Taking care of Business.

Taking care of business...
My stepson has built a large training center...(large for Gapan, anyway).
Then the organization he was working for decided that they needed a larger training area, preferably in Manila.
So we were left with four classrooms and a large storage area that could be used for parties.
Bummer.
But instead of brooding, we are now looking into making it a preschool when it is finished.
However, we still have the business of subcontracting crafts.
I have posted photos of this before. Right now, we are doing wicker chairs and magazine holders, and ornate Christmas ornaments. You will probably find them on sale in JC Penneys or upscale department stores next fall.
There are groups of workers in various areas. Some work in the home, but many will come and work in workshops. Then usually either we or the Manila contractor goes around to the various small towns and barangays (neighborhoods) and picks up the crafts to take them to the warehouse for shipping overseas.
The workers often bring in the crafts to here, but some work here, on our grounds.This is done in the older area of our compound, and often the workers use the large gazebo, which is cooler, since it is surrounded by trees and bushes and has several fans to keep the air circulating.
Sometimes we take a dozen trainers to Manila to learn the next craft, and then they train and supervise the other workers.
However, our daughter in law, Joy, has arranged for some teachers to come to teach the trainers for the next subcontract for craft work.
The four trainers will be staying here for three days, so we are rushing to finish the room for them to sleep, and also borrowing chairs and tables for those taking the three day course.
So this means buying supplies.
We do have four small beds (the size of cots) but no mattresses or linens.
Yesterday, we went to the mall in Cabanatuan. The mall is full of small shops, and many "fast food" type restaurants (we ate pizza from Pizza hut). And in the corriders, there are many "palenke" type shops with small merchants selling things.
It is a fairly good mall, and was packed because it was Sunday. It was hot, so many went to shop in the airconditioned mall. They also had a free concert of Disney type characters singing and dancing.
So we left Ruby and Lolo and the driver sitting in the second story watching the concert, and went to the Bodega (large Department store...something like Walmart but more basic without frills).
Then we bought linen for the beds, and enough glassware and dishes to feed twenty people.
Ironically, the price of one dish is about the same as the price of ten plastic meal containers, so costwise it was worth it.
Yes, we will have to wash dishes, but servants are cheap.Garbage, on the other hand, has to be hauled out and burned in the vacant lot next door. So it is actually cost effective to use regular plates and glasses.
Today, we went to get the fans and the mattresses for the beds.
Now, in the USA, this might mean going back to walmart.
Or it might mean going to the shops that sell wholesale to businesses. Back in the 1950's we would go downtown to the specialty shops for materials, or to the part of town that manufactured mattresses to buy a bed. Now, with everyone working and little time, time is money, so most harried people just go to the local furniture store.
But again, here in the Philippines time is not money (money is money). So it meant going from shop to shop, bargaining, price checking, and we spent two hours to save ten dollars.
To get foam for mattresses, we went to two shops that sell upholstery material. The second one had the best price, but when we went in, they were cleaning out a septic tank backup...luckily, the mattresses were on pallates and not contaminated, so we bought the four inch foam and will have them cut to the size of the cots.
We also went to four places to get a fan, but the only place with the good brand was in the supermarket, so was more expensive than if we continued to price shop. We will eventually need an air conditioner in this new guest room, but here that means making a hole in the wall for the airconditioner, and we don't have time to do that...so hopefully it will rain in the afternoon to keep things cool.
Now, the big question is if the workmen will get the toilets working in time...and I worry about them clogging. Luckily, here the custom is not toilet paper, but to wash with water...since usually the water pressure is low, most homes have a bucket of water and a small plastic pot with a handle for washing...but we have a spray hose attached to the wall. You see, like most rich people, we have a large water tank on our roof, and a pump to keep it filled...so usually we have water.
Unless the electricity goes out....duh...as it does frequently.