Wednesday’s hike had an element of surprise. Max brought along his dog. Everything went fine until we were on top of the mountain, and Max let him off the leash. We encountered a goat with horns on the trail, a sight the young dog had apparently never seen. It must have looked like a canine satan to him because he took off running. Max finally found him a couple of kilometers back toward where we had started. I’m glad that story had a happy ending.

Finished the dart league season with a 9-4 victory over Queen Victoria. I continue to throw like I’ve never played the game before. I told my teammates I was going to take a break from darts for a while but would be available as a substitute next season should the need arise. I’m thinking not playing for a few weeks may act as a reset (like unplugging the computer and plugging it back in), and I’ll rediscover my lost ability. As it is, I’m not enjoying playing, so there isn’t much point in continuing for now.

One of the opponents yesterday was a girl I know from Cheap Charlies, Jiselle.

It didn’t appear she had ever played darts before, but her Auntie, the team captain, needed a player and drafted Jiselle. She actually improved as the day went on, and I think she’d be pretty decent at darts if she worked at it. Anyway, it was nice to see her cute ass (and face) outside of the bar. Alas, her lack of interest in elderly me was quite apparent. Oh well, a man can dream.

When the match was over, I said my goodbyes and headed up the beach:

As usual, there was someone singing videoke poorly and loudly when I arrived. I ordered up a beer anyway. Thankfully, after just a couple of songs, the couple left, and I had some peace and quiet.

And then I was in for a bit of a surprise when a Hash friend, Reylyn (aka What’s Up Doc) arrived with two of her friends. So, the party was on! And so was the videoke machine. If you can’t beat them, join them, I suppose. I did two of my standards: Patsy Cline’s Crazy and I Started A Joke by the Bee Gees. Now, in my defense, I’d been drinking since early afternoon. It was all in good fun. They were still there when I left.

I walked up Baloy road towards National highway, thinking I’d catch a trike along the way or get one at the trike stand on the corner. One did offer a ride, but for some reason, I declined. I guess I just wasn’t quite ready to call it a night. The closest place for a cold beer was the Snackbar, so I popped in. I was semi-surprised to be greeted and welcomed by the owner, Pearl. She was seated at a table with two other guests I’m acquainted with, and she motioned to an empty chair so I could join them. How could I refuse?

It was good to see her and chat again. Almost felt like old times. I bought a round of drinks for everyone and enjoyed the camaraderie. Yes, I’ve been missing her, but life goes on, and I’m glad that we are still on friendly terms—a nice ending to a drunken day.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday’s hike.

An interesting day, or at least as interesting as things get around here for me.

Woke up with this song on my mind for some reason.

I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear
I keep forgettin', darlin'

Every time you're near
Every time I see you smile
Hear your "hello"
Saying you can only stay a while

Hey, I know that it's hard for you
To say the things that we both know are true
But tell me how come I

Keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear
I keep forgettin', baby

Everytime I hear
How you never want to live a lie
How it's gone too far
And you don't have to tell me why

Why you're gone and why the game is through
If this is what's real, if this is what's true
Tell me how come I

Keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore, baby
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear, yeah, yeah
I keep forgettin', babe

Don't say that, don't say that, don't say that
I know you're not mine anymore, anyway, anytime
Tell me how come I

Keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore
(How come I)
I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin' how you made that so clear
I keep forgettin', baby
Every time you're near

You must go and stand your trials
You have to stand it by yourself
Nobody else can stand it for you
You have to stand it by yourself.

Oh, you gotta walk that lonesome valley
Oh, you gotta walk it by yourself
Nobody else is gonna walk it for you
You gotta walk, walk it by yourself.

Well, it’s Hash Monday, so I won’t be walking alone. My advance peek at the trail does show it going through the Naugsol valley, though. It’s a Gunther/Leech trail, so it won’t be easy. The On-Home is at the Alta Vista country club, so at least I won’t have far to go when the Hash is over.

Last night was more of the same old, same old. Beers for me and drinks for a couple of the girls at IDM. They gave me a nice leg and shoulder rub in return, so that was pleasant. One of them might be crushing on me, and I admit, having someone at my side who likes to touch would be comforting. But I’m a selfish bastard, and I don’t want to take on the burden of four(!) kids. I’ll just settle for some bar companionship instead,

After I left IDM, I encountered “mama.” I didn’t have any small money on me, so I took her into a nearby market and let her buy a few things, got my change, and gave her the usual 100 pesos. Ah, the satisfaction that comes from making the world just a little bit better for someone is worth so much more than I spend. Yes, I understand that it is kind of perverted to use charity to make you feel better about yourself, but that’s just the way I roll.

I decided to have a couple of more beers before catching the trike home, so I popped into Mango’s. Got there in time to enjoy the sunset.

Speaking of beauty, there was a woman sitting a couple of stools down from me who really grabbed my attention. She wasn’t dressed sexy or anything like that; there was just something about her that attracted me. At first, I figured she was waiting to meet someone, but then I saw she ordered something off the menu and was dining alone. It occurred to me that I ought to strike up a conversation and see if she might welcome some company. In the end, I didn’t have the courage to do so. The fact that I’m still thinking about her this morning may be an indicator that I made a mistake. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I guess the easy game with bargirls has ruined me.

The waitress had offered me a menu when I arrived, but I declined because I was cooking at home. To answer the question posed in the title of this post, the beef was in the crockpot.

I haven’t been sleeping all that well the past few days. Been waking up in the middle of the night and needing to use the nebulizer to restore easy breathing. Then I get serenaded by that damn gecko when I try to go back to sleep. I did manage a six hours of sleep last night, so that’s progress.

We are starting the Hash a couple of hours earlier than normal today. In part because we are celebrating the 1500th running of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. And also, the long trail is over 10K and includes a tough climb up to Kalaklan ridge. The short trail is a 6K version with a somewhat lesser climb. You can read all about it here tomorrow.

According to my blog stats, I’ve lost nearly a third of my readers over these past few weeks. Can’t say that I blame them. Still, a big thank you to the faithful few who check in regularly to see what’s going on in my so-called life. Maybe one of these days something of interest will take place. Hey, you never know; it could happen!

I met the newest doctor(s) in town this morning. A husband and wife team, although technically, the husband doesn’t practice medicine. An American trained in the USA is not eligible for licensing here in the PI. The wife, a Filipina, runs the show. I was actually quite impressed with both of them. A thorough intake interview and then some suggestions for natural vitamin remedies that may eventually allow me to reduce some of my prescription drug intakes. I got a shot of B1 in the butt and something else through a drip bag in my arm, for starters. I confessed to my doc that I haven’t been vaccinated, and she responded, “neither have I.” That led us into a nice chat about the downsides, including potential long-term health risks, such as blood clots in my case. Anyway, it was a fascinating discussion with two medical professionals who see things pretty much the way I do regarding the scamdemic. I still may not have any choice but to get the jab since I need to leave the country soon in order to renew my visa. We’ll see. Anyway, I’m looking forward to traveling the road to better health with these two.

Speaking of doctor visits, Facebook reminded me of the Hash run four years ago that left me in stitches:

I came across this article that says that slower walking speed is associated with a higher risk of dementia. That’s pretty scary, given that I’m almost always last on our hikes. Some of that slowness can be blamed on my forays into picture taking, but I’m just not that fast, especially on uphill sections. The article talks about becoming slower as a warning sign, so I paid closer attention to my speed on my walk yesterday.

I forget what I was going to say next. *ahem*

My Saturday evening activities included beer drinking in an assortment of venues. Started at Hideaway Bar.

I had a special coupon for Hot Zone: buy one customer drink, get one customer drink, ALL NIGHT LONG. Well, Hot Zone doesn’t open until 6:00 p.m., but when the time arrived, I hoofed on over to try and get my money’s worth. After I sat down and placed my order, I was surprised to see Anna come in with a Hot Zone uniform. I’ve known her since before I moved here; she lives just outside of Alta Vista and works as a housekeeper for one of my neighbors. And all the time I’ve known her, she’s been a Wet Spot girl. I’m not clear on the circumstances, but she’s now a Hot Zone dancer. Naturally, I sat her down and set her up with a lady drink. My two-for-one deal had suddenly become much more expensive, and after my third free beer (and three LDs for Anna), I reckoned it was time to move on. Damn, those coupons are actually costing me money!

I still had one more stop to make along the way–Alaska Club. My new favorite, Karen, was working the door and invited me in. We shared some drinks and laughter. I was really pleasantly surprised to learn she’ll be participating in next week’s SOB dance contest–the first one since the scamdemic lockdown back in 2020. One more step towards normalcy.

It’s good to be alive, anyway. I’m going to try and keep it going for a while longer. Hopefully, my new docs will help me find a way to do that.

Or is Mother Nature calling me a fucker? This is the sound I’ve been hearing in the wee hours of the morning these past few days. At first, I thought it was some weird phone alert coming from my helper’s room. I asked her about it, and she said it was a lizard at the vacant house next door. She said it was called a “tokay.” So, I looked it up on the internet, and this is what I learned.

A gecko heckle, whaddya gonna do? And yes, if that’s the worst I can come up with to complain about, I am living a charmed life indeed!

An enjoyable Friday group hike with a twist–we followed a marked trail.

Well, it turned out that the trail was very familiar, most of it on the portion of My Bitch that we regularly hike. Still, it was nice not to have any tough climbs to impede our enjoyment. I had actually intended to join the group for the Sunday morning fun run, I’m up early anyway, but I have a doctor’s appointment at 10:00 a.m., so that would be pushing my luck. This is a new clinic in town, and I was surprised that it had Sunday hours, but if the doctor is in, then so am I.

I’ll upload the photos from the hike at the end of this post. At the end of our hike, I invited the group over for some beverages and snacks.

Yesterday, my other big event was my plan to help the mountain girl I support celebrate her birthday. We agreed to meet at the Arizona resort at 3:00 p.m. She hadn’t shown by 3:15, so I messaged her asking if she was coming. While I was waiting for a response, the “Dick” who sabotaged my previous relationship walked in and joined a group at the next table. We ignored each other, but it accelerated my already souring mood. I paid for my beer and left. Outside on the highway, I finally heard back from my date. It seems the brake on her motorscooter broke, and she had to walk rather than ride to our meeting. That’s not good. She lives on the mountain at the far end of Rizal Extension–that’s at least a 30-minute walk. I told her to take a trike, and I’d pay the fare. Of course, she’ll have to walk a ways to get to a place the trikes can access. She finally arrived at 3:45. I cut her some slack, seeing as how it was her birthday, and she can’t be blamed for defective transportation. Still, it would have been polite to message me, but she’s a Filipina, after all.

Instead of Arizona, I took her to John’s place to dine. We sat in the air-conditioned dining room in the window seats. A nice highway view from there. I was impressed when she ordered the pulled pork sandwich, one of my favorites on the menu. Disappointed she didn’t eat much of it, but she did get the leftovers for take-out.

During a lull in the dinner time conversation (and we don’t communicate all that well, I have difficulty understanding her sometimes), I pondered what she’d be like as a girlfriend. I know she would take good care of me and my needs; she has a good and loving heart. I pictured putting up a little one-bedroom nipa hut on her mountaintop with those million-dollar views. But when I considered the inconveniences that come with an isolated life, I knew I would not be happy. For one thing, it’s too far to walk to the bars, and most trikes can’t make it up the steep hill to carry your drunk ass home. I’d best stay put for now. I’ll will, of course, continue to provide weekly food stipends for her and the kids.

After our meal, I took her to the Goldilocks bakery and bought her a birthday cake. Also gave her some birthday money as a gift (she said she’ll use it to fix her scooter), and we said our goodbyes. She met up with some friends, and they enjoyed an evening at Baloy Beach. I’m glad she had a happy birthday.

After our parting, I spent some time at It Doesn’t Matter. The place was packed with bikers from the local motorcycle club. Not Hell’s Angels, thankfully, just a bunch of friendly guys (with their hot girlfriends) enjoying adult beverages in the midst of a Barretto bar hop. My waitress, Agnes, took good care of me, and I, of course, rewarded her with lady drinks. Martin (18 Kilo Ass) was there, and we had a nice chat. I had another drink coupon burning a hole in my pocket, and so I moved on to my next venue.

Wet Spot. It had been several weeks since my last visit and the “misunderstanding” that resulted with my favorite there, Aine. I wasn’t sure how’d she react to my return, but I need not have worried–she acted like nothing had happened. She sat down next to me, I ordered up a lady drink, and it was all business as usual. I asked if she was hungry, she said she was, so I ordered her a cheeseburger from Sit-n-Bull conveniently located next door (they actually have a waitress from Sit-n-Bull serving the bars). She seemed happy enough when she was doing her snuggle and cuddle routine, and what can I say, I liked it too. The manager sent me over a beer which kept me in place long enough to buy a second round of lady drinks. Later, owner Dave came in, having just returned from a trip to Amsterdam and Cincinnati, his two former hometowns. We had a nice chat and he bought me a beer too.

Aine told me she has a birthday next week (she’s turning 40!) and I promised I’d come by with a birthday cake and help her celebrate. She really is fun to hang out with–at least in the bar. And that’s the only experience we’ve shared. So far. (That’s not exactly foreshadowing, because I don’t have a clue what might happen next. I don’t usually do “take-out” from the bars, but I’m tempted to make an exception in her case. Stay tuned.)

I’d started early, so as is my custom, I finished early. Had a bit of a rough night at home, but I’ll elaborate on that in tomorrow’s post. Now, let’s get to those hiking photos, shall we?

That lizard only barks at night. Bastard.

Anyway, it was about as good a day as they get around here. I ain’t complaining. Much.

Just another day in the life.

Western Union was not accepting my transactions, so I used another service to wire my rent to the landlord’s bank account. I also sent $350 to a friend in Bohol for her son’s school tuition. I did that last year too. Paying for education is one of the more satisfying acts of charity. At least it can potentially make a difference in someone’s life.

I had made tentative plans to meet up with my newest Facebook friend, Gwenie. I just wasn’t feeling it, so I tried to back out. She said she was already dressed and ready to go. That made me feel bad, so I agreed to a late lunch at Sit-n-Bull.

Anyway, it was a nice enough lunch. No bells or whistles for me, but I’ll probably consent to a future massage.

After lunch, I gave Gwenie 500 pesos for the rejected massage and another 50 for trike fare home. She seemed happy with that.

My next stop was Hideaway Bar. Joy’s youngest has a birthday today, and she asked for some help to make the day special. I gave her 1000 pesos and a couple of lady drinks.

Agnes from It Doesn’t Matter had messaged me earlier in the day that she had three sick children and no money for medicine. She came into town and met me at Blue Butterfly. She stayed for a couple of drinks and left with the 1000 pesos she came for.

I wasn’t sure where I was going to go after I left Blue Butterfly. Then I had to go, and the closest place to pee was Cheap Charlies. So that’s where I went. After I took care of business, I stayed for a beer. I noticed that my homeless friend “mama” was camped out across the highway. I sent my waitress down to give her the standard daily 100 pesos. I rewarded my waitress with a lady drink for her assistance.

It was only 7:30, but I’d had enough. Paid my tab, caught a trike, and was home before 8:00. Sometimes that’s just the way I roll.

Maybe my Friday will be a little less normal. You never know what will happen next.

Lived through another day in the life. Started with the Wednesday Walkers group hike, assuming three participants constitute a “group.” Still, we had a nice hot climb up the Great Wall of Barretto on a beautiful day. Pictures at the end of this post.

In dart league, we faced off with the second-place team in a match that would determine the league champion. We lost 9-4. I played sloppy darts and lost at least one game I should have won, but even so, the final outcome would have been the same. Bottom line, they are the better team and earned their victory. Congrats to the Alley Wildcats team.

After darts, I went to It Doesn’t Matter. They were having a memorial gathering for the recently deceased JR.

Bob said JR would have loved this. Mission accomplished!

There is still a lot of controversy surrounding the manner of JR’s death. The official autopsy results have not been released. The consensus of the expat community is that this wasn’t a suicide. I’m not convinced either way. If the rumors are true that he had other knife wounds, then I’m going with murder. The embassy and a veteran’s group here are also involved in finding answers and representing JR’s interests. I’ll update when additional information becomes available.

It was a very long day of drinking, having started at 1:00 p.m. for darts. I somehow made it until 8:30, then headed home to sleep it all off. Woke up this morning to a brand new day, and I’ll make the most of it.

To the pictures from the Wednesday Walkers hike then:

Stick around to find out what happens next!

I can almost hear my readers asking, “aren’t they all?” Yeah, pretty much. But Tuesdays even more so. Instead of hiking, I do my grocery shopping. Nothing much I can say about that. Well, here is this week’s inflationary example:

The mountain girl I sponsor came by in the afternoon to give me a massage. During the happy ending, I became breathless, and she had to stop. Should have used my nebulizer before she started. I’m getting a little worried about my lung capacity of late, and I had my helper renew a prescription for a drug I stopped taking several months ago. Hopefully, that will help. And yes, I’m also making a doctor’s appointment.

Speaking of massages, I got a Facebook friend request from this girl:

Speaking of my helper, I found out she got married last week in Manila. She didn’t tell me; someone posted photos on FB. I congratulated her this morning. She says she is not quitting her job; he is going back to the states. I guess the plan is for her to get a visa to join him eventually. Best wishes to them both.

I totally sucked at darts last night. Some of the worst I can remember throwing. Two matches and out. Today is the big league match against Alley Cats with first place for the season on the line. Damn, I hope I throw better than I have been.

After the darts disaster, I took a long walk up the highway to John’s place. He had posted on Facebook about a new sandwich he was making:

I don’t think I’d ever had that kind of meat on bread, so I gave it a try:

I was tired and beered out of my meal, so I caught a trike on home.

I used to love making coffee for my ex:

Speaking of the past, Facebook reminded me that this is who I used to be:

This apparently is a true story:

My pal Scott shared his photo album for the month of May, and there are some very nice shots of the local landscape. Give it a look if you are interested.

That’s it from here for now. Thanks for dropping by.