Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Romney Beats Obama in First Debate

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Romney Beats Obama in First Debate

At the first presidential debate last night, Mitt Romney in my opinion beat Barack Obama. It was not a convincing defeat, however. Facts wise it appears in my opinion to be a tie. However, when it comes to presentation and awareness, Romney was at his best. Romney was aggressive and the President appeared defensive. An independent survey just after the debate based from reactions of 500 undecided voters gave Romney a 2 to 1 margin. This is just a small sample and statistically insignificant, but if Romney continues to be himself and performs well as last night in the next two debates, he will win the election. Romney did indeed change the voters perception that he cares from 30% to 63%. On the other hand, the positive change regarding the President's caring for the middle class changed only from 60% to 69%. The next debate will be the Vice Presidential debate this coming October 11 to be followed by two more debates between Romney and Obama(Oct 16 and 22). I am looking forward for these coming three debates.

I am a registered Democrat but if Romney continues to do well in the next two debates, I might vote Republican this year. However, since I am a resident of California, my vote for Romney will not count since Obama is pretty sure to win the electoral votes of California. Romney will only win the election if he wins in the seven borderline States if the election are held today. The fate of the US presidency will depends on the voters from Florida, Iowa, Virginia and Ohio and other borderline States.

Before the debate, newscasters had been saying that Obama has already 271 electoral votes if the election was conducted yesterday. THIS IS ONE ELECTORAL VOTE more THAT IS NEEDED TO BE PRESIDENT OF US. ONLY 270 ELECTORAL VOTES IS REQUIRED TO BE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF US in case you are not aware of the US Constitution.

In the Philippines, there are no electoral votes. The president wins by popular votes. I wish the US has the popular votes system, so if I vote for Romney even if I reside in California, my vote will be personally counted.

Did you watch the debate last night? If so, who won in your opinion and why. I will be delighted to hear from you.

Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.