In the meantime, this life goes on until it doesn’t. I have a birthday coming up tomorrow (number 71), and my driver gifted me this ballcap:

Got the shopping done, then stopped by to see Dr. Jo for my weekly injection. I gained a pound last week. Damn it. The rain continues, but at least now there are occasional breaks between the downpours.

When beer o’clock rolled around, we broke out the umbrellas and made our way to It Doesn’t Matter.

For our nightcap, we moseyed to the other side of town and paid a visit to Queen Victoria. Bought a couple of shawarmas at the place that used to be Myleen’s and took them with us. Queen Vic’s bartender hadn’t heard about that new beer in town, so I sent a photo to manager Jake, and he promised to order some.

A nice chat with Jake as usual. He even laughs at my jokes. He said the rain isn’t helping business, but they were doing quite a bit better than a lot of bars in town and at least breaking even. We both expect there will be a shakeout coming soon because most owners can’t afford to keep losing money month after month.

Speaking of which, Arizona Resort announced that it is closing for good next month, and everything is for sale. Sad news. I used to stay there as a tourist and always had a good time at the Score Bar. When I first moved here, I’d regularly visit Arizona for meals. And of course, the floating bar. All that’s gone now, except for the memories. Well, it did go to shit after ownership changed, and the new owner didn’t do the hands-on management required. And so it goes.

This morning there was a post on Facebook saying that the Viking Resort on Baloy was shutting down. I also heard a rumor that Jumpin’ Jacks has been sold and the new owner is going to convert it into a dancing bar. Looks like a change in my Sunday routine is on the horizon.

One of my charity projects is in support of an acquaintance (I only knew her as a waitress at Sit-n-Bull) who is undergoing cancer treatment in Manila. I basically provide her rent and food money each month. She is unable to afford a private hospital, and the public hospitals here in the PI are a nightmare. I didn’t realize just how bad they actually are until she started sharing some of the gruesome details. She was recently “hospitalized” in the emergency ward with about a hundred other people suffering various illnesses and injuries. There were no beds available, so she spent two days confined to a wheelchair in the ward. The chemo and cancer are bad enough, but to be tortured on top of it is unimaginable. And the worst part is nobody cares about the patients. Hold on to your hats while I share what she sent me yesterday:

Oh Lord, I’m not comfortable here in Emergency. There is no available ward room full of patients,even if here in Emergency room,too many patients,and you can’t believe we only use wheelchairs- no beds- we can’t sleep here

It’s a public hospital. What to expect: every hour, too many patients coming, and we are here again- too many patients again this morning, and we are like sardines in a can.

Didn’t I just donate blood, we were in the emergency room for several days without a bed, we were just in a wheelchair, patients were packed together, different illnesses, and you get even sicker because of the number of patients, now the doctor has discharged me but, I was expecting that the gynecologist would check on me, just to tell me that I should get treatment from them, but the thing is, the gynecologist doesn’t care about me, the urology just a simple change of catheter.

So many are dying there every day, my God, you really can’t help but say, Life is really short, I felt even weaker there in the hospital, not much sleep, how can you sleep, I’m in a wheelchair, and there are so many people crowded together when I left the hospital today, I suddenly had a fever, there are so many patients every day, because of leptospirosis.

I have a story: instead of helping me, I hear them laughing at me, disgusted, because of the smell of my lump. One doctor said, what kind of illness does she have that his lump smells like that, then another doctor said, he’s just waiting for me to die; that’s how I understood it. Then my fellow patients are really disgusted by my smell because of the lump.

Almost all doctors treat it that way. I thought they would understand my situation, but they didn’t. I really need to undergo chemo again to get rid of the smell of my lump, and it also shrinks when I undergo chemo.

The experience I went through in the emergency room when I was confined, the mockery, the judgment of my illness by the people there, even the doctors, nurses, and the patients, made me question myself if I really wanted this.

Yesterday, when the catheter was changed, a lot of blood came out, and it took a long time before the catheter was replaced. Big round clots of blood came out; that’s why my lower abdomen was so painful. After the blood came out, my lower abdomen pain also disappeared. It was so painful during the insertion; I was screaming because, aside from being stinging, it was really painful. I just cried and cried yesterday, and then there was a terrible smell coming out; so many people were disgusted with me because there were foul-smelling leaks.

I feel so tired right now, I’m swollen because I’ve been sitting all day and night, I’ve been confined in the hospital for several days and I’m getting sicker, especially with so many patients crowded together, I was happy earlier when they said they would release me now, I said thank you, I will schedule chemo tomorrow, to get rid of the smell and shrink my lump, we will fight, even with a lot of judgment and disgust towards me, God is always good.

I will fight, while alive there is hope, while there is hope, no one will give up.

If I could afford to, I’d help her get treated at a private hospital, but sadly that is beyond my means. She’s a good woman who deserves better, but this is what the average Filipino can expect from public healthcare. It’s tragic.

Plodding on through the July 2021 LTG archives, and I’ve had an interesting first date with a gal I call Jane. What’s different is that she initiated contact and isn’t looking for money. Is it possible that there is someone out there who likes me for who I am? Hmm. We shall see.

For today’s YouTube video, I just picked one because it is short and I’m pressed for time. It did bring back memories from my tourist days when I made some of these mistakes. And as mentioned, it wound up costing me stolen money. One thing I was surprised they didn’t mention is that the women are not always women. Yep, a girl with something extra. That only happened once to me, but I managed to escape with my virginity intact. Live and learn.

Let’s get these out of the way:

So, that’s my story, and I’m sticking with it. I’ll be older but no wiser when I post here tomorrow.

I was very sad to hear that Dolly Parton has now departed from life. An amazing woman. Thanks for all you gave us.