Nikko, our good and fairful friend for 18+ years

15 January 1992 – 3 June 2010

A few days ago, we buried Nikko. He had been with us for more than 18 years and, during those years, he brought much joy to our lives. He was such a good dog, never complaining, but always ready to let you know he was your friend.

We got Nikko from a litter of about ten. When we first saw him, he’s the one, he right away came to us to ‘say hello,’ and that made him the obvious choice – he stood out in the crowd and let us know it.

At first, he was not allowed to go into our living room at Harmon Cove, our condo at New Jersey. From time to time, we’d test him by rolling a tennis ball into the room but Nikko was good, he always stopped at the edge. Once he was fully trained, he had the run of the house. In those days, I traveled quite a bit and when I’d bring my bags down, Nikko would jump on top of them and stay there -- knowing I’d be gone for a while.

When we walked him in Harmon Cove, he always stayed by our side – in later years I was forced to put him on a leash as other Cove residents insisted that all dogs be leashed.

He was such a trooper and loved to travel. He was with us in the car, on the boat, and came along on trips to Mexico and California –- our fellow passengers never even realized we had a dog with us in the cabin as Nikko was so well behaved.

I remember walking him in wet and sticky snow that was some 20 inches deep. Nikko would sort of hop around, like a bunny rabbit until he could hardly move as the snow clumps around his paws got too large and heavy.

Not a natural swimmer, he put up with it – swimming in the Hackensack River, the Hudson River, Long Island Sound, Lake Hopatcong, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

When we finally made out move to the Philippines, we were concerned about the long plane ride. On trips to Mexico and California he was allowed in the cabin – not so for the long haul from Los Angeles to Manila. We were not sure what his condition would be when he’d come down the luggage conveyor belt. Noel opened his cage door, Nikko came out, looked around, shook himself and looked for a place to pee – he’d held it for the whole trip.

In Manila, he stayed with us in the Roxas Blvd condo overlooking Manila Bay. We’d walk him at the Baywalk and he loved it. Gradually, however, he lost his eyesight and could see no more. When we made our move to our new home in Silang, he never got to see his new home – just smelled it.


He was getting old and not very steady anymore on his feet. You’d have to hold him while Nikko ate or drank . or let him lay down next to the bowl where he continued eating. He ate well – up to the end.

Sometimes he would not be able to get up by himself and then he’d cry out for help – not infrequently in the middle of the night. He’s now at peace and if there is a doggy heaven, we’re sure he is there. He was truly ‘one of a kind.’

Two years ago, for my 70th birthday, friends gave us Noah. Noah’s body color was almost the same as Nikko but his body shape is very different – kinda stocky. Noah is turning out to be a real sweetheart also and he helps make up for our big loss. Dogs are truly man’s best friend, always there for you and never complaining. Nikko we will miss you but never really forget you.

Deo Volente I

Deo Volente I --- God Willing

Some weeks ago, a friend from Silang asked if she could bring over some friends to show them our house. Such requests are not unusual and we quickly agreed.

When we met a few days later, we found out that it was a couple from Canada [Ralph and Ruth Hollenberg], but both originally from Holland. Now Canadian citizens, already for some 50 years or so, they were sailors with their boat currently docked in Subic Bay, the former U.S. naval base.

I got really intrigued when they explained that their boat was a 63-foot sailboat. I immediately asked them to return the favor – could we drive up to Subic to take a look at their boat; it’s not every day one gets a chance to set foot on a boat that size. They readily agreed and yesterday we made the 3-hour trip to Olongapo and Subic Bay. There is a new highway, SCTEX, that cuts right through the mountains making it a nice sightseeing journey. The boat was not hard to find -- there aren’t that boats that size flying the Canadian flag.

The boat, Deo Volente I, was well worth the trip. It’s a Cat Schooner. The owners had designed it themselves and had it built some 25+ years ago somewhere in Washington State, with Vancouver Island as home base. Don’t know much about boat design as such but it looked beautiful and comfortable.

They have been sailing it ever since and I asked if they would have made any design changes now that they have sailed it so long – couldn’t think of anything except for some very minor items. They had also designed and built their previous sailboat -- he’s a chemical engineer with no marine design experience.

After touring the boat, they offered to take us for a harbor sail … to a nearby beach where we could have lunch. It took us a little less than an hour to get there, then took the self-designed and built dinghy ashore. Lots of restaurants and, judging from the menus, used to serving Aussie sailors.

During lunch, the wind picked up a bit and so we got a bit wet going back to the boat. There, I went for a swim the warm Subic bay waters. Closer to the Marina, the conversation turned to docking boats while there is a bit of a breeze and the tide is going out. At least it was something we could relate to having encountered the same challenge on the Hudson River, with a stiff breeze and strong river current.

The trip was well worth it.

Bougainvillas

Garden Colors

If you like flowering plants, the bougainvilleas here at Ponderosa offer a multitude of colors to choose from; January – February is a good time to view them. The photos speak for themselves.

COMMUN ICATION

Keeping in touch

From time to time, we get asked as to how we communicate out here. We don’t, as yet, have regular phone lines here at Ponderosa; the phone company tells us there are not enough customers to warrant the installation of lines.


The alternative is the cellphone. There are two major companies providing cellphone service – Globe and Smart. While in Manila, we relied on Globe to keep in touch. However, when we moved to Silang, we soon found out that Globe coverage in this area is less than perfect. To overcome this problem, I got myself a dual-sim phone – one that receives messages from both Globe and Smart; works well. Within the Philippines, probably 90 percent of the communication is via cellphone texting; few people seem to use the cellphone for phone calls. After a while, you get the hand of texting – but none of us can keep up with some of these Filipino kids who seem to set all sorts of speed records.


For the internet connection for the computer, I first acquired SmartBro – a small gadget that connects to a of the UBS port. This seemed to work only part of the time and reception was less than desirable. I now have a SmartBro antenna – gives much better reception and we are connected to the internet 24/7..



Since we don’t have a regular phone line, communication via phone was often a problem – especially overseas calls via cellphone … also a bit expensive.


I had read about something called MagicJack and decided to give that a try. Asked a friend in California, who was coming to Manila, to get me the hardware – around $35. Came with the necessary software – it gives you the option of a local phone number anywhere in the States. Since my family members live in California, I opted for a California number. The service only cost $70 for five years and allows you free calls. We now have a California number so anyone in the States can call us that number – and we can use that number to call anyone in the States – all thanks to the internet. I’ve used it a number of times and reception is great. It also has a built answering machine so you can leave messages – MagicJack also sends me an email to let me know that I have a phone message waiting.

Another way we keep in touch is via skype, another internet system that allows you to talk and see a person via webcam; it works well but only with friends who also have skype. It can get a bit confusing – the other day, while talking on MagicJack, another friend called via Skype – kinda hard to keep the conversations apart .. but it works.

We have a satellite dish for our TV. The first one we got, via a friend, was very inexpensive but then did not work anymore when the satellite company changed access codes. We opted for a “legit” dish and that works fine. The major problem is that it does not offer all that many channels – for example, we can’t see major tennis tournaments – very frustrating.

Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Ketsana or Ondoy

The world saw the effect of “Ketsana” while the Philippines suffered from the impact of Ondoy. No idea why the world can’t agree on naming a spade a spade.

It had been raining more or less all week so when I left Saturday morning for a noon meeting in Los Baños, I didn’t think twice about making the trip; after all, I was driving an SUV and that is a bit higher off the ground than other cars. The meeting was to finalize plans for a large fraternity reunion on October 10.

I got to Los Baños, I found I was the only one there for the meeting. Our texted our Treasurer and he informed me that he was stuck in Manila. I texted the president of our sister sorority and she said she was on the way. In the meantime the rain continued .. sometimes a bit heavier. I also texted our caterer and she said she was coming.

More waiting – then a text from the caterer saying she could not make it to the meeting as the water by her house was waste deep. The sorority sister arrived and talked some about our plans, then called it quits to go home.

I got in the car and tried to make my way home. The first part was OK, some flooding but not too much for the SUV. As I got to the Pansol area in the city of Calamba, the water got higher and higher in places … and finally we were told to turn around as the road was not passable.

I went back to Los Baños but got worried when I could not go home. The two dogs were home, locked in the patio, but with only some water and a little food – one of the dogs is a 17.5-year-old ShihTzu who is blind and has almost no hearing. I was concerned. Our gardener visited the house around 4 pm and said the dogs were OK. I also called Noel in Manila to ask for his advice – he was pre-occupied as he had to leave our other car in Makati because of the floods there.

Finally, around 8:30 pm I was told that the road should be passable again. Yes, it was passable but lots of stranded cars and long sections with high water levels and other areas with lots of mud washed down from Mt. Makiling. There were a couple of places where I kept a safe distance from the car in front of me .. to make sure I would not hit the car and also to see where there might be problem areas. Finally, made it home around midnite [normally, with no traffic, it’s a one-hour trip. The dogs were asleep.

Yesterday, I got word from our caterer informing me she had to beg off – her business had suffered too much damage. I hope we can find a replacement caterer on such short notice.

Meanwhile, Noel slowly made his way from Makati to Malate, where he was planning to stay overnite with friends. He took the elevated train and when he got off at the Pedro Gil stop, he found the streets flooded and had to wade to the condo in Malate, on Roxas Blvd – parts of the way had waste-deep water. At the nearby Robinson Mall in Ermita, bangkas were being used to ferry people between high spots. He finally got to the condo after a six-hour trip – normally would take no more than an hour. Noel had to stay in Manila until Monday morning as large parts of the city still had standing water.

We were lucky. A number of our friends got flooded out of their houses only to return to find mud all over their things, and cars that had been standing in deep water.

Some 250 Filipinos lost their lives during the storm and many suffered serious damage to their properties and/or had to evacuate.

Tomorrow, October 1, my oldest brother and his wife arrive for a two-week visit. I keep looking at the weather reports as maybe one or two new typhoons may be headed in our direction and get here late Thursday or maybe Friday – hope the storm track changes. The last time they visited us in Hopatcong, New Jersey, we had 15 inches or rain in one day. Ondoy dropped 16 inches on the greater Manila area in a nine-hour span. I don’t want any new rain records; not interested.

Our home in Silang, Cavite, is in an elevated area – some 1,500 ft – so no worries about flooding.

New Kid on the Block

.......................our expanding family

Good friends of ours, one of my fraternity brothers here, gave me a "living" birthday present -- a three-month old Shih Tsu; we/I named him Noah. He looks very much like Nikko, who seems to get along with him OK, and has the same coloring. Nikko, now almost 17.5 years old or around 84 in human years, has gone blind and does not hear very well anymore. In contrast, Noah is full of energy and runs around like crazy; he's also very loving but has not yet figured out why Nikko would rather sleep than play. He also loves to watch Nikko eat and then licks the bowl for good measure. He doesn't yet realize that he's supposed to function as "seeing eye dog" for Nikko.

The Ponderosa Floorplan

The house is set in an area of rolling hills and to take advantage of the terrain, the house is split level.

The main part of house is essentially one floor, with a step up or down here and there.

As you enter the house you come into the foyer. Immediately to your left is the powder room, next to it a staircase going down to the garage, and next to it the staircase that leads up to the guest quarters.

When you turn right from the main door, you come to Noel’s master bedroom, then the study/library and at the end Hans’ master bedroom. The two bedrooms are linked by a shared master bathroom.

If you go straight from the front door, you pass through the foyer and then enter the living room with cathedral ceiling and, through that, you come into the dining room overlooking a pineapple farm. To the right of the dining room is the gourmet kitchen with stairs leading down to the dirty kitchen and maids’ quarters which are located partly under the gourmet kitchen and dining room. Also downstairs are a storage room and electrical room that one day may house a generator.

The living room has three French doors on each side – one side opening up to an oversized patio good for outdoor seating even if it rains; the other side also has a patio but not as wide; the patio overlooks a "fishless" pond and waterfall. The kitchen and side patio overlook the swimming pool and garden.

Up the stairs, you go to the guest quarters – two spacious bedrooms with a multi-purpose room in between. One bedroom has a terrace facing the street and the other a terrace with a view of the pineapple farm. There is a shared bathroom.

Below the guest quarters is the garage, laundry room and driver’s quarters.