Yesterday’s adventure with the Wednesday Walkers group really nailed me to the cross. Three of them, in fact. We journeyed out to barangay Santa Rita in Olongapo City and made our way up to the locally famous Three Crosses religious shrine. The climb was all concrete steps, but it still kicked my ass. Once our objective was achieved, we took a pleasant stroll through the woods until we were stymied by some newly constructed fences. We had to dismantle one to reach a path back down (we reassembled it after crossing). The down was steep and rocky in places, but all’s well that ends well. Here’s some of the scenery from our journey:
After the hike, we stopped at John’s place for lunch. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal. John also has some shelves of food products imported from the UK. Some of them I’d never heard of.
I was still recovering from my over-indulgence at the floating bar on Tuesday, so I stayed home last night. I did engage in some R&R up on the roof.
What do I have to complain about?
The big news in these parts is the escalating pushback by the Philippines to China’s aggressive attempt to steal Filipino territory. Today, a flotilla of a hundred or more Filipino fishing boats and some Coast Guard vessels swarmed into the waters China is claiming. It even made the news back home in the USA. And here is a Filipino news account of what is going on. I’ve not seen any clear updates on whether the Chinese tried to stop them, but some accounts indicate that the Filipinos achieved their objective. The best news is that the country under the current President Marcos is not willing to bend over and take it up the ass from China like his predecessor. Interesting times.
Facebook memories reminded me of this bit of wisdom I posted twelve years ago:
He said.. I don’t know why you wear a bra; you’ve got nothing to put in it.
She said..You wear briefs, don’t you
He said.. Do you love me just because my father left me a fortune?
She said.. Not at all honey, I would love you no matter who left you the money.
She said.. What do you mean by coming home half drunk?
He said.. It’s not my fault.. I ran out of money.
He said.. Since I first laid eyes on you, I’ve wanted to make love to you in the worst way.
She said.. Well, you succeeded.
He said.. What have you been doing with all the grocery money I gave you
She said.. Turn sideways and look in the mirror.
He said.. Let’s go out and have some fun tonight.
She said.. Okay, but if you get home before I do, leave the hallway light on.
He said.. Why don’t you tell me when you have an orgasm?
She said.. I would, but you’re never there.
He said.. Shall we try a different position tonight?
She said.. That’s a good idea, you stand by the ironing board while I sit on the sofa and fart.
I guess that’s still as funny as it ever was.
Just because you don’t share my viewpoints doesn’t make you dumb:
Ready for some Quora Q&A?
Q: Do people of the Philippines have pale skin?
A: They run the gamut. Some are very fair-skinned, and some are very dark, notably the Aeta indigenous people.
The woman I’m dating is originally from Manila. I’ve introduced her to my hiking hobby, which she seems to enjoy EXCEPT for it turning her skin dark (or “negra,” as she puts it). She recently went to visit her mother in Manila, and her mom accused her of looking like a “province girl.”
Yeah, being light-skinned is a pretty big deal here. I remember being surprised when I first came to the Philippines and saw all the billboards and advertisements for “whitening cream.” I laughed to my girlfriend that in the USA, women pay money to go to tanning salons, and here, they pay to get whiter.
I guess it is a cultural thing. I have noticed that most movie stars and the elite are fair-skinned. Anyway, to each his own. I personally am very attracted to brown-skinned beauties!
Maybe it is just a coincidence, but I’ve turned a lot more brown than I used to be.
Today’s effort at humor:
Back with more of this goodness tomorrow.
The climb was all concrete steps, but it still kicked my ass.
The “but” and the “still” imply that concrete steps are normally easier (than something else… like dirt trails?). Is that what you’re saying here? That steps are normally easy, but these steps were ass-kickers? I thought you generally hated steps and preferred dirt trails.
Saw this sign along the way and it gave me a chuckle
The sign implies gun ownership. What are the gun laws like there? Do you think the owner’s really armed?
I’d done this hike once before years ago but had forgotten how endless it feels
Reminds me of the long staircase up to Pai Mei’s temple in Kill Bill.
A Canadian friend/ex-coworker once told me of how he had gone to China and climbed six thousand steps up to a remote mountain temple. I can’t even imagine such a feat. That would take me all day, assuming I didn’t die along the way. But those were stone steps, not concrete.
The view from the top
Looks like a Brazilian favela.
Perhaps that cemetery down there is full of those who didn’t make it to the top
I’m reminded that the paths up Everest are littered with ever-frozen corpses.
Like this. No, thank you, I don’t leek cocks. Not that there’s anything wrong with it.
I looked up the soup. Seems almost Asian.
No comment
That whole “don’t end a sentence with a preposition” thing is a load of hooey. I don’t know where it came from or why it’s still around. Lots of preposition-final sentences are that way because of a phenomenon called “petrified expressions,” i.e., expressions whose word order you can’t change. Example:
WRONG: That is not something up with which I will put.
RIGHT: That’s not something I’ll put up with.
“Put up with” is a petrified expression.
Enjoy your rest from stairs work. And you’ve got blood work coming back soon, yes?
“I thought you generally hated steps and preferred dirt trails.”
Yes, that’s true. The exception being very steep dirt trails. Another problem with the steps to Three Crosses was that they were unevenly spaced and of different heights, making it difficult to get into a stepping rhythm.
I learned a new word today–favela. I had some familiarity with the slums in Rio, but not that term for them. Here, the in-town housing is a mixed bag–slummy ghetto-like, old but functional, and large modern western-style. What’s weird is they are all mixed together. A big fenced McMansion surrounded by poverty and crappy shelters. I wouldn’t want to make a show of living large in a neighborhood of poor people.
Okay, I will no longer be petrified about ending a sentence with a preposition!
No, Dr. Jo just gave me a list of the blood tests I need to have performed. I’ll go to the lab first thing Tuesday morning and then get the results a day or two later.
Oh, and about guns. Foreigners are not permitted to own firearms, but citizens are. I don’t see a gun culture here like in the USA, but there are some gun shops and firing ranges around.