Back home again

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Who am I to argue?

It’s nice to wake up in your own bed for some reason. I guess it is the classic sign indicating the adventure is over, and the routines are back in control. Lucky for me that I enjoy my routines!

So, a quick post-mortem on Bohol. I like it there. A lot. Much more laid back than Barretto–less traffic, less noise, less litter. The beaches are nice and lined with cool places to hang out. Yeah, I’m talking about the bars. The bars are different in the sense that they don’t cater to carnal interests. In fact, most only have the bare minimum of females on staff, maybe a bartender and a waitress or two. Even at my favorite, the Escape Bar, the gals are not allowed to have a lady drink or sit with customers. So, even though beers are more expensive (120-140 pesos), a night out is cheaper. Panglao is a very touristy town, and most of them come for the scuba diving. I’m told Koreans are the largest contingent of tourists, but I also saw lots of youngish Western couples, and plenty of unescorted white women out and about. That’s a big difference from Barretto. While I don’t particularly like the tourist vibe, I noticed places that seem to cater to the expat crowd. As a non-driver, I appreciated that the hangouts I liked were easy to walk to and that there were plenty of tuk-tuks available to take me longer distances as needed. The “countryside” day tour I took gave me a glimpse of what the interior of Bohol looks like, and it also had a clean, laid-back vibe about it.

I was way down south on Panglao Island most of this trip. There’s still a lot more to see.

We are already looking forward to a return trip to Bohol in the future. Although I have no intentions to move anywhere, I could see myself living a happy life on Panglao.

Here are the photos from yesterday:

Up bright and early to get to the airport in plenty of time for our flight that was scheduled to depart at 0830.
We got through check-in and security without delay, and had over an hour to kill before boarding. The Tagbiliran airport is very nice, so the wait wasn’t hard to get through with a cup of coffee and a Belgian waffle to help pass the time.
Our flight left on time and landed in Manila fifteen minutes early.
Cloud hopping our way home.
Hello down there, Manila.

Despite our early arrival, our hired driver was already parked and waiting. The drive back to Barretto went without incident or delay (the heavy Sunday traffic was going in the opposite direction). We were home at 1 pm, which gave me time to get settled in and blog before returning to the evening bar grind.

Swan enjoyed the company of her pals, Sheryl and Grace, during our visit to It Doesn’t Matter.
I’m already missing the Alona Beach views.

Then it was on to Wet Spot for our nightcap.

Our regular waitresses, Chu and Irene, enjoyed their first lady drink so much, I bought them another.

The transition back to the Barretto life completed, we grabbed a trike and headed for home.

Onward in the April 2019 LTG archives, and I did a post entitled “Regarding Women,” in which I respond to a reader’s question about the differences between Asian gals and their Western counterparts. Having failed repeatedly in both categories, I offered my expert opinion.

Some of the differences are apparent at first glance.

Today’s YouTube video provides a fun look back at the quality of insults over the years. These days, a simple “fuck off, ya cunt!” normally will suffice, but nothing beats a witty putdown. They did screw up one of the Winston Churchill quotes, leaving out the part where he responds to being called a drunk with that classic line, “Madam, tomorrow morning I’ll be sober, but you will still be ugly.”

Here is my humor offering for today:

Oh well, shit happens.
Cutting the cheese on a lonely night.
I’ve gone gray but not yet bald. My dad still had most of his hair when he passed at 83.

And that brings you up to date with my so-called life. I’ve got a Hash to attend to this afternoon, and it’s already a hot motherfucker outside. We’ll see how I hold up on trail.

Island hopping

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Better to live it than watch it.

Arrived home safe and sound after my journey to Bohol. Let me slap up some photos from our last day in that lovely land.

We started the day by hiring a boat for an island tour.

Swan and I had the boat to ourselves.
Anchors away!
Heading out to sea.
That would be us.
That island was our first destination, but we didn’t stop there.
Balicasag Island is known for its snorkeling and viewing sea turtles. Swan doesn’t swim, and I don’t snorkel, so we took a pass on that activity.
Could be trouble on the horizon…
…and we are heading right for it.
We got off the boat at Virgin Island for a quick walkabout. The rain found us there, but it was light and didn’t last long.
Acting like the tourists that we were.
Swingin’ in the water.
The water wasn’t exactly pristine, but at least it was nature’s litter.
A walk in the sand.
The guard at the church building.
But there wasn’t much to guard.
Is that one of those virgins?
Not anymore!
Don’t ask me.
I understand that at low tide, this is dry ground. Swan waded out anyway.
Then we headed back to civilization.
And arrived at where we started three hours earlier.
We grabbed some lunch at a hostel called Mad Monkey. As you might expect, we were surrounded by young backpacker types.

Back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation, then beer o’clock arrived, and we headed for Alona Beach.

We kicked off our Saturday evening at Oxyanus for a beachside drink.
Then moved upstairs to the second-floor restaurant.
It was empty when we arrived, but by the time we left, there were several other diners.
I guess I’m becoming addicted to chicken quesadillas. At least it is fun to compare and contrast them with the others I tried this week. Oxyanus’s were the thickest, but that dipping sauce was all wrong.
Swan played it safe with the hamburger. We both agreed the fries were excellent.

And this being our last night and all, we dropped into our new old favorite, Escape Bar.

Alas, all the preferred beachside seats were occupied, but we still had a nice view from this perch.
Eventually, we were able to move up front and watch the beach scene.

There was one other bar I’d been wanting to try, but it’s off the beach and opens later. Last night, as we walked by on our way back to the hotel, I decided it was now or never for the Sky Bar experience.

No other customers except a couple of pool players. And no waitress, so Swan had to go to the bar to place our order.
And despite being on the third level, the view sucked.
So, I’d rate Sky Bar a swing and a miss.

Tuk-tuk back to the hotel, a goodbye beer at the bar there, and then it was time to bring the day to an end and prepare for our early morning departure today at 6 am.

Facebook memories reminds me of that life I was living fifteen years ago:

Another drunken Itaewon night.

It’s April 2019 in the LTG archives, and being the fool that I am, I posted a gotcha lie, and a true story from long ago that reveals my lame sense of humor and how it backfired at a Postal Service training session in Memphis, Tennessee.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the myth of foreigners being targets in the Philippines. Sure, we get hit with the skin tax thing, but I’ve walked through squatter villages alone on many occasions and never felt unsafe or threatened. I would never walk through similar ghettos back in the USA. And that thing about being offered free drinks from strangers happens all the time. I decline, because I’m hiking, but it is still a friendly gesture.

Just a laugh before I go:

It’s been said that love is a drug.
That’s a reflection on the true nature of your character.
Recruiting sucks.

And that’s all for now. I need to get ready and see if my old haunts in Barretto have survived without me. Tomorrow I’ll share my thoughts on Bohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Hot Chocolate

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Touristy shit really isn’t my thing, but when you are one, what else are you gonna do? The road tour we signed up for yesterday would have normally been an eight-hour engagement. Luckily, it wasn’t a group tour, so I vetoed a couple of stops along the way and brought it back down to a more reasonable four-hour journey. One thing I did want to see for sure was the famous Chocolate Hills, about a two-hour drive from Panglao. I also enjoyed the countryside as we passed through Bohol’s mainland. Peaceful, clean, and beautiful.

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. But you already knew that, right?

The first stop on our tour was a Catholic sanctuary dating back to 1595.

It’s a regular part of the tour. But Swan was wearing shorts, so she wasn’t allowed inside. I didn’t care to see it anyway. I told our driver/guide to head for the hills.
And here we be.
Only 220 steps to the viewpoint.
Keep your eyes on the objective.
I got this.
Even in my pants?
Made it to the top!
It rained this week, and I guess that melted the chocolate.
I’m told there are 1,776 hills in all.
A look in the other direction.
I’m thinking, where are those Strawberry Fields the Beatles sang about? Or maybe that girl in white shorts I saw climbing up…
Oops, time to head back down!
A beautiful day in Bohol.

As I said, this was a standard tour package with several stops. When the driver pulled into this tourist trap called “Python and Butterfly Garden,” I told him, no thank you, and he turned around. I also had him skip the miniature monkey park. Someone had warned me that the monkeys were so tiny they were hard to see.

Our next destination was a place called “Man-Made Forest.” That was much more to my liking.
The forest was planted in the late 1960s, so I am older than those trees.
Next stop was the Loboc River.
The river cruise came with a buffet at 1000 pesos per head. I wasn’t that hungry, so we skipped it and moved on.

The final stop on the tour was the “Blood Compact Shrine,” commemorating a ritual that led to a peace treaty between the Spanish and the Bohol natives. I was unfamiliar with this history and found it quite interesting.

The way down to the shrine was a twisty-turny endeavor, but no worse than steps would have been, I suppose.
The participants in the Blood Compact of 1565.
How the shrine honoring that history came to be.
A Swan amongst the statues.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel. We paid the full price for our voluntarily shortened tour, but it was still a bargain for only 3000 pesos. We had lunch at the hotel, and the owner was there having a meeting with someone at a nearby table. I didn’t want to intrude, so we took a seat at the bar and ordered our grub. And then the Facebook memories feed popped up on my phone.

That’s Nora’s Resort owner, Chris, on the left and our mutual friend Gary on the right. We met on the Kokomo’s Floating Bar two years ago, and I promised I’d come check out Bahol and stay at his place. I have now fulfilled that promise.

I sent Chris the photo to remind him, and as I left, he said, “I was trying to remember where I met you.”

As usual, when it was time to head out for the evening, we made our way to Alona Beach. We really enjoy the vibe there, and next time we visit Bohol, we’ll be staying somewhere nearby (sorry, Chris!).

I mentioned the Korea-centric businesses here. They even have a Dokdo. It’s not their land, though.

We walked the beach end-to-end and didn’t see anywhere we liked better than our favorite hangout. I guess there is just no avoiding Escape.

What’s not to like at Escape Bar? Good views, friendly service, cold beer, and wine at happy hour prices.

We decided to have dinner somewhere, even though we weren’t all that hungry. The vlogger I follow, Reekay, lives in the area, and he messaged me with some of his favorite venues. One was practically next door, so we gave it a try.

A cozy place on the beach.

Reekay suggested the Thai food, but I’m more of a grilled meats kinda guy.

So, we went with chicken wings and a pork chop. They hit the spot!

And so ended the next-to-last night on this trip to Bohol. There will be future visits for sure.

From the March 2019 LTG archives is a post where I recount my rebellious teenage years. I was wild in the streets back then, but I somehow managed to avoid going to jail.

Today’s YouTube video claims ancient humans only worked three hours a day. Hmm, was everyone retired? Kind of interesting to think about how they filled the time before beer was invented.

There ain’t no getting around these:

And eating the clam that pearls come in can be tasty too!
I see what you did there.
Beats having that sinking feeling.

And now it is time to prepare for the rest of my last day in Bohol.

This is what we did this morning.

Tell you all about it as soon as I can. We have an early morning flight back to Manila. I’m a little worried that finding a Grab car at 6 am on a Sunday might prove difficult, but we’ll figure it out. Or miss our plane. So, hopefully I’ll be writing tomorrow’s post from Barretto, but you’d best check back to be sure.

A great Escape

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Words of wisdom posted in my hotel bar.

Getting ready to do a driving tour of Bohol Island, so I’m going to dash out this post about yesterday as quickly as I can. The easiest way to do that is to let the pictures do most of the talking.

Naturally, we started the morning off with a stroll.

Found a resort called Mad Monkey that apparently has lots of branches in Asia. It looked nice enough, but it is also very isolated.
We found a little beach time along the way.
Solea, not Solea. This big-ass resort was located at the end of a long road in the middle of nowhere. But it appears the tourists find the place, judging from the parking lot.
The Korean joints appear not to give a shit about attracting non-Korean-speaking tourists.
Wow, a place named after me!
More Korean signage.
We took a long walk down a dead-end road, and rather than retreat, we decided to see if we could find our way through the woods.
It got a little dicey in places, but we eventually found our way back to some pavement.
The way we walked our 6K trek.

We stuck close to home until beer o’clock rolled around, then made our way back to Alona Beach. The place I’d thought about trying (a rooftop venue called Sky Bar) wasn’t open. Well, I knew another place I’d like for sure, so we made our Escape again.

The first beer of the day always goes down easy.
Good company…
…nice views.
And yeah, we did this again. In my defense, I wanted garlic parmesan chicken wings, but they were out of stock. At least our quesadilla came with dipping sauce this time. It was a tad on the spicy side, though.
Nope, never gonna take that ride.
Weird to see a local wearing that t-shirt.
Then Douglas, the guy I was supposed to meet up with the previous night, arrived. A really interesting character, and we had a nice chat. We’d met before somewhere in Barretto, but neither of us remembered the where or when. I was wrong about him being a tourist; he moved here a couple of months ago. And no, he does not miss Barretto at all.
And then, down on the beach, a fire show broke out.
It was quite impressive and a nice way to end our evening at Escape.

Here’s a short video I took during the fire show if you want to see more.

From the March 2019 LTG archives is the post about me getting Lucky. No, I didn’t get laid; I rescued a dog. He was lucky, but me not so much. Worst dog I’ve ever owned, even bit the hand that feeds him. Oh, well. I let him live, and that’s enough.

Today’s YouTube video is one I came across by accident. This woman had the balls, er, courage, to visit Siargao Island alone, stayed away from the tourist areas, and slept in a tent by herself. Hmm, maybe not just brave, but also dumb. I post, you decide.

Today’s lameness:

Talk about being a motherfucker!
A glance in the wrong direction can cost you dearly.
Logic doesn’t work with stupid people, kid.

Now, I’ve got to run. Pick up time is less than thirty minutes away, and I still ain’t dressed. I need to get my priorities straight. Back tomorrow to tell you about today.

The best day ever…

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… in Bohol. So far.

Thanks for the photo enhancement, Scott. Almost makes me look young again.

I’m diggin’ the vibe here in Bohol a lot. Almost makes me feel like I could live here. Yeah, it is touristy, with most of the tourists being scuba divers, apparently. A bartender told me that the biggest group of foreign visitors is Korean. That’s manifested in all the signage I see in Hanguel. Almost like being back in my former “home.” The other tourists seem to be the typical Westerners. One difference from Barretto is seeing so many couples, including elderly folks. Anyway, it all feels pretty laid back and easy goin’, which I like.

In keeping with our traditions, we started the morning yesterday with a hike. Since we didn’t know where we were going and had never walked here, it had an exploratory adventure feel to it. I like that, too. Our ultimate goal was to find a beach nearer our resort. The challenge was finding public beach access. Most of the roads and paths had signs posted saying non-resort guests were not permitted. But we braved taking trails just to see where they went, and eventually found our way. Yeah, there were some dead ends and retreats involved, but it was still a good time.

I wonder where this goes? Only one way to find out…
Y I B, lookee here. We found us some ocean.
Now let’s find a sandy beach…
Better luck next time.
We’d had enough horsin’ around and made our back to the hotel.
I’m no Magellan, but it was a pleasant walk of discovery.

And we weren’t done. We headed out for another walk at lunchtime.

I guess you could say the writing was on the wall.
Just one example of the ubiquitous Korean signage.
A trike stand right up the road from our hotel. I guess they are still technically trikes since they have three wheels. I’ve always called this type a tuk-tuk.
Across the street from that trike stand was an interesting-looking restaurant called Mist.
Mist has kind of a treehouse feel about it.
Swan can be such a poser!

We’d walked up an appetite, so we ventured inside Mist and were seated at a table on the second floor.

The cage in which we dined.
An inside view of Mist.
An outside view from Mist.
Swan got caught in this spider web, but I was able to help her escape.
One of my more unique dining experiences. I enjoyed it.
Lunch is served. Crab, pulled pork, beef, and shrimp tacos. They were okay and filled the void.

Back to the room for a nap, blogging, and a shower. When it was time to head out, we started at the bar nearest our room…here at Nora’s Place. Owner Chris was there with a friend, and we exchanged greetings but had no real conversation. I had a couple of cold beers, then we headed for that beach called Alona.

That beach of which I speak.
Swan enjoying her toes in the sand time.
We passed by this bar called Birdwatchers that had some customers inside, so we joined the crowd.
Judging by the accents and signage, this is an Aussie hangout. Of course, we were welcome too.
Funnily, we arrived right about the time displayed on this clock. Only later did I notice that it was not working. Oh well, it is always five o’clock somewhere.

Neither of us was particularly hungry, but having some drinking ahead of us (I was supposed to meet someone at another bar on Alona at 7), we decided to share our usual snack: a chicken quesadilla. It was served without a dipping sauce, like salsa or sour cream, and neither was available when I asked. I guess that’s just the Aussie way of making Mexican food. Go figure.

And I’ll be damned if I have seen corn in a quesadilla before. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It was different, but still tasty enough to serve its purpose.

This being a tourist beach, there were several sand castles about waiting to be photographed. For a price, of course.

Several shots like this one (using my phone camera) for “only” 100 pesos. Memories come with a price tag.

Then it was on to the bar a friend had suggested for a meet-up with another tourist from Barretto that he apparently had introduced me to, an event I have no recollection of. That’s not surprising, of course. And I had no issue with trying another new bar and getting reacquainted. But at the appointed hour of the meeting, my friend messaged that the acquaintance was under the weather and would be a no-show. Oh well, I already had my seat and was liking everything about it.

My new favorite bar in Panglao is called “Escape.” It’s really Great! (see what I did there?)
Swan even got the happy hour price on her wine, something unheard of in Barretto.
A very nice ambiance as well.
But what I loved most was the view from on high (second floor).
I’m all about drinking a cold beer whilst looking down on people!

Alas, the time came for us to escape from Escape and catch a tuk-tuk back to our hotel. But I’ll be back! Maybe even tonight.

From the March 2019 LTG archives is a post sharing some of my work as a poet. And you thought the blog was bad! Actually, most of them were written in my late teens and reflect those unique feelings that come with life’s hard lessons. Yeah, I was a loser at love back then, too.

I also found today’s YouTube video in the LTG archives. It’s a clip from the animated movie, Team America: World Police, that describes the three types of people you encounter in life: dicks, pussies, and assholes. I need to put this movie on my list to watch again, it’s one of my favorites.

And I beg your forgiveness in advance for these:

That might come in handy, unless it was like the Minnow. (yeah, that’s a 60s television reference from Gilligan’s Island. Sue me, I’m old!)
I see what you did there.
Back in the day, I was known for being a tor-mentor.

And now it is time to get back to having a blast. Tomorrow morning, we are doing a day tour that will include a visit to the Chocolate Hills. It’s an all-day outing, so if I miss posting tomorrow, I’ll catch you up when I can.

Greetings from Bohol

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Yes, this is my first post from Panglao, Bohol.

A relatively uneventful trip getting here. As mentioned, I had my driver pick me up at 7 am instead of 8, because I’d been warned that I was cutting it too close for my 1 pm flight. So, we arrived at the Manila airport at 10, and had three hours to kill. Oh, well.

No traffic jams made getting to Manila quicker than expected.

As I checked my bag, I asked the attendant about changing our seat assignments (Swan and I both had middle seats; she was one row behind me). Alas, the flight was fully booked, so it was not to be. We left on time, and the flight was just a little over an hour long, so it wasn’t so bad. I dozed for most of it. Landed at the small but efficient airport in Panglao and called for a Grab pickup to the hotel—only 75 pesos for the 3K ride.

Where we be staying.

Our lodging was not quite what I was expecting. The Facebook page says it is two minutes from the beach. Maybe so if you are driving fast. We did walk to Alona Beach later in the evening, and it was at least 2K. I also had it in mind that Nora’s Place was an expat hangout, but there wasn’t anyone around yesterday or so far today.

The whole place to ourselves it seems.
A nice pool I likely won’t be using.

The room is clean and comfortable as well. This is a “Filipino-style” resort, meaning outside food and drink are permitted, the rooms are family-sized, and for the first time in my experience, it has a fully-equipped kitchen.

Our kitchen.
And the bunk beds we will only be using for storage.

So, we had a couple of drinks at the hotel bar, but got bored pretty quickly and decided to make our way to wherever the beach might be.

The sun was still up, but we encountered this full moon.
Ah yeah, that’s where we want to be!
Bohol is to diving what Siargao is to surfing. Those boats are almost all for divers.
A very pleasant stroll down a nice beachfront lined with bars, restaurants, and resorts. What is different is that there is no road along the beach, so no traffic. I like that vibe VERY much.

I saw two or three places that I want to go back and try during this trip, but last evening we plopped down at one that looked cozy and had a friendly waitress beckoning us to have a seat.

She even took our picture.
I asked Swan if she could tell me about the menu, please. She told me the men she pleases are none of my business. Joke, lang.
“Okyanus” is a weird name for a beach bar, but otherwise, I had no complaint.
A view from our perch.
And another.

That was enough for our first day in Bohol, so we caught a tuk-tuk back to our lodging and called it a night. We’ll be going back for more Alona Beach fun this evening.

From the March 2019 LTG archives, I post about being proud of my kids and grandkids. Maybe they will miss me when I’m gone.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the cost of living for regular Filipinos and the harsh realities of not being able to afford things most of us take for granted.

Some moments of lightness.

Do what you are told. Always.
Punctuation can be brutal.
Do as I say, not as I do.

Alright, time to get back to what I came here for, some new sights and sounds. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Damn, I enjoyed the video almost as much as the song.

Bohol bound!

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I don’t remember if I posted this before…

Well, I do recall I’m catching a flight in Manila early this afternoon. I originally planned to leave here around 8:30 and stop by Dr. Jo’s office for my weekly Ozempic injection. And then two things happened: Air Asia changed my departure from 2:10 to 1:40, and I realized that I miscalculated the travel time to Manila (which varies depending on traffic anyway). So, to be safe, I’m leaving home at 7 a.m. I’ll let you know how that works out for me in my next post, hopefully from the lovely island of Panglao.

My Hash trail yesterday aligned with a good portion of the Hare’s trail, except I was walking it in the opposite direction. Funny how that works out. We had very low participation (maybe 10 Hashers on the official trail), and I’m guessing the bullshit starting point (the far end of Rizal Extension) had something to do with that. Oh well, I got in nearly 7K doing it my way.

Mountain Mama Onelia receiving her biscuit ration.
Hey, the arrows are all pointing in the wrong direction.
You go your way, we’ll go ours.
The view from here.
As usual, we dispensed some sweetness along the way.
Looking down from whence we came.
Credit where it is due, the Hare’s (Almoranus and Vienna Sausage) did a well-marked trail.
As we neared the starting point of the “real” trail, we encounter several Hashers heading out. One of them (Amstel) decided to follow my trail.
A reminder along the way that I’m doing alright for 70. At least I’m still breathing. RIP Helen.
Arriving On-Home at Johansson’s.
Doing it my way.

I was suffering mightily on the second half of my trail. I’m used to muscle aches and pains, but I find that you can walk them off. In my right leg yesterday, I experienced what must have been something wrong with my nerves; each step created a bolt of pain that felt like a hundred needles being jabbed into my upper thigh. Once I finished the trek and sat down, the pain was gone and didn’t return. Weird.

The Gash doing their thing at the after-Hash gathering at It Doesn’t Matter.
I ordered tacos for dinner from the IDM kitchen.

And so ended another Hash Monday.

And from Facebook memories, the first day of the rest of my new life eight years ago:

Welcome to the Philippines!

From the March 2019 LTG archives is the first chapter of “One Lifetime, Many Lives.” That series was supposed to be the story of my life, but I never finished it. What I’m doing now with my journey through the archives is tagging the posts I will use when I put together the completed autobiography. We’ll see how that works out, but in the meantime, I do enjoy strolling down memory lane and remembering things I had forgotten.

Today’s YouTube video features a vlogger I’ve never watched before explaining why he no longer visits the bars in Angeles City. Well, I share his sentiments about buying companionship, but that’s never been why I hit the bars. I go for the beer!

Some smiles before I hit the road:

Those rolls are the breast!
The hell with it.
You can say that again!

Alright, I’d best hit the shower and finish packing. Looking forward to some new views of new places!

Eight years on

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Ask me again in fifteen years. Hopefully.

Today marks eight years since I was born again in the Philippines. What a ride it has been, and thankfully, it ain’t over yet. If you’ve been a regular reader here at LTG, you know about the mistakes I’ve made and the hard lessons I’ve learned along the way. But now it appears I’ve found a good woman who is committed to making this final chapter of my life a happy one. Hopefully, there is still a long way to go. Only one way to find out, and that’s to live it.

Here’s how I lived my yesterday:

A morning Decay Dance passing out candy bags to the kiddies.
I asked this little boy what happened, and he told me he fell out of a tree. He’s lucky it wasn’t worse! I’ve seen kids way up high in those big old mango trees reaching for the fruit, and I just shake my head. Scary shit, but that’s the way it is done here.
It’s fiesta time again.

Later in the day, Swan went for a massage, and I waited for her at Red Bar.

As usual, the outdoor patio was busy.
Manager Ashley, as usual, warmly greeted and made us feel welcome.

We had some food delivered from Jewel Cafe, and then moved on to Jumpin’ Jacks for our nightcap.

I played a game of pool and won!
And I bought all the crew a lady drink in honor of Mother’s Day.

And then we rolled on home for a strawberry-banana smoothie and a good night’s sleep.

Scott fancied up one of Swan’s photos from her Mt. Pinatubo trip.
And that’s me flying business class on my way to the PI eight years ago.

The LTG archive journey has now arrived in March 2019. I made my first trip to Palawan Island for a Hash event. It is by far the nicest place I’ve visited in the Philippines, at least so far. Lots of pictures to show you what I mean. Feelin’ Blue, Hash Bash, and The Best of Times.

Today’s YouTube video is also from the LTG archives, but an eight-minute history of the Philippines is worth watching again.

Humor me:

No duh, dude.
Hmm, I bet with his X-ray vision, Superman knew who he was bangin’…
Show me what you got!

And now it is once again Hash Monday. I’ll be doing my own trail this week. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to Manila to catch my flight to Bohol. Yep, you’re gonna see something new for a change. Bohol has been on my bucket list for a LONG time, glad to finally pull the trigger.

Solitary confinement

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Well, then I wake up sober and have to deal with it.

Swan left the house at 3 am for her Pinatubo hike. I went back to bed, woke up at 5, and began my solitary Saturday.

I kicked things off with the seldom done long dog walk, which is just shy of 2K.

Next up was a solo street stroll through Barretto.

That was good for another 6K.

Got home, showered up, and then prepared myself to head into Olongapo City. The main purpose was to get my cellphone repaired. It seems I overcharged the battery (I never knew that was a thing), and the back of the phone warped and partially detached. I walked down to the National Highway and caught a Jeepney that dropped me at the Kalaklan Gate at SBMA. Then I hoofed it another 2K to the SM Mall. At the phone repair shop, I showed my phone, and the attendant said I needed to replace the battery. He had one in stock for “only” 2500 pesos. He said it would take about 20 minutes for the fix, so I told him to proceed.

I used that time to visit the SM Department Store next door. I was hoping for some new hiking shoes, but as usual, they didn’t have any size 11 Merrell’s in stock.

I did pick up this pair of Skechers for everyday wear.

Back to the repair shop, and the phone was ready. I also had a new screen cover installed. They handed me my phone, I thanked them, and started walking away. The clerk called out, “Sir, you haven’t paid yet.” Oops! I came back in, placed my phone on the counter, and reached for my wallet. After getting my change and receipt, I departed once more. A couple of minutes later, the clerk chased me down and handed me my phone. Yep, that’s how bad I’m getting lately.

I exited the mall and grabbed a taxi for home. I prefer the metered cabs, which are usually around 300 pesos to Barretto. For whatever reason, none were available, so I settled for the dreaded SBMA taxis. I’ve had some scam issues with them before, so I always ask up front, how much. The friendly and chatty driver offered 350, which is a fair fare. I gave him a generous tip and got his card for potential future use when I arrived back at the house safe and sound.

One of my better days lately, step-wise.

It was nearing beer o’clock, so I freshened up and headed back down to the highway, starting my evening out alone at Snackbar. Got a friendly greeting from owner Paula, and settled into one of the outside seats to enjoy the first of several brews. I used to be a regular here, and the gals who still remembered me came and sat at my table. Yeah, I eventually bought them each a lady drink.

As seen from my perch. Yep, I’m no longer the biggest customer at Snackbar.

When boredom set in, I moseyed on up the highway and decided to pop into the Outback Fish and Chips shop.

The beer wasn’t cold, so the waitress brought me a glass of ice. Oh, well.

Outback is one of the few places that offer Mahi Mahi as the fish option (I despise Dory fish). I neglected to take a photo of the meal as served…

…but here’s the leftovers. It was good.

Then I crossed the highway and did my nightcap at Queen Victoria. It wasn’t very busy, and I only stayed for two beers (one of which was provided on the house).

The view outside Queen Vic while I waited for a trike to take me home.

As we pulled into my cul-de-sac, I saw that there was a party in full swing at the next-door neighbor’s house. I used to enjoy attending those neighborhood gatherings, but these days I am no longer welcome. Yep, another person I once considered a friend turned his back and walked away. The older I get, the fewer people seem to care about me. And it occurs to me that perhaps it just comes with the territory of elderliness. Whatever, I’ve made it this far, and I’ll reach the end with or without friends.

Here are a couple of photos from Swan’s Pinatubo adventure:

She said the worst part was a dusty two-hour ride up the mountain in a 4×4 pickup.
Swan said the 3K hike to the crater lake wasn’t too bad.
Good job, ladies!

Eight years ago, I posted these words of wisdom on my Facebook page:

“I never really had a plan for life; I just reacted to it. Whenever I reached a crossroad, I chose a direction and followed the road without a clue as to where it might take me. I guess it is natural to wonder about the paths that would have led to a different life, but you only get to live the life you chose …

I have been fortunate and blessed…but the roads I have taken have led to some great adventures and life-altering experiences. A fool’s luck, perhaps, but even so, I could never have imagined what my life would turn out to be. It has been a very nice ride.”

“So it is time to look forward again…it will be an adventure with an uncertain outcome for sure…”

It was the day before I left Korea for my new life in the Philippines. And naturally, that night I had to say goodbye to my favorite Anjeong-ri bars:

Airiang
The Block
Horse and Cow
IDK

And then from the February 2019 LTG archives is this photo-rich post about a Valentine’s Day Hash in Baguio. It’s so beautiful way up there in the mountains.

For today’s YouTube video, we get another glance into provincial life courtesy of the Filipina Pea. Selling fish door-to-door wouldn’t be a lifestyle I’d choose, but I respect the time and effort it requires.

Ready for more of this?

So, they haven’t been shat in then…
Poke around and find out!
I’m not sure how much that would benefit you.

Anyway, it is what it is. And I’m glad for all that I have.

Die birria

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Actions are louder and don’t need to be punctuated!

Alright, I’ve got an agenda to attend to today, so I’m going to keep it short, if not sweet. Swan left the house at 0300 for a tour/hike on Mount Pinatubo with her girlfriends. I’ve filled the morning hours in the usual walkaholic manner. Next up, I’ll head into Olongapo City for a phone repair and a little clothes shopping. Of course, I hope to be home by beer o’clock. We shall see.

What can I say about yesterday? Well, we had a nice enough group hike circumnavigating the Naugsol Valley. In the evening, we made It Doesn’t Matter our pre-dinner stop. And then we stayed because Swan ran into some of her friends she is hiking with today. We had some birria tacos delivered from Myleen’s (which is practically next door) and ate them at IDM. We then did a nightcap at Nipsey’s Bar, and Swan’s friends came along. We didn’t stay long because of the pending early morning travel. I did bake some brownies when we got back home for Swan to enjoy with the mountain hiking group.

And that was the day. Here are some photos you may or may not enjoy:

My fellow travelers for the Friday group hike.
That mountain I like.
Getting back to our roots.
Dispensing sweetness along the way.
Into the valley.
The two gals enjoying yakety-yak as they walk.
A tree I liked.
It was another hot day, and there wasn’t much shade in the valley.
Easter Mountain as seen from the valley floor.
The final push back up into Alta Vista near the end of our hike.
A 6.5K journey.

Did I mention it was hot?

According to CNN, I died from the heat yesterday. Or CNN was as wrong about the actual temperature as everything else.
Shirel couldn’t resist getting up on stage at Nipsey’s and showing the dancers how it is done. Oh, and I had the DJ play “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “In the Mood,” two classics from the 1940s. The gals didn’t have a clue what to do, so I pulled Swan out and did a little swing dancing.
My drinking companions at the end of our night on the town.

So, it is the time of year I bitch and moan a lot about the heat. But it won’t be long now until I’m complaining about the rain.

I live in the red zone. Wet with sweat or wet from the rain. I won’t let it dampen my enthusiasm.

Oh, and about the title of today’s post. Yep, I woke up to liquid shit in the bowels. All I ate last night was one damn birria taco, so that’s where I pointed the finger. Swan was fine, though, so I suspect Ozempic might be the real culprit. Still, so far at least, the good is outweighing the bad, so I’ll keep it up for now.

Eight years ago, I dropped off my work clothes for the last time:

At the thrift store on Camp Humphreys.

From the February 2019 LTG archives: “Today makes nine months since the conception of my retired life in the Philippines. Thankfully, throughout this gestation period, there has been no cause to abort my decision to move here. I’ve been born again! And life goes on.” And now coming up on 8 years here, I still have no regrets.

Today’s YouTube video is from a guy who moved here and learned some hard lessons the hard way. I’ve made my share of mistakes, but nothing I couldn’t recover from.

And there’s always time for a smile or three:

Why do you make it so hard on him?
I’ve got to hand it to you, Johnny. See you in hell…
I wonder how much the books on punctuation run?

All that matters in life is living free and happy. I’m getting pretty good grades with that these days.

Is anyone there?

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We’ll see about that.

Welcome to another post in the echo chamber. Says the man at the keyboard talking to himself. No big deal, I’m here for the duration, regardless. Power just went out, but I’ve got my mobile hotspot to stay connected. No fans, though, and it is another hot motherfucker today. Oh well, I knock today’s drivel out as quick as I can.

Swan and I did our Calapandayan loop yesterday, hoping to see our favorite lola, but alas, she wasn’t home. We left cookies and lollipops with one of the grandkids, but didn’t feel comfortable giving him our cash donation. I’ll double it next time.

Waiting to catch a Jeepeny.
It’s Fiesta time in Calapandayan.
My love in a tunnel.
Passing through the Earth & Homes subdivision.
The rickety bridge crossing.
In the bamboo shade.
Another one bites the dust. RIP Anita.
A dirty bird in the trashy river.
We walked thataway.

At the appointed hour, we headed into town and enjoyed some adult beverages at Cheap Charlies. The plan was to visit Myleen’s for dinner birra tacos, but Swan decided to order some takeout from Foodies downstairs instead. Once again, I wasn’t hungry, so I skipped the evening meal.

We watched from Cheap Charlies as this beggar family enjoyed their dinner–and then left all their litter on the street.
Swan’s face as she watched them trashing the place.
The Cheap Charlies crew enjoying their bounty. I don’t buy overpriced lady drinks here, but I don’t mind spending a similar amount for food from Foodies.
And then the sun does that thing it does every day.

We did our nightcap at Wet Spot, and Swan shared her food bounty with our regular waitresses. I couldn’t help but notice that the quality and number of dancers on stage have vastly improved recently. Makes sense that if you want customers to come for the gals, they should at least be attractive. A couple of rounds later, we were homeward bound.

Yep, been there, done that many times, and I’m looking forward to many more to come.

Me unwinding after another busy day in paradise.

Some Facebook memories for today:

Mom and Dad living the life at their place in Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma.

And in 2018, my working life was coming to an end.

My re-retirement luncheon and going-away party.
An award from the 8th Army Chief of Staff.
It was my pleasure.

Moving on to February 2018 in the LTG archives, and my roller coaster ride with Marissa continues. Wasting time and missing opportunities, but in the end, I did meet Swan through Marissa, so there is that. Sadly, I learned from Swan that Marissa’s mother passed away today. I met her on several occasions, and she was always a pleasure to know. Rest in Peace.

Today’s YouTube video is another one of those look-back-in-time photo essays. In this one, we see scenes of the Philippines during Japanese occupation in World War II (that’s two, not eleven).

Here’s what comes next:

Maybe you should invite her for a threesome and see what happens.
You can’t share what you don’t have.
All good things come to those who wait…

And so another day, another post. Not that it matters much.

Why not Wednesday

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Some of the reasons why the Philippines has never escaped its self-inflicted poverty.

What did I do with my Wednesday? What I always do: a Wednesday Walkers group hike and then some quality time on Baloy Beach. Why not?

My hiking companions: Scott, Swan, and Steve. Steve kindly drove us out to the wilds outside Mangan-Vaca, and we hit the trail from there.
How now, brown cow?
We chose to hike here hoping it would be shady. Not so much.
Fire on the mountain. We could hear the “snap, crackle, pop” before we saw the flames.
Swan found a mango tree with some low-hanging fruit and filled my backpack. She loves mangos almost as much as birria tacos.
Feeling a little horse.
The day’s first water crossing was a snap.
Finally found some of that shade we’d been craving.
Up the creek.
Over the creek.
In the creek.
Livin’ small.
Swan took a rest in the shade on this friendly local’s bench.
We didn’t speak, see, or hear any evil.
I was feeling a little insecure.
Right around the 3.5K mark in our journey, we ran into Myleen, an old friend of Scott’s. Turns out Swan knew her too.
Myleen and her American husband are building a small house on their 3-hectare lot way out here in the middle of nowhere. No electricity, but they are installing solar panels.
Swan availed herself of one of Myleen’s hammocks.
That’s the house under construction in the background.
Then it was time to make our way back through the banana-tree forest.
Goats enjoying the shade.
The view from here.
A cookie delivery.
Follow me!
Getting it done.
The final water crossing of the day.
Swan took the high road.
Steve’s car was waiting where we left it.
There and back again was 6K. Not bad for a hot day.

And now for the Baloy portion of the day.

Sunny beaches.
You’ve heard of sand castles. Well, here’s the water version.
Riding a parasail is definitely NOT on my bucket list.
The sun at 5:30.
No big spenders to treat the gals this time.
On with the show!
Bye-bye.
Until next time.

“Dinner” at Treasure Island was once again a shared chicken quesadilla. I seem to have lost my evening appetite thanks to Ozempic. We wound up going home early and just chillin’ at home until bedtime. I partied a lot harder my first time through the 70s.

The last post in the January 2019 LTG archives is a pictorial telling of how I finally found the trail between Rizal Extension and Alta Vista after trying and failing for several months. And from that day on, I’ve referred to the trail as My Bitch.

For today’s YouTube video, let’s travel back in time and visit the Philippines as it appeared in the 1930s. The women were hot back then too!

And now I’ll pull a rabbit out of my hat:

Hmm, wanna roast a sausage?
Well, if she fucked them to death, at least they died happy.
Loose lips sink ships…and foil escapes.

And so it goes. I still ain’t had enough of this life.

A Royal pain

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I meant to post this yesterday, but forgot. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

One aspect of living a life filled with everyday routines is the unexpected disruption that occurs when those routines are stymied. Tuesday is my grocery shopping day. I’ve been shopping at the Royal supermarket on SBMA since moving here almost eight years ago. Yesterday, this sign was posted on the door at Royal:

Refreshing the store? What does that mean?

I assumed it would be repainting or something similar. Nope. Once inside, I started encountering signs like this one throughout the store:

I’m not clear on what constitutes a “household consumable,” but the reality was that they had rearranged most of the store items to new locations.

So, those old habits of knowing which aisle to find an item in were worthless. I used to have a routine pattern of aisles I’d walk to fulfill my shopping needs. No more. I’ll have to relearn and readjust my shopping methods. I’m not sure what motivated these changes, but I noted that many of the non-food items (appliances, toys, etc.) had been eliminated, and the grocery items expanded. They have also widened some of the aisles, so there’s that. Anyway, I’ll adjust, but it was a shock not to be able to find my way around the store. Yeah, if that’s the worst thing to happen to me, I’m doing alright.

I got my third high-dose injection of Ozempic, and things are trending in the right direction. I lost three pounds last week, which puts me down eleven pounds overall since I began the treatment. No severe side effects other than occasional bouts of acid reflux. My appetite remains noticeably suppressed. So, I’ve still got a long way to go, but so far, so good.

Then it was on with my Tuesday routines. That currently includes participating in the dart tournament at Alley Hideout. My inability to regain any passion for the game has been disconcerting. I was on the fence about attending the tourney yesterday, but I still had four beers already paid for on my beer card. So, I went to Alley Hideout, drank my beers, but didn’t play. I’ll have to make a decision soon about whether darts will remain a part of my life.

With the beer card exhausted, we said our goodnights to the crew and players, then moseyed across the highway to Mango’s for dinner.

My beer buddy joined me…
…along with that winey girl.
A Mango’s beach view.
And from another perspective.
A pretty nice view inside of Mango’s too…
Our standard fare: grilled pork chops with mashed taters and mixed veggies. And we share one order.

After dinner, we paid a visit to Gold Bar.

The “dancers” at work. To be fair, it was early, and there was no one there to dance for.

We moved on to Queen Victoria for our nightcap.

There was a pool tournament taking place, and the bar was packed like I’ve never seen before.

And as 8 pm approached, I successfully maintained my routine of going home.

Still exploring the January 2019 LTG archives, I reminisced in this post about all the Filipinas I had loved before. Well, maybe love isn’t the right word. And there were several more to come before I finally found a worthy partner in Swan.

Today’s YouTube video talks about eight “strange laws” in the Philippines that most expats don’t know about. I don’t know, none of them surprised me. I don’t smoke, drive, carry a pocketknife, nor do I have any desire to marry or own property here. Guess I’m safe.

Yeah, time out for humor:

Finders keepers, losers weepers.
Good to know!
Damn, I can’t remember the last time I heard that song. Hmm.

Okay, now I heard the song about a minute ago. And you are fixin’ to as well (assuming you care enough to hit the play button). I honestly didn’t understand the darker meaning of the lyrics until I read about the song here. It’s nice to learn something new at my age.

Climb it while you can

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One day at a time.

I heard from a relative in Memphis, Tennessee, this morning. She shared the photo below and a bit of McCrarey family history:

A photo of my grandfather’s recently cleaned gravestone.

He died at age 48, thirteen years before I was born. As I recall, it was a heart attack that took him.

William was a riverboat captain on the Mississippi, based in Memphis.

That was an unexpected journey down memory lane.

So, this is supposed to be a Hash post. Let’s get to it! Leech My Nuggets is one of my favorite Hares. He always lays a well-marked trail and graciously provides a shorter alternative for the “gimps,” as he calls us. I take no offense and appreciate the gesture. Both trails yesterday included a climb at the start (the long trail had another one in the middle). It’s been quite a while since I haven’t found some excuse to avoid doing the hills, but I went for it yesterday. I’d been up that way a couple of years ago, and I was really surprised that it was harder than I remembered. And then I realized that EVERYTHING is harder for me these days (well, except that thing in my pants). But I suffered my way through it and successfully completed the trail. I’ve got to keep pushing myself while I can because I know the day will come when I am unable to do this kind of hike, and I know I’m going to miss it.

To the photos then:

We gathered a couple of kilometers out of town and began our trek on Coral Street.
And we are On-On!
And then this happened.
It felt like a stairway to heaven, but the steps ended before my life did.
And then the trail meandered about for a bit on mostly flat ground.
And then we went down.
And then we went up again.
Anal Receptive was the first of the long-trail group to pass us.
The requisite rickety bridge crossing.
A woodsy walk.
Watch your step!
The ol’ watering hole.
A view from on high.
The final downward push.
Yeah, people live up here somehow.
Arriving at Rolly’s place. It’s been a while since our last visit, but the kids were happy for the cookies and lollipops we dispensed.
Cums Alone testing out Rolly’s swing.
The view from Rolly’s place.
Back on the pavement.
Arriving On-Home.
This week’s venue.
A gathering of Gash.
Rehydrating.
The Hash Gash group shot.
Her reward for being the last to pay her Hash fees.
I spent time on the ice for liking the trail.
It’s nice on ice!
Our newest named Hasher: Princess Wannabe. She’s the daughter of Anal Intruder. Anal Intruder is the girlfriend of Anal Receptive. I was going to suggest the name Anal Discharge, but thought better of it when I learned she is only 12 years old.
The Hash trails. Yellow was a 7k motherfucker, and the short trail (purple) was a tough bitch at 4K.
As is our custom, we concluded the evening with an after-Hash gathering at It Doesn’t Matter.

Keep the good times coming!

From the January 2019 LTG archives is another reminder of an event I would otherwise have forgotten forever. See, this blog does have some value. At least for me! It’s a pretty impressive tale of the lengths that I would go to in pursuit of true love. Failure doesn’t mean the effort wasn’t worth it. Damn, I had some balls back then.

Today’s YouTube video is a nice response to all the naysayers about life in the Philippines. Nope, life here is far from perfect, and for many, it is a struggle. But that’s true anywhere you go. The difference is the character of the Filipino people and their ability to overcome. As a first-time visitor here, that is what impressed me the most.

And now for the funny business:

And maybe some pussy for dessert?
Yeah, that’s a blast.
A meeting of the minds. Will he live to see tomorrow?

And that’s all for now. Tuesday is darts day, but honestly, I’ve lost all desire to play. We’ll see if that changes in the next couple of hours. I do have four beers on my Alley Hideout beer card, so there’s some incentive, I suppose.

Hoodwinked

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I guess they didn’t rise to the occasion.

The big news from yesterday is that I’ve booked my May “get outta town” trip. Swan and I will be sharing a five-day adventure in Bohol. It’s our first visit to this island, and we’ve been looking forward to seeing it. We’ll be staying on Alona Beach in Panglao, and we’ll do our touring from there. Heh, I just learned from glancing at that link that Alona Beach is named after a Filipina actress who ran naked on the beach for a movie role in 1973. Sounds like my kinda place!

This is where we will be staying on Alona Beach. I met the owner last year (his wife is Nora) on the Kokomo’s floating bar. Looking forward to sharing a beer or three with him when we arrive.

I also discovered that stupidity comes with a price. $109.40 to be precise. Travel as an elderly person comes with challenges, and booking airline tickets online is one of them. I completed the process, paid for the flights, and received my booking confirmation via email. And that’s when I realized that what was supposed to be a May 12 departure with a May 16 return flight had somehow become a May 16 departure and a May 17 return. WTF? I still don’t know how I managed to screw that up, but, like everything else, there was a charge for changing the ticket. Oh well, lesson learned. Or not, as my increasingly frazzled brain doesn’t retain much information these days.

Other than that, it was pretty much a typical day in the life.

Awakened to another full moon. I love the view from my desk!

On the morning dog walk, I noticed the war of words (on paper) between neighbors has escalated.

It strikes me as a bit tacky to tape messages to someone’s mailbox. Why not just knock on the door and have a friendly chat? That said, I don’t disagree that picking up the trash that stray dogs have scattered from your garbage can is your responsibility. I also wish the Alta Vista leaders would take action to eradicate the stray dogs invading the neighborhood.

And then there was the Sunday Sweets Stroll. Wanna come along?

A back way out of our ‘hood.
Making our way through the piggery where lechon is made.
First ‘hood.
Heading for the next stop.
Second ‘hood.
Passing by the Santo Tomas marketplace.
Rapunzel?
Third ‘hood.
A brief stroll on the National Highway. Notice how light the traffic is at 9 a.m.
Fourth ‘hood.
On with the journey.
Fifth ‘hood.
The way ahead.
Sixth ‘hood. This is usually one of our biggest groups, but they weren’t around yesterday for some reason.
Our only delivery at this stop.
Heading to the last neighborhood.
Seventh ‘hood was also quieter than usual.
At least we got our steps in.

When it was time to head into town, I was gobsmacked by the traffic. Apparently, Labor Day weekend is when Filipinos swarm the beaches in Zambales province. I’d never seen things this jammed up on the National Highway.

The city of Olongapo posted this on Facebook, warning people to stay off the road until traffic cleared up. I guess nobody listened.
The view from our seats at Red Bar. I watched a group waiting patiently for a Jeepney. Instead of one coming by every five minutes, they were fifteen minutes apart, and of course, overflowing with passengers. I guess the Jeepney drivers said, fuck it, I’m not driving in this traffic. All the passing buses were standing-room-only as well.

A couple of hours later, as we made our way to Jumpin’ Jacks, things were still jampacked.

So glad I was stuck in that quagmire.
I played a game of pool against one of the better waitresses. I think we were both surprised that I shot well and won.
And I came up with an easy fix for a runny nose.

I was wearing a Hash shirt, and another customer introduced himself as a Hasher from Kentucky. I told him about today’s Hash, and he wants to join in the fun. We’ll see if he shows.

Anyway, despite my costly mistake, I’d rate the day as not bad.

And now we’ve reached January 2019 in the journey through the LTG archives. In this post, I recount having one of those “love at first sight” moments. As you might expect, it proved to be a one-way street. But I am happy to report that the woman in question found the man she wanted and is now a happy mother. I wound up doing alright, too.

Today’s YouTube video discusses China’s motivations for its provocations against the Philippines. I like that the fallout from the Iran conflict is directly impacting China. FAFO.

Let’s lighten the load:

It’s just a matter of time before a lie becomes the truth, Gramps.
You’ll lose if you do get her back, dude.
She looks like a good catch to me.

By golly, I’ve gone and done it again. And now it’s time to get ready for today’s Hash. There’s a climb involved, and it is another hot day, but I’ll give it a shot. You’ll know if I live tomorrow.

Can’t stop now

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Like me or hate me, I ain’t goin’ anywhere.

On and on it goes, but that’s fine by me. I’m reasonably healthy, still able to get out and about, and I have a lady who loves me at my side. Seems like I hit the jackpot! As boring and trivial as they might be, I am glad to engage in my daily routines and then share them with whoever cares to read about them here at LTG. That’s just the way I roll. Let’s get to it then.

I woke up to the full moon lighting the nighttime sky.
And I enjoyed watching the moonset.
Some of the kids who joined in the fun on the weekly Decay Dance.
61 seems young to me now. RIP, Alicia.
We did the Decay Dance for the usual 5K and handed out 200+ candy bags along the way.
Then we rode back home in the most decorated trike I ever did see.

At beer o’clock, I fancied a visit to Cheap Charlies, but alas, looking up from the street, it appeared all the good seats were taken. Well, this is Barretto, and there are plenty of options, so we made Sloppy Joe’s our Plan B.

The view isn’t as nice as Cheap Charlies at street level, but it sufficed. That traffic jam leaving town was like that for the duration of our time out. It’s a holiday (Labor Day) weekend here.

After drinking our fill and enjoying a chicken quesadilla snack at Sloppy Joe’s, we popped into Alaska Club for another round. Neither of us was digging the vibe there, so we decided to stroll down the highway and finish our evening out at Queen Victoria. That was pleasant, as usual.

The lights of the city and the full moon over Kalaklan Ridge were the icing on the cake for our Saturday.

The bedtime strawberry-banana smoothie I enjoyed at home was also sweet. Yep, life is good.

It’s the last day of the year 2018 in the LTG archives, and I post about the year that was and the lessons learned.

Today’s YouTube video is the inspiring story of a Filipina overcoming her handicap to achieve her dreams. She lives in Valencia, a city I hope to visit in June. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to stop by her store to say hello.

Humor time:

Heart and fart rhyme, so is looking at the ass okay too?
I didn’t see that one cumming…
Call a Mayday, Captain!

And that’s just about enough for today, don’t you think?

Today’s song is an old one I found it the archives. I’d forgotten all about it.

When the warship's left Manila sailing proudly o'er the sea
All the sailors hearts were filled with fond regret
Looking backward to this island where they spent such happy hours
Making love to every pretty girl they've met

Well, up stopped a little sailor with his pride eyes all aglow
Saying take a look at my girl's photograph
Then the sailors gathered round him just to look upon her face
And he said,? I love my Filipino baby?

She's my Filipino baby she's my treasure and my pet
Her teeth are bright and pearly and her hair is black as jet
Oh, her lips are sweet as honey and her heart is true I know
She's my darling little Filipino baby oh Jimmy

In a little rustic cottage in the port of Filipines
Dwells a lonely little maiden all alone
She is thinking of her true love though he's far across the sea
And her heart beats true for him and him alone

Then one day he whispered,? Darling I've come back from Caroline
I've come back to claim the only girl I love?
And that night there was a wedding while the ships crew gathered round
And he wed his little Filipino baby

She's my Filipino baby she's my treasure and my pet
Her teeth are bright and pearly and her hair is black as jet
Oh, her lips are sweet as honey and her heart is true I know
She's my darling little Filipino baby

Mark of the beast

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I don’t remember why I posted this.

Yep, slip slidin’ away, but still in the game. I just need to remember to enjoy myself. So far, so good. Take yesterday, for example. Kicked things off with the Friday group hike. Only two other attendees, Swan and Steve, were willing to brave the hellish heat, but we took a mostly flat route and got our steps in.

That’s Alta Vista on the hill in the background and a sad-looking tree up front.
You don’t have to live large to live well.
A river runs through it.
My fellow travelers.
Bayside.
When the gas station is out of gas.

We overcame Satan’s heat demons and finished our hike back where we had started:

Take that, you beast!

Back to the house post-hike, and my pension deposit had hit the bank—time to take care of the monthly obligations. My only “bill” is my credit card, which I pay in full every month. Then I have the charity projects where I wire money to the recipients for their needs, including school tuition, medical assistance, and feeding a family. When you are surrounded by poverty and people in need, it feels good to at least make life better for some. Selfishly, it adds some value to my existence and makes my being here a little more meaningful.

And of course, I dispensed some lady drink charity last night as well. A little more generous than usual at Wet Spot with two rounds of LDs for four gals. Swan doesn’t like having so many at our table, but with Green Room closed and our regulars from there working at Wet Spot, it can’t be helped. Anyway, they all went home with some commissions and a small tip in their pocket.

A friend of Swan’s posted some 2019 photos of her with some guy at a videoke joint. She thought it would be fun to recreate them last night. Here’s how they turned out:

Then…
…and now.
2019…
…2026.

I honestly don’t remember that long-ago evening or meeting Swan there.

Facebook helps me remember other things, like my final visit to the Commissary at Camp Humphreys eight years ago.

Grocery shopping American-style at its finest, with low prices to boot.
An abundance of meat…
…and fruits and veggies galore.

Ah, the good ol’ days. Sometimes you don’t miss them until they are gone.

It’s nearing Christmas 2018 in the LTG archives, and I’m learning about the art of gift-giving and the ways good intentions can go wrong. It’s an interesting perspective to look back on some of the relationship issues I was experiencing during my first year in the Philippines. I can see now that often the problem was with me. Me getting upset about a bargirl I liked getting lady drinks from a customer is just plain stupid. It’s her job, you dunce. I’d never be bothered by something like that now.

For today’s YouTube video, let’s go fishing with the Filipina Pea and her dad and see how he likes using an American-style fishing pole for the first time.

Humor me:

Something’s not adding up here…
Wouldn’t that make things twice as painful for her?
That’s why I never told the gals I’d been snipped. I was waiting to drop the bombshell should they pull that “I’m pregnant, and you’re the father” bullshit on me. It never happened, thankfully.

And that’s the way yesterday went.

The day it was

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Did I pass?

I can’t remember the last time I was drunk. But I guess I wouldn’t. Seriously, though, with my relatively short daily drinking schedule (leave the house at 4ish and come home around 8) and only imbibing beer, I’m not prone to drunkenness. Which is good, because I like to maintain some semblance of control. Since Zero beer (3% alcohol) is off the market, I’m drinking the slightly stronger San Mig Light (5% alcohol), but I’ve slowed my intake pace to make up for it. Anyway, all is well with me in that regard.

Here’s how I rolled through another Thirstday:

Swan and I shared some delicious pancakes…
…and an American breakfast to start our morning at Mope Beach Resort. We passed on the toast and half the hash brown.
Then we burned off some of those calories with a 3.5K stroll around the neighborhood in La Paz.
A final look at the West Philippine Sea from my seat at Mope while awaiting our driver’s arrival.
Oh, and Scott sent me this AI enhancement of the Wednesday Walkers before we set out on our 10K trek through San Narciso.

The trip home went without incident. I grabbed a nap and did a blog post, then we were once more out the door. Since we had missed our Baloy Wednesday routine, we hit the sand yesterday to restore order and balance to our existence.

The Baloy Beach walk.
The sun that greeted us when we arrived on the Kokomo’s floating bar.
Only a couple of other customers, but one big spender had tabled all the girls. Good for him and them!

Owner Steve is back from Aussie-land, and it was nice to catch up with him again. Then the show began:

Thanks for that!
Time to head ashore.
Hope to see you next week, Kokomo’s!
The sun goes down, and the moon rises. Kinda like a circle game.
Nice to see you again, Treasure Island.

It seems the Ozempic really kicks in at dinnertime. I don’t have much of an appetite, and it is easily satiated. Once again, we shared a chicken quesadilla, and it was plenty satisfying.

And we made some new acquaintances:

Nice to meet you, Tess and Ray. Hope to see you again somewhere around town one day soon.

And then it was off to home and a batch of strawberry-banana smoothies before hitting the hay. Damn, it’s a good life!

Four years ago, this gal came up from Angeles City to visit Buddy and Lucky. That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.

From the December 2018 LTG archives is a post where I expound on the lady drink culture and my other efforts to be generous without being taken advantage of. It took me a few more years to finally ignore the pleas and turn off the ATM. A weird thing about the linked post is that the font is larger than usual. I don’t know how that happened, but I like it. I wonder if I can figure out how to replicate it. Stay tuned.

Today’s YouTube video features a vlogger sharing his ten reasons why people shouldn’t retire in the Philippines. Well, I’ve experienced all ten since moving here almost eight years ago, but I still don’t regret the move. It all comes down to what you can tolerate and accept. Hell, I’m sure there would be ten similar things about any country you choose to reside in, including your homeland. Of course, my “take a deep breath, relax, and accept the Filipino way” mantra has served me well over the years.

Best of all, I still have my sense of humor. Such as it is:

All I know is that everything you know is wrong.
What goes around comes around.
Try looking up “inexplicable” in the dictionary. It just says, “cannot be explained.” So, I still don’t know what it means.

Why not just leave it at that for today.

A D’lightful day

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Judge me all you want, I don’t care.

Back home in Barretto again, and before I get on with my routines here let me tell you about my yesterday in barangay La Paz, San Narciso.

Scott and Steve drove out to join us for the Wednesday Walkers excursion.
And off we go on the beach road.
We popped in to check out D’ Resort which is operated by a golf friend of Scott and Steve. The owner wasn’t there at the time though.
Steve paused to have a gander at that old Ferrari.
And then this guy came chasing us down the street. That’s Chris, the owner of D’s Resort. He was sorry he had missed us and invited us back for a visit after our hike.
I fantasized about what life might be like living in this beachfront house. I’m pretty sure I’d like it!
The pavement came to an end and we became beachwalkers.
I don’t like walking in soft sand much…
…so I walked on the firmer sand at the water’s edge.
Scott decided the low road was better, too.
Enjoy the sandy soil!
Approaching the riverside.
Luckily, it was more of a stream than a river this time. Last year, fellow hiker Gary almost got washed out to sea.
Taking the plunge.
Like last year, a local informed us we were trespassing. Unlike last year, he told us our path was blocked. Luckily, Swan convinced him her hike mates were too old to turn around and go back.
So, he reluctantly unlocked the gate and let us pass.
On the side of the big Santo Tomas River. Those ships come here to harvest the lahar that still washes down through the riverbed over thirty years after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
There was also some big-ass excavation project going on in the riverbed as well. Must have been over fifty of those dump trucks moving the soil.
I’m not sure how you restore a river, but you better hurry, rainy season is coming.
But they were definitely hard at it.
Leaving the big river behind and passing through a small village.
And sweetening the day of some local kiddies.
Then we were walking the banks of a smaller river (probably the same one we’d waded through earlier).
It was a pleasant enough stroll.
Enjoying the wide-open spaces view.
That’s a nice view too.
A tree that caught my eye.
And a carabao trying to stay cool on a very hot day.
The riverside route led us back to the highway, and this little food stand looked like a nice place for a rest and a drink.
Some shade and Mountain Dew hit the spot.
Then it was time to push on down the road.
What’s a hike without a cemetery?
At least you made it to 90, Donato. Well done!
Heading back to the beach.
And then arriving back at where we started, Mope Resort.
A nice place to stay and hang out.
And an after-hike lunch and a beer went down well.
That’s a 10K trek you’re looking at, not bad for a hot-ass day.

After lunch, Steve and Scott stopped by to visit their friend Chris at D’s Resort. I went back to the room for a much-needed nap. Woke up, blogged, showered, and then it was our time to enjoy the beachside Sunset Bar at D’s. I’d actually seen the place the day before and didn’t realize it was part of D’s.

The beach bar is small, but nice.
Looking back towards the main resort building at D’s.
Owner Chris came out to adjust the Filipino flag, then joined us at the bar for some liquid refreshment and chat.
The sun was fixin’ to do its thing.
While Chris and I held court, Swan hit the beach with the camera.
That’s my girl!
Doggone. At least one of his legs is.
No mas!

Had a great time getting to know Chris and look forward to seeing him again one day. Chris’ wife gave Swan a tour of some of the rooms, and as much as I like Mope, I think we will be staying at D’ Resort the next time we visit.

We went back to Mope for our nightcap (I skipped dinner again) and then I dragged my sorry, tired ass back to the room for some much-needed sleep.

Swan and I talked about the different vibes between our other beach town favorite, Pundaquit, and La Paz. La Paz feels more laid-back and quieter, with far fewer foreigners. Including Chris, I encountered only five other expats during my visit. I also appreciated that the places I like to visit, yeah, bars, are all within easy walking distance in La Paz. That’s not the case in Pundaquit. Anyway, when I asked Swan where she’d rather live, she said “both.” Of course, I have no intention of moving away from Barretto, but it is nice to have options should I ever desire to do so.

Here’s an old memory from February 2005: my first Itaewon bar hangout, Sweet Caroline’s.

And the sisters who ran the place. That’s Misoon on the left, who was to become my first Korean girlfriend.

From the December 2018 LTG archives, I talk about a couple of girls I met at the Hash who wound up working as dancers at the bar Coco Lips. I had a crush on Josie until she fucked me over (and not in the good way). Last time I saw her, she was living in a squatter shack with a new baby. A bullet dodged with that one. Sad in a way, but some gals make bad choices and live with the consequences. Hmm, that sounds a bit like that guy in the mirror.

For today’s YouTube video, when was the last time you ever even thought about Amelia Earhart? Well, this sounds pretty convincing that they found her remains three years after the crash, but didn’t know it. She was definitely ahead of her time.

And let’s see if these are worth your time:

Maybe the boss will give her a part-time job.
I wonder if he is still alive.
I hadn’t considered that, Joe.

Alright, they say that home is where the heart is, and as far as I can tell, mine is still beating. So, time to get on with the living thing.

Nothing to Mope about

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I’m losing more and more people that I care about lately. But I don’t feel like I’ve changed.

So, I’m living it up here at the Mope Resort on La Paz beach in San Narciso. Running way behind schedule, so I’m going to have to hurry through this post and get back out to see new places other than this keyboard. I had a nice first day yesterday, taking a walk around the neighborhood. Lots of new places have opened, but I ain’t see many expats out and about. Three altogether yesterday. Matt, the owner of Mope Resort, is currently out of town, but his wife gave us a warm welcome. I chuckled when I was reminded what “Mope” stood for: Matt’s outta pocket expenses. The Resort is for sale, and there may be only one other room occupied at the moment, but we are enjoying our stay regardless. Okay, need to run, but before I go I’ll throw up some photos from yesterday’s adventure:

The thirty-two-kilometer journey to get here.
A chicken burger for lunch upon arrival at Mope. I could only finish half of it.
A deserted La Paz Beach.
Swan walking the beachfront road.
That would be the beachfront road I’m talking about.
This house caught my eye because of the “for sale” sign out front. I liked the vibe of the place. Swan called the number, and it is 8 million pesos (around $160,000.)
Our loop around brought us back to the far end of the beach.
We loved going to Kon-Tiki when it was down the road from Barretto. This version has recently opened here. It doesn’t have the beach vibe we like, and the menu isn’t as appealing, but we’ll give it a try one of these days.
We were looking forward to seeing an ocean sunset.
Heading back to Mope, we passed a cluster of street food stands that weren’t there when we last visited.
You don’t see a 1960s Ferrari very often in the Philippines.
Back at Mope, we climbed up to a second-floor covered deck to watch the sun show.

So, I took LOTS of photos. Some I zoomed in on, others I cropped, and the rest are just on normal settings. Sit back and enjoy the show:

And that was that.

Back downstairs for more beer by the pool. That’s the deck we watched the sunset from.
I’m not sure drinking pool water is a good idea kitty, but you do you.

Then it was off to our room for a good night’s sleep and getting ready for day two.

It’s now December 2018 in the LTG archives, and in this post, I claim to have gotten down to “the heart of the matter.” Basically, I didn’t have love in my life, but I had reached the point where I was okay with that. You can probably guess how long that lasted. Even so, I finally found my keeper, so it all worked out in the end.

For today’s YouTube video, I’ll share the latest from Reekay talking about the “part-time living in the Philippines” option. I used to do six months in the USA and six months in Korea when I first retired. It wasn’t bad, but it never really felt like I was at home in either country.

Some humor before I go:

That’ll teach him!
I never do that. Sometimes I give the toilet a loving hug, though.
I’m sorry, what did you say?
Don’t drive it when you are sauced!

Okay, I’ve got a sunset to attend to and a thirst to quench. Later, gators.