in limbo (in the phillipines)

well, I've been in the Phillipines for more than 1 month now, except for a couple of trips back to Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. Check out the photos from Shanghai where I went with Tuya. She is still in Shanghai but heading for Mongolia. I'm not sure when we'll see each other again.

Not much good news from Manila. The job I came here for seems to be in doubt now. So I have no income and I'm spending way too much money. That's not helped by the fact I'm in the heart of the tourist zone of Manila, called Makati City.

I got a cheap room which is actually in a fairly well-known hotel. So I step outside and street vendors instantly try to sell me massages, viagra, weapons, fake rolex, or any help with anything I might need. It's really annoying actually but there's nothing you can do. Just keep saying "no thanks, no thanks, NO THANKS". My problem is my english politeness which really prevents me from being rude. Also, I really stick out here amongst the locals. I come out of a fancy hotel in the middle of sin city so I must be rich, right? Wrong. What these people don't understand and don't believe is that they make more money than me because I don't have a job.

So I may be going to England soon to meet my son. He will fly to the UK from Los Angeles, USA and I will fly from here most likely. That will be in August, so in the meantime I may do an english teachers class. This is mainly to fill my time with something constructive, getting some practical experience for the day I open a school and also a chance to meet people who aren't trying to rip me off. I'm looking into doing a class in Cebu, central Phillipines where the cost of living should be less expensive.

I'm determined to get out of this rut that I'm in now. I'm really not enjoying life very much now. I hate not to working and the lack of human contact with normal people is getting me down. The local phillipinos are nice but almost 100% of them are trying to get as much money out of me as possible. It makes me rather unfriendly to them and I am keeping myself to myself a lot.

New Country, New Job, New Life

Photo of my last day at work. Had a very small going away party. Pictured are Nichole (translator), Joy (lighting lead), Me and Steve (producer)

Hong Kong disneyland photo by Tuya.

Hong Kong disneyland photo by Tuya.

I am embarrassed to say that I haven't written anything for a long time. Many months, I believe.

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote. I quit my job in Beijing after the main project I was working on finished ("Food Fight" movie). My girlfriend and I moved down to Hong Kong and then went to check out Manila, Phillipines for a possible job and new business opportunities. We spent time in the city and went to the beach for a few days. I like it a lot.

I liked Beijing generally but towards the end there were a lot of problems with visas (due to the Olympics) and my job was becoming too demanding for ridiculously low pay. Let's just say that my work style and chinese work style is not very compatible.

Our plan had been to go the Phillipines for a week then go back to Hong Kong, then fly to the UK for a couple of months. Then probably return to the Phillipines. Well the plan didn't survive and we broke up. With respect to my ex-girlfriend, I won't talk about the details because I know it makes her upset. I still love her very much and I don't want to hurt her unnecessarily.

So, she went off to Shanghai and I went back to the Phillipines. I haven't started the job yet, but it looks promising and 95% probable I'll be the lighting supervisor on another all-cg film. Basically the same kind of job I had in Beijing but in a very different kind of company, different culture. The best part is I will only need to work 20 hours per week. So I'm hoping I have time and energy to start the CG-school which I've been dreaming about for years. Everybody speaks english here, so a CG-school shouldn't have the problems with language that a Chinese one would have had.

I'll try to post more photos, but I gave the camera to Tuya and haven't bought a new one. I'll probably need to wait for my next trip to Hong Kong before I get one. They are too expensive here in Manila.