Greetings from Makati, the heart and soul of the metropolis known as Manila. This is a city I don’t frequent much, in fact, I normally try to avoid it whenever possible. But as I mentioned previously I had business to attend to at the American embassy and this is where that’s at.

Arrived yesterday afternoon following a harrowing drive through murderous traffic with my crazy driver Donny behind the wheel. I’m staying at the Royal Bellagio hotel this trip as it is conveniently located in the foreigner bar district on P. Burgos street. The hotel contains one of my favorite watering holes (Cafe Cubana) and one of the best damn restaurants I’ve eaten at in the PI, The Filling Station. I wrote about both on my last visit here back in November.

Then it was back to Cubana for more beer and watching the street walkers ply their trade. A couple of them are just bat shit crazy, which is sad. I wondered if they were always crazy or if the life of a prostitute made them that way. I personally just don’t find paying for sex that interesting or exciting. I do enjoy a good massage now and then though.

So, I get up bright and early this morning to make my journey out to the embassy. My appointment was at 9:45 but given the traffic situation I hailed a cab at 7:30. The first guy wanted a flat fee of 500 pesos. I told him I preferred that he just use the meter, to which he declined so I moved on to another cab. This guy turned on the meter right away but as we drove he asked to do a flat fee. At first I declined but then got to thinking it might be wise to give the driver some motivation to take the fastest route. I asked how much and he wanted 400 pesos. “Fine” I told him, figuring I saved myself 100 pesos anyway.

The trip surprisingly took less than an hour (I’d been told it could take 1.5), so I walked around the Manila bay front area for awhile before making my way through embassy security. There I was relieved of my cell phone, Fitbit, and e-cigarettes. A strict no electronics policy was being enforced. It was only 9:00 so I commenced to walking around the waiting area. I guess it made the security guard nervous because he asked me to sit down. I said “I can’t walk?” He pointed to the back of the room and replied “only there”. Fine. My Fitbit couldn’t register my activity anyway.

Once my appointed time arrived, I was allowed to go upstairs and wait for my number to be called, which it was in due course. I had two power of attorney forms to be notarized and Uncle Sam relieved me of $100 for the service. I caught a cab back to Makati and the driver used the meter without complaint. I was curious how much the actual fare would turn out to be. It came in at just under 200 pesos. HaHa! I guess I did get taken for a ride this morning. I tipped the driver 100 pesos and it still felt like a bargain!

Once back in familiar environs I set about looking for a FedEx outlet so I could get the newly signed POA’s off to South Carolina. Google said there was a FedEx store about 20 minutes away on foot. Damned if I could find it though. I did come across a small shipping business that had a sign saying there were an authorized FedEx agent. I hope so, because I paid 2000 pesos ($40) and gave them my papers. Supposed to arrive stateside in three days. We’ll see.

And that’s been my excitement for the day thus far. I’ll head out soon for some more exploring, then grab some food. And beers of course.

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin’ would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house
“Hey! What gives you the right?”
“To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in”
“If God was here he’d tell you to your face, man, you’re some kinda sinner”
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

Not a good night for me last night. The usual BS, feeling sorry for myself and thinking about what I’m missing instead of what I have. Luckily the self-pity parties are much more infrequent these days. As is my custom when I’m in “one of those moods” I commenced to drown my sorrows take some pain medication in the form of San Miguel Zero beer. And before long I was comfortably numb.

I started and finished my night at Cheap Charlies Bar. I had a good seat overlooking the highway and couldn’t be fucked with moving on. I was in no mood for company and successfully fended off the thirsty bargirls vying for a lady drink (I’m usually quite generous in that regard). Arrived around 5:00 p.m. and left a little after nine. My bill was 600 pesos. Beers are only 50 pesos each at Cheap Charlies (hence the name) so by my calculation I drank 12 beers in four hours! That’s a lot even for me. And 3 beers per hour is a pretty good pace as well. I guess all that practice is paying off!

Good thing I was doing Zero at 3% alcohol. Had I been doing the 5% brews I’m sure I would have been floored. As it was I had no problem walking the 15 minutes it took to get home. And so ended another drunken night as a lonely guy. Yeah, I acknowledge (embrace?) my patheticness.

Off to Manila this afternoon. A city I love to hate. But, changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, right?

It’s those changes in latitudes,
changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same.
With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.

No, I’m not talking about Filipinas, although many of them are indeed short and sweet.

Yesterday’s Hash trail was just under 6 kms in length with a couple of moderate climbs. The kind of trail I hope to lay as a Hare one of these days, albeit somewhat longer perhaps. That was the major criticism in the Hash circle, not long enough. I went back out this afternoon and walked part of it in reverse to see how I might be able to incorporate a portion into My Bitch. They do actually intersect but I am going to have to work on it some more I think. I’ve got nothing but time.

Speaking of short and sweet, I found this 8 minute long youtube video laying out the history of the Philippines. I thought it was interesting, you might too.

Happy trails to you!

Next Monday I’ll be laying trail with Pubic Head as the co-Hare. It’s my first time and really I’ll just be assisting and learning the ropes. I believe he already has a path in mind so it will just be a matter of marking the trail with powder and chalk.

What I’m really focusing on is the time in the near future (no firm date as yet) when I’ll be the primary Hare. At least for a newbie like me who is still not all that familiar with the area it is a challenging task that requires quite a bit of preparation. The past few days on some of my walks I’ve been working out the details of what my trail will look like.

First and foremost, it will be the kind of trail I like. I mean, that’s the advantage to being the Hare, right? I’m sure some of my Hash-mates will think what I have in mind is too easy. All I can say is fuck them, I’ve Hashed many a trail that is too damn hard. My first trail will have a moderate up and down section, some road time, and the walking portion will be around 8 kilometers–two hours or so at a decent pace. The longer section for the runners will add another 4 K to the trail I reckon.

Having a trail that accommodates both runners and walkers is one of the bigger challenges. My preference as a walker is to walk out from the start–I really dislike riding in the Hashmobile. But if the walkers start from on-home instead of being dropped off further up the trail it means I need to incorporate a longer section that rejoins the walking trail later for the runners. Pain in the ass logistically.

Anyway, I plan to incorporate a goodly portion of the My Bitch trail into my first path as a Hare. I walked that section yesterday and it took one hour from my house. So you can add maybe another 20 minutes to/from on-home. Still need a little more, but that’s getting at least close. The other day I walked a mostly flat route on roads that was just over an hour in length. I could easily incorporate that for the runners to junction later with the walkers, although I’m sure they’d find it a boring trail. The runners are the bastards that seem to pick the hardest path possible in the mountains. Maybe they deserve to be bored when I Hare. We’ll see.

Time to get ready for today’s Hash. I’ll be keeping my eyes wide open for more trail possibilities. Hey, I’m easily entertained!

And more importantly, so is the house!

Did some rocking and rolling this afternoon when we experienced an earthquake that registered 4.9 on the Richter scale. Yeah, no big deal but something different. I grew up in Southern California and we’d get these several times a year, but it’s been a while since I took an Earth ride. It’s quite the helpless feeling waiting and wondering what happens next. Gives you time to reflect on the quality of construction standards here in the Philippines. Ha Ha! I used standards and Philippines in the same sentence!

Anyway, I’ve been reliving my experiences as a tourist here in Barretto from two years ago courtesy of Facebook memories. It was a good trip! And now that I live here I can’t wait for all the tourists to get the fuck out! Well, summer is right around the corner, that will motivate the Swedes to go back home where they belong. I’m kidding of course. Mostly I like the visitors, many of whom come for several months each year. It’s also been a trip seeing the boyfriend/sponsors of the bargirls. I mean, good for them that they’ve found a guy willing to send some money all year round for a couple of months of pleasure while they are here. It’s just so weird for me seeing a hot gal in her early 20s loving up on an old cripple who looks like her grandfather. Only in the Philippines!

Also on the horizon is a trip to the U.S. Embassy in Manila next week. I’ll likely go down on Wednesday as my appointment is Thursday morning. Plan as of now is to return home on Saturday. I’m going to have a Power of Attorney form notarized so we can finalize the sale of my parent’s house.

And I’m completing the final preparations for my travel to Palawan on March 6. That’s a trip I’m actually looking forward to making. Who knows, maybe there will actually be something interesting to read here at LTG. Hey, it could happen!

I’m usually near the back of the pack when I’m walking in a group. Probably average speed on flat ground, slow going up, and very slow coming down. That’s just how I roll, or more precisely, how I try to avoid rolling.

Anyway, did the Wednesday walkers group thing yesterday. Six others of which I was the oldest and slowest. In the past this group differed from the Hash in that there was a “no man left behind” ethos, periodically the group would stop and wait for stragglers to catch up. Not so yesterday.

That kind of pissed me off. Part of my motivation for doing the Wednesday thing is to have some camaraderie. The other is the safety factor–I’m just uncomfortable being alone in the unknown wild with no support should something go wrong. If I’m going to be alone on trail, I want to be choosing the trail. Yesterday I was left to fend for myself coming down the mountain. And sure enough I slipped and fell. Only a cut and some scratches thankfully, but it underscores why you don’t want to be without a hiking partner should the worst happen.

Anyway, I’m thinking maybe I’ll just forego joining the group henceforth. I’ll still walk of course but I’ll do so within my comfort zone. Unfortunately, that means I’ll miss seeing new places and enjoying new vistas.

The other thing that is hard to achieve on my own is pushing myself to the edge of my level of endurance. On my own most days I’ll do around 20,000 steps. Yesterday with the Walkers I did this:

I guess we’ll just wait and see how I feel come next Wednesday.

Changing gears, I found this funny as hell:

Oh, and I won the darts tournament last night which is always nice.

And that’s the latest from Barrio Barretto, Olongapo, Zambales province, Republic of the Philippines. Thanks for checking in!

Enjoying a beer and the mountain views yesterday evening when all of the sudden this happens:

And then I wake up this morning almost exactly 12 hours later:

Anyway, that’s what passes for excitement around here I suppose.

Meanwhile, over at Big Hominid’s Hairy Chasms, Kevin Kim featured some cool memes. I’ll add this one to the collection:

And finally, Facebook reminds me what I was doing two years ago:

More ups than downs these days, so there’s that. I can make it on my own.

I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past
We’ve been cast out of? oh oh oh oh
Now we’re back in the fight
We’re back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang

UPDATE: Well, I see I used the “Ups and downs” title on a post back in May, 2013. That one was about the progress I had made after 13 weeks on the low carb, high fat diet. I was pleased to report that I was down to 254 pounds and a 46″ waistline. These days I’m right at 200 pounds with a 34″ waist. The payoff from being a walkaholic I suppose. That and several heartbreaks…

Anyway, the notorious Leech My Nuggets was the Hare for yesterday’s Hash. He is known for the difficulty of the trails he lays. By all accounts yesterday was no exception–it included three mountain climbs. A group of us took a short cut which only required ascending one mountain.

We had two Hashers ripe for naming as yesterday was the 5th completed Hash for both. The way the SBH3 does the naming process involves sitting them on ice, allowing the rest of us to ask questions and/or tell stories about the person to be named. Then we get the opportunity to suggest a name and do a voice vote to determine the most popular.

The other Hasher we named was the Austrian Gunther. I’ve mentioned him before in posts about the Wednesday walks which he often leads. Gunther loves the mountains back home and doesn’t find our variety all that challenging. So the story I told was about his climbing the steep slopes like a mountain goat while I struggled along behind him muttering “fucker”. So my suggested name was Mountain Goat Fucker. Alas, a German Hasher suggested “Vienna Sausage” which proved more popular. I kind of like it too, although Gunther didn’t seem real pleased. After five more Hashes he can request a new naming, but that can and does often result in a worse name.

And as I predicted the ice awaited me as well:

As our expressions attest, it wasn’t all that nice on ice!

One benefit of Hashing is it gives me some motivation to get out of town and see new places and things. I’ve just signed up for a 4 day event next month in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. That’s been on my bucket list of cities to visit and what better way to explore the nooks and crannies than doing some Hashing.

On-On!

Well, a weekend of my life in the mountaintop city of Baguio anyway.

A very beautiful and interesting city. Lots of history and the American influence in Baguio’s development is still evident today (you can read more about that at the link). At 5,000 feet in elevation it is nearly a mile high. It has a different look and feel from any place I’ve ever experienced in the Philippines. I really enjoyed the pine forests and mountain views. And for the first time since moving here I actually felt chilly sitting outside at night. Luckily the bar that was hosting the Hash event had a nice little fire pit to provide some warmth.

It’s a largish town and has some of the big city drawbacks, most notably traffic congestion. But overall the city was very clean. Not much litter and at least in the parts of town I visited, no slums and shanties. So, I enjoyed my visit but I’d actually have no desire to live there. As much as I love the mountains I also enjoy having the ocean nearby. I have both of those in Baretto and I really enjoy the “small town” lifestyle in my new hometown.

It took more than four hours to reach Baguio, and well over an hour of that was on a twisting and turning narrow mountain road. Coupled with my driver’s aggressive driving style it made for a scary ride. I had to remind him several times that passing cars on curves was not necessary as I was in no hurry to reach my destination. Anyway, I may have to revise my “top ten ways I’m likely to die in the Philippines” list and move driver Donny up from the #4 spot. It seems getting to the Hash may be more dangerous than the actual Hash.

I took a boatload of photos so let’s let them tell the story of my Baguio adventure, shall we?

Well, I came to experience the annual Valentine’s Day Hash hosted by the La Union Hash House Harriers. There were 85 Hashers in attendance and they did a nice job keeping everything on track. An 8 kilometer trail that was not as hard as some I’ve done here in Barretto. Could be because we were already on top of the mountain there wasn’t much climbing left to do.

The La Union Hash circle is quite a bit different than the SBH3. No ice for one thing. I got punished for “smoking” in the circle (as I tried to explain to no avail, I wasn’t smoking, I was vaping. No one calls fog smoke, right? Anyway, my “punishment” was having to chug down a beer. Big whoop. More like a reward!

The La Union Hash is a “family” Hash, so no raunchy Hash names or bawdy songs. I advised Salty Cum to just say her Hash name was “Salty” if asked. Anyway, a good group of guys and it was fun Hashing with them.

We did have four other Hashers from Subic in attendance, so it was good to hang out with some familiar faces. There’s probably going to be a price to be paid for that however. The other SBH3 guys were quick to point out that me and Salty were the only Subic Hashers to do the “easy” trail. Well, in my defense, the Hare had told me the so-called easy trail was also the most scenic. They were both in fact the same length, but maybe not as much uphill on the scenic path. But I expect I’ll be on ice tonight for my “transgression”.

The other thing is the La Union Hash didn’t have San Mig Zero beer (3% alcohol) so I was forced to drink San Mig Light (5% alcohol). Unfortunately, I did not reduce my beer intake accordingly and wound up drunker than I have been in a LONG time. I’m talking years. I’m not real clear on things after a certain point, but apparently in the course of the night I broke at least one bottle of beer, possibly two. That may cost me some ice time as well for embarrassing my mother kennel in Subic.

And so ends the tale of my weekend in the mountains.

Wanting to do a write up about the Baguio adventure and I have a bunch of photos to share. But ever since I got home the power has been going on and off. The outage only lasts a second or two, just long enough to make my internet connection go offline. And right about the time I get it reset, the power fluctuation occurs again, and boom, no internet. Really frustrating.

So I took a nap and when I awoke and looked outside it was raining ashes. People in these parts are always burning shit which is both illegal and harmful to the environment, especially air quality. I see the burned out areas frequently on my hikes and have often wondered how these fires are contained by anything other than blind luck. Anyway, the fire that invaded my neighborhood this afternoon was apparently out of control. I expect it started elsewhere because surely no one would be burning down the foliage on vacant lots. Hmm, maybe they would. Who knows the mind of a Filipino?

And this small post was a major pain in the ass with intermittent internet. Stay tuned for the Baguio story as soon as the issue resolves itself.

UPDATE: Well, I’ve used the “Home again” title four other times in the storied history of LTG.

December 31, 2004: reporting my Memphis, TN to Stafford, VA in 14 hours drive.

January 16, 2005: I lazily used the same title a couple of weeks later on a post about returning from my goodbye trip to South Carolina. I flew to Korea for the first time the following week.

September 17,2009: Returning to Korea from somewhere and bitching about the Airport Limo to Hannam-dong.

October 11, 2017: Making my way back to Pyeongtaek by train from Incheon after my ill-fated journey to Boracay.

None of those previous posts warrant a reading. I just link them to punish myself for being too uninspired to come up with something more original as a post title.

Baguio that is. The famous mountain metropolis of northern Luzon in the Philippines. This city has been on my PI bucket list of places to see so I’m glad to have finally made the trip. And what a trip. Especially coming up the mountain with my crazy drive Donny. But I lived to tell the tale, so there’s that.

Why am I here? Well, I’m going to do a Hash with the La Union Hash kennel. La Union is on the other side of the mountain near the coast, so I guess this is technically an “outstation” run for them. It’s also their annual Valentine’s Day Hash (albeit a bit late this year) and I got me this fancy new jersey when I signed up.

My mother kennel is Subic, where I did my first Hash and lost my virginity. And I got named with the Humphreys Hangover Hash House Harriers in Pyeongtaek, Korea. This marks my first experience visiting another Hash group as a bonafide Hasher. I’ll be joining them for a pub crawl tonight and tomorrow I walk! Looking forward to it.

I’ll get some photos on trail and hopefully have a chance to get some city shots before I leave on Sunday. It was an amazing (and scary) drive up the mountain. On the way back I’ll try to get Donny to slow down some so I can get some scenic shots.

Wish me luck on trail!

As I alluded to in earlier posts, I journeyed out to Gordon Heights in Olongapo yesterday for a little dinner party.

Anyway, I’ve mentioned here before that the Fil-Am home has been my charity of choice for the past couple of years. I used to deliver groceries when I visited. Now that I’m living here I wanted to set something up on a regular basis. I suggested a monthly dinner party for the kids to celebrate birthday parties or just have some fun. The Home’s Director agreed. Last night was the first of these events and it happened to coincide with Miguel’s eighth birthday.

The history of the Fil-Am home is kind of interesting. It was founded by a Department of Defense Schools teacher in the 1970s. Back when Subic was a Navy base the sailors would come into town, knock up the local gals, then sail away. When those seeds blossomed into Filipino-American children they were sometimes abandoned when the mothers were incapable of raising them. The lucky ones wound up here at the orphanage. The Navy base shut down in the early 1990s so there are no Fil-Am children residing in the home now.

The facility appeared clean and well-maintained. The children seemed happy, well-dressed and well-fed. In fact, on my walks up in the mountains I’ve observed children living in shanties that appear much worse off. So on the one hand the kids at the Home are luckier than some. On the other hand they are orphans. Life can be hard in many different ways I suppose.

The Director had told me what was most needed was cash donations to pay for utilities and the like, so I did that in lieu of my usual grocery shopping. I did bring a big bag of rice though. Everyone needs rice, right?

My “team” accompanied me to the event but we didn’t partake in the Jollibee meal–I had something else in mind for them. Texas Joe’s!

It turned out to be a day full of love after all. Who’d a thunk it?

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide
Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry, love will keep us alive
Don’t you worry
Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it ride
The world is changing
Right before your eyes
Now I’ve found you
There’s no more emptiness inside
When we’re hungry, love will keep us alive

Or as it is known here in the Philippines “Hearts day”.

My particular heart is mostly a mass of scar tissue but otherwise I’ve got no complaints. I may not have “a” date tonight, but I’m hosting a dinner for twenty and looking forward to spreading some love around. More to come on that.

Besides, given my history in “love” relationships I’m probably better off without it. This Venn diagram sums up my experience pretty well:

My nephew Josh seems to have the McCrarey love curse as well. He posted this on his Facebook page today:

And speaking of Hitler, does this sound familiar to anyone of you?

Democratic Socialism, National Socialism. Same same.

Sorry for the detour into politics. Blame it on my broken heart!

Love hurts
Love scars
Love wounds and marks
Any heart not tough or strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud, it holds a lot of rain
Love hurts
Ooh love hurts

Some fools think
Of happiness, blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
They’re not foolin’ me
I know it isn’t true I know it isn’t true
Love is just a lie made to make you blue
Love hurts
Ooh love hurts

As is my custom, I met up with the Wednesday walking group this morning. The German/Austrian/Swiss contingent asked in heavily accented English if we were good with hiking to what sounded like Valhalla. I’m no expert on Norse mythology, but I said “sure, why not?”. So, off we went.

I asked what this “Valhalla” place was and was advised it was the highest elevation in Olongapo. Oh boy, these guys must really miss the Alps.

So we exit the Jeepney and proceeded to literally walk down the Long road to the Gordon Heights section of town.

I asked an Aussie who was with us if he had ever heard of this Valhalla place we were heading for and he responded “I’ve never even been to Gordon Heights” and he also mentioned that he thought our European friends were saying “Tra-la-la”. It was all a mystery to me.

And then I thought I had figured out the mystery name of our destination:

After finally reaching the end of the Long Road, our German guide announced “up here”…

Eventually the stairs turned to trail as we continued our journey to the top. And then I discovered just how wrong I had been!

We kept going and finally reached the summit. Where I was surprised to see this massive structure:

Oh, I forgot to mention the weather. Overcast when we started out. Turning to a light drizzle as we climbed (which was kinda refreshing) and finally to rain up top.

I wrapped my phone in a ziplock baggie, so no pictures of the descent which thankfully went without incident. It got a little slick and muddy in places but I managed to keep my feet. The down was much easier than the up, which is not always the case.

Anyway, it was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. I seriously doubt I’ll ever bother hiking that trail again but I am glad for having done so today.

Turns out I’ll be going back to Gordon Heights tomorrow. But I sure as hell ain’t walking! That’s what we call in the biz “foreshadowing”. Stay tuned for more on my Valentine’s Day plans!

Shit! I had this song in my head all damn day and it turns out it doesn’t include “tra-la-la”. I must be getting old.

When I think of all the worries
People seem to find
And how they’re in a hurry
To complicate their minds
By chasing after money
And dreams that can’t come true
I’m glad that we are different
We’ve better things to do
May others plan their future
I’m busy loving you
(One, two, three, four!)
Sha la la la la la live for today
Sha la la la la la live for today
And don’t worry ’bout tomorrow, hey
Sha la la la la la live for today (live for today)

Alright, now that we’ve got the cheesecake out of the way, let’s get on with my boring drivel, shall we?

Speaking of being on trail, yesterday was Hash day. I’ve been Hashing for a little over a year now and for the first time I really felt my safety was imperiled in a very irresponsible way by the Hare. Now obviously there are always risks associated with hiking in the hills so it is your responsibility to maintain awareness and exercise caution on trail. I get that and I’m not looking for some boring walk in the park. I like a bit of challenge now and then. But yesterday the Hare laid trail going downhill through a freakin’ dry creek bed which made for some tougher than usual trekking. But then we came to a damned waterfall, about an 8 foot dropoff and no reasonably obvious or safe way down. Some of the guys before me precariously balanced on one rock and jumped/hopped across the chasm. I started to attempt the same approach and then thought better of it. One misstep or loss of balance and I’d be in a world of hurt. I finally just sat on my ass and slid down the rocks, breaking my speed with legs and arms as best I could. Well, I made it down but I was not a happy camper. To be fair that was the only fucked up part of an otherwise nice enough trail. But when it comes time for me to Hare (March 4) I will not endanger my fellow Hashers in such an unnecessary manner. Rant over.

One thing I wasn’t burnin’ up was this batch of baby back ribs.

I’m still standing!

Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I’m still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah

Today makes nine months since the conception of my retired life in the Philippines. Thankfully throughout this gestation period there has been no cause to abort my decision to move here. I’ve been born again! And life goes on.

Notwithstanding how it may appear to readers of this blog, I do not find my life boring at all. It just sounds that way when I write about it, day after day after day. I’ve settled into my routines and rituals and they thus far have been more than adequate to keep me feeling fulfilled and satisfied. Your mileage may vary.

I pass a good portion of the daytime hours walking about and when the sun goes down I rest my weary legs on a comfortable bar stool and drink copious amounts of beer contribute my share to support the local economy. I’m a Hasher and a darter and on a first name basis with bargirls all over town. It’s a good life for me here in the golden years.

And there are always opportunities to spice things up a little. Take yesterday’s VFW Beach Bash at Midnight Rambler for example. I started out competing in the afternoon singles dart tournament, played poorly and was eliminated late in the early evening. Which freed me up to agree to be a judge in the Ms. Beach Bash beauty pageant.

But wait, there’s more! I too was called up on stage…

And like the proverbial icing on the cake, I won this gift certificate in the raffle drawing:

So, it was a great event and an interesting crowd. Like this guy:

And so it goes and so it went. And as the bureau of tourism is wont to say: It’s better in the Philippines!