Spoiled in the Philippines

Getting FAT!!!

Me in 2013

Me in 2016

I realize I am getting totally spoiled in the Philippines and  that is translating to a very disconcerting growth in my waistline. I have been looking in the the mirror and at pictures that have been taken of me and not been impressed with the fat guy I see. It has caused me to reflect on how and why I have got this way.

Honestly, I have always tended towards chunkiness, not being granted the genes of one who can eat whatever they want, do no exercise and stay svelte, but never have I packed on so much weight as my past two years staying here in the Philippines. For me it has always been necessary to include a regular work out schedule in order to maintain anything resembling comfort in my physical appearance.

Over the years, the main motivation for staying in shape was quite simple. To be truthful, it was all about women. The pool of eligible women was simply so small and the competition so fierce, that there was always a need to look as good as I could to even maintain my slim chance in hell of attracting one that might suit me. Here in the Philippines it is different. The pendulum has swung so much in the other direction that now I, just like just about every other foreign man who comes here, is attractive to such a wide selection of beautiful women regardless of how fat, bald, old or simply ugly we are, that it does not matter. If my only motivation for staying in shape is to attract women, there is absolutely no incentive to make the sacrifices or do the hard work it takes to stay in shape.

I am also spoiled in the Philippines because besides my wife, there is always other women around that rightly or wrongly feel it is their duty to take care of me and are ready to wait on me hand and foot. It seems to be just in their nature to do so. If it is not my wife’s mother or one of her 8 sisters, (one of which always seems to be around) it is our “helper” who costs under 75 USD per month that seems not only willing but honestly pleased to do anything for me that would make my life easier. Rarely do I need to do anything like cook my own meal, clean the dishes, wash my clothes or tidy the house. There is no such thing anymore of feeling guilty because I come home, place myself on the couch in front of the TV and just sit there for hours being served upon like a king. The women of the Philippines are there to take care of me.

But do I really want or need to be spoiled in the Philippines?

Sure it is nice in some ways, but as I earlier pointed out, this eventually costs something. For me it has meant a steady decline into fatness that makes even the simplest task of bending over to tie my shoes a somewhat difficult and painful experience. Though noticing this now and reflecting on it is disconceting, it has also shown me that my fatness is only one clear signal of a wider issue I face. I have now grown so used to being spoiled in the Philippines that I take it as my right rather than my privilige. I admit that I constantly take of advantage of this previously unheard of situation and now tend to demand more than I should. I tend to complain about things not done to my satisfaction, instead of appreciating that they have been done for me at all.

So what am I going to do now that I realize I have let being spoiled in the Philippines change me?

First off, I am going to get back in shape so that I it is not literally a physical pain to do the simplest task myself. Then I am going to try and change my attitude by remembering that I have been granted a gift by having people in my life willing to take care of me.