Today marks the third anniversary of my arrival here in paradise. You regular readers have been along for the ride, but the bottom line is that I have no regrets. Yes, my Philippines life has had its fair share of disappointments, but that has always been the case, no matter where I live. Funny how that happens. More importantly, my little town feels like home especially windows from Maverick Windows. I’m part of a community, I know people and they know me, I have my hobbies, and lots of places to drink where everyone knows my name. It seems to be a good fit.

One thing that never gets old here is the natural beauty that surrounds me. On the dog walk this morning, I was almost in awe as I looked out at the mountains and bay, even after viewing them almost every day for three years. Yeah, I still have my demons to wrestle with now and again, but it is hard to stay depressed for long when there is so much goodness to absorb. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.

How best to celebrate the anniversary of my departure from Korea? Duh, with a nice bowl of sweet bulgogi from my pal John Kim’s restaurant, The Pub.

And me being who I am, and this being where I am, I took advantage of the opportunity to spread a little Joy today. In fact, she joined me for lunch. And then we came back to my place for “dessert”. She just sent me a message to say she has paid her water and electric, and will soon be off to the grocery store to restock her shelves. Glad we could help each other out!

In other news, I finally got a response from my landlord:

Hi John,

Your lease agreement expires at the end of June so you will need to vacate the premises by June 30, 2021.

Upon vacating the premises on time, you will have a total of 3 months advance deposit and advance rent payment. This amount or a portion thereof shall be returned to you within 90 days after you have vacated the premises.

We would like an opportunity to inspect the premises with you at your earliest convenience. Let me know when you can be available for this inspection.

Sincerely,

Jeff Ocampo GP Homes Management

“Or a portion thereof…” Hmm. Well, I really don’t have an issue with my lease going through the end of June. I’ll still take the new place on June 1, and I’ll make a leisurely transition from here to there. I reckon I’ll break the news about the appliances and air con units that will be moving with me during the inspection. If I get any shit, I have receipts. I might also mention that the ceiling fans, hot water heaters, and window shades, are all items I purchased but planned on leaving. Unless they want to get nasty with me. Anyway, perhaps we will have an amicable separation.

Yesterday’s Hash, in which I participated as a Hare, seemed to go well. The trail was only 5K, but it included two moderate climbs. It’s been crazy hot as well, so I was bushed when we finished marking the path. Generally positive reviews from the Hashers, the naysayers complained it was too short, which I heard as “just right”. No one said they got lost or couldn’t follow the intended trail, and that’s always my goal as a Hare. Here are some pictures from the day:

No way to know how many years I have left, so I intend to make the most of each day I’m blessed with living. Thanks for joining me!

Spent a couple of hours out on the Kokomo’s floating bar yesterday. The brown knees there seemed to enjoy the brownies I shared with them. There was a big spender aboard who bought all the girls a drink for Mother’s Day. That made me happy because I didn’t have to! As people came and went, I couldn’t help but notice a large percentage of the guests were Filipinos. You almost never saw that in the past. Things are changing around here as the Subic area becomes a destination for folks fleeing the big city lockdowns. That’s good for business, and keeping the bars viable is good for me. Win-win!

Regarding the title of this post, no, the floating bar was not sinking. But the sun was.

After departing the floating bar, I walked across the beach and had some dinner at Da’ Kudos.

Speaking of walking, this is Hash Monday and I’m one of the Hares:

We set the trail this morning and it kind of kicked my ass. Two climbs on a hot day wasn’t much fun. Most likely, it will be hotter this afternoon when everyone else does the trail Glad I’m not them! Now I need to shower up and get ready to head out to the VFW to give the Hashers their marching orders.

I’m glad I don’t have this kind of comma problem:

I wasn’t having the best of days yesterday, so I decided to do something about it. My preferred method was to drown my sorrows. It seemed to work just fine. I was starting out much earlier than normal, leaving the house at 1:30. I had the bright idea of doing an old-fashioned bar crawl–I’d start at the first bar on my side of town, and then go bar-to-bar until I reached the last one or couldn’t go any further. That plan got stymied immediately when the first bar–Outback–hadn’t opened yet (most bars here open no earlier than 2:00). Well, why not do it in reverse? I’d walk to the other side of town, then make my way back. I knew Dive In opened early so that would be my first stop.

A traditional bar crawl usually entails one beer then moving on to the next bar. I threw tradition out the window. For one thing, my friend Jessa came and sat with me. Of course, I bought her a drink. Gerlie was also at the bar with her boyfriend, and she bought me a beer in memory of her beating me at darts Friday night. Then a customer who remembered me from somewhere, but I didn’t remember him, sent over another beer. Jessa suggested we play a game of pool, so we did that. It was also another bar employee’s birthday (19, yikes!) and pizza and chicken were delivered for the celebration. Naturally, I bought the birthday girl a drink. By now I had been in Dive In for several beers and I knew the bar crawl idea wasn’t going to happen.

I decided to start making my way back to my side of town. Along the way, I came upon Cheap Charlies and decided to have a quick cold one upstairs. I was surprised that I was the only customer.

Just a couple of beers there, and I moved on up the highway. And then I came to Beach Please, and thought “why not?”.

I was also the only customer here. I’m pretty sure Beach Please is targeting the locals market–no girls at all.

A couple more beers, then I walked on the beach for a bit until I reached Mango’s.

This was my last stop of the day. I know I took a trike home from there, but this morning I couldn’t remember if I had paid my bar tab before leaving. I may have been a little inebriated by then.

It’s Mother’s Day today, so naturally I’m remembering my sweet mom.

In other news, I signed the lease for my new place today. I received no response from the current landlord to the email I sent. The message I sent asking if he’d received the email was also ignored. I’m probably going to have a fight on my hands. My move-in date for the apartment is June 1. This current residence is paid for through the end of July. Absent a refund, it looks like I’m going to be maintaining two places. It’s nice to be rich!

I snapped some photos of the apartment this afternoon:

Anyway, it’s smaller than what I have now, but it will suffice. Too bad my current landlord thought raping me for a hundred bucks a month was a good idea. Glad that I had this option.

So that’s where things stand as of the moment. Going to make a run out to the floating bar this afternoon. Yes, I made some brownies for the brown knees there. But before I go, let me leave you with this:

A second place finish in darts last night. No complaints, really. We threw well, our opponents threw weller…er, better I mean. That’s the way the darts fly sometimes.

Our Friday hiking group journeyed out past Naugsol to begin a planned hike to Tibag and back. On a previous visit, we walked the highway, this time we were planning to take a riverside path. Of course, things don’t always go according to plan. Our trail led us up to the top of a small mountain, then abruptly dead-ended. I hate backtracking, but we had no choice. We eventually took a little-used trail down the mountain, and near the bottom, we ran into the trail we thought would lead us to Tibag. Alas, a couple of kilometers later it also came to a dead-end. Another retreat, then we said “fuck it” and made our way up to the highway. It was too late at this point to continue on to Tibag, so we just hiked the highway back to our vehicle. Enjoy the photos from our ill-fated adventure:

Ah, well. Tibag will be there next time. Maybe we’ll actually find a way to get there!

In the meantime, I’m considering starting a chapter of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society here in Barretto. How hard can it be?

And life goes on.

I just watched a documentary on Bangladesh. Pretty shocking really. I mean, on a very basic level I was aware that it was a poor and poverty-stricken nation. I remember that concert George Harrison hosted back in 1971 (damn, I’m old!), but I just haven’t paid much attention since then. Wow. I apologize for calling the Philippines a third-world country. That’s an insult to the genuine third-world status of Bangladesh. Don’t take my word for it, you can see what I saw on YouTube.

So, you may be asking what in the hell am I doing watching TV on a perfectly fine Thursday afternoon? Truth is, I’m feeling poorly today. No fever, no cough, no energy. Yeah, that again. Took the dogs for an abbreviated walk, came home, and took a two-hour nap. Woke up and moved onto the couch, then turned on my little-used television. Scrolled through some YouTube recommendations and clicked on the one above. I don’t know why. Anyway, it remains to be seen whether I’ll find the strength to venture out later today or not.

Yesterday, I changed things up a bit and started my beer drinking at the Dive In bar. It’s on the far end of town and there is nothing really special about the place. Well, other than the fact that my ex-crush Jessa works there as a bartender. Naturally, I bought her some lady drinks, she sat with me at the bar, and we had a very pleasant chat for an hour or so. I was reminded of why I was attracted to her in the first place. No, I don’t expect I’ll be attempting to resurrect that relationship, but I’m glad we are still on friendly terms. As I was leaving, Jessa told me not to be such a stranger. I responded there are so many bars to visit and so little time. But I may try to find a way to add Dive In to my rotation.

Next, I had a couple of more beers at It Doesn’t Matter. The place was pretty packed for a Wednesday evening. Glad it is going well for the new owners. My regular waitress there, Roan, is a hoot. She’d been out sick for a few days and I mentioned the waitress who served me in her absence. Roan asked if had told her any jokes. I told her no and asked why she wanted to know. She said, “I’m going to use them, but don’t want to tell a joke they’ve heard already.” I was impressed that she even remembered my jokes, let alone found them funny! So, of course, I felt obligated to tell her another one:

A friend’s wife has been ill for quite some time and the doctor has been running tests to find out what is wrong. Finally, the doc told my friend he’d narrowed it down to two possible causes–AIDS or Alzheimer’s. My friend was like “oh my God! What should I do?” The doctor replied, “well if it were me I’d drive her ten miles out of town. If she comes back home, don’t fuck her!”

Yeah, not my best work, but Roan laughed politely. Oh, coincidentally, Roan used to work at Dive In and is friends with Jessa. Life in a small town, eh?

I departed shortly thereafter and headed out to The Pub for my weekly fix of Korean-style chicken wings. I’m usually only in there once a week, but I’m greeted like a regular: “Welcome, John. San Miguel Zero and sixteen chicken wings to go, right?” Yep, thanks! That’s my kind of service and the wings were excellent as usual.

Ah, I’ve become a predictable man of routines it seems. Monday I Hash. Tuesday is darts at Alley Cats. Wednesday has become It Doesn’t Matter night (and wing night, of course). Thursday I hit up the Kokomo’s floating bar on Baloy Beach, Friday and Saturday more darts at Alley Cats, and on Sunday I like to visit my friends at Cheap Charlies. I was not kidding when I told Jessa that I wasn’t sure how to fit Dive In into my schedule.

I don’t know if I’m feeling better or not, but I just popped some brownies into the oven. I don’t want to disappoint the brown knees on the floating bar should I decide to venture out later.

Yesterday, I sent this email to my landlord:

Hello, this is John McCrarey, your tenant in Casa Rosenda.

I have reviewed the lease contract I signed with Gloria Ocampo on May 25, 2018.  The term of the lease was for three years, expiring May 25, 2021.  In accordance with the terms of the lease, this is the formal notice of my intention to NOT renew the lease. 

I have also reviewed my rental receipts which confirm I paid a one-month advance rent and two-month deposit on June 18. 2018.  I trust the two-month deposit will be returned to me promptly.  Please advise if that is not the case.

Also, on December 29, 2020, I paid six months’ rent in advance.  That means my rent is paid through the end of June 2021.  Additionally, I paid one-month advance rent when I signed the lease, so that means the rent is paid through the end of July 2021.  I am prepared to vacate the house by June 1, 2021, provided the rent payments are refunded.  Please advise of your intentions in this regard.

To summarize, as things stand, I am owed two months advance deposit (90,000 pesos) and two months advance rent payments totaling 90,000 pesos, for a total of 180,000 pesos.
Let me know if you have any issues or disagreements with my assessment.

Sincerely,
John M. McCrarey

No response yet. I’m in a bit of a box. I don’t want to lose my new apartment, so I’ll need to sign a lease there next month. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up this place before my paid rent has either been refunded or expires. I might have two houses for a while. Everyone I talk to says it’s doubtful I will get the security deposit back. If they do go that route, I’ll do my best to make sure every expat in town knows not to rent from them (in addition to my house, they several duplexes they want to rent out). I’ll help Karma out in any way I can!

And that’s the way it is in my neck of the woods. It could always be worse, and it is in Bangladesh.

Reader: Your grammar’s pathetic.

Me: Oh, yeah? Well, your grandpa’s no better, either

Just a little inside humor. See the comments to yesterday’s post for the backstory. All in good fun.

So, a development of sorts in the continuing drama associated with my pending move. Now, I previously mentioned that one of the brothers in the landlord family was unaware that I had been hit with a rent increase. Apparently, he was upset that he had not been consulted. He has not said anything directly to me, choosing instead to relay information through my basement neighbor, who is technically his employee. He told her to tell me that he had talked to his brother and sister and they agreed to reduce the rent increase to 5%. As you may recall, that is the amount originally proposed that I had objected to–their counteroffer was 10%. Anyway, I relayed back through the neighbor that it was too late; I’d already verbally committed to another place. I also had her convey a counteroffer on my behalf–if they would reduce my rent by 10% I would consider staying. Haven’t heard back. Don’t expect I will.

Ah, the art of negotiation. I spent a goodly portion of my career in labor relations where I participated in collective bargaining for labor agreements. At least the union’s proposals had a basis in reality. I still have no idea what the hell my landlords are thinking. Maybe they aren’t.

I also believe I mentioned I know my upstairs neighbors. They are both Hashers, and the husband (also named John) plays darts. As I was leaving for the tournament on Friday, John was walking past my house on his way to Alley Cats as well. So, we walked together. John casually mentioned that his downstairs neighbors were moving out and he was happy about it because they were so noisy. I told him I was planning to move in downstairs. He was a little surprised and said that explains why he got the email from his landlord asking if he objected to allowing two dogs downstairs. He didn’t. I’m actually not noisy at all, and my dogs only bark when there’s a reason–like someone being outside the door. I don’t think we’ll have any issues in that regard. While I’d prefer to have a house to myself, I’m already thinking in terms of being accommodating. For example, I’ll put my grill in the carport in order to avoid sending up smoke from my balcony to his apartment. Hopefully, we will all just get along fine and dandy.

What else have I got for you? Well, John Kim’s The Pub restaurant just published a new menu. I’ll share it here to illustrate that it isn’t hard to find good food in my little town.

Damn, now I’m hungry for some reason.

I believe getting vaccinated against COVID is a personal choice. I probably will at some point, especially if my freedom to travel is contingent upon vaccination. Other folks might choose a different path, and that’s fine with me.

I am SO ready to do some travelling!

I’ve got pork chops in the crockpot for dinner tonight, and I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on toast) for lunch. Is there no end to my creativity in the kitchen?

I’ll close out today’s post with these words of wisdom:

There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.