Just a real quick update here before I head out for the Monday Hash run.

In a twisted kind of way the Dick’s attempt to undermine my relationship backfired biggly. My gal and I had a long conversation about where things stand and she showed a great deal of maturity in concluding that anything I may have done was in the past and has nothing to do with us. She said I’ve shown her the kind of man I am and she trusts her own judgment.

As we continued to talk, I was reminded of the generational gap issues some commenters here had warned me about. My gal told me that notwithstanding her love for me, she had goals in life she wanted to pursue. And at least one of those involves moving out of the country, perhaps returning to Japan. I was a little taken aback at first but then I realized that I could totally understand and relate. Hell, I was 50 years old when I left my friends, family, and comfortable life behind to move to Korea. That changed everything for me. I also thought of people in my past who put me on roads that I might not have otherwise traveled. Iris Breed, for example, convinced me to pursue a management career. KaraLynne Pope and her professor friends gave me the confidence to complete my college degree. I’m not saying there wasn’t some pain involved along the way, but looking back, I likely wouldn’t have been nearly as successful in life had I remained in my safe places.

My definition of love has not led to many successful relationships, but I was struck by my reaction to the news that I would likely lose my newly found relationship somewhere down the road. I told my gal that her happiness was what mattered the most to me, and I would support her pursuit of those goals, even if it meant that she would be taken away from me at some point in the future. I can’t be everything she wants and needs in life, but I can be supportive and loving wherever her life takes her. At my age, I pride myself on living one day at a time. At her age, she is right to dream about the future she most desires. I told her as long as we are together I will be happy to share my life. When the time comes for her to leave, I will love her and let her go.

Anyway, for a selfish man like me, that felt like a big step in the right direction.

Here are some photos from my morning on the beach.

Alright, there you have it. Maybe I’m living on borrowed time. But I’ll embrace each day as it comes and we will see what it brings. If and when the end comes, I may be sad, but I won’t be hurt. This is my time to give, just as so many others have given to me throughout my life.

Greetings from my Sunday afternoon. Here’s how I got here.

Saturday morning I asked my gal what she wanted for breakfast and she told me a tuna sandwich. I’d made one for lunch the day before and I guess she liked it. So we dined on tuna with pickle relish and mayonnaise, served on toast cut into cute little triangles while watching some more episodes of Cobra Kai. Then we headed down to the resto-bar to catch a ride into Olongapo with her mother.

I think I’ve mentioned before that the girlfriend is opening up a second location soon. The purpose of this excursion was to search for some chairs, tables, and other assorted items to finalize setting up for a slated grand opening event sometime next week. It wasn’t a particularly successful quest in that regard, although she was able to purchase some stock for the bar at the old Royal supermarket. The excursion was about as exciting as it sounds, but hey, I got to spend some time with my sweetheart so I’m not complaining. Much.

There was also some good news. The geniuses running the country have finally seen fit to open up for fully vaccinated tourists, starting February 10. Let’s hope they stick with it. It will be a godsend for the struggling hospitality industry, especially the bars. I found it amusing yesterday that despite all the hoopla about not being able to enter indoor facilities like stores and malls without a vax card, no one anywhere asked to see mine yesterday. It is almost as if everyone has finally thrown in the towel and said enough of this bullshit. One can hope.

Once we returned to Barretto, we just hung out at the resto for the remainder of the evening. They had a new item on the menu so I gave it a try:

The problem with a hard shell taco is that one bite tends to have an earthquake-like impact on the remainder of the shell. So, I wound up eating the contents with a fork and the shell separately. It was good though.

I also drank me a few beers.

We left a little after 9 p.m., got to my place, and enjoyed strawberry-banana smoothies along with a little more Cobra Kai. Yeah, practically a suburban lifestyle I’m living these days. It’s taking some getting used to, truth be told. But the beautiful young woman on the couch next to me makes it all seem worthwhile.

Later to bed, later to rise. My routines used to start around 4:30 a.m., these days it is closer to 6:00. It’s that hole that has been throwing the rest of my day out of whack, but I’ll adjust. Eventually. Fed and walked the dogs, then cooked dinner:

Shit. I just realized I need to make some cornbread muffins to go with that. Hold on, I’ll be right back. Alright, done.

Simple Sunday breakfast as requested by my gal. Bacon, toast, some cheese, and canned peach slices. You may have noted that my busy day on Saturday didn’t include a hike, but I wasn’t going to repeat that aberration. Couldn’t interest the GF in joining me for this one, so I walked with her to the highway. She turned left, and I turned right.

Early in my jaunt, I encountered a pedestrian on the other side of the street going in the opposite direction. He had a familiar look about him, and as we passed I saw that it was Dick. I just smiled and nodded and continued on my way.

I’ve not written about Dick lately because he’s an irrelevant loser unworthy of my time. There was an incident several weeks back where he attempted to call me out or shame me or something, by loudly asking me in the presence of all the customers in my girl’s place “how many times have you been married?” I ignored him the first time, but when he repeated himself a few minutes later, I stood up and said “none of your fucking business”. He tried to stand up for a face-off I guess, but his drunk ass fell backward into the sliding glass door behind him. The other patrons kept us apart after that and I left before things got out of hand. Since that time we’ve basically just ignored each other.

He’s apparently not given up his efforts to undermine my relationship though. Less than an hour after I passed him on the road, I heard from the girlfriend. She wanted to know about a note “someone” had given to Dick. The note said that he (Dick) should tell my girlfriend to “beware” of me. And that she should ask my ex-girlfriend about what a bad man I am. Hmm. Mighty suspicious that some random stranger would pass such a note. Why not warn my GF directly? And if providing my ex financial support for over three years and helping her open her own business makes me a bad guy, then I guess I’m guilty as charged. This incident pissed me off, but my GF wants me to be the bigger man (heh, that’s shouldn’t be a problem) and let it go. Anyway, I don’t have anything to hide from my past. I’ve been far from perfect for sure, but I’ve never hurt anyone or treated them poorly.

Fuck! I got distracted and overbaked my muffins. Damn it!

I guess after that baking fiasco I shouldn’t be so quick to mock the intelligence of our “president”. I just can’t seem to help myself though.

Pictures from today’s stroll:

Feel free to Relive the hike if you are so inclined.

That’s been my weekend so far. In a little while I’ll wander on down to resto-bar I reckon and try to entice my girl away for some beer and views from the rood of the Capital Reef Hotel. Wish me luck!

Damn, I did it again. Or more accurately, I didn’t do it. Yeah, I’m still trying to adapt to the new fullness of my life and I’ve been dropping the ball on keeping up with my daily posts here at LTG. The blog is still a priority for me, I just need to get better at demonstrating that.

Spent Thursday evening hanging out at the girlfriend’s resto-bar. It seems to be one of the most popular drinking venues with expats these days.

See that woman sitting at the table? She came in with the guy next to her, turns out he’s German and doesn’t speak much English. What was interesting was that after she sat down, she said, “you’re a Hasher, right?”. I answered, “yes, how did you know?”. She told me she remembered me from the Valentine’s Hash in Baguio back in 2020. Turns out she is a member of the La Union Hash House Harriers. Small world, huh? I was mostly surprised that I had somehow made enough of an impression on her to be remembered. I had no recollection of ever interacting with her previously. Seemed weird but nice.

Friday morning is usually a group hike day, but my gal didn’t want to make the trip out to Olongapo, so we decided to do our own trek. She’d never been on Black Rock mountain before, so that’s where I took her.

Turns out my girl has a fear of heights. It really manifested itself when we made this climb. She is seated in the photo above because she wouldn’t (or couldn’t) stand up. She did enjoy the views though.

Getting back down is steep, but not slippery. At least on the rockface.

Anyway, it was a nice hike and I especially enjoyed the one-on-one time with her.

Darts last night and I managed to go undefeated.

Yesterday afternoon when I should have been blogging I instead watch a movie on Netflix. Maybe you’ve heard of it–Forrest Gump. The GF hadn’t seen it and it has been years since my last viewing, so we both rather enjoyed the experience. Looks like my television will be getting more regular use. She’s got me watching a series called Cobra Kai now. Seems to be about the Karate Kid guys all grown up.

Anyway, that’s how my life is going. I know it probably sounds more boring than usual (is that even possible?) but there you have it. I will try to find something more interesting to share. One of these days. For now, I’ll close with pictures of the boys.

I shall return.

My whacked Wednesday was more twisted than normal. After getting dumped Tuesday night, I only managed about three hours of troubled sleep. That’s one way to reclaim my early to rise mode I suppose. I needed to ease my troubled mind and an outing with the Wednesday Walkers seemed like a good way to do it. It was only 0800 when I left for the 0900 meet-up, so rather than ride a Jeepney out to the starting point I hoofed it. It was a good hike with the group and I’ll share some photos at the end of this post.

My dart league match was out on Baloy, so after a post-hike shower, I walked to the Viking Resort to compete against one of the best teams we’ll face this season. Alas, we lost the match 7-6. I played decent, winning both of my singles games, and going 1-2 is some hard-fought doubles matches. And we won the beer round (team game) which is always a goal.

So, there I was after dart league thinking now what? I’d had a few beers by then, but still not enough to completely dull the pain of my broken heart. The few people I had confided to about the breakup were not surprised and encouraged me to just let it be and move on. That seems like good advice. Because I had been trying to be a good boyfriend I hadn’t visited some of my old haunts for a while. So, I grabbed a trike and ventured out to It Doesn’t Matter.

Everything changes. The vibe felt different somehow, and not in a good way. When Roan finally came out to join me there was a distance between us I hadn’t felt before. Maybe I was just seeing the reality of meaningless bargirl “relationships” without the rose-colored glasses. Still, I bought her a couple of beers and some dinner before I moved on.

I didn’t feel like going home just yet, so I crossed the highway and popped into Cheap Charlies. I was given a hearty “welcome back, where ya been?” greeting as I plopped down on a barstool. My regular girl, Alma, was busy with some big spending customer. Soon enough, a gal I didn’t recognize sat down next to me and said “nice to see you again, John.” Nice to see you too, but have we met? Turns out her name is Laya and she’s been working a couple of months now. Pretty perceptive as well–she asked me why I looked so sad. So, we got to talking a little and I learned she is 30 years old with three kids. No surprise there, this is the Philippines. She was nice and seemed to sincerely enjoy my jokes, which of course, were all new to her. But again, it all seemed empty and pointless so I paid my tab and headed home. In bed before ten and up at 4:30. Back on schedule!

The ex came by this morning to pick up her belongings. She wasn’t friendly at all. Just gathered her things in silence while I looked on. I marveled at how one can go from love to this in a single day. It was more than she could carry in one trip, so she said she’d be back later for the rest. She was back within the hour, got the remaining items, and left again. She didn’t respond to my goodbye.

We did exchange some messages later. She chided me for not helping her carry her belongings. I felt bad about that, but the way she was acting I didn’t think she wanted me around. We also talked some more about the breakup. From her perspective, I’m the bad guy and from mine, she quit me over something that didn’t warrant such a cruel ending. In the end, we agreed to disagree on who is at fault, wished each other well, and at least said we’d remain friends.

Watching her pack up and leave me left me feeling more than a little blue, so I took another long walk this morning. No big epiphanies, just the thought that I need a woman who will stay by my side through the good and the bad. Otherwise, I’m better off alone. I fully expect that my future will be a lonely one. It’s a little disconcerting that my pretend friends in the bars no longer seem to provide the illusion of companionship and offer no comfort. Ah well, one day at a time. I’ll get through this just like all the other times I’ve been left disappointed and empty-handed at love’s front doorstep.

At least I still have the great outdoors to provide some solace in troubled times. Here are the photos from yesterday’s hike.

You can Relive the hike here if you’d like:

So, now what? Well, given the generally unsatisfactory experience in the bars last night I might change it up and head out to Baloy. Sit beachside and quaff some brews. And focus on what I have and not what I’ve lost. Again.

A more or less sedate Sunday in my neck of the woods. Er, neck of the sands? Neither one makes any sense now that I think about it. Ah, I just looked it up:

This expression originated in the United States. `Neck' comes from `naiack' which means `point' or `corner' in an Algonquian Native American language.

Now I know.

Anyway, after I finished my morning duties, the girlfriend came by with some of her things. We enjoyed some quiet time before we headed to the Car Wash where she had a few chores to complete. I had some lunch there while waiting. Once she was free again, we did a short beach walk before dropping into the Papagayo resort for some refreshments. I had a beer and she had blueberry cheesecake.

We decided to relocate to Baloy beach for a change of scenery.

Sitting at McCoy’s on the beach, a cold beer, a plate of pork chops, and watching the sun go down. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Hash Monday it is again. And today the trail is actually going right by my house.

Speaking of my house, the new neighbors are a loud bunch.

That’s the news from here for now. Yep, my new sedate life must be every bit as boring to read about as my old one. Stick around, I’m bound to do something stupid again soon.

It’s my life and I’m still here to enjoy it, so I guess that makes every day special. Yesterday was no exception.

A loving good morning wake up with the girlfriend. When it was time for her to go, I walked her (with Buddy) out to the front gate. Said our goodbyes with a plan to meet up for lunch. I came back home and did my overdue blog post. Yeah, it seems I’ll be a morning blogger on most days henceforth.

With my readers taken care of, I headed out to get myself a little exercise.

I was anticipating a 1:00 pm meet-up with my gal but shortly before the appointed time, she messaged that there would be a delay. Apparently, her phone went dead after that because there were no responses to my status update inquiries. Shortly before 3:00 I grew tired of waiting and decided to head out to the Car Wash (her resto). She wasn’t there either, so I moved on to the Palm Tree where I had originally planned to have lunch.

As you can see, the beach is nearly deserted. That’s a HUGE change from just one week ago when the hotels were jam-packed with visitors from out of town. The recently imposed travel restrictions/vaccine mandates have had a devasting impact on everything. Except for COVID, of course. My neck is sore from shaking my head at the stupidity of the bureaucrats running this country. Oh well.

Anyway, before I’d finished my first beer I heard from the girlfriend. Her phone had indeed died but she was on her way to join me at last. We dined, chatted, and enjoyed the beach views. After our late lunch/early dinner, we headed back to the Car Wash. I guess I’m getting to be a regular there now and enjoyed some conversations with a couple of the other guests. The plan for later was to visit the Whiskey Girl bar and help the manager there, Jonnie Tango, celebrate his 77th birthday.

After the party, it was back to the Car Wash for more beer and conversation. I saw a big red flag but chose to ignore it. I’ve still got a lot to learn about tempering my particular brand of humor, but I’m trying. The night ended on a more positive note, just around midnight. Yep, I’m adapting to my new reality. Slept in until 6:30 this morning, two hours later than my old normal. Poor Buddy doesn’t know what to think, but he’ll adapt too I’m sure.

And now it is time to get on with my Sunday.

Sorry for my failure to post here yesterday. I’m in the midst of changing my lifestyle, routines, and schedule to accommodate my new having a girlfriend status. So, I’m staying up later lately, sleeping later into the morning, and filling in my waking hours with non-internet-related activities.

Here’s a quick catch-up on what’s been happening:

Tuesday is supposed to be my shopping day. As I expected, SBMA would not allow me entry access without a vaccination card, so there will be no Royal groceries in the foreseeable future. The malls and other supermarkets off base also require proof of vaccination for entry. I picked up a few essentials at a small market and dog food at a pet store to get me through the week. I reckon my vaccinated helper is going to have to handle shopping chores next week

Here in town, so far none of the local businesses, bars, and restaurants are requiring vax cards. Except for The Pub which has a sign up saying entry is forbidden without proof of vaccination because “it’s the law”. Well, it’s not the law, it is a bureaucratic mandate that he alone thus far as has chosen to adhere to. Disappointed in his response, but his business is his business. As a customer, I can only vote with my feet.

Played darts without incident on Tuesday night.

I woke up with some body aches on Wednesday morning. My girlfriend suggested skipping the Wednesday Walkers group hike and joining her for a stroll on the beach instead. Call it an offer I couldn’t refuse. We had breakfast at Harley’s, a stroll on Baloy beach, I introduced her to the new McCoy’s beach bor (water and juice only, it was too early for beer). Then we triked back to my house for some rest and recreation.

After that task was completed, she went to work and I was back on Baloy for the opening week of dart league. We defeated our opponent from Johan’s 9-4.

Went back to see the girlfriend after darts and took her to dinner at Mango’s where we enjoyed the grilled pork chops. A nice end to the day.

Anyway, I wasn’t able to fit any blogging time into my whacked Wednesday this time. Hopefully, I will find a rhythm that allows me time for the essentials. Wasn’t even able to read the blogs I frequent. That’s not good!

And now, I’ve got to grab a shower and head out to meet the girlfriend for some lunch and maybe a long beach walk. It’s a whole new kind of boring and much more enjoyable!

Thanks for your understanding!