I’ve been blogging here at LTG for going on twenty years now. During that time, there were several occasions where I had chance encounters with readers. It is always a shock to meet a stranger who tells me they read my blog. Most of the time, it’s a friendly meeting, but I’ve had a couple of unpleasant episodes. Once, during the scamdemic, I was confronted by a reader who criticized me for continuing to hike in defiance of lockdown rules. According to him, I was giving foreigners “a bad name.” In another instance, a guy I didn’t know stopped me on the street to say he didn’t appreciate my criticism of his girlfriend (she ran a bar and mistreated her employees, so I called her out for it). Otherwise, it’s always been nice to run into people who read my poorly punctuated drivel.
The circumstances for meeting a reader named Bruce yesterday were somewhat different. Bruce is from Taiwan and found my blog on some random Google search. I guess he liked what he saw because he planned his first trip to Barretto to see some of the views I post here at LTG. Bruce emailed me that he would be here for the weekend and wanted to participate in the Friday hike. He also asked about the SOB dance competition. It’s always nice to welcome someone new to the group and to meet someone who has followed my adventures from afar.
So, for the Friday hike, we planned a route that would provide Bruce with some of the views he’s been craving- the Black Rock climb and a beach walk on the bay. Here’s how that looked:
My planned visit to Dr. DeLeon didn’t happen because she cancelled her Friday clinic hours. I’ll try again on Wednesday.
The SOB was a good one at La Oficina, a bar that I almost never frequent. Bruce seemed to enjoy the show.
The Aftermath was at Alaska Club downstairs, so we dropped in for a nightcap before saying our goodnight to Bruce. It wasn’t goodbye because he joined Swan and me for a Saturday morning hike today. I’ll post about that tomorrow.
The memes have been more intense than usual these past couple of days.
Ah, the memories.
Today’s YouTube video is from George’s All About The Philippines. George is one of the only Vloggers I have met in person. On Wednesday, I saw George recording this video when I was up on the roof at BarCelona.
I don’t know how to post an advanced-time video, but the Barretto portion starts at around six minutes. I checked, and he didn’t capture me capturing him from the roof. Oh well.
Maybe these will put a smile on your face:
Time to get on with my Saturday evening. Swan is joining me for dinner at Mangos. We’ll see what happens after that. Back tomorrow with more of this goodness.
Looks to have been a good time with Bruce!
Time to disembark
Trivia: the verb disembark contains the word bark/barque, an old word for a ship.
Mindless hypocrits
I do hope that’s just a typo.
Something doesn’t add up
Took me a second to get that joke. “Twenty, too!”
Bruce Springsteen… another woke idiot. What a shame. Another opportunity to separate the artists from the art, I guess.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
—WB Yeats, “Among School Children”
Sometimes, it’s impossible to separate the two.
How long is Bruce there? I hope he has a pleasant stay. What’s on tap next?
I hope you can put my information to good use, Doing some upper-body strength exercises will also up your metabolic rate which, when combined with aerobic activity that leaves you feeling out of breath, will pay dividends in the form of you continuing to burn more calories throughout the rest of your day, even after you finish exercising, than otherwise, which will hopefully contribute to you drinking SMLs will beyond 84. Plus, avoiding meat, rice, potatoes and beans will help take the pressure of them kidneys.
I can’t offer any advice on diabetes. I am not afflicted and although I can’t be arsed looking up what the precise definition of endemic is, The WHO (not the boys who have learnt their lesson and Won’t Get Fooled Again) claim around one in 10 have chronic hepatitis B in dem der Philippine Islands from what I have read. So best be careful. Warn Bruce too. We don’t want him going home and turning yellow four months later. What would he tell the wife then?
I am pleased Bruce was true to his word and turned up. If I ever get the inclination to go back there, I would love to walk up to The Three Crosses with you and your bredren but, judging from the photos you posted of them SOB girls previously, I don’t think that will be any time soon.
The way you fpresented Bruce in today’s blog reminded me of Harry The Horse’s Tourist of the Month features. I hear Jim is still going but not strong. I stepped up to the oche in his stable many time. Nice bloke.
I used to really look forward to Harry/Jim’s monthly newsletters. Speaking of which, do you know Warren Carter there? I used to enjoy his monthly blogs until he stopped doing them abruptly (and with without any explanation as to why) about 10 years ago. Is he well? I never met the man but once spied him playing pool in a bar there but didn’t want to interupt his play to tell him I was a reader.
I know Warren posted a few nightlife videos on YouTube but I’m not a fan of the vloggers. I much prefer reading the likes of blogs and newsletters like yours but, sadly, you are one of the last holding the fort. Most of them bloggers don’t probably have a pot to piss in and are more interested in what I can only imagine are meagre financial returns judging by video viewing numbers.
The only other one I know of now of in the Philippines is rubberroa.wordpress. I once met him in Score Bar about 10 years ago when he was in Subic diving. He was one of your countrymen but a nice bloke too, like Jim, with interesting stories to tell. He is even older than us (about 74, I think) however, like you, he seems to be loved up in Puerto Galera these days and he still regularly updates his blog which I still tune into from time to time.
I’m off to Wetherspoons now for a few pints of San Miguel. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Thanks again for the advice, Ted. I’m not very disciplined in my old age, but I’ll try to make a few lifestyle tweaks. Knowing what I should be doing is the first step.
I’ve done the Three Crosses hike a couple of times, and all those steps kick my ass. So yeah, you need to join the group to provide the incentive to climb up there again. As for the SOB gals, they come in all shapes and sizes. There are still some hotties to be found in the bars, but you have to look for them. It’s not my thing anymore; I’m just there for the cold beer.
Nope, I don’t know a Warren Carter; at least, I don’t recognize the name. I can’t remember the blog’s name, but I used to read one way back when before I moved here by a Subic guy who played pool. It might have been him. I don’t get many hits on my blog (around 250 on a good day), but I appreciate readers like you who enjoy it. LTG has devolved into a diary of my daily life, but it is what it is.
Yes, the Harry the Horse newsletter was a regular read for me. I miss it. I met Jim a couple of times (I think I was even his “tourist of the month” once) and chucked darts in his bar with him. Good times!
I did a search and couldn’t find a blog called “rubberroa.” Can you post a link?
Enjoy those pints, and thanks for reading!
Kev, I didn’t know the origin of “disembark.” And now I do! Thanks.
Yes, “hypocrit” was a compound error. A word I know how to spell but fucked-up, and then missed again when I did my inept proofreading. Speaking of which, I think I’m allowed to hyphenate “fuck-up” but not “proof-read.” I actually found a website called hyphenator, but it’s not much help so far.
Yep, Bruce is like Neil Young. I love their music, but hate their politics. Nice Yeats poem; I don’t recall ever seeing that one.
Bruce is leaving today. We did the morning hike yesterday. I left his Barretto Saturday night up to him but told him where he could find the live music he enjoys.