A twosome place | Long Time Gone

***As seen on the morning dog walk. That’s smoke, not clouds or mist. Burning trash is a thing here.***

Swan and I kicked off our Thursday by sharing a walk. We took a Jeepney out to Philseco Road on the far side of Subic town and commenced our stroll from there.

***The intersection of National Highway and Philseco Road***

***Here’s where we leave the road behind us for a bit***

This portion of the hike is one of my favorites, so I recorded the walkthrough. It’s twelve minutes long, so feel free to view the video at 2x speed.

On with the hike:

***Of course, Swan was handing out treats along the way***

***I think “Squid Game” is coming to the Philippines!***

***That’s an impressive house being built in the Earth Homes subdivision***

***Off the pavement and over a rickety bridge***

Next on the agenda was my appointment with Dr. Jo. She gave me this week’s chelation injection and then removed the remainder of my facial skin tags.

***The wounds will heal and I’ll be gwapo again!***

After I was done with the doctor, I was ready to eat—time for a visit to Jewel Cafe.

***A filet mignon dinner for 499 pesos. Swan had one, too. The steak was small but filling. And I only ate half of the potatoes.***

After our meal, we stopped by at It Doesn’t Matter.

***Manager Ashley gave us a warm welcome, and I gave her a lollipop***

Then it was on to Wet Spot to use the last of my SOB coupons (buy one, take one). Five beers later, we headed for home. Another episode of “Squid Game” leaves one more to go before Season Two is complete. Then I can read Kevin Kim’s review!

Today’s weekly weigh-in was 230.5, down three pounds from last week and 36.6 pounds since the diet commenced on November 1. I still cringe when I see photos with my belly protruding, but I guess that’s the last to go. I have thirty-one more pounds to lose to reach my goal.

This installment in The Story of My Life is from February 3, 2006, and tells about the day that ended with my first (and only) ambulance ride and my first-ever experience with stitches. I’m glad I lived to tell about it then, and I’m happy to share the memory now.

Today’s Facebook memories included these events:

***Eight years ago, I was scouting the housing on SBMA as a potential retirement home. I opted to live in Barretto instead and have no regrets about that decision.***

Six years ago, after many attempts, I finally successfully navigated the route between the end of Rizal Extension and Alta Vista. In honor of that accomplishment, I declared that path would henceforth be known as the My Bitch Trail.

Three years ago, I was recovering from another broken heart.

“Human beings are remarkable – at what we can learn to live with. If we couldn’t get strong from what we lose, and what we miss, and what we want and can’t have, then we couldn’t ever get strong enough, could we? What else makes us strong?”
–John Irving

Things happen for a reason, I suppose. If Paula hadn’t dumped me, I would have missed out on Swan.

It’s the year of the snake, and that makes me think about those slimy creatures when I hike through the grasses. The Philippines has cobras, but they are rarely seen when we are out and about. It’s probably because we make so much noise as we walk that the snakes slither away before we arrive. That wasn’t the case two years ago:

***Not my photo; another Hasher took this shot before I arrived, and by then, the snake was long gone. Thankfully!***

I despise Manila and try to avoid going there as much as possible. I’ll be visiting the US Embassy next month to get a Power of Attorney notarized, but I won’t be spending the night. Makati is where I choose to stay when necessity dictates, but getting there in traffic can be a bitch. Anyway, that’s all a prelude to today’s YouTube video, which spends eight minutes talking about the good things the city has to offer. And yes, the nightlife on Burgos Street can be expensively fun.

Hmm, the video can’t be embedded. You can watch it here if you please.

And now for the smiles:

***At least he laid it all out on the table***

And that’s the way it was. The way it’s gonna be includes the SOB at Alaska Club tonight. I was on the fence about going, but this is Tim’s last night in town, so I’ll join in the fun. More to come tomorrow.

And in closing, I was sad to learn that Marianne Faithfull has died at 78. I enjoyed her songs back in the day, but I never realized what a f’d up personal life she lived until reading about her passing today. Your music lives on!

Here’s her first hit:

And another song I enjoyed:

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