I’ve been busy getting back into my routines, despite the weather. The skies were threatening as we headed out for our weekly Decay Dance. And then the threats became reality. Oh well, that’s what umbrellas are for, right? Of course, when you are wading down the road, there is no way to keep your feet dry. So, we just rolled on, making the best of it. We did alter our course to avoid the knee-deep backwaters, but we successfully sweetened the day of a couple hundred kids, and that’s what our dance is all about.
The rain continued off and on throughout the day and night, and it ain’t done yet. Well, we did a Saturday evening barhop anyway—Sloppy Joe’s, Alaska, and Rum Jungle. The usual mix at Sloppy between those watching sports on TV, those playing pool, and beer drinkers like me taking in the street views. Owner Bert gave us a warm welcome when we arrived.
Alaska was deader than usual, with us being the only customers for most of our visit. Owner Jerry is back in the States again, so his regulars weren’t in attendance. After a couple of beers, we moved on to Rum Jungle for our nightcap.
I used to be a semi-regular at Green Room, but haven’t enjoyed the remaking into Rum Jungle. One of my biggest complaints was the bar playing crap music, in what I presume was an attempt to get the girls on stage to actually dance. I’d heard similar complaints from others. Maybe the word got back to management, because last night it was nothing but that old-time rock and roll. We enjoyed our visit last night.
Then it was home for a bedtime smoothie and a good night’s sleep.
It turns out there’s an export in which the Philippines leads the world, and it ain’t even close!
From the April 2021 LTG archives, a post about living my life like clockwork. I’m pretty much still adhering to that schedule on a daily basis. The post also covers one of the final chapters in my darting life: the completion of the first and only season of the Barretto Singles League, a league I founded and had successfully run in Columbia, SC, and Seoul, Korea. I lost my passion for the game somewhere along the way.
Today’s YouTube video talks about the arrests of twelve foreigners on Siargao Island. I had heard stories about the shit some of those visitors were pulling, and the immigration folks swooped in and shipped them out. The overwhelming tourist vibe that comes with the influx of a youngish surfer crowd is one of the reasons I would not enjoy living on Siargao.
I beg your forgiveness for these:
And one more item on today’s to-do list is now completed. Up next, my Sunday bar hop.
A grand, soft day, so it is; divil a speck of trouble in the air, and may the road rise to meet you on a day like this, for sure you couldn’t complain if you were paid for it! God’s blessing on the quiet times, for faith, sometimes just keeping your nose to the same old grindstone is all a man needs to stay right in himself and keep the hearth fire burning.
Aight J-Dawg hella cool yr into ya chickadee coz like I done did done did say it just ain’t right if man ain’t eating fried bird gnome sayin? But don’t be there all discounting ribs and all coz they b good 2. Keep it real yo and catch ya on d Flips ides.
Hella yeah hella yo yo
Re: trash
If the PI government was serious about solving the problem, they could. Combination of carrot and stick. You mention about how the PI lags other SEA countries in tourism arrivals, and I think that the trash situation is part of it. It is pretty off putting and discourages people from doing a return visit, and maybe even a first visit. I would think that in a place like Thailand, a minimum of 35% (or more) of the visitors are return visitors. I am guessing that, unless you are an expat retiree or similar, there are not many return visitors to the PI.
Re: Routines
read something about how if a person wants time to slow down, they need to do new things every day. Doing the same thing on a daily basis makes the days run into each other and makes time slip away faster than it should.
Brian, I’m sure the litter, especially when it winds up on the beach, is very off-putting to tourists. That’s just one of many issues (like transportation and infrastructure) that negatively impact tourism. I’ve seen no efforts by the government, local or national, to address these issues. Hell, putting out some strategically placed trash bins around town would be a good first step. It’s no excuse, but when you have nowhere to toss your garbage, a lot of folks will just throw it on the ground (or into the rivers).
Regarding routines, are you saying this old dog should learn new tricks? I get what you are saying, and that’s one of the reasons I do a “get outta town” excursion once a month. It’s good to see new places and faces.
Corneilius, easy for you to say.
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, Seamus.
Yes, a campaign of providing trash receptacles that can’t be foraged through.
And a public service announcement campaign featuring well-known celebrities explaining that littering is very uncool, and in fact demonstrates that the offender is an ignorant bumpkin, would work wonders.
But there’s no easy money in all that, so …
Spot on, Drain. I remember those ads with the crying Indian when I was growing up. But you are right, there’s no graft money to be made on an anti-litter campaign. It would be nice if the city paid the unemployed to clean the streets and beaches, but then again, the trash would be back again the next day.