–John Muir
Yesterday’s adventure with the Wednesday Walkers took us to higher ground, and it was worth the climb. We wanted to share the views from the Kalaklan Ridge with first-time visitor Jay and my neighbors, Martin and Joss. They were not disappointed. Here is some of what we saw along the way.
I made a shortish seven-minute video from where we stood in the photo above to the viewpoint. Some awesome scenery along the way, and as a bonus, you can hear me sing the theme song to Mr. Ed.
And so concluded the morning fun. When beer o’clock arrived, we headed to Alaska Club to spend the 500-peso SOB voucher I brought home last week. While there, I heard from the wife of Emmanuel, the peanut vendor (she was on his Facebook account), saying that he was in the hospital again and needed my help to purchase medicine.
The wife came from the hospital in Olongapo to Alaska Club to pick up the 3000 pesos he needed. Some nights, I’ll spend that much in the bars, so it’s all relative. I didn’t really keep track, but we bought a pizza, a couple of lady drinks, and some tips (50 pesos each) for the dancers at Alaska. Then we moved on to Green Room for our nightcap, and more lady drinks and tips flowed. It’s a blessing to share the relative bounty of my pension, bringing comfort and joy to those around me. Or so I keep telling myself.
Once back to the comfort and safety of home, I overindulged in dessert. Swan asked if I wanted a scoop of ice cream or her fruit salad. I responded, “Both,” and stuck to my guns.
Today’s visit to the LTG archives took me to a post from December 2005, entitled “Regarding Canada.” It made me smile because my visiting friend, Jay, is a Canadian. The first half of the post is a meaningless rant about Canada’s failure to support the ongoing GWOT (global war on terror). It’s the second half where I recount the circumstances of my being denied permission to enter Canada back in 1974 that makes the post worthy of inclusion in The Story of My Life. I’ve still never been to Canada.
On this day in history, I made these Facebook posts:
The Filipina Pea is still visiting Florida in the good ol’ USA, and in today’s YouTube video, she shares her first visit to a Costco outlet. We do have a similar store here (S&R) in nearby Pampagna, but I guess they don’t have an outlet where she lives in Dumaguete.
The daily dose of humor:
Alright, my duty here is now completed. I promised Jay a tour of Baloy Beach later today, which will include my overdue visit to the Kokomo’s floating bar and Swan’s feet in the sand time. More to come tomorrow, unless the Gods have other plans for me.
The ridge walk looks to have been fun and arduous. I like that sheltered view/vantage. Very nice, very nice. Ever have a picnic up there? That sounds like a good mission/project/event.
re: video
Are those cicadas I hear in the background? And, ooh—you very briefly talked politics and no one yelled at anyone!
Your “Mr. Ed” song was on point. Amazing how we remember things from the distant past, as we age, but not what breakfast was three days ago.
Seven years ago, I packed a balikbayan box to ship some of my belongings to the Philippines 45 days prior to my move.
I’m learning all sorts of vocab: balikbayan, pasalubong…
Well, a good time was had by all. Now, go eat some of that Jussipussi.
Kev, yeah, we may pack a lunch sometime and just enjoy the ambiance up there. Can’t get enough of that view!
Those sounds are not from tree-clinging cicadas like I’ve known, but noisy insects do abound. I don’t even notice them much these days. I went back and listened to the TV theme song and noticed I’d messed up a bit on the lyrics. But damn, that I even remember that show at all is an accomplishment!
And today, there’s tampo to add to your Filipino vocabulary.
Yeah, you’ve mentioned tampo a few times before. I mentally associate it with a “tampo tantrum,” albeit a silent one, making it easy to remember. Women bring drama. It’s like having a cat. (Well, as many cat owners say, the cat owns you. True with women, too.)