Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow. The Wednesday Walkers group took a pass on hiking during another rainy morning. So instead, I opted to do a stroll through the neighborhood to get some steps in.

Since it had been over a week since I last showered (washing from a bucket just ain’t the same), I decided it was time to once again visit the Anbon Hotel to book a short-time room. The deluxe rooms come with a hot shower and cost 400 pesos for two hours. So, I handed over the cash and headed for my room. Got naked, stepped into the shower, turned the water on, and it never warmed up. I turned the water heater on and off, hit the breaker switch, but all to no avail. Well, that pissed me off, but not enough to redress and go back to the front desk for a new room. A cold shower wasn’t pleasant, but better than nothing. After I shaved, I took a piss, and the f’n toilet wouldn’t flush. I finished my body maintenance, got dressed, and turned the shower over to Swan. We agreed to meet up at It Doesn’t Matter, conveniently located right across the street from Anbon, when she was done cleaning up. On the way out, I informed the front desk about the water heater and toilet, but they didn’t offer any refund or discount. Next time I need a room, I’ll look for a better option, even if it costs me more.

A lot of bars are running out of XL beer, but IDM still has it in stock, and it was colder than my shower. As I was enjoying my brew, Gary, an old buddy who lives in San Antonio, dropped in. He goes shopping at Royal once a week and sometimes stops in Barretto for a beer on his way home. So we had a nice catch-up chat. Swan arrived and had her usual glass of wine.

But I had other business to attend to, so we headed up the highway. I dropped Swan off at Red Bar while I proceeded on to the barbershop. I tried a new barber this time, and we had a communication barrier. I told him I just wanted a trim, and he responded, “A number one?” I’ve never heard a number assigned to a haircut and had no clue what he meant. So, I repeated that I just wanted it cleaned up a little. My old barber always used scissors, but this guy used the electric shears and went high up, and I’m like, hold on, not so much! But it was too late, and obviously the other side had to be cut to match. Oh, well. It will grow back eventually, and at least I won’t need another haircut for quite a while.

We had a nicer-than-usual time hanging out at Red Bar. Manager Cliff was blasting the patio music louder than usual, so we moved away from the speakers and sat with him at his table. Cliff asked what I wanted to hear, so I asked him to play “In the Mood” by Glen Miller. People seemed to enjoy that classic tune, and I got Swan up to do a little swing dancing to everyone’s amusement. When it was my turn to request a song again, I went with “El Paso” by Marty Robbins, a country song I grew up listening to (my dad was a big Robbins fan). Cliff is an Aussie and had never heard it before. For my final selection of the night, I chose the only Australian song I could think of, “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport.” Cliff wasn’t impressed, calling the singer, Rolf Harris, a pedophile. When I looked him up on Wiki just now, it turns out he was convicted of diddling underage girls. I never knew that. Anyway, Cliff followed up with “The Land Down Under,” which is indeed a much better representation of his homeland.

It was time for Cliff to go home (he opens the bar at 0900), and his wife Ashley escorted him in the trike. Swan and I headed to Cheap Charlie’s mostly because I was craving the Foodies iteration of a chicken quesadilla. As is my custom, I bought the waitress crew some pancit and lumpia to enjoy. I had started the beer drinking an hour earlier than usual (thank goodness it’s only 3% XL), but I was feeling like I’d had enough. As we made our way to the trike stand near It Doesn’t Matter, Swan surprised me by saying she wanted to stop in to IDM for one more. Who am I to argue? And so we finished our wet night on the town where we had begun four hours earlier.

It’s good to be alive.

From the November 2021 LTG archives is a post that tells the story of what may very well have been my best day ever in the Philippines. Woke up next to the woman I was falling in love with and she suggested we have a hiking adventure in the hills of San Antonio. Wow, that was totally out of the blue, but we caught a bus and were on our way. It was an amazing day that I’ll always remember.

Today’s YouTube video shares ten Pinoy words that English speakers may not understand. Well, I’ve heard them all over the years and do understand their meanings. The funny thing to me is that most of them are variations of English words (like saying “Xerox” instead of “copy”). Anyway, it’s short and sweet and kind of amusing.

Let’s get to the funny business:

I hate to rain on your parade, but that’s all I’ve got on another wet afternoon. Will wonders never cease?