Olympic Torch Run

Myla and I saw the Olympic Torch run in Omemee with family friend Cathy.

After which we had a visit in Toronto with Myro and Liza, (I missed Myro) and our nephew Cien

In Bobcaygeon

In what was an uncommon event for us, we we're able to fly out of Manila 3 days early through Abu Dhabi and onto Toronto without event. In fact he worst part of our trip was the baggage claim in Toronto airport" we waited nearly 30 minutes for it at the conveyor, if that's the worst that happened it was an excellent flight.

My folks picked us up at Lester B, and we headed for Bobcaygeon where we are now. We will spend Christmas here, and hopefully get to see as many friends as possible while we're back.

We leave for California with my folks in mid January on a drive trip and from there we leave for New Zealand out of LAX.

Moving on

Hello readers,

I didn't mention this earlier but we were offered a months stay at a resort to be on call to take photo's. As I said it has been an exciting month and Claude has been a fantastic host and friend. We didn't make it to Myla's parents' 50th anniversary, but we did get to see them here in the Philippines.

Well, we're packing up and heading back to Manila. We've said our farewells to Claude & Maricel and with Norman. We've said our private goodbye's to Angeles City, and Robert has made his private goodbye's as well...

We've spent the last month working for Manila Exploration Company, a treasure hunting company out of Manila. We've taken a couple of trips to look at targets, it has been a very interesting and exciting month for us! We've seen a couple of places here in the Philippines we never would have seen had we not been with MECO, nor would we have learned anything about Yamashita's gold - please google it, or better yet search for the book Gold Warrior's by Seagrave, very educational.

We're headed home on the 8th (tentatively) and I'll be opening up the blog for comments at this time.

But now for the good stuff; photo's! (oh and Happy B-Day Dad)

This is a pic of Robert (our nephew) and I looking out the back of a Jeepney after we arrived in Batangas.

A pic of the view looking out from the Outriggerresort in Anilao, Batangas

The tricycle we took from Anilao to Pt. Maenit couldn't make it up the hill with all our weight so Myla had to walk (jk we all did)

This is the Point Maenit 'Hot Spring,' nothing more than a bubbling puddle 2 feet across. A tourist destination.

A pic of Robert and I walking up a river bed outside Angeles City.

Myla and the folks in Valenzuela.

Myla with Kuya Danny & Ate Jean in Pangasinan

In this picture you can see the 9 stone bases, which made up the foundation of the house Myla was born in. We didn't have a measuring tape on us at the time but figured the house was no more than 12 feet by 12 feet, with 12 people in it at one time.

Night at UDA Resort

We spent 22nd heading treking back and forth in Anilao, Batangas. The locals told us to go and see the hot spring. Upon arriving there and learned that I had failed to ask all the pertinent information regarding the hot spring before going. Figuring we could spend a few minutes soaking in it we took our bathing suits. Upon arrival we found the hot spring so hot that you could indeed boil and egg in it very quickly, and it spanned a massive 2 feet by 1 foot puddle. We left soon after and spent the rest of the afternoon taking walks throughout the area, in the rain and in the sun. We arrived back at our resort in time to take a soak in the water . We ate a huge meal of chicken, soup, vegetables and rice before heading to bed. At 5 this morning we were up and getting ready to head to Manila with Robert to the passport office and to do some shopping before heading back to Angeles.

Batangas

Hello,

We've had a couple of exciting trips one to Casiguran and to Binan, in Laguna. We had a good 2nd anniversary, including a trip to Manila to meet Nanay and Tatay and to meet Robert. We are now in Aliano, Batangas at a resort, and from here we'll head someone else. Beside is a pic of Roberts first Buko.

On the move again

Been a while since I've updated the site. But here it is for the readers:

We've finished our classes at USC and decided not to remain at the university. We said our goodbyes to our profs, and informed them that they were by far the best part of the university. We were informed that our grades had been submitted and that we could pick them up - great!

So we head across the city to main campuss, and are told we have to fill out a form to request a transcript. The form requires 6 signatures from various department heads, including textbook and library departments, the chair, the dean, etc. Most of the signature are from our own campuss and when we address the chair for the signature we are informed: 2 additional signature are required bringing the total to 8. The school isn't setup to forward documents abroad neither, nor can we request them later from abroad - and figuring it'll be a cold day in Cebu before we come back I requested 5 copies for each of us and paid the registrar personally to fedex them to us in Canada.

We managed to sell all of our aquired belongings in Cebu, frige, washing machine, fan, a/c, desktop computer, chair, desk and more. We left our flat 2 days before our flight to Manila, and stayed at the Hilton on Mactan Island. Which is usually a relaxing stay, when one doesn't get food poisoning. We left the Hilton with plenty of time to catch our Zestair flight to Manila, which would get us in with almost 3 hours before our connecting flight to Abu Dhabi and then Toronto. The flight however was delayed, so delayed that the plane we were supposed to be on, hadn't yet left Manila. We were informed that the ETD of 11:25 was likely to be earlier and we would make it in time, we took off at 12:35, our connection was at 1:05, we didn't land in Manila til almost two. During this we were in communication with a gentleman from Atlanta who wished to purchase our Sealife camera, and who planned to meet us at the airport for a flyby sale. Well he was patient enough to meet us there at the appointed time, and even wait through our delay with us, after which he gave us a lift to our hotel.

Turns out the gentleman, Claude, is a partner in a local treasure hunting company and needed the underwater camera for a project. We're headed out to Angeles City today to take photos of said project.

We'll be able to reschedule our flight to Toronto for the 31st of October, and we'll still get in at 5:10pm, which will be too late for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary ceremony, but we'll still make it to the reception even if we are cranky and tired when we do.

No pix, for this post either, not sure what I'll do as we have a lot of them, but many are sorta school related of corals etc.

Myla and I both ended up with a mid 80% everage for our semesters.

Happy Canada Day

Thought you wouldn't know it around here. Myla and I have been settling in more here in Cebu, rolling with some punches and dealing with some bullshit beauracracy, but what can you do?

Classes are good, botany is proving challenging, as it covers both molecular biology and botany. I'm in the midst of preparing a study to compute coral coverage in front of the marine science station for my oceanography class.

Myla and I will be creating a guide to local corals in the area as well, for our marine biology course, but the work on it won't being for a few weeks. Both projects will be stepping stones towards larger not school projects done in conjunction with local ngo's.

My first dive at the science station should be this Saturday with another during a class on Monday, the goal will be get aquainted with the reef in front of the station, and develop grids from which randonly selected areas will be selected.

So not much else, we finished furnishing out place here, and Myla is applying for a residency status for me, which will hopefully lower my tuition. We have made some headway in the pie department, I made a no bake key lime pie and Myla has made a fresh mango pie which was yummy.

til next time, hope all is well

B&M

Sorry no pix

Hey all, been a lil' while since my last post.

Since then we have found ourselves an unfurnished apartment near the USC Talamban campus, semi-furnished it. Enrolled in school, Myla is taking the B. Marine Biology but is also looking at continuing her Athabasca studies to finish her degree more quickly. I have been enrolled in the M. Marine Biology, however I have two undergrad courses as well, which I am taking with Myla. Cebu City has taken some getting used to, we are travelling around in Jeepney's and have explored some.

Our first two days of classes were nice, my first class consisted of myself and my prof sitting on the bench looking out at the ocean and chatting for about an hour before another student showed up, it was a nice breeze and a great conversation about what to expect over the duration of the course. There are only four students in Oceanography class, which takes place at the Maribago Marine Reasearch Station. Meanwhile, back at the Talamban campus, Myla was at her first class; a Phys Ed class. she tells me she will be learning a native dance along with 50 other filipinas and perform it in two months, keep your fingers crossed for future video to come. 

Today though we had our Marine Biology class 100 together, it is taught by the chair who we have had good association with, and are looking very much forward to the rest of the semester. We expect to be published by the end of next term, if not by the end of this one. 

Our Schedules are pretty good, I am off Friday and Sunday's with classes on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Myla is off Fri-Sunday with class on Thursday morning with myself. We are looking to get aquainted with local NGO's to volenteer with reef protection projects, and are trying to setup a deal to get our MBIO100 classmates certified as divers.

a few pix from around Cebu City

Cebu's largest pizza.

The Hilton Jeepney.

update

Well we're in school, and we don't start tomorrow, which is Sunday, I have been told. Nor do we start on Monday, we start school on the 15th of June now, as the deadly H1N1 virus has put school of for a week for the entire country - so far 4 people have tested positive in the Philippines.

So, we're still looking for a place to live, now in Talamban and not in Mactan. Talamban is in the interior of Cebu City, we have more class time in the campus than in the Marine Research Center this semester,  I have been enrolled in the graduate course and Myla has been enrolled in the undergrad. But we still have a number of classes together.

More vid's

This is a vid of a scorpionfish, you'll notice how differentit looks without a strobe, from the previous posted pic.

This vid, although not great ( I have the settings on the camera set to webcam) is of a school of Baracuda.

Myla and the square.

Myla and the Panda  Anemone Fish.

This video shows an anemone trying to pull my hands toward its maw, but if you watch the top of my hand you'll see a glass anemone shrip climb on to it and start cleaning it off.

Getting ready for school

School starts tomorrow (Monday) and we'll still in the process of getting all the administrative stuff done. The folks have been busy getting my transcripts notarized, then officially sealed by the Ontario government recognizing the notarization, then they will have to be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy prior to sending them overseas. Jay has setup the police clearance process in ident for me, which is great news, as the RCMP can take upto 3 months to provide clearance, so thanks to my family for helping.

We on the lookout for a place to live, it looks as if we'll be moving to Mactan, an island off of Cebu City, where the Marine Biology Research Centre is. So we'll be out there today looking at more places.

Today we pick up our entrance exam results, get our classes and schedules, and then get our uniform exemption forms completed.

It's been hectic, next will be to get myself a drivers license and then shop for a car. You can google Suzuki Multicab if you were wondering.

Below are some vid's from our last diving trip.

This is us finding a Monstrous Frogfish, notice the mysterious creature that appears from the right

If you watch until the end you'll get a good view of his face.

Divemasters and June

We're both now certified DiveMasters, we completed our course on the 29th of May through PADI. We both worked very hard on this course physically, especially Myla. Part of our trial was to complete a 400m swim, no gear, but the distance was miscalculated and we swam more like 600m, and in current. There were a few times I looked up to find that the current had turned me completely around. Another trial was to complete and 800m swim using snorkel gear, as well as a 12 minute tread. We did these excercises marathon style and did them one after the next. Last though we had to push eachother 100m, both of us wearing full scuba gear at the surface... So Myla had to push me 100m in full gear, weighted, inflated, and in current. It took her 9 minutes of constant pushing.

That's over though, and so is our stay at Sierra Madres, in Panglao Island, Bohol. We left Bohol on the 30th to go to Cebu a day earlier to start some paperwork.

Myla is still waiting to hear about her accreditation through CHED for lawschool, but in the meantime,  we've decided to enroll in the University of San Carlos in a Marine Biology program - which one is yet to be determined.

I had fingerprints taken in Cebu at the NBI, which went rather well on the 1st, and then flew to Manila that night. Today (the 2nd) I went to the Bureau of Quarantine to take care of all the examinations needed their, including stool. Somewhere lost in translation was the need to take a swab of stool, and filling the cup. I'll go back tomorrow morning to get the results.

We have more diving vid's and pictures to post from our last dives. Our last dive was memorable was we were able to find the Monstrous Frogfish we had scene on an earlier dive but had not brought our camera with us.

We fly back to Cebu City on the 4th, at which time we get more school admin stuff done and look for a place to live.

A Titan Scorpionfish

This is definitly one of the best pictures ever taken of this fish, google it and see for yourselves.

More Pix

Blue and yellow neudibranch

A couple of green neudibranch's, they are one of the things to see here

 My new favorite, a Clown Frogfish

Back to School...

Note: Our cellphone number in the Philippines is: 639085056279

You may add 639085056279@chikkatalk.com to your AIM, Googletalk, etc, and text us via the chat window - this is one way however, e-mails sent to this address are not successful, only chats

We've restarted our diver education here in Panglao. We have finished our Diver Rescue training, a gruelling ordeal, as well as our EFR training (emergency first response) We are now working towards our Dive Master Certifications from PADI. To accomplish this certification we can have no less than 60 dives, and as of today we are still in need of a further 21. So we'll be keeping the blog updated with images and video's taken from below. We are planning to return to Manila in the beginning of June for a few days before heading to Cebu (which is pretty close to wear we are now) You'll be happy to know I have a good tan started, however while I am having epidermal success, Myla is systematically being eaten by insects... and scraping her knees against coral doesn't help either. Now for the fun stuff...

Send in the clowns...

We've visted this family a few times now

Just another day...

Today was another day here at Sierra Madres... drank a buko, played with the pugs. 

One of our hosts has left for Sudan today. The gentlman on the left is Pertti and Laarni is on the right. They have been very nice people to meet, unfortunatly Pertti will be gone for 6 weeks, and we had to say goodbye today.

We had a special treat in the evening, we went out for an evening swim in the pool when we saw yellow lights in the sky. We were amazed by the lightning storm we watched, almost no lightning touched the ground, it was all in the sky, with hardly 3 seconds going by without a flash.

First of May

Note: I can add pix now

We have settled into Sierra Madre resort nicely. We are here for a month in a nice cottage. The owners Perti (Finnish) and Laarni (Filipina) have been very hospital. We have yet to dive, as we have both been through some headcolds and are just getting over it now. http://www.sierramadreresort.com/

The onwers have a number of dogs here, including 5 pugs 

which have been a near constant source of entertainment, from swimming in the ocean, to push eachother into pool, to humping behind a van in the parking lot, and just being pugs who are tired and hot all the time.

We have had some run ins with insect, and I've got a picture of large spider, a number of which have frequented our cottage, 

unfortunatly I have been unable to located a encyclopedic website of Philippine Flora and Fauna. We have lizards everywhere protecting us though, and they are fun.

We have snorkeled off the resorts water front and found some great coral areas not too distant, we've seen some beatufil fish out here. Lots ofbalck and whtie striped one's not Zebra fish, but another kind, they live in families and hide in a coral whenever you cruise by. Bert told us, that to build an aquarium you just scare them into their coral and take the whole coral out.

So as I said we're here for a month, we go into Tagbilaran to get groceries and see movies - the premiere price was 80 pesos to see Wolverine each, about $4 for the pair of us. We are adjusitng to the heat well I think, I basically walk around in my underwear in the house, and put on shorts outside of it. We'll be dicing soon, go Breakwater!

April 26-30

We finally made it to Alona Beach in Panglao island in Bohol.  We stayed for a week at Paragayo Resort, which was clean and inexpensive.  We checked out the apartment that we were going to rent for a month.  We quenched our thirst with a buko for each of us, which was nice of the caretaker.  Our day consisted of walking, transportation using the public jeepney and tricycle.  On our way back to Paragayo,

 we took the tricycle thinking that we would get a deal out of it.  To no avail, the tric had a flat tire (perhaps it was our combined weight).  So we decided to walk and do scenic tours. Fortunately a 

private van which was headed to Alona offered us a lift. We got lucky (otherwise it would have been a five hour hike)!

Week 2

Well it's been another week, we hung around in Manila for most of last week. We stayed at the Pearl Manila Hotel, which was nice.  Myla found out that the Philippine's Commission of Higher Education assigned a panel to review her application for accreditation which hearing would take place the second week of May and a decision will be rendered a week later.  So we stayed at another night in Valenzuela before heading to Bohol. We are in Panglao, Bohol now, if you click to the right of this post on the link 'track us via satellite' you will be able to see exactly where we are. We flew from Manila to Cebu City and then took a speed ferry across the water to Tagbilaran, Bohol. From there we cabbed it to Panglao. We expect to be here until June, this is avery beautiful place, we will update with pictures. I've already had another battle with a clown fish snorkeling just off the beach.

Bro & Myla

First week...

April 16, 2009

Arrival:

We arrived at Manila airport just after 11 am, and security was a breeze. Myla seems to be coming down with something though, she’s sneezing. We grabbed our luggage and headed for the Malayan Plaza hotel, at which we stayed previously, and won’t stay at again. The experience is hardly what we remember. We hit the closest SM (SuperMall) where I was hounded by various condo kiosks. But we managed to pick up some mangoes and bananas and headed back to the hotel where we crashed around 5pm – the jet lag begins.

April 17, 2009

Kuya Romy and Ate Vilma came to our hotel to collect and take us back to Valenzuela, and after a small reunion we grabbed a cab and headed to the Commission of Higher Education to begin Myla’s accreditation process. We were informed that the matter would take a week to make a decision, so we decided it was time to see some of the country.  We spent the night at Valenzuela getting reaquanted with the bucket system and sleeping without air conditioning. It is of my highly informed opinion that air conditioning (or lack of it specifically) is a good part to blame for high populations.

April 18, 2009

We jumped on a bus to Baguio. The bus ride from Manila to Baguio is supposed to be a 4 hour bus ride which took 7 hours. We saw some nice scenery heading up into the mountain city, 

though once we were in the city there was  not much to see.  We shopped around for a hotel and settled on the hotel Veniz (the most expensive, but the only one with Vacancy) and it turned out to be the nicest dive we have ever stayed at.

April 19, 2009

I got up early as I have been lately at 2:30am and read until I thought it ok to bother Myla into waking up as well at 5:30.  She’d been asleep since 5 the night before. We got up and went to see the Baguio Bo-tan-E-Kal Gardens, which was really pretty. Set amongst huge mountain pine trees. We spent a few hours in their taking pictures.

 We decided to keep moving , although Myla’s sickness had become worse by now - it reminded me of Bronchitis. We picked up some menthol gum for Myla and a small hand towel for myself which I now where down the back of my shirts and is one of the smarter things I’ve done since being here.   So we jumped on a bus to San Fernando City, La Union, a coastal town. 3 hours later we departed the bus into the hottest sunshine I have had in the Philippines yet.  We stepped off the bus, but having no where, or idea to go, we walked into a garage in front of the bus stop, where Myla began asking about destinations. Now also, in front of the bus stop is a line up of passenger tricycles ( a motor cycle with a side car) and when we came back outside of the garage we walked toward them to get a ride. Right where the bus dropped us off, and I mean where a person first puts their foot on the ground – was some money. I bent down to grab it, and as I did , the closest tric-cabby saw me bend down at which point he saw the money. He started forward, but quickly saw he had no chance to get there before I did. I picked up the money, knowing the cabby was upset, looked at Myla and cooley said; “Did you drop this?” Myla’s reply; “No.” So I pocketed the money anyways, 150 pesos ($3.75 CDN) , and Myla then hired the cabby to take us toward the resort hotels, and paid him 30 pesos for his time. So everybody won.

We stayed at the Ocean Paradise Hotel, which was nice, and swam in the ocean. We each had a San Miguel Light beer and dinner, which was tasty. We spoke to a couple of gentlemen at a dive shop next door. What they were saying about what there is to see was a little confusing at first, but when I realized what they were talking about I was kicking myself for not having my underwater video equipment with us. So we decided not to dive, but to return at a later date. Myla’s sickness- while it hadn’t progressed, hadn’t gotten better so we decided to head back to Manila the next day. (No I don't describe what there is to see, it's too good to say without a picture.)

We had breakfast and took a tric into the city where we jumped on a bus for Manila. It was a 6 hour bus ride that took 6 hours. We went to the SM for dinner, talked to some more condo people for a few minutes and then headed to where we are now – the Pearl Manila Hotel. We will spend 3 nights here recouping, waiting to hear news about Myla’s accreditation.

Our last day in Canada...

We started the morning relocated a captured squirrel. After which we (Myla, myself, Mom and Dad) left Bobcaygeon for Newcastle, where Myla and I took a ride on the Go bus into Oshawa, and then the train to Danforth. 

From Danforth we we walked to Toronto East General Hospital to meet our new nephew who came just in time to see us off. Mom and Baby are fine after 25 hours of labour. Congrats Myro and Liza, welcome Scien Myrio Babia!!

We said our goodbye's to the new Babia's and to Vangie, and headed downtown to pickup a Balikbayan box at Sherbourne then onto Union station where we took the train out to Markham where we met my folks and had dinner.  Dinner was good, fish and chips, after which it was time to visit my the 'MacLeans' Bob, Lorraine, Brent and Michelle. Lorraine and Bob made it home a few hours prior, just in time to see us off. =) 

We're @ the airport after an uneventful and hassle-free checkin (free internet) til next time...

Bro

The first two weeks w/o work

I spent the first week @ Aaron's place in King City. Chummed around with him at work, helped him move, played some Rock Band late at night in the bar, and generally had a good time. I met up with Josh and m@ later on that week, and we continued to help Aaron move into his new place, and set up shop for Tees for Trees. http://www.tees4trees.ca/ 

 We had a good night out at the firkin, before calling it a night.

 Myla spent the first week couch surfing at various family members residen

ces. Mostly at her sister, Eve's where she spent the best part of her time video chatting with me and the worst part listening to screaming kids. Myla & I are hoping to see Liza & Myro's first born; Sean Miguel before we depart for the Philippines.

 Myla joined me @ my parents in Bobcaygeon where we relaxed for the week prior to departure.

 My father and I attended an Air Combat flight sim in Mississauga, which was fun. We also stopped in Port Hope to watch the salmon and trout climb the fish ladder. 

My brother Jason and my sister in law Kiyomi came to 'the Bob' for Easter and was great to have a visit with them and see their weddings pix from Saint Lucia last November.

But now we're just counting the days til Blastoff.

Myla & Brodie

Hi Folks,

If you don't know why you are here, let me bring you up to speed. Myla and I have just recently left our positions at Dundee Securities and Dundee Wealth, respectively, and are headed to the Philippines. Here you will find information on our current events, thoughts and locations.

We hope you enjoy the blog, we will endeavor to keep it as updated as possible.

Bro