The Friday hikers tackled the Kalaklan Ridge this week. Given my physical limitations of late, I had doubts, but what the hell, do it or die trying, right? I didn’t die, but I suffered throughout the climb, taking it ever so slowly and breathing hard until the objective was achieved. I did feel good about that because I’m not ready to give up my walkaholism just yet. Our path up was one we hadn’t used in a long time, so it was nice to see the views from there again. Here, have a look and see what I mean:

After some rest and recovery at home, it was time to head out for the SOB dance competition. This week, the venue was Voodoo, which is probably the smallest dancing bar in town. I left home early so I could arrive when the doors opened and secure decent seating for me and Swan. And sure enough, the place was packed by the time the show started. I obviously had to share our table with some late-arriving guests, but they turned out to be friendly tourists (a Brit and an Aussie who lives in Thailand), and we all got along just fine.

After the show, Swan and I were ready for the sweet confines of home, so off we went. And tonight, my plan is to stay home and enjoy the ambiance of The Rite Spot On The Roof. Although the distant rumbling of thunder I hear as I write this may have some impact on that. We shall see.

Facebook memories took me back to a Hash four years ago in the midst of the scamdemic. During the lockdown, the brave Hashers would meet on the mountain and start from there. We’d conduct the On-Home at a private residence, like Derelict’s house on Rizal Extension. Even got raided by the cops once when some Nazi-like neighbors reported us.

This made me think of my introvert friend, Kevin Kim:

Today’s YouTube video comes from Craig in Asia. I’m a new subscriber, and I liked this short six-minute take on his experience after six months in the PI. I thought his assessments were pretty much spot on (living in Manila is more expensive budget-wise, though). I also feel safer here than I would in most parts of the USA. His point about not offending people unnecessarily is also good advice. Causing a Filipino to lose face carries the potential for violence. Anyway, it’s worth a watch.

To the humor then:

A regular commenter, Thompson, frequently mentions his affection for a band called Uriah Heep. Of course, I’d heard of them but was never a big fan. In fact, I was wracking my brain trying to remember any of their hits, and then found this one from my high school days that I do kinda like:

My solo walk yesterday was nothing new, so there was not much to see that I hadn’t seen before. On a whim, I decided to focus on trees and snap a photo of the ones I liked. Hey, whatever gets you through the hike, right?

But the best part of the day was yet to come. I kept my promise to take Swan to Pugon Corner (I’d been spelling it wrong) for dinner. But we walked to the Outback Resort for a drink before we ate.

A glass of wine and a couple of beers later, we grabbed a trike for Pugon Corner.

I couldn’t decide between pulled pork and grilled chicken wings, so I got both.

I’d rate the food average. Cheaper than the best place for grilled meats (Texas Joe’s on SBMA) but smaller portions. Swan’s craving was satisfied, so mission accomplished.

After dinner, we did our nightcap at Wet Spot.

And so ended another day in paradise.

According to this, there was a time when the Philippines was more advanced than some of its neighbors in Asia:

Fourteen years ago, it was another of those all-too-familiar going-away parties in Itaewon. Soldiers generally only stayed for two or three years before shipping out. On this day, we said our goodbyes to Dan (the guy on the far right).

Six years ago, my Buddy moved in with me:

In today’s YouTube video offering, Reekay delves into that age-old question, “Why do expats stay in toxic relationships?” Why does anyone?

I’ve got some special Ricky Gervais wisdom for you today:

Alright, now for the punny stuff:

It looks like we are going to be doing an SOB tonight. Assuming all goes well, I’ll be back with more drivel tomorrow.

Yesterday’s group hiking adventure saw us return to Castillejos, this time to Nagsangong Falls. We make this trek once a year, and something usually goes wrong. We continued that tradition on this year’s adventure. There are upper and lower falls, but we failed to find the path to the upper portion. That’s not to say we didn’t make a climb, but the path we took wound up being a dead end. So, we settled for viewing the lower falls and then heading back. It was a 6K journey through some scenic countryside, and despite the misdirection, we had an enjoyable hike.

Wednesday is becoming my “me” day. This was exacerbated by a misunderstanding I had with Swan. So, beer o’clock came earlier than usual for me as I reflected on the situation with the help of some cold San Mig Zeros. I started at Sloppy Joe’s, went upstairs to BarCelona, then finished my evening out at the Green Room. As the beer overcame my stubbornness, I sent Swan a message, and we worked back and forth through our differences. Basically, we both felt that we had been ignored by the other. Shit happens, and you find your way back. I brought home a pizza from Sit-n-Bull as a peace offering, and all was well once again.

Sometimes, Facebook memories come with a sting. Like this one from thirteen years ago.

In today’s YouTube video, George takes us on a morning stroll through Barretto. I’m rarely out that early, and the town definitely has a different vibe about it during those hours.

And now for some humor:

What else am I going to do on a Tuesday? Well, there’s always the beach, but we’ll get to that later.

So, that’s what shopping looks like around here. Pretty exciting, huh? In the afternoon I took Swan to the beach. We started at McCoy’s:

After our meal, we headed home. The night didn’t end well, but that’s a story for another day.

I can’t resist inserting a small taste of politics here:

I joined Facebook in 2009 and today’s memories are from my posts on this day fifteen years ago:

Ah, the good ol’ days…gone but not forgotten.

Man, that Hawk Tuah girl is burning up the internet, isn’t she?

Today’s YouTube video comes from my favorite, the Filipina Pea. In this episode she’s hanging out with her girlfriend and swapping tales. Enjoy the eye candy:

And now for some humor:

Anyway, my head is in a weird place right now, but hopefully I’ll figure out what to do next. Stay tuned.

That’s why I have Sunday routines, starting with Swan’s candy walk. We discussed hitting a different area this week but decided that disappointing our regulars was too much to bear. So, we hit the usual streets but added a new loop to freshen things up a bit.

As far as routines go, this is one of my favorites. The other Sunday tradition is the feeding at Hideaway Bar. They were down to three girls yesterday. How long can this go on?

While the floating bars are docked for the season, my other Sunday routine is dinner with Swan. She had mentioned going to Pujon Corner, but we ultimately decided to stick with John’s place for our Sunday meal. We’ll do Pujon later this week.

After our meal, we visited Alaska Club for our nightcap. We were surprised to see several of the Kokomo floating bar girls are now employed there. And in another coincidence, John Kim was there playing pool. I asked him if our leftovers smelled familiar, and he laughed. I wasn’t going to buy everyone a drink, but I did tip the dancers 50 pesos each. They seemed to appreciate it.

And that was how Sunday went down. Another good one.

We leave our windows open as I prefer cooling by fans. Sometimes that results in an unexpected visitor.

That was my excitement so far today. But the Hash is on the horizon. I’ll let you know how that goes tomorrow.

Today’s YouTube video is from the Filipina Pea exploring the issue of whether Asian women are easy. I thought she did a good job overall on a tricky subject. Making distinctions between Asian cultures, like Japan and Korea, was also important. I was pretty much invisible in Korea after turning 60, but here in the Philippines, I’m often reminded that “age is just a number.” Watch it if you please.

To the humor, then.

Thanks for stopping by.

I awoke to the sound of raindrops pounding on the roof. But shortly after sunrise, the clouds broke up and cleared the way for a sweet group hike. This week, we made our annual pilgrimage to Club Morocco for a walk on its mostly vacant streets. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that the subdivision developer, Sta Lucia Homes, is the same company that created Alta Vista. I don’t know which came first or what the backstory might be, but Club Morocco is three times the size of Alta Vista but remains 75% empty. That said, the Clubhouse is infinitely nicer than ours, and some of the lots offer amazing views. It’s just eerie walking down street after street with no houses. Lots of photos from our trek to share, so let’s get started:

We decided to stop at the 13 Resort in Calapandayan for a proper lunch.

I had already decided to spend my Friday evening at home, and the huge thunderstorm that arrived later in the afternoon confirmed the wisdom of that choice. Of course, the rooftop is no place to be during a windblown rainstorm. And then the power went out for a couple of hours. Once the rain stopped, I headed up to the Rite Spot to escape the darkened house with no fans.

That’s my kind of day these days.

Looking back to other days in other years, Facebook sent me these reminders:

Today’s YouTube video is from Reekay and he shares his budget for living expenses. Mine is more than triple what he spends, although I’m paying and feeding a staff of helpers and a lover.

Humor me this:

Time to get ready for a Saturday evening with my girl. She got real excited about going to Treasure Island to see the live band. Her wish is my command.

Things didn’t start off so well yesterday. I had some breathing issues during the dog walk, which is always disconcerting. I fought off the urge to be lazy and headed out for my morning walk as scheduled, but I really wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t realize just how sour my mood was until a beggar approached me with his hand out. Usually, I just wave them off and continue on my way, but this time I exploded, shouting, “Get the fuck away from me!” and kept on walking. A couple of minutes later, I was shaking my head in disgust at my behavior and felt bad for being the ugly American directing his wrath at someone in need. I briefly considered turning around and extending an apology, but I was already a good way down the road. So, I continued on with my walk, but I had lost what little passion I had for the endeavor and quit before the 5K threshold.

So, that’s the bad. The good was my date night with Swan. We walked down to the highway around four in the afternoon and caught a Jeepney for the 3K ride to the Samba Resort in Lower Kalaklan.

I asked the waitress about the Kahuna Burger, the most expensive item on the menu. Also, I’d never seen a twelve-dollar hamburger before. She started reciting the list of ingredients, but when she got to “spam,” I stopped her. I might eat spam if I were starving, but I see no reason to pay a premium for the experience. So, I opted for the ten-dollar cheeseburger.

Our bill came to 1980 pesos, including my beers and Swan’s glass of wine. No complaints; we had excellent service in a nice beach bar environment. We’ll continue to be semi-regulars here (a couple times a month) until the owner gets around to opening the promised Barretto venue.

One of the downsides of Kon Tiki is getting home. It was just a little after six, and we knew the Jeepneys would be full of commuters coming home from jobs in Olongapo. I was hoping for a trike, but as we stepped out onto the highway, a rarely-seen empty taxi was passing by in our direction. He honked, I waved affirmation, he pulled over, and we climbed in for a very comfortable ride back to our little town. I also noticed a trike stand, so future visits should not have to rely on blind luck for the return trip.

Our date wasn’t quite over yet. We had the taxi drop us at Wet Spot, and we ordered a round of drinks. Aine and our regular waitress weren’t there, so there was no hit on the wallet for lady drinks. Owner Daddy Dave came by, and we had a nice chat. When he left for a dinner date, we also prepared to pay our tab. Then the waitress came by with a fresh bottle of beer and a glass of wine, compliments of Dave. Thanks for that! One of the benefits of The Maze group of bars is they are all connected. Green Room is next door and also owned by Dave, so we carried our drinks there to finish out our night. We wound up having an enjoyable time amongst familiar faces. And so ended our date.

I don’t watch television news, but I’d say most of it qualifies for the bad category.

Enough with politics for now. Let’s stroll down memory lane for a minute.

Today’s YouTube video is from The Filipina Pea. She talks about the favorite tactics of Filipina scammers. I’ve been scammed a few times over the years, including before I even moved here. I suppose it’s tuition in the school of experience. So, heed her words to the wise. I’ve got a good one now, thank goodness.

To the humor then:

Anyway, I was planning on spending my Friday night at the Rite Spot. Nature had other plans. It has been pouring down rain all afternoon, with some thunder and lightning thrown in as well. Power has been out for an hour now, so I’d best get this posted before the laptop battery quits. I plan to be back tomorrow, so come check it out!

In honor of Swan’s 40th birthday and Father’s Day, we gifted each other a “we” day. Basically, doing what we usually enjoy but devoting the time to being together.

At Saturday’s birthday party, Steve, the owner of Kokomo’s, mentioned a Father’s Day gathering at his resort. Surprisingly, I remembered that. So, we headed out to Baloy Beach for some of that afternoon’s “we” time. Except when we arrived, no one was there except the staff and some heavy-drinking Filipinos, one of whom was a bakla. No big deal, I figured we’d have a drink or two, then move on. Swan said she was enjoying the music and the bay view, so it was all good.

Steve and his wife, Liza, showed up within an hour of our arrival. Some pork was thrown on the grill, and they had nachos delivered from Treasure Island. The party was on!

Swan was hungry for a meal, so we said our goodbyes and thank you (Steve picked up the tab for all our drinks), then moved on to Treasure Island.

After our meal, we went back home and spent the night together. That’s the way “we” roll.

Here are some photos from our Sunday morning candy walk. We hit our regular stops and when the kids spotted us, they came running.

Here’s a memory from 1959:

Today’s YouTube video discusses some aspects of Filipino culture from an expat’s perspective. He narrates a video of a street walk (Cebu City, I think) that reminds me of why I head for the hills when I can.

Some more attempts at humor:

Alrighty, then. It’s Hash Monday, and I’ve got to prepare myself to be Leeched. I’ll be taking the shorter trail, but there is a climb in my near future. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow. If I’m still breathing.

To the best of my recollection, Swan’s birthday party was a success. Things got a little fuzzy at some point. I did wake up at home but have no recollection of getting there. That’s what happens to me when the party starts early in the afternoon. According to my Fitbit stats, I was asleep at 7:25. I’m such a lightweight these days! I did have the foresight to snap a few photos before the blackout, though.

Fortunately, I didn’t misbehave, according to Swan. Unless falling asleep at my table counts. Oh, well. Life goes on and today Swan and I are celebrating a “we” day. It’s her actual birthday (we had the party early because the Clubhouse wasn’t available today) and Father’s day for me. Which is kind of funny because both of my kids are older than Swan.

Today’s YouTube video is from the Filipina Pea as she discusses “age gap” issues. Sweet Filipinas have always assured me that “age is just a number,” and in my time here, the winter-spring couples seem like the norm. Swan is almost twenty-nine years younger than me, but we haven’t had any problems with that. I think for me, the biggest concern is knowing that I won’t be around when she is older, but I don’t dwell on that much. Life goes on until it doesn’t.

Time for some lame humor:

We did our candy walk this morning and we’ll find some adventure or other to share later this afternoon. I’ll let you know how that goes tomorrow.

The Friday hikers tackled Kalaklan Ridge yesterday, and I tagged along. We took a Jeepney out to Olongapo City and commenced our climb via a path we hadn’t used for a couple of years. There is no easy up, and this one was steep in places but relatively short. Of course, it was short because we achieved the ridgeline at a low point. So, for the next 2K or so, we were walking on an incline. Honestly, that kicked my ass more than the actual climb-up.

I hope I have the ability to continue hikes like this one. It’s getting harder and harder, but I appreciate being out and about and enjoying those awesome views.

I spent my evening at The Rite Spot and watched the sun go down from there.

Sunday is Swan’s 40th birthday. The party is being held at the Alta Vista clubhouse this afternoon. Last night, a bunch of Swan’s female relatives came over to the house to help prepare the food for the gathering today. We all shared a dinner on the roof.

Anyway, the cooking is still going on, so there is more to come. I’m clueless as to how many will be attending today, but it looks like we have enough food for a small army. Then again, birthdays are a big family event in Filipino culture, and most families are the size of a small army. I’ll have a few friends show up, I hope, so I won’t be the only foreigner there. I’ll tell you all about how the party goes tomorrow. Now I need to go out and buy a cake!

Politics, anyone?

Today’s YouTube is about a discussion in the Philippines Senate about protecting Filipino territory. Can anyone else hear those war drums beating?

Let’s try to find a reason to smile:

Okay, gotta run.

I may be getting old, but I’m still in the game. I only managed a 5K solo walk, but at least I was able to get outside and hit the road for a bit. My fitful sleeping lately leaves me feeling less energetic than I want to be, but I’m not going to throw in the towel. I’ll do what I can do for as long as I can do it.

The best part of the day was a date with Swan. She likes the beach and water views, so we headed out to Papagayo for dinner. I don’t eat there often, but I’d seen they set up a dining area on the sand, so I wanted to give it a try.

So, it was a nice and unique experience to dine on the beach, but it probably doesn’t warrant a return visit. During dinner, Swan commented that she misses the floating bars. Me too. We still haven’t found a good replacement venue for the offseason. Well, maybe Kon Tiki, but that’s so far out of town that it is a pain to get to and from. We’ll see what’s next soon.

We walked back up the highway for an after-dinner drink at Sloppy Joe’s.

We finished our evening out with a visit to Wet Spot. Aine was back to work, so I let her and Swan cuddle up while I sat at the backslappers’ table with Daddy Dave and some other regulars.

A nice way to end the day in my increasingly mellow lifestyle.

Since it’s an election year, I feel a sense of duty to remind my fellow American voters what’s at stake. This meme resonated with me:

It’s always nice to look back to happier times:

Today’s YouTube video has Reekay holding court on the pros and cons of younger versus older Filipinas. I’ve been there and done that. I briefly dated an 18-year-old and Swan turns forty on Sunday. I had a relationship of sorts with Loraine before moving here and she was fifty and not a bargirl, but every bit as messed up as anyone else who wound up fucking me over. Anyway, that’s all in the past and I’ve found a good one now.

Today’s “humor” is a little different than usual. At least not so punny.

Yeah, not so good. I’ll try harder next time.

Yesterday was a bit of a throwback to the good old days, such as they were. The Wednesday Walkers trek featured two climbs, including a journey up Black Rock. The last few times we’ve done that route, I’ve avoided Black Rock and taken the low road. It wasn’t easy, but I got it done this time.

When I got home, lunch was waiting.

Wednesday evening is becoming “me” day. Swan and I both do our own thing and then reconvene at home. My thing was a bit of a bar crawl through the Maze. I started at BarCelona, a bar I infrequently visit. It is one of the nicest places in town aesthetically, but it just has no vibe, or at least it doesn’t when I visit there. Still, it is on the third floor and has the open-air ambiance I enjoy.

After a couple of beers, I went back downstairs to Sloppy Joe’s. Jim stopped by and joined me for a couple more there. Then, I visited Alaska and enjoyed seeing the old crew again. Next up was the Green Room, and then I finished my night out at Wet Spot. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a bar crawl like that, and I was feeling no pain at the end of it.

One of my waitresses confided in me that things have been very slow in the bars recently, and because of that, some nights she comes home without having made any money. I asked what about your salary (my understanding is the girls get a small flat rate, like 250 pesos, plus tips and lady drink commissions)? She advised that if they don’t make their quota on lady drinks (something like fourteen a week), they lose the salary. So, no customers, no pay. That’s seems both unfair and borderline slavery-like to me. I confirmed the basic compensation package with a waitress in another bar. Damn. Let’s just say I was overly generous with the lady drinks last night to help fill the void. I don’t know the bar business and I understand the premise of drink quotas as a means of motivating the girls, but it still makes me sad somehow.

And then it was back home to end the night in my sweetheart’s arms. I’m still not sleeping well (my new elevated position isn’t very comfortable). At least I’m wheezing less and my blood oxygen is staying in the mid-90s range. Nothing to do but keep on trying.

Lots of Filipino flags were on display for Independence Day yesterday. I came across this explaining the symbolism of the flag’s content:

Today’s YouTube video is an interesting take from Filipina Pea on why Filipinas cheat. In most of my lifetime of failed relationships, I was the cheating culprit. The only time I know about a significant other cheating on me was with the love of my life, KaraLynne. As a young man in my mid-20s madly in love with a graduate student attending school in Idaho (we lived in Arizona), I was devasted to discover she was pregnant and getting an abortion. When I finally reached her by phone (this was before email and messenger apps) and told her I should have a say in what happens to our baby, she simply responded, “It’s not yours.” Ouch.

Let’s see what we’ve got in the humor department for today:

Not that that will stop me. More tomorrow.

Another taking care of business Tuesday. It was time to renew my tourist visa again, so we hit the road with my driver a little earlier than usual. We made an ATM stop at the Harbor Point Mall BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands) branch, and for the second week in a row, the machine was “offline.” Luckily, I had the foresight to bring enough cash with me to purchase a 60-day visa extension (2800 pesos). I was the first customer of the day at immigration and completed the paperwork in record time. So, I’ll be sticking around until August at least.

Next, we drove to the other side of SBMA to visit the BPI ATMs located there. They have three machines, so I was confident I’d come away with my stash of cash. I inserted my card, punched in my info, and got the usual “your transaction is being processed” screen. And then nothing happened. I hit cancel, retrieved my card, and moved to the next machine—same result. So, I gave up, and we headed back to Royal to take care of the grocery shopping chore. I pay there by credit card, so my lack of funds was not an issue. No problems at Royal other than the usual “out of stock” frustrations (how the fuck do you not have cans of Coke Zero available?). We stopped at 7/11 on the way home, where I successfully withdrew enough funds to pay my expenses for a few more days. What a life, huh?

The day did get better. At beer o’clock, we strolled out to Baloy Beach. I was planning to pay a visit to McCoy’s beach bar, but as we approached, the karaoke was already blaring. No, thank you, we kept on walking.

We wound up making Kokomo’s our thirst-quenching venue. The old floating bar crew was there to serve us. Owner Steve and his wife were there to greet us and a couple of other customers came in during our visit.

Kokomo doesn’t do food, so when it was time to eat, we went next door to DaKudos/Foxhole for some grub. They finally have the “beach bar” open, such as it is. It is basically just a place to sit on uncomfortable stools. Poor Jessa, the bartender/waitress, has to cover the whole bar/dining room/beach bar single-handedly. She gave me a button to push to summon her when I needed service. Kokomo’s had four girls and one-quarter of the area to serve, so it was a much more attention-friendly environment. I’m not sure what the Foxhole owner is thinking, but absent some changes the so-called beach bar is a no-go for me.

Another weird thing happened during our Foxhole visit. In the picture above, you’ll see a small table on the beach at the lower left. That’s a bottle of Red Horse beer on the table. The Filipino couple sitting there got up and walked to the water’s edge to take some photos. While they were gone, a tall foreigner dude walked up, grabbed the beer, guzzled it, put it back on the table, and went inside DaKudos. Jessa said he just walked through. The girls next door at Kokomo’s saw what happened and told the couple. The couple threw away the beer, gathered their valuables, and returned to their room. Never saw anything quite like that before.

We left soon after for home.

Today is Independence Day in the Philippines. What is being celebrated is their declared independence from Spain in 1898. That wasn’t going well for them until Uncle Sam came in to kick some Spanish ass as part of our broader war effort. Of course, with Spain’s defeat, we took over the Philippines and had to subdue some resistance to a new overlord. We granted independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946. For many years, that was the day Filipinos celebrated being finally free of the imperialist yoke. I’m not sure why the holiday was changed, but I guess it doesn’t matter. Freedom isn’t free, and now they have to defend it from Chinese incursions. I reckon we’ll be called in to help with that.

In somewhat related news, the Philippines is establishing an air defense base at the old U.S. Naval Air Station at Cubi Point, which was part of the former Navy base. This is in direct response to the recent Chinese aggression. I expect honest Filipinos will admit the rash decision in 1991 not to renew the agreement to have US bases in the Philippines wasn’t too smart. China never fucked around like they are doing now when we had a large military presence here. Oh, well. Of course, if and when war breaks out, Subic will now be a prime target, and I’m likely to become collateral damage. I need to update my list of ways I might die to include being bombed and attacked by crazy carabaos.

Speaking of photography, I came across this truism:

I’m not saying one thing leads to another, but I also came across this old meme today:

I keep hearing that it is Pride Month. I am not a big fan, but out of respect for those who care about Pride, I’ll pay my respects.

So, I had a lot of Facebook memories to reflect on today.

Today’s video is another from Reekay. In it, he distinguishes between good and bad Filipinas and the various stages of relationships with them. I could relate. And yes, I finally found a good one. The video is worth the watch just for the pretty women who serve as a backdrop to his narrative. And yes, I feel free to look, but I no longer touch.

This isn’t part of today’s humor, but it is a funny poem. When I shared it with Swan, she laughed.

For I shall always let thee do,
   In generous love, just what I please.
Peace comes, and discord flies away,
   Love’s bright day follows hatred’s night;
For I am ready to admit
   That you are wrong and I am right.

Now, for the funny stuff:

One more:

Okay, I’ve tortured you enough for one day. Come back tomorrow for another dose!