Maybe it gets better than this. But even if it doesn’t, I really can’t complain. Much. I was ruminating the other day about how I seem to miss out on enjoying what’s good in my life because I’m too busy lamenting what’s missing. Looking back now on my year in Pyeongtaek for example–I had it made; a great job, a free house, nice places to walk, and all I did was feel miserable because it wasn’t the life I wanted. Well anyway, I don’t plan to make that mistake again. Things aren’t perfect in my world but I’m living my life my way and that ain’t bad. Yeah, I know–more insights from Captain Obvious. I’ll shut up now.

But before I go let me tell you about yesterday. It’s a good example of what I was talking about above. Did a nice 8K morning hike with a couple of buddies, played some darts in the singles league I’m running, had some dinner and beach time at Mango’s, then came home and flirted some via messenger with the gal who delivers my meat products. Does it get any better than that? Probably. But it’s also good enough for now.

I made my debut in the Barretto Singles League in the afternoon. My match was with Christy who I expect will be the top player in the league. I knew going in I’d have to be on my game to hang with her.

For most of the rest of the match, I was barely mediocre. Meanwhile, Christy was on fire throwing some of the best darts I’ve seen her toss. The result looked like this:

After the match, I crossed the street to Mango’s to drown my sorrows grab some dinner.

As to my flirtations with Irene, the delivery woman, well all I can say is she started it. All in good fun but even in my semi-inebriated state of mind I knew I had to be careful. She’s got an Aussie boyfriend for one thing. Irene has also been trying to set me up with a friend of hers but I’m really not interested. Older and not so cute. Also, she is friends with Iline. Too much potential drama, I’ll just stick to darts. And beer.

Even when it falls on a Friday. Nothing special about yesterday I suppose. But that’s a good thing sometimes, right?

It was only Troy and me for the Friday walk as everyone else was too afraid to go out on the 13th. Cowards! Well, to be fair they did have legitimate-sounding excuses, but still.

The Barretto Singles League officially kicks off tomorrow. A couple of players have played ahead and I appreciate their enthusiasm. I have a bit of pride in the fact that I invented the format almost ten years ago back in Columbia, SC. The league was also very popular in Seoul and continued on even after I left town. I’m kind of hoping that playing singles again will reinvigorate my passion for the game. It better, because being the commissioner and keeping up with the stats and standings is going to be a pain in the ass.

Yesterday afternoon I went out with the intention of getting a haircut and then going to the vape shop for some supplies. The barbershop was full though and I wasn’t going to wait around. The vape shop didn’t have the parts I needed either. Bought a substitute but I’m not sure it will work properly. Time will tell. And looking back, that’s the worst that happened to me on Friday the 13th.

I left the vape shop and headed over to Cheap Charlies for a gin and soda or two. Hell, maybe it was three. Then I crossed the highway and popped into Sit-n-Bull for some dinner. After perusing the menu I settled on my favorite French dish:

After dinner, I thought some ocean views would make a good dessert, so I headed to Mango’s. On the way, I saw this treehouse and I really, really want one!

If I sign a new lease on this house next year I’m thinking of putting my own nipa hut out back. Just a place to hang out when I have company over. I’d also like to hang a hammock inside to use for my afternoon naps.

Going to do the dart tourney at Alley Cats this afternoon. As is my custom, I’ll bring the girls a little treat.

And finally, there is this–an actual ad that appeared on my Facebook feed:

What I really want to know is what made Facebook think this was a product I might be interested in? Even at my creepiest I’d never want a sleeping partner. Starfish like Mary are bad enough.

And that’s it for today’s slice of life. Thanks for stopping by!

Ulysses has come and gone now but the bastard won’t soon be forgotten.

I rode the storm out the best as I was able, mostly confined at home with no electricity for EIGHTEEN fucking hours! I ventured out during what I thought was a lull in the rain to walk the dog. Ulysses was just yanking my chain though. Once I got to the point furthest from the house he unleashed a new wave of wind and pounding rain upon my helpless head. I noticed the same pattern of on-again/off-again action throughout the morning and early afternoon but didn’t get caught in that web of deceit again until late in the day.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post about some water seepage. This was caused by the wind driving the rain sideways through some heretofore unnoticed gaps between the windows and the walls. I did experience some wind damage on my upstairs balcony, however:

During my abbreviated dog walk, I noticed at least one tree down in the neighborhood:

I don’t mean to make light of my good fortune though. I live in an elevated community. Down in Barretto, a friend was dealing with this:

Everything is relative I suppose. South of us in Metro Manila things got scary bad:

Anyway, I stayed home all day, and finally around 4:00 the boredom seemed worse than the storm. Besides, I needed to go out to find mama and give her some food money. I waited for a lull in the storm and made a dash for Barretto. Barely got out of the neighborhood before the deluge began again. I had my umbrella but it proved pretty much worthless with the windblown rain soaking everything but my head. I did find mama taking shelter under the awning of a closed bar, so mission accomplished!

Seeing as how I was already out and about, I popped into Mango’s for a couple of beers. The beach had some souvenirs left by Ulysses.

I messaged my helper to see if the power was back on at my house and was informed that it was not. Briefly thought about booking a room but decided without a change of clothes or my computer it was pointless. But since I couldn’t cook in the dark at home I ordered me up some dinner.

I was going to visit Queen Victoria for a nightcap but they were already closed (it was only 6 p.m.). So I caught a trike for the ride back to Alta Vista. As we traveled I noted that lights were burning brightly everywhere so I took that as a good sign. Well, everywhere but Alta Vista. I asked the gate guard what was going on and he assured me Zameco (the power company) was “on the way”. Hmm, okay then. It is no fun going home to a dark house, that’s for sure.

The battery finally gave out and so did I. I went upstairs to bed at 7 p.m. When the fan kicked on it woke me at just a bit past 10. Power had finally been restored! I went back to sleep as best as I was able and finally knew I’d had enough by 0330. Did all my usual internet stuff and finished well before my dog walk time of 0700. Nothing left to do but write this post.

Yeah, you can blame Ulysses for that too!

A tropical depression, that is. Or typhoon if you will, although since it made landfall the storm became depressed or something and is weaker now.

Ulysses iS packing quite the punch, I’ll Grant you that. *ahem*

The sound of the wind’s fury woke me up around 0230. I figured the power grid wouldn’t withstand it for long and sure enough, things went dark shortly thereafter. I’m writing this post on battery power and my phone’s hotspot. Get it while you can!

It seems like only yesterday the sun was shining and I was out hiking and enthusiastically embracing the beauty of mother nature. Oh wait, that’s was yesterday. Mother nature can be a fickle bitch, can’t she?

It will be muddier and more slippery that’s for sure and one section may or may not be under water. Won’t know for sure until we go back out on Sunday to mark the trail. Oh well, we Hash rain or shine!

Hope you enjoyed it.

Looks like I’m gonna be stuck inside all day with no power. If the rain lets up a little I might chance going out in search of a hotel room. Otherwise I’ll just tough it out I suppose. Oh, I have found several spots where the wind blown water is invading my house. Including the puddle under my desk that is soaking my feet as I write this. It could always be worse. I’m sure some of my less fortunate neighbors have lost the roof or walls in their shanty shacks.

I’ll count my blessings.

Walking through forests of palm tree apartments
Scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents
Down by the waterhole
Drunk every Friday
Eating their nuts
Saving their raisins for Sunday
Lions and tigers
Who wait in the shadows
They’re fast but they’re lazy, and sleep in green meadows

Let’s bungle in the jungle
Well, that’s all right by me
I’m a tiger when I want love
But I’m a snake if we disagree

So, I was in for a big surprise while grocery shopping at Royal yesterday–they actually got a shipment of frozen foods in stock. I mean, it may not seem like a big deal but it has been about six months now that I’ve gone without some of the things I enjoy. Like this:

Best of all I was able to secure everything I need for my Thanksgiving feast:

I played darts in the afternoon. Drew another weak partner but at least she wasn’t as irritatingly bad as the one I had last Sunday. I wound up doing something though that I don’t recall having ever done before–missed on purpose. So, here’s the deal. The tourney started late because one of the girls had a birthday. Big turnout too, so that meant lots of time between games. We lost in the first round and it was probably an hour before we played again. In our second match, we were tied 1-1 and playing cricket, a game that requires more skill than 501 where every dart counts. We were getting beat pretty badly and then I hit some bulls to catch us up on points and close the gap. Eventually, it came down to whoever hits the next bull wins. I didn’t really try and win. Now, in my defense, I didn’t want to wait around to play later in a match I knew we couldn’t win. And since I’d done all the heavy lifting to get us in a position to win I thought it only fair that my partner should throw that dart. She didn’t and we lost. I got some looks from my opponents and my partner. Maybe it was unsporting of me. I did buy my partner a drink which is worth more than we were going to win anyway. In retrospect, I wish I’d just played my best and let the darts decide. Oh well.

After darts, I went to Sit-n-Bull and had me a salad for dinner.

I’m pretty much not engaging in this whole political debate about Trump and the vote. It seems quite apparent from a distance that fraud played a part. If it was decisive fraud I hope the courts sort that out. My disgust continues to be directed at the ignorance of the fools who think that Biden will protect their interests or America’s. Unlike the liberals who post shit to goad and taunt, I keep my feelings mostly to myself. I did post this though:

Once again, I was in bed by 8 p.m. last night. I guess that’s my new normal these days. Although the mayor just announced that starting Friday curfew will be pushed back to 10:30 giving us peasants an hour of our lives back every day. Not sure I’ll be adjusting my schedule though.

I may be a lazy bastard but I still dream of being a working man. Almost every night in fact. And this morning Facebook shared this memory from my work life four years ago:

Today is Veterans Day back in the USA and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to all the brave men and women who have served their nation. Thank you!

Today I went out with Jim and Scott to scout potential trails for next week’s Hash. I think we’ve got something both a little different and perhaps more challenging than folks will be expecting from us oldtimers. More to come on that.

Also, next week’s On-Home will be at the community center here in Alta Vista. I guess I’m hosting that event as well. It’s a great facility but we’ve never used it for the Hash before. Should be interesting.

And there you have a snapshot from this thing I call my life. It could certainly be much worse. Hell, it has been! I’m not dwelling so much on the things I don’t have that might make it better so maybe that helps me appreciate things the way they are all the more.

Anyway, I’m in no hurry to stop breathing.

Nothing much to speak of on this pre-Hash Monday morning. That won’t stop me though.

Played in the dart tourney at Lagoon Resort out on Baloy Beach yesterday. The good news I guess is I threw relatively decent darts. The bad news is I had maybe the worst partner ever. Listen, I get it that some people are less skilled than others, but if you miss the board entirely with two out of three darts, maybe you ain’t ready for tournament play. That was frustrating enough, but what really irritated me was giving her advice on what to aim at and then having that advice completely ignored. I can forgive a lot if you are striving to improve but to not even attempt to learn the game is bullshit. So, it made for a less enjoyable than it should have been experience. I honestly wanted to lose and be out early. But somehow we made it to the finals. I think the dart Gods were fucking with me because that required a LONG wait for the losers bracket to play out. And then we promptly lost our match to finish second on the day. Oh well.

The other day I ventured into a fish store on the Subic side of the bridge. Walked by it a hundred times and paid it no heed. To be more accurate, it is a store that sells Norwegian salmon and not much else. I’m not really a big fish eater, but the guy I was hiking with wanted to drop in and see what they had. He wound up getting some salmon steaks and I bought these:

Nikole, my masseuse, went on and on about an incident that occurred out in the Baloy beach area. Apparently, she has a client there and he falsely accused her of stealing his phone and 80,000 pesos (over $1500.). He even went to the police to report her as the thief. She was upset to the point of tears as she told the tale. Of course, without any evidence against her, the police took no action. She was concerned though that her reputation had been soiled and that she would lose customers as a result.

Those fears were confirmed as I waited for the dart tourney to start and witnessed two guys talking at the bar about the woman who had stolen from their friend. Damn, this is such a small town! Oh, and here’s the fucked up epilog to the tale. Nikole sent me a message today that the accuser had found both his phone and the money, apparently having hidden them so well he couldn’t find them earlier. What a loser. As Nikole noted, he has dropped the charges but her reputation isn’t as easily repaired.

Not that it is pertinent to the story, but my impression is that Nikole is not servicing these customers with massages. I think she might actually be a freelance prostitute. Still, being perceived as a dishonest hooker can’t be good for business either. Oh well, hope it all works out for her.

I’ll have the report from today’s Hash here for you tomorrow. The trail is starting in Alta Vista and finishing at Hunter Jo’s in Calapadayan. That’s a good long hike even as the crow flies. Should be interesting to see how the Hare’s get us there.

Until then, peace out!

As is my custom, I finished yesterday evening beachside at Mango’s. Took a couple of photos attempting to capture the beauty of one particular moment in time but can’t decide which one is best. What do you think?

Well, I reckon beauty is in the eye of the beer holder, right? Although I’m faithfully sticking with my new diet of gin and soda water.

Tough but satisfying hike with the Friday walkers. We had my driver drop us off in the Gordon Heights section of Olongapo City and headed out (and up) from there.

A good day on trail all and all.

That’s it for this time, folks.

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds, flying upward over the mountain

Super typhoon Rolly must have encountered some Kryptonite on the way to Olongapo. Just a little rain but no winds, flooding, or damage in these parts. This is not to say there wasn’t death and destruction where the storm did make landfall, just noting my good fortune that it apparently bypassed us.

So unless things dramatically change I’ll be making an appearance at today’s Hash. Not as sure I’ll be doing Guenter’s trail though. I don’t know for certain what he has in mind but from our start point on Banaba street, I’d wager the long, hard, and steep climb up what even he calls “Motherfucker” is a distinct possibility. None of that for me, thanks. Once I get there I’ll just wing it I suppose. I’ll likely just stay on the pavement today.

I did make it out for a bit yesterday afternoon before the rain hit. Started at Cheap Charlies and had this in lieu of beer:

I was successful in avoiding my mid-day meal yesterday as well. Quelled the hunger pangs with a slice of turkey lunch meat and some processed cheese. It worked. But by 5:30 I was definitely ready for dinner. Foodies, the restaurant downstairs from Cheap Charlies, had their Sunday special on offer–roast beef. Tempting though that sounded, I had a hankering for the pork chops at Mango’s. So off I went.

Ordered up another gin and soda upon arrival and told the waitress I wanted the grilled pork chops. She came back a couple of minutes later with the disappointing news that the chops were not available. Hmm, now what? I asked if they had roast chicken and she went off to check. Upon return, she advised that I could get half a roast chicken now, or if I was willing to wait 40 minutes I could get a fresh whole chicken. Hmm, something about the way she emphasized the word “fresh” compelled me to ask how old the half chicken was. “A couple of days”. Although I didn’t need a whole chicken I had no problem waiting for it to be freshly roasted.

Then when I got home I had a strawberry-banana smoothie, likely eliminating any benefits I may have derived from my good behavior throughout the day. Ah well, it’s a process.

Had an abbreviated walk in the rain with the dogs.this morning But not to worry, I still managed to capture this image:

And here’s a bonus for you litter maniacs:

See y’all here tomorrow!