About RT
Who Am I? I'm Batman.
But really…
My full name is Richard Timothy Cunningham, but I prefer to be called "RT". My wife's name is Josephine. My older son is Joseph and my younger son is Jonathan. I am a retired US Marine. My date of birth is 11/28/1960. I, Josie, and Jon live in the Philippines.
This page is divided into three parts:
My Personal History
My Professional History
My Online History
My Personal History:
I grew up in a 4-bedroom, one-bath house with parents and eight other siblings (four brothers and four sisters) up until I was about 13 years-old. (Needless to say, the bathroom was almost always occupied.) The house is still owned by my parents in Coolidge, Arizona, USA (which, by the way, is a mere 70 miles from where I ended up in Phoenix, Arizona, USA).
I spent the next almost four years living in Hawaii with ever-dwindling amounts of siblings (they kept heading back to the mainland) in a smaller 3-bedroom, one-bath house. (I vowed to have a bigger house for my own family when the time came.) After returning to the mainland myself, I finished my senior year of high school and then headed off to the military, not really looking back.
I met my wife while deployed to the Philippines with one of my units back in the early eighties. She then spent more than 13 years with me at various locations within the US and Japan. Without her support, I probably would've left the military earlier than I did.
I retired after 20 years in the military in 1998 and worked at three different jobs before deciding it was time to retire for good. My military pension would suffice for living in the Philippines. My pension and even social security benefits (when I turn 67) would not be enough to retire in the US. From June 1994 to March 2006, I lived in a 4-bedroom, 3-bath house. During the first 10 years of that, my parents-in-law lived with us. My father-in-law died in a car accident in 2003 and my mother-in-law subsequently moved back to the Philippines to join the rest of her family there. My younger son went with her, so that he could get started with college. My older son had spent three years in the military (one of those years was in Iraq), returned and then moved out into his own apartment.
I and my wife arrived in the Philippines in April 2006 with enough money from the equity of our home sale to buy a home in the Philippines. After a month of not finding a decent home at a decent price, we decided to have one built. The house itself was finished in September 2006.
Here's a photo of me, my wife, and my younger son taken while we were in the Batangas province on May 31, 2006:
My Professional History:
Please understand that I don't remember everything, and I don't care to. I think age is a blessing and not a curse.
Prior to 1974:
Newspaper carrier (or paper boy, whichever you prefer).
1975-1977:
Part-time janitor at my high school.
1978-1998:
US Marine Corps — Personnel Clerk, Personnel/Administrative Chief, Basic Rifleman (Read about marines and you'll understand).
1998-1999:
Office manager for a copier refurbishing and service company.
1999-2000:
Computer operator, statistical analyst, MIS/IT manager for a telemarketing company.
2001-2006:
Accident claims processor (loss taker) for a large trucking corporation.
2006-Present:
Permanently retired. Blog writer. Goof off.
My Online History:
1992-1998:
I ran the "Desert Oasis" Commodore BBS, renamed somewhere along the line to "Oasis Commodore". I'm thinking 1995. My handle was "Wanderer".
May 2006-August 2007:
This blog. The original idea was to use it as a journal of what's happened since moving to the Philippines. It quickly turned into a conglomeration of thoughts and ideas about anything and everything that I experience, both past and present.
August 2007-March 2008:
The focus of my blog changed to "Blog Reviews, Promotion, Issues, Monetization and More" to more accurately reflect what I like to do – help others.
April 2008-Present:
I decided to try my hand at Internet marketing.
[...] So without further ado…the inaugural "Weekly Blog in the Spotlight" is Untwisted Vortex run by RT Cunningham. [...]
[...] of nine siblings RT grew up in a four bedroom home in Coolidge, AZ. He has lived all over the United States including [...]
Steal away RT. There isn't anything you can't have off my site. I'm honored that you finally found something worth taking. Have a great day.
Comedy Plus's last blog post..Technorati LinkLOve Back To You
Hi RT, I'm a pinoy and I would just like to tell you that I like your blog a lot. Nice concept
Thanks for the review by the way.
Hey, I'm in the copier industry now. Man, its so freakin competitive. How was it in 1999?
The same. Dog eat dog and cutthroat would be mild terms to use.
I never thought of rating the houses I have lived in by the number of bathrooms, but then that's probably because I have not lived in a house with more than one….
currently three-bed one bathroom (unless you count the outside WC… – my house is old!)
Well, it's hard to have 11 people sharing one bathroom. The house I live in now has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.
Wow, a Commodore BBS! Makes me very nostalgic about the old non-commercial days of the internet in the 80s, although we bloggers couldn't have made any money back then
.
Found your blog an interesting read. Have been thinking of paying a visit to Philippines for some time, although it is a bit of a trek from the UK! All the best to you and your family RT.
Kamustaka RT!
Natural Woman's last blog post..What the Freak is A Freegan?
Very well fashioned blog RT
best wishes CJ
Hi Richard,
I like your blog. Very easy to read and include helpful information.
cheers,
burlington car accident lawyers
Hi richard this is a great blog and its really informative.
wow naman, nakaka inspire!!!! Well I hope by now you can already understand tagalog since you're already here in the Philippines for almost 2 years…
More than 2 years and I already understood a lot before I moved here.
I wouldn't be able to talk to my in-laws if I didn't speak Tagalog, since their English is very poor (except for two, one brother-in-law's wife and my mother-in-law).
[...] way – RT of Untwisted Vortex: Living in a Different Land has an explanation that's getting me closer, [...]
[...] me with congrats and giving me the latest number of diggs on the article in real time, RT was suggesting that I needed to install WP Super Cache Plugin, and Aruni sending me pictures of how [...]
Hi RT! I would just like to thank you for the reviews you've written for my 2 blogs.
More power man!
hi rt i left philippines when i was 17 i was working at cork room attic it's a restaurant since then i haven't visit philippines i married a marine too and just got back from iraq we have 5 kid's 4 boy's and 1 girl and i have a feeling that my boy's will be in military also i asked my husband to retired in philippines but he doesn't want to . what is the good advice to convince him to move there .he's still in the marine corp semper fi .
How does not having to work sound? How does doing what he likes to do instead of what he has to sound?
If he retires from the Corps, he may change his mind. I had no intention of moving here when I retired, but 8 years later I changed my mind.
thank's i don't think that will work , just remember he's a marine hardheaded you know what i mean lol . by the way last year when he came back from iraq we where looking at olongapo website it's so different , before when you all are there the city is so clean and so many business now it's dirty and not alot of business then the base is ugly i don't know maybe it's just me but that's what i see in the website so it's kind of scary to visit .
Don't rely on pictures. I was here in the 80s and the city's the same with just more people and more cars, jeepneys and trikes.
The base was ugly back then. It's looking nice in most parts now. Most of the good businesses and hotels are moving to the freeport zone.
thank's anyway when you'll be able to put a new picture of olongapo . well maybe i will be home next year with all my kid's my parent's live in bo. barretto i heard their's so many american living in baloy right now and the area is totally different will see when i get home i think it will be new experience for me and my kid's .
[...] of the first blogs I started reading on a regular basis was Untwisted Vortex by RT Cunningham (aka Master of the Philippines – a nickname I just made up). RT has been living in the Philippines for a bit over two years now, [...]
RT: Need to know more about Nursing School in Olongapo. Please assist my son. Just like you, Im a retired serviceman and would like to go backto PI.
I sent you an email message.
hi there RT nice blog i like your blog. .you seem to like philippines so much you're like my dad he loves philippines so much
its nice to be here in your blog 
Is the population density in The Phillipines greater than USA?
I meant to answer this when it was asked, but it got lost in the shuffle. The answer is yes. Much greater.
Are you learning any languages now that you're living in such a diverse place?
I'm learning Tagalog out of necessity but trying hard not to learn any other local languages. I'm not fluent and I probably won't ever be fluent, but I'm getting good with it through osmosis.
You know, I've been posting on your site for a couple of weeks now. I hadn't visited your About section. Now I'm glad I did. It gives me a little more connection to your posts knowing what you've shared here. Thanks.
And funny that you should say you're Batman.
My older brother and I are huge superhero fans and I have this thing running with him being Batman and me calling him such name.
I have him under Batman on my cell phone. So every time my big brother calls, it says "Batman is calling".
Hello RT,
I accidentally found your site and I am glad I did. It is fascinating to read your life story. You are too young to "retire" actually. It looks like you are very happy living in the Philippines with your family today. I understand that your USA pension is not enough to survive if you live in the USA because of the high cost of living here right now……Your pension will go a long way over there because of the lower value of the pesos.
I should know because I am a filipino living in the United States for 32 years already. I just retire last year & my pension is really very small. But I manage to budget my money so I am doing just fine. I wanted to go back home to the Phil. to retire there permanently but I am having second thoughts because I am already used to the american way of life. Going back home is just like starting life all over again.
You an american living your life in full in the Philippines while me, a filipino is enjoying all the good life & benefits here in USA……funny isn't it ? It just shows you that people are funny…we like to trade places for work, adventure and better life.
Finally….this is a nice site….considering you are a computer geek….it is easy for you to manage this site perfectly, well done.
Your story is impressive! Thanks for your excellence RT! You are a great person and deserve what you have! Your family and everything you work on!
Ion
Yup, Batman is the right word for you. After all you went through so much upside down and I hope downside up now.
Wish you luck.
[...] came when a good friend generously offered to help me out. I have never talked in person to RT Cunningham (http://untwistedvortex.com) other than through a few exchanges in emails through [...]
When reading your Lasik Eye Surgery post, I was wondering how in the world you could drive only three times from November to January. Now I see you live in the Phillipines… that — and being retired — probably explains it. It makes me consider moving just to stop driving as much as I do.
What would you consider to be another real benefit to living in the Phillipines?
Less stress. A lot less.
hey my name is lucas connolly im 15 and im from liverpool england i agree about everything you said about you politics blog and iv hated politics for a very long time so if you wanna bitch about politics with me some time my site is just above.
Hello Richard!
Hey RT,
Thanks for sharing your bio and blog with your readers…I too am retired military, U.S. Army, 26 years.
I also share a somewhat similar work history after retiring, and finally found that the civilian world is MUCH different than our military world. So now, I share the ranks of Goof off with you as well, it's great!
Thanks for serving Marine! Semper Fi !
Tony
Hi, RT!
Please pardon my resorting to posting in the vernacular sometimes. I believe your blog also has a wide viewer base so I answer/post some in Tagalog/Pilipino.
Kudos!
Tag
No problem, Tag. I can read most of the Tagalog and most of the Spanish (and of course all of the English).
Hi RT! I enjoyed reading your history! We have a family friend who is in a very similar situation as you but only he still lives in the US. Things didn't really go as planned for him.
I really enjoy reading your blog about all different WP plug ins.
Hello RT,
Thanks for sharing your life experiences with us.
And thanks for serving your country!
I met an American ex-pat (from California) in the Visayas earlier this year. He says the same thing why he decided to live in one of the islands down there. You guys are my inspiration for why I want to go back to where I was born even after living practically all my life in North America (I'm not American, neither Mexican, just guess.)
Very useful information you have in your blog. Now, help me out if you could: how does one find a company or a person to build a concrete fence/wall around a residential property?
We have a small property north of you, and we seem to be getting estimates from companies that want to build an on ramp for the SCTEX or a designer "bakod" for a 800 sq m property. (Their interpretation of the job and the quotes they come up is way overkill for a simple "bakod".)
I don't honestly know that answer. I had relatives build mine — I have like a billion relatives within a 1 kilometer radius (or so it seems).
Thanks anyway. That's what I gathered from your blog. Judging from what I've seen of Clark and Subic, what's happening over in that part of the country, things are looking up.
I thought I'd update you how we found someone to do our fence (bakod). I suggested to my sister who is there for the next few months to check with her friends how they got their fence up. A few referrals came through.
We're down to one and very reasonable for a concrete hollow blocks. What is interesting is that the referrals are all engineers. and they acually come up with proper design (sort of homes and garden beautiful). It took awhile to explain that we just want a simple concrete hollow blocks or adobe, with a gate. Problem solved.
I think your's Professional History and online History are best part of your's blog.I think you are having a lot of experience of the US Marine Corps which can be useful to lots of youngster.
Hey RT. I love the site! You should check out mine when you get a chance: http://travelingmiller.com I'm a 26 year old American who just returned from the Philippines and I fell in love with the country and the people. I'm seriously considering moving there (especially since I just got a job in California that will let me work remotely and the dollar buys a lot more there), so I wanted to see if there is any advice you could give me. For example, where should I live? I have friends in Manila and Makati, so I was thinking there. I also know someone who lives in Angeles City, he also was in the Marines and he's a retired CA correctional officer.
I can't tell you which area is the best. It depends on what you're used to. Manila/Makati is crowded and traffic is horrible, but some people love it there. There are quite a few Americans in Olongapo and Angeles because of the former bases, but that doesn't make them necessarily better than anywhere else.