When I say “so-so,” it’s short for “same old, same old.” Not that I’m complaining; it could always be worse. Or better. Hmm, the AI God just advised that the proper rendering should be S.O.S.O. or SOSO. That seems average at best, or maybe even mediocre. It also takes the fun out of my play on words. Anyway, yesterday was more of the same, and that’s good enough for me.

Let’s get on with it, then. Another Sunday Sweets Street Stroll, and once again, we ran short on candy before completing our regular loop. We’re going to increase our purchase of goodies this week to fill an extra 100 candy bags, bringing the total to 500, and take it from there. We don’t want to disappoint our clients.

We started our Sunday evening festivities at Red Bar. Once manager Cliff was done for the day, I was given control of the music selections for the patio speakers. I chose an early-’60s rock playlist and found it especially enjoyable to hear those golden oldies again. They had been just background noise on the jukebox (remember those?) when I was a kid. See, I’m not that hard to please.

We didn’t get to see a sunset, but the next best thing is a moonrise. Wasn’t expecting to see that show, until Swan pointed out some mysterious light at the top of the Kalaklan Ridge.

Our next stop was Swan’s choice, and she wanted to visit Cyclone. I suggested we grab a shawarma to snack on at the bar, and Swan agreed.

I’m increasingly impressed with Cyclone Bar. It has a well-appointed ambiance, two pool tables, and comfortable seating areas. These days, they’re also playing an enjoyable classic-rock playlist at an appropriate volume. It reminded me of the old Jumpin’ Jacks and got me thinking that this might be where we go for that vibe we’ve been missing.

And here comes the night’s surprise: it was 8 p.m., and we still weren’t ready to go home! Next stop: Wet Spot. Our regular waitress, Irene, was shocked to see us at such a “late” hour and asked if everything was okay. Yep, we were just trying to push the envelope a tad to keep life from being so stationary. (Sorry!)

One factor that may have contributed to my enhanced longevity is the availability of Extra Light beer. Lower calories and a lower alcohol content work for me. It was also interesting being out a little later and seeing the early stages of the late crowd arriving at the bars. Apparently, there’s an Indian ship in port, and we saw quite a few Indian sailors on the streets, with some in the bars. At Cyclone, a group wanted to pay by credit card, which isn’t an option there. I also saw some younger-looking Koreans come into Wet Spot during our visit.

Can a night be so-so, SOSO, and fun at the same time? I’d say the answer is yes.

Moving on to the May 2022 LTG archives, I share my views on abortion and some of the personal history I have associated with that topic. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Today’s YouTube video is a short comedy scene from Mikey and Wyatt, a duo I’d never heard of before. Since it had to do with hiring, and given my HR background, how could I resist watching? I found it hilarious, and the twist at the end caught me completely off guard. Well worth watching.

As long as we are in the mood to laugh, how about these:

And now another Hash Monday is upon me. Luckily, I feel a lot better these past couple of days. Still have a cough and phlegm, but not as frequent. And for the first time in nearly a week, I had a decent night’s sleep.

Maybe I need to stay out later more often. We’ll see how that goes.

One of those early ’60s hits I played last night:

Things don’t always go as planned, so all you can do is make the best of it. That pretty much summarizes my yesterday. Nothing tragic, thankfully, and I just went with the flow. I was in a foul mood at the end of the night, but that’s in accordance with my nature as a grumpy old man.

Here’s how the day went down:

I have a walking video for one section of our standard route:

That gives you a pretty good idea of what the Decay Dance is all about. Hope you enjoyed it.

There were a lot more kids out and about yesterday, and the 270 bags of candy we brought with us were insufficient to cover our normal dance route. So we altered course and dispensed candy until the sweetness was gone.

Swan wanted to spend the afternoon at the family compound, so the plan was for us to meet up later in town. At beer o’clock, I messaged her and asked her to meet me at Outback. I waited for her response, and forty-five minutes later, she told me to just go on my own. Well, that’s not what I wanted, and if she had told me that from the beginning, I would have taken it better. This felt a lot like being stood up. Yeah, I was being a selfish baby, but I got over it. My Plan B was to do a bar crawl.

My next stop was Cheap Charlies. My main purpose was to have some of those Foodies quesadillas, and that worked out fine. As is my custom, I bought the girls some food too, in lieu of overpriced lady drinks.

My next stop was the new Red Square Bar. I wanted to check in with the former Hideaway gals. Ace was working as a waitress, and Joy is now the cashier there. I’ll admit, the place was a lot busier than I’d ever seen it when it was Jumpin’ Jacks. I really didn’t like it, though, especially the crap music. They were also the only bar in town that hadn’t restocked any San Miguel Extra Light. After one beer, I was out, and I don’t see any reason to return anytime soon.

I made Cyclone my next stop. I was the only customer when I arrived, but later, a couple of pool players came in. My old waitress friend Sheryl came and sat with me, and I treated her to a lady drink. A couple of beers later, I was ready to move on.

I finished my evening on my own at Gold Bar. A group of guys from the Hash were in the midst of their weekly bar crawl. I waved from across the room, then took a seat on the other side of the dance stage. No, I didn’t invite myself to join them, and neither did they. The bar was busier than usual, but I still received good service. The two chunky dancers on stage weren’t worth a second look, but that’s not what I came for anyway. The beer (XL) was cold and wet, and that’s good enough for me.

I had to walk a couple of blocks up the highway to find a trike, but I still arrived home while standing. Swan wasn’t home yet, so I made a batch of strawberry-banana smoothies, took my nighttime meds, and then hit the hay. When I woke up during the night, Swan was sleeping beside me. And all was right with the world.

Continuing with the April 2022 LTG archives, I had a weekend visitor join me from Angeles City. She was someone I’d been introduced to by a mutual friend a couple of weeks earlier. I understood her name to be “Lane,” but it turned out to be Lyn. Anyway, things went well enough, and she was definitely easy on the eyes.

Today’s YouTube video is one of those short (five-minute) AI dramas. I found this one surprisingly well done and entertaining. The ending was a little unclear to my addled brain, but give it a watch and see what you think.

Time-out for some humor:

And that was then, this is now.

No issues have arisen regarding whatever the misunderstanding was yesterday, and we are going on as we always have. Ain’t love grand?

The sinus congestion is mostly gone, but that damn cough still isn’t done with me. Making the hacking and hocking worse is the feeling that I’m being stabbed in my lower abdomen with each cough. I have no idea what’s causing it, but perhaps I strained those weak stomach muscles by coughing so much. The coughing doesn’t seem quite as frequent today, so maybe I’ve turned the corner.

For Friday’s group hike, we took the long jeepney ride out to Castillejos and walked along the bypass highway. We only do that hike a couple of times a year, so it feels fresh. However, we noticed a lot more traffic than usual yesterday, which took some of the fun out of it.

Timed passed, and then it was once again beer o’clock. Started off at It Doesn’t Matter and witnessed some drama between a couple I know. Sad to see and hope things work out for the best.

We enjoyed our usual grilled pork chop dinner, then moved on to Queen Victoria. In happy news, San Miguel delivered some Extra Light to restock the coolers. ’Bout damn time. I had a pleasant chat with Manager Jake and was prepared to wrap things up at the usual witching hour of 8 p.m. But Swan’s girlfriend, part of the couple drama I mentioned earlier, messaged that she wanted to have some girl talk at Red Bar. So, we triked over. The gals sat together, while I took a table in the corner. An hour later, Swan’s friend duty was complete, and we headed home. Maybe I’ll try to start staying out a little later from now on.

From the April 2022 LTG archives comes a post about the climb to the top of Easter Mountain. I don’t recall whether that was the last time I made it to the top, but I fear that kind of climb is beyond my elderly capabilities now. So, I thought the post was worthy of inclusion in The Story of My Life.

In today’s YouTube video, the vlogger complains that foreign tourists aren’t helping the economy. Maybe that’s somewhat true in places like Siargao, where the tourists are almost exclusively foreigners. It’s the opposite here in my little town. The hotels fill up every weekend with Filipino families escaping Manila, but non-expat foreign tourists are few and far between. And the bars here are desperate for customers. It’s only a little over three minutes long, so see what you think.

Maybe we all just need a reason to smile:

And now you know all about the day that was yesterday. Meanwhile, today has arrived.

And so it goes.

It appears I’m on the road to recovery. Not 100% yet, but lots better than yesterday. Not much else to offer here today, but what you see is what you get.

Feeling poorly is no excuse not to help keep the bars in business. Last night, it was Red Bar and Rum Jungle that helped lighten my wallet. I didn’t have a particularly enjoyable time at either one, but that’s the nature of the beast.

Speaking of bars, it appears another one has bitten the dust: my former hangout, Hideaway. The way it went down was self-inflicted. Owner Griff is back home in the UK for medical reasons, and he left his girlfriend in charge during his absence. Yesterday, she somehow managed to piss off the entire staff, and they all walked out. It’s hard enough to stay in business with no customers, but a bar without waitresses is pointless. The good news is that the manager at Red Square has offered to bring the old Hideaway crew on board at his place. Good luck to everyone!

Continuing with the April 2022 LTG archives, and there was a day full of dreams and disappointments. Hey, nothing like a roller coaster ride!

Today’s YouTube video is another one of those “walking through a neighborhood” types. What’s different is that I made this one. Yeah, I don’t know what got into me, but I filmed six minutes of our stroll yesterday. Maybe I’ll make this an occasional thing. Or not. Oh, and I got a chuckle out of the closed captioning picking up my “snorts” as I sucked the snot back into my nose.

On with the humor:

And now it is time carry on with my Friday. I might feel well enough to actually enjoy myself tonight. We shall see.

I’m not sure of the cause, but in addition to congestion and a runny nose, I’m coughing up phlegm from deep in my lungs. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, so hopefully this ailment will run its course and allow me to soon be healthy once again.

Despite feeling poorly, I forced myself out of the house for a walkabout.

When beer o’clock rolled around, I headed out for liquid refreshment, knowing that drinking plenty of fluids is important as you strive to overcome illness.

We did our night cap at Wet Spot, and San Miguel Light was my best and only option there as well. We had some food delivered from Foodies and enjoyed our eats. As usual, manager Brett was spinning some fine tunes, and waitresses Beth and Irene enjoyed their lady drink bounty.

Remember this photo I posted the other day?

Today, Scott sent me a version he enhanced with the help of Google Gemini:

It is now April 2022 in the LTG archives, and in this post, I’m getting out of my lane. It was weird inviting someone I’d never even met to my house, but I was worried about her being out on the streets in the early hours of the morning. She turned out to be a nice enough gal and plenty hot by my low standards, but our paths in life weren’t heading in the same direction.

For today’s YouTube video, let me share a short Western drama. Only seven minutes long, but that suits my reduced attention span these days.

Maybe you’ll find these amusing:

Still dealing with all these damn symptoms. I’m going to stop by the drugstore and try to score some Amoxicillin and see if that won’t clear out my lungs and nostrils. Fingers crossed.

Tuesdays are my “nothing much” days, and yesterday was no exception. The Bureau of Immigration did approve a 60-day extension of my tourist visa, so there’s that. I got the grocery shopping out of the way, then visited Dr. Jo for another GLP-1 injection. I’m now at Mounjaro’s maximum dosage, so hopefully I’ll start making more progress in my weight-loss quest.

We kicked things off at beer o’clock with a visit to Sloppy Joe’s.

I decided to change things up and climb the three flights of stairs to BarCelona for the first time in a very long time. It’s under new ownership now, and they’re calling it a “disco bar,” so my expectations were low. Maybe because it was still early, they weren’t playing disco music, which was a blessing. Only a couple of other people were there during my visit. As much as I like the bar’s well-appointed ambiance, I don’t think the old expat crowd in Barretto is going to make that climb for a disco. Time will tell.

For our nightcap, we decided to pop into the newest bar in town, Voodoo. Since our last visit on opening night a couple of weeks ago, they’ve moved the pool table and rearranged the customer seating area. I think the new floor plan works better. There were fewer dancers and waitresses, but maybe that’s just the nature of a Tuesday evening. Five or six guys were playing pool, so at least they had some customers besides us. The music was much better this time, too. We enjoyed our visit, and Voodoo is now on our list of places to go.

And that brought our Tuesday on the town to an end.

I had a rough night, waking up at oh-dark-thirty with a bad case of acid indigestion. That’s a fairly common side effect of GLP-1 drugs, and fortunately, I had some medication in my nightstand drawer that eased the discomfort. A little later, I developed a scratchy throat and persistent cough. The cough still hasn’t gone away, but hopefully I’ll be over it soon.

What else have I got?

Moving onward through the March 2022 LTG archives, I share some thoughts on “Closing the Loop.” There are fond memories of John Kim’s restaurant, my acceptance of being relegated to the friend zone with Jenny, and the wisdom not to take the bait offered by a 21-year-old bar girl. My favorite part of the post was seeing photos from my best day ever as a tourist in the Philippines: taking the gals from Alaska Club to my hotel for an impromptu pool party. Let the good times roll!

Today’s YouTube Short features the Filipina Pea interviewing an online dating scammer. It brought back memories of the days when I frequented dating sites before moving here. Yep, I got scammed more than once before learning some hard lessons.

Coincidentally, I came across this meme today that pretty much captures the reality of online dating:

Now for some humor:

And now you’ve made it through a nothing post about a nothing day. Congratualations!

So, one of the Hares for today’s trail got sick, and Swan volunteered to take her place. She asked me to help scout a trail yesterday, so I headed into the hills, and we came up with something I think will be good for the Hashers this afternoon. I went out this morning and helped the girls, Cums Alone and Goat Fucker, mark the trail. I just got home from that endeavor, and now I need to dash off a proof-of-life post before I shower, nap, and head back out to the Hash On-Home venue to participate in the beer-drinking portion of the Hashing lifestyle, a drinking club with a hiking problem.

So, here we go with my Sunday in pictures:

Back home for some rest and relaxation, then I decided we’d change things up a tad and head out to SBMA to kick off our Sunday evening.

We caught a jeepney to the Kalaklan Gate, then walked the 1.5 kilometers to Harbor Point Mall. Swan was surprised and asked why we were there. I said, “You told me you needed a new laptop, so let’s see what they have.”

We found a store that had some laptops, but Swan wasn’t pleased with the prices. She says she wants to shop around some more and suspects that my presence may have triggered a “skin tax.” Oh, well. At least I tried.

My real motivation for making the journey to SBMA was my craving for some good Korean food. Seoul Restaurant serves the best I’ve found in the Philippines. Alas, as we reached the parking area, it was packed, and I feared the worst. Sure enough, there was a waiting area full of hungry would-be diners. Nope. As good as it might be, I’m not patient enough to sit around waiting for a table. So off we went in search of an alternative.

Anyway, the meal was disappointing but better than nothing. I’ll try Seoul again on a weekday next time.

As we walked back to the taxi stand at the Kalaklan Gate, the sky was entertaining us with views like this one:

We took a taxi back to Barretto for 400 pesos. Yeah, I paid a premium for comfort over an inexpensive jeepney ride. Once we were back in town, we popped into Alaska Club. Owner Jerry is back in town and greeted us warmly. The place was hoppin’ like I haven’t seen it since before the scamdemic.

It turns out a mamasan from Rum Jungle brought her crew of dancers to Alaska, and they filled the stage. There was an MSC (Military Sealift Command) ship in port, and the civilian sailors were having a good time being two-week millionaires with the girls. It was a nice, lively vibe for a change.

We had our nightcap at Cloud 69, which was pretty busy with a pool-playing crowd. Our regular waitress wasn’t around, but our server was fun. My jokes were all new to her, and she laughed at them, so naturally, I rewarded her with some lady drinks. Good times!

And here’s the surprise: I stayed out until a little after 9 p.m. last night. Wow! I’m not sure I’ll make a habit of it, but it was good to enjoy a nice night out on the town.

From the March 2022 LTG archives, a happy day began with hiring a banka boat and making some sweet memories at Sampaloc Cove. I brought along my old friends from Treasure Island and that girl, Jenny, I’d been crushing on. I never did escape the friend zone with her, but that’s okay. A couple of years ago, she married a Brit and seems to be living happily ever after in the UK. Good for her!

Today’s YouTube video is a short, three-minute excerpt from an old Twilight Zone episode. Even as a young kid, I always enjoyed the show, although its deeper insights were lost on me. And now here I am, living my life in paradise, even if it isn’t always as heavenly as I like to imagine.

Humor time:

And there you have it. Now I need to prepare myself for a Hashy Monday. Already got the trail out of the way, but that beer ain’t gonna drink itself!

Tuesdays are normally the most routine of my daily routines, but yesterday turned out a little different than usual. Prior to hitting the grocery stores, I stopped at the BPI ATM to refill my wallet. Once again, my debit card from the USA was rejected. When I tried to use the card from my Philippines bank, it didn’t work either. Hmm, so I figured it must be the machine not functioning. So, I had my driver take me to the BPI branch on the other side of SBMA (it has three ATMS), and I got the same result. WTF? Well, I needed to get some cash, so I figured we’d go back to BPI once it opened. In the meantime, we proceeded with our first supermarket, YBC. Luckily, my credit card hadn’t been blocked, so I was able to pay for the groceries. Loaded up the car and headed back to BPI, arriving just after 9 a.m. Alas, it turns out the bank branch didn’t open until 10. The bank security guard was on duty, and Swan showed him the “unable to process transaction” receipt from my first attempt. The guard asked to see my card, cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, and told me to try again. And it worked! I guess those chip readers are sensitive. Lesson learned. It was good to have money in my pocket again, and we finished our weekly shopping at Royal and headed back to Barretto.

I got dropped off at Dr. Jo’s office so I could get my weekly GLP-1 injection (I’ve switched from Ozempic to Mounjaro). I have now been upped to the highest dose, and the monthly cost is 10,500 pesos (around $200). I lost almost two pounds last week, so hopefully that trend will continue. I’m still a long way from my goal.

When I got back home, I had an email from my credit union saying my card had been blocked due to “suspicious activity.” Yep, trying to withdraw money from an ATM in the Philippines is considered possibly fraudulent for some reason. The sad fact is they do this every f’n time I try to use my card. I send a message saying the transaction was legitimate; they unblock my account, and then block it again when I attempt to make a withdrawal. It’s a good thing that I have the local bank account (in Swan’s name) that I can wire money to from my US bank, or I’d be really fucked.

Late in the afternoon, when it was time to head into town, Swan wanted to get a haircut and a foot spa, so the plan was that I’d wait for her at Cheap Charlies.

I was the only customer during my visit, and I felt sorry for the bored but friendly bar staff. Still, I adhered to my principle of not paying 250 pesos for a lady drink. That’s one of the more expensive prices in town, and seems inappropriate for a bar calling itself “Cheap Charlies.” My personal stance is not to spend more than 200 pesos for a lady drink. I did spend almost 1000 pesos on food for the girls, the equivalent of four lady drinks, so I am not a cheap Charlie.

When her foot spa was completed, Swan messaged that she was craving a Coffee Shop taco, so I told her I’d meet her there when I finished my beer. I arrived as she was finishing her taco. The restaurant was busy, and I couldn’t help but notice that I was the only foreigner there. I had a beer, then paid our bill, and we headed out.

Where to next? We were on the seldom-visited far side of town, and there is a small bar there named Dempsey’s that I’d only been to a couple of times. So we popped in. No one else was there, and the duties of bartender, waitress, and cook were all being performed by the same person.

A cozy little place, the music was good, and they served XL beer. I’d likely visit more often if they were more conveniently located. I’d heard rumors they would be closing soon, but who knows?

After a couple of beers, we moved on down the highway and visited another bar we hadn’t been to in over a year: Cloud 69. The last time we were here, the music was blaring so loud we couldn’t have a conversation. As we prepared to enter, we agreed we’d turn around and walk out if we didn’t like the noise. Thankfully, that was not the case. Our old waitress friend Sheryl was working and was very happy to see us again. So, we plopped down at a table and had a nice time. A couple of other gals joined us, and I bought a round of lady drinks (more reasonably priced at 190 pesos) and shared some chat. A good conclusion to our night out, and Cloud 69 is back on our list of places to go.

From the January 2022 LTG archives, I post memories of my mother on the 11th anniversary of her passing. Time marches on, but we never forget a mother’s love.

Today’s YouTube video is an evening walk through Barretto. I was amused to see, at the 1:15 minute mark, my friends Joy and Ace from Hideaway Bar standing on the street. The video also shows some of the places I was at last night, and other hangouts I frequent. Anyway, it’s a bit longer than it needs to be, but it gives you a feel for the town, including the notorious traffic on the National Highway. Hell, just speed up the playback if you want.

And let’s get the daily jokes out of the way:

Alright, time to finish packing my shit for the two day getaway to the beaches of Pundaquit for our monthly “get outta town” trip. A change of scenery always does me good.

A nice sunny morning made for a pleasant Sunday Sweets Street Stroll.

Swan spent the afternoon helping a friend celebrate her birthday. I baked a batch of brownies and pulled them out of the oven right at beer o’clock. Then I headed for some fun in Barretto. As I was leaving Alta Vista, the thought occurred to me that perhaps I’d forgotten to turn off the oven. Swan wasn’t home, and I didn’t have any way to contact my helper who lives downstairs. Shit. I decided to play it safe, so when I reached the trike stand, I had the driver take me back to the house and wait while I checked the oven. It was off. My brain ain’t what it used to be, but better safe than sorry. So, back in the trike, I had him take me to Shamboli’s Pizza and wait while I ordered a pizza for delivery. Then it was back on the highway, where I got dropped off at Hideaway.

Joy and the other gals were very surprised to see me back, and I was given a warm greeting. Visiting Hideaway had been part of my Sunday routine for years, until I’d finally had enough. I returned yesterday to say hello again. And goodbye, because the bar isn’t going to be around much longer, at least in its current iteration. Owner Griff is back in the UK for medical reasons, and the lease runs out in December. I doubt it will last that long. But at least they had the San Miguel Extra Light beer I prefer.

Back in the day, I always had food delivered during my Hideaway visits. So, the girls were delighted when the pizza arrived.

I dispensed some cookies and lollipops before saying goodbye and heading up the road to my new Sunday hangout, Red Bar.

Swan joined me at Red Bar when her party time was done, and we had some quesadillas and pancit delivered from Foodies for us and the crew. We did our nightcap at Red Square (formerly Jumpin’ Jacks), and as I expected, the former staff had been replaced, and the vibe there was just not the same without them. I’m not saying I won’t be back, but it will no longer be part of my Sunday routine.

Finished our drinks, and then we were homeward bound. And so ended another day in the life.

Back to the January 2022 LTG archives, and it seems the only way I learn in life is the hard way. But I’m not a quitter, and given another chance to pursue a love relationship with Pearl, how could I say no? In my defense, she was like no one else I had met, and win or lose, I thought she was worth it. Obviously, I lost. But at least I tried.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the misconception that the Philippines is cheap to live in. Well, it depends a lot on how you choose to live. I’m paying a little over $600 a month for my comfortable house with a view inside a gated subdivision. Beer has gone up, but it is still under two bucks a bottle. Dining out costs more these days, too. Still, the meals I enjoy here for ten dollars would cost at least twice that much back home. I shop at Royal, and a lot of the imported items (like cheese) have gone through the roof. More and more, I just take a pass on the overpriced stuff. Bottom line, I’m living far better here on my pension than I would elsewhere.

Me me me me me me. (that’s the equivalent of three memes.)

And now it is time to prepare for today’s Hash Run.

Leech My Nuggets is the Hare, and he shared the map of his trail with me. It starts near the end of Rizal Extension, climbs up to the Kalaklan Ridge, then back down in Barretto. It’s a pain in the ass getting to the start, but I’m going to try to find a trike with enough horsepower to get me there. I’ve been missing the views from the ridge for quite some time, and by golly, my intention is to make it to the top and shortcut from there as needed. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, assuming I survive.

Another day full of sunshine yesterday.

It was a good morning for doing the Decay Dance, and off we went.

Swan elected to start our evening at It Doesn’t Matter. It was surprisingly empty for a dry Saturday evening. It was still pleasant enough having the patio to ourselves, and we ordered some food to snack on from the kitchen and shared it with the girls. Then we moved on to Wet Spot and it was busier than I’ve seen it in quite some time.

When we first arrived, a youngish-looking guy was sitting at a table surrounded by bargirls- must have been a dozen of them- and he was buying tequila shots for them all. I suspected he was a newbie, and my waitress confirmed he was an off-duty sailor. I was thinking to myself the guy ought to have a wingman with him, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. When the drink bill came, he got up and walked out with a girl on each arm. He was back a few minutes later after hitting the ATM outside. He paid for the drinks, then went out the side door that leads to the hotel with three girls. I asked my waitress if he was doing what I thought he was doing, and she confirmed that he was taking the gals for a “short-time” romp. Wow! I wondered what that was going to cost him, but after a few minutes he walked by again and went out the front door. I’m thinking, damn, that really was a short time. Turns out, he needed to raid the ATM once more, and soon enough, he headed back upstairs with a big smile on his face. I’m sure he had a night he’ll remember in those lonely moments at sea.

Well, even in my wild days, I was never quite that wild. Again, I hope he didn’t get taken advantage of, but it’s his money, and you only live once. For some reason, I just recalled the words every Filipina said to me the first time we made love: “Ouch!” “Oh, shit!” “Already?”

It is now New Year’s 2022 in the LTG archives, and by golly, I made it to midnight. Barely. I was still dealing with the sadness of losing Pearl, but accepting the reality that it just wasn’t meant to be. So, I found some comfort with my bar friends and tried to move on with my life, such as it was.

Today’s YouTube video discusses the issue of whether foreigners are safe in the Philippines. There have been some murders recently in other parts of the country, but honestly, I never feel threatened around here. I guess it just takes once if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time or if you piss off a local by making them lose face, but I still feel safer here than I would back in the USA. My doom is much more likely to come by taking a misstep while hiking up in the hills or getting squashed trying to cross the National Highway here in Barretto.

Humor me:

And so it goes. After two and a half days with no rain, we just now got hit with another shower. Looks like I’ll be bringing an umbrella with me when I head out this evening.

Something amazing happened yesterday…it didn’t rain all day! So, the Friday hikers (all three of us) headed for the hills. It was nice to be wet with sweat for a change.

Swan had some errands to run, so when beer o’clock arrived, I made my way out to Baloy Beach and didn’t even bring my umbrella with me. Champs Sports Bar at the Baywatch Resort has new ownership (the same owner as Whiskey Girl, Crazy Horse, Voodoo, Tryst, and BarCelona), and I wanted to see how things looked since my last visit more than a year ago.

Two beers (no XL, sadly) later, Swan messaged that she was on her way, so I went downstairs to meet her.

We decided to visit the Foxhole Resort and maybe enjoy some birria tacos. Alas, the former Myleen’s chef wasn’t working, and the tacos just aren’t the same without him. But anything is better than nothing, so we placed our order anyway, only to be advised that birria was out of stock. Alright, fine. Make it chicken quesadillas then. The waitress returned and said, no chicken, only beef. Whatever. They were still good. My bartender friend Norman wasn’t working last night, but I also knew his replacement, Bernadette, from her days at Mango’s. Turns out, Swan knew her too from back in high school. So, they had fun chatting away in Tagalog while I sipped my beer (no XL here either). Still, a pleasant enough visit to the Foxhole.

When it was time to move on for our nightcap, we caught a trike to take us to Queen Victoria. For the first hour, we were the only customers and enjoyed the usual nice chat with manager Jake. And then a couple of youngish-looking guys came in, sat at a table, and were soon surrounded by just about every gal in the bar. And yes, they bought them all a lady drink.

Thanks to people like those guys, the girls make some drink commissions, and the bar might even break even for the night. I’m always glad to see it.

And that was how my Friday played out.

Some disturbing news this morning. Swan showed me a video on Facebook of a man on the ground in front of Rum Jungle being treated by paramedics and loaded into an ambulance. She asked if I knew the guy. I was shocked to see it was Gary! He’s not responded to my messages, but someone told me he was back in his apartment now. Scary shit. I don’t know how to post a Facebook video here, but here’s link to it.

Continuing with the December 2021 LTG archives, the journey with my new love has become a rollercoaster ride. It’s actually been painful reading and reliving those moments. If you are a glutton for punishment, here are a couple of examples: A Whacked Wednesday and Revelations. The recurring theme is that an asshole I called Dick was trying to win Pearl’s affections. His methods included attempting to undermine me with her mother by spreading lies about me. In the end, he succeeded. No, he never got Pearl’s love, but she did end the relationship with me. Months later, Pearl’s mother apologized to me for what happened. I forgave her.

Today’s YouTube video is a short from the Filipina Pea. Yes, I’ve had the pleasant experience of seeing the wild side of Filipina revealed once she is behind closed doors. But I’ve also had my share of starfish. Still, you don’t know what you’re getting until you try.

I could use a little humor in my life, how about you?

And that’s about as lame as it gets. Until tomorrow.

And now a radical Muslim is the mayor of NYC. And another terrorist sympathizer who thinks the USA deserved the WTC attack is running for the Senate. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? I’m old and will likely be dead when the real shit hits the fan, but you never know. Here’s the post I wrote on the twentieth anniversary of that fateful morning. I was working in DC that morning and felt the Pentagon attack in an up-close and personal way. It changed me and put me on the path that led me to work for the US Army in Korea.

I’ve also been remembering to honor two of the heroes of 9/11 every year:

May all those Americans who perished that day rest in eternal peace.

I’m a long way from my homeland here in the Philippines, and the life I’ve chosen to live goes on. Yesterday had some unusual elements, including a morning without rain. We took advantage of that rare opportunity to undertake an umbrella-free hike.

Another unusual happening yesterday was me making up a batch of my Aunt Pat’s World Famous Fruit Salad. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done that, and the inspiration was finding a bag of flaked coconut at the Royal Supermarket. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it in the Philippines, which is weird, because coconuts grow wild here. In the past, I’ve had to use diced fresh buko (what they call the coconut innards here) instead. It’s okay, but not as sweet, and the purpose of the coconut is to sweeten the salad.

We caught another break in the rain late in the afternoon, which made the walk into town more pleasant than usual. We parked our butts at Sloppy Joe’s and enjoyed the street-view ambiance. Across the street, the new Voodoo Bar was preparing for its grand opening, and at the appointed hour (6 p.m.) we headed over for a looksee.

I was shy about taking photos, but everything inside is new and fresh. The CR has a single toilet and no urinal, which is a little unusual for a male-oriented bar. The bar’s interior is on the smallish side and features a pool table near the entrance, six customer tables, and a stage in the middle. The stage is smallish, but they had six gals crammed on it, and they were all slender and fairly attractive (which is a rarity these days). They also had a bunch of waitresses/GROs, and I couldn’t help thinking that even if all the tables were full of customers, the girls would still outnumber the menfolk. I’m not sure how this arrangement will impact profit margins, but maybe making money isn’t important to this owner, who has now purchased seven bars in the notoriously slow Barretto bar market.

So, I’m going to refrain from judgement until the bar has been up and running for a while and I’ve visited again. That said, my first impression was poor. I was hoping for something like the old Green Room vibe (Jim, the Voodoo manager, used to manage the Green Room), but alas, it comes off as just another girly bar. Sadly, they elected to play crap disco music at high volume, one of my pet peeves. As I say, I’ll give it another chance, but it doesn’t appear to be my kind of place.

Oh, the dancers were good and actually dancing. So, I knew they weren’t first-nighters. Jim told me they all moved over from the Lux Bar, which closed down on Saturday. Now, I didn’t visit Lux often, but it was definitely better inside (larger, more comfortable seating, nicer ambiance) than what I saw in Voodoo. So, Lux couldn’t stay in business with all those advantages. I’m not sure how Voodoo will do better. But as they say, when one bar (door) closes, another bar (door) opens. Good luck with that!

We had our nightcap at Rum Jungle (the former Green Room). It was odd, but after my time at Voodoo, Rum Jungle was better than I remembered it being. The biggest difference I noticed was the music. Even with dancers on stage, they saw fit to play songs suited to the bar patrons. Yeah, we are a bunch of old fuckers who like music from the 70s in our 70s, but we’re spending the money, so cater to our tastes, damn it! I wound up splurging during our visit, buying three gals (waitress, GRO, mamasan) two lady drinks each. Hey, I was in the mood!

Then it was time to head for home and a heaping helping of my Aunt Pat’s recipe fruit salad. Yep, I’m a lucky bastard.

Moving on to December 2021 in the LTG archives, and me and my new love have hit the first bump in the road in our relationship. Alas, there were more bumps to come, and the woman I thought was perfect for me didn’t share that feeling towards me. The thoughtful comments on that post meant a lot to me back then, and I enjoyed re-reading those words of wisdom today. Coincidentally, she was in the parking lot at 7/11 with her new flame this morning and didn’t even acknowledge my presence. Time moves on.

Today’s YouTube video shares ten shocking cultural differences foreigners discover in the Philippines. Yeah, I’ve experienced them all, and I’m glad to be here.

Time for a smile or three:

Okay, I’ll stop now. We’ve had a nice break in the weather so far today. Let’s see how long this one lasts.

Okay, this is the song “Only Time” by Enya. It’s beautiful on its own, but it is especially moving with the 9/11 background photos. The pussies at YouTube don’t want your feelings to be hurt, so you have to watch it there. Go ahead and give it a click to remember the day we’ll never forget.

Not a lot to say about what was yesterday, so let’s get it over and done with, shall we?

First up was getting the weekly grocery shopping done, and I did. Five thousand pesos were spent at YBC supermarket, mostly for the contents of the goody bags we hand out on the candy walks. Then on to Royal to restock the cabinets, and another eleven thousand gone forever.

Ten days and counting now with no running water at the house.

It rained all day again. As I suspected, this season has been unprecedented. Here are the August stats for Olongapo City:

Yesterday’s downpour didn’t even have the courtesy to let up some for my beer o’clock walk into town. I went anyway, but the wind pretty much rendered my umbrella ineffective.

We did our nightcap at Wet Spot and had the usual good time. Then back home for some strawberry-banana smoothies to bring a sweet end to the day.

From the November 2021 LTG archives, I was experiencing a different kind of sweetness with my new love. We were off to a good start!

Today’s YouTube video shares the vlogger’s experience exploring Manila. I despise that city and avoid it to the extent possible. Intramuros does look interesting, and I wouldn’t mind exploring it one of these days. BGC and Makati, the upscale districts, are nice enough, but a bitch to get to in the notorious Manila traffic. Anyway, it was nice to see his experience as he explored the city.

I have a (funny) bone to pick with you:

What a long, strange trip it’s been. It’s all groovy, and I’m gonna keep on truckin’!