My Love and Hate for Marinduque, 2013

Macrine, Miko and the Sunset

This year my wife and I spent only three months for our winter sojourn in Marinduque, Philippines instead of our normal 4 to 5 months of winter escapade for personal reasons.

The following are ten items I like about Marinduque followed by my dislike of life in this island, known as the Heart of the Philippines and Land of the Morions. But in spite of my dislikes, I still consider Marinduque, my winter haven.

1. I love the Moriones Festival and the tourists it attract, but I hate the crowds, traffic congestion and pollution it brings during the Easter Holy Week Season

2. I love downtown Boac, because of its quaint restaurants and convenient computer cafe's, but I hate the lack of parking spaces and inadequate potable water supply.

3. I love the Marinduque cuisine, availability to pre-order cakes and special dishes, but I hate the wait and delivery time in spite of an advance notice for pick-up.

4. I love the chirping of the birds almost all day and the sound of the waves, but I hate the barking of the dogs and crowing of the cocks during the early morning hours.

5. I love the magnificent sunsets and glimmering moon lights, but I hate the scattered plastic wastes by the seashore.

6. I love our honest government officials, but I hate politicians who are liars and goon happy.

7. I love the sound of the BALUT vendors but I hate the loud voices of the FISH vendors ( I--s---d--a)

8. I love my beautiful gardens and prolific fruit trees, but I hate the weeding, mowing and watering chores

9. I love the Flea and Open Markets, but I hate the public market in downtown Boac

10. Last but not least, I love the peace,and solitude of Chateau Du Mer, the mild and cool weather from December to February, but I hate the hot and humid weather during the months of March, April and May.

If you have visited Marinduque, I will appreciate if you share with my readers what you like and dislike about this beautiful island in the Philippines. Happy spring time to All!

Selected Photos from Our Two Abodes

If you have been following my blogs, you probably know we called ourselves snowbirds. We have a retirement home in the Philippines, but our primary residence is in Northern California. The following are some photos showing the differences between our two lifestyles. Since pictures are worth more than a thousand words, all you will read are labels of the photos; Enjoy my photos:

The first photo is our ranch style home in the Philippines and the second is our home in Northern California


Our backyard in Marinduque versus our backyard in Northern California

The first photo is our side yard in the Philippines versus our side yard in Northern California


The first photo is the twin orchids in my front yard in the Philippines versus the yellow orchid in my yard in Northern California

My jack fruit tree in the Philippines versus my lemon tree in Northern California


My PC in the Philippines versus my PC in Northern California
Last but not least is Party time:

The first photo is in northern California with salad and Dungeness crab, versus filipino cuisine of Marinduque.

Our friends often asked us which abode do we prefer. Our answer is always, both places. Marinduque is excellent place during winter time and Northern California is an excellent abode during Spring, Summer and Fall.

What do You Know About Parkinson Disease?

Michael Fox and Mohamed Ali

Six months ago, my beloved wife of 56 years( Macrine) was diagnosed to have first stage Parkinson disease, commonly called PD. She has been experiencing typical symptoms of the malady with involuntary hand tremors, slow body movement ( walking), unbalanced gait, softer voice, difficulty swallowing and had a couple of falls during the previous year. We have to purchase a cane, to prevent another fall. Our doctor prescribed her Sinemet ( 25/100 carbidopa/levodopa) to be taken twice a day. Her first two weeks after taking the drug, she suffered nausea, vomiting, hallucinations and disturbed sleep, but her hand tremors stopped. As of today she is taking the drug twice a day and the nausea had stopped and the hand tremors controlled. She still walks very slow and her voice is very low and have a hard time swallowing. She needs my assistance in changing clothes, bathing and slicing her food into small pieces. She easily gets tired and from what I read in the Internet, there will be a time when the drug will no longer be effective. In the future as the disease progressed she will need palliative care and home nursing assistance. My wife's PD has a genetic component. Her father had PD and one of her aunts on her maternal side had also PD during their senior years.

Today, I called my Federal Insurance provider Blue Cross-Blue Shield-Anthem of California. The benefits coordinator informed me that home care visits are limited to only 2 hours per day and 25 visits for the calendar year. It has to be authorized by a licensed physician. I have a deductible of $350 per year with the insurance paying only 65% of the cost.

Currently, I am reading two books on PD which I found useful as follows:1). I have Parkinson: What Should I do? By Ann Andrews, Basic Health Publishing, 2011 and 2). Ask the Doctor about Parkinson Disease by Michael S. Okun and Hubert H Fernandez, Demos Health, 2010.

The following information from the National Parkinson's Foundation, I found very informative .

In the United States, 50,000-60,000 new cases of PD are diagnosed each year, adding to the one million people who currently have PD. The Center for Disease control rated complications from Parkinson’s disease as the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. Worldwide, it is estimated that four to six million people suffer from the condition. There is hope, however, as scientists work towards a cure and make progress in identifying the best treatment options for patients.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people. What this means is that individuals with PD will be living with PD for twenty years or more from the time of diagnosis. Parkinson’s disease itself is not fatal, but complications could occur and can cause death. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s; however, investigations on animal models, gene therapy and stem cells research are undergoing so those with PD can have a good quality of life.

Treatment approaches include medication and surgical therapy. Other treatment approaches include general lifestyle modifications (rest and exercise), physical therapy, support groups, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Recent studies have indicated that a treatment is better than no treatment. In other words, medications and therapies may modify the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Michael Fox and Muhamed Ali are the two world famous personalities known to be suffering with PD.

Do you have a relative with PD? Were you the primary caregiver? Could you share your experiences as a caregiver?
Reference: www.parkinson.org ( National Parkinson Foundation)

Snowbirding and Vacation, 2013

We just arrived in Northern California, yesterday after a 3 months hiatus and winter vacation in my tropical paradise in the island of Marinduque, Philippines. The 3 months passed by very fast. The first three weeks of January was a very hectic, hosting Macrine's relatives from the Washington, DC, Hawaii and Manila. It was however so much fun showing them Marinduque's tourist attractions and introducing them to relatives they have not meet before. They stayed only for four days, but I felt they had a grand time enjoying the amenities of the the beach resort and meeting relatives.

The last two weeks of January, we hosted a couple from US and their 23 year old daughter for 13 days. The couple resides in State of Washington. The wife was originally from Marinduque and her husband a white Anglo Saxon had been planning this trip for the last two years. Their goal was to visit his wife's family as well as enjoy the sites and tourist attractions of the island. Their daughter was delighted to meet her grandmother for the first time. I am sure they had a fantastic time and memorable reunion with relatives. It was fun hosting them, but had been an exhausting experience preparing their breakfast for 13 days.

I was delighted that my taxes for this year has now been earned with the January income of the beach resort. I am still in need for a couple more clients so I can pay for the annual maintenance of the resort. So if you have plans on vacationing to Marinduque this year, please consider staying at Chateau Du Mer. For details visit my site at http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

The whole month of February was quite. But during the first week of March we had a Garden Wedding and Reception in the resort. During last week of March (Holy Week), we had guests from Ireland, UK and South Korea. We hosted two young couples who are now touring Palawan and other parts of the Philippines. I was sure they enjoyed Marinduque very much. They not only had visited Gaspar Island, and the hot spring in Buenavista, but also had meet a couple of natives who shared drinks and food with them. They enjoyed sun bathing and swimming in the front yard of the Chateau Du Mer beach house. They also enjoyed Filipino food in the restaurants in downtown Boac and Gasan and the Moriones Festival activities.

The week before we flew back to Northern California, the summer heat of the Philippines had started. Daily temperatures of 34.0 to 36.6 degrees centigrade with humidity of over 55% forced us to stay indoors in air conditioned rooms. You are almost a prisoner either in your hotel room or house, because the heat and humidity were really very uncomfortable and also unhealthy specially from 1 to 4PM. But our experience with the January and February weather was very pleasant in Marinduque.

The last two days of March was the start of electioneering for local politicians. Marinduque local politics is one that I can not be proud of. I am almost embarrassed to say, that the Philippines at this week was just like HELL, not only because of the HEAT but also the political practices of Filipino politicians who are willing the sell their souls so they can get rich from “pork barrel” if elected. Marinduque political shenanigans included a disqualification ( one candidate was a US citizen, also lied about her age and marital status), physical threats to opponents and their supporters , vote buying , and using goons and guns toward opponents and of course the standard political dynasties practices so they can be elected and become rich.

I am indeed glad to be out of the Philippines before the election next month. Let me say however, that I know of a couple of politicians who are honest and not corrupt, but these honest politicians are a rare breed in the Philippines.

Again, this year, I took a few pictures during the Moriones Festival, and the gardens of Chateau Du Mer. ( see photos above and below). Visit also my FaceBook page for the rest of my photographs.