On and on it goes; when it ends, nobody knows. Everything has now reached saturation level, so let the flooding begin. Here’s how I spent my rainy Tuesday:

I was scheduled for the blood work and x-ray at UltiCare Hospital first thing in the morning. That meant a ten-hour fast the night before. No problem, really, because I’d spend most of those hours sleeping. I woke up during the night feeling hungry but reminded myself eating was off the menu. I tried to go back to sleep but later was tempted by a plate of snacks. It was only after I’d eaten a few that I remembered the fast. Damn, I was pissed at myself and the temptress. So pissed, in fact, that it woke me from the dream I was having about cheating during the fast. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to extend those hours of denying myself all forms of food and beverage.

The actual blood withdrawal and chest x-ray went fine. I’ll make an appointment with Dr. DeLeon later this week to share the results. I was hungry when I finished the lab work, so I had my driver stop at the Maple restaurant on SBMA before heading to Royal for groceries.

Refilled my wallet at the ATM and brought home another week’s worth of groceries. Yeah, exciting stuff, but that’s how I roll on Tuesdays.

The usual filling-in hours back home, and then beer o’clock rolled around. Tuesday is the day I try and get Swan her beach fix, but where to go when it’s pissing down rain? I knew Baloy would be a flooded mess after two days of non-stop precipitation, and the limited options in Barretto weren’t appealing in inclement weather either. Hell, even The Rite Spot was a no-go in the wind-blown wetness. So, I made the command decision to stay home and plopped myself down on the patio.

I also took advantage of the rare evening at home and fired up the television. Tuned into Netflix and opened up the movie about the life of our future Vice-President–J.D. Vance. I had never considered watching Hillbilly Elegy until Trump made Vance his running mate. I rather enjoyed it, both from the historical perspective and as an inspirational tale of overcoming the hurdles that come with growing up poor in a somewhat dysfunctional family and still achieving your goals in life. And it seems Mr. Vance is just getting started. Give it a watch if you are so inclined.

I didn’t realize Glenn Close was in Hillbilly Elegy until I saw the credits at the end. I’m far from a movie buff, but I vaguely recalled her performance in Fatal Attraction back in the 80s.

Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed.

Not a bad stay-at-home night. And the rain is still coming down today. We’ll see what I come up with this time.

Today’s YouTube video is from the Filipina Pea. Apparently, there is a large outbreak of HIV here in the Philippines. Looks like maybe I found a steady girlfriend just in time. One less thing to worry about dying from.

A little something to smile about before I go:

I’m seeing a lot of Olongapo is flooded. I imagine the streets of Barretto won’t be holding up well, either. Should I stay or should I go? I’ll let you know what I decide tomorrow.

Another Saturday, another Standard Saturday Solo Street Stroll on the backroads of Barretto. Normalcy may not be all that exciting, but I’ll take it over feeling abnormal, that’s for sure.

That extra “S” I mentioned came about in the afternoon when Swan and I enjoyed an overdue foot spa/pedicure. I used to have this done once a month or so when I lived in Korea. These days, maybe twice a year.

The foot spa/pedicure was only 400 pesos for each of us, and the techs did a nice job, warranting a 100 peso tip to both. Maybe I’ll get back on a monthly schedule.

After putting my shoes back on, I took Swan to dinner at Myleen’s.

We finished our evening out at Sloppy Joe’s. While there, we saw Mike, my high school alumnus, walking by on the way to his car. Turns out he had gotten take-out from Myleen’s for dinner. I invited him to join us for a beer, and he agreed. We had a nice chat about the old days growing up in Southern Cal and some of our adventures at WHS. Mike’s life has been infinitely more interesting than mine. He was involved in the music business and managed several well-known bands. He also owned a couple of clubs in Orange County later in his career. He spent time living in South America before making the Philippines his home. One of the more interesting people I’ve met since moving here. And after the beers, we got a free ride home.

All in all, it was a pretty darn Sensational Saturday Spa, Supper, Sloppy-Sudsing, Sharing Stories kind of night. That other “S” word I experienced with Swan is just between us.

Ah, the memories.

Seven years ago, we closed down our building on Yongsan Garrison, and the remaining members of the DHRM team moved to our new home at Camp Humphries in Pyeongtaek.

We’ll keep the mood light with today’s YouTube video. Enjoy the Wet Spot SOB (hey, another “S”) dance team doing their thing:

Maybe these will make you smile:

I’ve got the Hideaway feeding coming up, then dinner with Swan at John’s place. He’s featuring a steak special this weekend, and I’m feeling like a plate with an “S” on it tonight. I’ll show you what it looked like and tell you how it tasted tomorrow.

It was a pretty darn special Friday featuring my return to the hills and a dinner gathering with my next-door neighbors.

The Friday group accepted my suggestion that we take the little-used path at the end of La Union Street to the top of the hill, then do a loop around on the My Bitch trail before coming back down in San Isidro. They also accepted my invitation for after-hike refreshments at The Rite Spot On The Roof.

When my hiking guests departed, I got busy in the kitchen.

Had a great time next door!

Today’s YouTube video has the Filipina Pea interviewing an immigration expert regarding how easy it is to be kicked out of the country and be “blacklisted” so you can never return. Piss off the wrong government official or even an ex-girlfriend, and you can be screwed. So, the advice is always to be respectful, so no one loses “face.” I’m reminded of what Loraine taught me when she was my “tour guide” all those years ago whenever I’d lose patience and get angry as a tourist: “Take a deep breath. Relax. Accept the Filipino way.” Advice I still implement on occasion.

Today’s attempts at humor:

That’s all I’ve got for today. Let’s see what happens next.

Yesterday I took I step towards normalcy. Actually, 19,164 steps. That’s the most I’ve done all month.

My morning walk took me on the backstreets and alleyways of Barretto, Matain, and Calapacuan barangays. Here is some of what I saw along the way:

It feels good to feel good again.

Thursday is date night with Swan, so I asked whether she preferred Kon Tiki or John’s place for dinner. She wanted her beach fix at Kon Tiki.

We took a trike ride back to Barretto and did our nightcap at Wet Spot. Aine isn’t talking to us anymore, apparently. It seems she wanted to borrow money from Swan, and Swan invoked Rule #1 (don’t be a sucker). Aine’s snooty attitude was a bit off-putting and pissed me off, but Swan and my waitress told me to calm down and that she wasn’t worth worrying about. I’ve been buying her drinks for five years, and she was a schoolmate of Swan’s, but she’s dead to us now.

Before leaving Wet Spot, we ordered some food to take home for the help, primarily because I had a 15% off coupon I needed to use or lose. Swan ordered a club sandwich and lumpia. I just wanted some pecan pie. The exact wording on the coupon was “15% off on F&B for up to four guests.” So, when the bill came, I looked, and they hadn’t discounted the pie. I asked why, and the waitress responded the coupon was only good for food and beverage. I asked what pecan pie was, and she said, “Dessert.” Crazy.

Anyway, I don’t sweat the small stuff (just write about it here) and didn’t let the insanity spoil an otherwise good time. Home safe and sound, another full night’s sleep, and woke up feeling as strong as ever. No complaints about that!

Another Facebook memory to remind me of the man I used to be and life I used to live.

I guess this qualifies as politics:

My blog stats don’t change much week to week. I’ve got a few dedicated gluttons for punishment who visit LTG regularly (200-250 a day) and I appreciate your loyalty (or sympathy). Thanks for reading!

Today’s YouTube video from Reekay discusses finding a Filipina girlfriend in three weeks (one you don’t have to pay for). It took me six years, but I had some fun along the way.

To the humor, then:

Okay, I was feeling energetic this morning and led the Friday group hike on a nice trail that included my first bona fide hill climb in weeks. And I lived to tell about it. I’ll share that adventure here tomorrow. Next up is a visit to next door neighbor Jeff’s dinner party. I’m bringing my bullshit brownies and some cornbread muffins. Jeff will be grilling steaks and I’m looking forward to enjoying some meat, beer, and comradery.

See you back here tomorrow!

Yesterday’s experience was more Filipino style than usual. Here’s how it went down:

As I mentioned in the previous post, on the way to Royal, we stopped at the new hospital in Barretto to sign in to see the doctor at two p.m.

Things went fine at Royal. They even had Coke Zero available this week. Woot!

I went home for some rest and blogging, then we had a trike come to the house at !:30 to take us back to the Unicare Hospital for my two-o’clock “appointment.” I was first on the list, so I figured the wait wouldn’t be too long as I plopped down on a chair outside the doctor’s office. It wasn’t. A few minutes before two, the receptionist came out to tell me that the doctor wouldn’t be in today after all. I’ve experienced doctors here being an hour or two late, but this was my first no-show.

Now what? I briefly considered trying the emergency room but figured that wouldn’t do me any good. I needed a consultation with a pulmonary specialist, not ER treatment. So, we scheduled an appointment with a different doctor for today.

We exited the hospital, and I was in a foul mood and on the opposite side of town, away from all the familiar places. Almost directly across the highway was the Inflatable Island Resort. I knew they had a restaurant and given my limited options, decided to check it out. I was hoping for a nice lunch and beach bar experience. It didn’t turn out that way.

Unlike Kon Tiki, you can not enter the resort without paying the standard 250 peso per head entrance fee.

Oh, and the service sucked as well. Definitely the worst dining experience in Barretto. You’ve been warned.

Everyone agreed that my taking a night off to stay home and rest was a good plan, so we got a trike back to Alta Vista. After a nap, I felt surprisingly good, the best I’ve felt in several days. I headed up to The Rite Spot to celebrate. I set up the speaker, opened my Spotify app, and prepared to listen to some of my favorite tunes. Except Spotify had a message saying I needed to update my billing. Since signing up for the premium plan, the 150 peso monthly fee has been charged to my Globe mobile phone bill. Apparently, that is no longer an option, and when I looked for other payment methods, all that was offered was GCash. I don’t use GCash and have no desire to do so. I tried to set it up so I could pay through Swan’s GCash, but that was a no-go because we have different phone numbers. Nope, there are no credit card options either. I finally said fuck it and let Spotify lose a customer. I’ll look into doing YouTube Premium for my future music-listening needs.

And then there was The Trial Of Billy Jack, the third in the series. Almost three hours of badness I won’t bother recounting here. The Wikipedia take linked above tells you all you need to know about this waste of time. The reviews Wiki cites are devastating and spot on. Pure left-wing propaganda, which is eerily similar to what is taking place in today’s overheated political environment. And yes, back in the 70s, I would have believed the crap Tom Laughlin was pushing in this film. It is included in the Fifty Worst Films Of All Time list.

Before I went to bed, I checked my blood oxygen level and was surprised to see that I was at 97%. When I awoke at midnight and rechecked it, I was at 96%. This morning, I was once more at 97%. I haven’t seen numbers like that since I began using the oximeter. For the first time in days, I felt strong enough to attempt the dog walk, and by golly, I got through it without a problem.

This morning, I visited pulmonary specialist Dr. Ana DeLeon and was impressed on multiple levels. I will talk more about that in tomorrow’s post, but I’ve got a couple of new meds to try and some tests she wants me to undergo. Bottom line, I am now glad yesterday’s doctor flaked out because my comfort level with Dr. DeLeon is very high. She has my trust and confidence already.

Hopefully, I’m finally on the road to recovery.

In today’s YouTube video, the Filipina Pea talks about poverty in the Philippines and the horrific impacts inflation is having on the already destitute. Sometimes you don’t realize how blessed you are until you see how so many less fortunate are forced to live.

You’ll need a good dose of humor after watching that video. Try these:

I’m more confident than ever that I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m going to walk back into town soon to test my lungs. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to hydrate once I get there.

I hope I get some answers and possible fixes when I visit the pulmonary doctor tomorrow. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m not getting better. It doesn’t take much to leave me winded; even the walk to the toilet feels challenging. And yet, I just checked the oximeter, and I have 94% oxygenation, which is almost normal. I haven’t been out of the house at all today, but I’ve got the Hash coming up in a couple of hours. My plan now is to give it a go and see what happens. I doubt I can do a hill climb, but I’ll try to do some of the flat at least. I really, really hate feeling this way.

On the plus side, I was able to do Swan’s candy walk yesterday. We walked into town later, and it wasn’t quite as bad as the day before. The dinner gathering at Hops and Brews was a lot of fun, and my beer-drinking abilities have not as yet been undermined. So, there’s that.

I usually don’t go into town until four o’clock, but our luncheon was scheduled for one at Hops and Brews, so we headed out at 12:30.

It was a very nice afternoon out with the neighbors. Jeff is having us all over at his place on Friday for some grilled steaks. Life is good. Hopefully, I’ll be able to hold onto mine for a few more years (my goal is 2038).

Today’s YouTube video is from last week’s SOB competition, featuring the winning Alaska team.

Humor time:

Okay, let’s see what happens next.

Wow! I Heard the news about the attempt to assassinate Trump during this morning’s candy walk. I’m glad he survived, or the civil war would have started today. It’s been in my mind for a while now that the deep state wasn’t going to accept another Trump presidency. And with Biden on the ropes and efforts to force his replacement being stymied, killing Trump might have seemed the best option. Well, as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I predict Trump will be unstoppable now. Unless they succeed in their next attempt. God Bless America!

Here in my little insular world, life goes on. All I managed to do yesterday was walk into town, but that proved to be a challenge. I was breathless before I was even out of the neighborhood, and the flat highway walk was also challenging. I’ve never experienced anything like that since I began taking meds after my COPD diagnosis eight years ago. Scary shit, and I hope the doctor can get me back on track. I was a little better this morning and did a short candy walk without too much problem, although I was still feeling weak and tired. I’m not giving up without a fight. I intend to die as a walkaholic.

The feeding at Hideaway was accomplished. Four gals, no customers other than me. The owner is back in town but wasn’t there during my visit. I’m not sure what the future holds for this bar, but it doesn’t look good to this outsider.

After completing the feeding, I headed over to It Doesn’t Matter to help owner Cliff celebrate his 60th birthday.

On the way home, we stopped at Myleen’s and got some pecan pie to celebrate National Pecan Pie day in the Philippines (a holiday I just invented. Thanks for the idea Brian).

That’s all there was to my day. This post has been a bit more rushed than usual because I have a special luncheon I’ll be attending this afternoon. The Hops and Brews Beer Garden has a Sunday special roast, and my neighbors, Jeff and Davina, invited us to join them. The neighbors on my other side will be there, too. It should be fun and different. Hops and Brews is a nice venue with quality food, but it is just one of those places I rarely visit. I’ll try and get some good pics to share the experience with my readers here.

From Facebook memories, I’m reminded of an after work stroll I took in Seoul eight years ago.

Nine years ago, I observed that my restroom legacy lived on.

Even at my worst, I was never as bad as this “slow learner” Reekay talks about in today’s YouTube video:

I’m in a hurry, so these will have to suffice for humor today:

Need to run, back tomorrow. I hope.

(I wrote An SOB, then wondered if it should be A SOB. Grammarly says “An,” so I’ll stick with that. Maybe it matters if you are talking about an SOB dance contest or a son of a bitch.)

So, I attended another SOB dance competition last night. This week’s event was at Alaska Club, one of the better venues for seating and viewing the contest. Owner Jerry was back from the USA, and it was good to see him looking happy and healthy. Nothing really special about the show; they all seem same-same after a while. I was out of sync with the other judges this week, but that’s okay. I call them like I see them and look for dancing skills beyond shaking that booty. Apparently, that’s just me. Alaska won (I had them ranked second).

That’s how the day ended for me. It began with the morning dog walk.

I wasn’t feeling up for the group hike, but I joined Swan for an easy candy walk in some nearby neighborhoods we rarely visit.

We finished our walk at the Jewel Cafe. I visit every week to order food for the Hideaway feeding, but rarely dine-in there.

I had a rough night again, sleep and breathing-wise. The most concerning aspect was that my usual home remedies didn’t seem to help much. This morning, I was almost as breathless as I feel after a hill climb. I’m getting into “this is scary” territory and have an appointment scheduled with a pulmonary doctor on Tuesday. Hopefully, there’s a fix for whatever is causing this. I’m feeling better now, at least, and my blood oxygen level is back at a healthy (for me) 95%.

I have been confined to the house all day so far, but I will be going out later this afternoon to do the Hideaway feeding. Yeah, it’s only Saturday, but I have other plans for Sunday. After the feeding, I’ll meet up with Swan at It Doesn’t Matter to help celebrate owner Cliff’s 60th birthday.

Facebook reminded me of an event from eight years ago in Seoul. My Filipina friend, Michelle, was moving back to the Philippines. She asked me if I had any old electronics, like a laptop computer, that I didn’t need. Well, I didn’t, but as a surprise going-away gift, I went to the PX on base and bought her a new iPad. I invited her to dinner at my place, where I intended to present the gift, but she didn’t show. It sucks to cook for two and be stood up.

Six years ago, Buddy finally learned to walk on a leash.

I’m a member of a Facebook group called “Memories of Westminster, CA”. This shot of Westminster Avenue near where I lived brought the memories of those years flooding back.

In today’s YouTube video, Reekay discusses the pitfalls of hiring a live-in helper. I guess I got lucky. My domestic helper is a certified caregiver who takes care of getting my prescriptions filled, making my doctor appointments, and attending to the household chores. Her job is to make my life as easy as possible. Been with me for six years now and never had an issue. I pay her an above-market wage in addition to room and board. And I don’t fuck with the help. I’m an old HR guy, and that’s Rule #1.

I hope these make you smile:

That’s all I’ve got for today. Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow.

Yesterday was almost as empty as it could be. I never even left the house until beer o’clock. I’d had another rough night with the breathing issues and just didn’t feel like doing shit, so I didn’t. But I had some SOB coupons that were due to expire, and that provided the necessary motivation to get off my ass and head into town for a bit.

My first stop was BarCelona. Swan ran an errand and then joined me there. My third-floor view was nothing special given the cloudy/hazy skies, but I did see this:

Climbing the stairs to BarCelona once was more than enough, but I wanted to get my daily donation down to the umbrella lady. I considered getting her attention and tossing it down, but then I thought of the potential ramifications of doing so (traffic, wind, some random person grabbing it first). About this time, the peanut vendor, Emmanuel, came into the bar. I bought my standard 100 pesos worth for the girls, and then Swan suggested we have the vendor deliver Mama’s stipend. He agreed to do so, so I handed him money for her and also bought some nuts for him to give her. That worked out fine. I thought it was sweet when Mama handed her friend some of the nuts.

After we finished our drinks, we moved downstairs to The Green Room so I could put those SOB coupons to work. I had six coupons that were due to expire:

• buy a lady drink, get two customer drinks
• buy a lady drink, get a customer drink
• a free blowjob shooter lady drink
• happy hour prices all night
• 15% off on food at Sit-n-Bull
• a free pizza upgrade (medium to large) at Sit-n-Bull

So, I got to work. My regular waitress is Chu, but semi-regular Lea took our order. Chu then joined us. I confirmed that the lady drink coupon included commission, and gave Lea the blowjob shooter. I ordered Chu a lady drink to earn my two free beers. When my beers were done, I bought Lea a lady drink and had another “free” beer (without the coupon, I could have purchased my beer for 110 pesos and skipped the 180 peso lady drink, but where’s the fun in that?) The Sit-n-Bull waitress came by, and I had Swan pick the pizza we’d upgrade to large and bring home for the basement dwellers. I ordered a sandwich for myself and some lumpia for Chu and Lea with the discount coupon. I gave the happy hour coupon to Chu to give some customer arriving after happy ended. Mission accomplished! I used all the coupons before expiration, got a nice beer buzz, and brought home some food.

But the night wasn’t over yet. We got home a little earlier than usual, so I fired up the TV, opened YouTube, and watched a movie from 1967 called The Born Losers. That’s the one I mentioned as purportedly being the predecessor to Billy Jack. The main character was indeed the half-breed Indian (I don’t think we called them Native Americans in the 60s), Green Beret Vietnam vet Billy Jack. Besides that, there was no real similarity or connection to the Billy Jack film. The Born Losers took place in a California beach town, and the filming locations included cities near where I was living as a twelve-year-old in 1967 (Seal Beach and Huntington Beach). I enjoyed seeing the sexy bikini-clad young woman and reliving those old 60s vibes.

The movie was one of the biker gang genres, with the typical bullying you’d expect, incompetent law enforcement, and citizens who didn’t want to get involved. I was honestly a bit shocked about the gang’s favorite pastime of raping teenage girls. Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be much of a spoiler to know that Billy Jack came in to save the day. I found it entertaining enough if nothing particularly special. I did enjoy the feeling of traveling back in time to the days of my youth. Next up will be The Trial Of Billy Jack, the genuine sequel to Billy Jack.  I’ll get around to it one of these days.

I’m happy to report that I slept through the night without experiencing any breathing issues. I’m sorry to report that the dog walk left me breathless again, so I bailed on the Friday group hike. Swan and I did do an abbreviated (and mostly flat) candy walk today. So, at least I got off my lazy ass for a bit.

And for the first time in a long time, I wrote a poem.

I can’t post pictures in my comments section, but here are a couple in response to questions posed:

Today’s political meme:

There are no worthy Facebook memories today, but I did happen upon this post from last year about my first meeting with Mary. We still have some occasional contact on Facebook. She’ll be starting college next month, and I’ll be providing some limited (and no strings attached) financial support. She’s a smart young woman, and I would love to see her achieve her dreams of a degree and escape the cycle of poverty.

Today’s YouTube video features the Filipina Pea as an advice columnist responding to viewer emails. There are some really good lessons in this one.

Today’s humor potpourri:

We are going to attend the SOB at Alaska Club this evening. And as long as life goes on, you are a winner.

Or so it seems.

In the wee hours of yesterday morning, I woke up feeling breathless. I got up and slapped the oximeter onto my finger and got a reading of 85%. Normal is 95 and above.  The experts say to call 911 if you are below 90%. Given that I have COPD, a “normal” reading for me is in the 93% range.

I instituted my standard procedures: a couple of squirts from my inhaler and firing up the nebulizer. That only brought me up to 91%, and so I opened the valve on my oxygen tank and sucked in some pure air.

It took a while, but I eventually got my blood oxygen levels back up to an acceptable 95%, so I went back to bed. A couple of hours later, I woke up again, and the oximeter said I had dropped back to an 89 level. So, I repeated the steps as described above, and this time, I slept through the remainder of the night.

I experienced shortness of breath during the dog walk, even though it was mostly flat. The Wednesday Walkers group was planning an excursion to SBMA (the old Navy base) for an 8K hike. I had been looking forward to the trek, but given my breathing issues, prudence dictated that I bail out.

Only two other hikers showed up, and Scott messaged that they would save the SBMA hike for another day. He invited me to join them for a flat walk, and I agreed.

I was glad to have gotten some steps in after all.

I got home and baked two batches of brownies, one for each party I was attending. My first stop was my old darts bar, Alley Cats.

Back in the day, Alley Cats was my regular hangout, and I played darts there four times a week. Yesterday was my first visit in several months. There has been a large turnover in staff, but I still knew most of the other dart regulars. I sat in my old seat at Kevin’s table and felt right at home. Speaking of Kevin, I was surprised to learn he had suffered a heart attack back in April. I am glad he lived to tell me about it!

After a couple of hours at Alley Cats, we grabbed a trike and headed across town to Dave and Jo’s place. In typical Filipina fashion, the girls congregated downstairs, with the menfolk delegated to space on the second-floor patio.

So, basically, Jo’s birthday party was with her girlfriends. The consensus of the fellas seemed to be better up here away from the craziness and off-key videoke singing. Those gals are also notorious for downing shots of the hard stuff and getting sloppy drunk. Around eight o’clock, Swan sent me a message asking to be “rescued.” I told the guys goodnight and headed downstairs. I guess the peer pressure was too much for Swan, and she had over-indulged in the whiskey-drinking festivities. She took a last shot with the birthday girl, and we found a trike to take us home.

I’d never seen poor Swan so drunk before. The room was spinning for her when she lay on the bed, so I had her move to the floor. Regular readers will recall that there have been occasions when my excess drinking led to me being floored. Swan rejoined me back in bed a couple of hours later and doesn’t appear to be suffering any ill effects today.

I had another tough night breathing-wise, but this time, I never got below a 91% oxygen level, so I didn’t have to resort to using my air tank. I wussed out of walking today and have been resting at home. Maybe that’s what I needed; just now, I’m at 95%. I’m going to seek out a good pulmonary specialist for some advice on how to deal with my lung issues.

Facebook memories included this post from three years ago:

A brief YouTube video featuring Baloy Beach for your viewing pleasure today:

I’ll go easy on the humor this time:

Okay, here’s hoping for a better tomorrow. See you then.

But not jacked off. Here’s the story of my Tuesday.

As usual, the first order of business was grocery shopping. And someone knows my schedule, because like clockwork she’s waiting for me on the corner almost every Tuesday morning as I head for the highway.

Shopping came with the usual frustrations. This week, there was no Coke Zero or Diet Coke in stock. Seriously, how does that happen? There is a Coca-Cola distributor right up the highway. Being out of a popular item like this is just poor store management. Anyway, we stopped at a local market on the way home, where I was able to purchase my weekly ration of soft drinks.

In the afternoon, Swan and I ventured out to the Subiza Resort on Baloy. We will hold our annual anniversary Hash celebration there in October, and I met with the manager to discuss menu options and pricing. The plan is to have a set price buffet and the meal cost will be included in the Hash fee for that run. Maryjoy at Subiza will send me the food options and pricing for 100-125 guests for the Subic Bay Hash House Harrier’s forty-first-anniversary celebration in the next week or two. We anticipate lots of out-of-town Hashers will be attending, and she is offering a special Hash discount for lodging at the resort.

We also got our waterfront view fix satiated during our Subiza visit.

When we finished our business at Subiza, we walked next door to Harley’s for dinner. As you might imagine, the views are very similar. What’s different about Harley’s is that it has a nice pub vibe. The place was busy with other diners and drinkers, but next door, it was only us. It just goes to prove that it is not all about location; you have to create an atmosphere that attracts customers.

There’s a “fun” option on my phone camera that I’d never tried, so we played with that while waiting for our food.

Dinner is served:

When we finished our food, we headed home. It was still early, even by my low standards, but I had a plan. Earlier in the day, I came across this clip from an old movie that made me laugh:

That’s from the movie Billy Jack. It’s hard for me to believe, but it was released FIFTY-THREE fucking years ago. I know I watched it back in the day, and I watched it again last night. It was filmed in Prescott, Arizona, a town I lived in from 1978-1983. Some of the buildings and scenery brought back old memories that reminded me of the life I once lived. Other than a couple of the fight scenes, I didn’t remember much from the actual movie. Truthfully, it wasn’t as good as I expected it to be. I mean, I did get a kick out of seeing those ’70s fashions and haircuts, and the hippy vibes were pretty far out, man. But the story seemed off somehow to me. Oh, it had some religious overtones and Native American philosophies, but it just didn’t seem to all come together somehow. The reviews I read in the Wikipedia link above were also decidedly mixed. It was apparently one of the first movies featuring kung-fu fighting, and if I read the credits right, it was the Korean variety. Kevin Kim, why don’t you do the film justice with one of your famous reviews? You can watch it on YouTube for free.

I did drink some more beers while I watched the film, but it was still a different way to end my day. One of these nights, I may give the forerunner, The Born Losers, and the sequel, The Trial Of Billy Jack, neither of which I’ve seen, a watch.

No Facebook memories to share today, but I did come across this post of mine from 2016 sharing my religious viewpoints. I think I wrote it after I got in trouble at work for calling Mohammed a pedophile. My motivation was to establish a basis to claim religious discrimination if I was disciplined for telling the truth about the guy who married a twelve-year-old. Turns out I didn’t get in trouble, so I didn’t have to defend myself.

Today’s YouTube video is from Reekay discussing an issue I’m sure most of us have experienced–a twenty-year-old virgin. Well, believe it or not, cherry girls have never been attractive to me. Some guys pay a hefty premium to barfine them, though. I guess they really want to be the best the girl has ever had. Dating the eighteen-year-old mother was kinky enough for me, thank you.

To the humor, then.

Alrighty then, I have two birthday parties to attend today, so I’d best hit the shower and get on with it. More to come tomorrow.

Listen children to a story
That was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own

So go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You'll be justified in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

So the people from the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there"

Now the valley cried with anger
"Mount your horses, draw your sword"
And they killed the mountain people
So they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
"Peace on earth" was all it said

So go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You'll be justified in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

Back to my regular routines after a hangover-induced day off, and it was good to be on the road again. For my morning walk, I decided to do the trek out to Waltermart. And since it was a special occasion, or felt like one anyway, I did the photo every 1000 steps thing. Here they are:

A good hike overall, except for that heavy breathing portion. Oh, and one of the straps on my backpack broke near the end of the trek, so I carried it on one shoulder the rest of the way.

Saturday evening, I took Swan to Treasure Island Resort on Baloy so she could enjoy some live music and beach views. It was a good time.

It was another good time with my sweetie. Swan enjoys live music and Engine is one of the better bar bands around this area. For shits and giggles I made a playlist of the songs they performed during their first set yesterday:

• Tequila Sunrise (Eagles)
• A Horse With No Name (America)
• I Don’t Want To Talk About It (Rod Stewart)
• Cat’s In The Cradle (Harry Chapin)
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain (CCR)
• Bad Moon Rising (CCR)
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen)
• Under Pressure (Queen)
• Paint It Black (Rolling Stones)
• Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones)
• Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones)
• Satisfaction (Rolling Stones)
• Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love (Van Halen)
• You Really Got Me (Kinks)
• Jump (Van Halen)
• Here I Go Again (Whitesnake)
• Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil)
• Free Bird (Lynard Skynard

They played Free Bird at Swan’s request (and 100 pesos in the tip jar). They play a nice mix of classic songs that an old fart like me can enjoy. It is also nice to be able to see live music performed early in the evening (they start around 4:30). Live music offerings in Barretto begin at 9 p.m. or later in most other venues.

We did have one little bothersome event occur. I had a discount coupon from the SOB for a 10% discount on food and beverages for up to four guests. When the waitress brought our tab, we were not given the total discount to which we were entitled. The bill said I had ten beers, and Swan had two wines. Swan didn’t think I had that many beers, but I didn’t keep count, so I can’t argue with that. What left me shaking my head was that we were only discounted the ten percent for two of the beers and the two wines. According to our waitress, the “four guests” limitation meant that only four drinks would be discounted. Well, that’s a bullshit interpretation, but I’m not going to get too upset over a couple of hundred pesos. I did reduce the amount I intended to tip.

We headed home at seven after another nice date night. And so ended another Saturday in my life. I could do with lots more like it!

You know, back in the day, I could party with the best of them, and classic music from that era went hand-in-hand with that. And yeah, I remember some of my favorites who partied too much and died too soon. I didn’t realize until I came across this today that 27 was an unlucky number.

A political meme or three okay with you?

Speaking of memories that made me laugh, I posted this on Facebook nine years ago:

I can’t recall if I posted this YouTube video here previously, but for those of you curious about the Barretto bar scene, this is a pretty comprehensive exploration:

And now for your daily dose of humor:

Alright, it is Sunday and that means a feeding at Hideaway and a dinner date with Swan at John’s place are in my immediate future. I shall return tomorrow if I survive another night.

Yesterday was full of a lot of nothing. Sometimes you just need to take a break, I suppose. Especially after a night of celebrating the birth of a nation by downing numerous beers. These two shots pretty much sum up my Friday achievements:

And that, dear readers, was the extent of my activity yesterday. And the weird thing is, I enjoyed being lazy so much that I’ve resolved to give up walking altogether and fill some of those hours by drinking earlier in the day. Relax, I’m kidding. I was back at it this morning with a 7K walk to Waltermart. I’ll share that adventure in tomorrow’s post.

I’m not sure what’s in store for tonight, although I’ll see if Swan wants to listen to the band at Treasure Island.

Fourteen years ago, I was enjoying my first and only trip to Bali.

When it comes to Filipino culture as expressed through street foods, I’m notoriously a non-partaker. For those who have an interest in such things, today’s YouTube video will whet your appetite.

I found these worthy of a smile:

Swan just confirmed we’ll be marching out to Treasure Island soon. Tell you about it tomorrow.

Yesterday’s rooftop gathering in honor of the declaration of our independence from King George III on July 4, 1776, was a huge success. It was by far the largest party I’ve ever hosted, with upwards of fifty participants over the course of the evening. There was lots of food and plenty of cold beverages, most of them containing alcohol. And naturally, this being the Philippines, karaoke amongst the female attendees broke out early in the event. I did sing “The Battle of New Orleans” to honor my British next-door neighbor. We didn’t have a parade, but that didn’t stop us from getting rained on. I’d been watching the weather forecast, which called for a 20% possibility of “light showers.” We could see the clouds building up throughout the evening hours and saw some rain on the horizon. Around 8 p.m., it was our turn. And it was a heavy, wind-blown downpour. We scurried around, turning off the electronics and ferrying some of the perishable foods downstairs. There wasn’t room under the roof for everyone, and even those fortunates couldn’t escape the wet wind. The women folk retreated downstairs, and some guests called it a night. Luckily, the rain didn’t last long, and the hardy attendees continued to party. I had my first beer at 3:30 and my final just before ten when the last of the guests departed. Here are some photos documenting the good times:

What’s on it? Well, here you go:

So, it appeared everyone had a good time and enjoyed the celebration. Thanks for coming!

Plenty of leftovers I’ve been enjoying today.

It was a long day, prepping and partying. I’m feeling it today and haven’t done jack shit other than snacking, napping, and writing this post. I do plan to attend the SOB this evening, though.

Facebook memories took me back six years when my runaway Buddy was rescued:

Four years ago, this scamdemic idiocy was in full swing:

On YouTube today, Reekay compares grocery prices between the Philippines and the USA. Some things are cheaper, and some are a lot more expensive. Some imports are so expensive (like cheese) that I won’t buy them out of principle.

Are these funny?