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

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Another Good News from the David B Katague Clan

Marina Brewster Katague, 2018

I just learned the other day that my grand daughter, Marina Katague, youngest daughter of my oldest son, Dodie was just accepted by the Yale School of Public Health for the Masters degree in Public Health (MPH) program beginning early Fall. Dodie was very excited as a proud Dad. I am also very proud of my grand daughter accomplishments so far. Marina graduated with a BS Degree in Kinesiology last year. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Congratulations, Marina!


After Dodie informed us of this good news, I asked him how much money did he donate to Yale for this acceptance. We all laughed because we know it was a joke!

Here's the latest on college admission scandal for your information: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/parents-in-college-admissions-scandal-face-a-choice-cooperate-or-fight/ar-BBVeSJb?ocid=spartandhp

Again, Congratulations, Marina! Keep up with the good work! Lolo and Lola!

Monday, March 25, 2019

Macrine's 83rd Birthday Party

Macrine Enjoying her 83rd Birthday Party

Yesterday, Sunday ( March 24), Sixteen relatives and friends celebrated Macrine's 83rd birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow ( March 26). but we celebrated it yesterday so our children and relatives can attend, because it is not a work day. The party was also a celebration Of Ditas Birthday ( March 23). Ditas does not want me to tell her age. Here are three photos from my file.

The Menu-Pancit, Kare-Kare, Beef Calderetta, Spareribs, chicken macaroni salad, salmon appetizer, leche plan, rice cake and the birthday cake( Cheese).


Thank you all for celebrating Macrine's birthday and for the goodies and gifts.




Saturday, March 16, 2019

A Brief Tribute to My First Supervisor in FDA-Dr. Wilson(Tony) H. DeCamp

Dr Wilson ( Tony) De Camp. Ph.D.

Wilson (Tony) H. De Camp. PH.D. passed away the other day after suffering the scourge of Parkinson Disease for 15 years. He was responsible for my hiring at the Food and Drug Administration, Center of New Drugs, Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products in 1990. I was under his supervision as a Review Chemist and later an Expert ( GS-14) for almost five years. Tony was not only a good supervisor but was very kind to all the Review Chemists( 5) under his supervision. He was very smart, quit witted but very disorganized. His office room was always a mess, but if we asked him of certain documents, he can always retrieved it from the disorganized documents in his room. One day when he was out of the Office, all of his reviewers decided to tidy up his office. When he came back to work, he was not too happy that we clean-up his mess, but he did not reprimand us.

One of the greatest compliment he gave me, was his statement that one the best decision he has done during his leadership at the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products was hiring me from the dozen of applicants during the FDA Job Fair in San Francisco. This statement was precipitated when I was able to upgrade and a get a discount for our group at the Marriot Hotel during one of the many chemistry conventions and Conferences that our group attend annually.

Later on in 1996, when I was promoted as Team Leader and now become his equal, we become friends and we continue our interaction as colleagues and not as boss and employee. Tony was responsible for my promotion as a GS-14 expert on anti-malarial drug products in 1994. I missed you Tony. May you rest in Peace, Amen!

For additional information on Tony's professional career read: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2093491089_Wilson_H_De_Camp

And for his obituary read:https://www.covenantfuneralservice.com/tributes/Wilson-TonyDeCampII




Tuesday, March 12, 2019

My First Moving Traffic Violation in 59 Years Cost me a Fortune

Red Light Cameras

Last week, I incurred my first traffic moving violation in 59 years of driving here in the US. The sad part is I did not even realized I had run through a red light at the intersection of Sunrise and Folsom Blvd here in Rancho Cordova.

However yesterday I received a notice with pictures of my car and me in that intersection. There was a telephone # to call to pay for the fine without going to traffic court. The fine had to be paid in 90 days. I immediately called that number to find out how much was the fine. I waited for an hour for the answer but I was number 25 in the waiting list. I hung up and this morning I called at 8AM. I was still number 5 waiting on line. After 20 minutes, I was able to talk to the clerk and she gave the following information.

The fine was $500 payable now and within 90 days. This penalty maybe refunded if I signed up for traffic school. Signing up for traffic school I still have to pay in advance $552 and wait for a couple of months for a possible refund. Since I do not have the time to attend traffic school I decided just to pay $500 via my credit card and my case was closed. The $500 fine was a shock. I thought my penalty would be around $100.

How come I was driving at the Sunrise/Folsom Blvd intersection on March 3 at 11AM, about 7 miles from home? To be honest I was lost on my way to purchase a new dishwasher. I was on my way to the Sears Outlet store at the intersection Of Coloma Rd and Folsom. I do not have a GPS system in my car. I looked at the map quest prior to driving since I had not driven in that area before. I overshoot up to Sunrise and had to turn back to Coloma Rd. When I looked at the photo, I realized why I did not see the red light. The red light sign was at back of my car so I did not see it.

What a day that was! The dishwasher cost me $600 ( includes delivery and installation), but my fine of $500 makes it one of the most expensive kitchen appliance I have ever owned. Watch out for video cameras( Big Brother in the Sky) for traffic violation and enforcement.

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Playing with Water-An Excellent Book about Marinduque


Playing with Water: Passion and Solitude on a Philippine Island (Twentieth Century Lives) James Hamilton-Paterson

I have read this book a few years ago. I have almost forgotten this book, until last month when a fellow blogger from Marinduque posted an article about this book. It triggered pleasant memories of Marinduque. So, if you are a true-blooded Marinduqueno, this is a must read book, even if you do not like to read books. I love this book so much, I read some chapters twice. I am not quite sure where the exact location of the author's cottage was. WHAT baranggay is it in Boac or Gasan? Perhaps other readers could give me a definite answer to my question.

The following two reviews summarizes of what the book is about. But to me, it is one of the best book, I have read about my island Paradise and My Retirement Home-Marinduque. It was written and published in the late 1990's but the lessons one can learn from book is still applicable today.

1. This review is from: Playing with Water: Passion and Solitude on a Philippine Island (Twentieth Century Lives) By schnedermann@msn.com (Munich, Germany),1998.

Paterson is living on a small island in the Philippines and he is joining the natives in diving (i.e. fishing) for a living. We scuba-divers, as we only come for 1-2 week vacations, often are not experiencing the reality around our dive sites. Paterson's book was helping me understanding more of the countries I was visiting. Very instructive are his personal insights about ecology in a third world country and the connections to the economical and social structure. I found it very valuable that the insights do not follow the well known beaten paths about the third world but are rather well founded, personal observations. This makes this book a much more interesting read than any other book about the subject that I have ever read before.

2. Go read...it's good!, September 21, 2002
By A. N. Teodoro III (River Edge, NJ, USA) - (REAL NAME) This review is from: Playing with Water: Passion and Solitude on a Philippine Island (Twentieth Century Lives)

I read this book so many years ago, but I can still remember how good it is. This book is not only about the underwater world but also about the goings-on in a typical barrio in the Philippines. It has a socio-economic aspect to it that I found quite realistic, having been born and raised in that very same third world country. It amazed and pleased me that a foreigner like Hamilton-Paterson could, quite accurately, capture the very essence of filipino rural society---like the old woman who he suspects isn't so aloof and taciturn as she seems and the children of the barrio who frolic in the water and in their humble amusements, oblivious of the shortcomings of a third world upbringing. The book is an unusual stew of underwater
adventure and an unpatronizing account of a life among barrio folk.

Other Reviews:


A work of such genuine commitment, balanced perception and responsive passion that it will certainly be condemned to become a classic. (New York Times Book Review )

A classic travel book...entirely original: at once astringently and gorgeously written... (Andrew Harvey )

Unforgettable. The Philippine landscape and these remote islanders are crystalline and at the same time mysterious; the writing itself superb. (Ronald Blythe )

James Hamilton-Paterson spends a third of each year on an otherwise uninhabited Philippine island, spear-fishing for survival. Playing with Water tells us why he does. Beyond that, it gives an account of life in that class-bound country as a whole. For it is in places like this rather than Manila of the international news reports that the underlying political and cultural reality of the Philippines may be seen.


About the Author: Described as one of the most reclusive of British literary exiles who shares his time between Austria, Italy and extensive periods over the last 30 years in the Philippines, is poet and novelist, James Hamilton-Paterson.

He is generally known as a commentator on the Philippine scene, where he has lived on and off. His novels on the Philippines includes “Ghosts of Manila”, and “America’s Boy” (1998), the latter setting the Marcos regime into the geopolitical context of the time.

One of his books, “Playing with Water”, sold more than 4 million copies, described in a book review by New York Times as “a work of such genuine commitment, balanced perception and responsive passion that it will certainly be condemned to become a classic.”

Note: This book is available on-line( Amazon) or your local bookstores as well as in your public library.

First Posting: 2011

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Fears of Retirement


Last week, one of my FB friends and Macrine's relative posted a big headline on her page that Preparing for Retirement is Not for Sissies. Her posting reminded me of my own retirement fears seventeen years ago.

I retired from the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 when I was 68 years old. Prior to my retirement my plan was to retire three years before( when I turned 65). However, at that time I had feared that retirement will ruined me financially. Retirement will make me feel useless and that my Social Security will not be enough. I also feared that I will miss the social and intellectual interaction of my colleagues and coworkers.

However, one month after my retirement all the above fears disappeared. How did I do it? I followed the suggestion in the article below. If you are in the process or near retirement, the following article is a must read.

https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/the-3-greatest-retirement-fears-and-how-to-feel-more-confident-about-them/

Fearing retirement is a normal reaction, although it will change your lifestyles. Enjoy your retirement years dear friends and relatives!

Friday, March 1, 2019

Have You Heard of Manila, California or Manila, Arkansas?

Manila, California
I believe a majority of Filipinos or Filipino-Americans have never heard of the two towns above. I did not know about these two towns until just recently, when one of my friends in the Philippines mentioned that he has a relative in Manila, California. So I went to Google and here's what I found.

Manila, California is a census-designated place in Humboldt County. It is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) north of downtown Eureka, at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m). The ZIP Code is 95521. The population was 784 at the 2010 census. The town was founded at the end of World War II, and named after Manila in the Philippines.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Manila had a population of 784. The racial makeup of Manila was 686 White, 14 African American, 25 Native American, 5 Asian, 12 from other races, and 42 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30 persons.

Manila, Arkansas

There is another town called Manila in Arkansas. The original name of this town was "Cindy". There was a WWII war hero who hailed from the town of Cindy. He was serving in Manila, Philippines when he won a purple heart and saved his whole platoon. His town, Cindy, was so proud of him they renamed the city after the city in which he became a war hero, Manila, Philippines. There is also a life-sized statue of him on the corner of the highway and the business district that happens to be the smallest state park in the State of Arkansas. The population was 3,055 at the 2000 census. It was the hometown of World War I sniper Herman Davis. A park in the town honors his memory today. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.4 km²), all of it land.

Interesting indeed!
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