From the Midwest redneck author of "The Rooster Crows at 4am!," "Lizard Poop!," and "The Philippines Expat Advisor"
Top Ten Dating Website Tips
A recent article about the Cherry Blossoms dating website drew a huge amount of remarks. Those comments comprise the bulk of this post: Top Ten Dating Website Tips. Though PhilippinesPlus naturally focuses on meeting Filipinas for the single guys out there, I thought the informative and intelligent remarks could apply to the majority of dating websites online. Here are the tips:
1. If any Fililpina you are chatting with asks you for money, get rid of them. RUN! Cut off ALL communication no matter how sad the story or how cute they look. Very few quality Filipinas will start asking for money. Todd had this tip on his list and so do I. I put it at “Number One.”
2. Ask tough questions. Both Todd and RandyL included this in their tips. Here's what Randy had to say on the topic:
- Ask about her parents. Do they work? What do they do?
- How many siblings do you have? Do they work? What do each of them do?
- Do you have any children? How many?
- HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MARRIED???
- Where/what do you live in?
- Who supports you NOW?
- Ask about education/grads/career plans, etc. Don't be afraid to put them on the spot. You have to look at is as interview of sorts, because in reality, that's what it is. Dig as deep as you can.
3. Use email as a tool.
From Lee, who remarked that he found email to be the best tool:
- "to weed girls out looking for an ATM."
- "to get to know the girl from the inside out."
Lee added that while "looking at the web cam of a girl that Victoria's Secret hadn't discovered yet" his "brain doesn't work right." Good point, Lee. Todd recommends that the web cam be turned on. And that's also a good idea, because the lovely "Filipina" you think you are chatting with could be very well be a lady boy. You have to experiment and see which method works best for you.
4. Use chat rooms.
Mark G. met the love of his life in a Yahoo chat room. He remarked that people talked about relationships and had all kinds of discussions.
5. Meet more than one Filipina when you visit the Philippines.
Why limit yourself to visiting just one pretty pinay when you spend all that money on a plane ticket to the Philippines? I only met one pen pal I had been writing for over six months but was fortunate she was "The One." After over 12 years of marriage, she still puts up with me.
Boston Pauly had a plan to meet five Filipinas after making a visit to the Philippines and discovering that the one had been chatting with for the past eight months, was not going to be soul mate forever. He went back to the States and joined what is now FilipinoCupid and narrowed a list of 700 ladies interested in him down to 120 and eventually pared that list to 20 and then only 5.
But one day Paul got a message from a Mindanao girl asking him if his profile picture was taken in Boracay. She assumed that he already met his future asawa on his previous trip to the island paradise.
They chatted for hours. During the conversation Paul informed the Filipina from Mindanao that he was still looking for "the one." He tossed his original plan to meet the original five right out the window. They met and got married and now two years later have a beautiful baby boy.
So is it good advice to meet more than one Filipina? Well, in my case and Paul's it turned out God had different plans for us. But if you have some doubts about the one you are meeting, I don't see anything wrong with planning to meet some other Filipinas while you're there. We have several friends back in the States who are married to wonderful Filipinas that weren't the one they originally went over to visit.
6. Use the search parameters of the dating website.
Garf met her dream guy on Cherry Blossoms and took advantage of their excellent search options to help her in her search. Here's her remark: "The Cherry Blossoms had search parameters which included age, religion, education and profession. It was then that he specified that the website began sending him profiles of any new engineers that signed up. It was only a few days later that he received my profile and decided to respond.
Though I was younger and shorter (I’m 4′10 and he’s 6′4) than what he had listed as search parameters prior, when deciding to search for engineers he also broadened his parameters that would have previously filtered me out. Somehow, almost miraculously, through the tightest of time frames and broadest of choices we had somehow found each other."
Garf's two younger sisters also met their husbands on Cherry Blossoms.
7. Use more than one dating website.
Why limit your options? Sure, I would love to have you sign up for Cherry Blossoms since I make a commission from each person that joins from my website link or ad. But I know there are some other good dating websites out there and here's just a few mentioned by some of my readers:
- FilipinoCupid.com – Filipino Dating, Singles and Personals Click Here (recommended by Boston Pauly. And yes, I earn a commission from them if you click the above link.)
- DateinAsia (recommended by PapaDuck.)
- Datingmore (recommended by John.)
8. Figure out what types of women you are interested in and start to choose.
Some of the guys that joined CherryBlossoms, like Steve for example, were overwhelmed by the enormous response they received from the Filipinas on the site. Here's some advice from Dave W: "Get ready, Steve. You’ve only just scratched the surface. 100/day is not uncommon. Pretty soon you will figure out what types of women you are interested in and start to choose. It’s the only way to remain sane, since most of them look so cute.
So start qualifying women based on education, age, smoker, drinker, kids, etc. The Cherry Blossoms preferences will even allow you to only receive emails from women who meet your criteria. Therefore, if you select an age range of say 23-40, you will not be tempted by the 18 year olds who will email you – and they will BTW.
More importantly I would encourage you to not just view the women who contacted you, but contact women who seem to most completely meet your interests. For many men, for the first time, you will be the selector!"
9. Write a decent profile and have a nice picture of yourself.
And here's Steve with some good advice of his own: "I don’t know if anyone is still reading the combox but if you want to meet a Filipina, Cherry Blossoms is the place. If you write a decent a profile and put a nice picture of yourself on there, you will get bombarded with views. While some of the lovely ladies don't have to say much beyond ‘hi’, the vast majority have been very articulate and sincere.
A nice profile with good clear picture is very much appreciated by the ladies. Several have commented that they were tired of seeing men flex the muscles, etc in their pictures."
Hey, Steve, let's hope those guys aren't flexing something else.
10. Have fun.
Sure, you're searching for a potential mate or longtime girlfriend, but don't take everything too seriously. Be respectful and don't engage in any inappropriate chat with the ladies.
The vast majority Filipinas have high moral standards and while they may possibly flirt with you online, in person the shy side of their personality will more than likely be present. Don't let that shyness put you off. I have had some single expat friends who have misinterpreted that for a lack of interest in them. But if you're patient and go slow, you'll be just fine.
Good luck on your search, you single guys and gals out there. Practice these top ten dating website tips and you'll likely find that special one that's out there waiting for you. Thanks to everyone for some great comments that made this post possible.
“Hey, Steve, let’s hope those guys aren’t flexing something else.”
Yes, I was trying to keep things family friendly. I’ve been on various dating sites over the years; and, gentleman, being a..well… a gentleman…will take you far.
As a follow-up, I was exchanging great emails with a Filipina on CB and asked if she would chat on cam. She said that she didn’t have a cam at home and didn’t go to internet cafes. Red flag alert. I moved on. Moral of the story: Trust your spidey senses.
But my question to everyone…some of these ladies want to move immediately to Yahoo Messenger instead of exchanging emails. Is it a good idea to move quickly to IM or is that a bad idea?
I encourage any men even remotely interested in finding a Filipina or any other Asian lady to give it a try. You can even buy a one month membership to give it a try. I have not even had a chance to do any searches of my own because I get so many emails. Just sayin’…
YM is the standard, although Cherry Blossoms has it’s own chat application. Then there is Facebook and Skype, which has better audio and video quality. While emails are great, the back and forth interaction in a chat application are better for me. I get to see and feel how she reacts and responds to me. It’s a real conversation. And the chatting doesnt end once you find the right girl; you will continue to YM or Skype or FB over the months as you get to know her better.
Good for you, Steve. I agree with you that being a gentleman will take you far. I think the majority of Filipinas would appreciate that. And always good to trust your “spidey sense.” Costs 15-20 pesos an hour for Internet cafes. What reason what she have not to chat on a cam?
As Dave W states above, YM is the standard. I think you would be fine chatting on Yahoo. Sounds like your search is going well. Good luck and thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Good tips again, DaveW. You guys are giving out some good info out there. Thanks much.
Reason she won’t do the webcam is that she could be a Jolibee Junkie.
I’ve seen a few of them and they tend to be slightly on the chunky side for webcam exposure….and they know it.
Could be, RandyL. My own Filipina wife remarked on the increased obesity she saw when we returned to live in the Philippines three years ago. See it a lot in our subdivision, too. Lots of OFWs sending money and able-bodied kids riding the shuttles in our subdivision instead of taking the 20 minute walk to the main gate. That, plus, maybe the “she” is possibly a “he.”
“That, plus, maybe the “she” is possibly a “he.” ”
I prefer to think she was just fat. lol. Although, in her pictures, she was very thin. Of course, they could be stolen pictures s/he put in the profile.
Could be stolen pics, Steve. That’s somewhat common on some of these dating websites. I will report that a single friend of mine discovered a celebrity photo on FilipinoCupid and the site immediately shut down that profile.
I’m glad you mentioned that. Today, I noticed that Cherry Blossoms added 2 links to every profile. One link is a google text search so when you click on the link it will search the web for the text of the profile so you can see if the same profile is being posted elsewhere on the net. The second link is some sort of photo analyzer that will check the web to see if the photo is likewise being posted all over the net or is a celebrity, etc. I didn’t quite understand how it worked but was impressed that they seem to be doing what they can to keep the scammers in check.
Obesity…it all starts in the west! I don’t ever remember seeing so many overweight people in the Philippines as I seen during my last visit. More women than men.
Yeah, why blow her cover with a “live” webcam shot?
I didn’t know Cherry Blossoms was doing that, Steve. That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing that info.
Yep, my asawa has noticed the same, Randy, as have I. Go into any McDonalds or KFC here and it will be packed (I know, those are my hangouts.)
Yep, you’re right, Randy.
Dave, I agree 100%. Each time I come back people are getting bigger. Even me! Maybe it’s the Philippines after all and not those San Mig type beverages that I consume.
I see a lot of Mataba folks in the Philippines who can’t find a job but sure have enough to eat..
Yep, I’m getting bigger, too, Randall, and I didn’t go out even once for any San Mig products this week. Go figure.
Dave,
I do live webcam on Skype and Y/M. One thing i don’t have to worry about is having to support her family. Both her parents have passed away and she has no brothers or sisters. Only real family she has is a cousin in Batangas.
Very unusual PapaDuck, to not have any brothers and sisters. Sorry to hear about her parents already having passed away.
Great top 10 Dave!
Thanks, Paul.
My wife was 2 1/2 hours from the closest internet cafe after she moved back to ‘the island’ (about 3 years into our relationship). So there could be mitigating circumstances. I might be tempted to question her why she couldn’t go to an internet cafe and see what the response is.
2 1/2 hours to the closest internet cafe, Mark G? Your asawa must have been in a pretty secluded location. Thanks for bringing up that angle. I’m just used to seeing so many internet cafes around, even in the rural province of Guimaras that we lived in, that I never considered an internet cafe would not be nearby.
Just curious, is it normal that the Filipina’s computer only has video and no microphone? Someone said that many of the laptops sold there have a built-in webcam but do not have a built-in microphone (must buy a separate headset) and that many of the internet cafe computers only have webcams and no microphone (they must go into a separate, more expensive private room to use a computer with a microphone). Just wondering if this is true or if the Filipina has multiple guys online that she is chatting with at the same time so that they can all see her and think they are the only one she is chatting with, but she is actually typing and chatting with multiple guys at the same time).
Update on “I don’t cam” gal…I told her that I would not correspond with someone who wouldn’t go on cam, blah blah, yadda yadda.
She responded that she did want to cam and that I misinterpreted her and (direct quote) “it doesn’t mean that I will not have cam to cam chat with you when I said I don’t go to internet cafe to chat with anyone.” Ok, that makes no sense to me. Something still seems not quite right, so I have crossed her off my list.
I’m noticing a lot of them lie. Nothing really big (yet), but small inconsistencies that I catch. (I’m very detail oriented). I recognized one from another site I’m on and she said that she hasn’t been on that site in a long time yet, both have the same profile photo (which was updated on CB yesterday and was taken over the weekend). Another one knew my profession even though I never told her so I asked her who she had been talking to that knew me and she said I told her my job (which isn’t true–don’t they realize all the emails in our conversation are saved on the profile? lol)
Anyway, some odd things the last 48 hours….
Joe, it could be that’s the case. I’ve been to internet cafe’s where it is so closed-quarters that just the noise from everyone chatting would make it sound like a busy call center. Most Filipinas would not want their conversations to remain somewhat private and internet cafe’s are just too open to allow those private conversations. Mic’s could be disabled and the private rooms may be a way to make more money.
Any of my readers have any thoughts on Joe’s question. I haven’t been to an Internet cafe and don’t recall seeing any microphones handy. Next time I’m at SM City I’ll have to check out the Internet cafe and the computers and laptops on sale at the local Octagon computer store.
I believe that I’ve read before that a lot of the girls, Joe, are chatting with different guys at multiple times. Some of the Filipinas brag about having 250 or more “boy friends” hooked.
Most Filipinas would WANT their conversations to remain somewhat private…
You’re probably right in crossing off the “I don’t cam” gal, Steve. Sometimes it’s best to go with your gut feeling if something just doesn’t seem right.
Randy also mentioned the lies and “white lies” some pinays use in order to reel in their “catch.” Let me quote part of Randy’s comment: “Many times, they will tell you what THEY think YOU want to hear and it can be a simple distortion of the truth or can be very far from it. Most times, they are not lies of evil deception, but more like white lies out of necessity and desperation to land their catch. For a young Filipina to land a foreigner…well, it’s the equivalent of winning the lotto!”
Doesn’t justify the lies, Steve, but Randy is correct as I’m sure you know. Odd things in the last 48 hours? Good luck to you Steve and thanks for keeping us posted.
Yes, I agree, Randy. Me, I don’t care. Hanging out with Brian, Carol, Scott B and my asawa yesterday in Guimaras at The Shirven. An Italian expat came in with his Filipina wife. I got on the subject of our “hot” laundry lady and how great a spitter she is. I could see the expat’s wife smiling. I’m just a loud kano that’s always embarrassing my asawa.
Hi Dave,
Christine asked me to post this link about using a webcam to spot scammers. Her internet is not currently working very well.
http://dragonladies.org/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4468
I don’t want to come off as overly cynical here but in my experience most women lie and most women tell men what they want to hear. This is universal and not specific to the Philippines.
But the style is different. When I traveled with my ex-wife I knew exactly what she wanted to do because she demanded that we do it – and if we didn’t do what she wanted there would be hell to pay
When I travel with my Filipina gf and I ask what she’d like to do, she says “whatever you want – you decide.” Or she will even get a bit annoyed that I asked her. Of course later, after we have done what I wanted to do I will discover that she would have preferred something else. A white lie to keep me happy I suppose.
I dont think my gf out and out lies to me but there are many ommissions, cultural differences, etc.
As to the cam “misunderstanding” I had the same thing happen with a couple women on CB who either did not have a cam and did not like cafes (but borrowed a friend’s laptop when I insisted). If the girl likes you she will bend her “rules” to please you. This is in stark contrast to a girl in the West who will rarely do anything just to please you. We are so used to the latter that the former sounds deceptive – but is it really?
IMO, the biggest problem with the online services is not spotting scammers – most of them are not subtle. There are very few 22 year old Bernie Madoffs in the Philippines
The bigger problem is trusting your gut that the girl you are talking to is a good and honest girl. I read and heard so many warnings that when I talked to nice girls I expected to be scammed. And when they didn’t ask for money I expected there was some ulterior motive.
Even now when I have a gf I still find myself examining her and looking for signs that she is not who she appears to be (and after all who among us is exactly who we appear to be).
So be careful that you don’t get so paranoid that you overlook a nice girl who may actually like or love you, just because you are aware of the possible pitfalls of relationships with foreign women.
Thanks, Lance and Christine. Yep, I’ve seen this video before. A person has to use caution when you’re chatting online with these ladies, but thank goodness there’s a ton of loyal and loving Filipinas out there wanting to meet a nice guy. Just have to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
“Whatever you want – you decide.” DaveW, I’ve been married to my wonderful asawa for over 12 years, but if I had a peso for every time she made that statement when I asked her “What do you want to do?” I’d be one rich kano. In fact, it just came up the other day when we were in Guimaras with Scott B. We were visiting with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and little niece when Scott B pulled up in a trike wanting to know if we wanted to visit Tom Cat at “The Farm.” “What do you want to do?” I asked my asawa. “Whatever you want,” she said. “No, you decide. Do you want to stay here and visit with your family or do you want to go to Tom’s?” “Whatever you want,” she repeated. Well, this could have gone on all afternoon so I told Scott B we’ll just catch up with him later. Didn’t want the trike driver to keep waiting on him.
Ommissions, cultural differences, yes, you’re right, DaveW, but you have to love the Filipina way, that’s for sure, though it can get a bit frustrating at times.
Excellent point, DaveW. I never considered that angle. On the flip side, I wonder what kind of responses my niece Michelle is getting on Cherry Blossoms? I saw her responding to some guy the other day, but I haven’t pressed her for any details on any of the guys…yet.
By the way, thanks to a reminder from Lance the Canadian, the ladies do have to pay on CB if they want to upgrade their free registration status. She cannot join the live online chat but can respond to anyone who sends her any emails. I’ll have to chat with her later and do a post and get the female viewpoint on this.
Excellent points DaveW.
The lies I’m talking about weren’t the “to make you happy” kind. I was just trying to keep my CB drama to a minimum and not take over the combox. lol
Your “trusting your gut” comment is so spot on. In the last couple of days, I have to watch that I don’t get too paranoid with every Filipina I come into contact with. I had read some site about visa scams and false abuse allegations once the woman gets residency and then I was seeing a potential drama in every profile. I’ve been trying to keep this feeling in check yet go in with both eyes wide open.
I think what has helped me navigate the earlier onslaught of smiles/emails/etc was to come up with a list of criteria that I am looking for and sticking to it when corresponding with women.
ok asked the asawa this one, “what do you really want or expect when I ask if you want to do something, and you tell me ‘whatever you want babe’?” She said, “I don’t always know what I want so sometimes I want to be told what to do. If I didn’t want to go I would say ‘no’, but if I don’t mind going or staying I will say it’s up to you.” I told her that certain American women, and I was married to one of these before, would tell you it’s up to you and figure that you should know that she didn’t want to go, and if you still decided to go she would be pissed at you for a week or so. She said “we don’t do that.” But then she caught herself and said “…but all women are different”.
So maybe run that by your asawas guys and see if they agree. Regardless of whether or not they agree with that, it should at least give you a little insight into their thought process and remove a little of the confusion.
I had an example of the “whatever you want babe” today… we were at a Pilot gas station. I was going in to get some coffees and I asked her if she wanted anything. She said “whatever you decide babe”. I said “how the F (said sweetly of course) do I know what you want?” No response. I walked in muttering under my breath “if you don’t know what you want, how will I know?” So, I wasn’t going to get her anything. Got myself 2- 24 ounce coffees (Hi. I’m Paul and I’m an addict)… lol… I saw some bear claws (pastries). Got her one. Brought it out to her. No real response or anything. She ate half of it (it was pretty big). So, fast-forward to this evening when she just enlightened me to the “whatever you want babe” situation and I just asked her “so, if I understand you correctly now, if you didn’t want anything from the store you would have said ‘nothing thanks’, but since you said ‘whatever you decide babe’, if I had gotten you nothing, you would have been ok with that?” She said, “yes”….. I continued… “but since I got you the pastry, that was ok too?” …. “yes, that was fine.”
BTW, by comments were not to imply that there are not scammers, girls who want a green card or whatever. I certainly encountered many of those. Just that a guy should be careful that in his zeal to ferret out the scammers, his not missing some great girls.
List of criteria is a good idea, Steve. That should help you immensely in your search. I have to commend my readers, they’re a pretty smart bunch.
Steve, my wife had numerous Filipina friends back in the States married to Americans. The VAST majority were like my own wife, loyal and loving ladies. (Ok, let me try to finish this, Steve, just had a six hour brown out.)
That said, there turned out to be two outright scammers that used their much older husbands to just get to the States and get their green cards. Thankfully, agents from ICE knocked on the young lady’s door one morning and booted her back to the Philippines.
Good stuff, Paul. My asawa is the same way. If she doesn’t want anything she will tell me “no, thanks.” But I understand your frustration when you get the “whatever you want” response. It drives me up the wall. After 12 years of marriage, you would think I would have adjusted. I haven’t. I find myself muttering a response sometimes and like you, it cannot be repeated here.
But I think I’m a bit wiser and have gained some insight after reading what your asawa had to say. Thanks for taking one for the team. It’s appreciated.
I agree, DaveW. Always exercise caution but don’t let it stop you in meeting some of the really fantastic filipinas out there.
Totally agree about using a webcam. My Melyn didn’t at first. Never figured out why. After about 3 weeke and the next nearly 2 years, we were on cam every day. This way, we knew how eachother would look day to day. Any dog can dress up for a one time shot. If she wants you, she will make the effort. Although some are just shy about it.
I too found so many wanted to forget about the chat on site and switch immediately to Yahoo. Almost all who did it immediately were too busy chatting with someone else. I only allowed those I was truly interested in to add me.
The girls don’t comprehend this, but they have a lot of comopetion. You can be picky.
A lot of the girls share profiles too. This is why you want to be sure you are chatting in real time. I had one that was using her hot friend’s photo and profile. She was actually married and said she used her friend’s profile because she knew no one would talk to her.
The cafes are noisy. I sent Melyn a headset thinking we would be able to hear eachother. The background noise could not be filtered. There are some quiet cafe’s. Especially in the provinces. Melyn was in Manila so there was way too much noise.
I found that a lot of the girls, even my Melyn, stretch the truth out of shame. I think that was one reason it took me nearly 2 years to commit.
I think you do have to be a little paranoid. This is serious business. Bringing someone to another hemisphere is a bigger investment than they can imagine. You have to watch out for yourself. The good girls will understand your need to be careful. Those who are not patient are not worth waiting for.
“Any dog can dress up for a one time shot.” I like that, John Thompson.
My twin nieces living with us are both on CherryBlossoms and chatting away. We don’t have a webcam and I’m too cheap to buy one. If any of the guys chatting with them want to know why they don’t have one, I’ll be more than happy to tell them why.
Plenty of competition out there, like you stated. I tell the girls to be respectful and to report any boneheads. So far, they’ve encountered a pretty good bunch of guys on CB. I just tell them to be themselves. They’re good kids and if they find someone that’s great. They’re only 19 and not in any hurry and they seem to be enjoying chatting with the guys.
I’ve heard that some Filipinas are doing that, John Thompson. I’m giving away a free 40-page ebook along with my new ebook coming out soon that will have some tools to spot scammers with.
I used a local Internet cafe in our province when we first moved here, John T, before our internet got hooked up. Pretty quiet but only six computer stations at the cafe.
I think the only time my asawa stretches the truth, John T, is when she says she married me for my looks.
I agree, John T. If the girl gets impatient and demanding when you’re chatting, that’s a sure sign they’re not the right one.
I met quite a few who had really great profile pics. On the cam, they would look pretty rough. This told me they really were not interested in making a good day to day impression. Melyn looked perfect every day. I totally noticed, respected, and appreciated that. If you are looking for a one time nice picture, get a department store catalogue and enjoy. If you are looking for someone who will look good day to day, get them on cam.
I think respect and honesty are very important. Never lose sight of the fact that you are looking for someone to spend the rest of your life with.
I am sure there are lots of quiet cafes. Unfortunately, Melyn was in Quaipo Manila. No quiet there at all.
The “what do you want question” used to be frustrating to me as well. Sometimes, I get the impression that Melyn is just overwhelmed by options. She was raised without options or opportunity. Sometimes, I think it is just easier for them to go along with whatever. Sometimes, I almost have to push her in the direction I know she really wants to go. I frequently see her in a store looking at something. She stilll seems almost surprised when I say “You can have that.” Even in the grocery store, she will look at something. I will say “You can try that”
I am way late to this thread. I do have very strong feelings about this topic because my search was an amazing experience. I really learned a lot.
I have to agree that number one is number one. If they say anything about money, drop them immediately. Therollow.e is a definite ettiquette the good girls always follow and the bad girls never follow. I would add to number one to include both money and sex. Never forget that you are looking for someone who will be taking your name, sharing your toilet paper and everything else. Do you really want someone who bases her substance on the physical?
John, that is a trait that can last forever. Last night I let my wife choose where to go out to eat for HER BIRTHDAY. After being married for nearly 26 years, it was still a difficult decision for her. I just drove around until she decided and then she picked Olive Garden. Now I know she doesn’t care for O.G. but she did that to please me. So, without the sake of argument, I just drove her to Longhorn Steakhouse as I knew deep down, that was her favorite place. She was happy. Learn and live with it my friend!
Good advice, John T. Melinda and I know you made the right choice. Lots of fantastic Filipinas out there, guys, as many of us already know. Don’t let the scammers scare you off. Your search for the right one will pay off in the long run.
I agree, John T.
Had to look up Quaipo Manila, John T. For others out there, like myself, that are not familiar with that area, here’s some info from Wikipedia: Quiapo is a district and city square of Manila. It derives its name from the water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes), which is named Quiapo or Kiapo in the Tagalog language. Referred as the “Old Downtown”, Quiapo is known as the home of the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with over millions of people attending annually. Quiapo has also made a name for itself as a place where cheap buys or goods are being sold at rock-bottom prices.
Melinda’s the same way, John T. I’ve solved that problem in the grocery story, however. We have separate shopping carts. She shops for herself now and our three nieces and nephew that live with us. I shop for myself and load up with plenty of junk food items. But I have never gotten her to give me an answer other than “what do you want” when I ask her what she would like to do or would like to go.
I’m in complete agreement with you, John T. Good moral character is extremely important. The good girls are out there, and I know that you and I, along with a lot of my readers, have found those gems. We’re very fortunate guys.
Longhorn Steakhouse or Olive Garden? Man, I have admit I do miss those kind of eateries here, Randy. Near our subdivision I usually have a choice of rice and fish or fish and rice.
Have to take two jeepney rides to get a decent burger.