Our Time Share Exchange Vacation Experiences

The Ridge Resort, Lake Tahoe, Nevada( Our Home Resort)

Some time in the mid 1990's, Macrine( my spouse of 55 years) and I purchased a time share at the Five Star, Ridge Resort in Lake Tahoe. Nevada. The resort is located at an elevation of 7342 feet above sea level. On the east side of the 8th floor of our 2 bedroom condo unit, you have a view of Lake Tahoe and on the west side the small town of Minden, Nevada. We purchased this time share not intentionally, but we were persuaded by the high pressure sale pitches of the aggressive sale personnels. They offered us a free dinner for two by just attending their one hour sales presentation and tour of the resort facilities.

At that time most of the resorts time sharing program had no options for exchanges to other resorts. But the Ridge has that flexibility, so we signed up for a 2-bedroom unit for one week every year. We could exchange this to other five star resorts all over the world as long as they participate in the Interval International(II)Time Share Exchange Program. Since our purchase, we have exchanged our time share in Marbella, Spain, Cancun, Mexico. Puerto Rico, Aruba, Las Vegas, Nevada, Maui, Kawaii and the big Island of Hawaii. We had a grand time and fantastic vacation in the above places mentioned where we stayed at five star resorts/hotels equivalent to The Ridge.

However, lately, I found it hard to exchange it via II, even with resorts in the Philippines. So, this year we spent our week at our home resort, The Ridge at Lake Tahoe.
The view from our 8th floor unit of Minden, Nevada and other buildings in the Resort

Purchasing a vacation time share is not for everybody, especially if you do not plan your vacation ahead of time. To insure and take advantage of the exchange program flexibility, you need to be organized. With our time share, my wife and I just can not travel at the spur of the moment or if there is a promo package offered by travel agencies. Our vacation time is tied up to our time share program. Moreover, before you could exchange you need to reserve your week, then deposit it to II. After that you need to tell II to exchange it, listing three resorts and three time periods. This is the one that takes a long time, especially if the resorts you selected are popular resorts and the time periods are the busy vacation season.

Owning a time share do not really save you vacation money as the sales pitches proclaimed. However, with your time share program you stay in four or five star resorts, that otherwise you can not afford or willing to pay on your own. In addition, you have the flexibility to choose places all over the world. There are over a thousand resorts listed in the Interval International Directory available for exchange. However, popular vacations spots such as Hawaii, San Francisco or France are hard to get, even if you reserved two years ahead. Availability of resorts are posted in the Internet on first come, first serve basis. So if you have the patience and perseverance, you may be able to get an exchange that fits your time and need.

As an example, two years ago, I wanted to exchange my time share with a 2-bedroom unit in Las Vegas right on the Strip. I was doing this in the computer. There were about five hotels on the Strip with one bedroom units available on the week that I wanted, but no two bedroom unit. I waited for another ten minutes and surfed again. To my surprise a 2-bedroom unit was available on a hotel right on the Strip but I have only 15 minutes to complete the transaction. I completed the transaction in 10 minutes and within 20 minutes, I received a confirmation via e-mail. I was lucky and had the patience surfing in the Internet. Otherwise, I may have to be content with a one bedroom unit not close to the Strip.

So what is my recommendation? If you are someone who do not plan ahead and do not have the patience and perseverance, do not purchase a time share. In addition, time share will cost you maintenance fees that gets higher every year. Put your vacation money in the bank or invest it. When the time comes for your vacation, then that is the time to get your money. Enjoy your vacation to a place that you choose and the time that is convenient for you and your love ones. Try vacationing in Marinduque, Philippines where your hard-earned dollars will go a long way. Stay at Chateau Du Mer Beach House for as low as $25 per day per person including meals (http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com).

My Fifteen Favorite Quotes of Oscar Wilde

A couple of days ago, I was reading the biography of Oscar Wilde. As far as I knew he was the the smartest man of his time. Wilde has written more than a hundred witty quotes. The following 15 quotes however are my favorites.

1. An idea that is good is always dangerous.

2. Beauty is a form of genius - is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon.

3. Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.

4. Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.

5. I have nothing to declare except my genius.

6. It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.

7. It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.

8. It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But... it is better to be good than to be ugly.

9. Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.

10. Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.

11. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.

12. When good Americans die they go to Paris.

13. When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.

14. When people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.

15. Women are made to be loved, not understood.

Read more: http://www.joe-ks.com/archives

Longest Christmas Season in the World-The Philippines

Do you know that September 1 is the beginning of Christmas Season in the Philippines? It not only starts on the first day of September, but it ends 5 months later on January 31 every year. If you do not believe me, try reading some blogs about life in the Philippines from American and European expatriate nationals who are now living in the Philippines with their Filipina wives or read any Philippine newspaper in the Internet. The Philippines has the longest, lavish and most festive Christmas season in the whole world.

Speaking of Christmas songs my favorite Filipino Christmas song is Pasko Na Sinta Ko( Its Christmas, My Love) sang by world famous singer Lea Salonga. Here's a short video of the song plus another Filipino Christmas ballad( Sana Ngayon Pasko Na). If you are an OFW ( Overseas Filipino Worker) you will enjoy these two songs with background of the Philippine scenery, Filipino food and delicacies. I hope it will make you feel nostalgic about the Philippines.



Here in US, the Christmas Season starts after Thanksgiving and ends the day after New Year or sometimes after the Feast of Three Kings on January 6.

I believe the Philippines is the only country in the world that celebrate Christmas 5 months every year.

Am I right? Are there any other countries in the world that celebrates Christmas longer than 5 months? My advance Christmas greetings to you all my beloved readers all over the world.

Will the World End on December 21, 2012?

WHAT IS YOUR TAKE on the Doomsday Prediction on 12/21/12? Will the world end?

There are several videos and articles in the Internet that this coming Dec 21,2012 (only about two weeks from today), will be the end of the world. These predictions were based on Nostradamus, the Mayan Calendar and also in the Bible, according to the many Believers. If this comes true, that day I will be 78 years old and one day. My 78th birthday will be this coming December 20.

I will have no regrets if indeed this prediction will come true. I have lived a happy and productive life. However, I personally do not believe this will happen. An article from the NASA web site confirms my assertion. The article emphasize that the world will not end on December 21, 2012 at 11:11AM.

The origin of this prediction started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

The Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

In addition there will be no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.

Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.

The rumors indicating that the earth will be hit by a meteor in 2012 has also no scientific basis according to the NASA website. There will no giant solar storms predicted by the end of this year also.

FINALLY, NASA asserts in their website that there are no credible evidence that all the catastrophic events predicted in books, movies, documentaries all over the Internet have any basis of occurring and the end of the world will not occur on December 21, 2012.

So my dear readers, be at Peace and Do not worry. If it is your time to die, accept it with dignity and grace. May you have a Happy Christmas and A Safe and Prosperous New Year. ( Hopefully the Fiscal Cliff will have been averted by January 1, 2013).

Here's a movie for your entertain and a work of fiction on the End of the World!

Philippines is Still Perceived as a Corrupt Country

Corruption Index, 2005-Image from NYtimes.com ( Index from 1 to 10)

Yesterday's news from the Philippine Inquirer reported that the Philippines is still perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This news really saddened me. The survey was conducted by Transparency International (TI) . The Philippines was given a score of 34 on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the least corrupt country.

The good news is that the Philippines scored better than the neighboring countries of Indonesia ( scored 32), Vietnam( scored 31) and Bangladesh scoring 26. The numbers are called Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The top five countries perceived to be very clean were Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden and Singapore, while the five viewed as very corrupt were Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan and Myanmar.

One of the actions that has improved the Philippine image as a less corrupt country is the passage of the freedom of information bill according to the news report.. Other actions by the Aquino Administration that helped change the public perception were the impeachment trial, the declaration of the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, the transparent process of replacing dismissed Chief Justice Renato Corona, and the general openness of the administration in its quest for a transparent government. .

Huguette Labelle, Chairperson of TI said that based on the 2012 CPI, corruption still continues to ravage many societies. According to him governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all public decision-making. Their priorities should include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent, and making public bodies more accountable to people..

The news did not report the United States CPI score, but I have a feeling it is very close to 100, even though it did not make the top five least corrupt countries in the list above.

I hope that next year the Philippines will receive a higher score. As the saying goes, one can only hope for the best. Remember this is just a perception not the reality. In my mind the Philippines in reality has probably a score of 50 if not higher. What do you think? Comments?

Have You Heard of Alfie Boe?

Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, was born in September, 1973. He is one of my favorite tenors today.

Alfie's first public performance, aged 14, was at Fleetwood's Marine Hall in a "Songs from the Shows" presentation organised by inspirational local singing teacher Lottie Dawson. He states that although he sang only a couple of lines he was extremely nervous.

At the age of 17, Boe became an apprentice mechanic at the TVR factory in Bispham, Blackpool. He enjoyed entertaining his colleagues by singing opera arias while he polished the cars, and one day was overheard by a client with connections in the music industry who was so impressed, he suggested Boe should go to London and audition for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. His audition was a success and he gave up polishing cars to embark on a singing career.[4] Boe has never been able to trace the customer who suggested he go for the audition, having lost the man's business card.

Boe moved to London and studied singing at the Royal College of Music, the National Opera Studio and the Royal Opera House's Vilar Young Artists Programme. In 1999 and 2000, he was featured as the "opera dude" on albums by The Clint Boon Experience, led by the former organist of the Inspiral Carpets. In 1999 he sang Ernesto for Scottish Opera in their Opera-Go-Round production of Don Pasquale, touring widely throughout Scotland.

Boe toured the United Kingdom with the Fron Male Voice Choir in February 2007 and took part in the first Classic FM webcast concert with soprano Natasha Marsh in March. The same month he was appointed as an ambassador of The Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation, a British educational charity working to inspire and educate children by introducing them to the arts. Boe's role being to bring music, and opera in particular for those children involved.

He also performed alongside Michael Ball in the English National Opera production of Kismet. His live performance of the song "Stranger in Paradise" from Kismet on the Michael Parkinson show was released as a digital download single on June 25, 2007. In August he realised an ambition to record an album of Neopolitan songs which was released in November under the title La Passione. On August 24, 2007 he performed at the Arundel Festival alongside Natasha Marsh. On October 19, 2007 he performed at Canterbury Cathedral during the Canterbury Festival. He also performed at the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 10, 2007.

On October 3, 2010 Boe took on the role of Jean Valjean in a concert performance of the musical Les Misérables at the O2 Arena in London to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The concert encore performance of "Bring Him Home", credited as "The Valjean Quartet" — Boe alongside Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones and Simon Bowman (each of whom has portrayed Valjean in various theatrical productions) — was re-recorded at the Abbey Road Studios and released as a charity CD single and digital download on December 13, 2010. On December 16, 2010, Boe once again performed as Valjean in the Royal Variety Performance (in front of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall) singing "What Have I Done?", and also "Bring Him Home" again alongside Wilkinson, Owen-Jones and Bowman.

In January 2011, Boe performed for English National Opera in La bohème and The Mikado. Boe later performed concerts in Idaho, U.S.A. in March. In April, Boe appeared in The Great British Musical - The Famous and the Future at the Criterion Theatre and the St George's Day celebration concert in Trafalgar Square. In May, Boe went on to perform at the Classical BRIT Awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, in the Isle of Man, and then headlined the Hampton Court Palace Festival finale on June 18, 2011.

He appeared as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre, London, from June 23, 2011 to November 26, 2011. During his run as Valjean, Boe appeared in the "Les Misérables v Lend Me a Tenor Battle of the Tenors" at Soho's Winnett St, London on July 13, 2011. In August, Boe performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at Beau Sejour and Gloucester Hall.

In October 2011 Boe announced that he would be appearing in the Lytham Proms Festival Weekend on August 4, 2012. Tickets went on sale on October 14, 2011. The Festival is held in the town of Lytham St Annes close to his home town of Fleetwood. The local newspaper Blackpool Gazette describes his concert as a 'homecoming' using the title 'Bring HIM Home'.

On June 4, 2012, Boe performed at the Diamond Jubilee Concert for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. He sang "’O sole mio" leading into Elvis Presley's "It's Now Or Never". He also sang, with the American soprano Renee Fleming, "Somewhere" from West Side Story, this performance taking place on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. He appeared on The One Show on August 30, 2012.

Reference: Wikipedia.com