Taking the fifth…

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…anniversary in stride. It was the first day of the rest of my life, and here is how I lived it:

I already mentioned the visit to the blood diagnostic center during the morning hours. The vampires there sucked several vials of blood from my arm almost painlessly, and I rewarded them with a cup of my prized urine. I should have the results later today, assuming I can figure out how to access the online posting. After the samples were collected, it was time to break my twelve-hour fast.

There is a restaurant across the street from the clinic I’d never tried before named Volante. I had noticed their signage mentioned waffles, and that triggered a craving for those Southern-style breakfasts at Waffle House I used to enjoy back in the day. Well, memories are almost always better than reality, I suppose. The Volante waffles were just okay but also the best I’ve had in five years or more.

My friend, Joy from Hideaway, has been having some stomach issues, so I made her an appointment to see Dr. Jo. I met her there at noon, and during Joy’s examination, I had a nice chat with Jo’s husband, Dr. Chris. When the appointment was completed, I paid Dr. Jo and gave Joy cash for her prescriptions. I also invited Joy to join me later at the floating bar, and she accepted.

It was Joy’s first time on the floater, and she seemed to enjoy the unique ambiance, although it took her a bit to get used to the motion.
The view from my barstool
The view of the barstool next to mine

When dinner time rolled around, we headed for shore and grabbed a seat at Da’Kudos.

The view from our dinner table
And the view of my dinner, a roast chicken salad. Joy had the grilled pork chops.

After our meal, we took a beach walk to McCoy’s, but the videoke was at full volume, so we didn’t stay. I hopped in a trike with Joy and had it drop me at Queen Vic while Joy continued on to home.

I had some more beers and lady drinks with Angie before making it an early night and going home. I made time for another episode of Lucifer, then hit the hay to bring my fifth year in the Philippines to an end.

Nothing really insightful to say about reaching this milestone. It is not the life I imagined I would be living five years ago, but it is still my best life. I certainly have no regrets about making the move, and more and more, I am learning to appreciate the things I have rather than lament the things I don’t. Embrace your choices and be who and what you are. I see constant reminders that blessings come in many forms, and they often wear disguises.

Anyway, it was nice to be on Baloy, remembering my first months in the PI when I lived there. And it is nice to gaze into the future and imagine the life I might be living five years from now. I’m clueless, of course, but that’s part of the adventure. Okay, I just went back and looked at my post from May 12, 2018, to remind myself how I spent that first full day of my new life.

I had an omelet for breakfast that day, too. And a walk on Baloy.
And here’s a photo from last night at Queen Victoria. I haven’t aged a day, have I? What made me laugh, though, was seeing that I’m wearing the same damn shirt from five years ago. What are the odds of that happening?

In unrelated news, I came across this photo of what a checkmate looks like in real life:

And in all seriousness, the traffic on the National Highway here in Barretto snarls because of insanity very similar to what is depicted here. After five years of observation, I can attest that Filipinos are the least skilled and dumbest drivers I have encountered anywhere in the world. I don’t mean that to be disparaging; I’m just stating a simple fact: when it comes to driving, they don’t know, and they don’t care.

4 thoughts on “Taking the fifth…”

  1. And the view of my dinner, a roast chicken salad. Joy had the grilled pork chops.

    Did you and Joy switch bodies? That cheese is looking mighty weird on top. They should’ve used some crumbled feta or parm. And the vegetables are way too chunky for a salad. YouTuber/cook Ethan Chlebowski has talked about how such salads just make him mad because they indicate how little thought and effort were put into making them.

    Continued good luck re: medical issues. Here’s hoping you get some clear insights from your doctors.

    I guess that’s what a traffic jam looks like in a one-horse town. I saw something similar in Taos, New Mexico.

  2. The way you keep stuffing her face, I’m not surprised Joy has stomach issues. Hope she feels better.
    Was going to watch “Lucifer” and instead found “The Night Agent.” Pretty good.

  3. Now, now, Rascal. I provide the materials, but Joy does the stuffing!

    I’m halfway through Lucifer now and pretty much hooked. Will be interesting to see if I’ll keep up my newfound television routine when I’m done.

  4. Kev, Joy loves the pork chops almost as much as I do. I wasn’t hungry enough that night, hence the salad. Interesting perspective on the functionality of a properly prepared salad. I hadn’t really considered that aspect, but yeah, most of those veggies along the side didn’t get eaten. Especially those big slices of tomatoes–chunk ’em up and put them on top with the lettuce. As for the cheese, your suggestion sounds good, but honestly, those little slices tasted fine, especially wrapped around a chunk of roasted chicken.

    I’ve been to Taos, too. Used to go skiing there back in my younger days. I don’t remember the traffic but I loved the mountains!

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