October 18, 2013
Good day, my friends... TGIF!
Today's adventure... Pay rent, get a haircut, try shopping for shoes again and pick up lunch for Suzy.
Banking is interesting here in the Philippines. to get a checking account, one must live here 6 months... so we just have savings accounts. That does make it tough when trying to pay bills. Since I do not have employment yet... one of my main tasks is paying bills. A lot of bills (cable, internet, phone) can be paid at the Bank. The bank we use to pay bills is always busy... Today I have to pay rent and until we get a checking account... our landlord lets us go to the bank and just deposit into her account. So, I gathered the account info I needed and ran to the bank... There are two armed guards at the front of the bank that do a pat down/bag inspection before one is allowed to enter. Once in they have lines for single or multiple transactions... I was # 12 in single transaction line... Line moved fast today... I was in line 30 minutes... the deposit was smooth... and 2 minutes later I was out... Smoothest transaction at a bank so far...
Haircut time... There aren't a ton of places where a guy can go for a haircut around here. I hadn't had one since arriving so I found a place called GQ Barber shop. It is full service. Now... although back home I use Sport Clips, a traditional barber shop is what I grew up on in Newton. Since I was 4 the Rialto Barber Shop in Newton was where I got my ears lowered. Kendall, Joe, Karla... they took care of me for decades... They knew what the "usual" haircut was. As I walked into GQ, I hoped for a place like that... I was not disappointed. First-- the price for a haircut is 170 pesos (4 bucks). That is awesome. I told the barber what I wanted and he did it. Haircut also included a neck and shoulder massage. I appreciated that he used a straight razor on my neck and side burns... Unlike the Rialto, or Sport Clips, there was absolutely no conversation, which was weird. None of the barbers were talking. I am not used to that. When it was all said and done... I tipped 30 pesos (recommended by them... about 75 cents) and was on my way.
Shoe shopping time... When I came over here I only brought one pair of shoes for everyday, flip flops for the pool and 1 pair dress shoes. I decided I needed another pair for working out. In case you didn't see my experience from last night posted on facebook... here is my synopsis:
"Reebok
here is having a sale. Id like to get help with shoes but the staff
keeps bypassing me as if invisible im only customer. .. so... im just
going to stand here"
I finally did get assistance last night... shoes are tough to buy for me here-- I am size 13. There is nothing my size except for basketball shoes... I found what I wanted but didn't buy. I decided to talk it over with Suzy and then go today. I did check Adidas first. It must be how things with shoe stores work as they just left me hanging, too. This time they just stood behind me and spoke in their native tongue. I finally asked for help; They also did not have anything my size, plus their basketball shoe designs are too crazy... even for me... I then trekked back to Reebok. The same staff was there from last night and very attentive this time... Interesting... I haven't had basketball shoes in 20 years... Bonus-- the shoes were 200 pesos cheaper today than last night. 1800 down from 2000... SCORE!
Suzy wanted lunch from a place called Bon Chon... Allegedly they are in the states, too but I had never eaten there before we got to Quezon City. It is best described as Korean cuisine, I would say... kimchi... chapchae... fish and chicken dishes. Chapchae is one of my favorite things Ive discovered since coming over. It is a basic noodle dish... tasty. I got Suzy some chicken; chapchae and a fish taco for me... and on my way. We do like carry out from places as we do not have to worry about the lack of service at sit down restaurants. We are both craving a good tenderloin or BBQ... That also is nowhere to be found around here.
Tonight-- I am going to see some comedy here in the park they are providing as part of Oktoberfest entertainment. I am interested to see what the humor is like over here... Comedy Cartel is the name of the group. There is also a food market going on there so I am not sure what I will try... Pig ears? squid on a stick? chicken intestines? I might go more traditional... There is still a guy always yelling... U.S. ROAST BEEFFFFFFF, U.S. TURKEYYYYYYYYY.... Maybe I will try that. Turkey is hard to find here. Not sure what we will do for thanksgiving. Afterwards... I will probably hang out at TGI Fridays... The basketball players like to hang there after games and game 4 of the play-offs is tonight.
Have a great weekend everyone and take care!
Chuck U.
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