text: A Day in the Life… | M/V MOKEN
  M/V MOKEN
  The adventures of two Canadians and a cat on a boat! Come along for the ride!
  Meet MOKEN
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  October 19, 2012 · by Sandra	· in Philippines.	·
  Our days seem to be developing into a bit of a routine. Here's what one of our early days in Subic looks like. A lot of it seems to revolve around food and keeping MOKEN shipshape.
  0630 The sun's been up for half an hour and the boat boys are already hard at work cleaning the yachts in the marina. We should get up before Patrick and Jomari arrive to wax MOKEN's hull.
  As soon as we make a motion to get out of bed, kitty makes a beeline for the fridge and starts talking up a storm. Must be time for breakfast. He's been waiting for this ALL night, especially now that we don't leave out an endless supply of his dry food because of the ants!
  Speaking if ants, next up is our daily ant patrol. We check all the known ant trails and poke into corners on the lookout for scouts.
  If the laundry bag is getting full, it's time to do a wash. This is more involved than it sounds. First we have to switch the boat from shore power to battery power because the washing machine runs on 50 Hz and shore power is 60 Hz. The machine would run, but the pump wouldn't drain the water. Once we hit start, Chris monitors the battery situation to make sure everything is within acceptable limits. This took a bit of trial and error on different settings to get everything working just right. Heating the water drains the batteries too fast. So this means cold water washes only. We finally found a setting that minimizes energy use, although it still uses more water than we'd like. This may mean laundry on the hook (AKA at anchor) is out of the question.
  Breakfast is usually something quick and light, like toast and fruit or a smoothie.
  Then we have to put away all the breakfast food, wash dishes and clean up the kitchen to keep it ant free.
  With that behind us, kitty gets a thorough brushing to remove as much cat hair as possible. Aside from eating and sleeping, this seems to be his favourite activity of the day. Just bring out the brush and he's right there. First, you have to hold out the brush so he can rub his cheeks against it a few times before he allows the grooming to commence. Next it's the war against cat hair and out comes the heavy artillery… a Swiffer, Dustbuster and a rubber glove. This latest addition in the battle against cat hair is a tip I picked up off the Internet. Just rub it over kitty's fur and across fabrics or upholstery and it's like a magnet. We could probably do this several times a day and still be amazed at how much fur we find.
  Somewhere in here we check and send email.
  Then it's time to shower and get dressed.
  Once the laundry is finished, we hang it outside to dry. It doesn't take long in this heat.
  0930 We could make coffee on the boat, but what's the fun in that? Instead, we go to Starbucks or the local coffee shop, Break Time, for a cafe latte, hot tea, iced juice blend, iced cappucino or mocha frap.
  1000 This is the time most stores — even grocery stores — open for business. They aren't early birds here, although we have found two shops that open at 0900. Since most stores are air conditioned, who can blame them for saving the earliest, coolest time of the day for other activities.
  We have a shopping list. It seems to get longer every day, even after we cross off all the stuff we buy. Clear, plastic bins and storage baskets are a favourite. Lime green bathroom accessories and kitchen gadgets always catch my eye. Cleaning products, scrub brushes, tea towels, utensils, stainless hardware, office supplies, spare light bulbs, water filters, paper towels, a non-stick frying pan, bathroom accessories, toiletries…the list goes on. And, of course, let's not forget food. The only limit each day is how much we can both comfortably carry back to the boat.
  1230 Back on MOKEN, we take in and fold the laundry and find homes for all our latest acquisitions. So far, space has not been an issue. MOKEN has lots of nooks and crannies. The challenge is deciding what goes where.
  1300 Lunch is often just a sandwich or some form of experimentation with leftovers.
  1330 Afternoon projects are usually inside, with the AC on. Today Chris set up our new broadband Internet dongle so we'll have a more reliable connection and an easier time using voice over internet. Then he started and ran the engine several times and checked all the systems to make sure everything was working properly and there were no leaks. This sent kitty scurrying to far flung corners of the boat in a fruitless attempt to escape the noise. I felt the urge to write and worked on an assortment of draft blog posts that we'll publish over the next couple of days, so as not to dump everything on you at once.
  1600 Sometimes there's a nap in here. Sometimes not. We are much better adjusted to the time difference now and finally sleeping more through the night.
  Sometimes we pop into the American Legion to see the girls who work there (from left: Connie, Cristine and Grace, missing Marlene) and have an ice cold bevvie. It's very relaxed and their generous happy hour runs from 4 until 7.
  1730 The sun sets early here. And lately there's been a nice, cool breeze at this time. So after kitty has his evening chow, we usually sit outside for a while and try and entice him to explore his new outdoor world. He hasn't been too keen to step outside yet. Too many new sights and sounds and smells. And no grass. We think he dreams about grass and chasing bunnies. But tonight he made his first full lap of the deck. Such a brave boy!
  1900 Dinner is usually made on the boat, but sometimes we go out. There are so many places to choose from. Last night we tried The Lagoon just across the road. They have tables under a big thatched roof or open air next to a small lagoon. It's a very nice setting, even if there is a busy road on the other side of the water and the bug zapper was pretty active. We decided on Crunchy Tentacles as an appetizer. Chris ordered Pancit Canton (noodles with veggies, pork and prawns) and I had Pinakbet (veggies with pork and prawns) and Garlic Rice. We'd just about finished our mains when the appetizer finally arrived. The Pinoy food was excellent. The squid certainly crispy and crunchy, but otherwise a little bland. It's not the sort of dinner we would want to do every night as the bill came to…wait for it…$16. Just next door is an inexpensive, open air grill behind the 7-Eleven and the tables were full of young Filipinos and Filipinas. We'll have to try that one of these days.
  2000 Our evenings are spent trying to keep our eyes open so we don't go to sleep too early. We may try to watch a movie, play games, read, surf the net or do some work.
  2200 Night, night. Sleep tight. At first we tried sleeping with the AC on, but found it kept waking us up when it would cycle on and off. Now we use a quieter fan instead and it's much more comfortable. We even opened the hatch the other night. A bit risky as it is still technically the rainy season. But we've only had rain once since we got here. Kind of like an extension of the summer we left behind on Vancouver Island.
  We've got big plans to go to Baloy Beach for a swim one of these days and, of course, we still have to take MOKEN out for a spin around the bay. But there's no rush. We're on island time. Mañana. There's always tomorrow!
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