Today’s “interesting” photograph:

So, I’ve walked past this sari sari store many times on the way home from a night out in the bars. The sign always caught my eye because I *assumed* it was a misspelled attempt at the Korean greeting annyeong haseyo. But why the question mark? And it also doesn’t really make any sense because the Korean population in Barretto is close to nil (I do know a Korean-American restaurant owner). The few Koreans I’ve seen are whore mongers tourists in the bars. Given the location of the store, it is even more unlikely that a random Korean would wander by, let alone be inclined to make a purchase from the store. Hell, in the almost two years I’ve been living here I can count the times I’ve made a purchase from a sari sari on one hand. So, I decided to investigate.

The “hello” and “first come, first serve” do seem to provide some context. And according to Google, anong sayo literally translates to “what you” or maybe “what are you”. I asked my domestic helper for some clarification, and she said it means “what do you want” or “what do you need”. So, there you have it. An adventure in language and a mystery solved.

Speaking of adventure, I fired up the grill last night.

They turned out to be pretty damn good. I don’t know if it was the meat tenderizer, the long marination process, or just better quality beef; but the steaks were tender and easy to cut. Result!

After my meal, I had some beers at a new bar named Caison. Although it was my first visit there one of the girls looked vaguely familiar. So I invited her to join me for a drink so I could investigate further. Her name is Mitch and that didn’t ring a bell. She said she used to work in Rum Jungle, a bar I don’t visit often. Apparently, on one of those occasions, I had consented to have her give me a back massage while I drank. Still no real recollection though. Then she told me she lives “on the mountain near Sawmill Road.” I told her I’ve hiked up that way before. “Yes,” she replied, “I saw you once with your stick”. Huh? And then I remembered. I was with the Wednesday walking group and we weren’t sure how to find the trail up the hill. A young woman pointed out the way and I had told her that she looked familiar. She replied that she worked at Rum Jungle. Small world, eh?

Some things are easy to forget I suppose. Like the horrors of socialism.

And that’s pretty much where things stand around here.