Or so I keep telling myself. Well, being an old fucker beats the only other option available.
What yesterday was, was Tuesday, probably the least interesting day of my weekday routines. Still, you gotta do what you gotta do, and yesterday I needed to renew my tourist visa for another sixty days. That went without a hitch. In fact, the woman behind the counter actually spoke to me about something other than the renewal process for the first time in all these years, asking me if I could recommend a beach resort for an event she was planning. I suggested Treasure Island on Baloy. She pulled it up on her phone and seemed pleased with what she saw, and thanked me.
We changed things up a tad in the grocery shopping routine with a visit to the Puregold supermarket. I can occasionally find items there that are not otherwise available at Royal, and so I’ll check it out once every three months or so. No big finds yesterday, but still managed to leave them with 7000 of my pesos.
I’ve been experiencing some issues with my ATM card; none of the machines in Barretto can read the chip for some unknown reason. Luckily, it still works at the BPI machine at Harbor Point Mall on SBMA. Not convenient, but better than nothing. I need to order a new card at some point, but that’s a whole other hassle to get it delivered in the Philippines. Anyway, Swan suggested that I open an account at her bank and wire my money there, then use a local ATM card for withdrawals. So, we stopped by the branch on SBMA, but when they learned I was on a tourist visa, it was a no-go. Oh well.
No problems encountered at Royal, although I did find myself on the Dole.
Back home, groceries unloaded, and I hit the streets for my neighborhood walk.
Tuesday afternoon, Swan and some of the lady Hashers spent some time with the recently departed Jerry Rowe, aka Fucking Old Man.
Sitting around with the remains of the deceased is a thing here in the Philippines, but it is not my thing and never has been. When I lost my best friend, Linda, I visited her at the hospice but did not attend her funeral. I want my last memories to be of the person alive. The last time I saw Jerry was at the Hash On-Home at Smokes and Bottles, sipping on a beer and soaking up the Hash vibes. That’s what I’ll remember. Jerry is scheduled to be cremated tomorrow, and his ashes will be entombed at the Clark Veterans Cemetery in Angeles City.
We made plans for Swan to meet me on Baloy when she was finished paying her respects to Jerry.
Another quiet night on Baloy, even Treasure Island was devoid of customers.
So, there was a birthday celebration scheduled for the Hash Grandmaster, Buddy Fucker, at Wet Spot starting at nine. That’s a little late for my blood, but I wanted to at least stop by to offer my congratulations, so we surprised our trike driver by saying Wet Spot instead of Alta Vista.
Except the birthday boy wasn’t there. We waited around until 9:30 and then called it a night. I don’t think I’ll be changing my early bird ways anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the news on the lack of water just keeps getting worse. Neighbor Mike, who acts as kind of an unofficial neighborhood representative, went to the water department to find out what the fuck is going on. Here’s the report he sent us:
MET THIS MORNING WITH PRIME WATER MANAGEMENT…. PRIME CANNOT EVEN START TO WORK ON THE PROBLEM TILL THE WATER IN THE RIVER GOES DOWN. THEY ARE ANTISIPATING 4 WEEKS. IF IT RAINS IT WILL EXTEND THE TIME.
THERE IS STILL SOME WATER TRICKELING LATE AT NIGHT BUT ANYONE WITH PRIME WILL SEE THAT STOP SOON AS THE WATER BLEEDS OUT OF THE SYSTEM.
JT AND JOHN DID NOT GET WATER BECAUSE THE TRUCK WAS 3 HOURS LATE DUE TO THE TRUCK LEAKING ALMOST AS MUCH WATER AS IT WAS PUMPING…. THE TRUCKS HAD TO MAKE MORE TRIPS TO REFILL THAN USUAL BECAUSE OF THAT. PRIME IS FIXING THAT TODAY AND ALSO GETTING A LONGER HOSE TO FILL THE WATER.
So, the situation stinks. Or maybe that’s me. It looks like I’m going to have to get used to sponge baths and cold bucket of water showers for the foreseeable future.
I’m sure I’ll be looking for some opportunities to get away and stay at a beach resort with heated showers somewhere. Stay tuned.
From the LTG archives, in February 2013, I wrote about one of the first steps I took in my climb to the top of the government Human Resources ladder: serving as Acting Director of HR at the Roanoke, Virginia, Management Sectional Center for the US Postal Service.
It’s time to visit Smart Girl Philippines again. In today’s YouTube video, she discusses things you don’t want to do after having sex with a Filipina. Ah, I remember those days of transactional relationships. Empty, but strangely satisfying. But, I’m older and wiser (shuddup!) now.
Speaking of being old, let’s go with these today:
And that’s all I’ve got for today. A new beach bar is opening tonight, and I’m going to pop in for a look. Tell you all about it tomorrow.
I’m ragging on Kevin Kim about a joke I made when he pointed out “dole” should not be capitalized in one of his Substack posts.
You’re being disingenuous: I’d said that “dole” should not be capitalized in the expression “on the dole.” Whether “dole” is a noun (“the dole”) or a verb meaning “to mete out or allocate” (“to dole out”), it’s always lower case except at the beginning of a sentence. The brand name, however, is a different story.
It’s the “Ber” months, and that means the Christmas goodies are filling the shelves at Royal.
You’d think that a country full of Catholics wouldn’t have to buy the same trinkets again and again, year after year. Then again, here in Korea, Buddhist-trinket shops remain in business with no sign of closing up.
…but credit where it is due[:] he was still making the effort to do the things he enjoyed until the end.
I guess putting “Fucking Old Man” on that announcement would’ve been, as the French say, de mauvais goût.
the Hash Grandmaster, Buddy Fucker
So poor Dave can’t escape nicknames. He’s either Buddy Fucker or Daddy Dave, never just Dave.
So, the situation stinks. Or maybe that’s me. It looks like I’m going to have to get used to sponge baths and cold bucket of water showers for the foreseeable future.
So no solar/camp shower?
Been there, done that. Zero points for me.
I might have one point, but I can’t remember. Have I ever listened to music on a boombox outside? Otherwise, zero for me, too.
Swan is a certified caregiver, so I’m in good hands.
I hope “certified caregiver” means “able to be a first responder.”
If you are able to open a wise account it would be a good option. You could transfer money to it from your US bank and then move to Swan’s for withdrawal. The fees are very minimal and it works in seconds.
Maybe you have discussed this in the past, but any reason not to get a PI retirement visa? Seems (relatively) easy to get.
Could you do a one time (or multiple time) transfer of your monies directly to Swan’s bank account, or is that a road you dont want to go down?
Weather in Korea is starting to turn for the better (or any country in north Asia). Maybe a trip there?
Brian, I started the SSRV process when I first moved here, but jumping through the bearurcratic hoops wore me out and I gave up. Might try again someday with a “fixer” to do the heavy lifting, but I’m okay being a tourist for now.
As a matter of fact, that’s the method I use to pay Swan’s allowance. It’s easy using Wise transfer service. Yesterday Swan opened a new account in her name, but I will use it for moving my money from my US account. The best thing about it is the local ATM card is free to use, my foreign card got charged 250 pesos a pop. Did my first withdrawal this morning and it worked like a charm.
I’m going to stay in-country until the January trip to Vietnam. The only problem with a Korea visit (besides the sad memories of what was and was not to be) is that Swan would need a visa, which isn’t that easy for a Filipina.
Brandon, I use Wise now to transfer money from my US bank account to pay my landlord and helper. Yesterday, Swan set up an account (in her name since I’m not eligible) with an ATM card for me to use. Transferred some money and made a withdrawal today. And yeah, it was free compared to the 250 pesos I paid on ATM withdrawals from the USA.
Kevin, yes, I knew I was being stupid with my joke…that’s why it was dis-genius.
Ha, I’m sure Dave’s been called worse things!
One of my neighbors just bought one of those solar showers. I’m going to tough it out for now and see how it goes.
Yes, Swan has been trained to do CPR should that ever be needed. She also verified that my new helper has those skills. It’s good to see folks motivated to keep me alive!
Wise also offers a physical card however, I know the difficulties in receiving mail there. It worked great for my past holiday when my debit card crashed out. Just a tip for those planning on visiting, have 3 or 4 options to withdraw money better safe than broke!
Thanks, Anon. My backup plan is just wiring money to myself on Remitly and picking it up at one of the ubiquitous Lluhiller shops. Using Wise is great for sending to bank accounts, and now that I have one here (in Swan’s name) that’s what I’ll be doing henceforth.