Well, I didn’t get lucky today, but that’s not bad luck. In fact, it’s probably a blessing.

Only four hikers were brave enough to take to the streets and hills on this cursed day. The worst that happened to us was getting our feet wet, so nothing to complain about there. I’ve got some photos to share from our adventure in just a bit.

I had lunch with Jessel today. In fact, I just got back home from Mango’s where we enjoyed a roast chicken and gravy, with rice and coleslaw. I’m going to need a bit more time to process that event, but first impressions tell me I won’t be making any significant changes to my lifestyle anytime soon. I could say it was more than a little disappointing, but that’s probably not fair. To begin, I went in with a good deal of ambivalence as to whether I even wanted to try the “love” thing again. Jessel did nothing to sway my thinking in favor of a relationship. Not blaming her, finding fault, or casting aspersions. She is who she is and the sad fact may well be that that isn’t enough for me. More on this topic soon. I want to think about what happened, and didn’t happen, and what that all means before I decide what happens next.

To the hike then:

I’m going to continue pushing my luck by participating in tonight’s dart tourney at Alley Cats. If I lose, I’ll blame it on the unlucky 13th. Although I guess everyone will be playing under the same handicap.

And just so you know, I am not at all superstitious. In fact, I posted exactly 13 photos here as my way of saying “Fuck You, Friday!” Or as I learned to say in Tagalog, “putang ina mo”.

Well, I truthfully only drink on days that end in “y”, so you might say every day is thirst day. I have my favorite hangouts, but I’ll also occasionally mix things up, just to keep it interesting. I do find that I have gravitated to bars with outdoor seating lately. I just find watching the world pass by more interesting than most things happening inside a drinking establishment.

Here’s a typical evening out for me:

The bar was previously known as Toucan, but a new owner wanted to change things up I guess. I actually met the new owner on Monday–he was a virgin Hasher. We got to talking some and I told him that when the city closed down outdoor seating as a COVID prevention measure (how stupid is that?) I started going elsewhere. He told me those rules were no longer in force and he was in the process of installing tables and chairs. I told him I’d pay a visit next time I was out that way.

On the way home from the vape shop I saw that the patio was indeed back in operation, so I went in, plopped myself down, and ordered up a beer from one of the cute waitresses.

Had another brief chat with the owner, David. Turns out Blue Butterfly will be our On-Home destination at next week’s Hash for the first time. Sounds good to me.

Finished up my beer and moved on down the highway a couple of blocks to visit another venue. Don’t ask me where, because:

I had a bit of a mission here though. Delivering some vape juice to my favorite waitress, Roan. Although truthfully, I’d have dropped in regardless as I enjoy the ambiance and it’s a regular stop in my rotation.

I had a nice chat with Paul, an English bloke who used to live in Alta Vista. He gave me some tips on things I can do to facilitate the passport renewal process. His had to be done in the UK, but I can still do mine via the US embassy. The issue is getting the entry stamps from the old passport transferred to the new one, without creating an overstay situation. I can normally only do 60-day extensions, but Paul suggests trying to get immigration to grant two 60 day extensions simultaneously. They’d charge me double of course, but it would give me more time to complete the renewal process. I’m going to give it a try anyway.

I also rewarded Roan’s good service with a couple of lady drinks. Saw her eating a bag of chips and told her to order some real food.

And I, of course, love Filipinas.

I guess it’s a little pervy taking a picture like that without consent. But still, I did buy the pancit. So…

It was a little after 7:00 and I still had one stop to make so I said my goodbyes and headed on out. Where next? Well, it was Wingsday so that meant:

Now, I realize I’m doing “a week in the life” series, and the events outlined above occurred on Wednesday as opposed to Thursday. Unfortunately, I am not able to do a bar crawl post after having done a bar crawl. Rest assured it will be more of the same tonight. Promise!

More on that another time. Stay tuned!

Did the usual group hike today. We took a Jeepney ride out to Subic Town, then walked the backstreets and neighborhoods before making our way back to Waltermart and the Jeepney ride home. I’ve got some pictures of the trek, but first I want to mention an unexpected trip down memory lane when we ran into a former Hasher named Julica.

I first met Julica shortly after moving to the PI when she regularly attended the Hash. I developed a crush on her and thought we might hook up when we attended an Angeles City Hash event. Julica and her friend Arcel rode down to AC with me and my driver. We weren’t staying at the same hotels, but I thought we had agreed to meet at the Hash signup later. She was a no-show though. The next day at the Hash, she stayed close by my side, fetched my beers, and I thought she was trying to redeem herself. In fact, I was under the impression we were going to go out and hit the bars together that night. Nope. She got out of the van with another group, shrugged, and said “sorry,” then left me sitting there dumbfounded. I don’t know what the deal was, perhaps she had a better offer from someone else. Of course, at that moment I lost all interest in her as a potential girlfriend.

The last time I saw Julica was back in 2019 when she was working on the Kokomo’s floating bar. I wrote about that evening out here.

I last heard from her a few months ago when she used a friend’s Facebook account to contact me and beg for money because she had a sick baby. I was sorry to hear that but had no interest in involving myself in her dramas. There are consequences in making bad life choices.

Which brings us to today. We were walking down the road and a voice calls out “Hi, Scott.” Well, that’s not unusual, Scott’s been around so long he knows a lot of people, even in the backwoods of Subic town. Then the same female voice says “hello, John”. Okay, who is that little lady standing in front of the sari-sari store? Ah, Julica! Well, I was polite but not overly friendly. She lives next door to the sari-sari and we were walking that way, so I paused to say hello to my friend Joy (that’s the Facebook account Julica used to beg for money). She introduced me to her mother who was holding her daughter. I’m glad the baby recovered from whatever it was that ailed her back then.

These past couple of years must have been harsh ones for Julica, she was looking almost as rough as her house. And damn, that house looked bad. Julica said that with all this rain, everything inside was wet. Not surprised that the ramshackle roof isn’t keeping the rain out. It actually made me sorry for her and the tough life she is living. It is easy to forget that the difficult circumstances many folks face have been exacerbated by the idiotic COVID policies. To her credit, Julica didn’t ask me for money today, nor did I offer her any. I did give them a bag of cookies which she seemed to appreciate. I walked away feeling sad.

To the photos then:

And that’s been my Wednesday so far.

UPDATE: And just like clockwork, I got the begging message from Julica (using Joy’s account again). Looks like I’m going to need to block her.

I’m struggling with a potentially life-changing decision right now. Which sounds a bit overly dramatic, but when it comes to love, isn’t it all drama? I’m not ready to tell the story just yet because there is still too much that I don’t understand. I really need to sit down with this woman and have a long talk to share my feelings and attempt to discern just how serious she truly is. Her profession of love last Friday was completely unexpected and I’ve been out of sorts ever since. She works, so her availability is obviously more limited than mine, but she is also non-responsive to my requests for a get-together. Well, she did tell me this morning that she was off today. I asked her what her plans were and she told me she was going to play darts at Alley Cats. I asked her to join me for lunch and she said “where?” I suggested my three favorites (Mango’s, Sit-n-Bull, and The Pub) and then didn’t hear back from her until 1:30 when she responded with “Mango’s”. What time? “After darts.” Hmm, that’s a really late lunch. I guess dinner might work, but I don’t like being jerked around either.

And that’s the rub, I suppose. Yeah, I’ve dreamed about being in a loving relationship, and this gal trips my triggers emotionally. I’ve also feared the vulnerability that comes with giving your heart away. I’ve had more than my share of soul-crushing failures when it comes to love. Do I really want to go there again? My life, such as it is, works for me. I certainly have no problem getting my physical needs satisfied. My emotions are stuck in a neutral zone where I never seem to get too high or too low. I wouldn’t call that ideal, but it is certainly safe. I can imagine a blissful life full of love and romance, caring and sharing, and the contentment that comes with being in a committed relationship with another human being. Then again, I’ll be 66 years old in a couple of weeks and I’ve never managed to sustain those feelings I dream about. Maybe I’m better off being alone. We’ll see, but I think the woman who says she loves me (and I’ve told her I love her) needs to step it up and convince me that walking with her is that path I need to take.

Enough of that for now. Yesterday’s Hash went well enough, I suppose. Most of the Hashers expressed liking the trail, although quite a few of them didn’t complete all of it. Not that I would criticize a shortcutter, seeing as how I are one. A couple of others lost the trail, which means I could have done a better job marking it in those places. Ah, well. No disasters, no one lost, and no rain to speak of. I’ll call it a win.

I forgot that the hungry people in this world look forward to seeing pictures of the food I eat. I’ve got to learn to be less selfish in that regard.

I saw this after posting about my grocery shopping experience earlier today:

Alright, that’s about it for this post. Time for me to get back to wrestling those demons in my head. I’ll let you know who wins.

Tuesday, afternoon
I’m just beginning to see
Now I’m on my way
It doesn’t matter to me
Chasing the clouds away

Something, calls to me
The trees are drawing me near
I’ve got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh

I’m looking at myself, reflections of my mind
It’s just the kind of day to leave myself behind
So gently swaying thru the fairy-land of love
If you’ll just come with me and see the beauty of

Tuesday afternoon

This week my two co-Hares and I laid the trail for the one thousand four hundred and fifty-seventh running of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. Our original plan for a wet weather trail included passing through the checkpoint into Subic. With the new COVID restrictions, we decided not to risk it. We still had to wind up in Subic since that is where our On-Home venue is located. So, we went a roundabout backway, including a visit to the My Bitch trail. It was good to be off the roads some of the time for a change. The trail came in a little over 7K from the start at VFW to the finish at Smokes and Bottles. Here are how things looked along the way:

Not a bad way to spend a Monday, eh?

Relive it here:

Well, I had so much fun doing that Alta Vista series, I figured I’d do one for each day of the week. And if any of y’all have any ideas for other things you’d like to see or are curious about, let me know and I’ll see what I can come up with.

Sunday is my solo hiking day, so I’ve kind of defaulted into a “standard” walk. This one takes me up the National highway to Calapacuan, then circles back to my house. Right around 8K and mostly flat. A nice rainy season kind of trail. And yes, it is still raining every day, although today was lighter and less frequent.

You can Relive the hike here if you please:

That hike, a nap, and a long-ass post here earlier have pretty much been my day so far. There’s beer to come though.

I’m getting pretty good at this living one day at a time thing. Makes it easier to put days like yesterday behind me, too. That’s a good thing. Having said that, in the big scheme of things there was nothing tragic or painful about yesterday’s events. Well, a pain in the ass maybe. I’ll recount the day’s events now to remind myself that life is indeed good when the worst that happens is having your patience tried.

So, the day started out with confirmation that I could indeed see Dr. DeCastro at 10:00 a.m. in the Baypointe Hospital Eye Clinic. I actually got called into the office at around 10:15 which is pretty good by Filipino standards. They did all the typical tests (I hate that blowing air into your eye one), then I was invited to wait outside until the doctor was ready to see me. That was only about ten minutes, so I’m okay with it.

Did the meet and greet with Dr. DeCastro, then he gazed deeply into my eyes. He had a machine to help him with that. Then he donned a headset and looked some more. He asked if I was driving, I told him no, and so he put something into my eyes to dilate them, then gazed some more. He then confirmed the diagnosis of my optometrist, stating I had a significant cataract growing in my right eye and a lesser one starting in the left. He recommended a procedure called Phacoemulsification and Intraocular Lens Implantation.

According to all I’ve read, the procedure is safe and effective and restores vision once the cataract is removed and a lens inserted. Well, seeing (heh) as how I’m practically blind in my right eye now (most of the time I have to close it to read), the surgery is pretty much a no-brainer. Dr. DeCastro asked if I had insurance and I told him I do in the states, so I would have to pay out of pocket, then get reimbursed. He told me the surgery is around 50,000 pesos and depending on the lens I choose, another 25,000 up to 100,000. So, this is going to be a couple of thousand dollars when all is said and done.

And then the bullshit part of my day started. I asked Dr. DeCastro when we could do the surgery and he responded I needed to get cleared by an internal medicine physician before he could perform the procedure. Say what? Why? He told me it is to ensure that there were no problems with my health that would be exacerbated during his surgery. The surgery he had just described as taking about 15 minutes to perform with me under local anesthesia. It sounded like a simple case of bill padding to me, but what choice do I have?

So, I paid my 2100 peso fee for the doctor’s visit and headed down the hall to see an internist. I was told someone could see me right away, then was directed to another room for a blood pressure check and other vital stats. After that, I sat down in the waiting area and waited. And waited. I was getting frustrated and told my helper to go see about scheduling an appointment. Someone came back and said there was only one other patient ahead of me, so I sucked it up and waited some more. Finally, my turn came and I plopped down in front of the doctor (with a plastic shield between us of course). She looked at my paperwork and told me, “I’m sorry, but you need to see the cardiac doctor for this clearance.” WTF? She then added that the cardiologist was only available on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 until noon. She said he was always busy and suggested I come at 7:30 to register so I could be one of the first to get in once he arrived. I think my tongue has almost healed from the biting it took to prevent me from saying something I’d surely come to regret. I thanked her and left.

My driver and another helper had been waiting in the car for the two hours the above episode had required me to endure. I was hungry and said let’s go eat at Texas Joe’s, my favorite barbeque joint on the old Navy base. Once we arrived, sat down at our outdoor table, and got our menus, we were told no smoking or vaping was allowed, which was why we chose to eat outside. My help was surprised at how expensive everything was and it did seem the prices had gone up considerably since my last visit. They suggested we try the Filipino place next door. Fine by me.

The menu was in Tagalog but I recognized the fried chicken and ordered that. The Filipinos with me got food to their liking and the bill for the four of us was around $30, probably half of what it would have cost me at Texas Joe’s. Did I enjoy my lunch? No, not really.

The next stop was supposed to be a store called HMR, which is sort of a department store with appliances and the like. My friend who is opening the canteen wanted to pick up some pans and cooking gear. Alas, the HMR was closed for remodeling. I went to the hardware store next door and was able to purchase a new grill. So, not a total waste of time at least.

My domestic helper wanted to go to the mall to “pick up her glasses”. She had teasingly shown me a sale coupon for frames and lenses at just 1888 pesos, asking that I buy her glasses. HaHa. Well, the mall was not that far out of our way, so off we went. Except it wasn’t a pick-up-the-glasses situation, it was pick frames then get an examination. Okay, I was starting to get pissed. I hadn’t had my daily nap for one thing. Plus, I had to pee. I was told there was a restroom on the third floor of the mall, so up I went. Found it, but a sign said: “closed, go to the fourth floor.” I used the escalator in the department store to the fourth floor, but the exit from the department store was closed off. Back down to the third floor, then up the mall escalator to the fourth floor, where I was able to relieve myself at last.

Back down to the eyeglass floor and my helper was in despair because she didn’t have the money to pay for her newly ordered eyeglasses. I guess she wasn’t teasing about me paying. Well, it’s coming out of her salary, that’s for sure. My mood had grown decidedly worse by now and I was anxious to get back home.

Easier said than done. It’s usually only twenty minutes or so home from Olongapo (especially the way my madman driver drives) but even he was powerless to overcome the massive traffic jam caused by a checkpoint for vehicles entering Zambales province. Manila is under lockdown again because of the COVID Delta variant. And no one from Manila is supposed to be traveling. And so Zambales is checking everyone’s ID to make sure the virus doesn’t spread. Yeah, that’s going to work. And it gets worse, now they are requiring people from Olongapo to show a negative COVID test before WE can enter. The reason for that latest insanity? Two cases of Delta in Olongapo. Now, that’s a big deal because I cross that border regularly and I ain’t ever been tested for COVID. Nor do I plan to anytime soon. I crossed on foot this morning, and while they were checking vehicles, no one said anything to me. I guess COVID only rides. Anyway, we were stuck in traffic for another thirty minutes or so before I finally got home.

I figured I’d post up the photos from Friday’s hike and share a bit of other news. Except my blog for whatever reason wouldn’t load the pics. No idea why and I was too tired and pissed to try and figure out why. They are loading today though, so I guess I was just cursed yesterday.

That’s the gist of the bad stuff. I did hear from “Jane” for the first time in over a week. She asked if I wanted to join her at a club in Castillejos for drinks and live music. Well, Castillejos is 20K away, so I’m not sure it was even a serious offer. But there was no way I was up for that regardless. We had a brief chat and she explained her lack of contact as related to her being busy at work. I was of course understanding.

I’m not going to let having a bad day keep me from drowning my sorrows though. So, I headed out to Mango’s once drinking time had arrived. As I am unwinding from my shitty day I get a message from Joy. Seems her sister was having a baby last night and lacked the funds to pay the midwife. Joy said she was begging me to help out. A bunch more begs and pleases with the praying hands emojis and I had had enough. Why do you think it is my responsibility to pay for your sister’s childbirth? I asked. Then I told her that she had violated the terms of our arrangement and I said goodbye and good luck. Today she has been begging my forgiveness. I’ve not responded to her messages.

Finally, there was this footnote to my day. On Friday night a woman told me she loved me. Words I had hoped to see (she said it via messenger) months ago. I had actually given up on her, thinking the feelings I had for her were not mutual. It was shocking to learn otherwise. I was pretty excited thinking about the possibilities when I went to bed Friday night. But I didn’t hear from her at all yesterday. The icing on a shit cake kind of day.