Yeah, it’s been one of THOSE kinda days. Other than walking and drinking I didn’t get jack shit accomplished. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
As seen on today’s walk:
A Wal-Mart on wheels.
You call that a bad residence? I’ve seen worse!
Your humble stalker.
What else have I got?
No idea what happened to the rest of him….
And meanwhile on Facebook:
The truth hurts….
Anyway, I’ll try harder tomorrow.
It’s a fine day to be in the Philippines far, far away from all the political madness in the USA.
Took my morning walk out towards Subic town, 45 minutes up the National Highway and 45 minutes back.
Here’s a pleasant street scene to give you the flavor of my walk. Well, since you can’t taste on the internet (yet) it reeked of exhaust fumes and was loud and busy. Why did I choose to walk down such a busy road? Because I can!
Actually, I took side streets yesterday but they were equally busy and without the benefit of a shoulder to walk on. Not all my walks are this way, I just need to change it up now and then to alleviate the boredom.
Speaking of the Kavanaugh hearings, what a fucking fiasco. I stand with the man!
We have a lot in common. Except for the high school shenanigans. I was stoned most of the time so can’t say what I did or didn’t do for sure.
But I knew his accuser looked awful familiar!
Of course, the internet and Facebook are on fire with commentary and memes. The left is basically arguing that all men are guilty until proven innocent whenever a woman makes an unsubstantiated claim of sexual assault. I loved how Senator Booker kept referring to “her truth” instead of “the truth”. Kavanaugh did a good job defending himself against the spurious attacks and Senator Graham was on point in calling out his colleagues on their McCarthy-like behavior.
That’s gonna leave a mark!
So glad I’m here and not there.
Well, I’m glad for the most part anyway.
Rest assured I will continue to navigate the slow seas of connectivity to bring you scintillating posts like this one!
You’ve been warned.
Well, make that days.
Getting settled into my routines and rituals such as they are. Not all that exciting or blog worthy, but that’s real life for most of us I suppose.
I played in my first dart tournament in awhile and took a first place. Even sweeter was beating my arch rival Greg in the finals.
And I also had a good time, which sadly is not always the case.
I wrapped up my dart league commitment yesterday by participating in the end of season MVP tournament. It didn’t end well, but I didn’t care. Henceforth my Wednesdays and Fridays are open again. I like the freedom to do what I want when I want, rather than having an obligation to not let the team down. The problem with league for me is it starts at 2:00 and by the time it’s over I’m buzzed on beer and so the remainder of the day is pretty much shot. With tourneys I can show up or not depending on what I want to do. My plan is to do some travel (both local and international) and I don’t want to feel tied down by darts. Darts is a pastime, not a vocation for me.
I’m still out there hoofing it every morning. I’ve been exceeding my personal daily goal, so I’m happy about that. Even pushing myself to leave my comfort zone and start exploring some new paths to experience.
Did I mention it’s been hot?
I’m more or less a passive observer of the world here as it passes, but a couple of things recently caught my attention. Not everything is cheaper in the Philippines, but labor definitely is. Unskilled workers are lucky to make the equivalent of five dollars a day. You see the impact of these low wages in many ways (other than the shanty towns). Construction projects are swarming with human bodies doing the work that machines do back home. For example, concrete is mixed by hand and carried up to the pour area by hand in buckets. And then yesterday I saw this:
Painting the lines on the highway by hand with a brush and bucket of paint. Never seen anything like that before. Oh, and as you might have noticed, there apparently is no OSHA equivalent here.
The other thing that really stands out for me is that people here have no cultural aversion to littering. Hell, it goes way beyond littering, it’s trashing the environment. I see kids and grownups routinely throwing crap out of windows and vehicles. But the other morning as I was walking across the Matain river bridge I saw something that left me gobsmacked. There was a guy walking towards me carrying a bucket full of trash. I kept saying to myself “no he isn’t, no he isn’t.” But he did. Got to the middle of the bridge and poured the contents right into the river. Which runs into Subic Bay in less than a mile. I’ll be seeing that trash again soon as I walk along the beach no doubt.
The dirty banks of the Matain river awaiting the next heavy rain to carry the garbage out into the bay and beaches.
Anyway, I don’t like to be critical of my adopted home, but cultural sensitivity only goes so far. It’s a beautiful country. I just wish the natives appreciated that as much as I do.
Oh well.
She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she’s been crying
She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet
She can’t walk but she’s trying
Oh think twice, cause it’s another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you
You and me in paradise
Just think about it
Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say
It was sunny and hot for yesterday’s Hash. On the bright side (besides the sunshine I mean) was all the mud was dried up. But damn, I was a sweaty mess when it was all said and done.
Nevertheless, I think the trail was my favorite overall in my admittedly brief Hashing career. Challenging but no so much that I feared for life and limb. And there was a variety of scenery that was almost breathtaking in places (or maybe I was just out of breath from climbing the mountain). Anyway, I enjoyed it for the most part.
We headed out in the Hashmobile this time, having walked out the previous two weeks. I’ve noted before just how uncomfortable I find being crammed into the bed of that truck can be. It is usually my least favorite part of the Hash. This week was no exception, in fact, it was even worse. The steel truck bed was fucking hot! I seriously worried that my butt was in danger of burning, but I couldn’t very well stand up in a moving vehicle so I endured it the best I could. We went out a good ways on the National Highway towards the old Navy base and started the Hash in a place I’d never experienced. So I did like that.
Let’s go to the pictures and let them tell the story:
The day’s trail took us up a mountain, along the crest, back down into town, and then on out to Baloy beach to the On-Home at Johan’s Dive Resort. I did the full trail and it took me an hour and a half…
Exiting the Hash truck brought immediate relief to my hot ass…
And we are On-On!
Did I mention it was a hot ass day? *ahem*
The first portion of the uphill climb was steps…
…and then we climbed up the old fashioned way…
Looking back on where I’d been…
Over the hills and through the woods to (somebody’s) grandmother’s house we go!
A view from the top (part 1)
A view from the top (part 2). A beautiful day!
Hiking along the crest of the mountain…
I really loved the variety of the scenery…
Then we began making our way back down…
…and down…
…and down into civilization…
In a first for me with the Subic Hash we had a beer stop along the way (we did this pretty frequently in Korea).
Your humble correspondent taking some time out to do a little stalking. Heh, the trail took us past Marissa’s house and I couldn’t resist the photo op….
The beach “on home” at Johan’s.
The full moon light’s up the full moon’s on ice…
Cooling off some hot asses….
The day’s effort was satisfying….
It was a good day for Hashing!
Yesterday I wanted to show Justin around the SBFZ (Subic Bay Freeport Zone) aka the old Navy base. Getting there was half the fun.
Yep, Justin experienced his first ever ride in the ubiquitous Jeepney.
Hang on! Subway style seating but that is where the comparison ends…
Upon arrival at the Kalaklan gate to the SBFZ, we hired a base taxi to give us a tour. When I told the driver I wanted to visit the Cubi Point part of the base, he said it would be 350 pesos for an hour and that I had to pay for two hours. It didn’t make much sense, but what the hell, let’s go.
The Cubi area is the least developed of the old Navy base and in many places is still mostly jungle. Very beautiful actually. A couple of years ago I looked at some housing up there and found one that I really liked. In the end though I decided living on base was just too isolated and insular. I really don’t regret my choice at all.
Saw quite a few monkeys wandering about…
…and this herd of cows.
Had the driver take us out to Zoobic Safari for a look see. It’s one of those deals where you ride in a caged vehicle and drive through an enclosure containing tigers and the like roaming about in a natural state. We didn’t take the tour this time, but did get out and stretch our legs some. Had the taxi driver drop us Harbor Point Mall and despite our trip being well less than two hours, he said I owed him 1000 pesos because we had exited the SBFZ when we went to the Zoofari. Which is total bullshit. That kind of crap is really irritating, but then it ain’t worth it to throw a fit over a couple of bucks. The driver didn’t get a tip though.
Ate lunch at TGI Friday’s and it was pretty disappointing. Walked around the mall some then headed back to Barretto, again via Jeepney. Upon arrival we popped into Alley Cats for some liquid refreshment.
Justin had been hankering for a Red Horse, a highly potent local brew that is a cheap way to get drunk fast. He just had one, then switched back to the more sane San Miguel light beer.
Justin enjoyed sharing a couple of drinks with the lovely Meica…
And the equally lovely Espie…
The Alley Cats crew wanted to take Justin out to a Filipino bar but I put the kibosh on that idea. Far too dangerous for a drunk Kano in the company of pretty Filipinas to be around drunk and jealous Filipino men. The girls did invite him out (with him paying of course) for a traditional lunch of Filipino food. Hope he enjoys. I was disappointed he chose not to Hash with me today, but that’s the way it goes.
Speaking of the Hash, I best shower up and prepare myself for that adventure.
Stay tuned.
Justin’s first day in the Philippines is now complete. Of course as I recounted in yesterday’s post, the day began a little after midnight when he landed at Clark airport in Angeles City. We managed to get a fair amount of walking in, over 20,000 steps by day’s end. And then it was time to introduce Justin to the Barretto nightlife.
We began at my home bar, Alley Cats. The dart tourney was still going on so the place was pretty crowded. We did find a place to sit and quaffed some ice cold beers to quench our thirst. Then it was time to move on to the second stop on the bar crawl–Cheap Charlies.
That would be us enjoying brews with a view.
I introduced Justin to my barfriend Mhaya and enjoyed observing his virgin experience of buying lady drinks for a Filipina bargirl.
He actually did pretty well for a beginner. He controlled her intake by only refreshing her drink when he bought another for himself. He did slip up by being suckered into buying a drink for Mhaya’s “friend”, but he limited the damage by only buying her one. Overall, a good effort for a beginner…
Then we moved on to the Man Cave bar where the party really got started…
With Justin’s new friends, Cherry and Lynn….
…or was it Lynn and Cherry?
Tequila shots and pizza, does it get any better than that?
We next popped into Hot Zone to enjoy their hot lineup of dancers, and then it was someone’s bright idea that we do videoke (otherwise known as karaoke). And so we did, singing our hearts at at Double D’s.
Justin rocking it…
And yours truly doing a heartfelt rendition of the Bee Gee’s “I started a joke”… People often cry when I sing, even when it’s a happy song….
I finished my set and my night with an old Beatles tune I dedicated to all the bargirls who work so hard to gain our money affection.
The best things in life are free
But you can keep ’em for the birds and bees
Now give me money (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want) yeah
That’s what I want
Your loving give me a thrill,
But your loving don’t pay my bills
Now give me money (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want) yeah
That’s what I want
Money don’t get everything it’s true
What it don’t get I can’t use
Now give me money (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want (that’s what I want) yeah
That’s what I want
Well, now give me money (that’s what I want)
Whole lot of money (that’s what I want)
Whoah yeah, I wanna be free (that’s what I want)
Oh, money (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want, yeah (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want
Well, now give me money (that’s what I want)
Whole lot of money (that’s what I want, whoo)
Whoah, yeah, you know I need money (that’s what I want)
Now give me money (that’s what I want, whoo)
That’s what I want, yeah (that’s what I want)
That’s what I want
My first visitor since the move to the PI has arrived. Welcome nephew Justin!
His flight from Seoul arrived a few minutes late and by the time we got back to the hotel in Angeles City it was after 1:30 a.m. Still, I wanted to give Justin a taste of the AC nightlife, so off we went.
First stop was a “show bar” called Atlantis. Basically, the gals do dance routines as opposed to shuffling aimlessly on the stage. Beers were 150 pesos each, the same price I pay for a lady drink in Barretto. One round and out of there!
We walked the length of Walking Street which is basically wall-to-wall clubs and bars. Wanted to give Justin a regular dancing bar experience, so we popped into Voodoo. Place was pretty full for the late hour and the stage was full of mostly fugly girls. Yep, that’s about par for the course I suppose. Again, we did one round (at a more reasonably priced 105 pesos each) then hit the street again.
I actually have grown to despise AC for a myriad of reasons and they were all pretty much in evidence last night. The street vendors and touts in aggressive pursuit of a sale, and kids out begging after 2:00 a.m. really got to me after awhile, so I suggested we just sit by the pool at the hotel and chill. Which worked out fine. Hit the bed at 3:30 (who knew it came twice a day?) then up at 0730 for breakfast and the drive back to Barretto.
I was happy to see the nephew again, just not pleased with the environment.
We had a nice walk around town and on the beaches this afternoon, including a lunch at Treasure Island. I will be showing Justin the local nightlife here this evening. Should be fun!
Today’s adventures (so far):
Buddy enjoying his morning walk. As the tongue suggests it was a hot day…
Hot or not, the views were nice on this beautiful morning…
Of course, Buddy isn’t up for my step count (yet), so I continued on without him, including this walk on the beach…
One of the hard to find items I bought at the Puregold supermarket yesterday was a carrot cake mix. I turned the mix into a cake this afternoon. With the help of my oven.
Honestly, it’s been awhile since I’ve indulged in such sweetness and it was just a bit too much for me. I guess I just got used to those less sweet Korean baked goods.
I avoid the politics on Facebook, but now and then I come across something that makes me laugh. This did.
Time to shower up and get ready for my overnighter to Angeles City. More to come!
Yesterday was pretty much a typical day here in paradise. Started off with a shopping excursion. Had planned to get some stuff at the mall on base, but arrived at 0930 to discover the mall doesn’t open until 11. Seriously, who opens at 11:00?!
Had my driver take me over to try the Puregold grocery store for the first time. I was kind of impressed with some of the selections, but very disappointed with their frozen foods and meat options. Got what I could find, then moved to the Royal supermarket and got the rest. Was surprised that I spent nearly $300., but I’ve given up worrying about prices. If I want it I get it. Anything left over I’ll spend on the bargirls. Ha! That’s a joke. Sort of.
Did an afternoon two hour sweaty walk along the beaches. As I approached home I could see the clouds building up and the ominous sound of thunder.
This is how it looked from my balcony…
I glanced out the window thirty minutes later and was shocked to see this:
I couldn’t get to my phone camera quick enough to get a decent picture, but a friend posted this on facebook.
That’s out over the bay, so it’s technically a waterspout, not a tornado. Still quite a chilling sight to behold!
And then the storm passed on by with nary a drop of rain. Which suits me just fine. I had copious amounts of liquid in the form of beer last night anyway. And then this morning I awoke to this:
The rainbow looked better in person, but you get the idea. A hopeful beginning to the day!
Oh, and I threw the dog a bone…
He’s my good Buddy boy…
Later this afternoon I’ll be rolling on out to Angeles City. The nephew is flying in from Korea for a visa renewal run weekend. His plane arrives at Clark airport at 12:30 a.m., so we’ll stay over in AC and return to Barretto later on Saturday morning.
And that’s where things stand in my little corner of the world…
Notwithstanding my bitching and moaning here at LTG, life in the Philippines has been mostly good. Except when it isn’t. Power outages, and that having no water for over two weeks thing have been frustrating to say the least. But at least I’ve had decent internet. Until I didn’t.
So yesterday I couldn’t access my blog or other frequently visited websites. And I couldn’t figure out why. My internet was on and showing a strong signal. I could access Facebook and email, but not much else. I emailed and asked my pal Kevin Kim to see if there were any issues opening my blog in Korea and he reported it was all good there. So I had a local problem to deal with, such as I could. I had the helper contact my internet provider via text, but of course there was no response.
I had darts in the afternoon (we won!) and the guy who runs Treasure Island came into the bar for a beer. We got to chatting (he’s one of the most well-read and knowledgeable folks I’ve met here). I mentioned my internet problem and he said “you must have CATV as your provider”. Yep. He does too and had the same issues. He told me it is a periodic problem with them, as apparently they have capacity issues. I note they don’t have any trouble getting me my monthly bill on time!
I’d change providers except they are the only company that services my subdivision. My blog did open this morning and I’m writing this post before I’ve gone on to check anywhere else on the ‘net. Didn’t want to leave y’all hanging if things go south again.
I’ll be back!
UPDATE: Internet is back to 100% functionality. Woo Hoo! Of course, now the power just went out. It went off at exactly 0800 so I assume it is some scheduled brownout for maintenance or something. Thank goodness for my mobile hotspot function!
Last night’s pork chop dinner at Mango’s.
Mhaya, the Muslim bargirl I’ve been buying drinks for chatting with at Cheap Charlies.
The best thing about Cheap Charlie’s (other than Mhaya of course) is sitting there watching the world go by on the National Highway….
Your humble and neurotic correspondent.
UPDATE II: Power is back on! A 15 minute outage I can live with! Life is good.
It was run #1313, what could go wrong? Well, actually nothing went wrong. The sun was shining, the Hares laid a challenging but not overly difficult trail, and I made it through to the end unscathed. A good day indeed!
Google Earth says 7k, but it felt longer. Took me over an hour and a half and I was soaked with sweat.
Waiting at Johannson’s to get started.
Listening closely to the Hare’s last minute instructions…
And we are On-On!
Interesting trail in that we spent an equal amount of time on the streets of town…
…and up in the hills.
Lots of steps as well.
In fact, it reminded me of climbing up Namsan…
What goes up must come down. We went up and down the hills three times by my count…
…in town…
…and out.
over the streams…
….and up the mountains.
and through the alleys and backstreets.
A cabin in the woods. More or less. Mostly less.
There was something fowl about this place.
A final creek to wade across left me with wet shoes. Damn those nasty Hares!
And we finished up back at Johansson’s for the on-home after Hash circle…I once again avoided time on the ice.
One of the violations that will put you on ice is not wearing proper Hash attire. Here Wonder Woman proves that she has indeed dressed (undressed?) for the occasion.
Hot Filipina asses on ice!
Drank my share of beers then went next door to Alley Cats for a few more. Then I headed on home to unpack the crockpot…
…and indulge myself in a pulled pork sandwich. I might have finally found a good source for these pork loins that turned out to be quite tasty indeed.
28,000 steps on the day. Still feeling blue, but this too shall pass!
Somewhere back in her long ago
Where he can still believe there’s a place in her life
Someday, somewhere, she will return
She had a place in his life
He never made her think twice
As he rises to her apology
Anybody else would surely know
He’s watching her go
But what a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
There’s nothing at all
But what a fool believes he sees…
—Doobie Brothers
I’m not sure it rises to the level of an epiphany, but I’ve been doing some thinking (shaddup!) and I believe I’ve turned the corner on gaining some understanding and insights into my so-called life.
As regular readers have likely discerned, I’m what you might call relationship challenged. I’ve certainly done more than my share of wallowing in self-pity, but lately I’ve been considering more about what exactly my problem is. And as it turns out, surprise surprise, the problem is me. Yeah, I’m the common denominator in every single one of my past failures. Go figure. But why exactly is that?
As I look back on my most recent “love” relationships and the additional loss of what I considered to be some true friends I just couldn’t get my mind around how people could act that way towards me. I mean, I’m far from perfect but I do try to treat people the way I hope to be treated, I’m probably generous to a fault, and I do my best to be honest in my interactions with those few individuals I’m close to in my life. So it is especially disappointing when these folks fail to keep their promises, lie to my face, and outright betray me. How can I be such a poor judge of character?
And there’s the rub. What I’ve come to understand is that these people I’ve allowed to hurt me were just being who they are. My expectations and beliefs about their innate goodness were nothing more than my projections of what I wanted them to be. And that blinded me to their true nature. Hmm, well that seemed a lot more profound in my head than it does here in writing, but I hope you get my meaning. People are going to be who and what they are, wishing and believing them to be what your hoping for doesn’t make a bit of difference. Hell, it only took me 63 years to figure that out!
I think my recent experience with Marissa really illustrates that point. I’ve been so frustrated that she can’t or won’t give me the type of girlfriend experience I most desire. I should actually give her credit for honestly living as who she is, not what I want her to be. Unlike my past loves and so-called friends who always pretended to care about me only to turn their backs and desert me when something they thought was better came along.
As a practical matter how will these new insights make a difference? Well, hopefully I’ll be both more discerning in my choices (looking hard to discover the true nature of the people I let into my life) and also more accepting of who someone is, even when it does not align with my wants and desires. Easier said than done I suppose. But I think I can learn to be satisfied with having people around me who may not fulfill all my needs. I’m also learning to accept that I may be destined to live out my life alone most of the time. And I am getting more accustomed and comfortable with that. Better to be alone than with the wrong someone, that’s for sure.
Speaking of being alone, I did in fact end things with Marissa. It’s kind of funny in a sad way, because once I had got my mind around that she wasn’t ever going to be my ideal, but I could still enjoy my time with her, she went tampo on me and did it in a way that was embarrassing. I just don’t need that kind of drama in my life (heh, she went from being better than nothing to “eh, not so much” just like that). The link above gives you the Wikipedia definition of tampo, including this quote from Reekay Velez, an American vlogger here in the Philippines:
“To avoid confrontation, this tampo thing has developed over the years to where they don’t wanna speak in anger, they don’t wanna confront and say, ‘Hey, you hurt me with this or that.’ What I found out triggers it most of the time is that a guy spent one nanosecond more than he should’ve noticing a pretty girl passing by. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that’s what it is. All of a sudden, the wife, the girlfriend doesn’t wanna talk to him anymore.”
Anyway, she wouldn’t tell me what was wrong and after asking three times I’d had enough. I’m ashamed to admit that I lost my temper and yelled at her, which of course didn’t help matters. The next day she did admit that she was jealous of how I was interacting with the other bargirls. Well, if she had been responsive I could have assured her I was not interested in either of the women in question (I consider them friends that I joke around with). But I have a very low tolerance for jealous behavior and given the overall unsatisfactory nature of the relationship I knew it was time to walk away. As my friend Jerry reminded me, in the Philippines when a relationship ends you just say “next!”. We’ll see.
So, speaking of next, I saw this description of a relationship on the Althouse blog:
“When you think of what it is you’re looking for in a significant other, you’re generally talking about someone to talk to, someone to spend your day with, someone to talk about your day with, someone to go places with and enjoy life. Never in that is there ‘I want someone that’s going to cry at the drop of a hat, or be mad at me for no reason.’… In any relationship, the same exact feelings you have in the first two years of a relationship — that insane, intense drive — always tend to change after a couple of years. They turn to laying your life out with each other. They turn to be more everyday, logical… And for her to be able to reciprocate that way to me, on a routine basis, is fantastic.”
That is exactly what I’m hoping to find for myself someday! But here’s the punchline: the guy describing his relationship is married to someone who is a diagnosed psychopath! I guess maybe it’s true that you’d have to be crazy to love a man like me!
Oh well, I’ll find her or I won’t. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy the life I have, solitary though it may be. I’ll find ways to fill the holes and get my needs fulfilled (yeah, I’m considering easing my stance on no barfines). Minute by minute, I’ll keep holding on.
You will stay just to watch me, darlin’
Wilt away on lies from you
Can’t stop the habit of livin’ on the run
I take it all for granted like you’re the only one
Livin’ on my own
Somehow that sounds nice
You think I’m your fool
Well, you may just be right
‘Cause minute by minute by minute by minute
I keep holding on
Oh, minute by minute by minute by minute
I keep holding on
Call my name and I’ll be gone
You’ll reach out and I won’t be there
Just my luck you’ll realize
You should spend your life with someone
You could spend your life with someone
Minute by minute by minute by minute
I’ll be holding on
Oh, minute by minute by minute by minute
I’ll be holding on…
Typhoon Mangkhut has surfaced in town and by all accounts she’s gonna be a whale of a storm.
The tracker I saw put us at the outside edge of the storm’s intensity. Went to bed with some rain happening and I awoke at 0100 when the power (meaning aircon and fan) went out. Wind was gusting hard and the rain was pounding in sideways. I’ve been in the dark ever since, which sucks of course. Still glad I’m not living in one of the many shantytowns around here. I can only imagine how scary this storm must be for them.
Thus far this is the only “damage” I’ve suffered. That’s my new black trashcan out in the middle of the road. I was able to retrieve it prior to it surprising some unsuspecting motorist.
What a typhoon looks like from my living room balcony. It’s hard to get a good picture of wind, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world my kids in South Carolina are dealing with the impact of Hurricane Florence. They are in Columbia, about a hundred miles inland, so hopefully they will not have any problems weathering the storm. It was kind of funny exchanging be safe messages with them last night/this morning.
Looks like I’ll be stuck inside for the duration. Not sure what I’ll do when the battery goes on my laptop. First world problems can be so frustrating!
Today’s highlight was playing in the MVP tournament.
As my last hurrah for the Friday dart league that I won’t be playing in next season, I did agree to participate in the end of the season doubles event. We lost in the first round, but came back through the loser’s bracket and defeated the team that put us there. Twice. Which means we are the champions!
Good job by my partner for the night Liezel….
I can’t account for why my darts were better at the end than at the beginning. I just have to believe it had something to do with the aiming fluid.
Prove me wrong!
Anyway, it was a good night for darts.
And now the rains have started. Let’s see how much punch this super typhoon is going to throw our way….
Up at 0530 which is pretty much my norm. Had a quick walk then breakfast at Arizona Resort. Hustled home afterwards for my shopping excursion to the S&R store.
My driver Donnie was right on time at 0900…
As is my custom, I dropped off my laundry on the way out of town. A week’s worth of dirty clothes washed and folded for the equivalent of 8 bucks…
I’ve always gone to the S&R in San Fernando but the road there is under construction and traffic sucks. I had heard of an S&R in Dau near Angeles City so I told Donnie let’s give that one a try this time.
On the road. Clear sailing on the expressway. Probably further in miles than San Fernando but about 30 minutes quicker.
The store in Dau was much newer and appears larger as well.
Warehouse shopping at it’s finest. Or so I thought.
Oh, did I mention Christmas season starts her on September 1st?
Anyway, this S&R proved to be a disappointment. Things I had expected to find were not in evidence (including things I know the other S&R stocked). I was especially unhappy with the frozen foods and meat selections. Keep in mind, the trip alone costs me 3,000 pesos (about $60) on top of prices that are not necessarily the best deal in town (not to mention that you have to buy most things in larger than normal quantity/size). For this reason I only go once a month and when I go I want what I want when I want it! Yeah, yeah, just another spoiled Kano, I know.
I even bought some things that were pure indulgences (like that big ass box of frosted mini wheats) and I still could barely fill the cart…
….and didn’t put a dent in the cargo space of Donnie’s car. I’m going to stick to the Royal Duty Free store on base in the future I think. Much more convenient. And really, there are very few things they don’t carry that I can find at S&R. Sadly.
I had hoped to fill up my new freezer. Alas, it was not to be. Maybe next week!
Got home and walked Buddy, then took another hike to get my steps in. Started raining half way through so I came home soaked. No big deal, I would have been soaked with sweat but for the rain anyway. Then I fired up the grill.
I bought these Aussie ribeyes at the local meat market here in Barretto. I did buy some more from S&R so I can see how they compare.
Steak, potato, corn, brussel sprouts, and garlic bread. With banana pudding for dessert. Yeah, my life sucks!
I marinated the meat for three days. It was better, but still a tad tougher than I like.
And that brings you up to date. Going to get in some beer drinking tonight while I can. A super typhoon is headed our way and by all accounts it’s a monster storm. Should be fun.
Stay tuned for a full report!
It’s been sunny and hot these past few days. Except when it’s not. Take Monday for instance. Great weather all day right up until it was time to Hash. And then the rains came down. The rain stopped again about 3/4 of the way through the trail, stayed clear until we finished the after Hash circle, then came pouring down again. Ah well. There’s talk of a big typhoon on the horizon so I guess I should hold my complaining until then.
Let’s get on with the Hash pictures then, shall we?
The day’s trail. Fucking Old Man was the Hare and for a guy in his 70’s he laid a surprisingly difficult course, including up and down a couple of small mountains…
And we are On-On. Those are the runners in front of me. I’m leading the pack of walkers at this point…
But not for long. Here most of the walkers have just passed me on the flat highway (that’s me with the walking stick). So much for my supposition that I could keep pace except in the hills. Oh well.
It wasn’t long before I was the only Hasher in sight. The stragglers behind me wound up bailing before we even reached the mountains.
I was missing Snake Charmer, the sweet gal who held back last week so I wouldn’t be alone on trail. I hustled as best I could until I caught up with these two on the day’s first real incline. I stuck with them the rest of the way…
As regular readers may recall, early in my Hashing career I got tangled up in some barbed wire. It had me in stitches, but it was no laughing matter. So I’m particularly wary of that particular hazard these days.
On this trail there were not one, not two, but THREE fences to cross over. This one at least had been knocked down and held down with some bamboo…
Had to actually step over the second fence, but it wasn’t too high or too difficult. This time.
I didn’t bother with a photograph of the third encounter. Every time I stopped for a photo op I fell further behind these guys. And I hate being alone on trail almost as much as barbed wire.
It’s always fascinating to me how people manage to live up in the mountains with no road or easy access to conveniences most of us take for granted. Who do they think they are, Walt Whitman?
And then suddenly we popped out of the hills and into some familiar territory…Alta Vista…my own subdivision. It’s always nice knowing where you are again plus I was able to drop off my walking stick at the house. It’s a pain in the ass to lug around during the after Hash circle…
On Home was at one of my favorite venues, Treasure Island. I’ve been eating at home more these days so I haven’t been there in awhile…
It was good seeing Jessa, one of my favorite waitresses again. And this is the closest I got to an ass shot (didn’t want to be rude) but trust me, she has a fine one!
The traditional beer drinking ritual prior to doing the Hash circle. And no, I didn’t have to sit on the ice this week…
The beach view at Treasure Island….
After the circle I enjoyed some quality time with Jessa and Kat. In fact, I bought them both dinner. To be honest, I’m kinda sweet on both of them. I can’t tell if either or both like me, although they did say they want to come to my house and have me cook for them. So there’s that…
And so goes the story of another Hash. The next best thing to being there, right?
Rainy day people always seem to know when you’re feeling blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters sometimes need one too
Take it or leave it, or try to believe it
If you’ve been down too long
Rainy day lovers don’t hide love inside they just pass it on
…through my first year in the Philippines.
No major insights on reaching this milestone. You are who you are wherever you are. I’m not going to pretend that my life here is anywhere close to perfect. It is what it is and I don’t imagine it would be particularly better had I chosen a different venue in which to spend my future. It could damn well be worse, I know that. I also know that I have the power to make this time and this place the best of all possible worlds. Happiness is a choice when everything is said and done.
I’d say I’m getting better at accepting the frustrations that come with living in a third world developing country. There is bad and good everywhere, and really the people here tend to make it all worthwhile. Watching them live happily despite crushing poverty is an inspiration. As I have been told many times, I’m one of the lucky ones. I need to stop bitching and moaning about what I don’t have and learn to embrace my good fortune. I do think I’m getting better at that as well.
Of course, my circle of acquaintances is largely the expat community. And looking around at them, well, yeah I am lucky there as well. It’s true that I may drink somewhat to excess but I sure as hell ain’t doing it at ten in the morning! I think all of us living here have to find a way to fight the inevitable boredom, the day-to-day sameness, and the lack of intellectual stimulation or other worthwhile challenges. Again, that’s on me and at least I have the resources to find and do things that make life satisfying. Honestly though, looking back on my first retirement the boredom then was palpable as well. That may be a natural state when you leave the meaning and purpose of a working life behind.
Anyway, I’m not complaining at all. Things are good and bound to get gooder.
Here’s some outtakes from a typical day in paradise:
The local electric co-op helpfully gave advance warning that there would be a scheduled power outage (aka “brownout”) today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so they could do line maintenance and tree trimming. I had observed the need to get those damn branches out of the wires months ago, so was happy to see they noticed too.
On my morning walk I saw the power guys working hard at the task at hand. Power went out at 0900 and was back on at 1600. Good job!
On the beach walk portion of my hike I observed this bottle. Was there a message in there for me? The secret to a happy life perhaps? Or maybe it contained an evil genie wanting to capture my soul. Decided in the end it wasn’t worth the risk…
Had a foot scrub and pedicure…
and when I got home Buddy said “she missed a spot!”
Hurricane Florence is on her way to the Carolinas. My kids are inland at Columbia, but when Hugo blew through in 1986 Columbia still suffered. Florence appears to be much stronger.
Here’s hoping the folks on the coast don’t get fucked too hard…
And finally, I guess the President must have read my rare political post yesterday:
Thanks, Don. And right back at ya!
Oh my! Look at the time. It’s beer o’clock! Photos from yesterday’s Hash will be posted tomorrow. Stay tuned!
September 11th, 2001–a day that lives on in infamy.
I’d like to keep alive the memory of two of that day’s heroes:
James Raymond Coyle and Samuel Oitice.
On a personal note, it was the day I got woke from my Washington Post induced liberal slumber and began thinking for myself.
May all the victims, the heroes, and their families find peace and comfort in remembrance.
It was a quiet drama-free weekend around here. The helper went home to Manila and coincidentally so did Marissa. At least I had my Buddy here to keep me company.
Not much else to report. All indications are that I’m a healthy old fucker. Blood pressure consistently in the low 120s. Resting heart rate is back in the high 60’s after an unexplained rise. Weight is holding steady in the mid-190’s. Averaging 19,000 steps per day so far this month.
Finances are staying in the black notwithstanding my effort at wealth redistribution in the bars. Inflation is becoming an issue for the already poor folks here, but I’m not noticing it much personally. I’m helped by a strong dollar with near record high exchange rates.
The basic staples like rice and fish have increased even more than the rate of inflation as I understand it…
I’ll be making a run out to the S&R store (think Costco) in San Fernando this week. It’s a long trip I only make once a month so I like to stock up as much as I can. I’ve regretted that I didn’t purchase a larger refrigerator/freezer as that limits my purchasing ability. I took a step to alleviate that problem:
A sweet little stand alone freezer should meet my needs nicely. Just delivered this morning so I haven’t been bothered with putting the handle on yet.
What else? Well, I really don’t do politics much these days. It seems pointless, especially on Facebook. So when I saw this, I had to laugh:
I mean, I actually say this to my computer screen several times a day. I ought to be posting it in the comments of the worst offenders I suppose, but I really can’t be bothered.
The fact that I don’t argue about politics doesn’t mean I don’t keep myself at least minimally informed on what is happening back home. It’s total insanity from what I can tell. This parody on the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings was funny as hell:
You gotta laugh. Or cry.
I’ve never been a big Trump fan. I preferred the clown option to the crook though. But two years in it is hard to argue with his many successes, especially on the economic front. I think there’s a lot more people like me who react to the over-the-top bashing (he’s Hitler don’t you know) with being dragged firmly and fully into his camp of supporters. Yeah I know, that makes me a racist.
Anyway, I’m also not a fan of those who choose to disrespect the flag and all that it stands for by taking a knee during the National Anthem. Yeah, I believe they have the freedom to do so, but they are not free from the consequences of their actions. So, the government cannot and should not arrest them (like they do in the Philippines!) but if I owned an NFL franchise I’d fire any player who refused to stand. I’d say I’m boycotting the games, but honestly I haven’t watched American football in years. And although I own a pair of Nike shoes that I’m not going to burn, I will be replacing them with something from New Balance when the time comes.
Bwahahahaha!
I thought this video offers a nice counterpoint to the one Nike paid Kaepernick to make:
Enough about politics! I live in the fucking Philippines and will watch America do it’s death dance from thousands of miles away. Thankfully!
Time for me to Hash!
Tentatively at least.
In lieu of Friday night darts I attended the weekly Sons of Baccus (SOB) dance contest. This week the gathering was at Alaska Bar, one of my favorite venues. I was once again given the awesome responsibility to serve as a judge.
Six bars participated this week…
Hot Zone got my first place vote, the consensus of the other judges however was that Alaska had the best performance…
This gratuitous ass shot of the Hot Zone dancers is presented in response to a commenter lamenting my failure to post any Hash asses this week. Hope this is an acceptable alternative.
I didn’t play darts last night either. Got my step goal accomplished though and did a short pub crawl last night. Pretty boring to be honest.
Although the beach was nice…
Today I did some serious hiking about. Serious enough to get a blister on my big toe, something that almost never happens. I didn’t play in the Sunday afternoon dart tourney either. Not sure what I’ll do with my “free” time this evening. I did cook up a batch of burrito meat. So there’s that.
Speaking of darts, Greg did give me what felt like a sincere apology after my final Friday league performance. I was of course gracious and accepted the apology. Bottom line, I think he knows that I’m not someone he can fuck with. If and when I choose to play a competitive dart match again I don’t expect he’ll repeat his rude behavior, at least it won’t be directed at me. So there’s that.
Buddy somehow slipped his chain this afternoon and escaped (I only chain him for brief periods out back so he can get some air and pee). One of the security guys on a motorcycle helped me track him down. When he saw me he made a beeline for the house, ignoring my calls for him to come to me. That pissed me off. He’s being punished (ignored) so hopefully he learns to a. not escape, and b. come to me when I call him. I swear, this is like doing that whole parenting gig again.
And there you have it. That’s my life.
Better stand tall when they’re calling you out
Don’t bend, don’t break, baby, don’t back down
It’s my life
And it’s now or never
‘Cause I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said,
“I did it my way.”
I just want to live while I’m alive