saw an old Lady sweeping grass clippings off the side of the road. I took the time to appreciate and admire her work, the way the freshly swept soil looked richer and darker for her doing so…

The way back home was a bit frustrating, I definitely got lost, and got a few smirks from people as I passed them more than three times trying to find my way…
I decided at one point to stop and ask for directions, and realized as soon as I did that I was on my own darn street.

I got home just before the tank ran dry, and decided I think I may very well fancy this driving stuff… I can’t wait to go out and adventure again…next time, I’ll remember to bring my camera.