Everything Under The Tropical Sun

I know I said I wouldn’t be writing anything until August 1 but I am feeling so sad and worried now. I hope that writing about it would make me feel better… I couldn’t sleep last night. As soon as I closed my eyes, my mind wandered to how much pain I can cause to the people who hurt my babies. The thin line between anger and revenge is something I wouldn’t want to cross, though.

Courage and Ashley are our babies. Courage is a 5-year-old male, black, labrador retriever while Ashley is a female, yellow colored one and is about a year younger. They lived with us while we were staying at my mother’s house and when we transferred, we took them both with us. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that big dogs were banned in that compound so after Courage picked a fight with one of the smaller dogs in the place (an alpha dog thing – he’s used to being the big boss), I couldn’t justify that they stay there with us. We were forced to move them back in my mother’s house.

At my mother’s place, I commissioned the son of my mother’s household help to watch over them, to give them baths, take them out on walks, etc. I would regularly pay him a monthly salary just to do that (when in fact he stays in my mother’s house for free – he has a day job somewhere else). I would pay for their monthly food as I did not want to burden my mother with their expenses.

Now that we’ve transferred, I went and got my babies from my mother’s house yesterday. I wanted to cry when I saw the condition Courage was in. He’s skin and bones! My once magnificent and healthy baby has deteriorated into a vision of my worst nightmare. I don’t have the heart to post what he looks like now. Ashley wasn’t in as bad a state as Courage was. She has always been the chubby little one but she looks like she has caught whatever Courage has and is going towards that same path. We rushed both of them to the vet and had to leave them there.

I got off the phone with the vet earlier and they both have heartworms and we’re still waiting for their blood test and urinalysis results to rule out kidney and liver problems.

The least Dexter could’ve done was inform me my babies were losing weight really fast so I could’ve asked the vet to see them right away. Now they’re in really bad shape and I wonder whether I was taken for a ride.

At a very short span of time, for someone (even a dog) to lose weight very fast is a clear indication that there’s something very wrong. I can never expect anyone else to take care of them. I thought since they’ve been with my family since I was a teenager, they’d have the decency to take care of my dogs properly. I was wrong.

Serves me right for trusting the wrong people to watch over them. I’m never going to do that ever again. I’ll fight with everyone else if they want to banish my dogs. Seeing them like that made me feel so helpless. I just pray that there’s nothing else wrong with their health.

As much as I’d hate to put my blog in a lower number on my priority list (which is usually WAY up there), I have to choose between writing something worthless or something inspired. I choose the latter.

It’s difficult for me to find inspiration when I’m dog tired. Tired from work AND moving every single day. So I’m going silent with this blog for the rest of the week and I’ll be back when we’ve FINALLY moved into the new place (please, please, please be tomorrow… how I wish I could wake up and see that the moving fairies did the packing and unpacking for us). Our target is on August 1 or earlier.

Until then, I wish you all a good blogging journey. Please don’t forget to come back.

Okay, so I did some research on biofuels in the Philippines. Biodiesel is produced by extracting oil from plants.

The question in my mind while doing so was: Why is commercial biodiesel practically the same price as regular petroleum diesel?

I found out (with the help of my loving husband) that Flying V’s biodiesel blend is B1. Which means it contains only 1% coco biodiesel and 99% petroleum. Hence, the small price difference. So why only 1% you say? Good question. I’ve got an irritating answer (irritated because it makes complete sense):

Too many products are dependent on coconut supply like the food and cosmetics industries. Since coco biodiesel is a lucrative business (all the more at this point in time), the government is afraid that there might be a sudden shift in supply which would wreak havoc in the other industries dependent on coconuts. Just like what happened to Brazil in terms of their corn production due to ethanol demand. It makes sense that our government doesn’t want that to happen.

Though the World Wide Fuel Charter accepts blends of up to 5%, this must be done gradually. There is a law in place. In 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, signed a law that makes it mandatory for fuel companies to use B1 blend (for diesel products) from the year 2009 onwards with increasing increments in the following years. She aims to reduce our dependence on imported petroleum by 3% in 2011.

Even with coco-diesel composing a mere 1% of the total biodiesel blend, it is said that it should be enough to help diesel engines to be fuel efficient thus, more mileage and is still a big help to the environment. These are good things but why do I still feel cheated? I mean, if they really want people to opt for biodiesel, shouldn’t they encourage them by bringing the price much lower? At least around P2.00 ($0.04/liter or $0.17/gallon) because despite the fact that coco-diesel is a NATURAL RESOURCE, it’s also tax-free.

I had a conversation with my husband about my earlier blog post: “Converting to Biofuel?” and how I was looking for a photo of his car in my computer to add to that post but couldn’t find one. Seems like he wants me to post a photo of it (he’s ever so proud) because he just sent me a photo. Ha! Ha! Ha!

It’s a 1980 model 123 body MB (MB stands for Mercedes Benz but I think it actually stands for: My Baby). He bought it really cheap and has slowly restored it. I can’t really say what he’s changed and added. All I know is it’s in a much better shape than when he first bought it. Here’s the photo (had to blur some things):

Okay, Hubby, here it is… for the whole internet world to see how good a job you did with restoring your car (he just peered over my shoulder… like a supervisor checking if I did his car justice). Thank goodness his car can’t talk… I’d might lose my side of the bed to it if it did. Boys and their toys… *sigh*.

I wrote early this week about attempting to fuel up with commercial biodiesel and we did.

I was quite disappointed. First, it’s because of the price. I was expecting the biodiesel to cost less than the regular biodiesel since our country has an abundant source of coconuts to be able to convert to fuel. It’s just basic economics. Less overhead expense since it’s a local product. Take the middle east for example. Their local fuel costs are about P5-P7/liter (that’s about $0.11 to $0.16/liter or $0.42 to $0.60/gallon). So what did we get? See below:

GRRRRR!!! It made me angry when I saw that. Made me so so…. UGH! Fine! I’ll say: curious. Made me so so curious and made me research on the web. I will write another blog entry to show how jaded I was with my country’s biodiesel laws and the actual practices in place.

Right now.. I’m ranting. Can’t believe how jaded I’ve become. I assumed too much. Grrrrrr… I will do my research now. I can’t take not knowing.

P.S.

Because of gas prices going up up up… Our capital city’s roads have 20% less vehicles. I guess Mother Nature has found an effective way to strike back.

My husband justified buying the almost-vintage 1.2.3 body (according to him it will become a collector’s item in a few years’ time) Mercedes Benz to me by telling me the following:

1. It runs on diesel (Diesel is cheaper than gasoline here).
2. It’s the ONLY car he’ll ever ever want to drive and therefore will NEVER want to buy a new car (Yeah, right! If he finds a ‘68 Volkswagen Beetle for sale… I bet he’d buy ANOTHER vintage car.)
3. It’s safe (It should! It feels like I’m inside a tank when I ride in it).
4. It’s value will appreciate in time (but what’s the point since it’s the ONLY car he’ll drive???).
5. He can convert to biofuel without tinkering with the engine later on (he wanted to concoct his own biofuel but time isn’t on his side – too busy).

After asking him time and time again if he’s sure. Really sure that he can take the headaches (and heartaches) of restoring that car to its former glory. I mean, an old car will have its kinks and attitudes (every car has its own personality, I believe.) that he’ll have to deal with on a daily basis. He told me he was ready for it so, okay, fine. Go ahead.

Actually, he had me at “biofuel”.

Now, I’m thankful he did. We got rid of one car and is now using his beloved Benz. He hasn’t converted to using biofuel but it takes an aching wallet to spur us into action.

As you can see the image to your right, gas prices went up again. Diesel prices back in 2005 were at P25/liter (about $0.50/liter at the time)… now it’s practically doubled at P55.26/liter ($1.23/liter). Earlier today, we discussed that we’ll convert to using gassing up with biofuel. I’m all too aware that there’s still much debate on whether or not biofuel is as efficient as it is worked up to be but it costs about $0.22/liter less and for us, it makes a huge difference.

Whether or not biofuel is good alternative to diesel, its properties are more organic and less harmful to our ground water. Plus the fact that it’s much cheaper than the alternative. I’m happy to say that we are reducing our carbon footprint even though we’re mostly driven by cost. We have always intended to do so.

Good thing he bought that car. Though I was pretty much against it, I’m glad he did in more ways than one.

My husband and I are moving out. We’re hitting two, three… maybe four birds with one stone with this one.

We figured that by moving to a smaller space, we’d end up consuming less energy. The house we’re in now is simply too big for the both of us. Plus, it’s much closer to work. We can get rid of one car and we’d ride to work together. Now, if we could only get someone to carpool with us… then we can really say we’re energy-efficient.

(note: I read somewhere that for a car to be fuel-efficient, it needs to transport about 3 people. Please comment if I am mistaken.)

The good news is that we will be able to bring our two dogs with us to the new house (unfortunately, they were banned from the compound… but that’s another blog story).

It really broke my heart when we had to return them to my mother’s house. But we’ll be able to be with them again. So happy about that.

Since there’s just the two of us and we’ll only get to pack up every night after work, it’s such a hair-raising feat. But once we get settled in, we’re sure to be able to get our evenings back for ourselves. For the meantime, we’d have to get used to getting very, very tired by the time we hit our bed at night.

Our routine by the time we get off work:

1. Drop off some stuff we packed the night before to the new place.
2. Cook dinner (and our packed lunch for the next day).
3. Pack some more and load them in the car.
4. Sleep

Big ticket items like furniture, we move during Sundays. We had to get rid of so many furnitures that it has three destinations: 1) Our office; 2) My in-laws’ house; and 3) The new place.

All of this has to be done before August 1.

Oh well… Suggestions anyone?

I am about to embark into a new chapter in my life. I felt it coming about 2 months ago. Pretty much the same time I started public blogging. An odd coincidence (Maybe. I don’t believe in coincidences)… as soon as I transferred to this URL (from underthetropicsun.wordpress.com), my world as I knew it began to transform.

For years, I’ve been whining about how I hated the job I was in and that I felt I was not living the life I wanted for myself. Contrary to growing up knowing that whatever job I did, I’d do it for the love of it.

My writing was put on the back burner for 5 years (before I started blogging). Now, I’m finding my “voice” again. I’m struggling a bit. It doesn’t come as easily as it once did for me. But slowly, I can feel it coming back. It’s just a matter of time until I find this part of me again.

I took a big leap last month.

I finally got the courage to say goodbye to last my job. I broke away emotionally and from the self-sacrificing program I’ve built around it. Though there’d be a huge lifestyle change for us (my husband and I), he has been so supportive (mainly because he knows only too well how miserable I was).

I’m now working in a less stressful environment. Earning just enough but following my heart. I’ll have enough energy at the end of the day to do all the things I’ve neglected in the past that were a HUGE part of me (writing, photography, etc.).

It feels like that gulp of air after holding my breath for so long. I have my life again. It’s mine to screw up… mine to build… mine to live. FREEDOM. Sweet, sweet freedom. In the eternal words of Martin Luther King:

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m [we're] free at last!

It was my brother’s birthday yesterday… Kulitopher. That’s not his real name but that’s what we used to call him when we were kids. Kulit in our language can mean a number of things. Mainly, it’s to describe his jolly, persistent demeanor.

He knows how much I love him… and it comes so easily for me. He’s such a lovable person and i think that’s why he has so many friends. Mind you, most of his friends are the “close” kind (my own friend count consists of only a few fingers’ worth… his, well, maybe he can include his toe count in the mix).

One of my favorite memories of him is when he was about 5 or 6 years old, he went through this Rambo phase (gosh… I’m old. I doubt anyone in their early 20s could relate).

We used to play pretend all the time. We’d pretend we were the Power Rangers or the team of Voltron, etc. I’d happily play the girl part. No contest since I was the the only girl (my sister and I have a 9 year gap) at the time. Our maternal cousins in our age group were all boys and plus my two brothers… well, it was a chaotic riot when we’d all get together.

Whenever we’d play pretend military (which, by the way we always do)… Kulitopher would go run to his closet and pull out his red bandanna. He’d ask me or Hubcap (our brother between us) to tie it around his shin. We’d go on pretending to fight a battle. Every time… he’d play the part of Rambo.

He literally begged our Papa for weeks to buy him the military style pants John Rambo wore. Once he did, it was the only thing he wanted to wear out. He wasn’t happy with just the pants and the bandanna… he went and asked our Mom to let his hair grow out. Well, that’s when our parents drew the line. Hahahaha!

The photo to your right is a photo of my two brothers way back when… aren’t they just adorable???

Well, Kulitopher always had everyone in our family eating out from the palm of his hand for just being adorable. Now at 26, he has gone through a lot in his life but has always had a general passion for it. Always the jolly one… always the one who sees the glass half full… always the people pleaser (too much that sometimes it gets him in trouble)… the friendly one… and always loved by me.

Happy birthday, bro! I know that everything is not where you want them to be now but someday soon, I know things will start going your way.