Well, here it is: The Post You’ve Been Waiting For!
I hope you are not too disappointed.
But wait, there’s more! Happy Halloween for one thing. And courtesy of Facebook memories I can share this blast from the past:
Eun Oke and me from four years ago. The whole dressing up thing was her idea and she was responsible for the costumes. I just played along. She could be a fun girl. I kinda miss her some.I didn’t dress up again until last year. Tonight I’ll go out as a COVID-free 65-year-old. That oughta scare ’em!
Speaking of memories, how about this shot of my work family circa 2005:
“Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”
But enough about me. I saw this on my dog walk today:
I’m always shocked at all the things Filipinos can figure out how to load on a tricycle. Note that I didn’t say load safely.
And if you think that is funny, you’ll love this:
Sorrow floats.
So, I took this shot from my perch at Mango’s yesterday evening:
I thought it might be the precursor of the typhoon that is headed our way. Turns out it was just a thunderstorm. Been sunny and clear all day today. So far anyway.
But Typhoon Rolly is still rolling our way. The latest tracker I saw says it should come ashore early tomorrow morning.
It’s a category 4 storm and it looks like it’s gonna be pretty much a direct hit. That means lots of rain and high winds. It’s the winds I dread because I know the power grid won’t withstand the lashing of a storm of this magnitude and I doubt they’ll send out repair crews until the storm has passed. I’ve already made tentative plans to book a hotel room at a place with a generator. Maybe even Mango’s.
But I’ll worry about that tomorrow. For now, let me look back on yesterday’s hike to Tibag. We go out that way once a year or so and I was looking forward to the trek. Not sure why I like that area so much, it’s isolated and not all that easy to access. Heh, maybe I just answered my own question. As usual, I’ll let the pictures tell the story (and most of the photo credits go to Scott).
It was a small gathering of the Friday walkers: Me, Troy, Jim, and the man behind the camera, Scott.Our destination awaits.We followed the road on the way up to Tibag with the intent of finding a river crossing and coming back on the opposite side.Handed out some cookies along the way…This guy told me to keep my fuckin’ cookies. Or so it appeared.
So, it was a total of10K hike there and back. A couple of years ago we had done a picnic alongside a creek at the end of the road. Things change though. Here’s what the end of the road looked like this year:
WTF? They turned it into a garbage dumping area. A real buzz killer.And now this poor family is stuck living next to a dump. What a shame.So, we moved on and found a nicer view.A cabin in the woods.Bamboo teepees… Is that cultural appropriation?Poor Troy had to do a lot of waiting on us older guys…Here they are!And then we came to the proverbial fork in the road.Downtown Tibag features the elementary school and not much else. At least ii is a child-friendly school…We also found the river crossing we were looking for in Tibag. One of the neighbor ladies leaned out her window to warn us “it’s not safe!”. Jim was able to confirm that within a few steps. I could see that old bamboo bending to the near breaking point under his weight. That was a big NOPE for me. We wound up walking back the way we came.Onward!The locals were friendly.This picture seems a little creepy though…Improving the road to the dump I reckon…This little piggy hasn’t gone to market. Yet.A river runs through it.Doing the laundry the old school way…Jim on a rock.A bridge to nowhere. Does anybody recognize that mountain?Scott is homeward bound.And yes, as a matter of fact, I did find a discarded facemask…
It was a good day on trail. Looking forward to being able to explore the other side of the river next time.
And finally, here’s what I had for breakfast this morning:
French toast at Sit-n-Bull. There’s a reason I wanted to satisfy my craving today. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. Sorry, Kevin!
Nothing all that special I suppose, but having a good day that doesn’t even seem special makes for something special. Oh, I’m talking about yesterday by the way. I’ll tell you how special today has been tomorrow.
It started out like this.
Did the morning walk with the dogs. When I got home I saw a Facebook memory from two years ago showing Lucky in his previous life:
Tied to a stump on a short leash and left to sit all day without food and water.I think his current circumstances are more to his liking. He’s a fat lazy bastard now, that’s for sure!
I took myself on a longer than normal two-hour walk on the Subic side of the river. It was quite pleasant actually.
Even found the coveted mask litter to photograph and share here.
Over at his blog, Kevin Kim was talking about the wear and tear on his body and the change in his appearance upon the completion of his month-long hike from Incheon to Busan. Well, I don’t have blistered and mangled feet, but I’ve gone through some changes from my walking exploits as well:
Slowly but surely I’m turning into a Filipino!
After my morning walk was complete, I took a nap and did my Bundok post here. Then perused Facebook some and found these gems:
That was me nine years ago. A fat and happy married man.Cum on! If they named a girls camp that these days there would be an orgasm of outrage!Here’s a yard sign I rather like.And some scary behaviors I don’t like.I haven’t ranted about the stupidity of COVID restrictions lately. But this one is about as dumb as I’ve seen. Seriously, cars can’t park next to each other because of COVID? And now I’m hearing live music is being banned in the bars as well. Not sure why. There are so few customers around with the tourists excluded that social distancing isn’t an issue when a bar band is playing.
Alright, enough of Facebook. It’s starting to piss me off. Besides, it is time to play darts at Johan’s down on Baloy Beach. I was the first to arrive but soon enough a few others showed up and we had ourselves a little tournament.
Me and Vincent were the only males in attendance. Nothing wrong with that!
My partner was off her game but I was throwing quite a bit better than usual. That allowed us to go undefeated on the afternoon and take home first place money. Such as it was (300 pesos each). I don’t play for the money anyway, I come for the beer competition.
We got it done!
After darts, I headed over to Queen Victoria and shared my winnings in the form of lady drinks for my favorite waitresses. Then headed across the street to Mango’s to enjoy my ritual of watching the sun go down.
Tuesday is supposed to be my day off from walking. It’s a whole other kind of excitement for me on grocery shopping day. This week things went a bit out of the norm though. To begin, my driver had a court appearance (no, I didn’t ask why) and couldn’t pick me up until 10:30. No big deal. Also, I had to go to the immigration office in Olongapo to renew my tourist visa for another 60 days. That went fine. Then it was off for the groceries.
I wanted to hit Pure Gold, another grocery store on the old Navy base, first to see if they were stocking some of the things I can’t seem to get at Royal lately. I was pleasantly surprised to find the coveted frozen strawberries I hadn’t seen for months. Also got a few other hard to find items, then went to the old Royal store nearby for the rest of my shopping. Given the late start and detours, I wasn’t back home until 1:00 p.m.
When I checked my phone I found a message from H.I.V. asking if I was coming to the Bundok Hash he was hosting. Well, a couple of weeks ago I had signed up and never got a response. I figured it wasn’t happening. Then I heard it mentioned at Sunday’s COVID Hash so I emailed to ask what was going on and once again got no response. I sent another message on Monday and still got no answer. I just figured I wasn’t welcome. And now the Grand Master is asking me when I’m going to arrive? Well, fuck it. Changed clothes and headed out to Hot Zone a few minutes before it was time to hit the trail.
I paid my 3500 pesos ($70) and got ready to head out. Guenter was once again the Hare, but I was pretty familiar with the territory so wasn’t too worried about getting fucked over on a fucked up trail.
We started out on the beach…I’m thinking, this is too easy for a Guenter trail…It wasn’t even raining! Ah, but of course. We had to do the crossing where the river enters the bay. I could have taken a shortcut to avoid the wet feet but wanted to be a good example of our out-of-town Hashers…I did find a discarded mask amongst the flotsam on the beach…We circled back around on the streets of Barretto and had a beer stop at the 3K mark. I stuck with water. I like walking and I like drinking but I try and keep those activities separate and distinct.
The second half of the hike was also slated to be 3K and it went up the mountain and on to the familiar My Bitch trail. Guenter’s trail went down to a creekbed/waterfall that I’d done once before and swore I’d never do again. But I knew a better way to go and that’s what I did.
A short but steep climb to the top.These guys were both Hash virgins and were even slower than me. So I hung back to make sure they found their way. When we got to the intersection where my trail turned off I gave them fair warning about what was ahead of them on Guenter’s trail. They opted to stick with me instead. Smart guys!
Made it back to Hot Zone a little after 4 p.m. We had a circle and all the virgins had to wear a diaper on their head for the duration. Our food arrived promptly at 5:00, wings and potato salad from Sit-n-Bull. Then another brief circle to prepare for Phase II of the Bundok.
I’ll need to be discrete discreet in my description of those activities. All the Hashers are randomly given a key to a room at a nearby short time motel. So we can, um, take a shower. The rooms do come equipped with “software” that each individual is free to utilize in any manner that pleases them. Or not at all. Of course, whether the software actually works is also an individualized undertaking. This was my third Bundok and the first time I maximized the capabilities of the software to my ultimate satisfaction. The shower was refreshing as well.
A knock on the door shortly before the hour was up meant that it was time to head back to Hot Zone (we were on the roof, not in the bar) for our final circle and after-action report. Apparently, a good time was had by nearly everyone in attendance. I know I was Charmed.
Oh yeah, here’s this year’s version of the coveted Bundok shirt.
The front.The back. Fuck you COVID.And the discrete disclaimer inside the shirt.
So, that was that. Another day in paradise with a dash of the unexpected to spice things up a bit. Back to my normal routines now. Long (for me) walks yesterday and this morning and I’ll do some darts out on Baloy beach this afternoon.
Sorry I was unable to post here yesterday. Sometimes life intrudes and not always in a bad way. More on yesterday tomorrow. For now, let me recap the events of Monday’s 27th Anniversary of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers.
I guess a good place to start is with what I got at the finish–the traditional anniversary Hash shirt:
The front. Actually, this is something of a fuck-up. I don’t like sleeveless shirts, but I did specify a v-neck. Apparently, the only way to get a v-neck is to go sleeveless. Oh well, I ordered another one better suited to my desires.Hey, wait a minute. What has it got in its pocketses?And the clever design on the back. Fuck you, COVID!The path we took. The long trail had an additional 3K at the start.
We had 75 in attendance which is about triple our usual pandemic numbers. We took two truckloads out to the starting points, one for the long 8K and the other for the 5K trail.
We were packed in like sardines for the ride out to our trailhead. So much for social distancing, eh?And we are On-On!I’d been here once before. There is poor and then there is dirt poor. This is the poorest village I’ve seen in our area for sure.See what I mean?And then we commenced our long, LONG climb to the top. It wasn’t always steep but it took us an hour to get to the top.One of the things that slowed us down was the jungle-like terrain.What I disliked the most was frequently having to do a limbo dance to get under low branches.But we prevailed and made our way onward.And the scenery was nice.You can almost feel that jungle vibe, right?By the time we reached the top, Moaning For Boner looked as tired as I felt.My favorite view from the hike.“Yes son, that is indeed the ass of the famous Easter Mountain!”Either the Hares are liars or they have a sick sense of humor. Or both. We still had a long, steep, and slippery descent ahead of us. I fell hard on my ass about halfway down and have the bruises to prove it (sorry, no pic available).But I eventually did make it back down to civilization on the other side of the mountain. It was my pleasure to give this pretty mama a bag of cookies for her kiddies…And yes, I did find my daily ration of mask litter to photograph.On-Home was at Hunter’s Jo Inn and we overwhelmed the place with our volume of bodies.Circle up!I’m the one in blue.On the ice for my Hash crash.7/11 Sucker celebrated his 69th run with the Subic Bay Hash in the traditional manner.
And that’s pretty much how the day went. I was snockered by the end and triked directly home at the conclusion of the circle.
So, that made two Hash runs in a row and it turns out that yesterday I did an unanticipated third–a Bundok run. That’s the “men only” Hash. I’ll tell some of that story tomorrow and some can simply not be disclosed due to the “what happens at the Bundok, stays at the Bundok” rule.
So, I attended the Angeles City Corona Hash outstation run yesterday out on the far side of Subic town. It turned out to be a bit of a fiasco but overall it was a good day. We encountered heavy rain on trail and the Hares got lost but otherwise no complaints. The rain did mostly stop by the time the circle commenced, so there was that to be thankful for.
Speaking of rain, it’s pouring down again this morning. Looks like our Subic anniversary Hash is going to be a messy one later today. Power went out a couple of hours ago, I saw the sparks flying down the street so it is probably a blown transformer. Not sure how long that will take to fix. I’m operating on battery power and my phone wifi hotspot for now. I reckon I better get these photos posted while I’ve still got juice.
The event was held in the area known as Fallon Falls.As I mentioned yesterday, we had scouted the trail last week. Things change though. For example, the water was running higher and faster after all the recent rain. That made crossing the stream much dicier…
In fact, after the first crossing, Scott and I said “fuck this” and set about finding a different path.
We still had the cross the creek twice more, but nothing like we would have faced if we followed the course laid by the Hares. We did do one climb and it was muddy and slippery on both the up and the down. But I actually really enjoyed the path we took. Around 5K.We wound up passing through a remote enclave of Aeta (native) people and it was interesting to see how they live. Very friendly and welcoming.And it turns out that Aeta children like cookies too!This carabao didn’t seem to mind us foreigners passing through his ‘hood either.I don’t know what it is about some of these big old trees that I find so pleasing. They are like poetry I suppose.This was my favorite stream crossing of the day. Didn’t even get my feet wet. Well, wetter anyway. I was already soaked by this point.I was despairing that I wouldn’t find a discarded face mask to share here. In fact, hardly any of the locals we encountered we even wearing masks. And then, as if by magic, right as we completed our trail this one appeared on the road.Scott and I enjoying a well-earned beer at the conclusion of the hike.Preparing for the circle. It turns out the Corona Hashers do use ice in their ceremonies.A Corona Hash shirt. The back side. Of the shirt I mean.
So, I learned that the Corona Hash was formed because the leaders of the Angeles City Hash refused to reconvene until such time as this COVID hysteria has passed. So a group of like-minded members broke away and formed a new Hash group. I think with that context the shirt seems to be a subtle dig at their AC brethren.
Circle up!Hares on the ice. Yeah, they lost the trail but I can’t rag on them much because it happened where I got lost myself last week. A lot of the Corona Hashers are staying in town for our anniversary run today.
Today’s run should be interesting. Guenter is one of the Hares along with Simon. One long trail of 8K and one shorter version at 5K. Both require us to be trucked out to the starting point. That will be a miserable ride if the rain continues. Oh well, I’ll just suck it up and make the best of it I suppose.
I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow. Stay tuned!
I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
I’ll be heading out in a bit to Subic town for a meet-up with a group of Angeles City Hashers doing an outstation run today. You may recall I participated in the scouting mission for the trail last week and got my feet wet twelve times on creek crossings. I may choose a different path for myself this go-round. We’ll see how I feel about it when I get there.
In other news, I played darts again last night and threw better than my previous outing, although admittedly that’s not saying much. My partner and I were a little out of sync, but we played well enough to earn a spot in the championship round. Where we failed utterly and completely. So, the unlikely winning streak ends at four. We lost to two good players and there is no shame in finishing second. It did occur to me that wanting to win as badly as I did probably didn’t help my game. I tend to play my best when I don’t really give a shit if I win or lose. Go figure.
After darts, I visited Mango’s and enjoyed my weekly fix of pork chops. This week’s storm has moved on, but the high tides and rough waters will not soon be forgotten.
The bay regurgitated all that crap it’s been fed onto the beach.
I had a bowl of cereal this morning for breakfast. Remember how reading the back of the box while eating was a thing? I was reminded of that when I saw this:
Good stuff!
After I ate, it was dog walk time. There is a section of road here in the ‘hood with no traffic so I let the boys run free for a bit.
Buddy-boy always looks forward to being de-leashed.Lucky is a disobedient twat so I need to keep his handle on.I guess I’ve been adopted by Budai. She joins us every day for our walk. I give her some food or a treat when we get home. Most nights she sleeps on my front porch.I asked these chickens why they crossed the road and they gave me a look like they didn’t know what I was talking about.On my morning walk, I took note of the fact that our recent rains have reactivated this dormant waterfall.A quick up and back down.I took the stairway of tires to get down.And since one blogger I know documents the discarded gloves he sees on his walkabouts, I decided to showcase the masks amongst the litter.I’ll take that as a sign. What exactly did the Lord a ledgerly say?
Anyway, not a bad morning in these parts. Here’s hoping the afternoon goes well too. Either way, you can read about it here tomorrow!
The wins keep multiplying. Another first-place finish in last night’s Alley Cats tournament. This victory was all the more unlikely because I truly did play like shit, especially early on. We got knocked into the loser’s bracket in the first round and barely managed to avoid being first out of the tourney. Had some luck along the way and kept fighting and scratching our way into the championship finals. It came down to the last leg of a very tough match but we pulled it out of our ass somehow.
Congrats to my partner, Kevin. The best thing I can say about last night is we didn’t give up, even when things appeared hopeless.
So that makes four tourney wins in a row. Will I take the fifth tonight? Not going to answer that on grounds that it may incriminate me.
In other news, the weather has finally cleared up. That allowed me to take a slightly longer and more interesting walk this morning. I’m sure y’all have been jonesing for some outdoorsy pictures, so here you go:
Those of you who have been following Kevin Kim’s epic walk from Incheon to Busan know that he likes to include an occasional dead animal in his photo essays. So, I dedicate this frog to Kevin!What with all the rain and me playing darts I haven’t had the opportunity to share a new view of Easter mountain for quite a while now. Here you go.The rain is more than a memory though. Most of the back streets I was walking on were full of puddles like these.Others provided muddy reminders of our recent wet weather. A bit further up this alley was a babbling brook I had to cross. Too wide to jump over so wet shoes it was.The final climb taking me back to home sweet home.
It does seem that there is a hierarchy amongst my pets:
I do believe Buddy is signaling that he is indeed top dog.
And that’s all I’ve got for today.
I hope you’ll agree that this was a bloomin’ good post…
UPDATE: Well, damn. I didn’t even check today’s post title because it didn’t occur to me that I might have used such a silly pun previously. Turns out I did–way back in September. Then my cute pun was about our hike: Us four going forth on the fourth. Hey, it was funny in my head. Oh well.
There have been quite a few squalls around this past couple of days. Just when you think this storm track has finally moved on, another heavy downpour blows in and a few minutes later is gone. Until the next one arrives. Trying to decide when or if you can head outdoors is a crapshoot. I did carry my umbrella when I ventured out yesterday only to have it destroyed by the gusty wind. Talk about being tropically depressed!
Anyway, the weather is the weather. Nothing you can do about it but complain and now that I have done that, I’ll move on to something else. How about darts? Well, okay then!
I took the ill-fated (for my umbrella) stroll out to Baloy beach yesterday afternoon to participate in the tournament at Johan’s Dive Resort. That’s dive as in scuba dive, not that the place is a dump. it’s actually relatively new, and while not fancy, it is a clean and pleasant atmosphere. I kind of dreaded walking up Baloy road because I knew after all this rain the pothole-filled street would be flooded. And it was. I managed to keep my feet mostly dry by some creative maneuvering, until the umbrella fiasco. As I was trying to get the damn thing straightened out I stepped into a big puddle. Oh well.
It was the first time I’d participated in the Johan’s tourney. Their board setup isn’t ideal (people walking through to get to the restroom) and the lighting is barely adequate. It’s also an open-air type bar so the windy conditions made accurate throwing more of a challenge than normal. Which is not to make excuses, my game was off but that’s on me. I drew Vincent, a French guy from New Caledonia, as my partner. He threw somewhat better than I did but was also inconsistent. Luckily for us, when I was off, he was on and vice-versa. And that combination was good enough to prevail against all of our opponents in the tournament.
That makes three consecutive tourneys I’ve won. I don’t think I’ve done that before.Is there anything more fun than watching people throw darts? Besides reading about it here I mean.
Actually, Vincent wasn’t supposed to have even been here. He left a couple of days ago to travel back home. Apparently, there is only one flight a week to New Caledonia which has imposed a pretty severe lockdown on the small island. He had a seat reserved on that flight from Japan. When he got to the airport in Manila to make that connection in Tokyo, they wouldn’t let him board. Why? Because his COVID swab test was from the Red Cross in Olongapo and Philippine Air only accepts test results from designated facilities in Manila. He’s not sure now when or if he’ll make it back home. Good luck with that!
Well, there are worse places to be stuck than here in my little town I suppose. Even when it rains you can find somewhere to play darts. Which I might do AGAIN this afternoon. Hey, I’m on a roll!
When I was 13, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend with big tits.
When I was 16 I got a girlfriend with big tits, but there was no passion, so I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life. In college I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So I decided I needed a girl with stability.
When I was 25 I found a very stable girl but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement.
When I was 28 I found an exciting girl, but I couldn’t keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.
When I turned 30, I found a smart ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground, so I married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.
I am older and wiser now, and I am looking for a girl with big tits.
Bada bing! That’s an oldie, hope I haven’t used it here before.
So, there was a little break in the storm yesterday afternoon and I opened that window of opportunity and made my way to Alley Cats in time for the dart tournament. My partner, Nancy, and I played well enough to take home first place money. That’s back to back wins for me, but who’s counting? Little by little I’m getting my game back. Still nowhere near where I was in my prime, but not as bad as I recently have been either.
Well done, partner!
After darts, I braved the weather and took up my regular perch on the back patio of Mango’s.
The tide was high…The sky and sea were angry…This ship was seeking safe harbor out in the bay,
Then the wind kicked up a notch and blew me back inside. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. It was windy inside the regular bar too. It felt kinda like sticking your head out of the car window at 30 m.p.h. or so. One beer in those conditions was quite enough so I made my way home.
I’ve mentioned before that what I don’t like about these early afternoon dart tourneys is that they throw me off my rhythm. Starting my beer regimen at 2:00 versus 5:00 makes a world of difference. I was knackered when I got home and after a great strawberry-banana smoothie, I hit the hay before 8:00. And then I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. Came downstairs and noticed Buddy was sleeping just fine:
It’s a dog’s life.
I went back to bed around 3:00 and I’ll be damned if that fucker Darius Rucker wasn’t singing “Wagon Wheel” yet again inside my head. It pissed me off that despite seriously trying to control my own brain I couldn’t turn it off. I finally had to go back downstairs for my headphones and play other music to drown him out. Weird shit.
It rained most of the night but this morning there was a respite right around dog walking time.
So naturally, I took advantage of the opportunity to have a dry walk.I was happy to see that the half a tree beside my house had withstood the storm, although it did shed another branch or two.
Back home and ready for breakfast. Well, a couple of days ago I had another order of American ribeye steaks delivered. They had been marinating since yesterday so I fired up the grill, waited a few minutes, then slapped on the meat.
As you can see, I still have not mastered the searing process. I guess I need a bit more patience to allow the grill to get flaming hot.It still looks good on the plate though, right?Tender and tasty too. How’s that for medium-rare?
After breakfast, I waited out another rain shower then hit the street. A commenter on yesterday’s post wondered why they didn’t use underground utility lines here to lessen service interruptions. So, I set about to document why:
This drainage project has been going on for about a year now and is still not complete. One of the problems is that the utility company has been unresponsive to requests to relocate the power poles.Now, bear in mind that this is the National fucking highway running through the business district in town.They have certainly made a mess of things and frankly, I see no end in sight for the incompetence driven delays.And oh yeah, they leave landmines like this here and there as well. This one is on a major pedestrian walkway. It’s a good thing I’m never walking the streets in the dark when I’m drunk. Oh, wait a minute…
Anyway, I’m not one to complain. Much. In a country with a well-defined rainy season and persistent flooding issues, the fact that they haven’t mastered a simple drainage system tells you all you need to know I suppose.
Alright then, I’m going to play darts again this afternoon. Hey, I’m on a roll. The tourney is at Johan’s on Baloy Beach so I can get my afternoon steps in as well. I’d call that a win-win. Well, hopefully, a win-win-win.
Whether you like it or not. Actually, as far as rainy seasons go this one has been quite mild, certainly less rain than I’ve experienced since the move. One difference this year has been a lack of tropical storms/typhoons passing through. In fact, I do believe today is the first time we’ve felt the full impact of being in the direct path of a storm. The difference is not so much the rainfall, we’ve had our rainy days, but rather the winds that accompany a tropical depression.
As seen while walking my dogs on the next street over from my house. And yes, it took out some power lines.
Speaking of electrical power, mine has gone out three times today so far. The first time was at 0300 when I was trying to get back to sleep after a pee call. I remember thinking “oh, shit. With this wind and rain, I’ll be lucky to see power again before noon.” I was actively contemplating which hotel would be a good place to escape to should the outage last longer than that. And then like magic, power was restored after only a 40-minute outage. It went out again around 5 a.m. while I was surfing the ‘net but this time it was only dark for about ten minutes. Just before I went out for the dog walk we lost electricity yet again. When I saw the downed tree above I figured I was screwed this time. I was pleasantly surprised to see the fan blades twirling when I got back home though.
I guess it says a lot about the reliability of utilities here when you talk in terms of only three outages. But I am duly impressed they’ve avoided the all-day blackouts I’ve experienced in the past. Coincidentally or not, the power company workers were here in Alta Vista yesterday trimming trees that might entangle the powerlines during a storm like the one we are currently experiencing.
This is what they did to the tree next to my driveway. I understand the necessity, but it’s a shame really to destroy such a beautiful tree. With all that weight now on one side, I don’t expect the roots will be able to withstand the combined effects of wind and gravity for long.
Here’s the stormy morning view from my upstairs balcony:
I kept thinking something is missing. Then I realized that the power guys had cut down one of my favorite pine trees. Hell, it wasn’t even that close to the wires.The view from a few days ago. I’m talking about that tall skinny tree to the left.Gone but not forgotten.
Life goes on. And with life comes hunger. This morning I assuaged those pangs with these:
Blueberry muffins. Yum!
Yesterday was grocery shopping day and I was disappointed, but not surprised, that Royal STILL doesn’t have any frozen fruits.
Luckily I was able to score a kilogram of fresh berries from Baguio via Iline. I sense some strawberry smoothies in my future!
Since I’ve decided to call Tuesday my day off from walking, I’m going to incorporate darts into my afternoon routine. That meant playing in the Alley Cats tourney yesterday.
My partner Beth and I were both inconsistent, but overall I threw better than I have been. I’ll call that progress and keep working at it. Still, we managed to scratch and claw our way from the loser’s bracket and take the tourney championship.
Speaking of darts, I’ve started putting together a Facebook group for the singles league I hope to start here soon.
The cover photo I’m using until I can find or take a better one. Oh, and I’m calling it the Barretto Singles League. Easily abbreviated to the B.S. League. I like it!
Since the rain appears to have voided my afternoon walk, I might just play in today’s tournament as well. Getting there should be interesting. An umbrella is pretty much useless when the wind is blowing the rain sideways. We’ll see.
And finally, some sad news. Brownie, the neighborhood dog I mentioned in a recent post, is no more. I’d been bringing him some scraps but then didn’t see him again for a few days. So I asked one of the maintenance guys if he’d seen Brownie around and he said he was dead and buried.
Rest in Peace, Brownie. At least your suffering is over now. You were a good boy!
You were the sunshine, baby, whenever you smiled But I call you Stormy today All of a sudden that ole rain’s fallin’ down And my world is cloudy and gray You’ve gone away Oh Stormy, oh Stormy Bring back that sunny day
UPDATE: Power is out AGAIN. Been well over an hour now. That meant I had to take a cold shower. Damn, I hate that. The rain is really coming on strong now too. Not sure I’ll venture out for darts after all.
I’d say we pulled off a damn fine Hash trail yesterday. Came in at around 6K with two hills, or one hill and a street walk for the lazy ones. Got good feedback from most of the twenty or so people who did the hike. That’s always gratifying.
As one of the Hares, I was out marking the trail in the morning prior to the noon start. It took a little over two hours. I then went home and showered up and headed over to the On-Home at Queen Victoria a little after 1:00. I was surprised to see Leech My Nuggets already there. So, he did the entire trail in about an hour and fifteen minutes. He’s fast, but that’s still impressive. The next arrivals were at least twenty minutes behind him. As usual, I’ll recount the day through photos (some mine, some Scott’s, and some from Hashers on the trail):
My fellow Hares, Pubic Head, with the chalk and……Blow My Pipe with the powder. I carried the shredded paper.Our trail in all its glory…Hashers gathering for the start…And then it is On-On!Where the going up starts.A quick time-out while I deliver some cookies…A harder climb than it appears.I made it!Blow My Pipe doesn’t seem impressed.One view from the top……and another.Poser…On the Great Wall of Barretto.A Kodak moment…There were bridges to cross…And cows to avoid.Oops! Who let the cows out? One of the Hashers said she got chased.Are we there yet?Movin’ on out…The lonely lives of the Hares…You first!A Filipina in the woods…Hey, there she is again!Coming down…Never give up!A sure sign of a well-marked trail…I wonder if there are bears in these woods?Back at the On-Home, the Hares sat on ice along with the Hashers who admitted liking the trail. Thanks, guys!I sat on the ice again later when I received recognition for 50 consecutive Hash runs. Of course, with the travel bans there ain’t no other place I can go, but still…Once the Hash circle was completed, I crossed the street to my hangout at Mango’s. Had me some roast chicken and coleslaw for dinner.The bay was calm…The beach was empty…And the sun was going down. So I headed my drunk self home……and arrived in time to see the sunset. I went to bed shortly thereafter. It was a long day.And that’s it for this Hash post.
Good morning and welcome to another Hash Monday. Today is especially challenging because as one of the Hares I need to help mark the trail this morning. We are meeting up at 0900. The Hash starts at noon. Not much margin for error, although our trail is not all that long or overly challenging. One goodly climb at the beginning though.
So, to catch you up on my so-called life there’s this:
I actually played in a dart tourney outside of Alley Cats for the first time in a long time. The tournament was held at the Lagoon Resort out on Baloy beach road. The downside was it started at 2:00 p.m. which is way too early for my liking. But I made the best of it by incorporating the getting there and back into my afternoon walk, so I still got my steps in. Another downside was being first-out (finishing last), but that’s on me. In a perverse way, playing poorly is going to motivate me to play more often. In fact, I’m putting out some tentative feelers to start up a singles league here like the one I founded in Seoul. I’m also going to try and participate in a Tuesday and Thursday tourney. The more you throw the better you get. Or so I hope.
Had a few beers during the tourney, including a couple of freebies from the manager of Lagoon as a welcome back. Then I headed into Barretto in search of “mama” and found her at one of her usual spots. Right across the street from Cheap Charlies so of course I went upstairs for a cold one. Then I decided I was hungry so I went around the corner to Sit-n-Bull and had the taco special:
I was surprised at how spicy the chicken insides were. Still good though.
After my meal, I headed over to Mango’s for a nightcap. Or should I say duskcap?
I never get tired of watching the sun go down.
Now, I normally don’t go out for my daily dose of beer until 5:00 p.m. With darts yesterday, I started at 2:00. So you can probably imagine what condition my condition was in come quitting time. Suffice to say I was in bed before eight. And up at four this morning. And for whatever reason, the power has gone out. Ah, life in the third world. Glad I have my phone for an internet hotspot.
Speaking of the internet, here are some things I saw there that I found worthy enough to share with you:
Damn, that is so sexist! Why did I find it so funny?Eat shit, Zuckerfucker!Only the willfully ignorant don’t know that. Apparently.
Next Sunday a group of Angeles City Hashers is coming to town for an “outstation” run. So the Friday walking group was tasked with scouting a trail for our out of town brethren to enjoy. And that’s just what we did. If pressed, I’d characterize the hike as wet and wild. Not all that long (5K or so) and the one climb wasn’t too harsh. But by my count, we did twelve stream crossings all of which required wading. The rocks and boulders were moss-covered and precariously slippery. The trail is on the far edge of Subic town and I was surprised by how different the vegetation was compared to what we are accustomed to in Barretto. Didn’t see a strand of thatch grass, but the vines were growing up and over some tall ass trees creating a jungle-like feel. Here are some photos from the adventure:
The path we took…almost all out in the wild except for a quick pass-through of a native village near the end.The stream. I don’t know if it was the same one we kept crossing or if there were several different streams. Although once your shoes are already wet, does it really matter?The first crossing also included scrambling up these slippery boulders. As Scott’s socks attest, it was really a bitch.Jim waited up top shouting out words of encouragement. Or derision. One of those.Steve and I made it up!Water, water everywhere…Enjoying some flat and dry ground.Simon and Troy seemed to spend quite a bit of time waiting around. I wonder why?Let’s get our feet wet. Again.Nice to see some clean water for a change.Some of those vine-covered trees I mentioned.It felt like walking through a jungle in places.Don’t want those feet to get dry now, do we?Time to re-tie those shoes.More water.Show us the way, Jim.A rock legend.We came across some native Aeta children doing their laundry creekside. Luckily, someone brought along cookies to share.Hurry up, damn it!You can’t rush the old guys though…Entering the Aeta village. Yes, this house was occupied.I thought this place had some style about it though.Well, there are worse places to be. I know, I’ve seen them.Seriously though, living in such beautiful countryside has its own rewards.This place was vacant. I don’t expect I’ll be moving there anytime soon though.A towering Virgin Mother keeping an eye on the village. Hail Mary, full of grace!Let’s go home.
Here’s hoping the guys from Angeles like our trail. And wet feet.
Pubic Head, Blow My Pipe, and I are the Hares for tomorrow. We are just going to do the same trail we hiked a couple of Wednesdays ago. It’s been a while for most of the others so it should feel almost new.
Stick around!
I believe home is a place that I will get someday If someone just will hold me I believe hope is a thing that I will find some time If someone just will show me I believe love is given, going, gone Come back to kiss me on the forehead And I believe moss on a rolling stone Is better than the rust that’s growing on my home
I’ve got a friend in Cambodia who is making a difference. A big and lasting difference.
He is acquainted with a family who was living in this shack……so he provided the funds to have this house built for them.
That’s quite the legacy. Now granted, I don’t know anything about his financial resources other than to say he worked for me on and off for the past twenty-five years or so. Which is to say, he didn’t get rich working for Uncle Sam. He’s no Biden after all! So, his generosity is all the more impressive. Well done, sir!
Now I on the other hand like to pretend to be a caring and giving person. Sure, I’ll help someone I know out of a tight spot occasionally. Throwing out the equivalent of fifty or a hundred dollars now and then isn’t going to change the world though. Hell, it doesn’t even make a lasting difference for the people I’ve helped. It makes me feel good to know that I fed “mama” for the night or that Ester won’t be getting evicted (this month anyway). But that’s chump change really and I’ve acknowledged before that what I’m really doing is selfishly buying some peace of mind for myself.
But it gets worse, or should I say that I do. Lately, I’ve been losing patience with some of those continually begging for my assistance. One of the downsides of my beachside stool at Mango’s is that there is nothing separating me from the souvenir vendors who ply the sandy shore searching for suckers tourists. I try to be friendly and polite with them but I’ve made it clear I have no interest in the trinkets they are selling. I’ve helped one guy out a couple of times when he said he needed milk money for his daughter because after walking all day he had found no customers. I’ve given him advice along the lines of the tourists won’t be back anytime soon and that you are a healthy young man and need to pursue another line of work. Hell, he could ask the hotels if he could rake the littered beaches for them. He nods and says he understands, but every day he is back. So, I gave him another 100 pesos ($2.) last night but told him not to expect me to continue doing so. It is not my responsibility to feed your daughter. He smiled and took the money then went on his way. I’m sure I’ll be seeing him again.
Not long afterward yet another vendor comes and obstructs my view. I didn’t recognize this one but he didn’t want to take no for an answer. I finally had to get up and move to the inside bar to avoid a confrontation I knew I’d regret. I told the bartender they should really not allow the vendors to harass customers but by then the guy had moved on. When I came back to my regular stool I saw him a bit down the beach and he waved and smirked at me. I raised my hand to give him the finger but then lowered it again. He ain’t worth it.
So, what is my problem really? What’s a dollar or two to me when I’m dealing with people who from all appearances have nothing? The best I can come up with is I don’t like being played for a sucker. I gave the one guy some pesos, he tells his friends, and the next thing I know they are swarming around the fool who gives away money for nothing. I don’t want to be that guy. When I give it is in a time or place of my own choosing. I don’t want to be shamed or guilted into giving money to people whose true needs I can’t be sure of. Mostly, I want to be left alone to enjoy my beer, and once you have outed yourself as an easy mark that ain’t gonna happen.
But wait, there’s more. Not long after the vendor incident, I got a message from Nikole, the woman he does my weekly massage. She told me her daughter was sick and she needed a 1000 peso advance to buy medicine. I responded that I was sorry to hear that but I had no way to get her the money. She said I’m in Barretto now. So I told her I’d meet her out in front of Mango’s. This was the third time she has asked for money from me, both of the previous requests I declined. Harder to say no when a sick child is involved (if that was truly the case). Still, it pissed me off. So, when she walked up I handed her the money and told her, this is not an advance, it is your severance pay. She asked me what I meant and I told her it means you are fired. Then I turned and walked away. She messaged me later that she was very hurt to be fired and that she was crying. That working for me was a big help for her kids. I haven’t answered her messages.
I do feel shitty about it though. I overpay for the massage as it is, I don’t want to be hounded for money when I’m out trying to enjoy myself. Now, my friend Ester had hinted around that she would like to add meat products to the vegetable stand she opened but didn’t have the money to do so. I ignored her hint. She also said she is hoping to be called back to work at Alley Cats soon. Well, last night I found out that Alley Cats has hired a new girl which is reprehensible when you have at least three women thinking they will be getting their job back “soon”. That pisses me off and makes me not want to patronize the bar again. I’m planning to go for darts today but that may be my last hurrah there. I’m also toying with the idea of starting up some darts tourneys in a different bar. Just out of spite. We’ll see.
Anyway, I’ve been feeling guilty today so I sent Ester a message asking how much she needs to add the meat business to her stand. Yeah, I need to buy myself another dose of peace of mind.
My dinner at Mango’s last night. A roast chicken salad and a bowl of seafood chowder. That and my beers cost more than the money I gave to Nikole and the vendor. Pretty strong evidence that I am indeed a selfish bastard.The view was free though.
I know I promised photos from yesterday’s hike but I think this post has gone on long enough. I’ll share them with you tomorrow though. I promise.
She calls out to the man on the street “Sir, can you help me? It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep Is there somewhere you can tell me?” He walks on, doesn’t look back He pretends he can’t hear her Starts to whistle as he crosses the street Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh, think twice, ’cause it’s another day for you and me in paradise Oh, think twice, ’cause it’s another day for you You and me in paradise Think about it
I’m feeling very positive in fact. This study seems to confirm something I’d heard several months ago–type O blood is less susceptible to the COVID virus than other types. I guess Jesus really does love me!
Speaking of good, so was my dinner last night:
I enjoyed my weekly fix of grilled pork chops at Mango’s. As tasty as they look!
Did a beach walk on Baloy yesterday and observed some interesting flotsam (or maybe it was jetsam):
Wilson, is that you? Where’s Tom Hanks?Oh shit! I was afraid to look under the hat to verify identity though…
On a more serious note, things seem to be going south in Thailand. I was there for my first and only visit four years ago this week. At the time I couldn’t shake the police state vibe. It doesn’t seem like things have gotten better since then. Despite really enjoying Bangkok, I knew back then that Thailand was not a country I could live in comfortably. Hell, I don’t even want to go back for a visit. Give me Cambodia, Vietnam, or Bali as alternatives should I need to relocate. I still need to check out Malaysia and Laos as well.
My neighbor is from Switzerland and he erected this flagpole on top of the non-working water fountain in our cluster of houses. He did a good job and I thought it was a nice touch to include the American flag. One of the two remaining houses is being rented by a Dutch guy next month. Not sure what he will do then.
Anyway, I’m going to keep it short today. I’ve got lots of photos from this morning’s hike to share tomorrow. In the meantime, a word of warning to all you grammar Nazi’s out there: STOP BEING RACIST!
The ribs came out just the way I like them. Tender, but not falling off the bone like my last few batches. Could pull the meat off with a fork though. Cooked them a little longer than usual, about 10 hours on low in the crockpot. Luckily they didn’t lose any flavor from overcooking and were certainly much tastier than my last batch that came out tough after 8 hours. I brazed them in the oven to bake on a coat of barbeque sauce for about 30 minutes which provided the final touch of flavor. Definitely my best batch in a very long time. I attribute a lot of the success to some quality meat. I got these ribs from the same lady who sold me the ribeyes. These weren’t tiny like the ones I had at Sit-n-Bull the other day but weren’t real thick like the batch I bought at the grocery store last time either. Anyway, I was very happy with the result.
My corn muffins on the other hand were a big disappointment. I sprayed the muffin pan with a good coat of oil, or at least I thought I did. But the damn things stuck to the bottom of the pan anyway.
They also came out drier than I like and not very flavorful. I’ll need to change something up for the next batch. The cauliflower was good though.
Now that dinner is out of the way, here’s some random-ass shit I found on the internets:
This made me laugh out loud, at least in part because I can relate.Well, we do have an election coming up so I guess one on politics is appropriate.I mentioned the SBMA attributing the death of an expat to COVID when in fact he suffered a fatal heart attack and was DOA at the hospital. I guess we need to look at the bright side.Yeah, but some of the hoops we are being required to jump through because of COVID are just as stupid.Man, I hate it when that happens!Does he mean that tongue in cheek? That’s why they say “age is just a number”. Sorta like your daily withdrawal limit.
What? Y’all are still here? Well, let me entertain you with some shots from yesterday’s hike. (credit to Scott for a lot of the photos)
We took a Jeepney ride out to the other side of Subic town and then did a nice and mostly flat 8K walk back to my place in Alta Vista.Our meet-up spot was where the road from my place meets the National highway. Across the street is Baloy Beach road.The Jeepney dropped us off at WalterMart and we began our hike from there. And yeah, I’m working on that beer belly. Perhaps my intent was misunderstood by the diet Gods though. Or so it appears.And we are off!Something must have gone haywire…A Filipino-style housing development…Smallish and simple but comes with the pride of affordable homeownership.We need to get off this fucking road before we get run over by a trike!Making the most of what you have on the riverside.I was really impressed with this guy using the highway shoulder as farmland. He was impressed that Scott knew most of the names of the plants he was growing.Leaving the Govic bypass behind us…My fellow travelers: Jim, Ed, and Scott.Harvest time…If you build it they will come…That’s a lot of bamboo!Wait a minute, is that who I think it is?Why, yes. Yes, it is! The ever-present and omniscient Easter mountain. From the rarely seen backside. The ass of the mountain?It is more fun to be in bars than behind them!Luckily, I was able to post Bond! *ahem*Talk about the road less traveled…this one isn’t even done yet!But it led us to the river where the carabao were having a refreshing swim.A bridge we opted not to cross…Pig heads on a table. Um, no thanks. Not today.Kids hanging out at a roadside stand.Kids in high chairs…Kids with cookies.A friendly sari-sari store operator.A trike driver wearing a Hash shirt. He had no recollection as to where he acquired it though. Flowers on vines.Mama trying to get her ducks in a row.The long road home.And so concludes today’s post. Hope you enjoyed it.
Not that that has ever stopped me from saying it anyway. Just more of the same around here. Beers at Cheap Charlies and Mango’s last night. A nice hike with the Wednesday group this morning, but I’ll post about that tomorrow. So, what does that leave?
Short ribs in the crockpot and cornbread muffins in the oven. I’ll let you know how that turns out when they’re done.
Budai joined in the dog walk again, hobbling along on three legs. She’s a trooper. Gave her a meal as a reward.Facebook memories felt compelled to remind me of this moment from 7 years ago. Geez, I was a piece of work back then, wasn’t I? And then four years ago I was winning a dart tournament in Bangkok. What a world!
And that leaves Alicia. Not much to say about her either. She started messaging me last night. I actually don’t recall adding her but we have some mutual friends so I guess I did. Anyway, she says she is 22 with no kids and is looking for a serious relationship. I told her I was 65 with grown kids and a granddaughter just a few years younger than her. She told me she likes guys my age. That whole age is just a number thing. Actually, I had no real interest but was bored sitting at the bar alone so I did the chat thing.
I guess I should be thrilled that a young woman would want to be my partner. I just don’t see it happening though. I mean, what are we going to talk about?
I’m going to leave it there for now.
Oh, and for some unfathomable reason, WordPress is throwing all the comments here into moderation, including mine. I really enjoy the feedback from my readers, so don’t worry–nothing’s changed. I check the queue regularly and will continue to approve any and all comments. Say your piece without restraint!
I can’t say that this galaxy of itchiness that suddenly appeared on my back is Hash related. I do suspect it might have something to do with my daily propensity to be bathed in sweat though.
I woke up this morning again and that’s always a good thing. Especially when you are treated to a view like this one:
Maybe it’s good that I’m not a sailor, although so far at least the weather has been fine. Especially compared to yesterday.
The morning wasn’t perfect though as I noticed Budai had somehow injured her paw.
I hope it gets better soon. She did hobble along with me as I did the dog walk routine though.
So, this is my lazy Tuesday. I forego trying to get my steps in and just focus on getting my grocery shopping chore achieved and then taking it easy. Turns out I’m pretty good at that last part.
Royal didn’t fail to disappoint, still being out of some items I need and want. At least they have shredded cheese again. Provided you are willing to pay almost ten bucks for a bag that would cost me $3. back home.
With my shopping done I came home and realized it was time for a nap. I was gonna say no rest for the weary but I rested just fine thank you. I did wake up hungry though, so I ventured out to Sit-n-Bull to see what they might have on offer for the daily specials menu. Some good choices today and after some dithering, I selected the Salisbury steak.
It came with two sides as well. Of course, coleslaw was going to be one of them. The baked beans are always tasty too. A good hearty lunch!
Alright, that takes care of my comings and goings today. Here’s the report from yesterday’s Hash.
An okay, mostly flat 8k trail. Well, it was totally flat for me. About 30 minutes into the hike it started pouring down rain. Stopped raining after about 45 minutes, but the damage was done. If being soaked to the bone counts as damage. Anyway, wasn’t going to do the climb at the end in the muck and the mud.
Actually, it had rained most of the morning as well. Stopped a couple of hours before we started. That made for a lot of puddles and creeks flowing higher than normal. I knew before I left I’d have wet shoes before I was finished.
The starting point was in San Isidro which from Barretto is most easily accessed via Alta Vista. In fact, my house is technically within the jurisdiction of San Isidro. So, a group of us met up at my place to make our way to the start together.
Or as I jokingly refer to us as the Alta Vista Hash House Harriers.And we are On-On!A rare shot of Pubic Head actually LEADING the pack…See what I mean about the creeks?Luckily we found a bridge. And luckily it held up under the weight of us foreigners which appeared to exceed the design standards. One of the residents insisted we go one at a time and got no argument from us.We met the Hare’s (Banana Cock Bender and Pecker Checker) at the designated start point 15 minutes early only to discover everyone else had already left.Alright then let’s get started too!I walk this area pretty frequently so I was surprised to see that someone has opened a Korean market……right up this road. Um, not today, thanks!On we plodded. Or splashed.A couple of cookie deliveries along the way.Here you go, kiddos…Then we had the downpour so the phones got put away in the plastic bags we bring for such a contingency. Once the rain stopped photography resumed as normal. And yes, that’s the road and we did indeed need to wade through that muck.Water always finds a way, especially when aided by her old friend gravity.
So, we went around the mountain rather than over via the highway arriving at our On-Home venue, Hunter’s Jo Inn, safely.
Our waitresses and food selections. I’ll have the one on the right, please. Sorry sir, sold out. Damn it!The bay view……and the inside view.During our Hash circle, we deflowered another virgin Hasher.And that’s pretty much it for this Hash post.
Next week I’ll be the Hare along with Pubic Head and Blow My Pipe. We’ve already got a general idea about the path we will lay. Of course, it will once again be the best trail ever!
A good 24 hours straight of water falling from the sky. Last night I got an Orange rain alert on my phone. Looked outside but the rain was still the same color it always is. *ahem*
Seriously though, it was bad enough that I voluntarily stayed home for the first time in I don’t know how long (excluding those lockdown days when I had no choice). Luckily, I had a good stock of beer here at the house. And my helper Gina invited some of her girlfriends over so I didn’t even have to drink alone. I’ll tell you one thing, Filipinas know how to party!
They even coerced me into singing some karaoke…
It has stopped raining now. I was able to walk the dogs and then take a short walk for me. Hopefully, the rain won’t be back until after the Hash this afternoon. We are starting at 2:00 p.m. today which I guess is okay since we have the later (9:00 p.m.) curfew now.
Facebook memories reminded me of a long-ago post from my daughter claiming she thinks it’s cool that her dad looks like Tom Selleck. This was her evidence:
I used to get that a lot. But honestly, Selleck ain’t nearly as handsome as I am. Or was.
Facebook also reminded me that four years ago I was enjoying myself in Pattaya, Thailand.
Turns out the name of the bar was intended to be ironic……because all the of the girls there had something extra.
In other news, we recently had another expat pass away. I didn’t know Steve at all but he was very active in the community and engaged in some legendary charitable activities. He owned a business on SBMA (the old Navy base) and also resided there. The other morning Steve was rushed to the hospital and the doctors were unable to revive him. The official cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest. He had previously suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago. Here’s where it gets interesting–a day or two later a post-mortem COVID test was performed and guess what:
Yeah, what a bunch of bullshit. Steve’s wife said he had no COVID symptoms prior to the heart attack. She nor any of his other associates have tested positive for the virus.
What’s the motivation for such a blatantly false claim? Well, it probably has something to do with money. Or power Or both. This whole COVID charade is wearing thin so I guess those folks in the know want to get as much out of it as possible before the people wise up.
This is not to say there haven’t been a fair number of COVID related fatalities. On my morning walk today, I took some time to document them:
What used to be Johansson’s. This is especially sad because it was our traditional Hash meet-up and start location.Winking Pussycat. I was only in there a couple of times. Not my cup of tea, but very nicely decorated.I probably only ate at this little hole-in-the-wall Korean resto once or twice. Honestly, I didn’t think the food was all that good.The Caison Bar. It had outdoor seating upstairs and friendly gals. Not a regular stop for me, but not bad for a change.The Hunk Zone. I’m not sure what exactly a “male hub” is all about. I know it featured men as performers. Whether that was for the gay community or females or both I don’t know. Never ventured inside.Even though I did not frequent this place regularly, I’ll miss T-Rose.I was just starting to become a regular here in the third-floor open-air bar when the big shutdown occurred back in March. They briefly re-opened but that didn’t last.I used to get the occasional foot spa/pedicure here in those pre-pandemic days of old.Never stayed here but like many hotels, without tourists, there are not enough customers to stay afloat.That space above the 7/11 used to be a videoke joint. Only sang there once though. This was a small bar popular with some expats. I went once and met a girl who wanted to give me a blowjob. I finished my beer and left instead.Another small hotel that has not found a way to stay viable with the travel ban in place.Central Park Reef. The newest and biggest hotel in town. Also the nicest. Very classy. I really liked the rooftop dining area and infinity pool. Rumor has it the owners have filed for bankruptcy. I expect it will reopen someday. Too nice a place to go to waste. Although if some enterprising rich person turned it into condos that would work too I think.The Maze has not gone unaffected. Man Cave, Rum Jungle, and Lollipop bars are gone now. Wet Spot is the last of the originals remaining. The Green Room is a new sports bar where Rum Jungle was and just this weekend Voodoo opened where Lollipop once was.By the Sea is another very nice hotel with not enough paying customers to justify reopening.Rico’s was very popular with the locals. A Filipino style buffet place with cheap prices. Sadly, buffets seem to be inconsistent with COVID.Where Voodoo used to live.And finally, Midnight Rambler. A Barretto mainstay since the 1980s. The space would make an amazing beach bar. I’m sometimes tempted to drop my life savings into turning this place into a bar catering to the expat community. But I’m not that stupid.
So, there you have proof that COVID is indeed a killer. And that’s just along a 2K stretch of highway in Barretto. Things are getting better but damn, the leaders here need to open this country back up before more business fail.
Yeah, a lot of that head up the ass thing going on in this part of the world too.
My Saturday evening didn’t turn out quite the way I expected. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and change things up. It was still as good a night out as it gets for me these days. At least I enjoyed myself.
So, I had every intention of playing darts in the Alley Cat tournament. I arrived right around 2:00 p.m. to get some practice time in before the three o’clock start. Only a couple of other guys in the bar when I got there so I set up camp at my regular table. One of the gals was celebrating a birthday so I had brought along some freshly baked brownies and a Korean-style white envelope gift for her. Shortly thereafter the other girls arrived bringing in trays of food for the traditional birthday feast. It seemed like a fine evening was in store. And then things started going wrong.
They were out of my preferred beer, San Mig Zero. Then, while I was at the dartboards getting some throws in, a guy showed up that I don’t particularly like. He doesn’t usually throw darts (or didn’t before I went on hiatus) but he had brought his arrows. He had another guy with him I hadn’t seen before. And they both plopped down at “my” table. Okay, I don’t own the table but I was there first. And yes, it seats four and it wouldn’t be unusual for some others to join me, although they would usually ask first. In the old days, they bargirls would take care of me and say, sorry why don’t you sit here instead. Not this time though. I guess I lost my regular status and the benefits that come from that. So, I went back to my seat and figured I’d make the best of it. Me and “the guy” didn’t even exchange pleasantries.
Okay, the bad blood I have towards him happened a year or so ago. Same type situation, he arrived late and there was limited seating left open. He asked if could join me and I said sure. So he sits down and after a few minutes, he starts rudely complaining about my vaping. To be clear, vaping is allowed in Alley Cats (and most other bars) and I’ve been vaping there since day one. Hell, I was vaping when the asshole asked to sit with me. Then he expects me to stop? Fuck him. And so here I am again in that situation. Yeah, I took a few puffs but the vibe was decidedly uncomfortable.
And then a third friend of this guy arrives and takes the last remaining seat at my table. Okay, I had been expecting a friend to join me later but I guess these days it is first come, first served. And I sat there and looked around. Alley Cats is a very small venue (picture a two-car garage). My table is full of people I either don’t know or don’t like. The bar is also filling up. I’m thinking if there was ever going to be a COVID breakout, this situation is the perfect breeding ground. The more I sat there feeling out of sorts the more I realized it was unlikely to be the fun time I originally anticipated. So, I decided fuck this. Gave the birthday girl her brownies and envelope, texted my friend that I was leaving, paid my tab, and hit the street.
Now what? Well, it just so happens that yesterday was the grand re-opening of a famous old bar, Voodoo. It’s been moved into the space formerly occupied by Lollipop in Dave Fisher’s Maze of bars. I figured I’d give it a look-see, even though it hadn’t been one of my favorite venues in the past.
It still isn’t. It remains a girly bar but with the COVID social distancing requirements, there are no dancers. Instead, the gals sit at tables on the stage. My waitress asked me if I saw anyone I’d like to invite down to join me for a drink. I didn’t. It was just me and a couple of other customers but I guess these past few months have changed me somehow–I still felt claustrophobic. Sitting in a windowless room looking at women who don’t particularly appeal to me just ain’t my idea of fun nowadays. Give me the fresh air and mountain/bay views instead. That’s just the way I roll. Two beers (at 110 pesos each, more than twice the price of Cheap Charlies) and I was out of there and bound for, you guessed it, Cheap Charlies.
Felt better about things immediately. Greeted by name and offered a Zero before I could even ask. Took my usual seat overlooking the highway (with the mountains as a nice backdrop) and proceeded to enjoy myself. The peanut vendor came by and I bought eight small bags of nuts for 100 pesos to give to the gals. My crush Heidi came over to say hello and I offered her a drink. She accepted and joined me on the next stool. Lovely was my waitress again so of course, I bought her a lady drink too. Then I noticed the bartender with a “what about me?” look on her face, so I let her join the party as well.
As I chatted with my company I noticed a guy carrying two big baskets go into the bar across the street. He came right back out which told me the bar was devoid of customers. When he crossed the highway I figured he was coming my way. He was. I had heard of this guy actually–the chocolate man. He’s from Belgium and makes his own candy. Apparently, he is a fixture in the Angeles City bars, but since most of them are now closed he spends a lot more time in Barretto. This was the first time I had ever actually seen what he was selling. He had regular chocolates and others infused with alcohol. Odd as it may seem, I’ve never liked mixing booze with sweets. Always hated rum cake for example. So, I stuck with the kinds I like–a sampler of milk and dark, with nuts and plain. He had a deal going where you buy one large and get one free. So, I purchased two large for 1000 pesos ($20.) and had plenty of chocolate to satisfy the sweet cravings of all the bargirls present.
It was some of the best tasting chocolate I’ve enjoyed. And I’m a big fan of Whitman’s Samplers, so I oughta know!
I wound up buying the gals I was treating three lady drinks each. Now, it is usually not my style to play the big spender in the bars. That’s what tourists are for! But I was having fun, there weren’t many customers, it was Saturday night (well, evening) so why not splurge a little? I know the girls appreciated the commissions they earned. I also gave them an individual 50 peso tip (placed in the cleavage so they didn’t have to share). My bar tab was a whopping 2000 pesos ($40). Yeah, it’s cheap to be generous in the Philippines!
Oh, and this is the bar cat at Cheap Charlies. He looked dead to me and didn’t flinch at all when I approached. Cracked me up.
I wasn’t quite done yet though. I still hadn’t found “mama”, the homeless woman I try to give supper money to every day. As I walked up the highway checking her usual hangouts I came upon the Palm Tree Resort and felt the urge for a nightcap. In some ways, I enjoy this bar more than Mango’s next door. Being on the second floor enhances the views and keeps the souvenir vendors a safe distance away. The bar itself was actually pretty crowded, something I hadn’t seen there before. Some type of rugby match on TV might have brought them in, but still good to see folks out again. I enjoyed the back deck and bay views as I downed two beers.
That was pretty much my limit for the night, so back down to the highway and my quest for mama. In due course, I spotted her familiar umbrella, handed her the customary 100 pesos, then splurged on a trike ride back to my house. I fixed myself a dessert of a brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup on top. Come to think of it, I must have forgotten to have dinner last night. Oh well.
Skies were cloudy this morning but that just provided a little change to the normal scenic perspective.
Are you threatening me?It’s a shitty creek without a paddle in sight.
And then I stopped for a refreshing RC Cola.
Well, s selfie in front of an RC advertisement anyway. How about them apples, Kevin Kim?
The rain held off until I was just a couple of blocks from home. And it’s been raining ever since. That didn’t stop Nikole from coming over to provide my weekly massage. She’s good at her work, I’ll grant her that.
And that’s the way things are in these here parts. At least for me.
