February.26.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:56 pm by sirky
(27 June, 1945 – 22 February, 2007)
It was on my arrival in Dubai that I received the sad news that my friend Jacques was killed in a tragic car accident. Jacques filled his time by running his organic farm and enjoying the good life in the Philippines. Drinking a glass of fine wine while eating a piece of aged cheese, that was one of Jacques favorite activities. But no more. Jacques died on the spot in a deadly car collision near his house in Silang, Cavite. He leaves behind Joy, his partner and JoJo, his son. It’s a great loss but we know Jacques lived his life to the fullest. We send our deepest sympathy to his partner and his son.
“Le talent c’est avoir l’envie de faire quelque chose” – Jacques Brel
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February.16.07
Posted in Tagaytay at 11:34 pm by sirky
Fantasy World certainly has an aire of mystery. I have only driven by this magic spot. I don’t know if there is any activity or what’s the real purpose of this establishment. Is it a theme subdivision? Is it a theme park? Is it a restaurant in a special setting? I do not know. Anton has some nice photos of the place. Further investigation is necessary 
If anybody knows more about this Fantastic place please let us know.
Below is a map with the approximate location of Fantasy World. To get there from Manila:
Drive to Tagaytay
Take the road to Nasugbu (beaches)
Drive past alfonso
At the first major intersection take the road to Taal/Lemery. It’s about a 10 minute drive from the intersection. It’s a curvy road offering spectacular views of Taal Lake and the China Sea.
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Posted in Tagaytay at 12:03 am by sirky
The previous panorama received lots of positive feedback thus I have added another panoramic image. This panorama is taken from our residence in Palmridge Pointe, Talisay. The panorama shows the lake, Napayung Island, Bubuin Island and Volcano Island (left to right). The back of the panorama shows the gardener, the dog (sleeping) and our mediterranean-inspired villa. Click on the image to see the view from our Palmridge Pointe residence.
Just like the previous panorama the following notes still apply:
the interactive panoramic view requires Apple Quicktime and a decent internet connection.
to create your own panoramic images visit the Panoguide introduction page or take a look at the About.com panoramic images tutorial
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February.13.07
Posted in Tagaytay at 8:28 am by sirky
Besides having a great location, Tagaytay also offers an amazing view of Taal Lake. Click on the image to see the view from our rooftop.
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February.07.07
Posted in Tagaytay at 2:46 pm by sirky
Why we decided to live in Tagaytay?
Location, location, location: as any real-estate agent will tell you it’s all about location. Tagaytay is the center of Southern Luzon island. It’s only a 90min drive from the Philippines premier international airport (NAIA). The Philippines Central Business District, Makati, is only a 90min drive. You have beautiful tropical beaches within a 60min drive. Taal lake is within biking distance. In addition, Tagaytay offers some of the most amazing views of the lake and the volcano.
I’m a navigator so here come the maps:
-A map of the world with the Philippines in the red rectangle
(http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/ph.htm)
-A map of the Philippines showing the major cities 
(http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/ph.htm)
-A map of Calabarzon (CAvite – LAguna – BAtangas – Rizal – QueZON)
-A map of Tagaytay and the surrounding cities
Currently we are living near the “Tagaytay Rotunda” which is the most important intersection for the major roads. At the Rotunda the Calamba Road joins the Aguinaldo Highway. Our street starts at the Rotunda and leads to Laurel. Our location offers the best of both worlds. The rotunda is the business heart of Tagaytay. The banks, restaurants and supermarkets are all within walking distance. We have an amazing view of the lake. Plus, there is almost no traffic on our street because the road we live on is not completely finished. We have the view , the tranquility and the accessibility. Having more would be illegal
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February.03.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:23 am by sirky
Oops I forgot the fourth possibility:
4) The creditlimit was not reset to zero at enddate of the credit card statement
Apparently the creditlimit is only reset 7 days after the ending date of your last statement. In my case the statement covered the period until january 25. Since I thought the monthly limit was already reset I happily started using my credit card again. However, the new transactions were added to the old ones resulting in running in to the credit card limit >> I was at the limit so other transactions were not allowed anymore. I learnt something new again. Everyday I learn something new >> 365 times a year I learn something new >> after ten years I will have learnt 3650 new things – seems impressive to me
Ok – now that the Blog is up and running I will be using the blog to post some pictures and information about the things I see and do.
Stay tuned…
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Posted in Uncategorized at 6:52 am by sirky
Getting sleep was the easy part – chosing the place to sleep was a little more difficult. My wife banned me to the driver’s quarters so I spend the night in a small but tranquil room. My wife and me happy – that doesn’t happen very often
Today I will have to call BankCard company. For some reason my Visa credit card stopped working. According to the credit card terminals I have insufficient funds. I have used my credit card several times but nevertheless I should have some remaining balance. I tried to get approval for a 8 euro transaction and even that didn’t work. So there are three possibilities:
1) The system is not working. This has happened before but it has never happened three days in a row.
2) The card has been locked because there appeared to be fraudulent transactions. This has happened before and a simple phonecall should reactivate the card
3) Some smart guy has been using my creditcard to buy himself some goodies. This has also happened before and a simple phonecall should tell me if that is the case.
The funny thing with Bankcard company is that they are this very technologically advanced enterprise, but it’s hard to talk them on a human level:
-I have sent two faxes in the last 48 hours >> no reply yet.
-You can NOT contact them through email, are we the year 2007?
-the Call Center people can not really help you. Call your bank… You still have your card so what’s wrong… Your wife probably used your card… Call us back on another day… Are you sure you didn’t buy something very expensive and you just forgot…
But since they did not reply to my faxes and I really need my creditcard to buy some Skype credit I will have to talk to the Bankcard people.
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February.02.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:01 pm by sirky
This is my first post. I took following actions to prepare this blog:
-installed the blog module on my website
-updated the wordpress blogging software to the latest version
-chose and installed a wordpress theme
-enabled the Akismet plugin to keep out comment spammers
Now I’m almost ready to start blogging but first I need to get some sleep. See you soon…
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