Started my evening at Snackbar, where I joined in celebrating the occasion of Lydell turning twenty-two. I honestly thought she was older than that, but then again, age is just a number (provided that number is at least 18).
Anyway, it was nice to participate in the BD party. This morning Lydell and Heidi joined the Friday group hike for the first time on one of our tougher trails and seemed to enjoy themselves. More on that with photos tomorrow.
Now it’s time to prepare for my Friday night. There could be an SOB in my future, although honestly, I’m on the fence about attending tonight’s performance. I might need a break this week, but we’ll see how I feel when the time comes.
The same old same old is feeling kind of old. Or maybe it’s just that I am. But what else am I going to do? It’s not like we have a library in town. I reckon a few cold beers will cure whatever it is that’s ailing me.
That’s the birthday girl with the brownies I baked for her. Heidi made that big batch of spaghetti.
Heidi looks to be about four years old in that picture. She must be massively talented to have made that much spaghetti.
I thought the snackbar wasn’t in business anymore. is that the place where your ex works 💪?
I do admire your healthy friendships even with exes. It speaks of your maturity and emotional stability. My ex stabbed me with a spork , that wasn’t what you’d call an amicable dissolution . I guess I’m lucky it wasn’t the kitchen knife.
It looks like the birthday party was held at a busy roadside diner. Except I imagine there’d be much more motorcycle noise and smog , and combine that with the sweltering heat and that makes me shake my head that jeans are the fashion choice. Maybe it’s my Scandinavian tendrils speaking, but didn’t the good lawd deem it necessarily for seasons to change? Otherwise how do you even tell the passage of time? A time to reap and a time to sow. A time to frolic with your lover in the flowers, and a time to lick your wounds in the snowy heartbreak. A time to take peel off the layers and get some vitamin D, and a time to bundle up against the trade winds. A time to witness the birth of the youngsters, and a time to bid adieu to old friends.
A change in seasons makes for a wonderful rhythm of life. That familiar chill in the air that brings anticipation.
But then I guess you’re used to it now. The dry heat, and then the wet rainy heat. And the third season of Xmas and special days.
Gotta give it to you Mccrarey.. You’re a versatile, adaptable fellow.
Did you ever imagine that this is what you’d be doing when you were a youngster? Did you dream of traipsing the world?
I guess your most formative significant experience, except for getting married young, was the work ethic you developed as a mail carrier. The reward of doing a hard day’s work, work that doesn’t end til the mail has been delivered to the right houses , the tussle with the stray cats and baying hounds …That’s a kind of crucial character-building that comes with the turf.
Your biography will certainly cover the walking part. You walked in your youth because it was a job, now you walk for pleasure and health, and yet you bring the same determination as if you have mail to deliver and a paycheck to earn. Do you know anybody who walks as much as you do? I should say, somebody who walks as regularly as you do? I’m sure you’ve mentioned the steps , and all the trails. But what impresses me is the regularity , the way you keep doing it again and again and again. I would say ‘season after season’ but you know how I feel about tropical weather. Is it tropical or subtropical? I’m sure my Geography teacher mentioned that , but I was thinking about lunch.
Thanks for the writing as usual.
The regularity of your writing deserves its own award ceremony, but that might become too circular of a dialog.
Don’t forget with Xmas coming up; that you promised your friend Kevin a bar crawl with themes and fireworks. Or just a stumble from bar to bar. Though I think you’d need a wingman for this kind of activity, somebody to watch your back and also keep you company. A wingman to stay objective, and actually to watch your antics and then relay the information on how you enjoyed each bar.
Perhaps one of your former lady friends will help..As long as she’ll promise not to bring a spork
James, the Snackbar (Snatchbar) remains open and appears to be doing decent business. It was the sister place, Kamto (Cameltoe), that shut down. Yes, I’m friends with the owner. Glad you survived the spork attack! Violence is never the answer, but I’ve been stabbed in the back and had my heart stomped on many times over the years, emotionally speaking. Pain is pain.
I do miss the seasonal weather sometimes, although the below-freezing days in winter not so much. We do have seasons of a sort here: Hot, REALLY hot, rainy, and the “ber months” (SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, and DecemBER). Christmas music can be heard playing all over town during the Ber months–it’s enough to chill your heart.
Nope, I never imagined a life like the one I am living, never even knew a place like this existed. Like a lot of Americans, I lived an insular life. I guess I was adventurous in the sense that I resided in six states over the years, but other than some vacations (Mexico, Bahamas, Netherlands, Turkey), I never thought much of the outside world. Working and living in Korea changed everything for me. Sometimes I wonder if it was for the better, but this is the road I’ve chosen, and I’m going to ride it out until the end.
I enjoyed my time as a letter carrier, but after several years I needed something more mentally challenging. My journey as a government HR professional provided more than I dreamed of in that regard. No regrets about trading the uniform for the necktie.
As for the walking, that didn’t start in earnest until several years ago when my Korean wife dumped me. I became a walker for my mental and physical health, and it’s kept me alive thus far. In Korea, I didn’t let the cold stop me in winter. Here, I’m either wet with sweat or rain. You adapt to the environment you live in, and it just becomes a habit. I do know walkers more devoted than me–LTG reader and commenter Kevin Kim, for one. Other guys here in Barretto walk much longer distances than I can manage.
Yes, I haven’t forgotten I promised to do a bar crawl series of posts. I just need to put thoughts into action and then action into words. Soon I will!
Kev, oops! That caption was indeed misleading. The little girl is Heidi’s daughter; I should have made that distinction. If she grows up like her mama, I suppose spaghetti will come naturally for her.