The Philippines are safer tonight.
 

My all time favorite terrorist group is down one commander.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20081028202

Nice! Things have improved since I was there. Back then they worried about the NPA.

I had been worried since getting here because of this:

http://beta.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=407758

Never fear a MILF my friend. Why are you in the Philippines?

Work. I manage call centers for my company. I've spent about 2.5 of the last 4 years here. This is just a quick trip. Only 18 days, but it sure seems like a long time. First time I've made this trip as a dad. It's killing me.

Nice people and great food. I haven't been back since my mission. A bunch of my mission buddies and I swore we were going to go back for "The Tour de Whore". We were going to make out with all the chicks that tempted us. None of us went back. I would like to take my wife there someday.

Are you in Manila?

Yes, I'm in Manila. I've lived in Cebu and my wife is from QC. I bounce between two or three hotels in Makati on my trips here. I used to really like it here, but now it's totally a job and I can't wait to get out of here. I met my wife my first day in the country and this is my first trip here without her. It pretty much sucks if she's not here.

Which mission did you serve in? I see missionaries all the time and buy them lunch. There are quite a few missions in the area and a new temple going up in Cebu. The Church is growing quickly. I run members all the time at work. It always surprises me how many members there are here.

I was in the Naga Mission. The Bicol region is so beautiful. Lots of rice fields. The people are very poor, but they either don't know or they don't care. They would give you the shirt off their back. I love their laid back attitude. Punctuality wasn't important, naps every afternoon, and not judgemental. I would love to spend a couple of weeks there and just unwind. It's sad they have fallen victim to terrosist groups.

MILF will just have to find someone else to go commando.

I agree with you on the nice people; however, Filipino food ranks at the bottom of my list of great Southeast Asian or Asian cuisines. Compared to Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc, Filipino food just doesn't stack up.