Another hot hike with the Wednesday Walkers yesterday. We kept it flat, doing 9K on the back streets Matain, Calapacuan, and San Isidro. A lot of photos to share later in this post. One event from the trek stands out for me though–walking down the road and passing a Filipino pedestrian and hearing him mock my fat beer belly. Yeah, I’ve got a mirror, and I’ve had Filipinas that I know mention my increasing girth, but this is the first time some random stranger felt compelled to take note of my protruding gut. I guess I’ll take that as a call to action.
I’m not sure what measures I will undertake to reduce my measurements. I’m actually only gaining weight around the middle. Yes, they call it a “beer belly” for a reason. One part of my planning is to go thirty days with zero Zeros and see what happens. Well, I’ll probably have to do a cheat day on Monday since the Hash doesn’t offer other alcohol options. And don’t worry about bargirls potentially starving without my largesse–I’m not giving up drinking, only beer. A mix of gin and soda water is almost carb-free. I’m already pretty much maxed out on walking, so I’ll need to add in some exercise routines that address stomach flat. Anyway, it’s a plan in progress; I’ll let you know when I’m ready to implement it; it won’t be long, and my pride is at stake.
My after-hike activities included dinner at John’s place (the pulled pork sandwich). I also got a big order of Korean-style chicken wings for takeout so I could feed the hungry crew at Hideaway bar. Today is Joy’s day off, and she is coming by for a visit this afternoon.
Next up was Cheap Charlies, and it was a pleasant surprise to see one of my old favorites had returned to work after a lengthy 2+ year absence. Of course, she is probably just pretending to like me too, but she does a better job of it than my previous “friends” were willing to do. I also got a perverse pleasure from spending big on several lady drinks while they sat around without customers. Yeah, I can be a dick like that.
There was even more excitement than usual at Cheap Charlies as a huge thunderstorm rolled through. Lots of cloud-to-ground lightning bolts, explosive thunder, and sheets of pouring rain. It was quite the show. It also kept me trapped in the bar longer than I anticipated—nothing to do but drink and make the best of it. I had planned on a visit to Outback, but once the rain let up, I called it a night and caught a trike back home.
Here’s how my Lucky boy chills:
Let’s take a walk, shall we?
Nothing lasts forever, but I’ll make the best of it while I still can.
I assume those canals are pretty pungent?
I’ve seen a lot of white guys who are ex-military; they let themselves go and start drinking a lot, and they always end up with the stereotypical beer-belly shape: no ass and a huge gut. Makes ’em look pregnant. If a guy is fat all over, it’s probably because he loves food and is a big eater (e.g., me and 18-Kilo), but if he’s fat only at the gut, that’s almost definitely a beer belly. Well, since beer is the cause of the belly… you know what to do even if you don’t want to do it!
That said, rudeness from strangers is uncalled for. But it’s Asia, where people routinely body-shame. I know this well. Koreans are rude assholes, too.
Brian, yeah, they can be. And that particular one seems to be a dumping ground for the neighborhood. I honestly don’t understand the mentality of trashing your own backyard.
Kevin, even though I’m drinking low-calorie beer (60 per bottle), I’m drinking a lot of them. My only other real indulgence is a bowl of ice cream after a night out. So, I’m going to cut way back on the beer intake and see what happens. The biggest challenge will be pacing myself when I switch to a more powerful mixed drink. Oh, and I wasn’t really offended by the stranger’s comment (rude though it was); it was more of a motivator to get the belly under control.