Made it through another day with only one complaint. I’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first.
On the way to Royal for groceries, I stopped at the Ulticare Hospital to pick up my bloodwork results and x-ray. With those in hand, it is now just a matter of getting some face time with Dr. DeLeon for her interpretation. My breathing issues have all resolved, but I’ll try for a consult on Friday afternoon to see if there is anything going on inside of me I need to know about.
No issues with the ATM cash infusion or shopping to report.
Back home, I boxed up my portable nebulizer. One of the benefits of my recent return to healthy breathing is not needing to nebulize. I still have my home version should I need it in the future, but I promised to gift the other to a peanut vendor in town who has had some health issues recently. Emanuel messaged me on Monday, reminding me of our agreement, but I was already at the Hash, so I couldn’t meet up. I know he lives in Calapacuan and walks into Barretto daily to sell his wares. So, I sent him a message that I’d be at the 7/11 on Baloy at 4:30. I didn’t hear back from him, but I carried the nebulizer with me anyway.
As me and Swan began our walk to the Snackbar (next door to the 7/11) we heard some noise coming from the weeds near the road.
Swan went back to the house and fetched some dry dog food, a leftover chicken wing, and some water. When she tried to place it in front of the kitten, it scurried further back into the weeds. So, we just left the food there and continued on our way. I’m not a cat person and already have a house full of dogs, so adoption wasn’t really an option. Sad, though.
We arrived at Snackbar and ordered our usual beverages: Zero for me and wine for Swan. This used to be one of my regular hangouts, but times and circumstances change. I still recognized a couple of the waitresses and bought the one serving me a lady drink. I also had the waitress go to the 7/11 to get her and her workmates each an ice cream cone. I had two more beers while waiting to hear from Emanuel, but still no word. Welp, it was time for us to move on, so I asked to bill out.
Here’s the part where I whine. The bill came to over 800 pesos, about double what it should have been. Looking closer, I saw Swan’s single glass of wine billed at 450 pesos. Excuse me? I had just bought a whole bottle of wine at Royal for 300 pesos. The most expensive bar in town for wine (Sloppy Joe’s) is 200 pesos; the other bars we frequent are 150 a glass or less. I was more than a little pissed and let it be known I wouldn’t be back. Again, I’m not blaming the waitresses; they have no control over the pricing. However, Snackbar is a discount venue and advertises having the least expensive beers in town. It seems reasonable that they could have warned me of their expensive wine, but then, I should have asked. Swan asked to see the wine bottle and took a picture, and then we left, me still being in a huff.
We made Outback our next stop and sat at the pool bar.
So, while I’m enjoying my beer and view at Outback, I made a Facebook post:
Tell me you don’t want me as a customer without telling me you don’t want me as customer. Charge me 450 pesos for a glass of wine. Goodbye!
I did not name Snackbar in my post or respond to comments asking where it happened. Again, I was as much to blame as anyone, and I wasn’t going to trash the bar for my mistake. The owner messaged me later, apologizing for the misunderstanding. I suggested she warn customers of the price in the future, or better yet, buy a cheap bottle of wine at Royal like I do.
Okay, end of whine. I promise.
I also messaged Emanuel from Outback just to let him know where we were if he was in town. To my surprise, he showed up less than a minute later. It turns out he was inside the Outback bar selling his wares. Was that a coincidence or divine intervention? Either way, I handed off the nebulizer, and Emanuel was happy with his new tool. I also bought some peanuts for the girls at the inside bar (he’s not allowed to sell at the pool bar for some reason).
We did our nightcap at The Green Room. When we arrived, Jim, the manager, came to our table immediately to advise his wine was only 120 pesos a glass. Yep, he’d already seen my Facebook post. That made me laugh. We had a nice time with our regulars there (Swan enjoys chatting with Chu and Lea). Next we grabbed some takeout at Sit-n-Bull and headed for home.
And that was the end of Tuesday for me.
I’m loving the political memes these days:
Oh, and the audacity of lefties calling JD Vance “weird” has really backfired:
Ah, to the memories for a moment or two:
I’m in a hurry today, but here’s the latest YouTube from one of my favorites, The Filipina Pea. I haven’t had a chance to watch this one, but I will. The topic looks too good to miss!
And some down and dirty humor:
I’m late for beer o’clock and haven’t even showered yet. Damn. More to come tomorrow.
I stopped at the Ulticare Hospital to pick up my [blood-work] results and x-ray. With those in hand, it is now just a matter of getting some face time with Dr. DeLeon for her interpretation.
I’ll be curious to read what she has to say.
However, Snackbar is a discount venue and advertises having the least expensive beers in town. It seems reasonable that they could have warned me of their expensive wine, but then, I should have asked.
Don’t these places have anything as basic as menus with prices listed on them? That would seem the most commonsense approach, here. How does/Why would one order something with no way of knowing the price?
From the Westminster Facebook page. I worked here for a while when I was in high school.
I love how they spell it “entertament.”
Here’s hoping you’re in a better mood now.
Did you see the horrific video of the 80-something woman who pushed her shopping cart onto an escalator, then tumbled to her death? This is from 2 years ago. See here if you haven’t yet. People were speculating she thought it was some kind of cart-friendly escalator. We get goofy when we get old. And as a general rule of life, people young and old should look first instead of trusting their surroundings, whether they’re pushing carts or ordering wine. Here in Korea, you learn not to trust anything, a topic I’ve harped on quite often (see here, for example, and scroll down to the end).
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as @Kevin regarding a menu and pricing. Did they have a menu and you just didn’t look at it? Did you just ask for a glass of red wine? And that is the only type they had?
If that is the case, then most/all of the fault is yours. If a bar has only one type of red wine, and a customer comes in and asks for a glass of red wine, what is the wait staff supposed to do? Tell him that it may be too expensive for him?
I think you are misplacing your anger.
Of course, if they have multiple types of red wine and just served you the most expensive one, or they don’t have a menu/price list, then you have a legitimate beef.
Just my 2 pesos. (Now, get off my lawn!!! LOL)
Brian, yes, I should have asked the price, no question about it. I don’t believe they have a drink menu. Again, this is a tiny place with most of the seating outside in the parking lot. They have a billboard bragging about their low beer prices; cheap drinks are their market niche. I assumed their wine pricing would be similar. Given that their wine was DOUBLE the cost of every other bar in town, a heads-up from the waitress would seem appropriate–Sir, our wine today is top-of-the-line and ONLY 450 a glass.
“How does/Why would one order something with no way of knowing the price?”
I have never been handed a drink menu at any bar in Barretto. Some have their “happy hour” pricing posted on the wall, but the normal range of beer prices is between 60 and 100 pesos. Wine isn’t a popular beverage here, and some bars don’t even serve it. The ones that do charge between 120 and 250 pesos, with 150 being the norm. Granted, that is cheap-ass Carlo Rossi wine (which Swan enjoys), not the highfalutin stuff Snackbar served. I didn’t ask the price beforehand, so that’s on me. But I never expected “the cheapest bar in town” to charge more than double for a glass of wine. In the future, I will ask.
If you think Blinky’s spelling was bad, you should have seen those pizzas I made! Talk about entertament!
No, I hadn’t seen the granny video. I feel bad for her. It seems like I’m becoming more cautious and risk-averse in my old age. I’m notoriously slow coming down those mountain paths! I’m sure my old bones are fragile enough to snap if I make a misstep.
I get what you are saying about being cautious. Still, I was in a familiar place (the owner is my ex) and knew most of the staff, so my comfort level was high. Lesson learned.
Are you seriously saying there are bars out there that have no menus or listed prices? I don’t drink, but if I was expected to sit down and order regular food without knowing its price, I’d walk out. Yikes.
If she can handle the saltiness, John, you can always convince the missus to switch to cooking wine. Off the top of my head it’s like 21.5%, so stronger than wine but weaker than spirits. Or even better, she can switch to mouthwash or extract. A bottle of mouthwash will keep me nicely fucked up for like 2 whole days, maybe 3 if I pace myself, and it’s only ~$4.50. Extract is ‘free’ because the bottles are small and easy to pocket (and then you won’t have to worry about the money being spent).
As for my daily whine,I think I need to see a proctologist or something. Despite making it rain ass piss, when using the toilet, I’ve had this constant sensation of a bowling ball-sized wad of shit impacted just beyond my rectum. I’d strain harder but I’m worried about a prolapsed anus.
Thompson, Swan is fine with the cheap wine we buy at the supermarket. It’s when we are out in the bars that problems arise. Not just with pricing, but also flavor. And I’ll take a pass on the mouthwash. I gargle but don’t swallow. Beer suits my needs just fine!
I’ve never heard of a prolapsed anus, but it sounds painful. Might be time to visit a proctologist and find out what’s going on down there. On the bright side, next time your girl says that you are full of shit you can simply respond, “Yeah, I know.”
“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
Hunter S. Thompson
I’ve never seen a menu in a bar that doesn’t also serve food. Most people know what they want…”gin and soda,” “San Miguel Pilsner, please,” “I’ll have a glass of red wine.” Oh, and how much is that?