Grumpy women and jelous guys.. November 27, 2008

A Western guy with an asian girlfriend is often seen as a loser and a guy unable to carry off a relationship in the west. But i want to put my story here and several of the other people i know of..

My story….

                      Im a surveyor and a high earner.. i had a relationship that wasnt working for me and even though it wasnt working i stuck it out for many years in the hope things would recover. Truth is when your thinking on how to “save” a relationship its already pretty much doomed. A few things happend and eventually i called it a day. I was now single and wealthier than i had been in any other time of my life nothing holding me back.. finding a bank balance grow and a job that had a lot of prospects.. but was i happy?? simply yes.. i was single nice car, nice job and free to do what i want. I spent as much  time with my daughter as possible and things were going well.. I met April online and we became friends quickly. April had a good job and pretty content with life in the Philippines although keen to travel. We were both in relationships of some description at this time. So stayed friends for most of the year. A few events happend we both became single and after a bit of time we started to become a couple and eventually i flew out to the Philippines and we got married and the rest is history.. Both of us are well educated.. Neither of us struggle to get admirers and April is more into being practical than Prada and Mercedez…

Friends of mine i wont add names.. but its a story ive heard many times from many people and writing this i can think of at least 5 people who will think its about them personally but its a general description..they are in the 50+ year bracket of life either a widow or left a marriage that they woke up one morning and thought what am i doing here? My wifes a nightmare either via spending,affairs or other means.. but the results all the same they had a wake up call. Divorcees found themselves lonely looking to rebuild a life after a partner had gone but ultimately they wanted a change and a big one..

So what happens? Most headed to the Philippines via friends,holidays or just started looking online for someone mainly for curiousity.. finding a life partner isnt like going into a mall and thinking “i know what, ill get a wife today”. Its time consuming with a rollercoaster of emotions.. eventually they land in the Philippines and as many say it takes at least 10 years off you. For me its a destress i find my headaches and stress gone as soon as i see the islands.. a warm smile comes to my face. But getting back to the guys. Many are on fixed pensions and also realise that life in the Philippines doesnt only mean your respected by younger people but the fact people want to know you, want to talk to you.. they enjoy your company. They normally find a filipina who is generally younger (but not always) but you find most of these relationships are happy and content.. and why ? because the guy if hes sensible realises what he has, he has been given a new life.. a life that in the West would be a younger mans life or dream. A beautiful woman and a pension or income that stretches well beyond his country of origins ability.. Waking up to sunshine and smiles each day. So whats wrong with this ???

This is where the title comes into play.. many guys end up with grumpy ex wives.. the laws in most countries in the west are biast towards the females and its destroying many of the old family units. Your a guy you get a bag of clothes and the cost of children until theyre old enough for work (murderers get less time!). The female gets the house,car and an allowance from the ex. She can choose to work or not doesnt really matter shes got it made!

So why the stigma about the guys being a loser? Well it comes from the fact how many exs are happy to see theyre ex husband doing well?? How many like to see a woman 20yrs younger and half her weight on the arm of the ex husband? What about knowing your in a cold wet country and only knowing the life youve done for the last 20yrs+  when your ex is now living in the tropics with a beautiful wife, house and within walking distance of the beach?? Truth is the ex wife is the one who has lost.. she may sit on a pot of gold reminding me of a dragon sat on coins in a cold damp cave.. but she feels she has been made a fool.. who wants an ex husband to be happy!! How dare he.. show how much his life improved after the break up!! so in return the ex wife will make it difficult for the guy to see his kids when home (if not doing before he even left for Asia). Then when he eventually does look to leave the guilt comes on how much the kids will miss him etc etc. yet the truth is they were struggling to see the kids anyway.. being abroad they are likely to generate more income and maybe even put a nest egg away for the kids.. which would be impossible in the home country..

The Jelous guys ive seen this from a distance.. a friend of mine has a wife who is from Thailand.. they work hard for what theyve got and he goes home every night.. he doesnt go to the pub with his friends anymore but his friends joke that hes under the thumb with his wife while sat drinking in the pub.. So whos wrong here? Hes gone home to a cooked meal his wifes prepared after doing a long day herself and they are content being together.. or the guys in the bar bitching about he is under the thumb..where is theyre wives?

Well to be honest with you most are now single they left.. others have marital problems and either way if your life orintates round a group of friends bitching about others in a bar each night what really is your life who is the loser here???

Its part of life having people complain about others but the truth is i find the Philippines, Filipinos, Retirees and guys who goto the Philippines or married to filipinas get a raw deal.. But then again if someone complains they dont have to value theyre own life..

One.com November 27, 2008

I was surprised to find out how much my brother just got clobbered with by One.com for his webspace. He doesnt use it very often and its not fully developed.. Last year One.com charged £10.00 for a 3GB webspace. But what they did during the year is “AUTO” upgrade everyone to 25gb without authorisation. So this week what happend they “auto” renewed and my brother expected a bill for £10.00 for the 3gb.. what did he get ??

A bill for £59!! not only that they refuse to cancel it or even downgrade as they now have his money..

Now looking over the options they provide not only is it overpriced but they have virtually no real facilities to add wordpress or any other software that could actually be useful on the net.. a provider that has a service that i havent seen so poor since the 90s.. But then again i wouldnt complain if it was free..

BUT £59.00 for a site thats worth nothing and impossible to do anything with to develop?? must be crazy.. just want the guys over at one.com know that ill be doing what i can to spread the truth about this company and its “auto” upgrades and “auto” renewals great stealing other peoples money..

Lonestar Bar November 24, 2008

 

http://www.lonestarcebu.biz I have noticed a large amount of people looking for lonestar in the searches which bring you back across my site regarding the bar girls.. One thing about Lonestar bar people dont realise is its a bit of a haunt for many local expats not for the girls but due to cheaper beer prices and the fact the girls who work in there wont hassle you too much. Unless you want to be hassled.. The bar i believe is owned by an Australian. It consists of a few seating booths, small bar area, large raised dance floor which is at bar height.. as you can grab a stool and sit round it.. There is also a pool table and around 20+ girls working in there. Drinks are delivered to you and there is also food available such as pizza. But this is definitly a gentlemens bar… not one for family. I would post photos but I dont actually have any..and im not a regular visitor.. but if anyone has pictures they would like posted or more details please feel free to email me and ill update this blog.

How would I rate ? well im not a regular at bikini bars but i find the staff are friendly and a few of my friends hang out there…above that dont know how it compares i dont venture to the bars around the Rotunda.

Is there money in content writing? November 20, 2008

As a lot of people have commented to me lately. I write a lot and they would like if i would write more about things i come across. But although i enjoy writing work is a major factor in my life and even more important having an regular income. So i was just wondering how and if anyone already does make a living from writing content? I prefer to write about things i know about but i also suffer with a keen interest in curiousity which leaves me not pressing a button and going  ohh it works.. but more likely underneath or inside looking at how it works..

The reason im starting to look at this is the same for other ideas.. im wanting to move full-time to the Philippines. Ive started with some online surveys and so far theyve made money but not enough to make a living on… but as the saying goes everything helps.. also i use a site called slicethepice.com which ive found is a good way of making a small bit of money for listening to music… but my real passion is writing.. so appreciate any ideas!

There is a dark side to the Philippines November 19, 2008

I often come across people complaining about things going wrong in the Philippines and as such i just wanted to do a quick article just to highlight some of the pitfalls.

Firstly doing business.. you arrive to a tropical paradise, people are friendly, buying things is cheap then someone approaches you to sell you a bar or another type of business. Hey the risk is small.. ill invest. Youve already made several mistakes.

1. What do you know about the business youve just bought and how it operates?

2. Why did they sell it in the first place?

3. You cant own it can you trust the people whos name you will have to use?

4. Is the business worth the hassle for the time taken up.

these are just a few of the things people just dont follow. They think hey i can run a bar an internet cafe or something else. But the truth is most of these businesses make little or no money. Your better off putting your money in the bank.

So what could go wrong?

Most common one i hear of is people being forced out by people offering “protection” or money to be “left alone to trade” otherwise officials visit. Then there is the staff stealing making it impossible to make any money. Staff that are unreliable and when there dont want to do the job they are supposed to.

Now im not sure why people have so many problems with getting good staff in a country where jobs are hard to come by and so many people in poverty. I think its got a lot to do with family interference if you had to give up most your earnings for relatives how keen would you be to work?

Then there are the more major factors which ive heard several cases of where you are forced out. Either via death threats, which comes down to your own fault for being successful! or via people having sex with minors or accused of rape. Ok i said minors in the wrong context its not a Gary Glitter scenario but more to do with girls lying about theyre age then calling the police in after the deed which often leads to jail or someone fleeing the country. This obviously can be avoided but many keep getting caught with the same trap.

So would i do business in the Philippines personally?   Truth is I already do. I have several small concerns that are slowly growing but im not urgent either i can wait for them to blossom. But i would advise staying away from the Bars.. if you run a Bikini bar and theres a girl underage working there you could kiss goodbye to 15yrs of your life in prison or a hefty payout to make the problem go away.. Restaurants ive heard conflicting stories. Some are success some people have fleed in the middle of the night in fear of theyre life.

Resorts I would stick to small apartment blocks. Something that doesnt draw too much attention and easy to rent out and control. Get big you get the bigger fish wanting to take it from you.

The Philippines is full of opportunity but its also full of people that dont like a foreigner doing business there. Start doing jeepneys, Tricycles and you may have locals up in arms complaining you are stealing theyre livelyhood which could be dangerous if they live around you. Taxis seem to have a lot of foreign owned maybe because they cover a larger area people get less hassles not really sure. But do they make money is the real question.

Whatever you do.. dont trust anyone, not for a few months anyway. Something i do is leave loss leaders.. to let me know who i can trust. It seems to work well but doesnt mean it works well for everyone.

Why the EU doesnt work for the UK November 18, 2008

As Europe takes a bigger grip on the UK week by week what the question i want to ask is what benefit do we actually get?

We pay huge amounts of money into the EU and get little or nothing in return.

We have opened our borders which have poured illegal immigrants in and an uncontrolled migration of workers has pretty much flooded money out of the UK to European nations. Thanks Europe!

The belief that having migrant workers come to the UK is beneficial to the economy i cant really understand. Many people lie that they are from Poland or other countries and enter illegally. Finding work for manual work is difficult, ok i dont need it personally but how is someone supposed to get a job at the bottom of the ladder to pay for an education to get a better job?? Truth is its becoming virtually impossible. When i came back to the UK in Febuary i had 2 jobs at the start that are manual based first place 90% of the people are Polish workers. The second place had a mix of Russian, Polish, Ukranian and workers from Pakistan where have all the white people gone? I know my brother has struggled to get a job for over a year and it also took me a few weeks where normally it takes me a day or two. So am i racist? Absolutely not.. but the truth is that the EU is destroying the UK. money is pouring out and we are allowing people to come in and learn how industries work and who theyre clients are. An example on the damage that can be done can be seen in somewhere such as Poland… Someone comes to the UK learns how to produce items on injection moulding equipment. Saves his money buys an injection moulder in Poland he will also be aware of the business he was working for in the UKs clients. The problem is when things happen like now when we are hitting a recession. A guy in the UK has a family and home that costs around £12,000+ per year to stay where he is without doing anything new. The person returning to Poland can afford to live on £3,500 but hes also been making and saving £2,000 a month for the last year or so.. so how long does it take someone to setup a factory that isnt buried in red tape and health and safety legislation like the UK to setup in Poland and can employ someone for £300 a month not £300 a week?? Ill let you do the maths.. The UK should never have entered the EU and I hope it wakes up before its too late.

PCs for Children November 17, 2008

Im currently looking to start a project up primarily in the UK to stop a lot of PCs going to landfill which are in good working order and instead send them to schools in the Philippines that dont have any computers at all. Ideally would prefer company donations due to the quantity of computers that can be provided as we can collect the machines directly any associated equipment would be appreciated. All machines will have the drives formated and the computers checked before they are shipped to the Philippines.

The second things im looking for is mobile phones either corporate or personal what you may find surprising is that an old Nokia that could be 10years old here could be worth £10 in the Philippines if sold at a store. What im planning to do with the old phones is sell them and convert them into funds to start sustainable projects and help communites. Anything is appreciated. Please email if you can help

mattwilkie@tropicalpenpals.com

Is Gordon Brown taking a leaf out of Maxwells books? November 14, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

Two people who have changed the face of the UK in theyre fields over the years. But is/was Gordon Brown trying to pull the wool over our eyes similar to the way Maxwell did with the pension funds. Borrow or bust.. and when it goes completely wrong.. we will be feeling it for the next 20 years.

I may sound a bit doom and gloom but the biggest problem I have is people are waiting to see what the government do when the truth is they should do nothing! Its too late. Theyve run us aground and running around like headless chickens in the hope of throwing money into the system will fix the problem. But we are just following in Maxwells footsteps. Good bye pension! good bye Sterling! hello recession.. Accountability is what is needed not stupidity.

Your probably wondering why im giving the government a hardtime and what does it have to do with the Philippines.. all i can say is im paid in sterling and look at the interest rates.. i rest my case.

The end of Sterling November 14, 2008

A prediction coming from everywhere is the end of the Sterling as a powerful currency. Truth is the price has been inflated for a long time. You only have to look at where the pound has sat over the last few years and you can see that its all down to the labour government leading people like lemmings to an economic downturn and a recession that may take a decade to recover from. Its all been cheap money.. over inflated house prices which in turn release cheap lending.. e.g. you buy a house at £30,000 its been valued at £90,000+ buy a porsche, buy another house.. you can release all that extra money by using your house as guarantee.. because its worth over £90,000!! theres plenty of work because everyones on spending sprees.. but when does it end?? About a month ago.. good bye money and goodbye sterling..

The problem is these days its easy to blame the banks and its easy for the banks to blame the people but who ever thinks.. its my fault.. or at least some of it ? Very few.. why? with a  media that drives the its not your fault your in so much debt.. articles and the banks blaming it on a world wide recession. Where are the real answers?

The people spend too much.. and the banks and creditcard companies made it to easy, its both nobody saved for tomorrow including the government who at the end of the day are responsible for us all.. since thats what they are paid for.. if they steer us to this cliff they should be made accountable above all because the taxpayer doesnt go free… we are paying for it now and for the future.

So whats this got to do with moving to the Philippines.. well simply the worldwide turn in economics may do us a favour with the Peso. We are all going to suffer.. and its times like this that reminds me of the last recession where work was hard to find and i ended up restudying and doing what i could find. I just feel sorry for the families that are going to be without over christmas. But hope for a brighter next year..

Advise for anyone who hasnt transfered any Sterling is to keep hold of it.. you need to ride the storm out transfering now you may found the peso fluctuate and you will lose out twice.. just batten the hatches and wait for a better time to move your money.

The container house projects November 4, 2008

Looking through the blog traffic i notice a huge amount of traffic relating to the container house ideas im currently looking over. There are many issues relating to the layout of a container house and how its going to be used. Timber floors that could be an issue with termites. How to cut windows,doors,getting to sites aswell as where do you get all the equipment to carry out the jobs to do it as there are a lot of tools,time and trial and error projects to get it all to work together. So im interested in hearing from peoples experiences who have already carried out conversions into offices and houses. The location of my current lot makes it difficult to access for containers which is whats holding us back currently as we have to slice them up to get to the site. Which then starts me thinking about the way ive made them before with setting out a metal frame from which i can insert foam filled panels with metal outer skins similar to what is used in chiller rooms but just buying the materials and building myself as its time consuming but easy to do. So at the moment our project has hit a bit of a stumbling block until i get home. But either way its going to happen im hoping to use the containers because i can get hold of them easily and could have a liveable house within a month. Starting from one container and then adding to it as we go so that we can live in there asap. But lets see how it goes. Ive had a new run of work arrive but on the first day its already been halted due to internal politics. Ive already established enough income for the next few months but the money im currently “supposed” to be earning is part of this projects fund.

So what i think would be a better idea is for people to share what they are doing and/or what they have done with container houses or a modular home theyve designed/build and share the experiences they have. Im going to open up a new website just to do with the container/modular homes but i need YOU the readers to help get this off the ground as there is no point building a forum and site if im the only writer. So please email me or leave msgs here so we can start building a community of home builders. It should all work in everyones favour as some people get to show home the properties they are proud to have built and newcomers get to gain experience and knowledge from those who have already achieved theyre goal.

Now im looking for container/modular houses from all over the world it doesnt have to be directly relating to the tropics as many things like staircase design etc are relevant to us all.

mattwilkie@tropicalpenpals.com