The photo above also reveals that when the house below my unit is completed, my view of the bay will be all but obliterated. As I was lamenting that fact, I heard from a friend asking if I was interested in moving to the Grand Canyon next year. I told her I was open to the proposition, and she invited me to come and check it out. And so I did.

Actually, this house was featured in my streets of Alta Vista series.

The house is practically a landmark because it sits high and stands out for miles around when you are looking up from the valley. I’ve always thought it looked small, but the landlord gave me a tour yesterday, and it is bigger inside than it appears from the outside. Only two bedrooms upstairs, but they are decent sized, and both have their own bathroom with shower. A comfortable living room and functional kitchen with a pantry. The best thing about the house is its panoramic 360-degree views with balconies on three sides and a large ground-floor patio. The owner is also in the process of adding a ground-floor master bedroom which would be perfect for my helper. It has a huge fenced yard that would be ideal for Buddy and Lucky.

The house owner is moving to the UK to be with her husband early next year. My lease isn’t up until June, but she’s willing to be flexible with me, and I think we have a tentative deal worked out. I’m looking forward to the change of scenery, all this construction noise around me (four fucking houses!) is wearing me out, and once my view is gone, there is no point in staying here.

So, that was a nice surprise just before I headed out for my Sunday evening in town. I had promised Joy the Mango’s grilled pork chops but warned her they were “out of stock” about half the time. And sure enough, I got the “sorry, Sir John” response when I placed the order. **deep breath. relax. accept the Filipino way** Okay, then, give me the lasagna with a side of mashed potatoes.

I brought fried chicken for Chooks to Go for the rest of the crew. A few beers for me and lady drinks for Joy, Jen, and Ken, and then it was time to go.

After my meal, I popped into Cheap Charlies. Most of my regulars weren’t there, but that’s okay. I was shocked a bit later when my favorite, who wasn’t working, came in with her date, a hefty old foreigner (yeah, like me). Hmm. I don’t think it is good to parade a new boyfriend around during your off time. I get how it works on duty, but I didn’t like seeing it last night for some reason. Knowing her history (she has a husband) made me feel sorry for the sucker she was with as well. Adultery is a criminal offense in this country. Needless to say, she is no longer my favorite.

So, one of my newer Facebook friends is a woman named Marga. She sent the request because we have a mutual friend named Joy (no, not one of the Joys I’ve written about recently). It turns out that Joy recently died at age 28. Sadly, I did not recollect who she was or how I knew her. I went back and searched my messenger and saw a conversation I had with that Joy back in June. I met her once (she did a massage with no happy ending) and never saw her again. Marga says she died of a heart condition. Sad to hear, and if I recall correctly, she had a couple of young kids.

Anyway, Marga works at Wet Spot, and I told her I would stop by last night so we could meet.

Everyone has been anticipating the big typhoon scheduled to blow through town last night. I woke up around 0100 to the sound of wind and rain. I got up and went into the living area to check things out and saw that the sliding doors to the balcony were open. I do that so the dogs can pee out there during the night. Well, the wind had blown the rain inside, soaking the floor, coffee table, and couch. Oops! At least it didn’t reach my laptop. I closed the doors and went back to bed. I couldn’t get back to sleep, and about thirty minutes later, the power went out. So, no lights in the bathroom, no fans, and no running water (this house pumps my water up from a tank in the basement). My concern was that the power might not be restored for god knows how long, which would be a major pain in the ass. Surprisingly, it came back on about an hour later (yeah, I was still awake for some reason).

Anyway, as far as I can tell, other than some flooding in the usual places, the storm didn’t do a lot of damage. Well, I noticed this morning that my place wasn’t unscathed.

It’s been raining all morning, but it appears it’s going to clear out in time for us to have a relatively dry Hash. The Hares say it is going to be a mostly paved trail today, so it sounds doable.

I’ve cooked up a batch of chili in the crockpot, and I’m baking some cornbread, so I’ll have a hearty lunch before I head out for today’s hike.

And that’s all I’ve got for now.

The wild and windy night, that the rain, washed away
Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day
Why leave me standing here, let me know the way