MIC CHECK MEDICINE
I use my MIC and my platform as a form of "therapy" or "medicine" for myself.
MIC CHECK MEDICINE
ADVENTURES in MANILA: Traffic, Culture, and Personal Challenges
Ever wondered how navigating the streets of Manila could feel like a real-life video game? Join me as I recount my recent trip to the bustling city of Manila, where I faced the notorious traffic, dealt with an expired license, and experienced the quirks of Filipino driving culture firsthand. From the frenetic driving habits of our van driver to the curious differences spotted at the local Olive Garden, this episode offers a vivid tapestry of my adventures, blending personal anecdotes and insightful cultural observations.
In this episode, you'll also hear about my struggle with lower lumbar disc disease during a museum visit, and how I managed to find solace in the quiet confines of our hotel room—perfect for an introvert’s decompression. I share my evolving relationship with city life, reflecting on how my excitement for urban exploration has waned over the years. Plus, get a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges I faced recording a reaction video to a debate, and the complexities of engaging with diverse platform audiences. Whether you're curious about Filipino culture or just love a good travel story, this episode has something for you!
what's up everybody? This is the objective, jerk. And I'm said jerk, how's everyone doing? Hope, everybody is well, um, trying to think of what was the last thing. Oh, I, I posted not for my podcast, but I posted a video of me reacting to the the debate. So it's been a week, I guess, since I did anything. But I was in Manila, so, um, but yeah, so, working, not working, doing nothing, retired, um, no, yeah, so I was in it. So last week I reacted to, or I did a video of me reacting to the debate, which I didn't plan it was.
Speaker 1:I was just going to record some stuff to maybe get some little, you know, clips and follies of Biden so I could use it for whatever if I wanted to, and I guess I have a setup to do record the screen and plus have me. So it was starting with me, you know. So maybe I'll just I'll do. I wanted to, and I guess I have it set up to do Record the screen and plus have me. So it was starting with me, you know. So I was like, maybe I'll just I'll do, I'll record myself reacting to it. So that's what happened, nothing special, nothing fancy. Some people watched it. I never get any feedback man, at least something. Hey, it sucks. I guess I need to. You know, I look at it's weird how on rumble it's just it's different what is popular and compared to the actual podcast. So I don't know. I'm thinking about taking like my most popular podcast and then kind of going with that formula for a little bit and see how that does and then do the most popular rumble. You know what I mean At least the topics, because I don't have a niche really, it's just my topics are all over the place. It's just whatever I feel like talking about. So maybe I don't know, just to. I mean, I don't know, I'm not trying to be, you know whatever. This is just, this is more for me than anything. And if you enjoy me, you know venting, then cool, I don't know. Anyway. So I did that video and then we've been kind of busy with some stuff and then we went to Manila, got back a couple of days ago, actually, we got back. When did we get back? Wednesday it was. The trip was horrendous because we rented a van and I got a little bit of.
Speaker 1:I got some firsthand Examples and knowledge of why Filipinos drive the way they do, kind of. So I'm watching, so I'm in this van and this guy, like I would always get upset when I'm driving around and I'm getting flashed like crazy. I'm like why are they flashing? I was like my brights aren't on, what the fuck? You know what I mean. It's so annoying.
Speaker 1:And this guy and this is what he does this is kind of like his job. It's like a side hustle. Most jobs in the Philippines are like side hustles, but they're, you know, they, it's, it's their job. And so he has a van and he, you know, hooks up with people and he'll either drive people to Manila or pick up stuff for people or whatever. You know what I mean. So he makes the drive a lot, right, um, but he is the epitome of what annoys me about Filipino drivers. So I couldn't really sleep in the van on the way there because I was just, I was just annoying.
Speaker 1:I couldn't stand the way he drove. First of all it's like he's slow, but then like we're on the road and he's sitting there like weaving back and forth, wanting to pass people, and then he gets in front of him, but then when there's like open road, he just fucking 70 kilometers, 80, you know. I mean like go. What the fuck you waiting for? Go. So he's like a slow driver. But then he still acts when there's I don't know, it's, it's, I just don't get it. And then with the brights, dude, the fucking dimmer switch Like he when it's dark out, instead of just having your brights on so you can see, he just flips them on periodically during dark spots. He flips it every time there's somebody. It's almost like wigwags on a car on the lights, for like a cop car, like he's trying to let everybody know hey, I'm coming, you know, like like somebody will be on the shoulder on the motorcycle or whatever this, and that he's gonna pass somebody. Hey, hey, I'm gonna pass, hey, I'm passing, hey, I just passed you. And the whole time he's flipping his fucking dimmer switch non-stop, like click, click, click, click, click, click. And so I'm sitting there and I just hear this click and click and click. It's like dude, fucking, leave it on. Like you have headlights, people can see you. Like I don't get it. I don't fucking get it. It drove me fucking nuts and he was so slow, it took so long to get there or get home. Oh, I don't think I'm definitely not going to get that guy again. I mean, he wasn't a horrible driver, like as far as safety really, he just his driving habits just drove me nuts. But yeah, so we went to Manila, spent a few days and a couple nights, went to the Asian mall and let the kids you know I ate at Olive Garden for the first time in five years or something, had the tour of Italy and it was good.
Speaker 1:It's funny how, like some, some restaurants here, like olive garden was for the most part like in the states. There was a few differences. The salad was missing some things. The breadsticks were a little different. I mean, for all I know, the breadsticks have changed in in in too, but but they're so good, but they weren't the same. Like Texas Roadhouse is just like in the States, which is why I like going.
Speaker 1:Burger King's OK, wendy's is kind of like there, it's, it's close, but it's just not quite there. You know what I mean. I don't know. Yeah, it's just kind of weird how that works, but it's just not quite there. You know what I mean. I don't know, um, yeah, it's just kind of weird how that works, but, um, real quick, because it's getting warm, so I brewed some beer just to kind of. I'll go back to Manila here in a minute. But I want to pour my. I want to.
Speaker 1:So I brewed, uh, some beer. It's actually from a kit from Amazon I've had for a while and I brewed some while back. Turned out really good, it's like a Hefeweizen, but it's kind of like it's like a hamburger helper beer. You know what I mean. It's already ready, all the seasoning, everything's done. You just got to put it in there and cook it. I mean, there's still techniques and whatever, but for the most part it is what it is, you know, um, but I'm kind of thinking about cause there's, there is a brewery supply here in Manila to buy some grains and and and hops and various things and start making my own beer like legitimately kind of make it. You know what I mean, because this is kind of like it's making it, but it's not. It's kind of cheating sort of, I guess you would say.
Speaker 1:Anyway, so it's a Hefeweizen brew kit I bought like a year, two years ago, and so I brewed some more. It's not Red Horse, I just used the bottle. So I haven't tried this one. So that's why I kind of was like you know what I feel like trying it. So I figured I'd do it during my thing. So let's see if there's a little carbonation. There should be some carbonation in here. Oh yeah, nice. Oh shit, might be getting a mess here, but pour it. Guess I should pour it for the camera right, look at that.
Speaker 1:You know, I saw a thing where it's like you want whoa, that's a lot of fucking head. Let that sit for a minute. The coloring looks pretty good, though. Can you see it? Oh, I guess I'm gonna have have my effects, whatever. So you're not going to be able to tell. But yeah, there's a lot of carbonation and foam, so there's a lot of head. But supposedly it's better to have the head now than in your stomach, because if you have all this foam it's not going to get any more foamy. But if you drink it without the head and your stomach, then it builds the head. You know the foam, it foams up in your gut or whatever. I guess I got to look more into that. But um, so anyway, yeah, so, okay, I got it poured.
Speaker 1:Ooh, yeah, there's a lot of foam in here. I think it's cause I didn't. I didn't. I kind of overfilled the bottle with the beer. I didn't leave a whole lot of room. The carbonation is a lot anyway. So manila went to manila. Um, had some issues with the hotel a little bit. We got our appointments done like within the first day, the the first half, which was awesome, like I was expecting to have at least two days going back and forth having to schedule another appointment for something. But we got it all done, so that was nice. And then we just went to malls. It's funny how malls are so big here that you know it's like how it used to be in the States, you know, 20 years ago, whatever.
Speaker 1:But let me try this real quick. Okay, it's pretty good. I uh I use more malt and I think I can taste it's good. But I think it was better last time. But this time I had like, because when you get I'm all over the place talking about Manila and the beer, but when you get the little package to brew your beer, you get the malt which is like in powder form. Oh, son of a bitch, this thing is really carbonated. Should leave it open a little bit, anyway.
Speaker 1:And then so I brewed my first batch, which was kind of like what I got now, like four liters worth of beer, one gallon, because you get a little. What do they call it? The something boy? It's a little glass jar, giant jar, for you know, fermenting the beer. I made a bucket though so I can do more at a time. So my next batch is going to be more beer, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So I divided up the malt because it just comes in one big package, you know. So you have to. You got to measure, measured out and stuff like that to do the right amount. And I have two containers that were like milk containers that I put some malt in and sealed it and then I put the last whatever in this other container. But I had everything out in my garage and the heat like melted the malt, so it was like a hockey puck, but it was a huge one, like the very bottom. I had to cut the container to get it out and it was a little bit more than what's for the, for the, you know, for the recipe of the ingredients, whatever. But I put it in there and it took a while for it to melt down and stuff. So I had to keep stirring it and stirring it, but I can taste it. I was kind of worried. I was like man, is it gonna be too? It's weird, there's like more, it seems more citrusy. I do something. I remember what I did, anyway, not bad, um, so yeah.
Speaker 1:So Manila went to the mall, just you know, of course. So we went to Wendy's, we went to Taco Bell. Oh, taco Bell was pretty close. I had a Crunchwrap. They don't have the same menu but they have, you know, for the most part. But what's funny, though, you go to Wendy's, you go to Taco Bell, everything's got a rice meal, rice and fried chicken. Holy shit, though, is, you go to Wendy's, you go to Taco Bell, everything's got a rice meal, rice and fried chicken. Holy shit, dude, every place you go Did Dairy Queen, you know Blizzard, you know things like that, what else? And then Then did some shopping, bought some shoes for the kids and stuff, and you know normal kind of whatever.
Speaker 1:But for me, I can only take so much of that. You know being I talked about before being an introvert, it's like medium, and so I got my introvert and I got my PTSD, where, you know I don't trust anybody. I'm where, you know I don't trust anybody. I'm keeping you know, I'm just thinking about somebody's going to try and mug us and or try, and you know what I mean, like that's just how, how I think, like it. Just, you know, I got like multiple knives on me, I don't know, and it's it's. Do I believe that somebody is going to? For the most part, no, I think. I think I'm getting better, but still you just never know. You know, and I would be upset if something happened and I wasn't prepared for it.
Speaker 1:But see, my introvert-ness and my PTSD, just my stress levels are really high in public places and everything, and it's not all the time, you know. It's like when I'm in my like I go through my it's like I don't know how, it's just my introvert, my depression and PTSD, just kind of, and sometimes they both align, turned off and I'm like in such a great mood, like I'm just a loving life, everything's awesome. But that doesn't happen very often. Like it, I don't know. It's just weird. It's like either my introvert is you know I'm trying to recharge, or I got my depression, my PTSD, whatever. So it's just like fuck man, it's just kind of. Plus, I'm getting older, you know, as you get older, you kind of get off my lawn, you know.
Speaker 1:So, even though I didn't really do anything except walk around. You know, we went to a museum, which was cool, and this, and that my lower back I have lower lumbar disc disease, so it's like walking for long periods of time kind of hurts, but other than that I didn't really do anything, you know, and I missed the spot when I shaved I can feel it right here, um, but then it's like I'm just worn out. So like, actually the last day I just the day we left I stayed in the hotel, um, you know, we went and had breakfast at the hotel and then the wife and kids went shopping a little bit. They went and did something. I just stayed in the hotel and kind of organized our stuff and just chilled because, like you know, as an introvert, you got to have, you got to decompress, you got to recharge and to do that you have to be alone. You know what I mean, and so that's what I did.
Speaker 1:And then on the ride back, it just like, as I told you before, it just drove me nuts and so it was like the longest drive. I would rather drive myself, but man, my license isn't. So here they they. They accept, you know, other official licenses, driver's licenses, but mine expired, so I'm trying not to drive as much. I mean, am I going to get pulled over and someone's going to check my license? I'm like 99.9% sure, no, that's not going to happen, but we're still trying to work on. You know, my, my paperwork and stuff isn't complete, so it's like trying to limit any reason for me to get in trouble and possibly get deported. You know, will it happen? I'm no, but it's just. You know, I'm trying to be, you know, good, I can't think of a word so. So I didn't drive. So I've driven.
Speaker 1:Usually what I would do is we would drive to a city that's like two, three hours away from Manila or something like that. I think it's two, and it's a sister-in-law. She has her house there, but they're living in Korea right now, they're, you know. So we would stay there and then we would get somebody to drive us in Manila, because Manila is crazy, um, and it's not that. It's not the same kind of crazy as here, although there is that, but it's just so much traffic, you know, and uh, definitely don't want to drive in Manila with with my license the way it is. But anyway, I could do it like if we drove. If we left that night and drove all night, I could drive into Manila to our hotel and park because you know there's not as much traffic at night.
Speaker 1:And then, while we're there, just take grab, which which we did, which is like grab is the, you know, the same, what's it called? In the states, I can't remember, where people just give you rides and it's on the app. You know, you get on your app and you order a ride and everything is paid for. What the crap is that called? I can't remember now, but it's called grab here and that's what we do. We just we take that everywhere. So it's just getting to and from Manila, you know.
Speaker 1:So I think next time I have a few things on our van. We have a 90, it's either 95, 96 or 97 Mercedes MB100, which is, you know, a big passenger van. But it was my wife's, mom's, my mother-in-law's van, and so we've been um, slowly replacing things on it new shocks, new reservoir for the radiator, new uh, I mean just all kinds of stuff, man a new water pump, new I don't know what we got to do, I don't know, but we're still working on it. But once that thing is up and running like 100%, then that's kind of like what my plan is is just to when we go to Manila, I'll just drive, leave like 8 o'clock at night-ish, drive all night, I'll get there much quicker. Like that's the thing too. Filipinos aren't really aggressive at night and stuff like that. It took like I don't know 10 hours or something, when it should be 8, and I could do it in probably like 7 or 6 hours, especially at night. You know what I mean, unless there's some kind of crazy traffic jam. I'm going to time it next time. But that's what I do is drive, dude, I haul ass, drink some energy drinks put on my headphones, everybody sleeps and I just just, and then you know we can get there, and then, once we're there, we just take a grab and then I'll have to sleep, obviously for a little bit. But yeah, that's kind of I don't know Going to Manila. You know it's nice to have various stores and places to eat and things to do and stuff like that, but man, it's just I don't like being in the city. I really don't.
Speaker 1:I remember I used to love being in the city when I was a kid, you know, especially especially when you first turned 21,. I remember going to Seattle, like wanting to go to Seattle and go to um I can't remember what they call it now, but they had this area where it was like a bunch of bars and you would just walk like right next door to you. Know, it was just area. They had a name for it. I can't remember what it is, but you would just go there, go to a bar, hang out, oh cause you would pay. You would pay like a cover charge and you get a bracelet and that would give you access to all of them. You know what I mean. Or you could just pay for one and just go to that one bar, or you could pay a little more and get the bracelet and have access to all of them. You know what I mean. So that was pretty cool, being a young person wanting to go and be social and drink and stuff like that. But now it's like just not appealing at all and that was the first time I remember.
Speaker 1:So I used to hate onions as a kid hated onions and then. So I was 21 and was at this place in Seattle. It had a name. I can't remember it. Somebody listening to this maybe you would know. But it's just this place in Seattle. It had a name. I can't remember it. Somebody listening to this maybe would know. But it's just this place I can't remember, gosh, what was it called, anyway and so all the bars would close and you come out and there'd be vendors with food and stuff like that, and this guy had bratwurst, you know, sausages, and kielbasa and various whatever, and you could get the thing and and I ordered one and he gave it to me and it had just grilled onions all over and I was drunk.
Speaker 1:So I was just like whatever and I ate it. And I was just like, oh my God, this is the greatest thing in the world. Like I ate like three of them or something, and ever since then I've loved onions. It's kind of one of those things. But, um, but yeah, so that's kind of all that I'm doing, so work on getting the grains and everything so I can actually brew my own beer, so I can actually maybe have a recipe that no one would have, because, you know, anybody can get this, this kit, and make the same beer for the pretty close anyway. But so I want to kind of make a hefeweizen, get the, you know, and kind of maybe even sell it just to people, their friends and stuff. Excuse me, um, but I think I'm at my time. Can I at least come and shower? I'll be quiet. Yeah, so my wife. I locked the door because I'm doing a podcast. I told my wife to get lost, but she's wanting to come in, so so I guess that's going to be it. I'm at 23 minutes, roughly.
Speaker 1:Send me a message, a comment, any questions you might have about you know, living here in the Philippines, or anything that I've discussed, or beer, or whatever. You got some suggestions. There's a link on the Buzzsprout on my description, where you can. It's called fan mail, or I don't know what it looks like for you, but you can send me something say, hey, you're an idiot and I hate your show. Or you know, whatever I brew beer, I do this show. Or you know, whatever I brew beer, I do this. Whatever I don't know. Whatever it is, let me know. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you and I hope you have a good one and I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
