The truth of the matter seems to be that the worst of the typhoon has passed us by, with only some residual rain showers left to inconvenience us. Our province wasn’t hit as hard as the ones up north, but we still had moderate winds and some of the heaviest rainfall I’ve seen in a while. So, what’s a fella to do, sit around and mope about it? Um, don’t forget I spent twenty-four years in the Service.
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”
Yeah, it was the Postal Service, but still. And like I always do, I kicked off my Tuesday morning with a shopping excursion.
Okay, I did wuss out of my usual neighborhood stroll when we got back home. Hey, it was wet and wild outside. Swan got invited to join a gathering of Hash girls, and she asked me to bake a batch of my brownies to take along. The hostess sent a trike to pick her up, and I was left alone to contemplate the future. And by future, I mean beer o’clock. I knew the usual Tuesday excursion to Baloy Beach was a no-go, but when the rain lightened up somewhat, I opened the umbrella and made my way on the wet streets to Sloppy Joe’s.
Swan messaged me that the girls were moving their party to IDM and asked me to meet her there. So, I hoofed it one block up the highway and plopped myself down in my usual seat. A few minutes later, several trikes pulled up, and the gals all piled out.
I sat at my table with my good friend San Mig Zero and watched the revelry. When everyone had had enough, we billed out. My tab was over three thousand pesos, including a multitude of lady drinks, purchased mainly by Swan. Who says you can’t put a price tag on a good time?
And that’s how we made our way through the stormy weather.
It is now November 2013 in the LTG archives, and I’m posting about my grocery shopping day in the good ol’ USA. We started at the Korean market to purchase all the items my Korean wife needed to satisfy her cravings. Then I recount the irksome experience I had in the regular supermarket. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
In today’s YouTube video, we check in with Smart Girl Philippines as she advises on what you shouldn’t say to the Filipina you are courting. It depends on what you are looking for, I suppose, but it sounds like good common-sense advice.
Time for some humor:
And now my duty here is completed. There is still intermittent rain, but that won’t keep me from my appointed rounds this evening.
I never get why the shirt comes off. In what other profession (that you can take kids into) would someone who has done a decent job start taking off their clothes to celebrate? You don’t see me ripping of my polo short when I send a good email.
Rain! All that water you could have been storing in a tank equipped with a filter.
When everyone had had enough, we billed out.
I learned a new phrasal verb today: to bill out.
re: video
So she’s suggesting that Filipina women are generally not money-grubbing leeches, that they have their pride and feel pressure instead of simply feeling thankful. Well, I’m glad she’s fighting for her sistas’ dignity, but from what I’ve read on your blog and from what I know about my friend in Korea who’s married to a Filipina, a lot of these women are money-sucking vortices (my friend’s wife is fine, but her family in the PI is another matter). That’s why these vampires hook up with (old) foreigners to begin with. I’m not saying that’s true of Swan, who seems radically different from all the other women you’ve been with, but the PI does often seem like a place of Lovecraftian horror.
re: classroom-dialogue meme
Some of those were cute (if fictional—most kids don’t have that level of wit), but “Clyde” and “Harold” deserve to have the shit beaten out of them.
Speaking of money-sucking vortices: Do you ever feel that your candy rounds are becoming more and more expensive, elaborate, and ambitious? Not to mention just physically heavier as you carry more and more candy?
Re: beer meme
Saw this quote from Albert Einstein (hey, it was on the internet so it has to be true)
“I used to think drinking was bad for me. So, I gave up thinking.”
Brian, after thinking about it, I decided drinking is good so now I think when I drink.
Kevin, yep, water is in abundance here, you just need it in the right places. I see people with big barrels under their rain gutters to collect the runoff. I’m glad I haven’t had to resort to that. There was a lot of flooding in Subic and Olongapo last night, but everything seems to be still working.
“Bill out” is how they say it here. If you ask for your tab, you usually just get a funny look. Maybe it’s a Filipino thing. When it is time to pay, you wave at the waitress and say, “Bill out, please.”
Yes, it is a different relationship culture here. Being perceived as “rich” is more valued than being young and attractive. Granted, if you are young, handsome, and “rich,” you are a rock star with the ladies. And yes, not all the girls are like that. Since I’m a barfly, I meet bargirls. Back in the day, when I’d date these girls, I found that the ones who had just started in the bar business were much more enjoyable to be with than the jaded veterans. I have indeed been blessed to find a jewel like Swan amongst the gravel.
HaHa! Poor Clyde and Harold. Your reaction is exactly what I’d expect from an educator. I had a teacher in Junior High who actually kicked me hard in the shin when I rudely commented on his beer belly. And now I have one. Karma never forgets!
No, the Candy Walks are both 5K, and we serve around 250 kids each day, so they aren’t growing or becoming more expensive. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes as Swan sets up an assembly line on the dining room table and fills 500 candy bags with assorted sweets each week. I fund the operation, but I consider it one of my charity projects.
Gary, I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about? What shirt was coming off?