Another week, another cart of groceries. I changed things up a little this time by visiting both of the large supermarkets on the old Navy base. Sometimes Pure Gold has items in stock I can’t find at Royal, so I’ll pop in there every couple of months for a look around. Found some things on sale, but nothing I can’t get elsewhere. I’ll check back in May.

It was my friend Nerissa’s birthday yesterday, and I asked if she had any plans. Alas, she said she had to work because, on Tuesday, the RSL (the Australian version of the VFW) comes in mass to Cheap Charlies, so none of the girls can take off work. It’s too bad she had to work; I was hoping to take her out for a birthday dinner. The RSL are good blokes, but they fill the bar up when they are there, and it gets a bit loud and uncomfortable for an outsider. So, I tend to avoid CC on Tuesdays.

Still, I wanted to do something for Nerissa on her special day, so I baked up a batch of brownies and slipped 500 pesos in a red envelope for her. I arrived at Cheap Charlies around 4:30 and was relieved to see the invasion of the RSL hadn’t started yet. As I walked through the door, I saw Nerissa’s smiling face–as she drank a bottled beer with a customer. Well, that’s her job, and I get that it is first come, first served with the girls, as it should be. My problem was that it seemed awkward and rude to interrupt her interaction with her benefactor by presenting my gifts. So, I sat on the other side of the bar to wait things out, occasionally looking over my shoulder to check on her progress. I was soon besieged by two other bar girls and naturally treated them to the drinks they were craving.

SINGLE lady drinks. I never knowingly buy a double lady drink, which in Cheap Charlies is a bottled drink. I’m not sure why it is, but paying 250 pesos for a bottle of beer just irks me somehow. It’s not really even about the money; I bought my girls two 130 pesos single drinks each, but just the thought of paying more than three times the customer price for a “double” drink feels like a scam to me. Now, I’ve had guys tell me that it takes twice as long for the girl to finish a bottle of beer than it does a mixed drink, so it saves them money in the long run. Maybe so, but I don’t buy double drinks as a matter of principle. One girl told me they get a 120 peso commission on a double and 80 pesos for a single drink. So, my two drinks are better than a double attitude is a good deal for them.

And then the RSL guys started arriving in force. I glanced at Nerissa; she was just starting another bottled (double) drink, which meant her customer wouldn’t leave anytime soon. So, I paid my tab, tipped my company, and prepared to leave. I took the brownies and envelope and gave them to another gal I know and trust and asked her to get them to Nerissa when she was free. Nerissa called out, “thanks for coming!” as I departed.

When I woke up this morning, I saw a message from Nerissa (the girls can’t use their phones during working hours):

Thank you for a delicious brownies and for your visit john.. You are so sweet… I like u a lot..my birthday is complete because of you

You are most welcome, Nerissa.

I treated myself to a Sit-n-Bull meal, had a couple more drinks at The Green Room, and finished my night cuddling some with Jenn at Whiskey Girl. Once again, I was in bed before 9:00. I’ve become such an old man, it seems.

Facebook did remind me of some relatively younger days during my Seoul life with my buddy Duke:

And I just now received a message from one of my female Facebook “friends” I’ve never met before in person:

Hello John when I can taste your cock

Um, most likely never, but thanks for asking.

What a life I have here, eh?