I am regularly asked by friends in America and also by foreigners from all over the world a common question. “What do you do every day in the Philippines?” “Have fun,” is usually my first reply.
I make the most of every day and have fun in our area of the Philippines. My approach works great for me. Of course, what is fun for me may be boring to you and what you consider fun may well be boring for me. I am happily married with a 9 year old son, so my fun activities are not what they were in the Philippines when I was a single guy still in my 40s. I will share with you about my fun-filled weekend just from a few days ago.
Last Friday, I got my BI Annual Report completed in about 20 minutes and I ran into a friend in the office. We talked to one another and passed the short time away and then I was loose and on my way.
I dropped by SM Supermarket with mainly one item in mind. Jif Peanut Butter from the USA. In the meantime, I received a test message from my wife that our son had received perfect 100 scores in his exams this week in English, Math, Science and Bible. He received 98 score in Ilonggo. His last exam last Friday was in Filipino Language. I was very proud and happy about those exam scores.
Jif Peanut Butter was in stock and cost P204 for the 1 lb jar. I noticed SM had a promo for P500 on their new edition Spalding NBA Cyclone Basketballs. Only two were left, so I grabbed one to give to our son. He is a basketball fanatic, loving to play and watch hoops. Sometimes I see him in his sleep during the night, making the motions of shooting a basketball. Funny!
The next text from my wife, while in SM, was about the 2 basketball teams we help sponsor in the Adult League in our city barangay. The Men’s age 40 team and the Men’s age 50 team were both invited to play in a special game against the same age bracket teams in a municipality outside Bacolod, about 40 minutes out. I informed my wife, I would be happy to go and asked her to load up our family vehicle to transport some players. We headed out around 3pm with a total of 7 in our Crosswind.
There was a live court-side basketball announcer with a mic. He really made the game extremely exciting. Let me tell you something. He was better than any NBA or PBA announcers I have ever heard. He announced in mostly English but did throw in Ilonggo as well. “Here they come. Tall, short, thin and fat. They are ready to play.” That line cracked me up as the teams took the court for playing basketball. The announcer really called a great game from the booth, which was from a court-side table. Both our sponsored teams won their games. We are not the sole sponsors, as other sponsors chipped in P5,000 total for this trip outside Bacolod. The coach invited us to join the two teams to eat BBQ chicken and to drink a few cold ones. More enjoyment and entertainment. I am more of a baseball and American football fan than a basketball fan but on that night, I really enjoyed those two local games more than if I were watching Game 7 in an NBA Playoff. I personally know the players, the coach and I got to meet the basketball announcer and the Sports Coordinator, who set up the game. I feel I made 2 new Filipino friends and they invited us back very soon. I look forward to the trip.
Well, there you have it. Just one day of my weekly 3 day weekend and man, oh, man, I had an awesome time. I always have fun in the Philippines and I never let a day go by.