Michael K Feeney 

Mike is a sunnyboy from California with a friendly helpfull attitude. It is hard to get a quiet moment with him to talk about that small interview as he usually busy with taking  care of everything around him including the peanut vendors at the boulevard in Dumaguete. If you don’t see him running around his Adventure Diveshop and the Waterfront-Cafe with JM (his son) on his arms he is most likely under water or on the construction site of his property in Dauin. His favourite food is obviously BBQ and Mexican style what reflects on the menu of his small restaurant. The Chicken Burritos are my favourite and as the beer is the coldest San Miguel in whole Dumaguete it is easy to spend some hours there.  Who ever met that guy in Dumaguete wonders where he gets the energy to do all that stuff and still having that great attitude. Enjoy his honest answers and don’t miss out on meeting Mike when you are around in Dumaguete…

10 Questions

What is your full Name ?
Michael K Feeney
Are you married /Kids (if yes how many, boy/girl, age)
Finally got married in Dec 2007, after 4 years living together and 1.5 kids it seemed like a good time to put away the fear and take the plunge.
3 kids, 22 year old boy, 5 year old girl, 1 year old son and a baby girl on the way. She is due in June.

What is your occupation?
Retired conductor for the Canadian National Railroad, 8 years. Retired farmer, 18 years growing wine grapes in  Sonoma County Calif. All that retirement…… We now have a small dive shop (Adventurediveshop) and the Waterfront-Café on the Boulevard in Dumaguete. I feel more retarded than retired, I sometimes work harder now than ever before.

How long and why are you in Dumaguete?
I’ve been in Dumaguete for 4 years or has it been a lifetime????
Fate brought me here. A friend in the US is married to a girl from Dumaguete. After listening  to him rave about the Philippines and Dumaguete  I decided I better have a look. Well, the rest as they say is history.
I met my wife within a few days of my arrival. I also met a great group of locals, the circle of friends just kept growing as did the realization that this place just might be the spot to spend the rest of my days….
.

What do you like about Dumaguete ?
Dumaguete for me is an amazing place of contrast. From Apo Island or a cool mountain water fall to the mall. From a college coffee shop, talking politics or world affairs to a mountain roadside sari-sari talking about NPA or farming or life span of a caribou. Strolling the boulevard on a quiet night or navigating the insanity of the tricycle choked streets surrounding the market. The concrete lined cesspool called a river running through Dumaguete…. Well I think you get my point. But mostly I like the people…. And the lifestyle

What would you like to change in Dumaguete?
Flat out …… the traffic!!!!!!! I hate tricycles,  that is unless I need one. It’s not unique to Dumaguete but if I let it get to me………………..  F#*k      Where’s my gun?????

What was the best experience in your life?
So many wonderful experiences in life…. But of course the best have been and will be the birth of my children… Nothing comes close to that moment that that slimy little thing enters your arms for the first time. After that it’s all down hill…
The next best moment in my life was the day I told myself and the owner of the company I managed that I was done!!!!! No more work for me and not yet 50 yeas old. It felt like the 30 year prison term was finished.     Mmmmm, what did I say about retirement earlier?????

What are your plans for the future ?
Well, now that I’m retired….. I’m gonna slow down and relax more, right??? Well not just yet . We have some property in Dauin that we are just beginning to develop into a small 8-10 room resort and dive shop. Now I just dream about the day that I can lay in my beachside, coconut tree supported hammock, with a cup of coffee and a good book and watch the boat load of divers sail away to Apo Island.

If you can say 2 sentences daily to 1.500 people from all over the world, WHAT would you tell them ?
I would have to say that with everything that I’ve done and everywhere I’ve been, all the experiences good and bad in my life there is one thing that I’ve come to realize, and that is that life is short. I’ve lost brothers, father, friends and more. Some in the prime of life others at the end. Either way life is precious and oh so short.
Don’t wait to do the things you want, go for your dreams. This is not a dress rehearsal. Tomorrow could be the last day for any of us…….. Embrace the positive, seize the moment !

Would you do something different in your life if you have the chance ?
At the end of the day, when we are reflecting on our lives, I don’t think that the number of cars or houses we owned will matter much. I don’t think that the amount of money in the bank will be too comforting. I think that in our final moments, given the chance  we will be thinking about the people in our lives. Our loved ones, all the relationships we had, all the good things we did and the positive influence we had on people. But also we will think about the people we used, hurt or mistreated. I’ve been no angel in my life.
If I could do anything different,  it would been to deal differently with the people that I’ve treated poorly or much worse. Since we can’t change the past, we can only work on the future.

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