I awoke this morning and remembered some dreams that I had. The one is a repeat that I have had many times before and don't know exactly what it means but can probably guess. I am driving my truck without a trailer (called bobtailing) to my Moms house (where I grew up) but when I get to the drive the truck has no brakes and won't stop. So I have to pass it up and I keep pumping the brakes and pressing them as hard as I can to the floor but it doesn't seem to slow the truck down so I pass the house and try to stop as I am going through town but it still won't stop. This time town had new buildings and different things done to it than in the other dreams. My theory is that my life is out of control:))
The next part involved two machines. One somehow drilled and ate it way into the side of a mountain and made a hole about 3 or 4 foot square and would do something with the rock and dirt but leave a line of coal (I guess, maybe gold)that it dug out laying in the path to be picked up later. The other one looked to be 8 feet tall 16 foot long and was sort of like a bush hog on its side. There was a man who stood on the top of it, the whole thing hooked with a chain on each side and suspended from a crane sitting atop a mountain. the guy was standing and holding the chain and making it swing wherever he wanted it to go. It was called a rock facer and he would swing it in to the side of the mountain shaving all of the rough edges off of the mountain side. But it cut and ground through everything like it was grass and weeds. The shavings just fell down the side and gathered at the bottom. Weird!!!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Manila, Philippines: Day 10
Another early wake up call but we had to pack as we were checking out of the hotel and going to stay at Ivy's house. Her folks were there at 7:00am so we loaded up the car and were off to Quezon City after a birth certificate. Back to city hall to the registrars office we have our stamp and our ten days will be up on the 14Th but we wont pick it up until Monday the 16Th.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Manila, Philippines: Day 9 Part 2
The seminar was only a half hour or so and we had time to do it that afternoon so we went and got lunch and decided to wait and get it done. We were approached by what is know as a 'fixer' that is someone who can alter documents and speed up the process so you can marry right away and not have the 10 day waiting period. Sounded good until they said they wanted php$18,000 to do that! No way! the seminar was a movie and some discussion I didn't understand as it was voiced it Tagalog. Afterwards we questioned a pastor about preforming the ceremony for us and he said for php$10,000 he could do it right away and we could avoid the 10 day waiting period.
Ivy's Mom followed her Chinese traditions and got us a wedding date of February 18Th as the best day for us to marry. So to honor her wishes we set that as our date. The time factor was because I arrived on a 21 day visa. My flight was scheduled to leave on the 11Th and my 21 days were up on the 16. The 18Th was past both of those so we were thinking if we could get a closer date and speed things up I could still not overstay my visa and have to reschedule my flight. But after some discussion we decided that if we did things other than the right way it would look like an arranged marriage and may affect her getting a visa so we said "NO" to the fixers and did it the way it was supposed to be done. WHEW!!!!! What a busy day!
Ivy's Mom followed her Chinese traditions and got us a wedding date of February 18Th as the best day for us to marry. So to honor her wishes we set that as our date. The time factor was because I arrived on a 21 day visa. My flight was scheduled to leave on the 11Th and my 21 days were up on the 16. The 18Th was past both of those so we were thinking if we could get a closer date and speed things up I could still not overstay my visa and have to reschedule my flight. But after some discussion we decided that if we did things other than the right way it would look like an arranged marriage and may affect her getting a visa so we said "NO" to the fixers and did it the way it was supposed to be done. WHEW!!!!! What a busy day!
Manila, Philippines: Day 9 Part 1
With the decision to get married here we have started the ball rolling for a very busy time. We awoke at 5:00am this morning so we could be at the US Embassy early in order to get a 'certificate of capacity'.That is a document issued by the foreigners Embassy that insures they are legally able to marry and is the only document the Philippine government will accept from a foreigner to marry in the Philippines.
WOW! What a crowd at the Embassy so early in the morning. So many people trying to get visa's of all sorts. I understand this is a daily thing here. We waited in line, got admitted, filled out the forms, paid the usd$30.00 fee, waited some more, did my interview where I swore i was legally divorced and able to marry, got my certificate and we were on our way to the Manila City Hall to apply for the license.
City hall didn't go so easy:( We hunted and searched to find the right place get the license and after much searching, waiting and asking for help we found our way to the right desk. Obtaining the correct forms and filling them out we found out there is a 10 day waiting period from the day the license is issued before you can actually marry:((:(( The purpose of that is to hang the license in the city hall public notice area and give time for anyone to contest the legal ability of either one of us to marry. Also we found out that Ivy's birth certificate was not "valid" as it was not new enough=)) Just a money making scheme for the government.
So we had to be off to Quezon City in the morning to get a "new updated certified copy" of her birth certificate. We also found out we had to attend a short marriage counselling seminar. This gets more involved all the time!
WOW! What a crowd at the Embassy so early in the morning. So many people trying to get visa's of all sorts. I understand this is a daily thing here. We waited in line, got admitted, filled out the forms, paid the usd$30.00 fee, waited some more, did my interview where I swore i was legally divorced and able to marry, got my certificate and we were on our way to the Manila City Hall to apply for the license.
City hall didn't go so easy:( We hunted and searched to find the right place get the license and after much searching, waiting and asking for help we found our way to the right desk. Obtaining the correct forms and filling them out we found out there is a 10 day waiting period from the day the license is issued before you can actually marry:((:(( The purpose of that is to hang the license in the city hall public notice area and give time for anyone to contest the legal ability of either one of us to marry. Also we found out that Ivy's birth certificate was not "valid" as it was not new enough=)) Just a money making scheme for the government.
So we had to be off to Quezon City in the morning to get a "new updated certified copy" of her birth certificate. We also found out we had to attend a short marriage counselling seminar. This gets more involved all the time!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Manila, Philippines: Day 8
Day 6 and 7 was pretty much visiting places, eating different foods, talking, planning, and lots of showers and sleeping. We have decided to get married here for a couple of reasons.
First off, my trip here was originally to meet each other, take required pictures to prove we met and had a relationship so that when we were ready I could file for a fiance visa and she could come to the US and we would then have 90 days to marry.
Circumstances being what they are, we decided that we don't want to wait to marry. We want to be husband and wife as soon as we can. Also if we marry in the USA her parents can't attend.
First off, my trip here was originally to meet each other, take required pictures to prove we met and had a relationship so that when we were ready I could file for a fiance visa and she could come to the US and we would then have 90 days to marry.
Circumstances being what they are, we decided that we don't want to wait to marry. We want to be husband and wife as soon as we can. Also if we marry in the USA her parents can't attend.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Manila, Philippines: Day 5
Ivy left me last night to go spend the night at home so she could get up early and study for an early class. She left her wallet with her school ID here. I think she did it on purpose:D So somehow things got mysteriously better with her folks and her mom invited me to lunch on Saturday at the house. I left early to take her wallet to her and have lunch with them. We walked around and got some pictures of us before heading off to school. I waited just down from the school at KFC and watched the traffic go by while playing chuzzle.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Manila, Philippines: Day 4
Yesterday was bad, Today was worse!! We got up and left the room around 8:30am, we just got down the stairs when I got a text message from Dena that said call Debby. If Dena couldn't tell me then I knew it had to be bad news from home. I called Debby and she said that my father had just passed away in his sleep 30 minutes previous..............Everyone didn't understand why I would make the trip when dad was sick but here is the story.
Dad has had emphysema for years and only had 23% capacity of his lungs. He was seeing doctors all fall for different things. Finally they told him he had a tumor growing and pressing on his esophagus and if he didn't have chemo he had 3 to 6 months and 2 or 3 years if he did. He decided to have the chemo. I found the good deal on a flight to Manila so I booked it. 2 days later he told me he wasn't doing the chemo, he was too tired to make the trip to town.
I figured he still had 3 to 6 months and I was only going for 2 weeks. It was a non refundable flight and I really could have canceled and forfeited the money but I still had Ivy to think about. She knew I bought the ticket and was as excited to meet me as I was her. If I had cancelled she wouldn't have believed any story I told and would have thought I was just having second thoughts about meeting her and that would have put a strain on our relationship that I didn't want on it. So I chose to follow through with the plan and go meet her. I was too much in love with her already and was sure the time was right to meet her.
My first day here I talked to mom and she said they didn't understand why I went through with the trip when I knew hospice was coming in to see him everyday and he wasn't good. I tried to explain what I wrote above but I still think they feel like I was wrong!!! Anyhow, the next day he fell getting in or out of bed and they had to call the paramedics to come get him back up and then that was when things turned and went quickly downhill from there.
Dad has had emphysema for years and only had 23% capacity of his lungs. He was seeing doctors all fall for different things. Finally they told him he had a tumor growing and pressing on his esophagus and if he didn't have chemo he had 3 to 6 months and 2 or 3 years if he did. He decided to have the chemo. I found the good deal on a flight to Manila so I booked it. 2 days later he told me he wasn't doing the chemo, he was too tired to make the trip to town.
I figured he still had 3 to 6 months and I was only going for 2 weeks. It was a non refundable flight and I really could have canceled and forfeited the money but I still had Ivy to think about. She knew I bought the ticket and was as excited to meet me as I was her. If I had cancelled she wouldn't have believed any story I told and would have thought I was just having second thoughts about meeting her and that would have put a strain on our relationship that I didn't want on it. So I chose to follow through with the plan and go meet her. I was too much in love with her already and was sure the time was right to meet her.
My first day here I talked to mom and she said they didn't understand why I went through with the trip when I knew hospice was coming in to see him everyday and he wasn't good. I tried to explain what I wrote above but I still think they feel like I was wrong!!! Anyhow, the next day he fell getting in or out of bed and they had to call the paramedics to come get him back up and then that was when things turned and went quickly downhill from there.
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