On today’s journey through the past, I was surprised to find I had done crappy reviews of two movies. Back in the day, this blog was more than just a diary. The fact that I even watched two films, let alone attempt to review them, was a shock. These days, I hardly ever turn my big-screen smart TV on at all, and when I do, I barely have the patience to sit through a 30-minute television episode. My, how times have changed.
Black Rock, that is. Yesterday, the Friday hiking groups took a climb up to Black Rock Mountain, then down the other side, circling back to Barretto on a 7+ kilometer trek that looked like this:
Not a bad morning’s work. You can Relive it here if you like:
A drama-free night, which is always nice.
I was feeling unusually generous and ordered some food from Sit-n-Bull for delivery: chicken wings, chicken fingers, and shanghai lumpia. All the Alley Cats gals got a lady drink to wash the food down.
I popped into Alaska Club for a nightcap and was surprised and sad to see that I was the only customer on a Friday night. There were six dancers on stage with no one to dance for, so I gave them each a 50 peso tip to say thank you for the effort.
Then I called it a night and caught a trike home. In bed at the appointed hour and ready for whatever action today may bring. You’ll hear about it here, so come on back!
Apparently, I was feeling Disconnected fourteen years ago. Seems I’d lost the desire to blog because I didn’t have anything meaningful to say.
“…what is left isn’t all that interesting to me, so I can’t imagine why it would be to any intrepid visitor who might somehow come across this weary blog.”
HaHa! Luckily, I got over that, embraced the emptiness, and kept on blogging!
Well, what I mean is that yesterday I got stood up. Samantha, the young woman attending school for a degree in HR management, had agreed earlier in the week to meet me at Sit-n-Bull at 3 p.m. for a meal prior to her going to work. I arrived a few minutes early and sent her a message asking “are you coming?” She promptly responded, “where?” Um. I reminded her that she had agreed to meet up with me, and sent screenshots of our messages to that effect. She said she was still at school. “Aren’t you going to work?” I asked. She replied, “maybe I’ll go late or maybe not at all because I’m tired.” I just answered, “all right. Good luck.”
The purpose of the meet-up was so I could get a feel for whether she was legit and worthy of my support. Assuming she would prove to be, I also wanted to get some clarity on how much her education was costing and what kind of assistance she required. I guess in a backhanded way I got my answer. Maybe she just forgot our “date”, but damn, she didn’t even offer any apology. And to say you are just going to blow off work because you are tired does not sound like someone who has much future as a human resources professional. Pretty disappointing really. She sent me a message this morning asking if I would see her at work today and I told her I have darts tonight. I’ve kind of lost interest in this project now.
So, there I am sitting alone like a fool in Sit-n-Bull. I stayed until 4:00 but decided to go somewhere else to eat. John’s place is always a good option, so I took the longish walk across town and climbed the steps to the third-floor bar. I had a “buy one, get one” drink coupon to use there as well. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and bought the girls behind the bar some fish tacos to share. It was all good as usual.
After finishing my beers I was ready to move on. It had been a while since I’d visited Cheap Charlies, so I made that my next stop. I sat down, ordered a beer, and was soon joined by a lovely young lady on either side of me. And yes, they were thirsty. So, we all drank together and watched the sun go down.
And then I saw the full moon.
After drinking my fill, I was ready to head out. The final coupons in my wallet dictated my destination–Thumbstar. This is a bar I don’t usually frequent, mostly because I don’t like the manager. And that dislike has nothing to do with the fact that he married my crush, Heidi. I believe the last time I visited this venue was when I did the Bars of Barretto review. My, how times have changed! The place was packed. I found a place along the wall to sit my lonesome behind down and take in the scene. My coupons (I had two) were “buy one lady drink, get two customer drinks”. That’s actually a pretty damn good deal, certainly good enough to get me in the door. But I’d have to find a worthy lovely to share in the bounty. I ordered up a beer and looked around to see what might be available. Heidi passed by and briefly greeted me before returning to a big spender’s table. I contented myself with watching the dancers on stage. One of them noticed me looking in her direction, grabbed her friend, and came down to join me. Problem solved I guess.
I’ve been coming to the Philippines since 2008 and have never experienced what happened next. The girls were both very aggressive in trying to spark my interest in spending time with them outside of the bar. Hands rubbing me below the waist, pulling down their tops and showing me their tits, lifting the skirt for a panty shot, and then pulling the panties aside for a pussy view. No thanks. That’s just not my style. Their efforts were having the opposite impact on me so I had no problem declining their entreaties to book a short time room upstairs, come home with me, or just go barhopping. I politely told them I wasn’t in the mood but did reward them with a second lady drink.
With the free drinks consumed, I headed out the door with my integrity (such as it is) intact. Did want to cleanse my palate though, so popped into Outback for one more before heading home. It was my first visit since being rudely treated by my “friend” the bartender. She wasn’t rude last night, but she wasn’t particularly friendly either. One of the waitresses was though and I enjoyed sharing a drink and some banter with her. That’s the difference between a regular bar and a girly bar. The girls aren’t available for “take out” in Outback so they have no reason to be aggressive in the pursuit of a customer. They are very happy to get a lady drink though and will laugh at your jokes in return. That’s a win-win in my book.
There was one strange thing that happened. This Filipino couple comes in to play pool. Both fully masked, which is not that unusual. The girl pulled hers down almost immediately, but the guy left his on (not even a true mask, a totally worthless bandana wrapped around his face). I probably wouldn’t have even noticed, but he came over to the bar for his beer, pulled the mask down, took a swig, and then pulled the mask back up. What an ignorant fool. The bar wasn’t even crowded.
Anyway, to each his own I suppose. It is nice to see the stupid self identify.
I had a solitary and pleasant enough flat walk of 9.5K to start my Thursday. I’ll let Relive tell that story.
Well, I guess I ought to give you the Easter mountain shot at least.
And yes, I did take time to stop and smell the flowers.
And that was my day. Not so typical, but not so bad when it was all said and done.
Four years ago I was winding down the final days of my Korea life. I shared some of those thoughts and feelings in a post called A moving experience.
Made it through another whacked Wednesday. Pleasant enough hike with the Walers (pictures to follow), a 9-4 dart league victory, and then a drunken aftermath. Yeah, just another typical day in the life, right?
Our team is currently in first place in the standings. It occurs to me I shouldn’t be playing on a team because I honestly don’t give a shit about that. My teammates do though, and they get stressed over rolling up big numbers as we play a series of weaker teams in the coming weeks. So, by that standard, our 9-4 victory against Harley’s yesterday was a disappointment. Worse yet, it appears to me that this self-imposed domination goal is affecting the quality of our overall play. I keep telling my mates to just relax, have fun, and the victories will come on their own. So far the message doesn’t seem to be taking hold. Oh well, next season I will just be a substitute. I really don’t enjoy playing in the league all that much and it always makes for a stressful Wednesday to get there on time after the hike.
Yeah, that Jessa. A former girlfriend. I somehow managed to fuck that relationship up too. It was funny in a sad way when one of my teammates nodded toward Jessa and said, “you should go for that, she’d be perfect for you.”. Been there, done that. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind it if Jessa gave me another chance. I’ve put out some tentative feelers in that regard but she doesn’t appear interested in trying again. I don’t really blame her for that.
After darts, me and Kevin went across the street to Da’Kudos for some dinner. The place was deserted. Even the familiar faces of the waitresses I know were missing.
There was a guy behind the bar, so we sat there. I had a club sandwich which was okay, but not as good as Sit-n-Bull. After our meal, Kevin left to go play in the Alley Cats tournament. So I moved next door to Johan’s for a change of scenery. Reyna, one of the gals from the Hash, was there so I joined her at the bar and we enjoyed some beers and banter together. She’s a nice gal and a widow who has dropped some pretty big hints that she’s interested. The attraction isn’t mutual, but I like her as a friend.
Jessa asked if I was going to stop by Lagoon on the way home and I told her I would. Not sure why she wanted me to because she pretty much ignored me. There was a female singer on the stage who was quite talented. I had her sing “I will always love you” and dedicated it to Jessa. Yeah, I was pretty drunk by this point. The best thing for me to do was to catch a trike and go home. I did get a trike but had it drop me off at Queen Victoria. Hey, I had a beer card to finish using. My favorite, Tin-Tin, is no longer working there. I asked the manager why and was told “she didn’t follow the rules”. He later said she came in late and left early. Okay then. But none of the other girls gave me the time of day during my visit. A friendly gal can always get a lady drink or two out of me. That’s money in the bank for the bar. Too bad. I don’t have much reason to go back there now.
So, that was my night. Drunker than usual, but again, I blame darts. Starting at 1:00 just throws me off schedule. Here are the hike photos I promised:
That’s it for now. I’m supposed to have an early dinner with Samantha, the college student I mentioned, before she goes to work today. We’ll see if she shows up.
I hope life treats you kind And I hope you have all you've dreamed of And I'm wishing you joy and happiness But above all this, I wish you love And I... will always love you
It’s a national holiday in Korea (Children’s Day) and also my granddaughter Gracyn’s birthday. Some Seoul photos from a lunchtime walk and other meaningless happenings from my Korean life.
I will say that scrolling through the archives to do these posts can be painful. Lots of memories of my old life with Jee Yeun and photos of happier times. Those days are gone forever, best to just forgive and forget.
Another typical Tuesday in these parts. Happy to report that my weekly ATM visit provided the required bounty without incident. The usual mediocre darts were somehow good enough to make it to the finals.
After darts, Kevin, Alan, and I went to Mango’s for some dinner. We all wound up ordering the pork chops.
The big news from back home is the leaking of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Kevin Kim has a lengthy and thorough post covering the abortion debate from pretty much every angle. I highly recommend giving it a read. Although I strive to avoid politics here at LTG, I do have my own viewpoints on this topic that I’ll share for whatever they are worth.
I’m opposed to abortion and I’m also opposed to the government intruding on the moral choice of whether or not to have one. I do draw the line here though: when the fetus/child is capable of surviving outside the womb, the mother no longer has the choice to terminate what is undeniably a life. If you are going to get an abortion, make up your mind to do so within the first trimester. Or better yet, take the “morning-after pill” and don’t conceive in the first place. These people advocating for the right to choose to abort right up to the moment of birth are arguing for infanticide–there is no moral justification for that action.
When I was in high school I got my girlfriend pregnant. Why we weren’t using readily available birth control is something I can’t explain. A toxic combination of lust and ignorance I suppose. I was 17, she was 16. The state of California had recently passed a law where a minor could choose to have an abortion without parental consent. That’s the route we chose. I went to the clinic with her and stayed with her after the procedure. I remember growing impatient because it took so long for her to be released when the abortion was done. I was am such a jerk. The next day at school she started bleeding, I especially remember the white slacks she was wearing looked like she had pissed blood. Her mother was a nurse so I surmise she figured out what happened, but she never confronted me about it. Our lives went on, she moved away, and the relationship ended. But I still sometimes wonder what that life I helped prevent may have turned out to be.
When I was 19 and my girlfriend was 17, she told me she was pregnant. In my defense, she was supposed to be taking birth control pills, but apparently, she was often forgetful. She was Catholic and abortion was off the table for her, so we decided to give the baby up for adoption. She moved in with me during the pregnancy and when the baby was born and I saw my helpless little girl laying in the hospital crib I knew I could never give her up. We got married instead and I became a father.
When I was 25 and divorced, my girlfriend was attending grad school in Idaho and I was living in Arizona. One weekend I was unable to reach her by phone (this was before email and text messages). I finally got in touch with one of her friends who told me my girlfriend was unavailable to speak with me. I said bullshit, either she calls me now or I’m getting in my car and driving up there to find her. She called and told me she was in the hospital getting an abortion. I said, wait a minute, don’t I have something to say about that too? She replied, No, you are not the father. Damn, that memory still hurts.
When I was 35, I was remarried to a Baptist woman and living in Columbia, SC. We would attend church with the kids every Sunday. In Sunday school class one week the lesson was all about how God gave mankind free will. After class was finished, there was an announcement that there was going to be a march on the South Carolina statehouse in support of legislation banning abortion. I raised my hand and asked, “if God gave man free will, why would you support passing a law to take away that free will?” The teacher responded simply, “It’s a matter of faith”. That was the day I quit the church for good.
So, my position was then and remains, if you oppose abortion try to change minds, not laws. But a human being has the right to life and your “choice” doesn’t change that. Once the fetus becomes viable, it is not abortion, it is murder.
Anyway, that’s how I see it.
Coincidentally, today is Mother’s Day in the Philippines. I was reminded of this song that my nephew sang at my mom’s wake in Enid, Oklahoma more than 11 years ago. You never forget the love of your mother.
So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds flying always over the mountain
Today’s journey through the past is a Trek to Dosonsa Temple. Lots of nice pictures and memories. I really loved this part of my life in Korea. I wish I had appreciated it more at the time.
Greetings and welcome to a new feature here at Long Time Gone. My plan is to scroll the archives and find an interesting post (well, as interesting as it gets around here) to share from this day in blog history. Don’t worry, this won’t replace my “dear diary” posts, it’s just a little something extra for you, my faithful readers. My selfish motivation is to start identifying some stories I might want to highlight someday in a self-published autobiography. That’s just an idea at this point, but you never know.
So, the first entry in this new series is from 15 years ago, back in the early stages of my life in Seoul, Korea. It’s called Those wacky Canadians. What I especially enjoyed about this post was the reference to some of the friendships I had made with some fellow bloggers. Alas, I clicked on the links and those blogs are no longer being updated. And sadly, I’ve lost touch with all of the individuals I mentioned. I guess that’s life. People come and people go.
Enjoy!
Yesterday’s Hash began and traveled through the hillside cemetery in the Kalaklan barangay near the old Navy base. It’s a big place filled with crypts and tombs of the dearly departed.
We climbed the steps and crawled up and over some of the crypts in our journey to the top. Of course, reaching the top was only the beginning of our hot and hard Hash trail, courtesy of an Angeles Hasher named Two Bottles. For the folks who did the entire trail, it came in at over 12K. My version was a still tough 7K.
After exiting the cemetery and hiking the Kalaklan ridge road, I shortcut back down the mountain and through the streets of Barretto before making my way to our On-Home at the Viking Resort on Baloy Beach. It was a tough trail, but at least it didn’t kill me.
And so it goes and so it went. Today’s another day, let’s see what happens next.
That’s what I’ve been reduced to. Or at least I was yesterday. But I went home with some money in my pocket, so I guess I was successful in my efforts.
The fiasco with the ATM last Tuesday left me short on my weekly funds. I was just about out of cash yesterday so I decided to hike the highway to Subic town and visit the BPI ATM there. Sunday sucks for both being on the highway and using the money machine. After a hot 5K walk dodging traffic, I was confronted with a line of several people waiting to withdraw money. I think I’ve mentioned before that generally speaking, Filipinos are the slowest I’ve ever seen operating an ATM. Most of the people in front of me would insert their cards and do a “check balance” transaction, with a printed receipt. Then they would re-insert the card and do a money withdrawal. Some of them actually would pull out a second card and repeat the process. Makes for a frustrating wait for a man of little patience. I was also afraid the machine would run out of cash before it was my turn. That didn’t happen though, and I walked away with a wallet full of pesos.
I’ll confess that the hike out to Subic was so unpleasant that I took a Jeepney back to Barretto. A quiet afternoon at home and then I was ready to roll out and use up some bar coupons. First stop was Hideaway. It’s on the far side of Barretto so I was able to make up some of the steps I had wimped out on earlier in the day. On the way, I stopped at Shamboli’s Pizza and ordered a large Hawaiian (don’t look at me like that, it was for the girls and they love pineapple on their pizza) for delivery.
The pizza came and the girls were pleasantly surprised. It was disappearing from the box so fast I barely managed to get a picture.
I had also promised Joy that I’d help her pay for a PhilHealth insurance plan for her and her kids. 1500 pesos buys the first three months, so she’s covered for now.
Since it was Sunday I wanted to once again participate in the raffle at It Doesn’t Matter. Hey, I’m kind of addicted to those bar coupons now. Got there in plenty of time to purchase my tickets (6 for 500 pesos) and wait for the drawing. And wait I did. I guess the time is kind of fluid because six o’clock came and went and no tickets had been pulled. I went inside to see what was happening and got a look at this week’s prizes–5 bottles of booze and NO bar coupons. What the hell? So, I told my waitress friend Agnes she could have my tickets and keep any prize she won in the drawing. I saw later that none of my tickets had been drawn anyway. Oh well, the money collected is for a good cause.
After leaving IDM, I popped into The Green Room. I still had two tickets to expend there and I got down to business. My “friend” Samantha was nowhere to be seen, so I tried to send her a message on Facebook. That’s when I discovered she had unfriended me. Hmm. No idea what that’s all about, but I didn’t shed any tears either.
In due course, a young gal came to my table and asked do you remember me? I kinda did. Last time I was here I had asked for “Samantha” and she had responded, “I’m Samantha”. The wrong one then, but the only one now, so I asked her to join me. I had a lady drink coupon I need to use anyway.
We did have an interesting chat. This Samantha is only 18 years old, which is kinda scary, but she turns 19 in June. Still a teenager though. In the course of our conversation, she told me she goes to school during the day and works at the bar to pay her tuition. Naturally, I asked what she was studying and she told me Human Resources Management. Hey! I’ve heard of that! I told her I’d retired as an HR manager and to let me know if I could help her in any way. So, now I have a new Samantha as my Facebook friend.
We chatted a bit this morning and she seems legit. Don’t get the wrong idea here. I am not interested in dating or even fucking a teenager. One thing I’ve wanted to do since moving here was to find a worthy student to sponsor. And a chance meeting with someone who wants to be an HR professional is pretty cool. It must be hard to go to school all day and work all night. Once I get a feeling that she is trustworthy I’ll consider providing some tuition assistance so she can focus more on school than the bar. Right now it is a wait-and-see situation. Might try and arrange a lunch meeting with her to discuss how we might proceed. Stay tuned.
I moved next door to Wet Spot to use my last coupon in that venue. I had it in my mind that Aine was off on Sunday so I was surprised when she almost immediately showed up at my table. That’s okay, I bought her a drink and we chatted. The waitress from Sit-n-Bull came around so we ordered a light dinner (a burrito for me, nachos for her). Daddy Dave wasn’t there but the manager, Brett, sent a free beer to my table. A good strategy, because I wound up staying long enough to order another lady drink for Aine while I finished my beer.
Just another night in paradise, and I’m glad to be here enjoying it.
Hash Monday coming up next. Not sure what to expect, but it does involve a truck ride to Olongapo and that means we’ll be climbing the Kalaklan ridge at some point. On-Home is at Viking on Baloy, so it is going to be a long walk for sure. More about that tomorrow.
…and that’s music to my ears. I don’t feel like she’s trying to play me or pull my strings. Her seemingly good heart will be instrumental in whether we will go forward in concert. Her performance over the past couple of days led to a symphony of emotions and a satisfying climax.
Okay, I’ve stretched that pun just about as far as it is going to go, but it was fun (for me). Anyway, the point is, I enjoyed Lyn’s short visit and that’s a good start. I’m not feeling any of the love emotions at this point, but she is very high on the companionship scale. Honestly, that may be more than enough at this stage of my life.
Lyn had to leave early because there was no one at home to watch over her nine-year-old son. She wants to bring him with her the next time she visits. I asked where he would stay and she said she’ll get them a room. I know a mother is always going to put her child first, so it’s not a matter of whether I like it or not. I suggested a couple of hotels with nice pools they would enjoy. She plans to bring a helper to watch the boy while we go out. We’ll see how that works out.
Our last morning together was pleasant enough. I asked Lyn if she would like to join me for a hike and she agreed.
I took her on an abbreviated one-hour version of one of my standard hikes. She seemed to enjoy it.
We concluded our jaunt with breakfast at Harley’s on Baloy Beach road.
Once we returned to the house we just hung out some on the back patio. Another positive for Lyn is that she likes my boys. I brought home some leftovers from breakfast and she insisted on treating Buddy and Lucky.
A short nap, then it was time to head back into town to catch a ride to the bus station in Olongapo. We had a quick lunch at Mango’s prior to Lyn’s departure.
When lunch was done we stood on the highway waiting for a Jeepney. It was hot. Then a cab pulled up and I put Lyn in it and gave her the fare. A much more comfortable ride and she deserved it.
The house felt really empty when I got back home. It’s funny how quickly you get used to having someone around. But then it was Saturday evening and it was time once again for me to hit the town. I like to start early (around 4:30 or 5:00) and finish early (before 9:00), but now that the curfew has been lifted quite a few bars are opening as late as 6:00. I still have coupons to burn and the May 8 expiration date is fast approaching. Hot Zone and Wet Spot were on my itinerary, but both hadn’t opened when I first passed by so I made It Doesn’t Matter my first stop.
After a couple of beers, the coveted 6 p.m. opening hour was upon me. But rather than deal with the “first customer of the day” syndrome, I thought a quick snack at Sit-n-Bull was in order. I was delighted when I looked in the cake and pie cooler to see one last pecan pie available for purchase. When I pulled it out, the gals thought I was there for takeout and had a bag ready to go. Nope. I explained I wanted the pie heated in the microwave, and then I wanted a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yes, sir! My waitress wanted some ice cream too, so of course, I accommodated her request. And to be fair, I bought a scoop for the other five waitresses.
With the pie safely stashed away in my stomach, I made my way to Hot Zone. It was still early, but there were a couple of other customers in the bar. My coupon here was “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink”, which meant I needed to find a worthy lady. My waitress is my usual suspect, but she dropped my beer at the table and disappeared. There were five dancers on stage, but none of them really tripped my triggers. I finally decided on one dancer but a guy at the other table beat me to the punch. Oh well. My beer was now empty and my waitress still had not returned. Fuck it then, I’m out of here. Paid my tab and approached a guy I’m slightly acquainted with who was sharing a drink with the mamasan. I gave him my two coupons and said it looks like you can use these more than I can.
Wet Spot was my next stop. I used a “buy one, get one” customer drink coupon and got down to work. The dance crew at Wet Spot was much better than what I had just seen at Hot Zone. I was using my imagination as the girls danced when my carnal thoughts were interrupted by Aine joining me at my table. Well, I did have a “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink” coupon to use, so I welcomed her company.
Anyway, Aine asked the waitress to take a picture of us together.
I wasn’t feeling it last night, so I finished the beers in my queue, paid my tab, then made my way for the door. Once again, Daddy Dave was there and foisted a free beer on me. How could I refuse? A brief chat, including the sad tale of a 72-year-old expat who is sitting in jail because of false charges brought against him by a disgruntled bargirl. That is my nightmare scenario, and I always do my best to keep my drunken self out of any kind of trouble. Just be nice to everyone and walk away from the assholes.
Just a tad past 8 p.m. when I grabbed a trike for home. I enjoy my beers and chatting with the gals, but after a couple of hours of that nonsense, I’m ready to call it a night. That’s just how this old guy rolls these days.
That’s today’s update. I’ll probably burn up a couple more of my bar coupons tonight and take it from there. It may not be much of a life, but it’s the best life I’ve got.
Here’s a way to kill a few minutes. I got 26 out of 30 right, including some lucky guesses. Must have been one of those increasingly rare lucid moments for me.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yesterday was a full and mostly pleasurable day. It was nice to have someone with me on the hike. The group was more than a little taken aback when I came strolling up hand in hand with a cutie pie. A similar reaction when I brought her with me to Alley Cats for the darts tournament. The gals really seemed to take a liking to Lyn right away, especially the ones who are also from her home province of Samar. The guys seemed impressed as well. It’s been a long time since I had someone cheering me on during a match. I could never get my ex-girlfriend to come out and join me.
Lyn hasn’t ever been a dart player, but she showed a lot of interest in the game. During my warmup time, she joined in throwing at the board. As a complete beginner, she didn’t have much control, but with practice, I’m sure she’d develop some skills for the game. Once the tournament began, she watched the games intently and asked questions, so the interest is there.
As usual, over the course of the evening, I had moments of brilliance surrounded by demonstrations of complete ineptness. Still, I managed to come back and make it to the finals. Nancy, one of the better players participating, knocked me into the losers bracket. I met her again in the finals and took the first match 2-0. Prior to the deciding match, I asked if she’d prefer to split the money and call it a tie. She agreed.
As I mentioned above, Lyn was an enthusiastic participant in the Friday group hike. I was really quite impressed with her strength and stamina on a more difficult than usual trail and on a hot day. What I liked the most was she hung with me at the back of the pack, offering support along the way (doing things like wiping the sweat off my face and offering words of encouragement). My former Hashing girlfriend did her own thing and I rarely saw her until we were back at the On-Home venue. So again, I really appreciated Lyn’s caring nature.
We were attempting a trail that no one has tried since 2013 or so, which made it completely new to me. We went up into the hills near Naugsol with the intent to circle back around through Subic town. Things don’t always go according to plan. Somewhere early in our quest to the summit of the first hill, we lost our trail. Obviously, no one had been up that way in quite some time, so our path was obscured by thickets of bamboo and jungle-like vines and plants. The worst of the latter was covered in thorns and those fuckers were unforgiving should you have the misfortune of touching them. Pricks in my fingers and one even poked a hole in my ear. I also had a thorny branch stick its bristles in my shirt and it was a helluva battle to free myself without actually touching the damn thing. Anyway, bushwhacking is my least favorite activity on these hikes and it is something we usually can avoid. I felt bad for Lyn and told her that most of our hikes are a lot more pleasant than this one. She didn’t seem to mind, saying it reminded her of her childhood walks with her father in rural Samar.
Let’s go to the photos then, shall we?
Despite the missed trail and hard work making our way through the jungle, it was a fun hike. Thanks for joining us, Lyn.
Lyn left for home this afternoon. More thoughts to share on our time together tomorrow.
Here we go again.
Too soon to assess what I feel about Lyn so far. No fireworks, bells, or whistles; but no big red flags either. She arrived at my door at lunchtime and was hungry, so I walked her down to Sit-n-Bull for some lunch.
After lunch, Lyn waited patiently while my bakla barber gave me a haircut. Lyn said he/she did a good job. We next visited the 7/11 where I bought her some glue to repair the shoes she’ll be hiking in later this morning.
We took a trike back home and then took a nap after consummating our new relationship, such as it is. I only tend to nap for an hour or so, but she was still sleeping at 5:00, so I had to wake her up. Didn’t want to have to walk into town in the dark.
I was going to start off the evening at the Central Park Reef hotel so she could see the view from the rooftop there. She reminded me that she had been there with the woman who introduced us on her last visit. Okay then, never mind. We crossed the highway again and I took her to my overall favorite bar, It Doesn’t Matter. I had my usual Zero beer, and she ordered a margarita. I was a little surprised when she told me she doesn’t like beer and doesn’t drink much alcohol either. In fact, that margarita lasted the length of our entire visit (four beers for me).
A bit of a hiccup at first, when one of my favorites at IDM, Agnes, came over and started getting all cuddly with me. I saw a familiar look on Lyn’s face and really didn’t blame her, so I told Agnes I was on a date and she needed to back off. She did switch into waitress mode right away and there was no problem after.
Lyn is really into billiards, so I told her to go inside the bar which features two pool tables, and find a game. That’s what she did, playing against one of the waitresses. I checked in periodically and she really is a good player. In fact, she told me the waitress wasn’t much of a challenge. It was getting close to dinner time, so I said I’d take her to another place with a pool table and we’d eat there.
Next stop, John’s place.
It was getting close to 9:00, and that’s my bedtime, so we caught a trike home. Or thought we did. The driver passed by the entrance to Alta Vista, saying he needed to buy gas. I was thinking, WTF? Why pick up passengers on an empty tank? There was also a line of vehicles waiting to fuel up, so I said fuck it, we’ll get out here and catch another trike. In doing so, we had to pass through a fully manned police checkpoint. It hasn’t been a problem lately, but last night the cops said “where’s your facemask?” In my pocket where it belongs is how I answered in my head, but instead, I pulled my mask out like a good sheep and started putting it on. They asked Lyn too, but she hadn’t even brought one with her. She said she forgot and would get one at the 7/11 next door and they let us pass. Of course, I unmasked as soon as we were past them. We caught a trike and made it home without further incident.
I made us a mango/banana/pineapple smoothie for dessert which Lyn seemed to enjoy. Then it was off to bed–for sleep. Once a day for this old man is enough.
We are doing the Friday group hike together this morning so I wanted to dash off a quick report on our first day together. She’s still sleeping.
I’m not sure where I’m going or what I expect. I’ll try and figure that out as I experience more shared time with her. Oddly enough, I came across a post I wrote in 2017 where I quoted these words from Kevin Kim:
The Hindu concept of life is that it’s a painful wheel of existence called samsara.We’re chained to this repetitive, revolving wheel through our actions (karma). The object of the game is to gain enough wisdom about the nature of things so as to escape an eternity of repeating the wheel of life-events, again and again, all thanks to our accidental or deliberate unwisdom. Good luck as you examine deep causes and do your best to find liberation from the wheel (moksha) and bliss in your life (ananda). Every day is a new chance to walk a different path!
Here’s hoping this experience is better than my last one. Maybe not feeling that “love thing” like I did for the ex is the best course for me. We’ll see.
Yesterday I spent some quality time doing what I do best–hiking, darting, and drinking. I’ll go into a bit more detail in reverse order. Oh, and just a quick update–Lyn didn’t make it yesterday, but she is en route now. So, if nothing else I’ll have some new material to blog about soon. Alright, on with today’s report.
After darts, I needed to get busy using some of those drinking coupons I won at the raffle. So, my first stop was Alaska Club. I had a buy one drink get one chit and ordered up my usual San Mig Zero (60 calories, 3% alcohol). Exchanged pleasantries with owner Jerry and bought my waitress a drink. There were four dancers on stage and one of them knew me by name but I had no recollection of her at all. I decided to call her down for a drink and a closer look.
We had a chat and she mentioned there was going to be a pool tournament in the bar later on. I asked if she played and she said she’d like to, but didn’t have money for the entry fee. So, I sponsored her with the required 200 pesos. She has her own pool cue and everything. I didn’t stick around after my “free” beer though, so don’t know how she did.
Next stop was Wet Spot. I also had a buy one get one coupon here, so ordered up. I didn’t notice either of my regulars here, so just watched the dancers on stage and sipped my beer. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Aine appeared.
I had a buy a lady drink, get a customer drink coupon, so I put it to use. So, now I had two additional beers in my queue. Oh well. Aine was cold so we snuggled up some. Just small talk and then it was time for me to head out. As I was leaving, I ran into owner Dave, and he gave me another beer on the house. How could I refuse?
I had planned to visit Hot Zone next, but they were inexplicably closed (I learned later that the owner had taken his staff for an outing in Angeles City). I had to pee, so I crossed the street to Cheap Charlies.
A successful afternoon of darting too. We played the Queen Victoria team at Queen Vic and pounded them 11-2. My darts were all over the place, but I somehow managed to hit the bullseye often enough to go undefeated.
And that leaves hiking. But before I get to the Wednesday Walkers excursion, I need to share this memory from four years ago:
It was a good Wednesday!
Lyn should be arriving momentarily, so need to run for now. Stick around, it could get interesting!
Here’s how things went down on my lazy Tuesday (lazy in the sense that I take a day off from hiking).
It’s grocery shopping day, and my driver picks me up at 8:30. Part of my weekly routine is to cash up at the BPI ATM at Harbor Point Mall. I’ve gotten into this habit because the only BPI ATM in Barretto is so predictably unreliable that I don’t trust It with my debit card. I use BPI because it allows a 20,000 peso withdrawal limit (the other banks have 10,000 max). So, since I only have the convenience of a functioning ATM once a week, I make two 20,000 pulls (around $800. total) and that’s usually enough to cover my bills and expenses for the week. The only downside is that BPI charges 250 pesos a pop, so my cash infusion costs me ten bucks. Yeah, there are cheaper ways to wire money but they have drawbacks too. Anyway, I’ve been using this method since the move here and it generally works out alright.
So, yesterday I make the first withdrawal, put the 20,000 in my wallet, and reinsert my card for the second pull. I can hear the ATM whirring as it prepares to complete my transaction, and then nothing comes out. The screen says “unable to dispense cash”, my card pops back out, and I get a receipt saying “transaction canceled.” Okay, I figure the machine just didn’t have enough money left in it. Still, I had a bad feeling so I had my driver take me to the BPI branch on the old Navy base. And when I tried to make a withdrawal there I got a “non-sufficient funds” message. As I feared, the first ATM had withdrawn the funds from my account but didn’t dispense them. Shit.
I had my driver take me back to the Harbor Point BPI branch so I could seek to have my money returned. Arrived at 9:20, but the bank didn’t open until 10:00. So, I went to Royal and did my shopping, then came back to the bank. Got there shortly after they opened but still had to wait my turn in the customer service line. When my turn came, I explained what happened, showed my “failed to dispense” receipt, and asked for my money back. I was given a form to fill out and when it was completed I was told I should see my money returned within two weeks. Alright, well, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. I did report what happened to my bank in the USA too. This is not the kind of excitement I’ve been looking for in my life!
Got home and just lazed around waiting for darts time to come around. I usually try to arrive by 4:00 so I have time to practice/warm up before the tourney starts. A little after 3:00 I heard the ominous rolling of thunder. Looked outside and saw storm clouds on the horizon. Decided I’d best head for Alley Cats sooner rather than later so I could avoid getting soaked.
I hustled as fast as these old legs would carry me and almost made it to Alley Cats before the raindrops started falling on my head. I was lucky because a few minutes after I arrived there was a cloudburst with drenching rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning. Geez, it seems like only yesterday I was complaining about the heat. Oh wait, I was.
Did my darts warm-ups and just wasn’t feeling it. I probably wouldn’t have stayed to play except it was still raining outside. Oh well, I figured I’d just get my ass kicked, get out early, and start using some of those coupons I won at the raffle. Alas, I played well enough to stay in the tourney until the end.
I’m not sure what got into me, but I was hungry and planning on doing my Sit-n-Bull thing, so I blurted out “anyone care to join me?” And the entire Alley Cats crew responded affirmatively. So, I stood by as they shut down the bar, then we headed up the highway for some grub.
I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t have enough cash for the meal. I saw owner Ron and asked if they took credit cards and he said “no, but we can work it out. If need be, come by and pay me tomorrow.” Well, okay. That’s an option. Then I remembered there was an ATM outside. I got on my bank’s phone app and transferred some money into my checking account, then went to the ATM. “Out of service”. Hmm, just not my day for electronic banking I guess. Oh well, I’d just work out any shortage with Ron later.
When the bill came I was indeed about 1500 pesos short (the total was 5700 before tip). Kevin (at the far end of the table) chipped in the difference and we were good to go. Dinner for nine for about 120 bucks ain’t bad though.
I went home alone as usual and woke up alone again. That may not be the case tonight. That gal I met from Angeles a couple of weeks back wants to come to visit again. Plans to arrive today. Not sure how long she is staying, maybe through the weekend. We’ll see how that goes.
In the meantime, I’ll just continue to live the life of a single man.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
It’s that time of year again. HOT season. It’s always summer weather here, but this is when you can really feel the heat. I know it is searing when I find myself longing for the rainy season. That’s just around the corner, and it will be good to complain about being wet and muddy again.
Amid the sweltering summer of Cape Canaveral, when the relentless heat has everyone yearning for the relief of the coming rains, there’s a group of individuals whose steadfast presence provides its own form of reassurance. Among them is a long-time family friend, whose role in fire watch security in Cape Canaveral is rarely in the spotlight yet always on alert. As we all look forward to the season’s change, he reminds us of the comfort found in preparedness and the peace of mind that comes with knowing professionals are ensuring our safety against the risks that heatwaves bring. His dedication is a silent sentinel against potential fire hazards, allowing us to enjoy our summer moments with a little less worry and a little more gratitude.
Well, the Hash goes on, rain or shine. And so did I. Granted, I only did a portion of the Hare’s intended path, opting instead to follow a trail more suited to the heat index. All in all, it was still a pretty good hike. Sweaty, but nice.
There was a Hash meeting to attend prior to the start of the Hash. We finished that meeting at 1:30, so headed out right afterward. That meant the remainder of the “sane” group not at the meeting were on their own. They all seemed to do alright.
When the Hash was done, a lot of us made our way to It Doesn’t Matter for some after-Hash revelry.
That young lady in the background is Armie, my waitress last night. She was also one of the contestants in the Fralics beauty pageant. She’s about the cutest girl in town and has a very sweet personality. Sadly (for me), she also has a boyfriend.
Well, I’ll confess to having a tad too much to drink last night. Just one of those days where I was in the mood to let it go. But, I had the good sense to make one last stop before heading home.
I’m also happy to report that I did not leave my cake in the trike like I did the last time I tried to bring dessert home with me.
I’m also ashamed to admit I forgot to bring my backpack home from It Doesn’t Matter. Didn’t even realize I had left it behind until I got a message from Scott saying that my upstairs neighbor, Joanna, was bringing it home with her. Thanks again, you two.
Let’s go, Brandon!
Perhaps the standard for what constitutes a “win” has been set too high. Maybe my purpose in life is to lower that bar. After all, losing and winning is really just a point of view. Some folks might consider me a loser, but as meaningless and pointless as my day was yesterday, it had some highlights. I’ll call that a win!
I usually don’t start my afternoon routines until around 5 p.m., and by “routine” I of course mean visiting my favorites bars. I started a little early yesterday, leaving the house a bit after three. My helper had prepared a pancake breakfast that I enjoyed after my morning hike. I skipped lunch but opted for an early dinner before the serious work of beer consumption commenced.
While I was eating, Joy from Hideaway messaged me and asked what I was doing. I shared the photo from above with her and she was quite envious. It was kind of cruel I suppose because I know she loves the club from Sit-n-Bull. I hadn’t intended to visit Hideaway–it’s on the far side of town and I had just been there the previous night. But I couldn’t finish the whole sandwich, so I decided to surprise Joy with the leftover portion. I also picked up a couple of roasted chickens from Chooks To Go so the other girls had something to eat as well.
I did my usual three beers (and three lady drinks) and out routine. There was only one other customer at Hideaway, but he was another big-spending tourist, so the other girls were taking full advantage (lots of double lady drinks). They did enjoy my chicken contribution to their party though, so I was glad for that.
Next stop was It Doesn’t Matter. I had forgotten that a local motorcycle club, The 8 Deamons, holds a raffle drawing every Sunday. The proceeds go to a local charity, a burn unit in Subic, so it’s all for a good cause. One of the members made a “last call” for tickets announcement. They are 100 pesos each, or six for 500 pesos. I was just going to buy one, but the member told me the raffle jar was very empty this week. I liked those odds, so I bought six tickets. At the drawing, two of my tickets were pulled, both for discount coupons at various local bars. The other prizes were bottles of booze, so I preferred the coupons. Another winner, the guy who had sold me the tickets, also gave me his coupon pack. I guess my friend Roan won too because she gave me some more coupons.
Let’s see where I’ll be going: Hot Zone, Wet Spot, John’s Steak and Sushi, Thumbstar, The Green Room, Hideaway, Alaska Club, and Sit-n-Bull. They are all “buy 1, get 1” deals on drinks (some customer drinks, some for lady drinks) except for Sit-n-Bull which is good for a 15% discount on food. It will be a challenge, but I will find a way to consume my winnings somehow.
It’s Hash Monday, so I just did a 5K walk to Baloy Beach and back this morning.
Can you count all the wins in this post? I’m a lucky bastard, that’s for sure!
…one more time.
If you look hard enough though you’ll see things to keep it interesting.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, when I returned home from my morning walk I discovered I had no access to the internet. A couple of hours of being disconnected from the world later, I headed back into town and used the WiFi at Outback. Later in the afternoon, the internet was restored at my place and life was back to normal. It being beer o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, I made my way once again to Barretto.
I honestly wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or where to do it. I considered starting with some food at Sit-n-Bull, but I wasn’t really all that hungry. So, I went upstairs to BarCelona to contemplate my immediate future. I hadn’t seen Samantha for a while, so that would be another plus. Except she wasn’t there. A waitress who didn’t even know my name(!) brought me a beer and disappeared. And when I finished my beer she still hadn’t come back. I took the bottle out of the coozie so someone might notice it was empty, but no luck. When waving it around didn’t draw any attention, I gave up and went to the cashier to pay. Yeah, I could have gone to the bar to order, but why should I have to? BarCelona could be a great place to hang out, but it is very poorly managed. This is not the first time I’ve had service issues there. I doubt I’ll be back anytime soon.
Back on the street and still undecided about where to go, I started walking up the highway. Passed by It Doesn’t Matter and wasn’t feeling it, so I kept going. Hesitated at Blue Butterfly but didn’t stop. Ran into “mama” and gave her the usual100 pesos, but when another beggar approached, I rudely rejected her pleas. I was in a grumpy mood, but no excuse for that behavior. I felt bad enough to look for her later but she was gone. Shame on me.
I wound up at Hideaway and Joy gave me an enthusiastic welcome. I got one of the few seats left at the bar and Joy pulled up a stool beside me and grabbed some napkins to wipe the sweat off my neck, then gave me a nice back rub. That softened my mood and naturally, I rewarded her with lady drinks.
After three beers I was ready to move on. Next stop: Cheap Charlies. Yes, indeed, things are getting back to normal around here. Some “two-week millionaire” tourist had every girl in the bar surrounding him as he plied them with lady drinks. I noticed several of those were bottled beers that cost twice as much as the standard lady drink (I never buy doubles as a matter of principle, but will usually get the girl two singles. Yeah, that’s how I roll.) Anyway, there would be no company for me with the big spender present and I’m okay with that.
So, even with all the girls busy with their benefactor, someone would always come by to bring me a refill on my beer. That’s the way it should be and something the staff at BarCelona should learn.
In a weird coincidence, while I’m drinking at Cheap Charlies I got a message from Samantha, the gal I had looked for at BarCelona. I hadn’t heard from her in a couple of weeks. As I suspected, she no longer worked there. Instead, she is now employed at The Green Room, a bar I very infrequently visit (I prefer the next-door venue, Wet Spot). She asked if I would come by and see her there and I promised that I would later on.
My next stop though was Hot Zone. I had a “buy one, get one” coupon I wanted to use. It was nice to see the girls on stage again even if there were only a couple of other customers present. It was still early for a Saturday and Hot Zone is more of a late-night venue. Not that I ever see late-night these days. Drank my two beers and treated my friendly waitress to a lady drink, then I was off to The Green Room.
Wow. The place was packed! I felt lucky to find an empty seat. Ordered a beer and a couple of GROs (guest relations officers) approached to ascertain if I might be interested in their company. I told them I was looking for Samantha, but they’d never heard of her. Hmm. About that time, Sam came over saying she hadn’t recognized me because I’d put on some weight. Thanks for noticing! Turns out, she’d only been working two days here and that’s why her co-workers didn’t know her name. About this time, the waitress from Sit-n-Bull came by. I ordered us a pizza to eat and share.
So, did a little drinking and caught up with Sam. The circumstances of her departure from BarCelona only confirmed my poor management thesis and convinced me they have no intention or desire to improve. And screwing an employee out of wages is completely unacceptable. Fuck them!
It was time for me to go, and on the way out I popped into the CR (which is located in Wet Spot) to take a leak. As I was leaving Wet Spot, Daddy Dave (the owner of both venues) called me over to his table and bought me a beer. Always a pleasure to chat with him and get the lowdown on what’s happening in town. The big news is the SOB dance competitions will be starting up again soon. That’s always a fun way to spend an evening.
My 9:00 p.m. bedtime was fast approaching so I said my goodnights and headed home. Made a smoothie (banana/mango/pineapple) as my nightly treat and called it a day.
Oh well. Just me trying to make the best of things and doing what I do best.
And when you're looking for your freedom (Nobody seems to care) And you can't find the door (Can't find it anywhere) When there's nothing to believe in Still you're coming back, you're running back You're coming back for more So put me on a highway And show me a sign And take it to the limit one more time