Monday Musings

A cup of Java while sitting on the sofa ( now a dog bed ) under the covered driveway at daybreak  helps Old Goats to appreciate the rhythm of the Universe in these here parts . And the rhythm  is pretty much standard stuff this am .

Two of the neighbours dogs roaming up and down the street looking for a place to dump which no doubt will be the grass in front of your house since the neighbour has the artificial stuff . Geez , and here i was thinking it was for putting practice .

Feeling a little sorry  for one of the neighbours pooches that hobbles around on three legs probably because it spends so much time in the street and because Evil Knievel lives 2 doors down . Motorcycles with mufflers apparently not being allowed  here .

Watching the young lady on the other side of the street do the standard Filipino sweep the asphalt routine which is as reliable as the sun coming up . Can understand picking up paper , plastic and whatever though never quite grasp the need to move the dirt on the street around from one place to another .

Contemplating the return of my stepdaughter to the house now that she is back in the job market again and wondering why after two days she feels the need to rearrange the kitchen , especially given that the kitchen is about the size of an American toilet . And , no you can't move the 2 burner stove inside the house .   :-)

Wondering why my first Lazada order arrived within 24 hrs from Manila but without two items i ordered and being minus the 300 peso birthday discount coupon they emailed me not being deducted . Also wondering how long for them to answer my email enquiring about same .

Not the best way to treat a first time customer i am thinking but then customer service  does not seem to be included in the Philippine business model . Thinking surely these people realize that saving 300 peso in the short term will be far outweighed from lost revenue in the future ?

Wondering why after a one time email to Paypal they are sending me requests for customer service feedback when i am still trying to get answers from them . And am i reading this correct . You can send money out of your Paypal peso account but need to receive into your US $ account with some banks here . And why is it that the biggest banks in the Philippines don't jump at the chance to get on board this cash cow ?

And who does the marketing for retailers here , a 6th grader . Why not just tell people that your business accepts credit cards instead of running promos for " instalment payments " ? Instalment payments to who , the business , the bank , the loan shark , etc .

Makes me want to sign up for one of those no credit needed credit cards that don't actually exist except in cypher space currently being hawked on Facebook . Come to think of it i did sign up . Wonder if no response because i don't have 1,000 + Facebook friends or hundreds of photos of myself on line . Or , maybe because i told them i didn't need a $ 50 credit card since anything i would use a credit card for would cost more than $ 50 ?

Anyway , time for another cup of Java..

Have a Great Day !

Finding " it " in the Philippines

So , your first thought is probably what is " it " . Actually , " it " can be anything you are trying to locate in the Philippines . " It " can be something as simple as trying to locate a particular address , piece of information , a product or any number of other things . Finding " it " is , however , rarely simple .

Old Goats like myself that migrate from western pastures have , for the most part , grown up knowing where to look for information leading to " it " through advertising . Advertising in the Philippines is not , however , anywhere near what one would be accustomed to in a western culture .

In western culture when one needs to find a business the first reference point is often a Telephone Book . Telephone books usually have extensive " yellow pages " specifically designed  for advertisers of various products and services . If that fails one tends to look in the white pages if one knows the name of the business .

 But , most folks in western cultures have land line telephones and most folks in the Philippines do  not . Now , there is no need to expound on exactly why that is the case except to sum it up by mentioning one word.. infrastructure , or lack thereof .  Those that have lived in Philippine pastures for a while know of what i speak . Those that might be just recently arrived will soon know .   :-)

Now , we do have a land line telephone in our house but not so much because we have to have it but rather because we are required to have it by PLDT as a part of our internet service . This being the Philippines one is not allowed to just pay for the internet service without the land line . Of course , that gives PLDT reason to charge you another 300 peso a month whether you use it or not .   :-)

Marketing

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers , for the purpose of selling the product or service . It is a critical business function for attracting customers, or so says Wikipedia . Actually , in western cultures some would say marketing is the most important part of a business model . Let's face it , if no one knows you exist as a business or what you are offering how much of a business will you have ?

Now , not talking about the mom and pop " sari " type operation here folks . Folks in the neighbourhood know you are there because you are in the neighbourhood . But , what about the " big boys " ? The S & M's , Robinson's , Gaisano's , Rustan's , etc .

No 6 - 8 page on line ads with pricing here to be seen as is common elsewhere .
 From a foreign perspective they don't do a particularly good job in promoting their products . Some do better than others of course but in general none of them embrace the corner stone of business know as marketing very much . Biggest " bug " i have  is that many of these big boys run national ads rather than ads for specific locations .

Just because their national ads features specific products does not mean those products will be in your location .   :-) My first visit to Rustan's in Cagayan de Oro comes to mind . Here i was foolishly thinking that i would have access to cheeses of many different types and tastes only to discover 2 types ( colby & cheddar ) and one taste ( mild ) . Ok , my bad and silly me for thinking otherwise .   :-)

I also have no problem with using Facebook as an advertising venue " but " should it be your primary or only advertising venue ? Some have suggested that the " big boys " don't see a need for advertising the way foreign cultures do because they have a captive audience or put another way ... little competition . There would seem to be some merit to those ideas from this " old goats " perspective .

What do you think ?

Monday Morning Musings

June 17 2013

mus·ing 

adj.

Deep in thought; contemplative.

n.

1. Contemplation; meditation.

2. A product of contemplation; a thought. "an elegant tapestry of quotations, musings, aphorisms, and autobiographical reflections" (James Atlas).     

 The following post has no particular relevance to  anything of a significant nature . It is but the ramblings of another " Old Goat " pretty much put out to pasture by father time who is simply chewing the cud by commenting about every day life in these pastures . In other words ,  just thoughts about things .

Monday Morning Musings " may " become a weekly post but will be determined by interest , mine and others , events of a news worthy nature and the state of mind of the old goat doing the musing . One characteristic this old goat has adopted from Philippine culture is to never plan ahead too far .   :-) 

In The News 

A subject of interest to locals recently has been the opening of the new airport that will serve this area in Laguindingan . Of special interest has been the topic of transportation to and from the airport in general and taxi fares in particular . Some have said that drivers are suggesting 1200 - 1800 peso one way  to Cagayan de Oro  . 

Now , my first thoughts upon hearing these amounts mentioned were somewhere along the lines of " this ain't New York or London " . And , in fact it ain't even Cebu or Manila . In US dollars we are talking $ 30 - 45 for a taxi ride  of about 30 kilometres or 20 miles . 

 In fact , someone pointed out that even the governmental body that regulates taxi rates suggestion of standard meter fare would be more costly than the plane ticket they had purchased to Davao .   :-)  

 Don't get me wrong , i am not against someone making an honest profit for a service rendered but those numbers are not a reflection of an honest profit for this culture . Any way you shake it it still comes out as salt rather than cinnamon . 

Facebook

Ah , Facebook , the Philippine mirror . What i mean by that is that if i want to know what folks are doing in these pastures Facebook is the place to go first to find out . Doesn't matter if it's an individual or a Philippine grocery store chain operation . It's where Filipinos are for better or worse . 

Now , one can debate why this is so beyond the obvious rationale that the Philippine culture is very socially gregarious and some do . It is an interesting fact that this country per capita has the highest Facebook usage yet one of the lowest internet usages in all of Asia . 

Some have also suggested that Facebook gives one an open forum  for sharing their thoughts , etc. but so do other venues of a similar nature . Some have also suggested that there are basically three kinds of people that frequent Facebook on a heavy basis .

The young , because they have yet to make a life for themselves ; the old , because they have already lived most of their life and by extension have lots of time on their hands; and those in between , who for whatever reason have too much time on their hands .   :-) 

Further divisions have been postulated regarding this culture and the Facebook phenomena involving a concept very basic to the human species . The simple need to belong , be a part of or participate in . Some seem to have a greater need than others of course but culture does seem to be a factor . 

It is a fact that some first world countries have the lowest Facebook usage with the US being prominently mentioned . Logic would suggest that's because Americans lead busier lives or have more options in regards to their time . Some have even suggested it's because Americans are more paranoid though i find that argument pretty shallow .   :-) 

Some have even  suggested that a natural byproduct of being born into a third world culture and by extension large family units leads to a need for attention in one form or another . There may be some merit to that argument based on the fact that some folks have picture albums on Facebook with hundreds of photos of themselves and with friends . 

One could argue " how many times do you need to see the same people " in a photo of course . Personally , i have to look at me every morning and i ain't the prettiest sight that early so i will leave this one for the head doctors . And , sometimes discretion is the better part of valour .   :-) 

Games   

One final note related to Facebook has to do with Gaming . I do not play on - line games . Have stated this in the past on my Facebook account page but still get requests to do so about every day . Now , what someone does with their time is fine with me but gaming is just not my thing .

Maybe it generational to an extent but at my age i just find life far too interesting to spend it playing games . As such , i would rather be using the computer to do something else . As for telephones i am old school as well preferring to use them to contact someone rather than play angry birds . 

Thinking that's enough musing for today i am off to the kitchen . Don't know for what but will find out when i get there .   

Have A Great Day ! 

For Sale - Men's Imported Shorts

 

                                                          California - USA

An Old Goat's Dilemma      

This Old Goat would like to offer an opportunity to those residing in  the area that might be in need of acquiring a couple of pairs of men's shorts . Now , that would not be of  the type shown in the image immediately below .   :-)

Seeing no need to write a Shakespearean epic about the reasons for the two items below becoming available i will give a simple explanation . A Philam returning from the US brought back two pairs of walking shorts for the Old Goat that happened to be the wrong size . Won't go into the detail of why they are the wrong size except to say that twas " not " the fault of the Philam .     :-)

Great Buy For The Budget Conscious Shopper     

The store images shown above indicate the department store chain the items were purchased in when on " sale " . The items themselves are shown in the images below . For descriptive purposes they will be referred to as item 1 and 2 .

Item 1

Apologies for the photos but with cell phone camera best we could do . Item # 1 is in American size 36 and is priced at $13.99 (Sale price) . Manufactured in Bangladesh they are designed for cold water wash and wear .

Item # 2

 Item # 2 is also American size 36 and priced at $16.99 (Sale Price) . Manufactured in China they are also designed for cold water wash and wear . As shown they have even more pockets , nooks and crannies than the previous pair with a belt thrown in .

Contact

Please note that the prices mentioned are the sticker prices on the items themselves and do not reflect California sales tax of 7.5 %  . I will eat the sales tax as i am not trying to make a profit . In reality , i could wear these shorts but they would be a tad on the tight side for an Old Goat with a sagging waistline .                                                                          :-)

 If you have an interest send me an email at clinealant@gmail.com .

Thanks

The Old Goat's Rustan Experience

Facsimile Photo

Turning a Non - Event into an Event    

So , how does one turn a non - event such as going to a grocery store into an event ? Simple , just have a severe case of Old Goat brain lock on a Saturday and forget that malling is a pastime in these pastures not designed for those of the old goat persuasion .   And , grocery shopping at a mall is not for the faint of heart .  :-)

While in another portion of the city yesterday i came upon the bright ( or dumb ) idea of checking out the new Rustan's grocery at Centrio mall . Maybe a bright idea on a Tuesday but definitely not on a Saturday . As a result i paid the price . The " price " being moterela driver that couldn't ( or wouldn't ) drop us at the nearest entrance . End result , a walk of several hundred meters that had me flopping down in the first seat i found inside the mall  ( a hijack from McDonald's ? )

In fairness , there are two entrances into the grocery with one not requiring a jaunt into the mall itself , if you can figure out how to get there . The fact is this is not the easiest place in the world to get to in the first place . Public transport is limited as to where they can drop you off apparently . Will have to do a Google search to know the name of the side street being used by the locals to find the easiest approach .  :-)

Mall Impressions   

My first impression of Centrio being " why would someone go to a mall to eat at a McDonald's " is more about being a westerner than anything else of course . Second impression was of being in a mall for the first time ever where there was no place to sit down ( which old goats routinely require ) . What i mean by that is no benches , etc ,  inside the mall walkways or corridor’s that  i saw . Of course that could also be a subliminal message by the designers that i won't go into .

Rustan's Impressions

We actually entered the Rustan's the easiest way  by accident. Just inside the door were the grocery carts so we proceeded to our left . Tip: Proceed to the right a few meters to the courtesy desk " if " you are interested in their discount shopper card " and " to see a posting of their " specials " .   Their discount card gives you something like a 1 % rebate in some form for every 10 , 000 pesos spent , which ain't hard here .

Otherwise , you will go through checkout having spent ? and " not " get credit towards discount because you have to present card to cashier " before " your total qualifies . The wife handled the communication at courtesy ( after we had shopped )  so i am not privy to the details except for seeing a lot of faces with perplexed looks on them . By specials i mean the " buy two , get one free " ( Washington Red Delicious Apples ) or the " buy five , get one free " ( Libby's Vienna Sausages " ) , etc.

  There is also a " Taco " stand with stand being the optimum word . Soft taco was 45 peso and decent but definitely not Taco Bell .   :-) And , if they ask you if you want the hot sauce and you say no , you will probably get it anyway . As for the see through napkins , what the hell , went through this with McDonald's years ago .   :-) There were a couple of other " stand up " places next to Taco but can't recall what they were selling .

Store Layout  

Now , the fun part starts . I will preface my impressions by stating that as an American i grew up with grocery store chains that all had the same basic layout . That would be with rows and aisles . In Rustan's the rows and aisles are more like  going on a treasure hunt . In fairness , one will have to just shop there and get accustomed to their layout . To me it's similar to what we know back home as a " fresh market " which can mean many different things .

Next time i will start at the far left of the store at the meat counters . Their  meat selections were impressive  both for the varieties offered as well as the cuts and packaging . Didn't spend much time there though did see Butterball Turkeys and other import brands i was not familiar with . Bought some frozen  Fish fillets that according to my wife were good buys . Tip: Lunch meats are located on a separate aisle in coolers that run the length of the aisle along with frozen pizzas , etc .

One of my food passions happens to be cheese of which they carry many brands . Unfortunately , that aisle was overloaded with folks waiting for rice . Not sure which rice as there was plenty on the shelves . Came back later to check the cheese and did buy a block of Colby Cheddar which i have not tried yet . Was disappointed that all the cheese blocks were of medium strength in all brands so no sharp , xx sharp , etc . Also means that what is sold in Alabang or Cebu is not necessarily sold here ( a peeve of mine regarding Pretzels , etc . ) .   :-)

The Good  

Did spot some items that i had a hankering for with labels i was familiar with . Did purchase one 24 oz., 710 ml. jar of Kosher Dill Pickles from California at 155 peso . Haven't tried them yet or the cheese but will pass along the taste bud test . Also bought a carton of   Florida Natural Orange Juice . Had some this am and this is the real deal . Not concentrate but the same i drank when i lived in Florida . Fresh , with an expiration date of June 13 . They has a nice selection of potatoes there were larger in size than usually found . Carrots , Lettuce , White Onions , etc .For those into Chili , they have Kidney Beans .

Can't price because somehow got home without the primary grocery ticket . Maybe the guard ( with the swat weapon .. ) kept on exit ? More likely the wife took by mistake as she also bought for another household . Overall , prices for non import items of an everyday nature seemed to be consistent with the other major chain groceries . There is an extensive selection of wines , beers and liquors . Jack  Daniels was 1, 3?? , Heineken .96 , Stella Atoris , 77 ,  which seemed consistent with what others have said they pay elsewhere or even less . 

The Bad   

To crowded and not enough time to explore every aisle , nook and cranny in the store .  The sign on as aisle that said Chips , Pretzels had chips but no pretzels . Pots , pans , glass wear , wash cloths , etc near the checkouts while most stores place in a far away corner . In short , to much milling about . Picked up what i thought was a wash cloth that turned out to be a hand towel . Mush mean the locals have very small hands . As for paying $25 for a medium fry pan i must be totally out of touch .  :-)

The Ugly

No doubt the newness of it all but when for every 1 person that exits the grocery with groceries there are 3 or 4 that exit with nothing ... Kids being hauled around in toy cars that take up have the aisle width that  were big enough to ride horses ... ok , maybe ponies... In short , just far to may people roaming around that just came to look .

 Again , i fully admit to these being issues more relative to Old Goats from foreign cultures not being accustomed to a grocery store openings being a major event but most Old Goats didn't grow up going to malls to buy groceries ..   :-)

Will go back , just not a Saturday !

Old Goats And The Philippine Internet

Most Old Goats have run into an image similar to the one above while residing in the Philippine pasture . How frequently such events occur will of course depend upon your service provider , the stability of your electrical connection , whether the locals have stolen the fibre optic wiring , current sunspot activity , phase of the moon , etc.    :-)

In reality , these kinds of issues have quite a bit to do with the current status of Philippine internet connectivity in a broader sense . So , in this post this Old Goat will just throw out some information regarding Internet usage in the Philippines of a general nature with a look at some specific elements relative to this culture .

Internet Usage In The Philippines  

As of Feb. 2013 the Philippines  internet penetration rate stood at 35 % . What is perhaps more interesting is that the majority of Filipinos connecting to the internet are doing so by way of the image below as only 20 % of Philippine households have a computer and only 47 % of cities have  broadband.

In Southeast Asia the Philippines compares with Vietnam and Indonesia in terms of average connection speeds but trails the entire region when it comes to broadband penetration .  The fact that the Philippines is an archipelago  was stated as the reason for it's poor broadband connectivity but that may no longer be true as Indonesia is also a nation of islands with better results .

So , how does one  explain the discrepancy ? Wireless technology is the answer of course as it eliminates the need for establishing fixed line networks . In Indonesia 95 % of the subscriber base is via wireless so obviously that is the best way for the Philippines to go . In the Philippines the SMART/PLDT group is installing fiber - optic but is a long way from heavy penetration on a home basis .

Wireless technologies hold promise for  the Philippines in a couple of different ways . TVWS technology is one option being promoted by the Department of Science and Technology . This technology uses underutilized television frequencies in the VHF and UHF bands which travel over water and through thick foliage better than what is currently being used .

 Smart phone usage will increase but only as  prices drop on the devices themselves as well as bundled options being offered by Philippine Telcos . Faster internet speeds come at a price but with Smart's lowest cost plan being 1,500 peso and Globe's at 1,800 peso access may still be out of reach for many .

So , fair to say i suppose that the present state of the Telecommunications industry in the Philippines will not suddenly thrust the Philippines into first world status but the future does look brighter . On that note i will end this post before tackling the Philippines Internet Darling - Facebook , next time around .

Stay Tuned

Rustan's Roundup

May 17 -  Old Goats Delight

On May 17 the much anticipated opening of the new Cagayan de Oro , Centrio Mall , Rustan's grocery will finally open . Granted , this Old Goat will not be there that day because i am adverse to images such as the one below .

For The Young And The Brave

I will , however, make it out of the pasture and into this new field of grazing supply as determined by my cash flow and determination . Now , i fully realize that this new grazing supply will not be a high priority for many and that's understandable given it's somewhat high end consumables .

But , for at least some Old Goats that have had a hankering for some specialized items i suspect it will soon gain a following . I mean there is shopping for supplies and there is shopping for " specialized " supplies . For some of us Old Goats that are budget restricted it might mean once a month and for some never while for others an almost daily trip .

Those Buy One Get One Frees Can Come In Handy

      I know i am fixing to be in trouble because of some of the supplies available . 

     

The fact that this Old Goat has somewhat of an obsession with certain types of Cheese will definitely get me in trouble but not as much as them cow imports from abroad .

Guess i gonna have to brush up on my grams to ounces

It's an expat thing

Know at least one Old Goat that's been looking for this

Won't know till i get there what other hard to find goodies they might have of course but i'm a hoping for some Dill Pickles for one . Did see an image of the Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and yeah that be the same one TGIF slops on their $ 10 burgers , or is it $ 12 ? Dang , just remembered , better get out and buy a grill .     :-)

For those that might have a hankering to look under the tree in advance link below . As to why they put their best advertising on Facebook instead of their primary site i suspect we know the answer . Something tells me though at some point in the future FB may decide to stop providing free advertising space for corporations .   :-) 

https://www.facebook.com/rustansfresh?filter=3