The title of this post is the name of the Hare who laid the Hash trail I hiked yesterday. Fucking Masochist would also be apt. It was as if he picked the most difficult paths possible which made for a challenging day to say the least. To his credit I suppose, Leech did warn before departure that his trail “was not for cripples”. My goal was to complete the walk without becoming one which I did in fact manage to accomplish.

But I survived to Hash another week so there’s that.

The quest to find the mountain passage between my Alta Vista subdivision and Rizal Extension road continues apace. Yesterday I was quite pleased with finding a trail from Rizal that took me into the Marian Hills neighborhood, which is pretty close to Alta Vista.

So this morning I headed out once more from Rizal Extension full of confidence–now it was just a process of elimination. I would take a different trail going in the general direction of Alta Vista. I mean, there are only so many options. Eventually I’ll find the right one. Alas, instead I wound up lost. And worse, the trail I was on came to an abrupt dead end. I started to blaze my own path up the mountain, but after a few minutes thought better of it. It was tough going and the footing was very unsure. Discretion prevailed and I retreated.

Found another path but had absolutely no sense of where I might be. And after a while it led me to, you guessed it, Rizal Extension. Damn it!

In non-walk related news, I’ve mentioned that I’m trying to recapture my past glory at darts, such as it was. That means practicing at home on a daily basis and taking my game a little more seriously. I’ve also rejoined the Friday afternoon dart league and I made my debut yesterday.

After league, I dropped into Sit-n-Bull restaurant for an early dinner.

Later I played in the Alley Cats Friday night tourney and managed a second place finish. Despite the home practice, my darts are still way too inconsistent. I’m hitting my outs with my regularity though, so there’s that.

And finally, I don’t do politics much these days but I do get a good laugh out of some of memes I’m seeing on Facebook lately. Like this:

I also enjoyed this one:

Anyway, it’s all good.

I went to see my doctor. “Doctor, every morning when I get up and look in the mirror… I feel like throwing up; What’s wrong with me?” He said, “I don’t know but your eyesight is perfect.”

Metaphorically speaking. Or so at least Fitbit tells me.

In other news, I’m sorry to report an especially violent outbreak of darts drama last night at Alley Cats. Thankfully I was only an observer, not a participant. Still, it put a damper on the evening’s festivities and made my winning of the tourney a rather hollow event.

Here’s what went down, with a little background to give it all some context. Now, I don’t know if I have any local readers of this blog but as a matter of discretion I’m going to change the names of the not so innocent those involved.

We’ll begin with the instigator, Keith, with whom I’ve had some drama in the past. My understanding is he was recently voted out as dart league president. The coup d’etat came as a shock to Keith and he was pretty bitter about it. So I think he showed up to the tourney spoiling for a confrontation. It didn’t help matters that the Wednesday tournament is played following the afternoon dart league, which meant Keith had been drinking a lot before arriving. He is one those Jekyll and Hyde type drunks. Nice at first and then transforming into an asshole.

Alright, so the trouble began when Keith and his partner were playing Bruce and his mate in the losers bracket. It just so happens that Bruce was voted in to be Keith’s replacement as dart league President. During the match Keith started grousing about the scorekeeper giving advice on what number to target. Bruce noted that the rule only applied to league, not the tournament, but Keith wasn’t having it (technically, Keith is correct scorekeepers should remain quiet during the game). Anyway, the argument escalated into a shouting match. And then in a fit of pique (not to mention unsportsmanlike conduct) Keith intentionally missed the potential winning dart (his partner being collateral damage I suppose). Bruce and Keith continued screaming at each other and it appeared violence might soon ensue.

Which is when Kathy, Bruce’s wife, intervened. And not in a good way. Now, there is also apparently some bad blood between Keith and Kathy as it is rumored that Kathy instigated the coup against Keith. So they began screaming at each other and then Kathy totally lost it, picking up a coke can and throwing it at Keith, hitting him in the mouth and drawing some blood. And then it was really on. Kathy picked up a motorcycle helmet intending to do some serious damage to Keith’s head, but fortunately someone grabbed her before she could do so.

When Iris, Keith’s girlfriend, saw the blood on his lip she went stark raving mad. Never seen anything like it. She was intent on doing some serious bodily harm on Kathy and it took several people to hold her back. The jostling and yelling continued on for several minutes until finally Bruce ushered Kathy out the door. Man, it was an ugly scene!

So the end result was that three teams wound up forfeiting in the tournament (which was a total fuckover of the dart partners of Kathy, Bruce, and Iris). And it made it an easy path to the championship for me and my partner, tainted victory though it was. Someone called the bar owner and she came after the excitement was over, talked to some people about what happened, and then told Keith and Iris they were not welcome back to play in the future.

Who says there is no excitement in my life? I did question myself later about not having tried to intervene. But I stand by my decision. First of all, I am just not going to engage in dart drama. Period. And I’m certainly not going to get involved with belligerent drunks who may be prone to violence. Too much can go wrong and I absolutely do not want to do anything that could lead me to an encounter with the police. I have no doubt that confinement in a Filipino jail cell would be a death penalty for me. So I’m just going to continue to mind my own business and try not to make any enemies here.

And that’s what’s cookin’. Well, that and these baby back ribs:

And that’s about enough adventure, don’t you think?

I mean, I can lament all day long about what I don’t have, but all I have to do is look out my window…

Overall, I really am enjoying my life and my routines here. Today being Wednesday I spent the morning/early afternoon with the Sausage Walkers.

The trail the Austrian Gunter chose to lead us up the mountain was hard and steep…

The rest of the hike was mostly pleasant and uneventful. Except the part where I got tripped up in some razor wire. A small gash on my leg but thankfully not deep like the last time I got tangled up.

Another routine is darts, and I’m fixin’ to head out soon to play in the tourney at Alley Cats. I’ve also been getting in the habit of practicing at home so hopefully that result in some improvement in the quality of my play. We’ll see. Oh, I’ve also signed up to play in the league on Friday’s.

So all in all I’m getting by just fine. Disappointments notwithstanding.

Still working through some shit in my head but in the meantime of course life continues.

Yesterday’s Hash was the worst ever. Not so much the trail we hiked but the total incompetence of the Hare in marking it. Even the experienced Hashers were bitching about it. In fact, in my opinion for some inexplicable reason the Hare must have intentionally laid a shitty trail just to fuck with us.

During the portion of the circle where we give feedback on the day’s hike, the criticism of the trail was universal. I called it “total bullshit” and another member said Cabbage Patch should not be permitted to Hare in the future “without adult supervision”. I personally will not participate in any event where Cabbage Patch is once again the Hare.

My mood hasn’t improved much today either. When I returned from my morning walk with Buddy I noticed I had lost one of my vape pens. Damn, no idea how I managed that. I do wear headphones so I wouldn’t have heard it drop, but still.

And then when I was walking the next portion of my daily regimen, I happened to feel it when a vape dropped out of my pocket, only because it hit me in the leg on the way down. I’m like “What the fuck?”. And then I discovered I had a hole in my pocket. I transferred the vapes into my other pocket and walked on. And then I got to thinking “oh shit, where are my house keys?” Yep, I had lost them somewhere along the way as well. Luckily my domestic was home to let me in when I returned.

I’ve got a hole in my pocket. I don’t feel crazy but I sure do feel nuts.

Walter Lee McCrarey “Dad Jokes”

So in addition to my regular Tuesday morning grocery shopping I had to detour into Olongapo to get some keys made.

That’s pretty much how my life is going lately. Oh well, there’s always more beer to drink.

Told ya I had nothin’.

Woke up a bit early this morning and gazed out the window. The moon was looking particularly brilliant. So brilliant that I was inspired to put on my sandals and go outside for a better look (there’s a big ass tree that was partially obstructing my view). Unfortunately, my photography skills phone camera was inadequate to capture her full glory. Here’s the best I could do:

Maybe if I had waited a bit longer I could have captured the moon sinking behind the mountains. I can’t wait to become less impatient.

And the wind across the plains
Is all that now remains

The night shakes loose the names
But they never quite go back the way they came

So, goodbye rodeo
It’s a long, funny way for a man to go
And never change
And never change at all

I was just talkin’ to the moon
Hopin’ someday soon that I’d be over
The memory of you- too hard to hold on

…over the state of my emotions. But I took my worries out last night for a ride on the Blue Rock floating bar.

Sadly all three floating bars in Barretto are not long for this world. The city has declined to renew their operating permits which expire 31 January. It’s all bullshit of course. The city “leaders” are making a big show of cleaning up the bay, but the floating bars have self contained holding tanks so nothing from the toilets goes in the water. Meanwhile, the local citizens continue to pollute the water in ways that sometimes defy imagination. Easier to put the foreigners out of business than address the real issues though.

Ah well, gotta take the good with the bad I suppose.

Another relationship journey is now complete. This one makes me sad because she was also a woman I loved. She chose a different path long ago but we had remained friends and I appreciated that. But keeping that door open also made me vulnerable, and in the end her actions caused me pain. That’s a power I choose not to cede to anyone.

I wish her the very best in life. I admit I’ll never understand the choices she made or why she lacked the courage to fix her mistake before it was too late. Everyone walks the path they choose and some people choose poorly I suppose.

Life goes on and so will I. So help me God.

Back in the day me and my teenage buddies would head down to Tijuana, Mexico to party since none of the bars requested to see ID like they did in the People’s Republic of California. One drunken night I recall that we must have run over a Mexican weatherman. He stood up, shook his fist, and yelled “sunny beaches!”.

Okay, that’s all true except the part about the weatherman. I have no idea what that poor bastard did for a living.

Anyway, I have been spending a lot of time these past couple of days on the beach. The ones with sand, just to be clear about it. I used the occasion of my beach walks to capture a photo of the three floating bars anchored offshore of the Barretto and Baloy beaches. Sad news about town is that the city has declined to re-issue operating permits so this will be the end of an era. Or maybe someone will bribe the right person and life will go on as usual. We’ll see.

Today I joined up with the Wednesday Walkers for a 15K hike along the beach to and on the old Navy base. I’d actually just did that walk on my own last week, although this time it was quite a bit longer.

As it turned out just as we were approaching the gate a couple of Hashers passing by in their private vehicles offered us a lift. We gladly accepted and soon found ourselves enjoying cold beers at Cheap Charlies. A well-earned reward!

Oh, and Heidi was there. She’s not even pretending to be friendly these days. What a beach!

Another Monday, another Hash. My 33rd with the Subic H3. This one was a little different though because I had some company on the trail.

I had invited Marissa (aka Salty Cum) to join us for the after Hash activities on-home at Johansson’s. I mentioned it was a good deal because she could drink all the beer she wanted for 150 pesos ($3.). She seemed interested until I mentioned she would be attending as a “socialite” (people who attend but don’t actually hike the trail). And socialites are required to sit on the ice while they explain their unwillingness to participate in the walk. Marissa wasn’t too pleased to hear that and said she would let me know later if she was coming.

So about an hour before the Hash I get a message saying “I’ve changed my mind”. About what? I asked. She responded “about being a social life” (yeah, I guess that’s what she heard me say). So I asked what does that mean, are you coming or not? And then she told me she had decided to walk the trail! Wow! She’s accompanied me on some Buddy walks (about 30 minutes) and complained about the sun making her brown. I just figured she was never going to attempt a Hash trail.

I was actually a little worried because some of the trails are really difficult for me and I’m certainly more experienced than she is at walking off road. Still, I didn’t want to discourage her and I was really quite impressed that she was willing to step out (heh) of her comfort zone. Luckily, the trail yesterday was not all that strenuous. She kept right up with me, didn’t complain, and appeared to pretty much enjoy herself.

Marissa told me later that she had said a prayer for success as we rode out to the drop off point in the Hashmobile. And she thanked me for helping her have the courage to try something new. Honestly, my opinion of her was quite enhanced by her actions yesterday. She went from being pretty much only a drinking buddy to someone with the potential to be a walking buddy as well. That’s huge!

As a funny epilogue to the story of Marissa’s first trail (she had done the Candy Run on Christmas eve, but that was just walking pavement handing out treats to the kids). I told her that during the Hash circle everyone will be asked their opinion of the trail. If you say anything good about it, you have to join the Hare on the ice. For example, my assessment was that the downhill portion of the trail yesterday was “not slippery enough”. I knew she wanted to avoid the ice so I suggested she just say the trail “was too sunny”. So anyway, when the Grandmaster (HIV) got to Marissa he overlooked her. I assumed he thought she hadn’t walked the trail so I piped up and said “HIV, today was the first time Salty Cum did the Hash trail”. He responded “Oh really? Then she needs to sit on the ice!”

The look on Marissa’s face! She had done the Hash to specifically avoid sitting on the ice and that resulted in her having to sit on the ice. It was hard not to laugh. And she pretty much took it all in stride. Fun times!

Here’s some photos (and no, I didn’t get one of Salty Cum on ice):

It was a good day. And a good additional benefit from my friend Marissa.

It’s all good!

Today I achieved one of the goals I set for myself when I moved here–establishing a charitable relationship with an organization that helps children in need. I’ve made some donations to the home during past visits but now I’m hoping to make some regular monthly contributions.

Had a brief meeting with the home’s director today. Of course, they always need money (which I’m not comfortable giving at the point) but food donations are also always appreciated. I brought some rice, canned goods, and other staples along with me today. I talked about having a monthly dinner party and birthday celebration for each child born during that month. The Director said they kids would love an event like that. So Jollibee’s (a local fast food chain) it is!

Anyway, I know what Jesus would say–don’t talk about it, just do it! (Hmm, I guess Nike would say the same). It’s not about me of course but it does feel good to get out of myself for a change and focus on making a difference in the lives of others.

Onward and upward!

Oh, here’s a video that gives some of the history and the mission of King’s Fil Am Home.

Greetings from the Philippines! I’ve been hard at work on my “to do” list.

Some days surviving is more challenging than others. Today for some crazy reason I decided to walk to Olongapo City. Similar to the hike I did with the Wednesday Walkers last week, except I took the National Highway into town. That’s always a thrill!

Alright, let me ‘fess up to the crazy reason for making that long ass walk. Last Wednesday as we were coming down the mountain into Olongapo I spotted a young woman with the most beautiful smile. I smiled back and she waved at me. And then we both smiled at each other some more. Of course, I was with the group and had to keep moving on, but damn! And she’s been in my mind ever since. It was one of “those” moments that felt like a spontaneous connection and I started the “what if?” thought process.

Like the love-starved sap that I am I made a drunken resolution last night to go back today and try and find her. I kinda sorta remembered the path that led past her house and that it was near the top of a humongous set of stairs we were descending that day. Of course, even if I found the path I realized spotting her house again was unlikely and even if I managed that it was against all odds that she would be home and smiling out the window at me once more as I passed. But by God, if love is my destiny I will not be denied without a fight!

So, by taking the highway route it meant I would be ascending the stairs this time, assuming I could find them. I did take one set up that resulted in a dead end so it was back down to the highway. But then a few minutes later I came upon some familiar looking steps and once again began my climb.

And then it happened. Almost like in a fairy tale. I saw a familiar looking house and then suddenly there she was! Standing out in the yard, looking even more beautiful than I remembered (before I’d only seen her face, she has a very nice body as well!). And when she smiled at me I knew for sure it was her. But this time it was a shy and almost sad smile. And the Filipino man (husband or boyfriend) standing next to her was not smiling at all.

I nodded, mumbled a greeting, and kept on walking. Turns out I wasn’t willing to fight for her after all.

Am I really this pathetic? Why, yes. Yes I am!

Anyway, I continued on until I reached the top of the mountain.

All was not lost however. My friends at Fitbit determined to reward my efforts in the mountains and on the stairways with a brand new badge for my collection.

My day will come. I just got to keep on surviving!

I’ve just seen a face,
I can’t forget the time or place
Where we just met.
She’s just the girl for me
And I want all the world to see
We’ve met, mm-mm-mm-m’mm-mm

Had it been another day
I might have looked the other way
And I’d have never been aware.
But as it is I’ll dream of her
Tonight, di-di-di-di’n’di.

Falling, yes I am falling,
And she keeps calling
Me back again.

I now have photographic evidence of what I’ve long suspected:

He’s still a good boy though.