I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s cloud illusions I recall I really don’t know clouds at all
I took the above photo on my way out of the neighborhood late yesterday afternoon. Not sure what it was that caught my eye, but it brought back memories of one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs. And provided a title for this post!
I did most of my Saturday evening drinking at It Doesn’t Matter in the pleasant company of my favorite waitress, Roan. We always share some laughs, and I don’t know what goes better with a few drinks than a pretty gal sitting next to you.
Thanks for putting up with me and my tomfoolery!
I was also happy to see that Roan has really taken to vaping. She told me she is only smoking five or six cigarettes a day now, down from twenty before she got her vape setup. I hope she keeps it up, those kids need a healthy mama!
I’m still hanging out with my other new best friend too:
Gin and soda, if you please. I’ll confess that I caught a pretty good buzz before heading back home.
Stopped to smell the flowers on my morning walk. Okay, I didn’t actually smell them. But I noticed them and took a moment to snap a photo.
I’m truly blessed to be surrounded by beauty almost everywhere I look. Yeah, you can focus on the negatives, like the ubiquitous litter, but that shouldn’t override everything else. Some mornings I’m in a sour mood over some perceived offense. Then when I’m out walking the dogs I see the mountains and the bay and I feel my spirits lifting. I’m a lucky man.
A little rain as I walked today but that didn’t dampen my spirits. And in writing this post just now I realized I have nothing significant to say, it’s just another day in the life. If my chosen path leads only to meaningless, I’ll be content with that. There are far worse outcomes. When I look outside I know there is no place else I’d rather be.
Tears and fears and feeling proud To say “I love you” right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds I’ve looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say I’ve changed Well something’s lost, but something’s gained In living every day
I’ve looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all
Another Friday is in the books. And soon it will be on the blog. Let’s get to it!
Darts last night at Alley Cats. I did the gin and soda with a beer for sipping on the side. Got a little more inebriated than normal, but not out of control. I threw decent enough darts throughout the night, actually playing a little better towards the end. I know it makes no sense for alcohol to enhance hand/eye coordination, and I’m not making that claim here. I will say that darts is more than just motor skills, the mental aspects of the game are huge as well. I think being in a relaxed frame of mind helps you stay focused on the basic task at hand–hitting your target–without all the baggage that comes from worrying about the consequences of missing. So, drinking, or aiming fluid as I like to call it, is all about the power of positive thinking.
Of course, it also helps if you draw a good partner, and Billy is one of the best around. That didn’t keep us from getting knocked into the losers bracket early on, but we fought our way back to the finals and prevailed in the end.
We are the champions!
Earlier in the day, I joined up with the Friday walking group for an adventure out in Castillejos–a hike to Nagsangong falls. It wound up being 9K because we made a wrong turn, but the scenery was nice and it was a good day to be out and about.
We rented this van for the 20-kilometer drive to our starting point. We packed 11 people, including the driver, inside. Still might have had room for one or two more. A couple of weeks ago the driver stayed behind with the van. This time he joined us on the hike. Still charged us though…When we first arrived a guy pulled up saying he was from the Barangay and asked us for our destination. I was thinking “shit, here we go again with some power trip bullshit”, but he turned out to be pleasant and helpful, suggesting a safer place to park the van and wishing us well on our journey.We started out on a new concrete road that went gently upward for 3k or so. When we reached a small village we inquired of the locals how to reach the falls. Turns out we had passed our turnoff and couldn’t get there from here.So, we turned around and marched back from whence we came. And 2K later we found our path.Of course, there were cookies to be delivered along the way. These kids went apeshit happy when they got their treat. Best dollar I ever spent!When the pavement ended, the mud started.And then we encountered the first of several water crossings. Wet feet were the order of the day.Mountain views along the way…There were some slopes and uphills, but no real climbs which I thought was a nice change of pace.Crossing another creek.You are not THAT hot, Shyrel.An out in the middle of nowhere village was a portent for trouble to come.Looks legit, right? One of the locals was manning a gap in the fence impeding our path to the falls. As usual, I was near the back of our pack. The first few guys had just blown right on by him, and the gatekeeper was furious about it. Shyrel spoke with him in Tagalog to try and calm him down, but it took a while. I heard him mention “respect” several times and I know enough that a Filipino who feels he has lost face can be unpredictable at best. I wasn’t going to proceed further without permission. Eventually, Shyrel got the angry man to accept 200 pesos for the trouble and we moved on.Now, I don’t think for one minute this man has any property rights to the trail and I seriously doubt that he is “cleaning the river”, although picking up litter from picnickers may be what he meant. Certainly not worth the controversy fighting over chump change though.And at last we reached the falls, such as they are. Actually, this is the lower falls. The guys who went ahead at the toll gate did the upper falls. This one was good enough for me.A nice swimming hole…And a small waterfall. We got what we came for…Chillin’ by the waterside.Later, we hoofed it back to the van without incident. Grabbed some cold ones out of the ice chest and took a break before the journey home.Some of the Aeta natives came out to get a closer look at those crazy foreigners…And that concludes another hiking post. Hope you enjoyed it.
About that post photo above, I also posted it on Facebook. A commenter there asked me to “Explain what is the purpose of this post.” Here was my response:
It demonstrates that taking a stand, even when surrounded by those who have no clue as to why you even exist, is worthwhile. Sometimes you have to be hard when no one else will. We all are here for a reason, even when awareness of that reason is difficult to comprehend. The seasons will pass and other things around us will come and go, but standing erect in the face of inevitable change makes you stand out. Time is fleeting, but being what you are in a world with an unknown future, impervious to the actions of those around you, is the surest way to achieve your destiny.
At least, that is what this post was intended to convey.
I did the Cheap Charlies visit for the first time in a while. Between the time I walked in the door and reached my seat, there was an ice-cold San Miguel Zero sitting on the bar waiting for me. They know me too well. But not as well as they thought they did because I ordered up a gin and soda, one shot, in a tall glass. That will be my new beverage of choice until I attain my weight loss goal. I kept the beer though and sipped on it periodically. It actually slowed me down on the gin and soda which is good–it’s a more potent drink than the beer. I may actually incorporate the single beer into my routine to help control my intake. We’ll see.
My new evening pleasure for a while.
I carried my umbrella when I left the house because it looked like rain. By the time I reached Cheap Charlies I realized those weren’t clouds I was seeing. Not sure if it was some other kind of natural haze or maybe smoke. I actually checked the internet to see if one of the nearby volcanos had started erupting. No such reports, so no idea what was going on.
This picture doesn’t really do the sky I was seeing justice. It was covering the mountains though, so that likely means it wasn’t the typical smoke you see from burning.It did look pretty cool as the sun was going down.
I had three or maybe four drinks and bought a similar number for a couple of the waitresses. Hey, they have to make a living. Alma, one of my favorites, earned a nice tip too for rubbing my back for the duration of my visit. She has a nice touch.
Alma is a little camera shy though. Talented hands!
Once I arrived back home, I dipped into the pot roast that had been stewing all day long in the crockpot.
Man, it came out tasty. My helper chilled my buzz by pointing out I had forgotten to include carrots. Damn it, she was right. Oh well, next time.
Speaking of something in the air, I saw smoke from a fire on the dog walk this morning.
You can see the difference from the photos above. Still, it seems insanely unnecessary to dirty up the air this way. But what do I know? I’m sure they’d tell me if I don’t like, go back to my own country.
A pleasant visit with Judy yesterday. Another fine massage that ended in my satisfaction. She is also difficult to hold a conversation with, but she loves her mountain life. Told me about selling bananas and sweet potatoes grown on her land at the fresh markets in Barretto and Subic. That makes enough to buy some food, but apparently not enough to pay the electric bill. She had told me she owed 3000 pesos and the power was scheduled to be cut off today. I was willing to pay that amount as a reward for her services. But when she showed me the bill, this month’s payment was also due so the total was almost 5000 ($100.). Hmm, that’s an expensive massage. I started to just give her the previously agreed-upon amount, but damn, I couldn’t bear the thought of her being in the dark because of my stinginess. So, I gave her the 5000 and told her part of that was an advance for services on her next visit. She agreed.
Hey, it is what I do. And on Wednesdays, I do it with the walking group. That makes it even more fun, especially because we go places I’d never attempt on my own. I’d actually done yesterday’s trail two or three years ago, but with my diminished mental capacity, it all looked and felt like new! I’ll tell the story in pictures a bit later in this post.
It Doesn’t Matter was my beer drinking venue yesterday evening. Had a very pleasant time with my favorite waitress, Roan. That gal can hold her own in a back and forth and we spend a lot of time laughing. I miss that in my daily life. I also brought her a gift:
Got Roan set up to vape instead of smoking. She professed to like the flavor and vaped with me while I was there. She also messaged me this morning to thank me again and to say she hadn’t bought cigs last night. She’s off to a good start!
There’s a young man about town working as a peanut vendor. I’m one of his regular customers (I buy nuts for the working girls). He seems to have the knack of finding me wherever I might be hanging out on any given night. Nice kid and a hard worker.
Pretty talented at doing that balancing act as well!
When I stepped on the scale before my shower yesterday I was not happy to see that I weighed in at 210.3. My goal is to maintain my weight under 200, so I’ve got some work to do. Then I saw this photo from yesterday’s hike and I was a little embarrassed.
Practically bursting out of my shirt. As you can see, I’m not sporting 6 pack abs–I’ve got the whole damn keg!
So, desperate times call for desperate measures. Starting tonight, I won’t be drinking any beer. I’ll feed my alcohol addiction with gin and soda, which is practically carb-free. I’m also going to need to be more disciplined in what I eat for a while, so I’ll be trying to have the self-discipline to say no to ice cream and other empty calories. I’m going to get off my lazy ass and try to get my daily step count average back up to 20,000 again too. I hope to drop the excess poundage within a couple of months. Stay tuned!
Alright, let’s move on to yesterday’s hike then, shall we?
We went thataway. A couple of moderate climbs and around 6K all told.We took a Jeepney out to Calapadayan to start our hike. One of the group members got left behind because our Jeepney was full. So, we stood around on the shoulder for a few minutes while he caught another Jeep to join us.He finally arrived and off we went.The first thing we needed to do was get to the top of that hill. We were stymied initially because the trail we used to take up had been fenced off and no trespassing signs posted.The search for Plan B commences…Passed a lovely little algae pond along the way.Our objective is in sight. Now to find a trail to the top.Let the climbing begin!Looking out towards the Keppel shipyard…This trail, such as it was, will likely be impassable in another few weeks when the thatch grass takes over.The Walking Dead?Summit achieved.A shot of yours truly hoofing it.Hello, kiddies. Do you like cookies?What’s everybody looking at?Ah, this was supposed to be a hospital but it was abandoned for some reason while under construction. Not sure why; maybe the Pinatubo eruption or the US military pullout or something else entirely.One of the Filipinas in our group thought the building was occupied by moo-moo (ghosts). I went in to have a look. I don’t know what possessed me.Leaving the hills behind us.Passing a trike stand on the way to the National highway.Our destination for lunch and liquid refreshment–Harley’s on Baloy Beach road…Chillin’ at Harley’s.With one of the best views in town.Hope you enjoyed this post.
But before I go I’ll leave you with this Facebook memory from way back in my Itaewon days.
I call Tuesday my lazy day, mainly because I take a day off from walking. I do my grocery shopping instead and any other things I need to get done around the house. Lately, I’ve been meeting up with Joy every other week and yesterday was her day.
Things have been going fairly well with her I suppose. She calls me her best friend and does those little things like messaging me periodically throughout the day to check-in and see how I’m doing. Actually, that gets a little irritating at times, but I understand that she’s sincerely trying to be sweet. There have been a couple of times where I sensed something was going on with her, but I didn’t let myself get sucked into whatever that drama was all about. Last week she asked for an “advance” on her allowance to buy milk and diapers for her daughter. It was only 500 pesos and she met me in Barretto to get it, so I don’t really have a problem with that unless it becomes a regular “emergency.”
Anyway, I was scheduled to meet Joy at noon and she arrived early. I appreciate that she doesn’t operate on “Filipina time.” As is our custom, I took her to lunch. This week we ate at The Pub. I had the French dip sandwich, Joy went with ramyeon. Food was good, but we are just not able to hold a meaningful conversation. Her English is weak and she doesn’t understand a lot of what I say. Oh well, no one is perfect.
After lunch, Joy came to my place. Usually, we get right down to the “boom-boom” business, but this time she had promised to give me a much-needed pedicure. I must say that I was impressed with the professional job she did on my overgrown toenails. As she worked on my feet I felt myself growing increasingly drowsy. When she was finished with the pedicure all I wanted to do was take a nap, so I told her I was too tired for sex this time. She seemed to take the news in stride and I handed her the standard 3500 pesos. To her credit, she tried to repay the 500 she had borrowed last week, but I told her to keep it as a tip for the pedicure.
Joy has sent me several messages now telling me how much she missed having sex with me and that she hopes we can get together and boom-boom before her menstruation starts. And she sent me this:
I asked her if she were hungry or horny. “Both!”
So there you have it. I’ve got a gal practically begging me for sex and I’m just too damn lazy to do anything about it. It’s like the world has been turned upside down! Well, Joy will just have to wait until her turn comes up again at the end of the month I suppose.
Tomorrow Judy is scheduled to come over and give me a “massage.” She needs to pay her electric bill.
A somewhat unusual Hash experience yesterday. Leech My Nuggets was the Hare and he laid a trail that was relatively easy compared to what he normally puts us through. It was long though, coming in at 10K. Of course, I’m in the “sane” group and we shortcut when and where we please. Our version of the trail was a comfortable 6K. What made it different was that through a misunderstanding or bad assumptions, we did the trail in reverse. We started in Alta Vista because our intel told us the trail passed through the neighborhood shortly after leaving the starting point at the VFW. Nope, turns out Alta Vista was near the end of the trail. Oops! It made following the marks much more difficult, especially the chalk arrows that were all pointing in the wrong direction and were usually out of sight unless we turned and looked behind us. Anyway, we overcame the challenge and made a nice hike of it.
The trail as the Hare intended.The “sane” Hashers on the march.I remember crossing this bridge before it collapsed. Glad I wasn’t on it when it finally did. Made the crossing a tad more challenging though.The portion of the hike we did was mostly ‘urban”–passing through subdivisions and squatter villages.We did have a bit of trouble in one neighborhood. A couple of the residents said we were on private property and they didn’t want us there. Pubic Head ignored them, went on ahead, and confirmed we were on the Hare’s intended path, albeit in reverse.So, as politely as we could we said “salamat (thank you), we are just passing through” and went on our way.We did gain some elevation during our hike…On our way down, we encountered the first Hasher who was actually doing the trail in the intended direction. Folks were very surprised to see us going the opposite way.On Down!A brief respite from civilization…Back amongst the living.Our final climb begins…It felt like the stairs would never end.Cookie delivery…On Home at Queen Victoria.Refreshing beverages after a hot hike…Celebrating Fuck Buddy’s birthday in true Hash fashion. You might say she got to eat her cake and wear it too…And so concludes another trashy Hash post…
But wait, there’s more! At the conclusion of the Hash circle, I caught a trike for home. Except his machine wasn’t powerful enough to make it up the last hill to my place. No big deal, I paid him and got out to walk the rest of the way. But when I looked up I saw this:
I’m not sure my limited phone/camera skills captured the full beauty of the moment, but it was almost breathtaking. Put a little spring in my step as I marched the two blocks home.
I’m looking forward to a Joyous afternoon. I’ll write about that tomorrow. See you then!
Or so I’m told. I don’t remember much after a certain point. Like getting home or why I woke up this morning with my head at the foot of the bed. The problem was two-fold I reckon–I started drinking at 1 p.m., and the only beer available was the full strength variety. Anyway, from what I recall it was a good party and a nice afternoon to be out on the beach. Luckily I have a few photos taken while I was still in control of my faculties.
The “cottage” on the beach was courtesy of Bubbley’s Beach Resort.Jo, the birthday girl.Fish on the grill (I did not partake).grilled pork on a stick was tasty…Brats…Flame-broiled burgers…Videoke up and running.The view from inside the cottage. Basically just a roof and two walls…On the beach.Good job, mama!One more beach shot.The gang’s all here.Time to sing!Dave rockin’ and rollin’… I remember singing “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. I guess it turned out to be a prediction.The other white guys at the party…
And that seems to be the last photograph from the party on my phone. Not sure what all happened after that, but one report has me being a dick with one of the women there. Embarrassing if true, but what’s done is done. Maybe I won’t be invited back next year. Oh well.
I’m not going to live forever so I want to make every day matter. Reading this blog it might appear that I’m a failure in that regard. So, I guess I should say make every day matter to me. If I’m choosing to live a life full of mundane and meaningless routines, so be it. The point is that I’m living my life on my terms. I’ve gotten much better about not worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. One day at a time is all you can live anyway, so let it be what it is until you run out of days.
I guess Kevin Kim’s post “a meditation on death” got me thinking about life. I’m not really fearing the inevitable end of life, but I ain’t in no hurry to get there either. My big takeaway from his post was that whatever meaning you find in your life is found by living in the moment. The here and now is all we have; the hereafter is unknown and unknowable. I’m not religious so I have no expectations of heaven or anything similar. Today is what I live for.
I don’t have the energy to think about it, not that it matters.
Hash Monday once again. We’ll deal with the results of that endeavor tomorrow. Assuming there is a tomorrow for me.
Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself. You might say I’m braking bad. Alright, no more. I promise!
My instinct about not playing darts on Saturdays proved correct. I mean, I was there and participated, but I can’t remember ever playing so poorly. First out of the tourney and didn’t win a leg. Just one of those nights I guess. The birthday party and food were nice though.
I’m doing another birthday gig this afternoon. This one is on the beach and will be Filipino-style. Bubbly’s Resort is the venue. It’s right next door to Palm Tree and I’ve sat up there on the terrace watching Filipinos partying and felt envious of the good time I was witnessing. So, we’ll have a “cottage” on the beach, a videoke machine, lots of grilled meats, lots of beer, and of course, hanging out with friends on the waterside.
Other than bad puns and bad darts, nothing much else to report. I did document my morning stroll yesterday for those of you who enjoy seeing photos of the countryside and cityscape. Here we go:
Leaving my place behind.Taking the shortcut down to the street.Everglades Bend, one of the main drags in the neighborhood. Not sure what’s up with the “bend” versus road or lane. Never heard that term street-wise before. I live on Shenandoah Bend.Exiting Alta Vista.The big new hardware store, similar to a Home Depot back in the USA. I still haven’t been inside. I never have a face shield when I’m out walking about.This narrow alley goes through an interesting squatter’s village. I’ve walked through it a few times, but not on this hike.Hey, that mountain in the foreground looks oddly familiar.My big climb of the morning begins with these stairsteps…And it felt like they would never end.Eventually, the steps gave way to this path.Which led to this road.The view from here.The bridge we simply call “number three.”Back in San Isidro……and heading home.The back way into Alta Vista.The final hill of the morning. When I take a trike home it’s always a coin toss as to whether the motorcycle is powerful enough to make it up this incline. Home safe and sound and ready to document the “trials, tribulations, and adventures of an American in the Philippines.”
Just a bit over 6K all told. You can Relive it here if you are so inclined:
That’s about all for now. Facebook did remind me that five years ago I purchased the last suit I’m ever likely to own. Tailor-made in Korea of course!
Time changes everything, including me.
It’s been two weeks since my leg got infected.
Almost back to normal now. Swelling way down and no longer oozing whatever that was coming through the now scabbed-over wounds. Progress!
Alright then, I’ll break this off here for now. Time to shower up and get ready to party!
The consecutive win streak in the Alley Cats dart tournaments has come to an end. And it was all my fault. I drew Jerlyn as my partner. She’s a cutie but was probably the weakest player in the tournament. That’s no excuse, but I just had no expectation of winning. My initial thought was that we would likely be the first team eliminated from the tourney–that’s a shame everyone hopes to avoid. But that’s the luck of the draw, and there’s nothing to be done about it but play it out and try to have some fun.
In the beginning, I wasn’t throwing particularly well. And Jerlyn, bless her heart, was all over the board and sometimes even missed it completely. But my oh my, she might be the luckiest player I ever did see. Throwing at one number and hitting a double bullseye, for example. Or throwing for a single 20 and hitting a triple 18. She was doing that all night, and it was driving the other players wild. Hey, I’ve heard it said that it is better to be lucky than good. I had my moments as well, and by golly, we were beating some teams that should have kicked our ass. The only team we couldn’t quite overcome was Mark and Jocelyn, both very strong players.
We came back from the losers bracket to meet them again in the finals, and after a back and forth battle, we took the first match 2-1. Of course, we had to beat them again to win the tourney, so we set about getting it done. They won 501 and we took the cricket game. So it came down to one last leg of 501 for the championship.
Jerlyn left me a 32 out. I missed and hit an 8, leaving us with a 24. Jerlyn shot a 12, leaving me with a double 6 out. Not my favorite, but I can and have hit it in the past. Three shots at it, but I failed to take care of business. Jocelyn hit her out on the next throw. My failure left us with a second-place finish. Sorry about that, partner!
Still, 2nd place was a pleasant surprise. I did a post a couple of years ago called “Sloppy seconds“, also about a second-place finish with Jerlyn as my partner.
Anyway, it turned out to be a longer night than I anticipated and I was hungry after the tourney. Just so happens that The Pub is almost next door, so I popped in to grab a sandwich to take home with me.
This Philly cheesesteak hit the spot…
I managed to get a lot of steps in yesterday, the most in quite some time, in fact. Of course, I did it over the length of an entire day, so it wasn’t quite as impressive as it might appear. Plenty of breaks, even a nap, between steps.
Still, it was a good day for me.
I did get a goodly portion of those steps in during the Friday group hike. I led the group, more or less by default, on a trek that included a highway, a beach, and a mountain. The actual trail came in around 8K. Here, let me show you the pictures
Our route.Olongapo City on the right, Barretto on the left. Separated by the Kalaklan ridge in the middle.The meet-up. A little smaller group than normal this time.And we are off. Hiking this section of the National highway is not my favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, beach access is limited because most of the resorts want to charge us to pass through their property.It can get a little dicey on the highway though.Single file, folks. It’s safer that way!Finally off the highway and down to the water…We passed through this little village that I’ve always had a fondness for…people are very friendly. I thought about how it would be to live there as the only foreigner. Not convenient to Barretto though and no bars nearby. Not a good fit for yours truly.On the beach. Sadly, the high tide deposited a load of trash that had been dumped in the bay onto the sand. The nonchalance about littering in this culture is something I just don’t understand.Wound up getting my feet wet by mistiming the waves…One storm away from disaster I reckon.On higher ground.Back to the highway via these stairs.“I’m coming! I’m coming!”Regrouping before climbing to the top of Kalaklan ridge.The old Navy base. I had some drinks at that lighthouse bar a couple of weeks ago…This hillside graveyard is so nice that I hear people are dying to get in. *ahem*There is not an easy way up to the ridgeline as the climb is long and arduous. Still, going up the road is the easiest way I suppose.A view of Olongapo City from the vantage point of the ridgeline.Time to leave the road behind……and start the journey back down…Steady as she goes, Johnny…We are on our way, Barretto!Civilization looms…Liquid refreshment after the hike at Dynamite Dicks…Giving this post a rest…
And speaking of resting, I must have the laziest dogs in town.
Where’s your dignity, Buddy?At least your step-brother took his nap outside on the balcony.
I love them though. They’re my good boys!
Looks like I’ll be heading back to Alley Cats this evening. My intention is to do something else with my Saturdays (don’t worry, it will still involve beer), but today is Flor’s birthday, and she specifically invited me via text to come help her celebrate. No, it’s not what you think, she is in a same-sex relationship with the owner of Alley Cats. Nice gal, so I couldn’t say no. I’ve got some brownies in the oven for her.
I had good intentions yesterday afternoon–thought about walking out to Baloy Beach or maybe going into town for a haircut. In the end, I just said, “fuck it”, and plopped my lazy ass down on my favorite stool at Mango’s and watched the world go by.
This is what it looked like.
Yeah, I’m easily entertained these days.
But what’s not to like?
I did get up for a bit between beers to adjust my view of the beach.
Looking to the right…And to the left.
As you can see the tide was really low which changes up the perspective. Well, all that watching time go by made me hungry so I called my waitress over and ordered some dinner.
Pork chops, of course. I did get creative by ordering some coleslaw to accompany my standard mashed taters and steamed veggies.
Shortly thereafter I headed on home. Had a big bowl of rocky road ice cream and hit the hay a little before nine. That’s just how I roll these days.
Woke up to some good news:
Today’s exchange rate. It was recently as low as 47-something, so that’s a significant improvement (well, for someone who is dollar-centered like I am). I’ve always used 50php to the dollar as my rule of thumb when calculating the price of something in my head. And a plummeting dollar is what I fear most as brainless Joe systematically destroys the US economy.
I guess what is good for me dollar-wise means the money of hard-working Filipinos is worth less. Hey, I’m just along for the ride!
And in the category of no good deed goes unpunished, I offer you this:
Man, I hate when that happens.
A good long hike this morning, I’ll share that story tomorrow. Time for me to head out for some darts now.
Spent a couple of hours imbibing beers at one of my favorite hangouts. Which one? It Doesn’t Matter. I enjoyed the company of my favorite waitress there, Roan. She’s got a great sense of humor, by which I mean she laughs at my jokes. Unlike a lot of the bargirls I meet, she can actually carry on an intelligent conversation. Makes the investment in her lady drinks worthwhile.
Roan is very camera shy, but that’s okay. She’s older (mid-30s), has three kids, wears braces, but she is still a cutie. I enjoy her company.
The brown knees in the bar all seemed to enjoy my brownies. They were still warm from the oven when I shared them. I also bought Roan an inhaler. She’s a smoker and told me she’s had bouts of not being able to catch her breath. Said she even blacked out briefly the other night at work after a coughing fit. She’s a grownup and has to make her own decisions, but I warned her from the perspective of personal experience that she needs to take care of her lungs. The damage she is doing can’t be repaired and will only get worse over time. She took a couple of puffs on one of my vapes and said she liked the flavor. I told her when she was serious about giving up cigs, I’d set her up with her own vaping equipment. Vaping is much less harmful than smoking and has been shown to be the most effective method to break the cigarette habit. Anyway, it is up to her.
It being Wednesday night, when I left It Doesn’t Matter I headed over to The Pub for my weekly ration of Korean-style chicken wings. I had to laugh when I arrived and was greeted with “welcome, sir John. It’s Wingsday!” They called out my standard order of sixteen wings to go and brought me a San Miguel Zero to help pass the time while my meal was being prepared. It’s nice to be a regular!
As usual, the wings did not disappoint!
That leaves Wednesday’s walk to tell you about. We did a 9K loop around Easter mountain, just a couple of short hills, nothing really challenging. We had a sunny day to enjoy and made the most of it. To the pictures then.
Our course of action.The group met up in Alta Vista.Then we headed out across the valley.We came upon a newly constructed bridge and so we crossed it.Scott deemed it plenty sturdy.A helpful sign after crossing the bridge roughly translates to “go that way”.Onward we march.Country living. Made me lonely just looking at it.We took a trail on the backside of Easter mountain that we hadn’t used for several months. A little overgrown in places, but still passable. For now.That’s some tall cotton!Ah, that’s more like it.A rocky road.A bit of a challenge, but no one slipped and fell.We will not be cowed!One step at a time…Back on flat ground.Saw her from all sides over the course of our journey.Waiting for something. Or someone. Scott?Cookie lovers!The final mile. Talk about social distancing–you can barely see the group way out in front…Alta Vista’s finest…After hike refreshments at the Palm Tree Resort hotel…Buddy’s day appears to be as boring as this post!
That’s my life and I ain’t complaining. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m curious, isn’t “it don’t matter to me” bad grammar? I mean, who’d hang out in a bar with a name like that? Oh, at the It Doesn’t Matter bar the owners had the apostrophe added to the signage. Probably to shut me up about it.
That makes two in one day! Not bad for an old fart like me. The pleasure I got from the second one was of a different nature than the first–it was the joy that comes from taking an unexpected first-place finish in a darts tournament. Don’t ask me which one I liked best, it’s apples and oranges. I will say that winning money is more fun than spending money, although what you get for your money can certainly put a smile on your face.
Anyway, I was paired up with Jocelyn as my partner in the tourney. She’s a solid player, but we had some real tough competition to face. Going in, I figured Billy and Espie was the team to beat and that’s the way it turned out. Surprisingly, we dropped them into the loser’s bracket winning two straight legs (501 and cricket). They came back to face us in the finals and returned the favor with a 2-0 victory in the first round, setting up the decisive final match. They won the 501 leg and we took the cricket leg. We did a coinflip to determine the third leg, they won, and chose 501. That proved to be a mistake as we hit some big darts for an early lead. My partner left me a 12 out (double 6) and I hit it on my first shot for the victory.
We didn’t throw our best darts last night, but we synched up pretty well–I’d throw poorly and Jo would pick me up, and vice-versa.
It’s always more satisfying somehow when you don’t expect to win but somehow manage to pull it off. All our matches were hard-fought and close, so it felt especially good to finish the night on top.
I’ll be taking the night off from darts tonight, having made the decision to limit myself to Tuesdays and Fridays. It’s only fair that I give other folks a chance to win. *ahem* Instead, I baked up a batch of brownies to share with the brown knees at It Doesn’t Matter.
This will be a first-time experience for the IDM crew. Hope they taste as good as they look.The brownies I mean.
A few minutes ago I stepped out on the balcony to see what I could see…
…and this is what I saw.
There are things I like about the new place, and this view is one of them. Also, some things I don’t much care for, like the long uphill walk to get here, and it not being as dog-friendly as the old place. We are adjusting though. When the lease expires next year I’ll weigh my options, but will most likely remain where I am.
I guess I ought to finish this post with something happy. How about what you see under a young woman’s skirt?
What were you expecting to see?
Actually, that photo popped up in my Facebook memories from like six years ago. I didn’t take it and I likely posted it here at LTG back then. Still funny though, at least to my warped and somewhat perverted way of thinking. Almost all the bargirls here wear what I call “liar skirts”–sexy miniskirts with SHORTS underneath. I guess they don’t want to show off their kitten.
I had the pleasant experience of receiving my first massage under the hands of Judy, the gal I a couple of weeks ago. She rode her scooter to my place this afternoon, although she wasn’t able to follow the simple directions I provided and got turned around here in the subdivision. Oh well. She’s not a great conversationalist either, but let’s just say she has other talents that left me completely satisfied. When she departed she told me she was heading to the store to buy food for her kids, so I guess it worked out well for both of us. I’m sure I’ll be inclined to help her out again in the future.
Money well spent for both of us.
I got up and off of another mountain during yesterday’s Hash. It didn’t compare with today’s adventure, but it was still quite pleasant. I had gotten a preview of the trail on Wednesday’s hike, which is a good thing because the earlier rain had obliterated many of the powder markings making parts of the intended path hard to follow.
Here to powder is still visible; that wasn’t the case in other parts, especially the beginning.
With the advantage of foresight, I also made the decision to shortcut one of the downs and ups. I figured the mud in both directions would take the fun out of that part of the hike. Otherwise, it was not a bad trail at all, coming in at right under 6K, just the way I like it!
Too bad we couldn’t follow the trail the way Google Earth saw it…Our “sane” group seems to be getting larger and larger each week. Actually though, quite a few of them didn’t take our shortcut. That’s pretty natural though–on trail it is up to each Hasher to decide what they are going to do.We are On-On!Coming down into Alta Vista at the start of the hike.Then headed for the hills.It doesn’t appear that Buddy Fucker even broke stride getting over that fallen tree…The first climb begins…Looks like the hill slowed Buddy Fucker down some…A view from the top…Onward Hashers!Definitely more fun going over an obstacle than under one.This isn’t so bad, right?Hello again, cutie!Rest stop.I guess technically it has everything you need…except electricity, internet, flushing toilets…For you Easter mountain fans…Splendor in the grass…“Y’all coming, or what?” I’m waiting to see why that chicken is crossing the path!Valley view…On-Home was at the VFW and we did the circle outside for the first time. Still crowded, but at least no one fell into that nasty swimming pool.Bye-bye virgins…None of them did very well with the “down-down” either. What doesn’t go in you, goes on you!
And so ended the one thousand four hundred and fifty-second running of the Subic Bay Hash.
Welp, you can take the man out of America, but this man will always be an American. Naturally, I celebrated the anniversary of our independence in the traditional manner–I fired up the grill! More on that in a minute.
Interestingly, it was 75 years ago, July 4, 1946, that the USA granted independence to the Philippines. The Philippines, however, doesn’t celebrate that independence day. Rather, it chose to call June 12, 1898, the date it made a meaningless declaration of independence from Spain, the date the nation was born. Whatever.
That’s the nice thing about grilling out–you can ignore the politics and just enjoy some good food and cold beer. Granted, it would have been fun to be celebrating with other like-minded Yanks, but everyone seemed to have other plans that didn’t include me. Ah well, living a solitary life is a whole other kind of independence I suppose. I’m not complaining.
My Fourth of July menu: Ribeye steak, corn-on-the-cob, broccoli, sweet potato, and a cornbread muffin. Apple pie a la mode for dessert, of course.
Steaks on the grill.
I bought the steaks during my visit to the S&R store last week. Aussie beef, and came in a box, so I couldn’t really see what I was getting. The meat turned out to be okay, tender like I prefer, but still too thin. I’m going to have to choose a different kind of steak in the future. You can also probably tell I need a new grill. I couldn’t control the flames on the left side, and couldn’t get the heat I was looking for on the right. Anyway, the steaks turned out okay–medium-rare to medium.
Dinner on my plate. The sweet potato sucked, everything else was good.And leftovers for breakfast.
I did do a brief visit to Cheap Charlies. Only one of my “regulars” was working which reduced the drink pressure to a manageable level. Quite a few other customers as well, which I was happy to see. I bought some Filipino food for some of the girls seeing as how I knew it was also their independence day, even if their silly leaders don’t want to acknowledge that fact.
And that was how I spent the day. I’m happy to be living in an English speaking country, otherwise, I’d miss out on things like this:
Disclaimer: I saw this posted on the internet and it was purported to be from the Philippines. I have my doubts though. For one thing, all the words, including inconvenience, are spelled correctly. That almost never happens here.
It’s another Hash Monday. I got a taste of the trail on Wednesday, so shouldn’t have any surprises in store. Then again, it’s been a rainy morning so things might have changed. Full report tomorrow.
Today we celebrate our hard-won and long defended rights and freedoms. Make no mistake, that freedom is currently under attack. You can submit and conform or you can stand up and say “bullshit, mother fuckers!” Easy choice for me.
Last Sunday I was incapacitated by whatever it is that’s wrong with my leg. A week of antibiotics has reduced the swelling considerably, but I’m still not healed. So, my helper/caregiver harvested some guava leaves growing in the backyard and put them in a pot of hot water.
Apparently, they have many medicinal qualities, including as a disinfectant.Not sure if it was the heat or the contents, but the application of the guava juice stung quite a bit.After today’s guava treatment, she poked holes in the boil on my leg with a needle. Unsurprisingly, that created a stabbing pain.
My helper went back to the pharmacy today and the pharmacist said I needed a stronger antibiotic than the one I’ve been taking. Sold her some then and there, no prescription required. Is this a great country, or what?
Anyway, I’m mostly pain-free and much, much better than a week ago. To celebrate that fact I took a nice long (for me) 10K walkabout. I moved at an embarrassingly slow 14 minutes per kilometer, but that included photo ops and cookie stops.
This is actually my “standard long walk” trail, mostly flat. Still, it has been a couple of weeks since I’ve felt energetic enough to get out and do it, so I’ll call that an achievement.
I did that “photo every 1000 steps” or so thing to keep it a little more interesting. Wanna see?
Leaving the house down the dirt trail in the back.1000 steps to the National Highway…2000 steps led to wreckage on the highway. 3000 toBlack Rock…At 4000 I was regretting taking this path. Almost grown over, had to wade a creek, and someone is building a fence that will take away this option in the future.5000 steps to the Govic highway…6000 steps found me approaching Easter mountain.Looking up from Naugsol valley at 7000 steps. I’ve been to the top of those mountains before and one of these days I’ll get up there again.I can see Alta Vista off in the distance at 8000 steps.Strolling through the backstreets of San Isidro at 9000 steps.The final push to home at 10,000.Arriving at my front door.
I must have messed up and lost count somewhere along the way. 7000 steps are usually when I hit 5K, but anyway, it’s the thought that matters, right?
Here it is on Relive:
https://www.relive.cc/view/vPOpYypE5E6
Kevin Kim, you want to cook up a batch of these to take to work?
Sorry for being a dick!
Also wanted to give a shout out to one of the world’s greatest dickheads:
What he said.
I reckon that’s enough of this nonsense for now. Thanks for dropping by!
My return to the darting scene last night proved triumphant as my partner and I went undefeated en route to a first-place finish. Seeing as how I hadn’t touched a dart in over six weeks, I was quite surprised by my performance. I even threw the rare and coveted 9-mark, the best you can do in cricket. I actually checked the blog’s archives to see when I had thrown my last one–July 2016. Good stuff!
Triple 17, triple 16, triple 15. Hard for an opponent to come back from that throw.It helped having a good partner like Espie, of course. We synched up well last night.
As of now, my intention is to go back to playing in the Tuesday and Friday night tournaments and skipping the Wednesday and Saturday outings. That’s enough. I don’t expect I’ll ever return to my darting glory days anyway. And I really don’t like the vibe in Alley Cats that much. There are places I’d rather be.
Speaking of places to be, I rather enjoyed our hiking group’s adventure out to Balon Falls in Subic yesterday. Interestingly, Facebook reminded me that we had last visited that area exactly one year ago. This time we hired a van to carry us out for the hike which was a nice and comfortable way to get there. Our trail was short at just under 5K, but some of the group went for a swim after the hike and others sat around drinking beer. I’ll let you guess which group I was in. Always nice to get out of town and see some seldom visited sights. Here are some pictures from the journey:
Participants for Friday’s hike. Scott’s behind the camera.We arrived at the “falls” relatively early in the trek. There was a large group already there and they were not keen on us taking photos. Technically, the area is closed due to COVID precautions. Nobody seems to care, but evidence of violations posted on social media could conceivably draw the wrong kind of attention from the authorities.I’m sure you weren’t expecting anything Niagra-esque…See, the water is, in fact, falling down…Alright, time to move out and get on with the rest of the hike.Look at him go!The trail wasn’t particularly difficult, but it had it’s moments…And there were several water crossings resulting in wet feet.But there were also portions like this…Some nice views as well.The final climb…Heading back to where we started…Swimming at the falls. And I did confirm that she is 20 years old. Too young to be a girlfriend but old enough to lust after without being a pervert. Well, I mean she is legal at least.Doing what I do best with some like-minded comrades…
The latest news on the bar opening is no news. My understanding of where things stood at the conclusion of my meeting with the “owner” on Tuesday was that she’d be getting back to me with bank info for a wire transfer. You may recall that “Karen” told me the bar is in her name but owned by her boyfriend back in the States. She suggested I pay her the seven grand and she would send the money to the boyfriend. She seemed somewhat taken aback when I told her since his bank and my bank are both in the USA, it would be much easier for me to transfer the funds directly to him. She did tell me that she would call him later and get the bank account name for me. Upon following up, I’m now told they are still considering my offer and will let me know on Monday.
Hmm. My initial thoughts are that Karen is a scammer. The bar may well be in her name, but whether she is authorized by the “real” owner to sell it, and whether he would ever see any money I give her seems to be somewhat in doubt. We shall see.
Went to It Doesn’t Matter bar for my nightly dose of good cheer and coincidentally ran into Tommy, the former owner of the bar I’m looking to buy, and the current owner of Dive In bar. He was aware of the pending sale (I assume Jessa told him, I didn’t) and he also agreed I should not give Karen one penny. She seems to have a reputation for dishonesty, a former co-worker said she would steal money for the tip jar. That’s pretty low. So, unless I can find a way to interact directly with the boyfriend/owner in the States the deal is in jeopardy.
It is weird how the grapevine news travels fast in my little town. I’ve had two gals so far ask me about employment opportunities (hire lawyers practicing in Indianapolis from here) when I open the bar/resto. I told them I was just the finance guy, they needed to talk to the Filipina who will technically own the place. Fun times!
John Kim of The Pub restaurant has been posting photos from his new menu, including his beef enchiladas. This is the description he gave:
Enchiladas in action. Bring your appetite, it’s not a small portion. Beef( Brisket or better): P395, Chicken: P345. Inside the Enchilada rolls-Pepper Jack Cheese, and outside-American Cheddar with NAPOLI Mozzarella.
I’m not gonna lie, it got me craving some Mexican so off I went to score me some dinner.
This is what I was served. John was hovering over me as I took my first bite.
I’m not sure if my face registered surprise or if he anticipated my reaction. “Most Tex-Mex is tomato-based, I use chilies,” he told me matter-of-factly. Alright, that explained the unexpected tanginess in my mouth. I mean, they were quite tasty, I was just surprised by the zing. Much different from the comparatively bland enchiladas I’ve normally encountered. It was a large portion and I did clear my plate. The salad on the side helped cool down the fire in my mouth. As did the two beers I consumed during the course of dinner. Bottom line: Yes, I will order them again. Especially now that I know what I’m in for. Different, but still good.
A good hike with the group today, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for that post. I’ve decided to make my grand return to darts at Alley Cats tonight. Haven’t touched a dart in six weeks or so now, so I ain’t expecting much. I’m bringing with me a new attitude as well. I’ll share my thoughts in that regard in a later post.
Other than that, nothing else to report. Well, I did encounter this on my way out of the neighborhood yesterday afternoon:
A little startling, but as dead as my love life. A friend also killed a snake in her laundry room yesterday, so I guess this must be snake season. Oh boy!
Turning the page on another month. It may all be the same old, same old, but it’s a brand new day and the first of July. I’ll take it!
The rent is paid. Sent the Western Union wire transfer to the landlady’s bank account yesterday, woke up to a thank you and a receipt from her this morning. Easy peasy.
Spread some Joy today and paid her rent too. It was our mutual pleasure.
Last night, I said my farewell to Jessa at Dive In. I hope everything in her new life is a dream come true for her.
It being Wednesday, I scored my Korean-style chicken wings from The Pub on the way home.
Slapped them on a plate with some kimchi and chowed down.A slice of pecan pie for dessert and I went to bed a satisfied man.
You are correct and I acknowledge: there is nothing of substance in this post. It may be a new day in a new month, but I’m the same old blogger. Sorry about that! Perhaps I can at least put a smile on your face with this:
