Mark&Gladys

There are bears in Bulgaria?

Not any more.

Not sure if this is relevant still, but you CAN get married in the Philippines without the 10 day waiting period at least in some areas. We simply asked the judge to expedite the marriage due to my travel schedule and he was more than willing. Our official marriage certificate was post dated, but we were married the same week I arrived. Everything else in this thread is accurate.

Finish early

Would you rather die peacefully or die in away that makes a great change to society (that's well, less than peaceful shall we say)?

Make a great change!

Aristotle or Socrates?

Gladys has very thick typical filipina black hair, but has no hair at all on her legs or arms. She does shave her armpits occasionally, but she has only a number of hairs there. I am sure that is an ancient tropical genetic adaptation which has been changed a bit by more recent Spanish and other ethnic influences. That is why some girls have some leg hair and others do not.

She does trim other places - but never shaves.

I proposed to Gladys in a romantic restaurant at the top of the Fuente Towers Crown Regency in Cebu. That is the top of the city in Cebu. We had a romantic dinner and then I proposed after dinner on one knee and held her hand, then showed her the ring.

Back when I was an 8 year old I myself worked picking black rasberrys on an uncle's farm. Work started at 6 am until noon and 1 pm to about 5 or 6 pm. My 75 year old grandmother worked across from me. I was paid 10 cents per quart and a "good" picker could hit 100 quarts per day. It was one of the few places I could make some pocket money. Over the years My brother and I looked forward to this money. In the fall we picked potatos. We did not suffer at all. We grew up with a good work ethic. The first time I drove a tractor by myself was at the age of 4. We could put the 2 banger into 1st gear and father would load hay bales on a wagon while I drove. 1st gear one could crawl faster than the tractor would run. At the age of 12 I could plow a field by myself. While you California liberals were still sucking your mama's ####### at the age of 12 I could put in a good days labor and was proud of it. I never thought I had a bad life. We never had much money growing up but we never were on welfare. I talk to a local cop and he mentioned that today many 12-14 year old girls go to a party and have sex to get a few joints . That does not bother you people as much as a 14 year old picking a few berrys.

Well said. My childhood included walking beans, loading hay, and all sorts of farm chores. I don't remember bring over worked or exploited, but if you lived on a farm you were expected to pull your weight. I learned to drive early and operate farm machinery well before I was 12. I worked for my family and several of the neighboring farmers. Those were very hard times. We were never hungry and had our share, but there was never any extra money and plenty of risk, worry and economic stress. When I was born (60's) there were 11 farm families in my neighborhood that lived and worked on their own land. Today there are none left and most were gone by 1985. But, there was also no welfare mentality, no drugs and no crime. There was no sense of entitlement and everyone helped each other and shared when you had surplus. You were expected to work for the things you needed or wanted.

There were 7 children in my family. Neither of my parents were educated but all 7 of us have BS degrees, 3 have MS degrees, 2 have PhDs and 1 is a lawyer (there's always one black sheep in the family). One brother recently returned home from his 4th tour in Afghanistan as a lieutenant colonel. You can't raise a family in conditions like that today and the USA is paying the price.

Sorry for getting all self-righteous about it.

A cheaper approach is to drop a piece of the meat in an ounce of cola. If it is pork, some nematodes will come out (it works even with American/Canadian "ultra-clean" pork) visibly and sink.

(unfortunately, it doesn't work for testing whether turkey has been substituted for chicken--as some desi restaurants in US actually are known to do)

What are you referring to? I think you better check your facts.

The only nematode common in raw pork is Trichinae which does not exist in modern production systems. Only pigs raised outdoors could possibly be exposed and that is less than 1/10 of 1 percent of all pork produced in the USA and Canada. Fewer than 12 cases of Trichinosis are reported annually in the USA and most are traced to bear meat or occasionally a pig raised outdoors.

The question is at the age of 60, was he genetically tested at birth ( I doubt it) to find out genetically what sex he was? The tests could still be run to find out is someone is a male or female based on genetic material.

Still, I think it's awesome they found a way around the system!

Actually hermaphrodites are genetic mosaics - some cells are XX and some are XY, so a DNA test would not prove much in this case.

let's avoid the namecalling please.

Indeed. I apologize to Rocky N Bullwinkle. My sensitivity trumped my better judgement.

Why do you what to bring this stuff up. I think that is exactly your intent. Maybe, you are really some bitter old American woman, from one of the other forums!

I think maybe you are an idiot.

This "stuff" was significant in my life and I was interested in hearing from others with similar experiences. I suggest you find something positive to say or say nothing at all.

OK...now it's your turn.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories. I will add mine. It is a very long story, but I will provide the condensed version here.

In the summer of 2007, I lost a personal business that I had built with a relative to make money for Cystic Fibrosis. This business was well designed and had an excellent business plan, but was a victim of bad timing, extraordinary bad luck and poor management on my part. Good intensions are not worth much and I lost my life savings, a huge portion of my families net worth and was left with bankruptcy and huge debts. My marriage of 7 years was struggling. I had been very busy with a full time job and the failing business and my wife had suffered long with depression and emotional instabilities. Earlier that year my wife's father had abandoned her family (4 younger children) and had suffered a breakdown of his own. Our third child was born in September of 2007 and my wife and now 3 children moved back in with her mother - 1200 miles from my office and our home. She assured me that everything was ok with the marriage, she just needed time with her mother and time to recover from our loss and the emotional loss of her father. I flew the 1200 miles back and forth every 2 weeks to spend time with my family and still keep my job all that Fall.

In late September of 2007, while playing basketball at my church I ruptured my achilles tendon and had to have surgery, crutches and months to recover. Now I was working and traveling on crutches and a cast. My wife used this and one excuse after another to stay with her mother, refusing to rejoin me at home and suffered additional emotional stresses as she recovered from childbirth. In December we were growing further and further apart, even though she was seeing a counselor. Nothing I did seemed to help her or the marriage. On December 23 my father passed away which was crushing for me. My wife attended the funeral but was cold and sad and distant. After the funeral, she flew back to her mother's home. She promised that she was doing better and would join me soon.

But, on January 8th - a very cold and dreary day - I received an email at 6pm from 1200 miles away. She had filed for divorce. No counseling, no help from our church and no previous discussion, although in retrospect there were obviously many signs. I felt like my world had ended. I was broke, heart broken, still in a cast and now alone. My family was gone. I did everything I could to try to change her mind. I stalled the divorce proceedings and asked her to see our church officials, go to counseling, meet with a mediator, on and on. She had originally told me that she would consider reconciliation and outlined a list of things she needed. That list became my life. For the next 4 months I studied and worked. I went to counseling and wrote about all my experiences and worked with my church leaders. I often slept less than 4 hours a night and lost almost 30 pounds (I was 5'7" and 155 pounds when I started). I became totally obsessed with my desire to save the marriage and return to my family. And I developed severe depression and essentially became mentally ill.

During this period, I interacted periodically with my wife directly and indirectly through our church. Sometimes it felt like I was making progress, but it always eventually slipped away. She would engage me and be encouraging and then retreat. In early April she asked that I give her some time and leave her alone and although she still wanted the divorce she would consider reconciliation. She told me that I needed to meet someone else and focus my attention elsewhere. At this point, I was in desperate shape. My health was slipping, my job was in jeopardy and I was losing my battle to save the marriage. The divorce became final on April 24th. I was lost and alone emotionally unstable and very vulnerable. I needed someone to talk to that did not know my situation so I joined a church sponsored forum for singles. I was of course not ready for a personal relationship and chatting online helped. I met several very nice women, and made a few friends, but nothing serious. I liked talking online because I could come and go as I pleased, nothing really was expected of me and I did not have to deal with a "real life" relationship. Chatting filled most of my evenings completely for several weeks.

One night in June I clicked on a link for an international dating website and I was hooked. The women were exotic and interesting and much different than the women on the other site I had been visiting. At this point I had never been exposed to international dating, VJ or any other resources. It felt good to have someone (several someones) eager to talk to me. They supported me emotionally and made me feel good about myself again and they took me away from all my worries - at least for a while. But I was still very insecure and vulnerable. Recently divorced and in desperate need of attention and support. At the time, I was not aware of the potential to be taken advantage of or the incredible lengths that some women (people) would go thru to prey on people just like me. In retrospect, I should have known better and I certainly am not proud of my mistakes. I typically act in good faith and trust everyone - and I paid for that. I sent a little money to several different women, all of which I am sure now were scammers. And I sent a lot of money to one in particular who was brilliant. She used dozens of pictures from a filipina movie star to keep me on the hook. She also used a blurry, poor quality web cam and she built an incredible story which I did not doubt (however, I am also sure I did not really want to see the truth). It felt good to be useful and appreciated. A friend of her's eventually clued me in and that ended it. It turned out that the woman who scammed me was a single mother and was desperately poor. She has since apologized and I have forgiven her. I did learn my lesson and my mistakes are easy to see now. Hindsight is 20/20.

I related that story to illustrate how people sometimes arrive in places and circumstances that are almost unbelievable before the fact. Life takes us on very strange paths sometimes. It is clear to me that I was mentally and emotionally ill for a long period of time and I was certainly taken advantage of for that. However, I suggest that those of you in a rush to condemn me for being "stupid" enough to get scammed online consider that maybe you have not been in my shoes and I hope you never have to walk that path.

Eventually, I regained my health and emotional stability. I continued to chat - much more carefully now - and weeks later met an amazing woman who is now my wife, Gladys. I have a new and much better job. My credit cards are almost paid off and I have 40% custody of the kids. My ex-wife is finding peace in her life and we are communicating now and our kids are adjusting well. So life is good! But God certainly works in very mysterious ways.

OK...now it's your turn.

Thanks everyone for your responses and yes it is my turn. I will post it in the next day or two.

Hi VJers:

I am curious to hear stories by those of you who were scammed on-line by someone in the Philippines. My intention is not to embarrass anyone or disparage the Philippines (I am married to an extraordinary woman for the Philippines), but I would like to hear your stories. I personally learned a very hard lesson there at a particularly vulnerable point in my life and I would like to help others learn from my experience. I am happy to share my story if others would like to contribute theirs.

Hi VJers!

I need some help from someone with a connection to Davao City or Panabo City, Philippines. I need to confirm that the lawyer listed below is practicing law and in good standing in one or both of these addresses. I would greatly appreciate some help from anyone in the area. Thank You!

MARLINE GOLOSINO, LAWYER NOTARY PUBLIC

1st Office Address:

GOLOSINO-ONG Law Office

Uy Bldg. Dr. 2 Carriedo St. Panabo City

2nd Office Address:

Office in PAO-Reg. XI Davao City

PAO-Public Attorneys Office

Ecoland, Davao City

Home Address; 25 Dalisay St. Amoville Village, Panabo City

"My family has been railroaded. Someone needs to pay."

What does she mean by this? Should I pay for her 12 kids? I guess cases like this is why you cannot offer social programs here because people will simply abuse them. So while some of us work 40 to 60 hours a week, she has kids.

I guess this is US freedom at its finest.

The only "railroad" is the one between her legs! Get a clue and keep your legs together.

Here is a joke for you old duffers!!

A man was walking down the street and found an older gentleman sitting on a park bench clearly in distress.

The first man asked the older man "what's the matter? Are you injured?"

The older man replied; "No, not injured", his chest heaving.

The first man asked: "Are you sick?

The older man gasped; "No, not sick"

The first man asked: "Are you hungry?

The older man whispered; "No, not hungry"

Then the first man, speaking softly and putting his hand on the older man's shoulder, asked again. "Then please tell me what is the matter? Maybe I can help."

The old man sobbed; "Well I have a beautiful young wife at home. She is perfect. She cleans the house, pays the bills, does the laundry and shopping and takes care of me. She is a great cook. She is very sexy and an awesome lover. She is just great".

The first man, very surprised and speaking more loudly now, said; "Mister that sounds pretty good to me, so why are you so upset!? Did she leave you?"

The old man exclaimed: "NO! I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE I LIVE!!"

A man is walking on an Oregon beach and finds a beautiful old bottle. He scoops it up and rubs it with his shirt to see it more clearly.

Suddenly the bottle shakes and shudders and a benevolent Genie emerges with great fanfare!!

The man is amazed by the sight and even more amazed when the Genie exclaims: "Thank you for freeing me!! In my gratitude I shall grant you one wish!"

The man is shocked and excited and decides to take a minute to think this through. Seeing the man deep in thought, the Genie says boldly: "Do not fear my good Master - no wish is too much for my powers!"

So the man says: Then Genie, I have much business and family in Hawaii and I hate flying. Please build me a bridge from here to Hawaii so I don't have to fly any longer." The Genie was immediately disgusted with the request. "Don't you want endless riches, power and wealth?!? Don't you want world peace or eternal happiness?!? A bridge that far will require a lot of resources, it will need repaired and maintained. I just don't think that a bridge is a very good idea at all!" replied the Genie. " Are you sure there is nothing else you desire? Remember I am ALL powerful!"

The man furrowed his brow and thinking hard he looked at the Genie and said: "Well I can think of only one other wish. I wish to have the ability to understand women, especially my wife."

The Genie replied: "Do you want the bridge 2 lanes or 4?"

Well this is an interesting and intelligent thread. Let's all play nice. Everyone gets an opinion, but state yours tactfully please.

I have thought about the basic points in this article for some time. While I am not an economist it occurs to me that Capitalism works well right up to the point of maturity. What I mean is that free enterprise and competition works to promote improved efficiency, service, value and product quality until there are too few players left and monopolies begin to dominate. When that happens then consumers are taken advantage of and a few become very rich while the losers in the business arena pay dearly. There are examples everywhere - and why most anti-trust legislation is in place. Microsoft is a prime example where no real competition remains. Goldman Sachs may also fit this category. It is much the same in the agriculture industries where huge agronomic companies dominate and farms get larger and larger. Many if these institutions then become "too big to fail" because of their impact on the GNP and on the lives and financial stability of so many.

I am not sure what this all means. But I see it as a serious flaw in Capitalism and free market economies. This system has produced tremendous gains for us all, but at the point of maturity serious problems can develop.

You don't think the FDA abuses its powers?

Ask any cheese monger how much the FDA abuses its power.

Ask anyone who truly appreciates/understand Chinese culinary arts or other Asian culinary arts how much the FDA abuses its power.

Ask those who have benefitted from experimental drugs that by some chance causes problems in less than 5% of the people who take it, then the FDA bans it because of those problems. They'll tell you the FDA is full of ####### too.

They have a history of damned ignorance when it comes to food and drug restrictions.

That's not to say they don't do some good out there as well, but I'm saying it's not always good. You get a mixture of both.

Paul,

I appreciate your posts and perspective and I can understand your position on health care and govt interference. I agree that less govt intervention is better. However, there are some other factors to consider. On the surface, I don't care how much salt you eat - its none of my business. And you can make a very strong argument that it is your choice and this is a free country etc. But the reality is that if I have to pay for your poor choices when you develop high blood pressure or heart disease, lost productivity etc, then it is not longer simply your choice of freedoms and the govt has an obligation to protect me as well as you. Then regulation becomes appropriate and necessary.

Other issues to consider are that many many people do not have the ability to determine what foods are healthy - what levels of sodium etc. And we are finding that some foods, like HFCS, are insidiously bad while others actually create serious addictions - MSGs. So there is great need for govt oversight and intervention in many areas. Sodium should be regulated, but not eliminated. HFCS and MSGs need to be banned and will be eventually and sugar should also be limited, particularly for children.

One additional point. Foods that have been consumed for generations (meat, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables) are to be much better for you than processed foods. Refined sugars and carbs are the real hazards to humanity with HFCS and MSGs. Salt in moderation for most people is not an issue. Eat wisely, make good food choices and everything in moderation.

Absolutely.

Are Herons illegal? Who knew!?!

Those taste like a dog #######.

Thanks for that. Now I know what dog ####### tastes like. How is it that YOU have actually tasted dog #######?

I graduated from Cornell University and Iowa State University, as well as from the University of Mayhem and Tragic Relationships.

My perfect wife graduated from the University of Hunger, Poverty and Reality and has degrees in Social Perfection, Personal Grace and Public Civility.

We met while attending graduate school at the University of My Foreign Bride - Class of 08.

First of all I would like to know if 5000 pesos is considered a fair amount of money. In the US, for me atleast, 500 usd is alot so what would be a pretty good amount in the phil

Fair for what?

A close call but I hope it doesn't upset the equilibrium of earth therefore causing earth to capsize!

We could all drown!?!

We met at myforeignbride. I wandered in there inadvertently one night and "the rest is history".