Eleven Years after Retirement-Am I still Happy?

Next Month will be my 11th year after retirement. As of today, I am still very happy and felt accomplished, I will tell you why.

About eleven years ago today, I retired from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Before my retirement I was a Chemistry Team Leader for the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs in Silver Spring, Maryland. I considered this job an important venue to contribute my talents and skills to all US consumers and also to all citizens of the world who had purchased anti-infective drug products approved by FDA.

A couple of months after my retirement, I felt useless and missed my co-workers. I also missed the challenge of using my brain in my daily activities as team leader and managing the work of six other FDA employees. This feeling of boredom was slightly alleviated when my wife and I started babysitting for our youngest grand daughter.

Two months after my retirement, a bright idea came to rescue my feeling of inadequacy and uselessness. Why not convert our retirement beach house in the Philippines into a small business-an exclusive beach resort. But, how will I advertised for clients? I decided to create/design a web site. I have no knowledge of creating a web site, but by trial and error, I was able to construct a website, www.chateaudumer.com. I also created another site and I named it http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

My second activity was to promote the island of Marinduque, Philippines (where our retirement home is located ) as a world tourist destination not only during Holy week but also whole year round. This was achieved via my other two blogs http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com and http://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot,com). As a result of this endeavor, I received a letter of Appreciation and Commendation from the Governor of the Province in 2003.

My third activity was to continue in full time mood my volunteer work as a participant/organizer during Marinduque International, Inc medical and dental mission to the province of Marinduque. Along with my spouse, Macrine Nieva Jambalos, we have dedicated our time, resources and hearts to alleviate the medical needs of the poor and needy in the island since our retirement . We have participated to this humanitarian project four times since 2002. I plan again in participating to the next medical mission in Marinduque scheduled for January, 2014.

Last but not least I started writing and blogging. I found this activity relaxing and enjoyable. I had my first article, Marinduque-Ecotourism Capital of the Philippines published in 2009 by www.huliq.com, making me a citizen journalist. This was followed by my two other articles on US National Parks and Monuments and The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant revival in the Philippines. I had also written numerous articles for ViewsHound, now a defunct writing site that was based in UK.

Today, I am also writing for Publish US ( http://pu.blish.us), a writing site based in the US and I also have a page on www.squidoo.com.

May I reiterate that the joy one gets from retirement is very specific. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate retirement. They missed their coworkers and interaction at work. Others with no children or grandchildren spend their free time on traveling, turning their hobbies into small business or more community involvement. Those that retire and hate it are believed to die earlier than those who enjoy their retirement years.

I suggest you plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.

A Medical Device for the Treatment of Hypertension

I have hypertension. I am taking a combination of drugs currently to control my blood pressure. Thus, any new development on the treatment of this malady really interest me. The latest development on the cure of hypertension is not a new drug but a medical device. Continue reading if you or your relatives have high blood pressure, especially if your blood pressure is not effectively controlled by medications.

Last month an article by Jo Wiley was published at www.express.co.uk discussing a simple operation that effectively cure high blood pressure of several British patients. It involves a minimally invasive, catheter-based procedure without the need for a general anaesthetic. The procedure places a small device known as a Rox Coupler to divert blood from an artery to a vein in the upper thigh. This breakthrough treatment could save thousands of lives each year after the trials showed a substantial and ­permanent reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in drugs needed.

The article reported that cardiologists in London and Eastbourne carried out the first half-hour operations using the keyhole process. They reported the results as “exciting” after patients experienced an immediate reduction in extremely high blood pressure.

Dr Neil Sulke, a cardiologist at Eastbourne General Hospital, said: “This operation holds the promise of a meaningful long-term reduction of high blood pressure in patients whose blood pressure isn’t controlled by their ­medication.”

The article stated that the tests are aimed at significantly improving blood pressure levels in patients who have failed to get their blood pressure under control despite taking three or more drugs. The trial was conducted at The London Chest Hospital by Barts Health NHS Trust.

This is indeed good news for all the millions who are suffering of hypertension. I hope that this device will be approved soon. In the meantime, if you are hypertensive continue your medications and practice a lifestyle of exercise and good diet to live longer and prevent a heart attack or a kidney disease.

Enjoying the Fruits in My Neighbor's Orchard

My Mango Tree at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

This morning, when I woke up, I saw a tray of fresh fruits in our kitchen. I realized then that my wife and I are lucky to have an abundance of fresh fruits that we did not have to buy. How in the heck did this happen?. Let me explain.

Our next door neighbor who is a widow and also our casino buddy, has an orchard in her backyard. She has almost all kinds of fruit trees both in her back, side and even in her front yard. Since she is alone in her 4-bedroom house, she just can not consumed all the fruits that she harvests every spring, summer and Fall.

Recently she gave us Japanese pears, plums, grapes, apples, figs, prunes and peaches. Last month we enjoyed the blueberries and raspberries from her garden. She has lemons, oranges, cherries and kumquats in her garden also. There is no grass in her ½ acre of yard, but only ground covers and fruit trees. The fruit orchard was the project of her late husband.

Speaking of gardening, my fruit orchard in Marinduque has also a varieties of tropical fruits. I have papayas ( several varieties), mangoes ( THREE varieties), avocados, bananas (several varieties), star apples, guayabanos and Cashews trees. I have also guavas, rambutans, santol, duhats, jackfruits and lanzones fruit trees. I have also planted several varieties of citrus trees, pomelo, kalamansi, native oranges and lemon trees. My durian fruit trees( two) was a victim of Typhoon, Reming, a couple of years ago.

I hope you have an enjoyable summer. Keep cool in this 3-digit temperatures here in Northern California and the rest of USA. Oh, before I forget eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to stay young and healthy!

My Fourteen Favorite One-Liners

Let me start the month of June with a smile on your Face. Here are my 14 favorite one-liners? I hope this will make your day!

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer.

3. We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.

4. Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake a whole relationship.

5. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

6. If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

7. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

8. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

9. Children: You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up.

10. Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

11. My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.

12. Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand. (Bridge players, this one is for you).

13. The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

14. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't

Do you have a one-liner to share? Which of the above is your favorite? Source: www.onelinerz.net

Building a Retirement House in Marinduque-An Update

I have received several e-mail and telephone inquiries from friends and relatives here in the US on the cost of building a retirement or vacation house in Marinduque. Before, I could give them a decent estimate, there are several items and information that I have to know:

1. What kind of a house do you want, that is either it will be constructed with native materials (nipa/bamboo/coco lumber) or with cement, hollow blocks and metal roofing

2. How big will the house be in terms of area, that is square footage or square meters

3. What kind of fixtures you want installed, such as plumbing, doors, windows, garage, balconies, fans, air conditioning, attics etc...

My estimate will consist only of materials and labor plus architect fees. It will not include furniture's, kitchen appliances, landscaping and caretaker expense and fencing of the property (highly recommended). It will not also include the price of the lot.

I can give a decent estimate based on our retirement house built in 1996. If you want to build a similar house, 2700 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, two balconies and a one car garage with cement, metal roofing, air conditioning and marble floors, my estimate will be around 5 to 6 million pesos.

So based on today's exchange rate of 1 to 40, it will cost you around $125,000 to $150,000 in US dollars. This is cheap if you compare it to the standard 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house here in Northern California. Here in Fair Oaks, CA the standard house (3BD,2B) in a decent neighborhood sells for an average of $250,000 to $450,000. If it is high class subdivision, it will cost you about 20% more.

Speaking of location(in Marinduque), lots with beach front are very expensive if you can find one in Boac. There are a several beach front lots in Buenavista and Torrijos. They are cheaper compared to beach lots in Boac or Gasan. Lots in the interior ( no beach front) are much much cheaper and are in abundance.

If you already owned a beach front lot in Marinduque, here are a few tips you need to know before building. Because of the salty ocean breezes especially on Habagat season (rainy- southwest winds), it is recommended that you build your house with stainless materials if possible. Double paint the outside and de-rusts annually. High maintenance expense is what you get for an ocean view and fresh ocean air during the amihan season (gentle Northeast winds) during summer.

If you have a lot already and have decided to build your dream vacation or retirement home, here are the steps to follow:

1. Hire a professional architect ( Research the type of architecture for your dream house). Visit local homes for ideas.

2. The estimate of the architect is normally low, so that your property tax will also be low.

3. Multiply by 2 the architect estimate. That will be your decent estimated cost until the house is finished.

4. Allot about 15 to 25% for furniture's, appliances, landscaping and caretaker expenses and fencing( highly recommenced).

5. If you can not personally supervise the construction, ask a relative or someone you can trust with finances to supervise during construction.

If you are really serious in constructing your dream house, let me know. I have 15 years of experience building three houses and one Conference Hall at the Chateau Du Mer Compound in Marinduque. I will be glad to give you ideas and free advice and tips( no consultation fees). Have Fun and Enjoy the planning, constructing, landscaping and eventually moving to your dream retirement house in Marinduque or anywhere else in the rural Philippines. Here's a short video if you plan on visiting the Philippines soon.

New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes Approved

I have type 2 diabetes, however it is controlled by metformin. A drug called Invokana from J&J was just recently approved by FDA. It is very expensive, but it gives the diabetic another option, specially if he or she also wants to loss weight. It has side effects as all drugs have. The following video and article is very informative. If metformin does not effectively control your blood sugar Invokana may be an option to consider. If that is the case see your doctor.