Made it through one more day without any major disappointments, heartbreaks, or other self-inflicted wounds. That’s always a plus. A good Hash and some nice after Hash activities made for a full and satisfying day.

Our “sane” group of Hashers did a 7K hike with only one big climb. We walked around, rather than over, the second mountain as the Hares intended. That made it just about right for the likes of me. A good On-Home at Da’ Kudos on Baloy Beach with the usual beer-infused Hash rituals. You can see the photos at the end of this post.

The girlfriend messaged me that she wanted to meet up after the Hash at her favorite place to eat, Papagayo’s. Naturally, I did as I was told and caught a trike. Duh. When she finished her dinner, we walked back along the beach to her resto-bar. No easy trick on a dark night, even with a cellphone flashlight. I had some beers at the Car Wash and interacted with some of the other customers. At around 10 p.m. someone suggested going to Cheap Charlies and the girlfriend was actually enthusiastic about the idea. I was surprised because she had never shown any interest in joining me in my bar hangouts previously.

So, off we went. There were five of us all together (3 guys and 2 gals) and we were the only customers when we arrived at Cheap Charlies. The look on the bargirls’ faces, especially my regulars, when they saw me with a woman for the first time was priceless. A mix of surprise and disappointment. They knew there’d be no multiple lady drinks in their immediate future. Well, I did get my favorite, Alma, who dutifully served as our waitress, a drink and left her a nice tip.

One beer at Cheap Charlies, then we crossed the highway and gave BarCelona a go. Sitting outside on the rooftop was very pleasant. Music and service were good and we stayed until closing time at midnight. The rest of the group wanted to join the after-hours crowd at It Doesn’t Matter, but I was past my expiration date and headed home with the girlfriend in tow. We enjoyed a dish of rocky road ice cream and a short YouTube video from a vlogger we know, then hit the hay.

Alright, now for those Hash photos I promised:

I’ll be attending a more traditional birthday celebration at Martin’s house later this afternoon.

Life may not be perfect, but days like yesterday make it feel good to be alive. It will hopefully be fun, and at least interesting, to find out what happens next. Either way, come on back soon and read all about it!