…but as good once as I ever was.

You know I must be talking about Tuesday when I’m so devoid of content that I have to kick off this post with a song. Don’t worry, it will end with a song, too. And there won’t be much else in between. Let’s get on with it, shall we?

The first stop of the morning was at the Bureau of Immigration for a 60-day extension of my tourist visa. I checked their website to confirm they’d be open (I heard a rumor it was a holiday), and it said the office opened at 8 a.m. I arrived a little after eight, signed in, and took a seat in the waiting room. There was one other person ahead of me. And then we sat there and waited for the immigration staff to arrive. Finally, around 8:40, a female agent arrived with her child in tow. The agent went about turning on the equipment needed to process visa extensions, and ten minutes later, the guy ahead of me was served. Then it was my turn, and the process went smoothly. I paid my 5180 pesos for the privilege of staying here for two more months (oddly, my receipt shows 3180 pesos), and I was good to go. I’m such a tourist!

Then it was on to the grocery shopping mission. I was able to purchase a case of San Miguel Light at the YBC supermarket, and Royal had sugar-free pudding in stock for the first time in months. Hey, it’s the little things that make for a good day, right?

There is a private school near the Manila Avenue entrance on SBMA (aka Subic Bay Freeport Zone). I noticed some new signage while we were at a traffic light in front of the school.

Oh, and it turns out yesterday was indeed a holiday, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Day. Luckily for me, it is not a “non-working holiday,” so government offices were open for business. I’m pretty sure employees report late for work, whether it’s a holiday or not.

I’m still not feeling quite right, which provided an excuse to be lazy and not do a neighborhood walk. I did practice with my darts for a bit before heading out to the Alley Cats tournament. It was a doubles tourney, and I once again drew Amie as my partner. We went 1-2 in the double elimination tournament. That was better than our two-and-out last time. So, I can truthfully say that I was as good once as I ever was.

After being eliminated from the tourney, Swan and I stopped by Gold Bar for a nightcap. They had a good crowd for a Tuesday night, and we enjoyed the music, the vibe, and our visit.

I even stayed out late, not leaving for home until almost 8:30 p.m.! Not bad for a Tuesday, eh?

We’ve now marched into April 2018 in the LTG archives, no fooling. In a post titled “The Lasts Shall Be Firsts,” I reflect on entering my final 30 days in Korea and discuss my preparations for the upcoming big move to the Philippines.

Even when I was a kid, I was a big fan of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone.” So, I especially enjoyed today’s YouTube video talking about events from ten 1960s episodes that seem to have come true in 2026. Fiction can sometimes be truth, it seems.

Let’s share a laugh or three before I go:

And now to see what happens next.

I heard this song for the first time last night, and I might make it my anthem. Around the one-minute mark in the video, a guy pulls up in a Ford pickup truck like the one I had in high school. A few seconds later, an AMC Pacer appears, like the one I bought as a family man in 1978.