Yesterday was filled with the usual Sunday routines but with an added twist. An old dart league compadre from the Korea days is visiting Subic this week, and I’ve consented to show him around town. Last night, Jay joined us on the Arizona floating bar, then came along for dinner at John’s place. Next, we introduced Jay to Barretto’s Wet Spot. That’s all the fun I had in me, so we headed home, and I directed Jay to Johansson’s so he could practice his darts (he’ll be playing at Alley Cats this week). And later today, Jay will be losing his Hash virginity. Should be a good time.

The day began with the Sunday Candy Walk, and it was good to be back after our hiatus last week. My videos suck, but I try to finish what I started, so here is the six-minute section two of our standard walk (in case you missed it, you can see section one here.)

A few more photos from our walk:

A nap, a blog post, and a shower later it was time for the Hideaway feeding.

Time to hit the beach.

Then it was off for some dinner.

Jay enjoyed the upstairs ambiance. Food was good. Swan had her usual birria tacos, and Jay went with a cheeseburger. His request for some avocado on top was granted. Sorry, I didn’t get a picture, that was a damn big burger.

We did our nightcap at Wet Spot, and Jay, being the new kid in town, caught the eye of one gal who wanted his attention. She rubbed his shoulders some, and he gave her a lady drink, then sent her away. Well played!

So, back in Itaewon times, Jay was just one of the dart league buddies, and I didn’t know him all that well. He’s a teacher, and after leaving Korea, he spent a couple of years in Thailand. He’s currently working in Japan. He’s a Canadian, and I sense he leans to the left, but we successfully avoided getting into any political conversation. I called Canada the 51st state, and he responded that America is Canada’s underwear, so that was well-played. He is looking forward to some hikes during his visit, and I’ll gladly accommodate him in that regard. I also secured Jay a spot on a Wednesday dart league team and will introduce him to the Alley Cats darts community tomorrow. This being a tour guide is a nice change of pace!

In health metrics, for the first time since I’ve been recording my blood pressure on a daily basis, I had a reading under 100! 98/64 was unfamiliar territory for me, but when I looked it up to make sure I wasn’t in the danger zone, I discovered I was still in the “normal” range. In a bit or unrelated news, the top shelf of my closet is filled with clothes that no longer fit me. Yesterday, I randomly grabbed a pair of shorts from the past and I’ll be damned, but they fit me again! That’s my kind of progress!

When was the last time SNL did something funny? Long enough ago for this to be worthy of note:

Today’s stroll through the LTG archives brought me back to this post in October 2005, when I discovered the poet Charles Bukowski. I’ve always been a fan of poetry, so how I went so long without reading his work is strange indeed. But, better late than never, I suppose. Here’s my favorite:

The Laughing Heart

your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

From Facebook memories of this day in the past:

Today’s YouTube video shares some news items from around the PI. Flirting with a man’s wife isn’t too bright, but kicking his ass when he complains about it is downright stupid. The nightmare of Filipino jail is the reward that comes from ignorance. I’d like to know more about the hikers who were rescued after being lost for several days; I hadn’t heard about that.

Take these for what they are worth:

Okay, I’ve got a Hash to attend to. Tell you all about it tomorrow.

Another day of liquification, but what goes in you must come out. It’s a shitty situation, but this too shall pass. It will be good to feel solid again. But enough of that crap, let’s focus on the positive.

Kicked off the morning with the Sweet Saturday walk. Neighbors Martin and Joss asked to come along, and the more, the merrier. They seemed to enjoy it. As we entered the first neighborhood, we saw a baboy transitioning to lechon.

I’ve eaten lechon many times, but seeing how this one was being roasted was interesting. The fire surrounds the pig and generates the heat, but the meat is not directly over the fire. There was a man behind that barrier in the back, cranking the skewering pole in rotisserie fashion. Hard work for a good meal.

Later in the day, we walked into town for a change of scenery.

We did our nightcap at Green Room. Waitress Chu challenged me to a game of pool, and feeling a tad bored, I accepted. She was leading in the first game but then scratched on the 8-ball, giving me a backdoor victory. Chu wanted a rematch, and I granted her wish. I actually played better than expected, and we were both down to the 8-ball at the end. She shot and missed. I didn’t.

One of the side effects of whatever it is that is ailing me is feeling fatigued. Even though it was Saturday night, I was over and done with it at 7:30. That’s early, even by my low standards.

Today’s journey through the LTG archives brought me to a post from October 2005. I’d just returned from an excursion to Phoenix, Arizona, for some work-related training. It was apparently quite the trip. When the session ended, I rented a car and drove through the Mojave desert. Then, I stopped in Laughlin, Nevada, for some gambling at the blackjack tables. On the way back to Phoenix, I crossed the border at Yuma and had some fun in Mexico. But here’s the thing: until I read that post, I had absolutely no recollection of that trip whatsoever. That freaks me out some, but it’s good to know this blog serves some purpose if only to remind me of things I’ve done. That makes the post worthy of a tag in The Story of My Life.

On this day in history via Facebook memories:

And then, six years ago, this guy came into my life:

My neck is sore from simultaneously laughing and shaking my head at the bullshit stuff my lefty friends have been posting on Facebook. Of course, I counter with my own memes to drive them even crazier.

Today’s YouTube video shares mistakes expats make in the Philippines and tells how to avoid them. Common sense ain’t real common in these parts. Yeah, I’ve had my share of fuckups, too.

Laughter is the best medicine. Here’s your daily dose:

I’m sure you’ve had enough of this nonsense for now, so I’ll let it be. Until next time.

I got to pick the route for the Friday group hike, and since we had my virgin neighbors along, I wanted to introduce them to my old friend, the My Bitch trail. We took a different route up and a new way down, but in between were the usual views that I enjoy. Martin and Joss were not disappointed, and although they are distance walkers (15K is their norm) on the flat streets of Manila, they found the Bitch plenty challenging. Here is some of what they got to experience:

I attended my first SOB in over a month last night. A shockingly low turnout of only eleven guests to watch the performance. I’ve seen better shows, but no complaints. My fellow judges agreed that Voodoo put on the best dance routine, with Alaska a close second.

I hope things turn around; I’m sure they lost money due to low attendance last night.

As usual, we came straight home after the show was over at eight. I was tired and not feeling so good for some reason. Today, I’m hoping the arria dies soon.

Today’s dive into the LTG archives brings us the story of the day I was stuck, poked, prodded, and probed back in February 2010. Say what you will about Korean healthcare, but their one-stop annual physical facilities are like something I’ve never seen before. Lots of pictures documenting my station-to-station journey on the road to better health. You’ve been warned.

From Facebook memories of this day in my history, comes these:

With all these Nazi accusations being bandied about, this is a useful guide to determine who the real Nazis are:

In today’s YouTube video, The Filipina Pea doesn’t hold back on the harsh realities of life in the Philippines. She’s right, but I ain’t leaving.

But wait, there’s more:

That’s all there is for this time. We’ll see what happens next.

And prospects for prosperity are looking good! That’s my way of saying the blood work results were better than I had hoped for–everything was within the normal range, and nasty things like cholesterol were below standard. Dr. Jo was impressed with the marked improvement over my previous results last July and suggested I keep on doing what I’ve been doing. I’m sure diet and exercise are factors, but the chelation treatments have also likely contributed to my healthier results. Dr. Jo and I agreed to do the four-week chelation cycle every other month going forward and see how that works out for me.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Swan was busy in the kitchen preparing for a gathering at The Rite Spot.

The food was good, the company outstanding, and the beer icy cold—a winning combination. Neighbor Martin (the guy on the left side of the table) spends most of his time working in Manila, so we hadn’t enjoyed his company in quite a while. His wife, Joss, paid me a nice compliment when she told me she hadn’t recognized me at first because of my recent weight loss. My high school compatriot Mike (at the head of the table) regaled us with stories from his extraordinary life. Starting with his time with the army in Vietnam, his career as a music promoter with some of the biggest bands in rock-n-roll history, and some of his adventures from the early years of his retired life in Brazil. Martin was so impressed that he tried to talk Mike into writing his story, and he’d use some of his connections to make it into a movie. Mike was non-committal about doing so, but he’s going to the USA next week to retrieve some of his papers and photos. We shall see.

The party went later than expected, and regular readers will be shocked to hear I was up until well after ten p.m. last night. I’m glad my health is up to the challenge! Martin and his wife also asked to join this morning’s group hike, and it was great to have them along.

There is some good news: despite my recent transgressions, today’s weigh-in has me down to 228.9 pounds. So, since I began this quest on November 1, 2024, I’ve lost 38.2 pounds overall and 2.8 pounds since my March 7 weigh-in.

Things I saw and shared on Facebook today:

Today’s stroll through the LTG archives brought me to this post from October 2005. It’s just another day-in-the-life type entry, much like I’m still writing twenty years later. I do use more pictures these days, though. I was a CIV III fanatic back then. I’m not sure why I stopped playing.

I’m pretty sure I posted this poem I wrote in high school previously, but here it is again. Of special note is that my creative writing teacher seemed to almost like it. He was normally very critical of my work.

Facebook memories carried me back to the lonely life I was living in Pyeongtaek during my final months in Korea seven years ago.

Today’s YouTube talks about why people move to the PI and where they hope to find what they seek. It’s short, and I enjoyed the street scenes from Cebu City, a place I briefly considered before opting to live my small-town lifestyle.

Take these as you will:

And that’s all I’ve got for today. I’ll be attending my first SOB in a while tonight, so that’s something a little different to do. With my health metrics on the upswing, I might be subjecting y’all to this daily punishment for a long time come. Unless I get squashed crossing the National Highway.

Back at it in Barretto again. As they say, if the shoe fits, wear it. Mine are plenty comfortable. The Tuesday routine starts with grocery shopping. Nothing exciting about that, just a weekly chore that feels good when it’s done. Yesterday, I wore my Trump T-shirt to the supermarket. I ran into an American acquaintance there, and we had a brief chat. Then another Yank neither of us knew approached and asked out of the blue if I thought Trump would rescue Duterte, the former Philippines president, from the clutches of the UN’s International Criminal Court. I responded that I hadn’t heard anything about Trump intervening and shared my opinion that Duterte had done some fucked up shit, but I didn’t think it was appropriate for the ICC to get involved–leave it to the Filipino people to decide what, if anything, deserves prosecution. The stranger seemed to agree with that approach, and we all got on with the shopping. I’m glad he wasn’t one of those insane folks suffering from TDS.

With nothing better to do, I made a video of the drive back to Barretto. It’s an eleven-minute trip.

But wait, you think that was boring? How about my after-shopping neighborhood walk? No, I didn’t make a video of that journey, but I did take photos of the national parks I encountered along the way.

Wasn’t that fun?

Alright, now that we got that out of the way, who wants to go to the beach?

Nothing out of the ordinary on the floater, just an enjoyable way to pass the time rocking on the water, enjoying the music, and, of course, imbibing some beers. As is our custom, at sundown, we moved to Treasure Island for dinner.

To clarify, we split one enchilada and brought the other home. Three wings each, and the rest for takeout. I had some wings for breakfast this morning. And after checking my calorie intake for the day, I saw some room for dessert, so I baked up a batch of brownies when we got back home.

Today’s journey through the LTG archives brought me to this post from September 2005, where I honored my daughter on the occasion of her 30th birthday. It’s a worthy entry in The Story of My Life.

Yesterday’s YouTube video talked about why expats were fleeing the Philippines. Today’s YouTube talks about why they are coming. I report, you decide.

Maybe these will put a smile on your face:

And that’s all there is for today’s post. I’ll be back tomorrow with more of this goodness.

And not in the good way! Of course, it wasn’t all that hard, more like a tad inconvenient. And yes, if that’s all I have to complain about, I’m a lucky man indeed!

On the way to my Tuesday grocery shopping expedition, I stop at an ATM to replenish my cash supply for the week. Lately, I’ve been using the ATM at the Baloy 7-Eleven because it is one of the few that will dispense a 20,000 peso withdrawal (most limit to 10,000 per pull). But yesterday, a line of five or six Filipinas was waiting to use the machine. I’ve never seen that before. Knowing how typically slow Filipinos are when doing ATM transactions, I opted to go to the 7-Eleven further up the highway. And it had an even longer line. Swan speculated it must be payday, but on a Tuesday in the middle of the month? Doesn’t make sense. Anyway, we went to the old standby ATM at the BPI branch at Harbor Point Mall on SBMA. The third try was the charm; I had the machine to myself and got the cash I came for.

So, we journeyed on to the YBC grocery store in Olongapo to stock up on the items we can’t get at Royal. Wow! The store was packed, and every cashier had a long line of customers waiting to check out. I still don’t know what was going on yesterday, but it made things a pain in the ass. We eventually got through it and moved to Royal to complete our shopping. Had to wait in line there, too, but not as long.

The third frustration of the day came when I messed up a wire transfer. I have an acquaintance currently undergoing chemo and radiation treatments for her cancer. I send her a hundred bucks periodically to assist with food and rent. I had been wiring the money to her cousin’s bank account, but yesterday, she asked if I could send her the cash directly. No problem, but since it was my first time doing so, I had to complete the basic information like the name appearing on government-issued ID, phone number, and location. Easy enough. Her name is Lina Erica, and I assumed that was her first and middle name. Nope, her first name is two names. And the cash dispensers would not accept how I rendered the name since it differed from her ID. I finally figured out after an hour of trying how to modify the name on the already-sent transfer, and she finally got her funds.

And hopefully, that’s as hard as it ever gets around here.

Everything else went fine. I opted to walk home from Royal and didn’t get squashed on the highway whilst doing so.

Anyway, I got almost 7K under my belt, and that’s more than I usually do on a Tuesday. I wasn’t done walking yet, either. Later in the afternoon, we did our weekly visit to Baloy Beach.

As usual, when the sun goes, so do we. Dinner at Treasure Island awaits!

When we got home, Swan made a cheesecake for dessert.

Today’s entry from the archives of LTG is this post from June 2005, sharing the views I enjoyed from the roof of my apartment building and lamenting the demise of a bar I enjoyed, named Lucky Strike. To be honest, I’d forgotten about both.

From Facebook memories come these:

Another enjoyable YouTube video from the Filipina Pea. To answer her question, why, yes. Yes, I am!

And then there are these:

And we’ll leave it at that. There’s only one way to find out what’s going to happen next, and that’s by living the moment. I reckon I’d best get to it. I’ll let you know how that works out for me tomorrow.

Sundays come and Sundays go; without a calendar, it would be hard to tell them apart. Except when I’m out of town, like I was last week and will be next week. So, I guess this Sunday stands alone, even if it is a tad familiar.

When I got up to take my morning piss, I noticed this circle on the floor:

We kicked off the morning with the Candy Walk. I did one of my lame videos of the beginning of our journey. It’s eleven minutes long, but that’s why they make 2X speed to ease your suffering.

We dispensed 270 candy bags on our 6K walkabout.

I heard from the peanut vendor, Emmanuel, that he was once again experiencing breathing difficulties, and he asked me for some money to refill his oxygen tanks. I’ve helped him out in the past, and I wasn’t going to say no this time. We met up at the Baloy 7-Eleven while I was en route to the Hideaway feeding. There are now seven girls working at Hideaway (up from four), and the food total from Jewel was 1500 pesos. That provided some perspective on the money I had just given to Emmanuel. Food is nice, but air is better.

With the feeding accomplished, I headed for the beach.

Then we were off to dinner at John’s place.

A brief nightcap visit to Green Room, and then we were homeward bound.

As I continue my journey through the LTG archives, I’ve discovered that most of my posts back then were every bit as mundane and meaningless as they are today. And yet, here we are. But sometimes, there’s a flower among the thorns. A post from May 2005 called Sorry is a good example of that. It’s one paragraph saying I was going through some shit (I don’t recall what now) and was taking a break from the blog. But what made it worthwhile reading again was this comment from my mother:

the Brave man wins the battle, cause he fights and fights to win….many battles to be fought in a lifetime my darling son…..I love you….

Thanks for that, mom. You were right. My battle had only begun back then. I miss you!

I don’t recall viewing today’s YouTube vlogger previously, but the subject of online sextortion is something warranting situational awareness. Before my move here, I was scammed by a couple of the girls I’d met online, but not in this way. I just foolishly sent them money.

And we’ll cleanse the palate with these:

Okay, that’s enough for now. It’s Hash Monday and Leech My Nuggets is the Hare. He is known for his challenging, but well marked, trails. If this picture he posted is any indication, he has elevated his standards today:

And there is always the shortcut option.

When you are retired for going on seven years, weekends lose the charm that they once held. Even Saturday night is not worth staying up late for. Or maybe I’m just an old geezer shouting at the clouds. Whatever the case may be, my window for adventure doesn’t stay open long these days. A sweet Saturday stroll with Swan in the morning, some beach time in the afternoon, food and live music in the early evening, and back home by 7:30 p.m. That’s pretty much how I’m rolling through life lately.

I fill the hours between the morning walk and late afternoon imbibing wasting my time on the internet and wasting your time with boring blog posts like this one. As beer o’clock nears, I try to decide where I’m going to plop my sorry ass to down some brews.

Anyway, I thought we’d do a Baloy Beach Saturday evening, starting with that new bar, Drunken Sailor, at the Baywatch Resort. I was curious if business had picked up any since my last visit. I guess it hadn’t, because it was closed. That’s a shame; it could be a nice venue with a little effort. Oh well, not my problem.

Then we popped into another newish venue, Kim’s Place, ordered some beers, and pulled up a seat on the beach. I chatted with Kim, and he is ready to host the March 31 Hash On-Home.

Then we moseyed up the beach to Treasure Island and enjoyed the live music.

Over the course of three hours, I had three beers at Kim’s and four at Treasure Island. If my math is correct, that’s only one beer every twenty-five minutes. I guess I really am learning to slow down. And despite it only being half past seven, I was ready to call it a night. I’m not complaining; that’s just the way it is these days.

I’m no expert on CICO diets, but if my total intake for the week is in line with the sum of my daily goal, does that work? In other words, if I’m over by 300 calories total for We, Th, Fr, but under by 300 on Sa, am I still on track to lose weight? Yeah, I’d best just stick with trying not to exceed my daily target.

I don’t know, maybe I was getting a little homesick four months into my Korea life almost twenty years ago, but I posted some pics of American gals at the Mardi Gras. Meow! In the comments, my dad advised me not to take my gun to town. I miss those days when I had family that gave a shit about my life.

Facebook reminded me that six years ago, I was enjoying views like this while Hashing in Palawan.

I really need to go back there again one day soon.

Today’s YouTube video talks about weird aspects of Filipino culture. I don’t know, I’ve been here long enough that everything is getting normalized. Except the driving. Damn, still amazes me how bad they drive with no common sense or skills. Choosing not to drive here was the right call.

How about these:

Time to get back to those Sunday routines. Feeding, floating, eating, and drinking. What a life, eh?

Another day, another walk. Later on, I got a chelation injection. And in a refreshing change of pace, I visited zero bars yesterday. Not to worry, I had Zeros at home and took them with me to a gathering with the next-door neighbors. Here’s some of what I saw as I made my way through another Thursday in paradise.

No issues with the needle Dr. Jo stuck in my vein. She commented on my recently lowered blood pressure (110/70 yesterday) and that my reduced dosage of bp meds will relieve strain on my kidneys. Next week is the final round in this chelation session (two injections, one IV). After that, I’ll have my blood work done again to see if I’m getting results like lowered blood sugar. Here’s hoping!

The neighborhood gathering at Jeff and Devina’s was a day at the races theme. That horse racing board game is their second favorite social activity after karaoke.

We played three rounds, and I was lucky enough to win once.

I went a little crazy when we got back home…

Today’s weigh-in has me at 231.7, up from 231.6. Not too bad, considering my recent lack of discipline. Hopefully, the downward journey will resume this week.

Back in April 2005, I wrote about having The Rainy Day Blues after a night of overindulgence while playing pool in Itaewon. It does have a familiar ring to it. One of the things I’m enjoying about these long-ago posts is the comments, like this one from my then-wife:

Here is a better idea. Don’t go to bars except on odd occasions. You never use to go to bars. You sat at home and played Civ III or blogged. You filled up your entire evenings and weekends. Maybe we could play virtual scrabble or cards. Look in to it before you develop a habit that I simply will not tolerate when you return home. Sorry to sound so much like a wife, but I am the wife.

She’d hate my life in the Philippines.

Here’s a headline from five years ago that would lead to a scamdemic overreaction by the local authorities here in the Philippines.

I’ll be turning seventy years old in August (assuming nothing goes wrong before then), so today’s YouTube video about seven signs predicting how long you’ll live after that milestone caught my eye. I’m happy to report that I’m doing just fine in six of those categories. Standing on one leg for ten seconds is something I need to work on. Of course, getting squashed trying to cross the National highway or falling off a cliff while hiking would negate all those positive signs. My plan remains to keep living until I die. Wish me luck with that!

Maybe you’ll find these funny:

And that’s all he wrote. For today, anyway. Who knows what the future holds?