I call it what passes for adventure around here. Another day filled with the ordinary, but with some small tweaks to the routines that serve to pass the hours.

We kicked off our Saturday with the usual stroll, which has now devolved into a variant of the Candy Walk, just in different neighborhoods. But that’s okay; I get my steps in, and Swan loves dispensing her sweetness to the children we encounter. Here’s a taste:

I made a five-minute video of the uphill portion of our hike.

This time, I held the phone vertically to facilitate my ability to climb the steps. I still need to work on improving the angle I capture. Part of the problem is that I’m always looking down when I walk.

So, what goes up must come down. And I did a video of that, too.

That was excruciating. I’ll try to do better in the future.

I still wasn’t feeling like doing the same old Saturday night in Barretto thing, so we did it on Baloy instead. And we changed things up there by visiting two new venues.

It is located at the Baywatch Resort on the second floor. It was empty when we arrived, and no one else came in during our brief visit. This has the potential to be a nice place to hang out, but the owner will have to work harder to find a way to attract customers. I understand they joined the dart league but wound up dropping out because they didn’t have enough players to field a team. They played good music, even some country songs I like, but otherwise, the vibe was non-existent.

While we were there, I caught this guy checking out Swan, so I confronted him:

Swan was ready for her toes in the sand time.

So, the beach bar Laharnyz, which used to be a popular expat hangout, is no more. It is now called Cherryz, but it was not open when we stopped to check it out. The story I heard is that the expat owner of Laharnyz and his girl split up, the girl took over the bar, and now no one goes there anymore.

As we walked the beach, we saw a new place had opened, and some of those former Laharnyz customers were drinking there. We decided to drop in and check it out.

The owner came to our table and introduced himself. He calls the venue “Kim’s Place,” and it is pretty much a one-man operation. In an odd twist, he’s a Filipino, and his name is John Kim. If I understood him correctly, he said his father was Dutch. Anyway, a nice guy and we will definitely be back to enjoy the beach vibe and sample some of the food snacks he serves.

As we chatted, I asked if he might be interested in hosting a Hash On-Home. He was familiar with the Hash from other venues he’s worked at and was willing to have us come for a beach Hash in the future. I’ll discuss that possibility with the Hash powers that be tomorrow.

While we were at Kim’s Place, I got a message from Michael and Taz asking where we’d be later. Our next stop was Treasure Island, so they met up with us there.

Saturday is live music night at TI, so we had a rockin’ good time. The place was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it.

Taz has her own YouTube channel and is a much better videographer than I’ll ever be. She showed me the video short she made of the goat rescue on our Friday hike.

Damn, music and captions, too! I may have to hire her to tutor me!

Michael and Taz live in the Club Morocco subdivision out near Cawag, a pretty good drive from Barretto. I’d looked there during one of my house-hunting trips prior to the move. Loved it, but just too isolated, especially for a non-driver. They dropped us off at our house on their way home. And so ended another day in the life.

When I imagine my “do-over” life, I think I’d elect to start again in high school and take it from there. Today, I was reminded of those long-ago times in an old Facebook post sharing memories of my high school journalism exploits.

My dream was to become a journalist, but as a poor boy, I couldn’t afford the required college degree. In my do-over life, I’m going to enlist in the Army and get my education paid for.

So, what do you think about this?

TRIGGER WARNING!

I should learn to be nicer; I honestly don’t care what people who disagree with me think. I take comfort in knowing I am right and they are wrong.

Alright, enough of the political nonsense. Let’s move on to something that we can all enjoy. Like Jambo’s video from the swimsuit competition at the Beach Bash:

And now for the smiles:

It’s been nice changing things up a tad, but today I’m back to the Sunday routines. Nothing wrong with that: a Candy Walk, the Hideaway feeding, sunset on the Arizona floating bar, dinner at John’s place, and a nightcap at Green Room. Life is good.

It’s odd the things in life you remember. I took a typing class in high school, and the sentence in today’s post title contains every letter in the English alphabet. We used it to practice our keyboarding skills (it wasn’t called that back then, though).

I won’t say that things were completely off-key, but yesterday was not as rhythmic as most of my Tuesdays. There was a rainbow at the end of the day, so you take the bad with the good and count your blessings.

Shopping as usual was the first order of business, but on the way to YBC supermarket, we stopped by the computer repair shop. The parts to repair my computer keyboard have STILL not arrived. I sarcastically asked if they were being shipped from Mars, and the repair guy responded, “China.” I’m starting to wonder if I’m being scammed (I’ve already paid 2000 pesos for the parts), but I’ll give it another week before demanding a refund.

No surprises or issues at YBC or Royal, so the cupboards are stocked for another week.

With the grocery shopping completed, I asked my driver to take me to the nearby Harbor Point Mall. I just couldn’t bear another week trying to blog without the letters z, x, c, and v. I never realized how frequently those letters appear in words I routinely use. So, I headed upstairs to an electronics shop in search of a portable keyboard.

I still want my laptop fixed. This new keyboard is a temporary solution and is far from ideal. The layout is different; the keys are smaller and not lighted, making it hard to use in the dark mornings while Swan sleeps. Still, it is Very niCe Having Zero holes left in the words I use.

Exciting shit, eh? But wait, there’s more! When beer o’clock rolled around, it was time for Swan to enjoy some toes in the sand on Baloy Beach.

And shortly after boarding the floater, we saw this on the horizon:

And then we got hit by a rain squall like I’ve never experienced when visiting a floating bar.

Into each life, some rain must fall!

The storm passed soon enough, but the clouds dashed our plans to watch the sunset.

Home a little earlier than usual, but that’s okay. Some internet time, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then off to bed for this old-timer.

Sometimes, a walk down memory lane can be a walk in the park. Like that time almost twenty years ago when I discovered Yeouido for the first time.

Hmm, I think I know what tonight’s “seldom visited bar” will be.

Here’s more of what makes heads explode on Facebook:

Alright, onward to today’s YouTube video. I don’t view this vlogger often, but the gal he interviews is articulate and full of good advice. It was an enjoyable watch. And by the way, I’m not the “John” that gets mentioned.

To the humor, we shall go:

Life is good, and I’m not bored or feeling the need to change the way things are. Perhaps that’s a vestige of old age, but I’ve come a long way to reach this stage of my life, and I want to enjoy it. One aspect I want to incorporate more of is travel. Swan is big time into that, and we will do a get-out-of-town once-a-month routine to ensure a periodic change of scenery. And something new to blog about!

I survived another wet and wild Sunday. But at least this time, the venue and entertainment were different. I’ll get to that, but first things first, and the first thing was the Candy Walk.

Let’s try another video from a street along the way.

Sorry for the abrupt ending. I thought I had just paused the video, but when I tried to restart it, it had shut down.

Swan told me she was making payments on a lot in San Isidro, so I asked to see it.

I intend to help Swan build a small, simple house on her lot. I have thirty years on her, and when I go, at least I’ll know she has a place to stay.

And now for the different part of my Sunday. Every year, the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars holds its big fundraising event, the Beach Bash. It’s a weekend extravaganza culminating in the Miss Beach Bash beauty pageant on Sunday evening. This year, we were on the beach at the Outback Resort.

I made a video of each gal’s introductory walkabout. Feel free to speed through the twelve minutes at triple speed.

The event offered beer cards–450 pesos for six beers. I bought two cards, which might explain some of the commentaries in the video above.

Here are a few shots from the swimwear competition:

So, the pageant kept me out until the ungodly hour of 9:30 p.m. When we got back home, the vanilla ice cream in the freezer wouldn’t stop calling my name. Turns out, the only way to shut it up was to eat it. And so I did.

Today’s episode in The Story of My Life is from my “friends with benefits” chapter. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but looking back is almost painful. Until I happened upon this post from 2020, I’d forgotten all about this Mary (there was another that came after her). I have no idea what happened to this one; she just disappeared when I stopped funding her. Who is using who in this type of situation remains an unanswered question. Mary was a starfish in bed, and I learned later that a lot of what she had told me (i.e., I was her first foreigner) was bola bola (bullshit).

I haven’t posted the political memes here that I share on Facebook in a while, but these achieved the goal of triggering my lefty friends:

Alright, enough of that nonsense. Today on YouTube, we go back in time to a Manila I might have actually enjoyed.

The joke is on me:

And there you have the story of my Sunday. Today is Hash Monday, so a new hiking adventure awaits! And hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll be getting my laptop repaired. See you then!

The day before today begins with “yes,” and I can affirm it was a good one, no doubts about it.

The first thing on yesterday’s agenda was the Wednesday Walkers group hike. We had something special planned: the rare journey to Tibag to start our hike. I asked my driver to take us there, but the turnout exceeded his vehicle’s capacity. Unbeknownst to me, Swan recruited a random van driver parked at the 7-Eleven to take us, and he agreed to do so for the same 1000 pesos I was prepared to pay my driver. So, that was a relief.

Here’s a six-minute video clip from this portion of the hike:

After the hike, we went back home for some rest and refreshment. Then, it was back into town to take care of some business. First up was finding a way to get that power of attorney shipped back to South Carolina. The LBC Express agent told me they could get it there in five to seven days. Good enough. They lightened my wallet 3000 pesos worth, I filled out the required info, and they placed the POA in an envelope for shipping. As this was going on, some workers were removing furniture from the back room and loading it on a truck. Seeing that was a little disconcerting, so I asked what was happening. The agent said they were closing the Barretto location and moving the business to Subic. Damn, okay. I hope they send my shipment first.

My next order of business was visiting my dentist, Dr. Barrera. My crown fell off while I was flossing a couple of weeks ago, and I needed it reattached. Dr. Barrera got it done, and I left his office feeling like a king again. (Does the title of this post make sense now?)

I was advised to not eat for an hour, but I clarified that liquids were okay to consume, and it just so happened to be beer o’clock. So, it being Wednesday, we headed up the highway in search of the venue for this week’s “seldom visited bar.” I had in mind Mugshots, but they are currently closed for renovation. We got invited inside for a looksee, and a dance stage is under construction. Just what we need, another go-go bar. We continued down the road and as we passed Annex Bar, saw my neighbor and high school mate, Mike, enjoying a beer, so we went in and joined him.

I hadn’t been to Annex for several months because they did not have wine available for Swan on my previous visit. They did yesterday, and so we were able to sit and enjoy some camaraderie with our tablemates. I’m happy to be able to add Annex back to my list of pleasant open-air venues to visit.

We debated between Sit-n-Bull for dinner or another round of drinks at Cheap Charlies and ultimately decided on the latter. The place was busy, and after we ordered, the bartender came back and said they were out of wine, but she had sent someone to fetch a bottle from the store across the street. Well done! That’s how you keep your customers satisfied.

Downstairs from Cheap Charlies is a restaurant named Foodies. They deliver upstairs, so I asked for a menu. Swan ordered a chicken burger, and I went with the beef stew. Feeling generous, I ordered some chicken fingers for the staff.

After we had finished our meals and were preparing to leave, I saw something on the horizon out of the corner of my eye.

We had our nightcap at Wet Spot. I had a nice chat with manager Brett and discovered that he also grew up in Southern California and that we had experienced similar youthful adventures as teenagers in Ensenada, Mexico. I can’t remember the last time I even thought about those wild days, but it was nice to reminisce. I couldn’t recall the name of the bar that was popular there, and neither could Brett, but he thought it began with an “H.” And then it hit me: Hussong’s Cantina! And I’ll be damned; they even have a Wikipedia page. It turns out that the bar was founded in 1892, and it is where the margarita was invented.

Man, oh man, I sure hope my dream of a heaven where I spend an eternity reliving my life comes true. If so, I’ll definitely be going back to Hussong’s.

Home early and safe as usual, but I did screw things up:

No Facebook memories worthy of sharing today, but I came across this blog post from March 2005 that made me smile:

I am in an embarassing slump. I find nothing of interest in my world to report and nothing of interest in the world in general, or at least nothing that inspires me to write.

I know this too shall pass.

My how things have changed! Now, I post every day regardless of whether or not it is interesting. So, is something always better than nothing?

Here’s some random shit I found on the internet today:

Stickman Bangkok shared a post he wrote in 2011 about a bargirl he met in Pattaya.

Today’s YouTube video discusses ways to adapt to and become more in tune with Filipino culture. I’m probably 50% on board so far.

Ready for some humor?

Today, I’ve been doing the Tuesday I missed because of my Manila detour. I’ll fill you in on that tomorrow.

It isn’t even nice to visit, which is why I’ve managed to avoid Manila for the last two years or more. The traffic, the grime and grit, and a big city vibe that I don’t find pleasant are more than enough to keep me away. Sure, there are nice places like Makati, but even there, you can’t escape the gridlock and crowds. But Manila is home to the US Embassy, and I had business to attend to there, so off I went.

My appointment for notary service was at 1:30. I arrived a little after eleven, had my phone and Fitbit confiscated at security, and took a seat in an outdoor waiting area. I got to chatting with another expat also there for notarization who lives out near Boracay. He was a friendly guy and agreed to be one of the witnesses required for my notarized signature. He kept trying to veer the conversation towards politics, but I didn’t take the bait. He was one of the anti-DOGE crowd and clearly indoctrinated in the lefty worldview. Still, talking helped pass the time until 1 p.m., when we were invited to enter the building and continue waiting there. Still, when my turn came, things went relatively smoothly. A notary service was fifty bucks a shot, and I had two POAs notarized, just to be on the safe side in case the one I mail back to the States gets lost. My driver charged 6500 pesos for the round trip drive, but given that he spent a full day in my service, that seems like a fair price. I got what I came for and made it home safe and sound, so that’s a win. Now, I just need to get the Power of Attorney back to my daughter. The service I tried this morning doesn’t do international shipments. I’ll try another this afternoon, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go into Olongapo and try to find a FedEx.

So, we left home around 8 a.m. and got back at 6:30. I just stayed home last night and had zero Zeros.

Facebook memories from this date in history:

Today’s YouTube video might be AI-narrated, but the images are nice, and the descriptions seem accurate. Despite my frequent criticisms, there is much to love and enjoy here in the PI. It is just easier for me to live in a place like Barretto.

Hmm, it won’t let me embed for some reason. Watch it here if you so desire.

As a bonus, here is a video about the good and bad of Manila. It may be AI-generated, too; I’m not sure, but the content seems consistent with reality.

Humor time:

Anyway, that’s how I spent my Tuesday this week. Of course, the things I usually do on Tuesday weren’t done, so I’ll have to fill in those gaps as best I can as the week goes on.

I made some ill-advised prediction that Monday’s Hash trail could not compare with what I experienced in La Union on Saturday, despite Leech My Nugget’s reputation as one of the toughest Hares in Subic. Well, Leech’s trail wasn’t as long and high as the La Union adventure, but it was an ass-kicker regardless. And to make matters worse, a small group of us made an ill-fated attempt to shortcut that proved more difficult than if we had just suffered through the remainder of the Hare’s trail. For me, the worst part were the ground-level vines that were constantly trying to trip me up. I stumbled several times, but never fell. Hey, shit happens, and you just have to deal. You can always whine about it later on your blog.

I’m tired after my journey to Manila today (I will report on that adventure tomorrow), so I’ll let the Hash photos do most of the talking:

I made a two-minute video to celebrate successfully completing the trail.

My cadre didn’t finish until two and a half hours after we started. So, the Circle commenced before I had finished my first beer!

My stats upon completion of the trail:

After the Hash, we triked out to It Doesn’t Matter for some more comradery. And I was fine after ten Zero’s for the day.

Here’s another installment from The Story of My Life recounting how I spent a day off work in the early days of my Korea adventure.

From Facebook memories comes the reminder that this wasn’t the first time I was a victim of Leech My Nuggets trail setting:

Today’s YouTube video is from a vlogger I’ve never watched previously, but he tells the story of a foreigner being arrested for being in the company of an unrelated minor. It doesn’t matter if she is your girlfriend’s child or not; without blood or adopted relationship, you are technically in violation of the law, and you can be jailed for what is deemed a non-bailable offense. Some readers may recall that when I first moved into this house with Swan, I told her that her teenage sister could not remain living here. She briefly stayed in one of the basement maid’s rooms, with the understanding that she was not allowed upstairs unless Swan was present. The sister has now departed the basement as well, which is for the best. My number one priority is NEVER to see the inside of a Filipino jail.

Stuff that might be considered funny:

And there you have, the almost unheard of two posts in one day here at LTG. You are welcome! Or maybe I should say I’m sorry. One of those.

As promised, here is the story of Saturday’s Hash in La Union. BLUF, it is the most arduous Hash trail I recall participating in. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I have no intention of ever going up that way again. The issue for us old fuckers (there were several who finished long after I did) was a massive climb, one that made the Kalaklan Ridge I also bitch about seem like a foothill by comparison. How high did I go? Well, there seems to be a lack of clarity in that regard. Someone on the La Union Hash Facebook page said 475 meters. My fellow Subic Hasher, Pubic Head (who didn’t participate), sent me a Google Earth map saying it was only 350 meters. My tracker shows I climbed over 500 meters. The part of Kalaklan we climb is 220 meters. Whatever the altitude, it kicked my ass.

Well, either way, my heart rate climbed a mountain, too.

I’ve got a ton of photos, many of them stolen from the La Union Hash Facebook page, so I’ll tell the rest of the story with visual aids:

Swan did a three-minute video along the way that I’ll share here because this is one of the portions of the trail it features.

Onward we go!

I posted this minute long view from the top yesterday, but if you missed it, here you go again:

We did a ridgeline walk with the usual ups and downs that come with that, and then finally reached the split for the medium trail.

Pubic Head sent me a photo from 2008 when he Hashed in this area with the La Union folks.

Cold beers awaited our return. The Jeepneys loaded up the folks that had arrived ahead of us, but we stuck around for the remaining stragglers who finished thirty minutes or so after we did. La Union Hash uses “sweepers” who make sure everyone makes it back before the final Jeepney departs. We took the last Jeep back for the 45-minute ride to the On-Home venue, Tropical Garden Resort in Bauang.

But wait, the fun wasn’t over yet. We still had a Hash Circle to attend to.

La Union doesn’t do the sitting on ice thing. Instead, they have a “bucket brigade” that douses those charged with an alleged violation in a cascade of water. I can report firsthand that ice is nicer than water. Swan and I got called into the circle for the “crime” of being too cuddly together.

After the circle, we enjoyed a food buffet that came with the price of admission, then had a trike called to transport us back to our hotel. I brought a bag of cookies for the Go Resort bar staff to apologize for my drunken behavior the night before. I was feeling no pain after the Hash on Saturday but didn’t do anything stupid like the night before.

Interestingly, Facebook memories reminded me that on this day seven years ago, I climbed another mountain.

We haven’t checked in with Reekay for a while, and his latest YouTube video delves into some dating issues one might encounter with a Filipina. Honestly, this seems like common sense advice, and it’s universal in all relationships, not just in the Philippines.

Some smiles before I go:

Okay, it is Monday afternoon and that means I have yet another Hash to attend. Even though Leech my Nuggets is a Hare known for his challenging trails, I don’t expect he can top Saturday’s La Union adventure. Only one way to find out!

I’ll be leaving Bauang for Barretto soon. Here’s a quick post before I go.

I’ll write about yesterday’s Hash run tomorrow. Here’s a one-minute teaser:

Here’s some views from the GO Resort:

And for lunch yesterday, I ordered off the Filipino food list:

And my room comes with a complimentary breakfast.

First time trying a Filipino breakfast dish and I’m happy to report that I liked it.

I will continue the food adventure periodically, but so far, so good.

Speaking of food:

Ten years ago, I was enjoying the snowy view from my stool at Shenanigans, my favorite bar in Itaewon.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the robbery and murder of an expat at an ATM. Yes, situational awareness is always important, but thankfully, this kind of event is pretty rare here. I feel safer from crime in the Philippines than I would in the USA. The background in the video, where the vlogger is driving to the gym, is also a good reminder that the roads here are perhaps the most dangerous aspect of living in the PI.

Humor me this:

I’m outta here for now, but next time I’ll share the photos from the Hash that tried, but didn’t kill me.