Another day in the life is in the books, so why not on the blog? Don’t worry, there wasn’t much to it.
We did our weekly Decay Dance, passing out candy to the children of San Isidro. I only took one photo this time, but it captured the three things that make the Philippines so special:
Later in the day, as I made my way to the Hideaway feeding, I saw something that made me think of Kevin Kim’s love of abandoned gloves.
The feeding went as usual, with the gals’ hunger finally satiated.
Then it was time to meet up with Swan at John’s place for dinner. Swan was already there when I arrived. The cook came out to tell Swan that the birria meat was not available from the supplier, but she had held back enough for one more order in anticipation of Swan’s visit. She also revealed that John’s was going to be closing at the end of the year. We asked John’s daughter whether they would be open next Sunday, but she wasn’t sure. So, it may have been our final meal at John’s place last night.
I’m going to miss the dining experience at John’s place.
After our meal, we did the usual stops at Red Bar and Jumpin’ Jacks. Spread some Christmas joy (cash) to our waitress friends, which put smiles on their faces. Played a couple of games of pool and got my ass kicked, but it was nice to be participating rather than just observing. I’m planning to do more of that in the New Year.
From the April 2016 LTG archives is this remembrance of a bargirl in Itaewon who rejected me twice–ten years apart. The post title is “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” I had to smile at that because it took a long time for things to change, even after I moved to the Philippines. Although Filipinas are more receptive to old men than Korean gals seem to be. I recall feeling invisible once I turned 60.
Speaking of change, in today’s YouTube video, Reekay says money rules will be changing in 2026. I’m no expert, but my own transactions are limited and relatively simple. My pension goes into my USA bank account, and I withdraw cash from ATMs when I need it. I use wire services (Wise works well for me) to transfer funds to other accounts, like Swan and my landlord. Hopefully, I won’t have to adopt and adapt to new methods.
Humor time:
Today is the annual Hash Candy Walk. We’ll be traversing the streets of Barretto, handing out sweets to the kids we encounter. I’m technically one of the Hares, but there was no trail to mark. Pubic Head mapped out our route, and we’ll do a “follow the Santa” routine. I’ll let you know how that works out tomorrow.
Can you cool it with the AI memes a little? Getting tired of that stuff.
The mountains, the women, the litter.
Swan didn’t have a “Filipina pride” moment where she thought taking pics of litter would somehow dishonor the country? Well, I guess that’s good.
There’s a lot of that “pride” nonsense here in Korea. If you don’t want people photographing your trash, maybe don’t make your trash so evident, i.e., don’t pollute. I saw recently that India has the same psychological problem as Korea: they’d rather blame the people photographing the trash than actually pick up the damn trash.
She also revealed that John’s was going to be closing at the end of the year. We asked John’s daughter whether they would be open next Sunday, but she wasn’t sure. So, it may have been our final meal at John’s place last night.
Your prediction from before sounds almost spot-on now. You saw the signs. I guess we’ll know more come January. A shame. John was a legit foodie, and his family and crew did what they could to be worthy of his ideals. In the end, though, I think the place needed John’s force of personality—without his health problems—to continue.
No complaints about my bulgogi.
So do you just not like birria, or will you always choose bulgogi over birria?
Re: Picture of trash
Not sure if it was you or I saw it on a different site, but based on both absolute volume and per capita, the PI is far ahead of other countries when it comes to the amount of plastic waste that goes into the environment. Maybe the tourism board could have a “we’re #1” campaign.
Re: Reekay video
Kind of click bait. For most people, I think there will be zero noticeable impact. Kind of like when trading stocks went from X$ per trade or per share, to basically nothing. Opened things up a bit, but I am not sure it was not a seismic impact. Yeah, instead of Western Union charging USD$8 to send money, it will now be $2. Good for the consumer, but (to me) not really earth shattering.
Brian, I think I posted something about the PI being the world’s worst ocean polluter. Yeah, ” We’re #1 is a great slogan.
Yeah, I didn’t see anything in that video that concerned me directly. A cheaper rate for my wire transfers would be fine, especially with the enhanced exchange rate. But I like to keep it simple, and the fees I pay for ATM withdrawals don’t bother me much.
Kevin, Swan doesn’t like the litter culture and doesn’t seem to take offense to my teasing her about it. From my observations, it will take a generation to change things here, and aside from Siargao Island, I haven’t seen any effort underway. When I lived in Korea, I was disgusted by the litter I encountered, but nothing prepared me for these dirty islands.
Yeah, it’s a shame that John’s dream is dying too, but kudos to the family for keeping it going and maintaining quality for as long as they did. Perhaps the widow will find a new (and cheaper) venue and open her own place.
Oh, I like the birria. Swan and I share our meals, so I had a taco and bulgogi. Swan likes having guacamole, but I don’t use it.