Good afternoon and welcome back to VibePinas! We’ve been back home in the Ginatilan mountains for about a week now, and life is as beautifully chaotic as ever. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like for eight people (and sometimes ten!) to live together in a 45-square-meter house, today’s video is for you.
We returned from our trip to the city on a Wednesday, and Jessa has been on a non-stop mission to clean ever since. She spent three straight days washing clothes, curtains, and everything in between. That’s just the reality of mountain living—you can scrub every inch of the floor, and five minutes later, the dust and dirt are back. But at least things are fresh for now.
I’ll be honest with you guys: we are officially broke. We have about a week and a half until my next salary comes in. We have enough for food and fuel to get to town for our tax papers, but that’s about it. We’re going to have to use next month’s pay to cover our taxes, which means a slightly smaller payment toward our debt back in Norway this month. But that’s okay; it’s all part of getting back into a steady business routine.
Despite the tight budget, the house is full of life. My "office" is back in its usual spot. I still don't have windows—just some plastic covering for now—but I have my mountain view back, and that’s what matters. Liam is doing great, enjoying his pancakes and his favorite shows while I try to get some work done.
We’ve had some feedback recently from people saying Jessa is "useless" or that the house isn't clean enough. Someone even claimed they could clean the whole place in two hours! Well, Jessa had a brilliant response: we’re going to hire one of these critics. Next month, when we have a bit more breathing room in the budget, we’re going to hire a helper. They’ll handle the laundry for eight people, the cleaning, and looking after Liam, while Jessa focuses on the editing and filming. I’m placing a bet that they won’t last two weeks before they’re heading home, but it’ll make for some great videos! (spoiler - nobody dared to actually take us up on the offer).
Later in the day, the internet at home was acting up, so we headed to town so Jessa could upload some large files. We turned the car into a multi-purpose garbage truck for the trip. We packed it with about twelve sacks of trash, broken windows from the typhoon, and old electronics like a broken Xbox and cameras. It was a smelly ride, but it felt good to finally clear out all that debris.
While Jessa finished her uploads, we grabbed some dinner—sausages and fries for me, and some traditional rice and sardines for the rest of the family. In the Philippines, everything needs rice! We even saw some new additions to the farm: a big goat with a beard.
To wrap up the day, I took a walk down the hill to see the "lower house" that was hit hard during the typhoon. It’s a total ruin now. The kitchen, the entrance—it’s all just gone. Only the pigs seem happy down there, enjoying the mud and the shade of what’s left of the roof. Climbing back up that hill at 43 years old really reminded me that I’m not in the shape I used to be!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
