Mary wanted to come over and have lunch with me yesterday. I didn’t really have anything on hand to prepare a proper lunch and suggested we meet up at a restaurant instead. But Mary insisted that anything would be fine, and so I relented. She arrived shortly after noon, and I served cheese nachos with salsa and tuna salad for our meal. She seemed to enjoy it.

After lunch, we had dessert in the bedroom and then a nap in each other’s arms. It felt nice holding her. Given what Mary has been through, I don’t think I’ll suggest being her “Sugar Daddy.” Still, I’ve told her I’m willing to support her continued education and encouraged her to prioritize her studies over work (she’s been looking for a job as a housekeeper). I gave her some cash to pay expenses for the semester that starts today.

Around 4:00, I walked Mary down to the highway, where she caught a Jeepney for her home in Olongapo City. Then I headed to Jewel Cafe to order some grub for the Sunday feeding at Hideaway Bar. I like Jewel for its reasonable prices and that they offer free delivery–I appreciate not having to sit around waiting on my order. I did go a little overboard, though, as my food bill was around 2000 pesos.

I had a few drinks, bought a few, played some pool (Joy kicked my ass again!), then I said good night and headed on up the highway.

My Fitbit says I was asleep at 8:30. I’m such a lightweight these days. Well, maybe lightweight is the wrong word. At yesterday’s weigh-in, I was dishearted to see I had GAINED a half pound last week. Hopefully, that was an aberration.

Facebook memories provided a glimpse of how I was looking in years gone by:

My internet time also revealed this article listing eleven Hollywood movies that were filmed here in the Philippines. I’d heard of some of them, most famously Apocolypse Now, which was filmed nearby. Others I had no clue about. It might be fun to give some of them a watch and see if there is anything I recognize.

And here it is, Hash Monday once again. Scott is making his return from a broken ankle today on a modified and shortened version of the Hare’s trail. I’m going to join him so he won’t be out there alone. Truthfully, I was debating whether I wanted to do a long trail that is starting all the way out in Subic town. When I saw what Scott had in mind as an alternative, I liked it. I will walk the 3K to the start of Scott’s trail to add some distance to today’s effort.

Full report on how it goes tomorrow.

A comment on yesterday’s post really triggered some memories. Nate’s remark was simply, “A Clean Well-Lighted Pace.” That’s a short short story by Ernest Hemingway. About a five-minute read, so check out the link if you haven’t read it before. The irony of Nate thinking about that story when reading my post isn’t lost on me. I had to write a paper on that story in a college literature course sometime last century, and I found it moving even as a young man. And now, here I am in old age, practically living it.

And the coincidences continue. I did a quick search of my blog archives and saw I had written a post back in 2006 entitled “A clean well-lighted place.” That one was about a pretty wild night out on the town early in my Itaewon life. It brought back a flood of memories of long-gone friends. I am happy to report that one of the “stars” of that post, June, has been happily married to an American Air Force NCO and is the mother of a sweet daughter. How’s that for a happy ending?

Back here in present times, I took a break from the SOB last night and instead hung out in my version of a clean, well-lighted place–Cheap Charlies. But unlike the Hemingway character, I wasn’t sitting alone.

Something also happened in the bar last night that is very rarely seen. A big spender rang the bell. Okay, that happens pretty frequently, but a bell ring usually just provides a drink for the working girls. This guy bought drinks for everyone in the house! No idea how much that act set him back, but he is definitely not a cheap Charlie! He also provided some entertainment with a nifty trick he did with the lady drinks:

I had such a good time that I just stayed at Cheap Charlies and didn’t do my usual bar crawl, although I did stop for a nightcap at Whiskey Girl on the way home.

That was my night; my morning was equally pleasant, featuring a hike with the Friday group.

I’d say my life here is better than nothing!

What did he fear? It was not a fear or dread, It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order. Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada.

A fruitful last day of the month included getting an extension on my tourist visa for another sixty days in paradise. I also completed my weekly grocery shopping excursion at the Royal supermarket.

In other news, a young woman messaged me and said she’d like to get to know me better. She suggested exploring some historic sites in the neighboring province. I was up for that and have arranged for my driver to take us to Bataan today to have a look around.

I also heard from the teenager I’ve been dating. It seems her child is ill with dengue and asthma and needs some medical care. I’ll give her credit; she at least asked me in the proper way: “I know you are not responsible for taking care of my son, but if you could help me out today, I promise I’ll work to repay you.” I wired 4000 pesos to her and haven’t heard from her since. I hope everything is okay.

I made some crockpot chili and baked some cornbread muffins to go with it. Then it dawned on me that my Bataan excursion may preclude me from doing my Wednesday feeding at Hideaway bar. So, I packed up my kitchen work and carried it into town.

It wasn’t the most pleasant ambiance at Hideaway last night. A group of guys were there and had almost all the gals tabled and were plying them with drinks. Nothing wrong with that; that’s why the gals are there. What bothered me was that the girls were screaming and shouting as they enjoyed themselves. I couldn’t hear the music or talk over their noisemaking. To escape, I took Joy down to the pool table area and played a couple of games. She proceeded to kick my ass, but I have to give her credit; she made some really good shots.

The two-week millionaires eventually left, and things quieted down. I had a couple more drinks, then headed out myself. I decided to use my “buy a lady drink, get two customer drinks” coupon at Hot Zone. The first order of business was to determine who would be the beneficiary of my lady drink. I assumed it would be my waitress, but then the mamasan also appeared at my table. I told the girls to decide between them, and of course, the waitress deferred to her boss. And I, of course, wasn’t going to make her go without, so I wound up buying two lady drinks. That’s the magic of those coupons–what I think will be a good deal for me winds up costing me extra in the end. Oh, well, it’s only money.

Despite having had more than enough to drink, I wasn’t done quite yet. I walked on up the road to Wet Spot for my nightcap. I had another coupon, this one for a “free upgrade” on a Sit-n-Bull pizza from medium to large. I guess I was in a feeding frenzy because I bought one for the Wet Spot girls to share.

I think I mentioned that one of Mary’s schoolmate friends works as a dancer at Wet Spot. I had actually noticed her before I met Mary because there was just something exotic about her looks.

After paying for the pizza and some drinks for the lass above, my wallet was out of gas (I usually only bring 5000 pesos when I go out, just in case something stupid happens). So, I said goodnight and triked on home.

When I woke up this morning, it was March. I’ll start the month off with a fresh face in some new places. I may not have a clue about what tomorrow will bring, but that just adds to the adventure.

My Sunday included my standard solo walk, a visit to the doctor(s), and the feeding at Hideaway Bar. And I’ve got some pictures to prove it!

I messed up with my tracker, so I don’t have a distance to report, although it was probably a tad less than 7K, based on past performance.

The visit with Dr. Jo and her physician husband, Chris, is always pleasant. It’s more like chatting with friends than a doctor’s appointment. Anyway, the diagnosis is that my coughing/phlegm expulsion indicates an infection not associated with my COPD. I got some meds for that, and they already seem to be working. Same with the eyes, and a different medication for that. I mentioned that they have that tube in the nostrils whenever I see photos of someone being oxygenated in the hospital. Since I can’t breathe through my nose with my sinus congestion, I’ll be a dead man if I’m administered oxygen in that manner. They both agreed that since nothing else had worked to relieve the congestion, I should consider surgery to remove the overgrown nodules in my nose. A different doctor had recommended that, but I rejected the idea when I was told it required being anesthetized to unconsciousness. I just don’t trust the hospitals here with my life. Dr. Jo says she has an ENT friend in Manila who is much better than the local doctors, and I agreed to pursue the surgery through her.

After the appointment was completed, I headed to the Jewel Cafe to order some food for the Hideaway girls. The nice thing about Jewel is that they deliver, so I don’t have to sit around waiting at the restaurant.

I was the only customer for most of the time I was there, and I guess things got a little crazy. I know my tab was over 3000 pesos, about triple what I usually spend. Joy messaged me this morning and asked if I remembered what had happened. Uh oh. No, I didn’t remember anything beyond getting home drunk. Joy said that I was licking the bare breasts of one of the waitresses. And no, I didn’t get grabby; she pulled her shirt up and offered them to me. I told Joy I was sorry, and she said, don’t be sorry; it was fun. If you say so. I’m embarrassed by that kind of behavior.

I’m really thinking I need to switch back to beer. I don’t seem to be able to pace myself appropriately with gin. The problem is that gin sneaks up on you–one minute you’re okay, the next you are a drunken idiot. And it’s not like I’m out drinking all night. I started at 5:00 yesterday, and my Fitbit says I was asleep at 8:21. I guess I’m just a lightweight.

It’s Hash Monday today, so I’ve got that to look forward to. I am also going to the dentist this morning to have my crown reattached. Yep, one adventure after another around here.

My date with Mary last night left her SOBing. But she professed to enjoy it, so there’s that. We met up at Mango’s for dinner before the show.

After dining, we crossed the highway to Alaska Club and arrived early enough to secure a good table. We had an hour to fill before the show, and I opted to have a beer cheat day to maintain some semblance of SOBriety. Mary had a beer too, but her’s lasted the entire hour. Once drinks were free at the show’s beginning, she switched to mango juice and water. The SOB made money on her (or should I say me) because I couldn’t drink enough to recover the 1400 peso entry fee for a couple. I’m not complaining. Much.

Just before the dancing started, Mary ran into a school friend who danced with the Wet Spot team. Naturally, I invited her to join us for a couple of lady drinks. Mary got into the show, taking videos of all the teams performing on her phone. A couple of guys who arrived late took the empty seats at our table, which I don’t have an issue with. One of them got very drunk before the show ended and proved to be a bit of a dick. He was passed out on the table when I left.

It was only 8 p,m. when we left Alaska, but I’d had enough. Mary wanted to come to spend the night, and I was okay with that. I made some smoothies and turned on the TV. for the first time in months. Mary says she’s addicted to Korean dramas, so I decided to share one of my favorite Korean movies, a romantic comedy called “My Sassy Girl.” She seemed to enjoy it.

It was well past my bedtime by now, and my lungs were giving me fits–coughing up gobs of phlegm. So, no romance in the sack other than a bit of cuddling. In the morning, I fired up the nebulizer and popped a pill, and was ready for a go before breakfast.

Mary joined me for the dog walk; then, I made a batch of burritos for our morning meal. Afterward, she accompanied me for a portion of my Saturday street walk, and we said our goodbye at the town marketplace on Rizal street. I think we both enjoyed our date together.

The Friday morning group hike was okay. I told my fellow walkers that they could proceed to climb mountains without me because my lungs were not up to the task. They insisted on sticking together for a flat walk, so we did an 8K street trek. I was worn out by the end. I’m increasingly worried that my diminished breathing capacity is my new normal.

And there you have it, another day I lived to tell about. I hope there are many more to come.