As Fridays go, yesterday was a good one. And I’ve got the pictures to prove it. Oh, if you don’t like hiking photos, scroll on down for the pics from the SOB dance contest. If you don’t like sexy Filipinas either, you are on the wrong blog!
First, let’s take a gander into the future, shall we? Next Monday, I’ll be Hareing with Scott and Martin. It was sunny yesterday, and the forecast is not showing any rain on Monday either, so we tweaked our planned trail to include a hill and some off-road trekking.
This is about 90% of what our trail will be. Starting and finishing at the VFW and doing a little tweak near the end to spend less time on the National Highway.We left from Snackbar, where pretty Jamaica advised us that the owner was providing all hikers with free bottled water.We’ll be going through Alta Vista on the way out.Out of Alta Vista and into the wild.I’m glad we were able to add some dirt walking for the Hashers.It’s a jungle out there!There’s a mountain family way out here in the middle of nowhere. This grandma had a cane, and I just can’t imagine she could hike back to civilization. At least she has the kids and grandkids around to keep her company.An expansion of the living quarters is in progress. No electricity up here, and the water comes from a nearby creek. That ain’t the life for me!It looks like they won’t go hungry, at least.The nearest neighbors are about a kilometer away on the other side of the hill.Back in the flatlands and crossing the river on bridge #3A dog scavenging through the trash as Easter mountain looks on.Hey, the runners ought to like this stretch.Everyone seems to like cookies.That girl on the right called me by name, which was a little disconcerting. Turns out her mama works at Cheap Charlies, and they have seen me on previous hikes. It’s a small town, even out here in the countryside.That’s Alta Vista on the hillside across the valley.Keep on truckin’!I couldn’t bear to look.We’re still planning to go through the Santa Monica subdivision, but we’ll do the road on the right, which wasn’t flooded. Much.We finished our hike with some lunch at Kamto.No beer for me, just diet Coke.
A nap, a shower, then I was off to the Whiskey Girl bar for the SOB. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Lydell, my favorite Snackbar waitress, asking if she and fellow waitress Heidi could attend the SOB with me. Come on down!
Heidi (on the left) and Lydell had never seen a show like this and paid rapt attention. I was a judge again, and it was nice to have some female perspectives for consultation.I’m not sure why I didn’t get a shot with Heidi in the picture.But I got two with Lydell. Oh well, she’s a cutie!
Alright, you want to see the dancers. I get it. Well, none of my photos came out (too dark), but I lifted these from the sponsor’s Facebook page:
A Whiskey Girl. The Green Room team.Queen Victoria bar. Alaska ClubThe hotties from Hot Zone.The Wet Spot dancers took first place.The girls from Voodoo, last week’s winners.
All of the teams put on a nice show, and I had an enjoyable evening, especially since I had company. We all went to the Aftermath party at Wet Spot at the conclusion of the contest. I was doing my best to moderate my gin intake, but going non-stop from 4:00 until 9:00 put me higher on the inebriation scale than I like to be. Made it home safe and alone. As usual.
Back at it this morning with my solo Barretto walk.
I briefly considered walking into Olongapo, but the weekend traffic on the highway just made it seem too risky. I don’t want to wind up like Mike. (He’s still fighting, but honestly, from what I’m hearing, it’s not looking good.)
I made a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies this morning. I hadn’t done that in a long time. I had more dough than space on my cookie sheet pan, so the glops of batter turned into one giant cookie. No big deal, I just cut them into squares, and they tasted fine.
Yeah, not exactly in keeping with my limited carb plan, but man does not live by gin alone.
At lunchtime, I pulled the ingredients for some burritos out of the fridge.
Yep, that’s everything I need.Simmering the seasoning into the meat.Ground beef, lettuce, tomato, green onion, shredded cheese, and salsa.Rolled it all up and poked it in my mouth. Yum!
And that is where things stand as of now. It’s fixin’ to be Saturday night, and I’ve got a bunch of SOB raffle coupons to spend before they expire. Damn, I’m retired, but it feels like I’m working in the bars these days. Hmm, maybe if I call it a hobby instead. Yeah, that’s the ticket! I’m retired and pursuing a hobby in my free time.
Life is good!
What do I owe to you
Who loved me deep and long?
You never gave my spirit wings
Or gave my heart a song.
But oh, to her I loved
Who loved me not at all,
I owe the little open gate
That led thru heaven's wall.
--Sara Teasdale
Just an old poem I came across today via Facebook memories. Don’t read too much into it. Yeah, I’m not feeling loved these days, but I’m okay with that. Mostly.
3 thoughts on “A SOBering experience”
Teasdale’s poem is interesting because the first stanza is in the second person (you), and the second stanza is in the third person (she/her). She goes from addressing her love directly to talking about her as if she weren’t there.
Nice views of your walk, and good shots of the food. My cookies suffered a similar melting problem when I made mine. My solution was to use my little, circular burger-patty molds to produce perfectly round cookies.
When you make your burritos, think about toasting the filled tortillas in a pan before you eat. Adds flavor.
I went back to check the official text of the poem “Debt” to make sure I hadn’t messed up the transcription. I did change “him” in the second stanza to “her” since I was posting from my male perspective. That said, I read it as two different people–the one who loves her and the one who doesn’t. I’m not sure if that explains the second/third-person discrepancy you mention, though.
Thanks for the tip about toasting the filled tortillas. It has occurred to me that what I’m making is more like a soft taco than a burrito. Do I need to put oil in the pan before toasting?
Oil probably helps. You don’t need much. Pro tip: you can also slather on a thin coating of mayonnaise, which is mostly oil. The egg in the mayo will also help give your burritos a nice, golden-brown color.
Teasdale’s poem is interesting because the first stanza is in the second person (you), and the second stanza is in the third person (she/her). She goes from addressing her love directly to talking about her as if she weren’t there.
Nice views of your walk, and good shots of the food. My cookies suffered a similar melting problem when I made mine. My solution was to use my little, circular burger-patty molds to produce perfectly round cookies.
When you make your burritos, think about toasting the filled tortillas in a pan before you eat. Adds flavor.
I went back to check the official text of the poem “Debt” to make sure I hadn’t messed up the transcription. I did change “him” in the second stanza to “her” since I was posting from my male perspective. That said, I read it as two different people–the one who loves her and the one who doesn’t. I’m not sure if that explains the second/third-person discrepancy you mention, though.
Thanks for the tip about toasting the filled tortillas. It has occurred to me that what I’m making is more like a soft taco than a burrito. Do I need to put oil in the pan before toasting?
Oil probably helps. You don’t need much. Pro tip: you can also slather on a thin coating of mayonnaise, which is mostly oil. The egg in the mayo will also help give your burritos a nice, golden-brown color.