Wheelz, Man

The next step of the Master Plan is on its way to completion. As of this Saturday afternoon, we should be the proud owners of a 2003 Ford Ranger double-cab pick up truck. I'm gonna be a pinoy hillbilly. I know you're jealous. It's the perfect companion car for both city and farm, and its rather snappy sound system plays MP3s. Fords are sort of a status symbol here, too--go figure. They are actually manufactured by Mazda at a plant here in southern Luzon, so don't be fooled--the patriotism really doesn't go further than the decal.

A car is a necessity where we live. There are a few faculty who try to get by on public transportation, and it is possible, but it triples your time, at least. (Jeepneys will have to be the subject of another post. They are a rather uniquely Filipino method of public transportation in locally-made elongated jeeps that were inspired by the American military vehicles left after World War II.)

Besides getting mobile, we hired a full-time helper. I think her first day was almost entirely consumed by cleaning up the dog hair our pups are furiously shedding in the heat. They're lucky bastards, though, because a colleague's son has semi-adopted them and comes over right now once or twice a day to walk them. His mom is afraid of dogs, and so she finds the arrangement mutually beneficial--if he is satisfied with taking care of our spoiled canines, he might not push so hard to have one of his one. I am totally on board.

The house doesn't quite feel like ours yet because our stuff won't arrive for another couple weeks. However, I'm blogging from the Oarhouse again, our clubhouse, which is about as much home as anywhere in Boston ever was. It's about a 45 minute trip (without traffic, of course), and today we discovered the Skyway, a bypass road that costs $2, but is pretty much deserted. It literally drives over the majority of the traffic into Manila, and gives a beautiful view of the skyline of the Makati business district. I had forgotten that part of the city was so darn large--it's just one district of Metro Manila yet itself it's bigger than most American cities.

I've gotten to learn a few of the important roads in Manila, but I plan to explore more on Sunday because the roads are relatively deserted then. And then I'll have to teach Stephen stick shift, too. If we're still married after that, we'll be one step closer to the Master Plan.