Before any heads explode, I misspelled “phony” in the title on purpose. You’ll understand why later in this post.

My excursion last night was of the bar crawl variety. Yeah, I know; how is that different than every other night of the week? Well, I hit more bars than usual and ventured into a few places I rarely visit.

First stop–Sloppy Joe’s. It is fair to say this is currently my favorite bar in town. It’s a combination of factors–the option to sit outside and watch the world pass by, a friendly group of people I know, no lady drink pressure, good music, and the videos to go with it, just like the glory days of MTV.

Second stop–It Doesn’t Matter. Bob’s gone, Cliff sold his share, and the buzz and vibe of the place is in transition. I wouldn’t bet against a comeback, but the last couple of times I’ve visited, it’s not been busy, especially compared with the “good ol’ days.” Bob’s widow, Luna, was there, so that’s a good sign that she has an interest in reviving the bar. I shared drinks with my old favorite, Agnes, and she mentioned some things were in the works to make IDM better than ever. It should be interesting to see how it all plays out. I’ll still be popping in periodically.

Third stop–Mugshots Bar. It’s been a LONG time since I visited here. The staff I knew there from previous visits are long gone, so I was pretty much a stranger when I walked in. Still, the bartender and the manager were friendly, and service was prompt. I decided to take my evening meal here.

Fourth stop–Voodoo Bar. Actually, I didn’t plan to visit Voodoo–I was on my way to Wet Spot. Then, as I passed by, my old favorite Tia called out to me from the outdoor smoking area, so I stopped to say hello. And being the soft touch that I am, I decided to go inside and buy her a drink.

Not long into my visit at Voodoo, a couple of acquaintances came in, and after exchanging greetings, they sat at the table next to mine. Then promptly called all the remaining dancers down from the stage (six at least) for lady drinks. Now, these weren’t two-week millionaires; they were local expats (in fact, one is a Hasher). Good on them and good for the girls if they have the cash to spare and went to spend it that way. Probably more fun than handing it over to beggars like I’m prone to do. It was good to see Tia again, but it was time to move on.

Fifth Stop–Wet Spot. I ran into Daddy Dave at Sit-n-Bull when I bought that big assed burrito yesterday morning, and I told him I’d try to stop by Wet Spot during my barhop that night. I arrived shortly before he did, but then we had an enjoyable chat about his bar ownership days in Thailand. I knew he had been involved with a Voodoo clone there, but I was surprised to learn he had been an investor in seven Bangkok bars. This was all twenty years ago before he helped bring Angeles back to life and then later established himself as the Godfather of the Barretto bars. Dr. Fisher (yes, doctor as in physician) is quite the hobbyist! No Aine sighting, and I ignored the rude young one.

Sixth (and final) stop–Alaska Club. I was on a roll, so I rolled on down the highway to Alaska. Virginia wasn’t working, not that I cared; she was not worth the time and effort of trying to make the standard bargirl-customer connection. There were some guys from Alta Vista at the next table who recognized me, and they invited me over to join them. One of them is working on establishing a homeowner’s association to address some long-standing issues with the developer. As a renter, I doubt anyone would care about what I might say. Anyway, good luck with the effort.

It was getting to be past my bedtime, so I caught a trike for home. Made me a smoothie, then settled in for an episode of Lucifer before hitting the sack.

I woke up this morning and was doing my routine chores, and during the dog walk, I noticed that my phone was fucked up–the screen had broken, although it still functioned enough to read messages, albeit with difficulty. No idea when or what happened, but also not a big surprise ever since my big fall when I initially broke it; I knew it was just a matter of time because the phone was bent, which puts a lot of stress on the screen.

Anyway, as I was heading out for my Sunday stroll, I changed my mind and returned home, dropped off my backpack, grabbed a credit card, then went to the highway to catch a Jeepney to the mall in Olongapo. And I came home with this:

I picked up a couple of other items at the mall, then caught a taxi back home. The last time I took a cab, the driver wanted 350 pesos to Barretto, which I considered fair. Today, I was surprised to see the taxi was metered. I was very curious to see what my fare would be but expected it to be higher than before. It turns out I was wrong–from the mall in Olongapo to my front door was 216 pesos. I wowed the driver when I handed him my usual 350 pesos–“thank you so much for the tip, sir!” My pleasure.

Today is feeding day at Hideaway, and who knows what I’ll do after that. I’ll be getting up early in the morning for the trip out to San Antonio. Me, Scott, and Ed are the Hares for our Outstation Hash tomorrow, and we have a trail to mark.