May 11, 2026
Greetings guys,
It has been 5 days since I have been back. There were pressing matters I had to attend to and it is only now that I am getting a sense of “being back.” This email is an update, a re-connection to what I put on hold the last couple of days. Sadly in that time, a friend of mine experienced a serious physical difficulty.
I am back in the U.S.. My body is not just adapting to a change in diet but a change in environment as well. I just did the laundry which included clothes I wore in the Philippines.
The weather has been uncharacteristically pleasant for this time of the year. I enjoy being outdoors. I walked the path (twice so far) that borders the perimeter of our James A Reed home. I was hoping to reset my circadian rhyme on these walks, but to do so I have to catch the early morning sun.
I mowed the lawn 2 days in a row and have 2 more days to go. I realize I am not the gardener type. I do not have the focused regularity that plants require. Eden, Victor’s (my brother’s) wife, has a marvelous garden, varied and meticulously cared for.
I did not write a travel chronicle as I usually do, so I will just insert snippets here and there as they come to mind.
I rented an abnb in the Philippines for the last month that I was there. I was going to stay at the U.P Hotel because they had a promotional, but It turned out they could not grant the promotional for a full month. Subsequently, Rebecca who was helping me at the time, found me a cheaper studio apartment located in UP village. It worked just fine. She was very helpful.
I wound up cooking more than I planned. I am not comfortable eating alone in restaurants. I am not one to lose myself in a cell phone. And, I can stand just so much restaurant food.
I mostly cooked the red rice that Rebecca bought for me. I cooked it with mongo (mung beans). It turned out quite well as the mongo was done when the rice was done. I tried it here at KC with white rice and lentils but the lentils did not cook through. I have long had the habit of adding stuff to rice as it cooks. I have used cranberries (dried and raw), cherries, plums, etc. The last two days I added leeks which have a soft flavor.
I guess I got the travel bug. I want to go ahead with what Nora and I planned which is to spend about 3 to 4 months a year in the Philippines. I would like to try even if I may only be able to do so for a limited number of years. My mother (when she was alive) would travel back and forth between the U.S. and the Philippines by herself spending one or 2 years at each location well into her 80’s.
For now, the best option seems to be to rent a furnished condo, utility apartment or something equivalent for the duration of my stay. The details will have to be worked out. I would like to go when the weather is nice, they say from November to April.
I could travel to Vienna for 2 weeks this year to visit old colleagues from U.P. I want to visit New York. I want to visit the Met. We will have to see. Nickolas (my son) is traveling to Japan for 2 weeks in June of this year.
I think of myself as married and feel I am still married. The unexpected and surprising consequence (if it is a consequence) is that I enjoy just being with people without non-platonic expectations or entanglements.
It is always good to return home which to me are the U.S. and the Philippines. It is like stepping into different realities where one becomes a slightly different person.
(To be continued.)
Have a happy day.
Dad (to some) Hopefully a good something else to others
