What Happened to My Face? - My Passport Renewal was Rejected

Shaving the Beard and Initial Thoughts

0:25 Hey guys, uh yeah, so the big announcement for this stream is I got a shave. And I, I know that is probably quite a surprise to, uh, many of you because you've never seen me without facial hair. Um, and I don't know, I'm thinking about growing it back out, as you could see, it's already kind of coming back in. Uh, I got it shaved three days ago.

0:52 And I don't know, I mean, it just feels like a lot of work, if I'm being honest, to keep it shaved, to have it, to have be clean-shaven and to have it look nice. It takes a ton of effort. Uh, but I thought, why don't I see how it looks? I haven't had my face shaved in, probably five years, I think the last time I remember getting it done, uh, oh wow, thank you Joe, I appreciate that. I think the last time I got it done, I was in Japan. Um, so that was the last time I remember shaving.

1:36 And, um, yeah, maybe I should keep it shaved. You know, I'm getting a lot of compliments from, uh, like a couple of the Filipinos I've been interested in. They're like, 'Wow, you look way better,' and they really like it a lot. They say I look a lot, uh, much more handsome, and so certainly that's, uh, something I value, right? I value their opinion.

2:08 Wow, a bunch of people are already hopping on here, guys. Uh, please give us a thumbs up. It helps with the, the, uh, YouTube algorithm. And, um, yeah, feel free to chime in in the chat. I got a good night's sleep last night. I slept really well last night. I probably slept about 10 hours, and so I'm feeling really refreshed this morning and, uh, happy to answer any questions or thoughts you have. New Year's off to a good start.

2:41 I'm about to, uh, ink a deal with the first, um, sponsor of the channel. So that's really exciting. Helps me to bring, uh, you know, honest content to you guys, at least honest from my, based on my experiences. Here, uh, trying to think, I've got some ideas in the tank. So after this stream, I'm going to go out and film some stuff. Not exactly sure where I'm trying to cover new ground here in town, trying to show some stuff that, uh, some of you may have not seen before, some different parts of the city.

3:15 Uh, let me pull up a map here. Not going to show the map on screen, but just while we have more people kind of filter into the room and, uh, share their thoughts. Today I might be going out by the airport, uh, to do something. I haven't really filmed over by the airport yet. Um, I'm gonna have to film in between the planes taking off, but it looks like it might have some interesting kind of buildings to look at.

3:52 Big Squid, hey Alex, keeping your beard trimmed and, uh, also takes a lot of time. True, Big Squid, that's a good point. It does take a lot of effort either way. Um, kind of a little bit extreme, but one guy I followed for a while, Jason, uh, Feber, he actually got it lasered, uh, got a laser treatment so his doesn't grow in. But now I don't know if that treatment that Jason got was permanent or if it, um, you know, if it wears off or what.

4:37 Uh, not something I'm interested in. I don't really want to have lasers on my face, uh, for, you know, just for some cosmetic treatment. Um, you know, be different if the beard caused some kind of health problem, but as far as I know, there's no, uh, no health issue, uh, you know, with the beard.

Reasons for Shaving and Barber Experience

4:55 Buzz MC, my beard is nice and tight and it's not going anywhere, it's a deal breaker. Had it 40 plus years. Yeah, Buzz, I mean, to me, it's like the original reason for shaving was because of the US Army. So like in military service, there was this idea you had to be prepared to put on a gas mask, and if, uh, if a guy had a beard or had facial hair, then that would prevent the gas mask from being flush on the face.

5:25 So as far as I know, if anybody has like some knowledge about a different reason as to why men shave, uh, feel free to put it down in the comments. But to me, that's not something I have to worry about. I'm not currently in the military, uh, and so, yeah.

5:44 Um, I see it as just like, why should I be, you know, concerned about a natural part of my body? Uh, it's, you know, now on the side of dating, women I have, I have had ex-girlfriends that complained about it because they said it scratched their face and, uh, it, uh, what's the word, it caused their face to break out if I didn't shave.

6:19 So yeah, this guy did a really good job. I was expecting to break out, I was expecting to have like red spots, and he did such a thorough job and I didn't rush. Um, where in the US and even in Japan, I felt they were rushed, and, uh, it caused skin irritation for me, and it looks awful. You know, but he took his time. He took like probably a half hour to shave my face, and so, uh, you know, very, very minimal discomfort.

6:49 Uh, you know, very, very minimal discomfort. Very minimal discomfort. Um, so that was really nice of him. He did a good job. Uh, Aong Barber Shop here in Dumaguete, they have a couple of locations, and, uh, the guy's name is BB, so I want to give him a shout out in case anybody wants to get a shave or nice haircut. They charge, I think, 90 pesos, and you can always contribute a little extra, uh, to BB.

7:13 Hosia says, look younger. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I think here in the Philippines, part of it, uh, oh wow, Navy, um, Navy beards were allowed. Uh, that's when I grew on. Got it, Buzz. Okay, well, thank you for your service, Buzz. I appreciate your service.

8:08 And, um, yeah, I, I don't see, you know, I know Bud Brown has one actually, he rocks it or has rocked it at times. And if there's like a legitimate reason or something like that, then, uh, you know, I can understand it. Dating is big for a lot of guys here, right? Like a lot of guys that come here to the Philippines, dating is a top priority for them, and so if shaving is going to result to them having better dating success, um, they're all about it.

8:39 One thing I wanted to toss out there is I have had some thoughts about spending some time in Indonesia. And in Indonesia, it's the opposite, so beards are actually positively regarded, according to my buddy who lives over there. He said that it looks, it's treated as a blessing, um, where here it's more like a curse. Not quite that bad, but here it's definitely kind of not, it's not really celebrated.

9:06 Um, and, uh, hey Justin, good to see you, man. Yeah, yeah, the, uh, they put pressure on me like the two Filipinas I'm really interested in, um, both of them have indicated to me they would prefer, because I just asked them point blank, and they're like, 'You look nice, but without the beard, you look more handsome.' And I'm like, 'Okay, fine, I'll get rid of it and see what happens.'

9:35 Um, I definitely feel like less scraggly and less kind of haggard looking. Go out there and woo girls. Yeah, Hosha, definitely, that's a good call out.

The Ladder Prop and Personal Preferences

9:52 Um, oh, so there's a lot. So yeah, I thought this would, this would draw us some laughs. That's partly why I want to do this live stream is that, uh, so the light bulb, one of the light bulbs in my ceiling burned out, and it's, I have high ceilings in here. They're taller than I can manage to get even standing on a chair, which is rare for me because normally I've been able, like, you know, a lot of places I've lived, I just put, you know, grab a chair, I stand on the chair, I changed the light bulb. But here I needed a ladder.

10:27 And, um, so my, my, uh, building manager, she provided me with a couple different light bulbs, and they don't, we tested them out, but they, it's just not that bright. And so, uh, heck, I can, let's see, here, yeah, you can see it's, it's, it's not really noticeable. And so she said she'd go try to find a better light bulb. And, uh, I thought, well, we had to lug this ladder up the stairs. It's pretty heavy. It's like a, it's a heavy ladder. And, uh, instead of like taking it back down the stairs yesterday, just to bring it back up today, I thought, well, why don't we just leave the ladder in here? And it'll be a funny prop in the live stream. It looks ridiculous.

11:18 And, uh, I love it. So, and I thought, yeah, I definitely thought I'd get some comments on it because it's, if they made you shave, I hope they reciprocate. Yeah, no comment, Justin. Uh, I can never behave. I hope you don't get offended. I like, oh, you know, no problem, Buzz. And we all have our own preferences. I, true, it's only fair everyone shaves.

11:52 Philip says, more streamline service. Um, Philip says, okay, that's a step. Ladder. Uh, SM says, click the like button. Yeah, guys, please give us a thumbs up if you have it in your heart. It's free to do so, and helps to distribute this, uh, live stream to more, more people. Um, yeah, it's, it feels different, you know. One of the reasons I never did shave, uh, was that, you know, I used to living, uh, I stand on the third or fourth step. I like the Amazon Women Critter Hunter. I like a woman that's about six and a half to seven feet tall, and, uh, that way it just makes me feel more comfortable.

12:41 And, um, I feel safe and protected. And, uh, yeah, I want, I want the tallest Filipino on record as my girlfriend. Um, and, uh, let's see. Yeah, so, oh yeah, so I'm used to in cold places, so that's why I always grew a beard is I lived in, uh, Colorado, and then I lived in Northern California, and, uh, it was kind of nice to protect my face from the wind and, uh, you know, just keep me, you know, keep my face warm.

13:14 And, uh, and then here, it's really hot, so it kind of doesn't really, here it's more like kind of hot, itchy, scratchy, itchy and scratchy from Simpsons, but, uh, it's, it's like more out of place. I might like, I might grow it back. It's just a lot of trouble, right? It's a lot of trouble to go every couple weeks or every, I probably need to go every couple weeks, uh, maybe even like once a month to get it done, and it's like, okay, so gotta go down there, gotta spend, you know, 30 minutes, an hour getting it handled, uh, and then I don't know, probably 30 minutes getting home or like 15, 20 minutes getting home. It's kind of far on the other end of town. It just, uh, it's a lot of work.

Tallest Filipinos and Dating Preferences

13:59 But we'll see what happens. Uh, like, thank you so much. Anui Hosha says, Amazon woman, you've got the ladders. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, we're pretty far from, um, let me see. I'm gonna Google tallest country in the world. Tallest country in the world. That way I, I don't, Netherlands. Okay, that's what I was thinking.

14:48 AI says, Jaja Santiago is the tallest Filipino woman, uh, at six foot five. She was born on January 20th in Cabite. Wow, okay. Look, let me, I'm going to try to find her. So she's married. Wow. So she, uh, she just became a citizen in Japan, and she is very tall. She is very tall. Um, let's see. Very tall. She is very tall. Um, let's see. Yeah, that's, yeah, she's super tall.

15:50 Just date two women at one go to compensate. Yeah, they could also do the, the, they could one could stand on the.

15:55 The they could one could stand on the other's shoulders and they could wear the coats to kind of yeah that would be kind of funny.

16:13 Another reason you don't see beards as much here is I've heard a lot of the guys just can't grow them, same in Japan. It's definitely part of my South Asian background that I can grow a beard, though mine is not as impressive as some of my friends who are 100% Indian.

16:35 When I was younger, I always wanted to look older, and now that I'm getting older, I'm like, oh, maybe now it's time I want to look younger.

16:48 They will card you at the bars now. Thank you, man, you say I'm looking good without the beard. My beard here is similar, it kind of looks messy, I look homeless.

16:58 It looks haggard, and it's a lot of work to keep it trimmed. It seems like every few days I'm trying to trim it up and cut the straggling hairs. It doesn't seem to grow evenly, certain parts grow faster than others, so it just looks messy.

17:29 I don't think your wife would like that. Feel free to holler me next time you come to town. I meant to get back to you yesterday, but a bunch of things came up.

17:37 I'm happy to meet up sometime in town at Ground Zero or out in D. I need to come out to D again, your spot's awesome.

17:58 Shout out to Critter Hunter if you're interested in diving. It's definitely worth checking out his interviews and his content. His channel, Critter Hunter, does something pretty unique.

18:14 I think a lot of guys here just chill out, but he's really got this interesting active lifestyle where he's getting out in the water. He's doing the stuff that really hooked me on the Philippines.

18:29 For me, it wasn't the dating here or spending time in the cities. It was being out in the islands or on the beaches and out in the water. Diving is another level beyond what I did, but it's such a beautiful country.

Coffee Culture and Budget Travel

18:52 We actually need a Filipino standing on another's shoulders. I should get to about six.

19:01 Good morning from Ohio. No disrespect to us, it's cold. That's the challenge. By the way, I enjoyed that coffee a lot. I went down here to Lanto's, Lance House is a restaurant here.

19:16 They do like a breakfast buffet Friday, Saturday, Sunday. When you come out this way, you know, if you make it out this way, then L House's fantastic. It's like 300 pesos, and they do coffee, hot chocolate, bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

19:36 It's a pretty serious breakfast buffet for the equivalent to about $5, and I go and have like several cups of coffee with that breakfast. So it's fantastic.

19:52 Just get an electric shaver. That's a good idea. They use one on my face, and I've had one in the US, but eventually mine broke. I think I brought one with me. No, no, I didn't bring one with me. I wanted to bring one with me.

20:17 Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. I'll definitely go get more coffee. Thank you.

20:23 The coffee scene here is awesome. I've thought about going downtown and trying to find a coffee maker to make some more coffee at home.

20:42 One of the things I do, part of it to save time, and these are not the healthiest, but I buy these. They're cheap, that's part of the reason I buy it. They're probably not healthy, but they have like 21 grams of sugar, so not good on the sugar department.

21:04 It doesn't tell me how much caffeine. It just doesn't tell me how much caffeine is in here.

21:24 Wow, okay, so there's no telling how much caffeine is in here. Anyway, I prefer coffee.

21:49 As long as you don't make fun of a peeled potato flapping. We actually need a Filipino in the chat to vouch the new look. Guys, if you know of any Filipinos, feel free to introduce them to my channel.

21:57 I think 90%, roughly 90% of my subscribers are men, but I do have some Filipina subscribers. One lady, I think she's in Hong Kong.

22:14 Why can I not? Well, sometimes people use different names, so I haven't formally met her. I'd want to formally meet her before I mentioned her name, just because that way she can confirm, hey, that's my name, or no, that's just what I use on YouTube to protect my identity.

22:29 We did have a Filipina last stream, but that would be very helpful. As long as you don't make fun of a peeled potato flopping around, I would like to learn.

22:41 Yeah, yeah, I think that's something that Justin prides himself on is being open to older students, students that may have some limitations, may not feel as confident as some in other younger demographics.

23:18 Thank you again. And yeah, I'm definitely going to enjoy a coffee. There's a place near me too.

Financial Independence and Lifestyle Choices

23:30 There's a lot of places for good coffee. My mind has been blown by the amount of good cups of coffee. I had coffee yesterday at Tom and Tom's with Mike, and that was really good.

23:45 It's a really convenient option if you're downtown. And then if I'm wanting some a quick cup of coffee, I'll go to a place closer to my building.

24:03 Justin, you had a great live stream yesterday. Glad to have you spend time with the people. Wonderful.

24:11 I may need a shaver. Thanks. I would say I'm young at 40, but with this new 17-year-old Alex I'm age, I tend to look very young.

24:24 Critter Hunter looks T. How long did it take you to grow the beard?

24:29 Looking like Fez from That '70s Show. Oh yeah, no braces here. No tape on the glasses. I could do. I can breathe actually without the glasses. I only recently got glasses back, so I had Lasik nine years ago.

24:51 Gosh, I can't believe I had glasses or Lasik nine years ago. But um, it's...

25:03 Yeah, so like last year in Thailand, I realized, hey, I probably need to get glasses because things were starting to look blurry. I was starting to get headaches a little bit trying to read signs.

25:15 I probably could get a touch-up on the Lasik and they could do a little bit more, but I spend so much time on the computer with editing and reading. I'll be a glasses guy probably for the rest of my life, or have some visual impairment for the rest of my life unless they come out with some kind of new surgery to change things.

25:38 I thought you was heading back to the US to find work. I applied to some jobs, but it's one to actually find a job that pays the bills is hard.

25:47 In the US, it's very easy to go get a job at Burger King or McDonald's or a warehouse and basically survive, make enough money to eat. But to actually get a job where you're putting away money like what I used to earn in tech, that's a lot harder to find.

26:19 And there's a major risk of going and trying to find one of those jobs, spending a lot of money to do so, not finding one of those jobs, and then going in the whole financially.

26:31 So with the inflation, with the poor job market, it's a pretty big gamble to do so. And with the channel, my earnings from the channel are growing a lot faster than I thought they would.

26:46 So if I get to break even financially, month after month after month, then it starts to make more sense to stay. And when I go beyond that, and I'm putting money away every month, then it's like a no-brainer because I'm way happier traveling. I'm way happier living in Southeast Asia.

27:05 Is life here perfect? Not at all. It's not perfect, but I know that I'm happier. I know that I can just feel it in my body. I'm less stressed. I just feel a lot happier over here.

Dating Scene and City vs. Province

27:23 I have a community, I have friends here. I like the weather better here. Yeah, so let me get caught up a little bit.

27:32 Ground Zero. Yeah, so I saw Alex walking on the boulevard yesterday. He had a whole string of girls following him. He was trying to escape, but there was no hope.

27:41 I'm already noticing I get a lot more smiling looks from women and a lot more attention when I'm out in town, whereas when I had the beard, people were like, I don't know, I don't trust it.

28:01 Let's see. Okay, Billy, I prefer to stay in a city with less expats. You've been to Davao? I haven't been to Davao, but I don't blame you.

28:09 There's something for everybody, I think, here in the Philippines, or something for most people. I have a buddy that loves Davao. He enjoys his time down there.

28:19 He visited there and said it's really orderly, and there's a lot more rules, more traffic enforcement.

28:34 Yeah, he just liked it down there.

28:44 Come on, Alex, is a five o'clock shadow at 8:30 AM? This is a few days, so I got a shave a few days ago.

28:56 Movie star, imato. Thank you, Tony. I appreciate that. That's so kind. Tony's been a long-time supporter of the channel, guys. Shout out to Tony.

29:06 And yeah, I definitely am enjoying the new attention that I'm getting for having the shaved face and looking a lot sharper and cleaner.

29:20 BK means JG or Burger King. Yes, CB. Let's see. I thought it was Ben Affleck.

29:28 Little ah, thank you, Tony. That's so nice of you.

29:38 The first couple days, my face felt numb. It doesn't feel numb anymore, but the first day or two, my face felt like I'd gotten punched in the face or something.

29:47 Break even and stay. That's how I feel. If I get to break even consistently, it's...

29:58 All right, take care, Lincoln. We'll see you next time. Have a nice day, man. If I get to break even, that's been a longtime goal. Really, there's a certain target amount I have that would let me travel in perpetuity. So, where I'm at now, I could afford to slow travel in one city, stay for a month at a time, or pick a city like Dumaguete. I've been here over five months now and want to move around more.

30:27 I like where I'm at, I like the Philippines, I like Dumaguete, but I want to see more. I'm still in adventure mode, still at the time of my life where I have the energy to run around and go to different places and explore. I want to go see Indonesia, I want to go back to Malaysia at some point. I want to see Laos, like I have some places I haven't been.

31:01 So, increasing the value I provide for people through the channel, those doors will open up. That's a far more enjoyable life than being chained to a desk back home, assuming I can even get chained to a desk back home. Most of the jobs are jobs that nobody wants to do for not enough money to live. It's very easy to find a bad job, but much harder to find a desirable job where you're getting ahead and it's worth the sacrifice.

31:43 Here, I get a modest amount of income. Now I can pay into social security, send a check every month, and contribute to my retirement accounts. People assume it's automatically a bad financial decision, but they don't understand that if you're spending a lot less, you don't have to magically increase your spending if your income goes up. You can put the extra anywhere in the world.

32:12 You can save money by living below your means. There's almost no country where living below your means won't benefit you financially and allow you to get ahead. Justin's talked to me about how he came here during the pandemic, and it was very stressful because things were shut down and it was hard for him to operate his shop. But he didn't just quit; he persisted through the challenges.

32:45 I think a lot of people could learn something from his persistence. I'm still deciding if I'll stay six months or three months in each place. That's a good call, Billy. When I was in the Army, I had no...

Monthly Expenses and Cost of Living

32:58 Okay, Billy, what's your approximate monthly spend in pesos for total cost? I would say if I average out here in Dumaguete, I get by at about 35,000 pesos a month, about $600 a month. The rent for this apartment is 8,000 per month, so I spend about 8,000 every month on rent. That's about $140. It doesn't include aircon, my aircon probably works out to 2K a month.

33:27 So, spending like let's say 10,000 per month on rent and electric, I'd say probably another 16-17K on food, so that's 27K. And then another, I would say probably 8K on incidentals, visas, stuff like this, like an inhaler, nose clear.

34:00 Electronics, auto-electron, AO. Electronics, like this cable to charge my iPhone. This was...

34:30 What's your address, Alex? That's funny, Justin. How do you manage your visa? Do you extend every two months in immigration? I do, Billy. So I go down to immigration and I just extend it myself. But as I get closer to the year mark, I'm going to be looking at partnering with one of the visa service providers here in Dumaguete.

34:52 One in particular to help me because I'm going to have to do a visa stamp transfer. So I renewed my passport and I'm waiting on that to come back. And when that comes back, then I'll have to transfer the stamp to the new passport. I could either go to Manila or hire a service for that.

35:18 I'd rather hire the service because for me to go to Manila, it's just a lot of stress. Manila is very crowded, it's the most densely populated city in the world. I don't know that I want to live in Manila. So, basically, I'd have to make a trip to Manila, or I could partner with the visa service. I'd rather partner with the visa service and help promote somebody's business.

35:53 Start a business, get some tips from Justin. Yeah, I'm all in on the digital media factor, Philly. I think media is a great way to provide value to people, entertain people, try to cover topics that aren't, you know, like a lot of content creators, it's the budget videos, it's the dating videos. I try to do other things that haven't been covered a ton because those subjects get kind of worn out.

36:20 They're highly independent on the individual, right? Not to say I'm not going to cover them. Like I said, I'm about to partner with a business in one of those categories, but I want to do more variety on here and try to cover, like I said, things like psychology or group dynamics, not just the standard...

36:47 So let's see. We just need one Filipino to rate the new look. Any Filipinas in the chat, please provide your vote. Let's see.

36:58 Sorry, Phil, I tried, but they fainted when they saw him. That's funny. Ed says, 'Unrecognizable, but looks better.' Hey Jay, good to see you. Way better. Beth's friend says, 'Way better without the beard, mate.' Thank you. Yeah, I probably get a lot more...

37:21 Looking younger. The beard was making you look way older, man. The beard was hiding your face. Thank you for saying that. I don't know, I guess I just felt self-conscious about not having a beard. And yeah, it does look... I get a lot of compliments on it, Jay, as far as not having a beard anymore. Maybe I'll have to go every couple weeks and get it shaved off.

37:45 Or go by like a razor. You know, I grew up without a positive male role model, so I never really learned how to shave properly. Nobody ever taught me. Now you can learn from YouTube, but what you can't have on YouTube is somebody there in person showing you that you can.

38:07 So you can kind of learn things from YouTube. Certain things, I just don't think you... There's consequences to messing up if you don't have somebody there teaching you how to do things right. Bud, your monthly budget of 30K was pre-beard removal. Dating bug is about to be...

38:26 Yeah, I'm getting a lot more positive interest. That's a good budget. I know all need to pay more in Subu. I believe Dau is less, but don't have a motorcycle.

38:37 Yeah, so the main difference I found in the Philippines is housing costs. Like most other things seem to cost about the same, roughly. You have more options to spend money in the bigger cities, but really, it comes down to housing. You're going to pay more for housing in like Cebu, rather than paying 8K a month like I pay here in Dumaguete. I'd expect to pay more like 20K per month in Cebu.

Visa Renewals and Expat Life

39:15 You made me motivated to shave mine off as well. After this coffee, I'll do it. Good call, Jay. Ed says, 'Don't leave home without your visa.' Yeah, I'm a little stressed about it, but Mike has told me, 'Don't worry about it. It's normal. Everybody's got to renew their passport.'

39:31 You let immigration know, 'Hey, I just had to renew my passport, that's why I'm a little bit delayed on getting the extension handled,' and they understand. You're definitely not the first foreigner that needed to renew a passport.

39:50 Let's see. Are you looking forward to altcoin season? Yeah, I am, Florida Ken. It's been brutal. The markets have been brutal the last since the start of the year. It's not been the most fun.

40:12 Okay, Billy, what are the major differences between Dumaguete and Cebu? Which is better for dating? I think Cebu is better. I think Cebu, you just have more options. Dumaguete, I would say it's the worst place I've been in the Philippines for dating, just to be honest.

40:35 I think some people may feel differently. I know some guys meet a great partner here, and I don't doubt that some guys do find success here. I've just found it takes a lot more work, it takes a lot more planning. There's a lot of options of foreigners, and also there's a lot of women here that are here for college.

40:57 College is a big investment for their families, and so they're instructed, 'Hey, don't date, go to college. Don't date, get your education. That's your priority in Dumaguete because Dumaguete is expensive by local standards.' And yeah, so there's a lot of other priorities for women here in Dumaguete besides meeting a boyfriend.

41:26 I would say that's especially the case if you are looking for something specific. If you're looking for to just date anybody, then you could go anywhere in the Philippines. But if you're looking for something specific and you have certain things you're looking for, I think it's going to be easier. You're just going to have more options in Cebu.

41:47 It's not that Cebu is heaven or whatever, it's just there's millions of people there, so you've got just more options, more to choose from. Here, I found you're having to be like following up a lot, you get ghosted, where Cebu, not so much. One of the two women that I'm really interested in is in Cebu, and I think that says a lot.

42:21 Her family is from this island, but they all moved up to...

42:41 What's the major difference? Oh, did I see handcuffs on that? Oh, I hope not, Justin. I hope not. I meant to put them away. If the handcuffs are still out, I meant to put them away.

43:01 You must have left them here last night, Justin. Let's see here. As Cebu is dating for IT Park, Ayala, Cebu needs a higher budget room. Rentals are like 20K. How do you find a cheap room? What makes Dumaguete a good fit?

43:14 Dumaguete is a good fit because I like just like running. I like having ex-pat friends. I like that it's got more of a small-town feeling. I like being able to walk around. I like that traffic's not...

43:32 To walk around, I like that traffic's not that bad. I know some people talk about how awful traffic is here. It's probably worse than what it was in the past, but it's still, I mean, compared to when I lived in like, around San Francisco, my time in Los Angeles, or my time in New York, it's not that bad.

43:55 Also, with D-Mate, if you're trying to vlog, which is a priority for me, you're leveling up a lot faster. You make a lot of mistakes, but you also have a lot of friends around you that have made a lot of mistakes, and you can learn from those mistakes and just improve a lot faster than if you're on your own.

44:16 Sau, nobody. Brit is new there. Brit's Adventure, I think his name is Brit's Adventure or something like that, and he's new to Subu. His channel is taking off because nobody's up there, and he has the persistence and the personality to get through those early days. He's just got a knack for it. I like his channel a lot, but he's rare.

Channel Growth and Content Strategy

44:37 I mean, not everybody can take off like that, so more power to Brit. Let's see, Sau has the advantage of the international airport. You can fly direct to several Asian countries. That's a good call out, Phillip. And I do think eventually, like, if the channel grows and it's more substantial, I will look at bigger cities because that's just what I'm used to. I like to tag, and a small town is right for me for right now.

45:04 But I like some of the things about living in a bigger city, right? I just, like that's just what I'm, you know, accustomed to. Yumi Mango says, 'I had to sell my firstborn child to pay rent in Redwood City.' Yeah, Redwood City is astronomical. You're right down the street from Atherton, and I remember looking at Reynolds and Redwood because I interviewed for some jobs around San Jose, and yeah, you're talking like $2,600 a month for a studio or one-bedroom apartment. Very expensive.

45:37 What are some of the crypto altcoins that you hold, if you don't mind me asking? Yeah, I hold Algorand. That's the main one I hold. I went all in on Algorand. It hasn't been my best decision. Algorand's performance has not been very good. I wish I'd spread it around more. You live and you learn.

45:54 But yeah, that's the main one that I hold, and it's, yeah, it's been disappointing to be honest. I'm not sure being a girl being easier makes your higher quality. Easier, I don't mean easier like to have fun, but uh...

46:19 Dumaguete has about 150,000 people. Let's say half are women, 75,000 are women. Let's say a third are in an appropriate age range, 25,000. Where Cebu's got, let's see, Cebu metro population is 3.2 million. So let's say 1.6 million are women, and then 500,000 are age-appropriate. So 500,000 age-appropriate women versus 25,000.

46:54 And many of the women in Cebu too are pre-nuptial. Like the woman I dated in Cebu, I was the second guy she ever dated. She was from Bohol, and the first guy was a Filipino guy in Bohol. She just moved to Cebu and stayed single while working. But I agree, like it's worth considering the mindset, you know, having a more traditional mindset from the province.

47:21 Then it's just a different, it's a different attitude, you know. I dated a woman in Cagayan de Oro. I should say I went on a date with her, and I asked her where she wanted to live in the future. This is a city girl, or city woman. Cagayan de Oro is one of the larger cities in Mindanao now, and she said, 'I want to move to Australia. I want to be working in Australia.' And I told her, 'Well, I'd like to live in Southeast Asia.' And so that's where we have different priorities, and we parted ways.

48:01 We had our date, and so that's a good call out, Justin. I don't believe in prescriptions. I think for some guys, they're going to have better success in the city. I think for other guys, they're going to have better success in the province. Each guy is different. Each guy is looking for different things.

48:20 Each guy has a different background. Like, I'll probably sound crazy here. I know Ray's an example of a city guy who is with a woman from the province. Some guys that are from the city, they might feel like, 'Hey, you know what? I'm only used to being in the city. I would only live in Manila or Cebu.' And I prefer somebody that's got that kind of city background.

48:47 On the other hand, those cities are full of people from, or those cities, I shouldn't say full, those cities do have people from provincial areas, but they move there for work. They still maintain their values. They look at it as a place to go earn money to help their family, but they eventually plan to return to the province.

49:08 I do notice a lot of people that are happy in their relationships. My friend group, their wives are from provincial areas. So if I just looked at my friends' group, certainly I would say that it's a good idea to at least consider the province.

49:31 I think that the provincial areas tend to not be as materialistic as the big cities. There tends to be a more realistic expectation of lifestyle, where the woman who grows up in the city, she might have a certain expectation of, 'Hey, I'm used to taking vacations to Japan or Malaysia or Thailand. I'm used to dining at the high-end restaurants. I'm used to having a new car, late model car in the driveway.'

50:09 Where the guy who's come here to slow down a bit, he's like, 'Okay, yeah, we could figure out a way to earn enough to support that, but we're going to be busy all the time. We're going to be stressed out all the time. We're going to be trying to live a Western lifestyle here.' Which I would say most guys, not all, but most guys don't want to come here and try to recreate a Western lifestyle.

Finding a Middle Ground and Relationships

50:33 Some do. It's probably, if you ask me what percentage of guys come here looking to live a Western lifestyle, I'd say 20%. Maybe one in five want to try to live the way they did back home. Four and five come here to live differently, and more so over the long term.

50:54 I think a lot of the guys that stay here and are happy here long term, they adopt some changes. A lot of guys, probably a better way to put it, a lot of guys find somewhere in the middle. They're not looking to live totally Filipino style, and they're not looking to live totally Western style.

51:11 They kind of pick and choose. 'Okay, I like this about living Filipino style. I like this about living Western style. I want a car. I don't want a late model, $100,000 or $50,000 vehicle, but I don't want to be totally motorbike reliant.' And so they find a happy middle ground that provides them with some conveniences but is also practical for the Philippines.

51:36 Because you got to think about the inclement weather here. Like, do I want to be trying to get a car wash every day because we're in rainy season and there's mud everywhere? That mud splashes on the car, and now, 'Oh my brand new car.' And do I want to get a place with a garage? Okay, that's going to be harder to find. I see a lot more carports here in Dumaguete than I do like full-on...

52:17 Um, Kyle, hey Alex, good to see you. Kyle Kurt says, 'Channeling Gerard Butler at 25.' So thank you, Kirk. That's really, you guys are so kind. Um, hey Guapo May Bont, you're looking good with the new haircut and shave. Thank you so much, Ben. I appreciate it.

52:32 I take for granted that it's very budget-friendly to look presentable here. I mean, back in the US, I would go to the hood in San Francisco, I would go to the Tenderloin neighborhood, which is like, if anybody's been to San Francisco or knows about San Francisco, and you don't have like, kids around, YouTube search when you get a chance, Tenderloin, just to get a sense of what that neighborhood looks like. But I would go there to get a haircut because I could get the haircut for $20, and you know, I'd give a tip.

53:07 But here, like, it's like a couple of bucks, and I can give a tip and come out way cheaper. So I could go, so there I'd try to get a haircut every few months. Here, I could go every six weeks, but now I'm looking at bumping it up to every month. Well, getting a haircut once a month because, yeah, you know, it's more budget-friendly. And certainly with the videos, I think it would make me look more professional on my videos.

53:39 Um, Michael, hang in there, brother. Algo will have its day. A wise man once said, 'Time in the market will always be trying to time the market.' Thank you, Michael. Yeah, that's my plan is to just keep holding on. I hope this year does well for it.

53:56 If it performs really well this year, I'll cash out some of my Algo, and then just have a big stack of cash to fund several years of vlogging and try to get the vlog to where, like, the income is sufficient to cover my expenses and then some, right? I'd like to start paying into Social Security. I'd like to contribute to my Roth IRA again. I'd like to be able to move around a bit.

54:27 Like I said, get back, try out Indonesia, visit Malaysia again. It's been five years since I was in Malaysia, and I happen to like Malaysia a lot. I'm not a partier, and so Malaysia is fantastic. What's everybody up to this week?

54:53 Think I might have some more caffeine here. I know it's like a midweek. Well, it's early week back in the US. It's late night in Europe or early morning in Europe, and then it's mid-morning here in the Philippines.

55:25 The main reason being is I'm hesitant to show the date one. A lot of Filipinas are shy. Two, I tend to want to protect their privacy. Three, there's a lot of reasons. Three, like if I show a Filipina on a date, unfortunately, some of my audience hates me and will try to steal her. They'll try to reach out to her, try to flirt with her, try to convince her to leave me.

56:03 They might insult her, which is dumb if they're in the Philippines because defamation is a major law here. If you insult a Filipina, especially publicly, then that's like a big no-no. There are major consequences to that. I don't do that because I actually like Filipino people. I get along with 99.9% of the Filipinos that I meet.

56:30 99.9% of the Filipinos that I meet, I find that most of them are very easygoing and very easy to get along with. But some people can be kind of abrasive. Now, if I were to get married, which a lot of people told me not to do, but if down the line I were to get married, I would strongly consider featuring my significant other in the videos.

Dating in the Philippines and Privacy Concerns

56:51 But yeah, it's tough, Phillip. You think everybody is going to be supportive of your relationships, but when I go on first dates, Justin gets really jealous and tells them, 'Stay away from my man.'

57:15 I'm just giving Justin a hard time, guys. I do plan to make a video talking about dating, Phillip, like basically, I want to do the video, 'Am I Gay in the Philippines?'

57:30 Because I've had quite a few people assume that because I don't show a lot of women, that I am gay. Here, I have no problem with gay people. I am not gay.

57:39 I did a video where I talked about coming here to meet an employee of mine that I had hired. What brought me to the Philippines was that I hired a virtual assistant here and I wanted to meet him in person, meet his wife, meet his children, or well, child at the time.

57:57 Now he has multiple children, and that was what brought me here. In the time of working with him, he convinced me that I should consider dating a Filipina. So, you know, I didn't come here for dating. I came here because there was a business incentive.

58:12 And he worked really hard for me. He helped my business reach a lot of success. And yeah, he's just a good guy overall. I shouldn't even say overall, he's just a good guy.

58:29 I try to think of people as imperfect and moderate my expectations. I have low expectations for other people, but he showed that he's trustworthy. I've been this virtual assistant, we've known each other for seven years now, and he's always been honest with me and helped me a lot.

58:56 And I'm not totally like, yeah, I just... it's tough, Phillip. Maybe it's something I could do for members, like maybe some of that content is stuff I could do for channel members. I tend to trust channel members.

59:12 And, you know, that might be something to do for channel members, like, 'Hey, this is me going on a date.'

59:25 Kyle says, 'I cut my own hair and shave. I haven't paid for a haircut in over 25 years.' That's a good idea, Kyle. That sounds like a way to definitely save on budget and time.

59:36 Like I knew a doctor back in Nashville, and he would cut his hair and shave because he said, 'I just didn't have time to go to a barber. I just wanted to get it done myself and didn't have time.' He worked a lot of hours.

59:57 So yeah, nothing wrong with that. Manila says, 'Looks youthful.' Thank you so much, Manila. I appreciate that. 'It's unhappy Monday.' Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Phillip.

1:00:09 Yeah, like I said, the challenges you'll have in Southeast Asia, more often than not, will be with other expats. The local people will typically be easier to get along with. The average local person will typically be easier to get along with than the average expat.

1:00:33 I do have expat friends here, but it's taken me time to cultivate those relationships. It's taken me time to sort out, 'I get along with this guy, I don't get along with this guy.'

1:00:46 Of course, Taguig has a reputation for drama. There's also a much bigger population here than most other expat communities. Like if I were to go to a local restaurant here, well, it's changed. I think there's more Filipinos now, but anyway, they're much more visible.

1:01:11 Even for how many there are here, I'm not going to walk to town without running into at least one expat. And I get recognized when I'm out a lot. Fortunately, people have been really nice. That's been kind of a surprise to me.

1:01:23 But everybody that's come up to me in public has been really nice and has told me how our content is helpful for people and helps to educate people, provide insight for people.

1:01:36 So yeah, let me try to get caught up here. 'Plus, he will scare off all the other girls.' Yeah, I'm glad you got a kick out of that, Justus.

Haircuts and Budgeting

1:02:02 Let's see. 'I get my haircuts in Chinatown, Oakland. $20. She knows what she's doing.' Yeah, that's a great call out, Kirk. And you know, I should have done that because I would go across the bridge and go into the city because I was living in Berkeley and I'd go across the city into the TL.

1:02:18 Like I take the BART to the mid-market station and then walk, but Chinatown, Oakland would have been closer and faster. I could have walked to Chinatown, Oakland from my old office.

1:02:32 Yeah, there's a lot, there's some things I miss about the Bay Area a lot. It's one of my favorite places I've ever lived in the world. It's a one-of-a-kind place.

1:02:47 After haircuts went up to $22 a cut, I started to go to the $5 place in the mall. Last year, they went up to $8, and now they're at $10. Still cheaper than HC, but no break anymore.

1:02:59 Yeah, $10 is still a good deal, Ben. But yeah, it's definitely going up. I know of people that sometimes they'll go to like a barber school where people go learn how to give haircuts, and they'll get it done for cheaper.

1:03:16 Phillip says, 'Yeah, I was half joking, but I think about the great content and drama might create.' Good call, Phillip. Yeah, I mean, drama definitely sells. People are naturally attracted to wild stuff.

1:03:35 And you know, if they think drama is going on, they'll definitely click. That's what I've had to learn is like, 'Spice it up a bit.'

1:03:43 You know, when I look at YouTube and the recommendations and the analytics, I cater a lot to people who are looking for documentary-style content, but throwing in some spicy drama is not the worst idea.

1:03:56 I don't want to do a freak show. Like I know of some vloggers, I'm not going to name them by name, but they do what I call a freak show. They want to make the audience like, look at the freaks, look at how messed up their lives are.

1:04:19 Look at these nutters in Southeast Asia. And I just don't... I get called too serious or like I don't smile or laugh enough, but I do want to normalize it a bit.

1:04:31 And yeah, good to see you, Mike. Yeah, everybody check out Mike's channel. He does a great channel. Him and his wife, Janet, have lovely content, and they're good friends as well.

1:04:49 I'm always happy to give them a call out. Check them out if you're not already familiar. I think there's a lot of overlap in our audiences, but I'm sure some of you haven't become familiar.

1:05:02 And he covers a lot. He's very, very thorough. And now he's branching into storytelling, and I find his stories to be really interesting.

1:05:14 And yeah, let's see here. 'Do you plan on returning to the US before you head out to other Southeast Asian countries?' I don't know why I feel nervous. I just saw Mike yesterday, but I'm like, 'Oh, Hollywood Mike.'

1:05:30 I call Mike Hollywood Mike, and that's because I mentioned to a friend, 'Hey, you know, you should meet Mike at some point.' He said, 'I don't know, Mike's got a pretty big channel, and I might be intimidating or something like that.' So ever since then, I started calling Mike Hollywood Mike.

1:06:10 Let's see, let me get caught up here. Yeah, so Michael, I'd like to check out Indonesia at some point.

1:06:32 I haven't yet been to Indonesia, and it's appealing to me for sure. Michael, I will be back within the next three weeks to live permanently. I'm back in the US just organizing and obtaining the things that I need for my return.

1:06:52 I'm sure our paths will cross at some point. That sounds fantastic, Michael. I know you're in Hawaii, what a beautiful state. I haven't yet been there, but it's, you know, it's a very interesting state.

1:07:02 Simon, looking good, buddy. Keep up that look. Thank you so much, Simon. I appreciate it. Everybody's been very complimentary about the shave. I'm pretty good at the shaving part, but I'll leave the haircut to the pros.

Drama, Trolls, and Content Value

1:07:18 KK says, 'I love Berkeley despite the politics.' Yeah, it's pretty chaotic in Berkeley. Critter Hunter, 'Drama sells, but people are getting tired of the countless dating advice channels.' Yeah, I agree, Critter.

1:07:37 And, you know, it just gets a bit out of hand. 'Good morning. I love doing a freak show.' That's funny, Mike. Yeah, I still need to keep it classy, but funny could be interesting to see if you have a dating game.

1:07:57 You know, Phillip, I don't really feel like people need game here in the Philippines. I see and meet all sorts of ways. I often see kind of nerdy-looking dudes with gorgeous Filipinas, guys that may feel very uncomfortable trying to date back home, and here they're with really nice-looking ladies.

1:08:19 So I feel like here you don't really have to. I mean, back home, it feels like a job interview and you're trying to finesse people. And here, there's a lot of nice women that they're just looking for a nice guy.

1:08:31 Where back home, the nice guy is regarded with contempt, mockery, 'What a bum,' or 'What a schmuck.' Here, the woman's like, 'Wow, he's like a nice guy, and he's a decent man. Maybe I'll give him a chance.'

1:08:56 You know, they're more receptive to the guy that has his stuff together. And yeah.

1:09:11 Well, you know, that's unfortunate that Heidi feels that way. You know, I've never said anything negative about them. I wish them the best, but I thank you for the heads-up on that, Relay. I'll definitely be keeping that in mind.

1:09:28 You know, some people don't like me talking about expat psychology. They've got some things going on and they don't want people to discuss some of these issues because...

1:09:45 This isn't about them specifically, this is just generally a tangent. If you're a person with issues, and a lot of expats have issues, especially I don't know, there's a lot of us that have issues. We, some of us that are predatory, we don't want people talking about these things because if you're looking to target people, you're looking to manipulate, to scam, to take advantage, you don't want people discussing the signs to look out for. You don't want people discussing, you know, I've had people get really upset and say you're very judgmental. And I'm thinking, well, you need, if you're an expat, you need to be judgmental to some extent. And more specifically, you need to have discernment because there's no safety in it over here. If you make a bad decision, it's very easy to get yourself entangled in some mess.

1:10:48 And that's why I suggest checking out Mike's channel if you haven't. He talks about a guy named Bob and how Bob has found himself in this mess and how Bob got into that mess. It's kind of innocuous, you know, like it's kind of very basic how a person might get into a mess here. I find it's much easier to get yourself into a mess than it is to get yourself out of a mess because people think, I just act like I do back in America and there's no problem. No, people here are way more polite, way more considerate. They're easier going. They're not confrontational. They're not looking to escalate in the way that some Americans do. They thrive on conflict, they want conflict. They're bored if they're not involved in some kind of drama. They want that.

Passport Renewal and Channel Growth

1:11:50 They want to be stressed out. I don't know if they want as much as they're just programming to be that way. And yeah, looking fresh, thank you. I appreciate that. Take your first day to Bali. I like the new look. Alex, when will you be getting a new passport? I'm hoping like in a week or two. I've heard some people say the turnaround on new passports is four or five weeks. And I sent mine in the day before Christmas. I mailed it to the Manila Embassy. I assume it got there the day after Christmas. And they told me 8 to 10 weeks, but I've had friends say it took them four or five weeks. I'm hoping it comes by the end of January. That would be my ideal situation.

1:12:42 And by the end of January, I get it back and I can take it to a visa service to transfer the stamp to the new passport and then get the extension done to be in compliance. Because when you get a new passport, you have to transfer your stamp from your old passport to your new passport. Thank you so much. This is a very kind comment from Justin. This time next year, when Alex has 880,000 subs, every hater changes their tune and tells people they knew him since the beginning. Yeah, I imagine people will come around when the channel is a lot bigger. And the channel is growing steadily. The growth has been very steady month over month.

1:13:51 I think part of it too is just like my focus is on providing value. And value for me comes in a different form than what maybe some other people are looking for. I'm trying to seek out stuff that hasn't been talked about as much. And I think playing the long game is where I'll succeed. Trying not to go for a quick little this and that. That is called the narcissist drama. Is their energy source? Yeah, they can't help it. These cluster B people, they thrive on drama. It's a thrill to them. They can't handle the calm vibe in the Philippines. Philippines is very chill, and people are just relaxed. They're having a good time in my experience.

1:14:52 Maybe some other people have a different experience, but in my experience, people here are very easygoing. And it's something I love about this country, is just how much I laugh and joke around. You're getting successful when the trolls start coming out. And maybe you experienced some of that. Yeah, true. It's true. You're definitely going to attract trolls as you grow. I don't consider myself a big channel at all. I see channels that are far further along, people like Mike or Paul or Chad or Justin. And I know they have their own trolls, which is dumb to me. But it technically helps with the algorithm to some extent. It shows YouTube engagement.

1:15:43 So the trolls are technically helping the people they hate get paid. I draw Alex all the time. I need the views. Mike's trying to find the latest and greatest big hit story. And so when people lose interest, he's got to come on here and give me a hard time. Mike does a drama channel if you haven't, if you didn't know. Mike does a drama channel. He hangs out with this guy named Bob that's in and out of jail. Anyway, I'm teasing Mike a little bit, guys. Less drama or nonsense might mean slower subs, but also means a higher quality audience, more monetization opportunities. I agree with that.

Audience Quality and Content Strategy

1:16:44 It's not going to be a runaway boom overnight massive channel, but the audience is going to be higher quality. It's going to be people I actually get along with, people I respect, people that have something valuable to contribute to the conversation. I don't want to run the freak show. I don't want to do the Jerry Springer type of content, or like pro wrestling vibes. This type of content could be very entertaining, but I don't know how much value that it provides. And yeah, I just don't know how much value it really provides in the long term. I think drama gets boring after a while. I think that's why we see certain drama channels losing traction and struggling to stay relevant.

1:17:58 You look your age now Alex, much better. Prefer you clean shaven. Cheers, thank you. Some create problems where there are no problems, making noise when quiet is needed. I don't mind being in public or in a group as long as I can come and go as I please. I agree, and I think we all have to learn to be happy alone. Well, I should say, I think it's a superpower to be happy alone. Also, I think being here, I have more opportunities for socializing. So on any given day, if I want to go hang out with people, I can. Typically, what stops me from socializing on any given day is not opportunities. Like Justin hit me up yesterday and the day before that, he was in town from Dubai. Having other obligations, right? I have more and more pressure being put on my schedule.

1:19:03 With the new look, the women will be all over you. That's funny. Thank you, Frank. I appreciate it. One more thing about drama, I'm going for a totally different audience. Like, a lot of these kind of dramatic trolls or whatever try to attack me. I'm like, guys, you're irrelevant. You're catering to a totally different group. I'm looking more for this type of people that are... I'm just looking for totally different people.

Dating Preferences and Beard Styles

1:20:07 Did you shave? You did shave for a Filipina? Somewhat, yeah. I did. A couple of Filipinos I've been interested in. Yeah, it's... Sorry, I lost my train of thought. I'm just, my mind is kind of racing right now. Yeah, so ultimately, I did shave. I had a couple of Filipinas I've been seeing. Yes, that's not... I'm bringing them over. That's not... It's I'm getting to know them through conversation and through talking about different things. I look at it like, you know, there's no reason, oh, I'm going to fall in love with the first woman I meet. I don't believe in rushing things.

1:21:21 And yeah, I met Filipina P, and she said it looks good. I think a beard would look good on you again if you style it a different way. Not too thick, not too thin. Not the... Yeah, that's a good point. And not the... I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna give him any attention. I'm just not going to give him any attention. I wish him the best. I wish him the best.

1:22:27 I pulled it. Oh, hey Doug. So Doug is a subscriber. I actually met Doug recently. We met up at Robinson's. I showed him this Korean food stall there in Robinson's, and we got to meet and talk for a bit. And he's moved up to Taytay now. So fantastic, Doug. I'm glad to hear that his lease in Manila is coming to an end. So, yeah, great to see you on here, Doug. I hope you're enjoying your time there. And Taytay time. I have a beard myself and have had multiple Filipinos tell me they were interested in me because of it, not in spite of it. Just depends on how you groom it. That's a good point. Yeah, so I met Filipina P back in September, and I asked her about it, and she said it looks good. So that was a kind compliment. And yeah, that was a nice thing for her to say. And you know, some Filipinos do like it.

E-begging vs. Business and Content Critiques

1:23:23 For me, it was kind of hard to figure out how to style it and make it look good. Drama asking for money and telling grown men what to do is the triatic equation equals unsubscribed. I agree. For me, it's I'm just going to come out and say it. Grown men should not be involved in drama. It's not... Yeah, yeah, it just like it's... And I also don't believe in asking for... I don't believe in e-begging. I think that you have, as a person with a sales background, you've got to ask for the sale. You've got to make things sustainable from a business standpoint. There's a difference between asking for the sale and e-begging.

1:24:27 E-begging is harassing your audience or viewers to give money, give money, give money. I look at it like if I was doing this solely for financial...

1:24:39 I was doing this solely for financial reasons. I'd go do something else because this is by no means as lucrative as some of the opportunities I've had in the US and opportunities I could probably put together in the US given enough time.

1:24:56 I try to steer away from advice because I think insight is helpful. Where you get into advice is where you start to tell people to do things that may not work out for them, and then they've got you to blame. 'Oh, he told me to just go to this city and I don't like this city,' or 'He told me to date a woman with this background or whatever.'

1:25:28 Filipinos hate beards. It scratches up their face. That's a fair point. I've dated American women too, Frank, that said that like, 'Hey, I don't like the beard,' not because I don't think it looks good, but because it's abrasive and it scratches up their face. Yeah, so I'm not doing that here.

1:26:01 They don't like unkempt beards. Put some beard oil on it, trim it. That's a good call out, Envy. Your experience may be different, and Filipino is a nationality, not an ethnicity. So, many different Filipinos have many different preferences. Same with Thai women, there's a presumption they're all looking for like the American movie star. That's not the case. Like one of my Thai friends said specifically she would prefer to date an Asian man.

1:26:38 I think there's somebody out there for everybody. There's four billion women on the planet. Let's say a billion of those four billion women are within a normal age range and single. Maybe that person isn't in the United States, but maybe they're in the Philippines, or maybe they're in Thailand, or maybe they're in Indonesia. There are many different countries where there's some nice people to meet and to date.

1:27:18 Critter says, 'I don't know who's been trolling you, but have you ever been trolled by a winner? Winners aren't concerned with negative things of others and are helpful to fellow man.' I agree, Justin. I don't worry about it too much, and what inevitably ends up happening is that it boosts me because anybody doing free marketing for me is helping the channel grow. Even if they're talking bad, some of those people that are watching will come and check out the channel, and then they'll like what they see and subscribe.

1:27:59 Justin, you remind me. I had a coworker at one time, I'll try to be vague about this as possible. 'Oh, I'm a movie critic. I judge movies.' You think this movie star that got paid $12 million to make this movie cares what you think about it? No, he went and did his job, got a big paycheck, and then moved on with his life. You spending all your time trying to critique or judge them, talk about what you think about it, how this is the worst movie ever, you're working for them. They're living in your head rent-free.

1:28:40 So yeah, I agree with you, Justin. I wish people the best, I truly do. But the drama is not providing value. Getting into it with trolls doesn't provide value. There are legitimate critiques. I separate legitimate critique from trolling. Trolling is just looking to do damage, stir up drama, to be harmful. Legitimate critique, I do get legitimate critiques. Like, my content was way too fast. I was pulling out all the spaces trying to save people time, but it became hard to listen to, and so people had to actually slow the content down.

Dating Age Ranges and Relationship Advice

1:29:19 Now I've learned, hey, don't pull out every single little space because it's unpleasant to listen to. That was a fair critique. Another critique I had: 'Shave, like, your beard isn't that great looking.' So I went and got a shave, and now I'm getting a lot of compliments on having a shaved face. I may stick with it. I'm getting like a lot more compliments than not, probably eight out of 10 people are telling me I look better without the facial hair.

1:29:52 Since you're fairly young, do you prefer dating Filipinas about the same age or younger? I think the best dating experiences I've had have been in the, I've heard half your age plus seven years, right? So for me, that would be 23, 24, 25 range. The two that I've been chatting with are 24 and 26. That's a good range for me. I find younger than 24, like in the say 20 to 24 range, there's just not the same level of maturity, there's not as much shared culture.

1:30:43 They're not as chilled out. They're more high energy, where for me, I'm more chilled out. I'm still in some ways high energy, but I'm not looking to be out on the town. I'm past my partying phase. I like going to bed early every night. So I would say that 24 to 26 range has been a good fit for me now. Five years ago, I was interested in 22, 23, 24 because I was 27.

1:31:16 When you're 27 dating a woman in her early 20s, that's probably a good fit. But for me, I would just struggle to relate a bit more to them at this point and have different priorities than I had back then.

1:31:47 For what it's worth, I think you look better without the beard. Thank you, Doug. I appreciate that. I respect that. You don't e-beg. I can't stand vloggers who are quick to beg for money and not offering anything in return. Yeah, I don't like e-begging either. To me, if I was at the point where I needed to e-beg, I would just need to go back home. That's the time if you're in such rough financial shape, you need to e-beg and rattle the coin jar or whatever. It's time to go back home, time to earn some more money, time to save up, time to plan your next trip.

1:32:21 The economic opportunities are far more lucrative back in the US than they are over here. Yeah, since you're, let's see, I live in SF. Filipinos run that city. That's a Filipino town. Somebody had asked if I had been to Daly City. That may have gotten deleted.

1:32:50 Oh MV, I think you can get a new passport mailed from yeah. So they are going to mail it. Here, they just need to call me when it's on the way. I have spent time in Daly City, so I think that comment might have gotten delayed. Oh, okay, I see. Relay signings, yeah, I've been to Daly City. Actually, I was in Daly City to try the robot-made Creator Burger. This was a few years ago, and they have a restaurant there that does robot-made hamburgers. I really like that robot-made hamburger. They did a good job with it. Now, it's not totally robot-made, but it was a good experience. I like Daly City. I had some coworkers living in Daly City as well.

Travel, Culture, and Meeting People

1:33:48 My Opa, grandfather, used to say, 'There's a cork for every bottle.' I agree, Kyle. I definitely agree, especially if you're willing to travel outside of your home country. Which I assume most of the guys that subscribe to my channel, they are willing and they're interested. Dating is one of the many reasons to go abroad. For me, I like culture, I like the travel aspect, I like seeing new places, seeing new things, meeting interesting people. It's a lot of fun.

1:34:33 The woman you're chatting with, did you meet them online or just out in Duma? I just met him. Well, so a couple things. Relay says, 'High five.' Yeah, high five, Frank. I love San Francisco, by the way. Gorgeous city, my favorite American city by far. I was so blessed to live in close proximity over there in the East Bay, and I spent, I'd come to San Francisco just about every weekend for years.

1:35:03 It's just I love the architecture, I love the weather, I love the culture. I like how I can go to three different neighborhoods and have three different cultural experiences. I remember I'd go to Chinatown, there'd be a Chinatown parade, and then I'd go to North Beach and have a slice of pizza, and then I'd go to Dolores Park and relax in the park looking at the skyline and grab a burrito, and then hop on the train and go home. I took that for granted because I was working a lot and very busy, but that's such a beautiful city.

1:35:44 It's San Francisco, and the Bay in general is like the Milan or the London of today's era, maybe even the Rome of today's era in terms of global influence with the tech industry. I love California, but the Bay Area is really incredible.

1:36:15 So MV, to answer your question, did I meet the women online or just out in DTI? So one of the two women, I met her aunt here in Dumaguete. I just started talking to her. They were having something on the boulevard, some kind of party or something like that, and I just walked up to her and started talking to her. She said, 'You should meet my niece.' Well, both my two nieces. So she connected me with her nieces. One I gravitated toward a bit more than the other. The other was a bit more shy, and she and I got along great.

1:36:55 We actually met in person a month or two ago. She came down here for her uncle's wedding. Her uncle works for the Philippines National Police, and so she came down for that wedding. She had a great time, but she wanted to meet up with me, and we went and had some coffee and talked for a while. She's a really lovely lady, but she lives in...

1:37:28 She's a really lovely lady, but she lives in Sabu, and I'm not quite ready to move to Sabu. I'm not opposed to it in the future, but for right now, Daggett is a better fit. I hope that answers your question. Oh, the other woman I'm talking to, a friend of mine introduced me to her here in Daggett. And so that was good, but like I said, I'm not in a rush. I do think online dating can have some positives. Like I said, I've got a sponsor in that category. I need to just sign the contract actually and start plugging them because I think there's a lot of value in online dating, especially for guys who are back in the US that they're not here in person. It's a fantastic way at the very least to get to know the culture, get a sense for the lifestyles over here, learn about the different parts of the country, learn about your options. For some guys, they have certain specifications and getting a sense is that a possibility? Can I meet people like that or women like that?

Passport Renewal Issues and Stream Conclusion

1:38:50 So, you did your passport renewal through the embassy in Manila? Yeah, Ben, so I mailed it up there actually. I printed the paperwork out, I paid the fee, I put it all in an envelope, and then I went down to LBC. LBC helped me send it to Manila, and so I should get a call from LBC and just pay for the return delivery, cash on delivery. So when they bring the new passport to me, then I should be able to just pay for that return, and that saves me from having to go up there immediately. I still may need to go up there to transfer the stamp.

1:39:52 I just sent in the renewal to Manila. One second, guys, I have somebody at the door. I'll be right back. It'll take me just a minute. Oh, thank you, sir. Yes, sir. Did I sign? Oh, is it a passport? Okay. Embassy. Okay, thank you. I'll get the payment. Really? Okay, guys, so that's my passport. My passport just arrived, and so I need to get the payment together. I'm thrilled about this. I was not expecting it to be so quick. Go USA! Thank you, USA, for being... Oh no, I've gotta... well, I got it actually. So they want 251 pesos for this return of the passport. I got it right here, guys. So I'm gonna go pay that.

1:41:55 Guys, I apologize for that. I did not expect to get my new passport in so soon. Let's see here. Okay, so this is what it looks like, guys. I've got to cover up the address, but yeah, you can see. We'll see. I'm nervous. I'm hoping it's not something like application rejected, or I've filled something out incorrectly. You guys can't tell, I get a little bit paranoid sometimes about some of these.

1:43:21 Oh man, the photo didn't... Oh, that stinks. Good. So that's really disappointing. So I made a mistake there. So what happens is they... Oh man, guys, I probably got to go soon to go deal with this. Yeah, I'm kind of... I need to make some phone calls. So they gave me a blurry photo. I got a photo made here in Dumag, and they gave me a blurry photo. It's not sharp, it's not clear, and so actually they rejected my application.

1:44:35 Yeah, so guys, I'll probably have to drop here soon and go deal with that. That's really frustrating. Maybe I should just go to Manila and try to do this in person. Yeah, that's really stressful. Yeah, guys, I'm gonna go ahead and drop because I need to. Oh, you didn't subu consulate Critter? So maybe if I make a trip up to Sabu.

1:45:29 Thank you, Justin. I appreciate the heads up on that. Well, thanks so much, guys. I appreciate it. I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this stream up because I need to go get on this, and I'll catch up with you guys soon. I'll provide an update. So sorry about that, but I'll get it sorted.