They shall not grow old,
As we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning,
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.

I am now officially a member of the Returned and Services League, an Australian veterans organization. The verse above is recited as one of the membership rituals, followed by a minute of silence. The Subic chapter had about fifty in attendance for yesterday’s meeting, and several familiar faces were in the crowd at the gathering place, the Rock Lobster bar (before it opens to the public). One of the interesting aspects of this group is that all nationalities, regardless of veteran status, are welcome to join, unlike similar organizations such as American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars. I didn’t know much about the RSL other than seeing its members around town on Tuesday meeting days in their distinctive white shirts.

And now I’m one of them:

So, what inspired me to join this respectable group? Swan’s sister and brother-in-law are active in the organization. Swan talked about the many community charity projects the organization is involved with, including orphanage support, medical outreach programs, and providing food and other provisions for those in need. My membership dues (1200 pesos a year) assists with those activities. The weekly meetings also feature raffles to raise funds (I spent 700 on tickets yesterday). So, it’s all for a good cause, and I’m happy to do my part.

After the meetings, the group does a pub crawl, although I chose not to participate last night. I thought Swan was going to join me, but she had other plans. So, I went my own way and wound up at Sloppy Joe’s. Jim showed up a bit later, and we did our own bar visitation spree, enjoying Mugshots, Blue Butterfly, and Wet Spot before calling it a night.

And I spent more on beer than lady drinks, so that’s progress!

Swan and I talked through our misunderstanding this morning. Bottom line, she is just too uncomfortable to be seen with me out and about in our gossipy little town. We are planning a visit to San Antonio tomorrow to have a little one-on-one time.

And I saw something else moving about down below:

I didn’t do the Wednesday Walkers group hike today because I wanted some time with Swan, and I’m also tired of hiking in the rain every damn day. Hopefully, there will be some dryer beach walking in San Antonio.

If Facebook is any indication, this Barbie movie is a big deal, what with the gals all dressing up in pink to go to the theatre. My brother Greg posted this, which I felt compelled to share:

And then there was this:

Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow between them, and the beech says to the birch, ‘Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?’ The birch says he cannot tell, but just then a woodpecker lands on the sapling.

The birch says, ‘Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?’

The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree and replies, ‘It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever poked my pecker into.

Bada Bing! I’d just add you can always tell a dogwood tree by its bark.

That’s it for now. I’ll be heading into town a bit later to keep the bars in business and maybe disappoint some bargirls with my new cheap Charlie attitude. Or not. We’ll see.

…today’s Hash trail is marked. Unless it rains and washes our morning’s efforts away. We opted to do the trail in the hills, so hopefully, the forecasted showers will hold off until later in the afternoon. That’s the luck of the draw during rainy season.

What will be will be. If it rains, the Hashers will determine what they want to do individually. I’ve completed my mission.

I had a talk with Swan this morning about our future living arrangements. She expressed no concerns about sharing the house with me, with the understanding that she would be staying in the guest room for the time being. I’m okay with that. She worried more about her two dogs (females) and their interactions with my two boys. We plan to separate them (her dogs in the basement area, mine upstairs). We will work it out, I’m sure.

What was it that Marie Antoinette said?

Veering off course for a moment to delve into a political question. Why are rap songs promoting crime and violence okay, but a country song proclaiming resistance to crime and violence is bad?

Alrighty then. Time to shower up and get ready to send the kennel on their way. I predict a wet and wild night, with or without rain. The beer will be flowing!

Hmm, well, obviously, I’m talking about America’s Independence Day, but if there is another event that occurred on May 4, let me know.

A nice little Hash yesterday on a sweltering afternoon. The Hare, Anal Receptive, was kind enough to offer an Eagle trail (over 8K) and a Turkey trail at around 3.5K. Regular readers won’t have to guess which option best suited me.

Of course, we just moved up front to the bar area and continued the consumption of alcoholic beverages. And then Mother Nature raised her pretty head, and we were hit with a windy deluge. The power went out for a bit, but we stuck it out until the lights came back on. When the rain slacked up, I caught a trike for home but didn’t get far. It seems a tree fell across the National Highway, and the road was nearly impassable. I got out and walked to the entrance of Alta Vista, then managed to catch a trike the rest of the way home. Power was still out at my house, so I had to enjoy dessert by candlelight. And then it was back on just in time for bed so I could sleep under the breeze of my fan. Yay!

Busy in the kitchen this morning:

My new landlord is in town and has started the promised work on the house. She also gave me a copy of the notarized lease, so all the legal niceties have been taken care of. I dropped off some muffins when I stopped by for her and Swan to enjoy.

Swan joined me on the Royal grocery shopping excursion this morning. It was fun to have her along, even if she refused my offer to pay for the few items in her basket. I’m starting to imagine what my life could be like if I had someone like her to share it with me. I keep reminding myself that I need to hold back and go slow. I’m leaving the next step up to her, but I still want to gently signal that I’ll be happy if she takes it. The sooner, the better!

Here I go again.

So, on the drive out to Castillejos for the start of our hike to Nagsangong Falls, our driver missed the bypass highway around Subic-town. As we hit the heavy traffic near the Subic marketplace, a song from 1970 that I didn’t like then and hadn’t heard for decades suddenly popped into my head. Hell, I even recalled most of the lyrics. That’s pretty amazing, given how I can barely remember my name some days.

Okay, sorry for the detour down memory lane; here’s the report from yesterday’s misadventure. As mentioned above, the plan was to make the relatively easy hike to Nansangong Falls and back, a trek we hadn’t done since early 2021.

Times change and memories fade, resulting in some initial difficulty in finding our starting point. When we reached the end of the road we were on, some locals helpfully offered to guide us back to where we needed to be.

A left turn about 1/2K up the road, then a short drive to a shady parking spot, and we were finally ready to walk!

And then we encountered a Robert Frost moment:

We eventually chose the path to the right, in part because it appeared to have been more heavily trafficked. And what’s out here to see except the falls, right?

Remember that junction where we chose to go right?

Anyway, despite not achieving the falls I had a really good time on trail. That’s what matters most. Relive it here if you so desire:

My other Miss Adventure was with the lovely lady accompanying me to last night’s SOB. We arrived early, so we had a drink next door at Sloppy Joe’s while we waited for Alaska to open up. The same waitress who served me last night took care of our order. I smiled to myself, wondering what she was thinking–one day, he is with an 18-year-old girl, the next with a 39-year-old woman. Funny how that works, but I know which one I prefer. WAY too early for that kind of speculation–her partner of seventeen years passed away a few months ago, and she is just starting her road to recovery. My goal is to help her get to where she needs to be, with no expectation that I’ll be her solution. She is fun to be with, and that’s enough for me. She even volunteered to be my Tagalog tutor (yes, she is college educated). I’m trying to respect her privacy, hence the lack of a name, at least for now. Let’s call her Swan (she without a name).

Anyway, Swan had never attended an SOB before and asked me what it was all about. I answered that it was a cultural dance contest among seven Barretto bars. Yeah, they are bar dancers, but several teams usually wear costumes and put on an interesting show with various props. Last night only Alaska did so. The other competitors were doing the booty-shaking thing and sexy dance moves. Swan laughed and asked, “Is that more of “culture” you were talking about?” ‘Yeah, but this is the Philippines, after all, and it is bar culture’ was the best I could come up with in response.

At the end of the show, Swan thanked me and said she had a good time. She agreed to join me somewhere in the future, I suggested the rooftop at our high-rise hotel, the Capital Reef, and she liked the idea. It was a different kind of “date” for me last night, but one I enjoyed more than any others in recent memory. Making a new friend is always a worthwhile endeavor; anything more than that still needs a friendship foundation. One day at a time. I’ve got nothing to lose.

Next up for me is a Hash adventure with the Manila group. They are doing an outstation run here in Barretto today and I’m going to join in. I’m also taking some tentative steps to making a move into a rental house more suited to the needs of me and my dogs. It’s here in Alta Vista, so not that big a change. More on that soon.

Facebook memories reminded me of the way my blog looked when it was Korea-centric:

Back with more tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE: I was able to recover the post I thought was deleted, but no time to fix all the crap errors. Sorry, this one will be me at my worst.

I woke up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. That is not so unusual. Sat down at the the laptop to see what was going on in the rest of the world, and noticed my phone wasn’t on the charger. That’s weird, but I don’t deny going to bed in a state of drunken confusion after my night with the Pattaya Hashers. I plugged the phone in and got the screen that says the port was wet and I needed to disconnect. I tried my best to dry it out through various means but nothing worked. Now what?

The next issue I had to address was that without my phone’s hot spot connection, I couldn’t access the internet. Yes, my hotel room came with WIFI, but I had been unable to connect when I first checked in, so I just relied on my phone. I once again tried the WIFI with the same result: This site can’t be reached. logout.wifi unexpectedly closed the connection.

With nothing better to do, I unplugged the laptop, carried it downstairs to the front desk and asked for assistance. The night attendant attempted to log in and got the same result. She said to come back later when the maintenance staff was available. Alrighty, then. Back upstairs to deal with the reality that I’m an internet junkie. To deal with the pain of withdrawal, I went back to bed and slept until six. Got up, tried the phone again, and still no go. Fuck. So, I showered and packed, then took my laptop with me to breakfast to get a fix with the restaurant WIFI. I researched how to dry a wet charging port, but none of the suggestions worked. I figured I must have done some damage to the innards, so I asked the woman who runs my restaurant hangout where I could get it repaired. She told me, saw I didn’t understand, and offered to call a car to take me. Yes, please! Now that’s service.

The store she had mentioned wasn’t open yet, so I walked around and found another repair shop. They said they could fix it for 1500 baht (about $50). Yeah, I figured there was some skin tax involved but I was desperate. I agreed and they told me to come back in three hours. Went back to my hotel, checked out, stored my bag, and went back across the street to my my friendly restaurant.

I made a point of remembering how to get back to my phone, so was able to navigate using the Baht Bus method of travel. I arrived at the store and my phone was ready to go. Crisis resolved!

Dave and Jo were going to share transport to the airport with me. Since our flight didn’t depart until 10:50 pm, we decided to kill the hours hanging out at a nice place on the water. After leaving from the phone store to meet up with them, I came upon a particularly nice Buddhist Monastery.

Next stop, the Pattaya Beer Garden.

It was a comfortable place to chill and enjoy the ambiance, although I consciously limited my alcohol intake to two beers. I still had a long night ahead of me.

I had made arrangements for a driver to take us to the airport with instructions to meet at my hotel at 5:00 p.m. It was the same guy who had driven my drunk and lost ass home from the Hash. I remembered making the arrangements, but I had failed to get a phone number so I could confirm he’d be there as scheduled. That created a bit of a conundrum–should I book with someone else and possibly disappoint the guy who thought he had an airport gig, or go with the safe bet. I decided to be a man of my word and trust him to show up like we had arranged.

When the time was nigh, we walked back to the restaurant across from my hotel to await the driver’s arrival.

I figured I had a 30 minute window to rebook if my driver didn’t show and still make it to the airport on time. Talk about living dangerously! Well, he didn’t show and I was going to look for a taxi large enough to carry three and their luggage. I asked the restaurant owner if she had any suggestions, and the woman she had been chatting with at the bar volunteered to take us. Talk about getting lucky–she even had an SUV large enough for our needs. Let’s roll! Well, she had to go home and get the car, but promised to be back by 5:30. She was late, but was an excellent driver and got us to our destination with time to spare.

We boarded the plane on time, took off a few minutes early, and I was asleep shortly thereafter on the three-hour flight to Angeles City. I woke up thirty minutes before we landed at 0300 local time. Got through immigration without a hitch, and Dave dropped me off at my front door a little after five.

A long day, but it ended the way it was intended to do.

I took a nap and slept until 11 a.m. and trying to get this post done with the Hash pending has been stressful. Sorry for all the errors, Grammarly not working for some reason and I’m out of time to perform my usual due diligence. *ahem*

Anyway, I’ve still got that post for the island Hash on Saturday in the hopper. Come back tomorrow for the last batch of all that Thailand goodness.

I just lost a post I’d spent two hours writing about my last day in Thailand. I don’t recall that ever happening before. I’ve got to head out for the Hash now, so there is no time to recover it. Sorry, I’ll try again tomorrow.

Damn, I’m pissed.

I won’t have another night out in Barretto for over a week, assuming I survive Thailand. I’m a little paranoid about my breathing issues and being alone in a strange land surrounded by strangers. Welp, I guess that’s why they call it an adventure. My bags are packed, and I’m ready to go!

Mary came by my place for lunch, her allowance, and some groceries I picked up for her on my last trip to Royal. We had some dessert, and I walked her down to the highway so she could catch a Jeepney home. She’s working at John’s place now, so she needed to drop her things off, change clothes, then head back into town for her 5 p.m. shift.

It was only 3:30 when she got on the Jeep, but I figured I’d get to work on my Saturday night since I was in town already. I started out at Sloppy Joe’s and ran into my hiking mates, Scott and Steve.

After a couple of beers (maybe three), I wanted to get something to eat, and where better to dine than John’s place? It was a few minutes before five, and Mary was going through the door as I approached. I followed her in and surprised her. I was headed up to the third-floor bar area and saw John in the second-floor restaurant. He told me he had some changes coming upstairs, starting this weekend. The bar, which has a pool table and not much else other than a nice open-air view, is going to be made into a “real bar” vibe, whatever that means. Maybe he’s going to have GROs and sexy waitresses thirsty for lady drinks? I guess I’ll find out when I get back from Thailand.

While I was eating I got a message from Joy. She was lamenting that there were no customers (and no lady drinks) in the bar. Given the rain outside, I wasn’t surprised. So, I ordered some Korean-style chicken wings for take-out and paid her a surprise visit.

With the hunger and thirst satiated at Hideaway, it was time to move on. After some internal debate as I walked, I decided to pay a visit to Cheap Charlies. I was surprised it was so crowded, but my regular crew was available to serve me some company in exchange for the coveted lady drink.

Alma was on my other side, but she deleted the photo I took of her (she has an out-of-town foreigner “boyfriend,” I hear).

While I was enjoying my time at Cheap Charlies, I got a message from Angie asking if I would be visiting her at Green Room. I’d just seen her the day before at the SOB, but Green Room is right across the highway, so why not. At first, things weren’t too busy, but then a group of high rollers came in and brought most of the girls from Wet Spot with them.

And that was just about all the fun I could handle for one night. I did pop into Sit-n-Bull hoping for a pecan pie dessert, but alas, they were sold out. So, I settled for a big oatmeal-raisin cookie instead, took it home, and put some vanilla ice cream on top. Not as good as a Krispy Kreme donut, but good enough.

Oh, and I’ve been meaning to share this tidbit that I found hilarious. I have an app on my phone called WhatsApp that I almost never use. A few days ago, I got a message there saying, “Hope I didn’t bother you; how are you today?” I should have known better but answered, “I’m sorry. Who is this?” And this was the response:

I’m sorry for bothering you. I’m Miss Kate, HR Assistant of WPP Company. We are pleased to inform you that we will like to offer you the opportunity to join our team and work with us remotely which can help you earn money every day. Can I tell you more details about it?

Yep, I triggered the spam. Still, I figured I could have some fun with it and answered this way: Nope. I’m rich. I don’t need to work. I’m hoping I can find a girlfriend. Miss Kate didn’t miss a beat:

If you are rich, let me know.

I left it at that but enjoyed the laugh.

It’s raining like mad again today (’tis the season), and I’m meeting my ride to the airport across town. I’ve got a trike driver scheduled to pick me up at the house at 2:00; let’s hope he remembers where I live. Damn, I better pack an umbrella; it might be raining in Thailand too.

Assuming everything goes well, my next post will be from the Land of Smiles. See you on the other side!

The Wednesday Walkers changed things up and took a rare trip out to SBMA (aka The old Navy base) for our adventure. With our smaller turnout lately, we have more transportation options. Scott’s car carried the four of us comfortably and allowed us to explore some new terrain. The skies were threatening, but the rain held off throughout our 7K pavement hike.

A good day on base!

I went home to rest and refresh; then, I was off to the Wednesday feeding at Hideaway. I sent Joy out to get whatever she and the girls wanted. She came back with chicken, pork on a stick, and pancit.

After leaving Hideaway, I stopped at Blue Butterfly and shared a drink with my favorite there, Tanya. There was a lady walking the streets selling food from a basket. I asked the girls if they were hungry and got an affirmative response. Tanya spoke to the vendor in Tagalog; then I paid for 270 pesos worth of food (not sure what, some kind of burger-like thing). The vendor went on her way. Later I noticed that most of the food was uneaten, and Tanya told me it was not fresh. Apparently, the vendor had assured her otherwise. It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen, and obviously, it is the last time I’ll make a purchase from this woman (I’ve made several in the past, but now she has lost my trust).

I finished my night at Wet Spot and enjoyed some time with the big shots at the back slapper’s table. Later, I noticed Saja was back to work (she’s a schoolmate of Mary), so I invited her over for a drink. Her boyfriend has returned to his homeland, Germany, I think she said, for work, and she has come back to Wet Spot, at least for now.

And so ended another night in the Bars of Barretto. At least there was no trouble of this kind:

I never walk home. That’s what trikes are for!

For quite some time now, I’ve confined my drinking to only on days that end in a “y.” I’m considering cutting back further and only drinking on two occasions–when I’m alone or when I’m with someone. We’ll see how that works out for me.

Speaking of being with someone, it’s been an unusual week in that regard. I had Joy’s companionship on Thursday, and last night Mary joined me. And as I write this, Lyn is on her way from Angeles for a weekend visit. Remember her? It’s been a little over a year now since our first and last meeting. We’ve occasionally exchanged messages since her departure, but this visit came out of the blue. I think she just needs a break from the stress of her current life, and hey, I don’t mind being a shelter in her storm. I rather liked her.

Anyway, it occurs to me that maybe I’ve stumbled upon an answer to my companionship dilemma. Why not have an arrangement where I spend Thursdays with Joy, Fridays with Mary, Mondays with Angie, and then fill in the gaps with random events like Lyn’s visit? That even leaves some time when I can be alone to rest, recuperate, and recharge. Perhaps there is safety in numbers, after all.

Anyway, it is just a thought for now. Lyn will be arriving in a few minutes, so I want to get this post up as I expect I’ll be otherwise occupied for the remainder of the day.

Wish me luck!

Took a walk on the wet side yesterday morning. The Wednesday Walkers group did a beach walk from Barretto to the lighthouse just outside the entrance to the old Navy base. It’s probably been a year since I last ventured out this way, and I was surprised just how much things have changed, and not in a good way.

The first thing that happened was our normal beach access was blocked by a locked gate. So, we walked through the Outback Hotel pool area to reach the sand, which is uncouth, but I’ll stop in for a beer or two soon to make up for it.

Having achieved our waterside objective, we discovered we had arrived at high tide. I knew that was going to mean wet feet at some point in the hike, and that point turned out to be immediate. The water was higher than where the fence line ended, so I waded on out and around it.

And that’s where we ended the hike. Caught a Jeepney back to Barretto and grabbed some lunch at Sit-n-Bull.

When it was time to feed the girls at Hideaway, I stopped at the Andoks chicken store and gathered some foodstuffs.

My bar tab at Hideaway was over 2000 pesos. I was a little overly generous on the lady drinks, I suppose. So, the money I fritter away in the bar made me feel a little guilty about the money I’m declining to fritter away on the gals besieging me with their requests for assistance. That’s my excuse for ending my night at Wet Spot and slipping Aine the cash she had requested. But I did make clear to her it would be the last time. And, while the Messenger connection worked for her request for help, it apparently couldn’t transmit a thank you. Good to know.

As usual, I was up early this morning and catching up with the blogs I follow. That’s where I saw the news on Kevin Kim’s Big Hominid site that Elon Musk had destroyed a BBC “reporter.” And it didn’t take long for the memes to pop up on my Facebook feed. Here are a couple of my favorites:

In other news, Nerissa asked if we could get together on her day off, which is today. I figured, sure, why not? It’s my floating bar day on Baloy, so I invited her to join me, and afterward, I’ll treat her to dinner, probably at Da’Kudos. Not to worry, she is completely in the friend zone with me. Not sure what I am to her, nor does it matter.

I’ve also been chatting with a gal I just met on the Date In Asia site. I’m not getting ahead of myself with her, but she checks all the boxes with no red flags so far. I am looking forward to our first date, which will have to be next week since I’ve already made plans for the weekend. Should be fun to see if we have any chemistry when we meet in person.

Hey, maybe things are finally going to get interesting around here!

Not a bad Tuesday as Tuesdays go. Got through the grocery shopping without blowing a gasket over the insane prices and frustrating “out-of-stock” issues. I just don’t understand how a major grocery store like Royal is so inept at ordering products before they sell out. Often, weeks or months go by before the next shipment arrives. Ah, well. If that’s all I have to complain about, I’m living a pretty blessed life.

After loading up the groceries, I paid my driver and walked a couple of blocks to Harbor Pointe Mall.

One of the purposes of my visit to the mall was to find out why the data plan I purchased for my phone wasn’t working. I went to the Globe store (my cell phone provider), and they checked the SIM card and settings. After about 30 minutes of fiddling with my phone, they said I had the wrong connection link and fixed it. Okay, I don’t speak technology, but at least it is working now.

Since I was already at the mall, I went upstairs to the Merrell store, hoping to acquire some new hiking shoes (my old ones have worn-down soles, and I like a good grip when doing those ups and downs on the mountain). I’m not sure what is going on with Merrell, but they didn’t have ANY traditional hiking shoes in stock, just like the last time I visited the store a few months ago. Weird. Not wanting to give up without a fight and having nothing better to do, I hoofed on over across the river to the SM Mall in Olongapo City (less than a kilometer away).

The department store shoe section had some good-looking Merrells on display, but when the sales clerk returned from the backroom, he advised that there were no size 11s available. He suggested I look at the Skechers collection. That’s been my fallback shoe for a while now, and they fill the need, even if they are not really designed for the dirty trails I walk.

On my way to the checkout stand, I saw some backpacks on display, so I went for a look.

So, I’d had enough of shopping but worked up an appetite. SM Mall has a Jollibee, and there was a McDonald’s just up the road, but I was craving something else for some reason, and I walked back to Harbor Pointe Mall to get me some.

I finished my lunch and caught a cab for home.

Did my usual afternoon routines (blogging and napping), then it was once again time to head into town. I started with a visit to the barber and successfully had my ears lowered. It Doesn’t Matter bar is just across the highway from the barbershop, and I had some amends to make there, so that was my next stop. I found the waitress I had been rude to the night before, apologized, and bought her a lady drink. She was gracious and happy that there were no hard feelings.

I only stayed for one beer, then went back across the highway to enjoy the ambiance at the Annex bar.

Where to next? It wasn’t 6:00 yet so that limited my options somewhat. Cheap Charlies was packed with RSL guys, so I risked life and limb and crossed the highway again to plop my ass down at The Green Room for a bit. A pool league match was going on, and it was quite entertaining to watch–the players I saw were outstanding. I had some Sit-n-Bull chicken wings with my beer and got my waitress some lumpia to enjoy.

Enough time had elapsed that enabled me to visit Alaska and see Virginia, so that’s just what I did.

Virginia is easy on the eyes, but I have difficulty understanding her English. That problem was exacerbated last night because the music was so loud I may as well have been deaf. Owner Jerry was doing pool league somewhere else; he would not have been playing those songs at that volume, not his style. Well, Virginia got a couple of lady drink commissions at least, and perhaps we can talk another time.

Sloppy Joe’s is right next door to Alaska, so I popped in there for my nightcap. I was pleasantly surprised to see my pal Chris and his gal were there, so I pulled up a stool and joined them. Chris was controlling the music and videos, so we did a pleasant stroll down memory lane with an emphasis on Bob Seger. Enjoyed the hell out of that.

Oh, the Belgian chocolate guy came by, and I bought five of his 100 peso containers and took them to the girls at Alaska for a special treat. Better than cookies!

It really did turn out to be a fun night out; everything Monday night wasn’t.

There were some interesting discussions regarding alcohol use/abuse in the comments to Sunday’s post. I don’t speculate as to where on the spectrum the medical community might place me but freely admit I imbibe several low-alcohol brews every night. While the “science” had previously said two a day or several a week weren’t bad, I came across this article saying that alcohol in ANY amount isn’t healthy. Well, fine. No need to try and cut down on consumption then–I’m going to die anyway. In all seriousness, I’m doing just fine. The gin was a mistake for sure, but as long as I stay away from the hard liquors, I’ll be okay.

Ah, and those Facebook memories. Today is my wedding anniversary with wife #4.

And how about this one from eight years ago:

The book is titled “The Accidental Citizen Soldier” and tells the story of a born and raised American getting drafted into the Korean military. Here’s how a Seattle newspaper reported that story.

Alrighty then, another feeding day at Hideaway is coming up. And I’ll have some photos of today’s Easter mountain climb here tomorrow. BLUF: We found a much better way down the mountain today by going up it first. Things are coming together for Easter Monday!

…so are the days of our lives. Not to mention the women.

I had an interesting chat with Nerissa (the Cheap Charlies girl I fancied if you are keeping track) yesterday. Here’s the cut and paste from Messenger:

Nerissa: Haven’t seen u for a while

Me: Well, wasn’t sure I was welcome there anymore…

Nerissa: It’s fine if u don’t want to go… Just want to say hi to you is fine..haha..maybe your other girl will see u here..haha..not a good move…

Me: I don’t have another girl…and honestly, I had my eyes opened to the fact that I’m better off alone.

Nerissa

If that’s the best for u, then go for it…

Me: Yeah, I don’t deal well with rejection these days…

Nerissa

That’s normal, I guess

Me: Especially when you get older. Takes too long to recover.

Nerissa: It depends if a person is serious…If he is not serious, I guess he gives up easily.

Me: Maybe so. In fact, that was the message I received when you unfriended me…

Nerissa: Correct

Me: Thanks; I appreciate your honesty.

So, the joke was on me all along…she was never serious, so blowing me off was easy. But as I said before, she did me a favor. No need to waste time and energy on a drama queen who doesn’t value me. And it led me to begin to learn to embrace the comfort and safety that comes with being a “player.”

How’s that working out for me so far? Well, there’s Mary. I enjoy her company, but one night a week is plenty for me. The age gap is real, but at least she has enough intellectual curiosity to occasionally make for an interesting drinking companion. I did get a chuckle on Friday when our waitress at Thumbstar asked Mary if I was her boyfriend. She responded, not really. The waitress said, “more like a sugar daddy?” and Mary replied, “kinda.” To be clear, we are not in a “pay for play” situation; I don’t think either of us wants that. She doesn’t ask me for money but will tell me when I ask what she needs to make her studies go smoother. This week I sprang for the internet at her house, which facilitates her ability to research for papers and other homework. So far, I’m comfortable with our informal arrangement.

I see Joy at Hideaway on Wednesday and Sunday. I know she’d like to visit me at home on her day off (Thursday), but so far, I’ve resisted. She’s a sweetie, but I just don’t feel the urge to take things further, especially in exchange for money.

Then there’s my mountain momma friend, MJ. I’ve been providing support for her and her kids since her ex-husband died last year. That’s with no strings attached; she’s one of my charity projects. Once a month or so, she wants to give me a massage for extra money. She’s good at it, and it usually ends happily, so I’m receptive. She’d probably be an excellent taking care of you kind of girlfriend, but not much good at conversation.

Another bargirl friend I enjoy spending time with is Jen, a waitress at Whiskey Girl. She’s a natural-born snuggler, and I do enjoy a nice cuddle now and then. Might be the least physically attractive of the gals I drink with, but she’s quick with a laugh and fun to be around.

And last night, I got a message from Aine telling me she is back to work at Wet Spot after being absent for several months. I plan to drop in to say hello again tonight.

Anyway, it’s not the life I imagined I’d have, but it’s the one I’ve got, and I’m planning to enjoy it as long as possible. Who knew embracing emptiness could be so fulfilling?

Despite the disconnect with Nerissa I described above, I decided to make a return visit to Cheap Charlies to start my evening out. Nerissa sat down on my left, and I politely greeted her. Alma sat on my right and stroked my arm and shoulder. Some other gal sat behind me and rubbed my back. I enjoyed my beer and watched the world go by with only occasional interaction with Alma. I wasn’t inclined to purchase a lady drink for someone who had just admitted I was nothing to them, but so as not to be rude, I didn’t buy anyone a drink. As I suspected, Nerissa and the other gal moved on after I ordered my second beer. Once they were gone, I bought a drink for Alma. I guess I sent a message too.

Proceeding with my bar crawl, I decided to pop into Annex bar for a visit. This is another place I almost never visit, but they’ve recently made a significant change–they opened up the front of the building and made it into an open-air bar–my favorite kind.

Since I didn’t do the SOB this week, I didn’t have any coupons. But Whiskey Girl is offering a “buy one, get one” promo every day from 5 p.m. until 8:00. That’s a pretty damn good deal, and I decided to take advantage of it and enjoy some snuggle time with Jenn.

I enjoyed my time at Whiskey Girl. Queen Victoria is right across the street, so I decided to make that my nightcap venue. My old favorite Irish and my new favorite Rein were both in attendance and joined me at the bar. I noted that Rein had not accepted my FB friend request, and she said her account was “blocked.” Whatever. Irish took my phone and sent herself a friend request from me, but as of this morning, she has not accepted it either. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a Facebook fetish about making bargirls friends, but it is a simple indicator of whether they see you as a customer/drink provider or potentially something more. I just like to know where I stand; it doesn’t change anything.

When I got home, I was excited about my post-drinking snack awaiting my arrival in the fridge.

On one of the forums I visit, I came across this post-mortem from someone who saw the bus-jeepney accident scene.

We were stuck in the n/b traffic jam and it took about 20 minutes to reach the accident scene.

From what I saw, It appears that the white van either suddenly stopped in front of, or suddenly pulled out in front of the s/b bus. The bus was most assuredly speeding as usual.

The bus hit the van from behind, knocking it out of the way, and went out of control traveling across the center line and into the n/b jeepney.

The bus struck the jeepney just behind the driver and as you can see from the extreme damage, the poor student sitting directly behind the driver was mortally injured. In one of the video’s going around you can see blood spurting from his carotid with each heartbeat.

It’s a shame there were too many videographers instead of someone to help by applying direct pressure to his carotid. Filipinos are professional bystanders/gawkers… 

Someone commented that brain matter was visible but I couldn’t tell from the video I watched. In that case, first aid may not have saved this guy if his skull was cracked open but if I was present I would have tried.

It’s a shame, R.I.P.

I mentioned in a recent post a man named Karl who hikes the hills and dales in these parts alone, despite being in his late 70s. Quite the inspiration. Anyway, he posted some cool pictures of Barretto from a webpage he has of Barretto back when it was nothing more than a Navy rifle range.

I survived my scouting expedition to the top of Easter mountain this morning. I’ll tell that story tomorrow with a slew of pictures from the climb. I’ll also feed the girls at Hideaway tonight, so we can see Joy enjoying whatever she puts in her mouth.

Good to have something to look forward to, right?

No real surprises at the ENT doctor visit yesterday. Put the scope up my nose, shook his head with a tsk tsk sound, and said the blockage was stage four–complete. He prescribed some steroid medication which might result in some shrinkage, but surgery to remove the polyps is really the only option.

So, we discussed what was involved in getting the surgical procedure. Dr. Tolentino confirmed that I would have to be completely anesthetized during the operation. I would also have to be admitted to St. Jude’s hospital for an overnight stay after the surgery.

Doctor Tolentino won’t be available for two weeks, and in the interim, I’m supposed to get cleared by a cardiologist that I can safely undergo the procedure. I’m still not comfortable with the idea of being put to sleep, especially with my COPD issues. I’m also not wanting to be confined to a hospital room overnight. I’m considering a third opinion from the highly rated Clark Medical City in Angeles. I’m also toying with the idea of leaving the country for the surgery. Stay tuned.

Like a good ENT, Dr. Tolentino checked my ears and throat during my visit. He removed a clump of wax from my right ear that was as big as a fingernail. Hmm, maybe that was causing my deafness.

After the doctor’s visit, I took a trip to Seoul. That’s my favorite Korean restaurant in these parts, located on the old Navy base.

When we got back home, I took a nap, and Mary joined me. That was nice. Later in the afternoon, we walked to Baloy beach and visited the floating bar. I stuck with my beer diet, and Mary experimented with different mixed drinks, gin and soda, and then a margarita.

I didn’t actually enjoy this visit to the floater as much as I had previously. They were blaring the music so loud I couldn’t even hear Mary talking right next to me. I asked them to turn it down some, which they did, but I noticed the volume increased little by little as time went on. I had two beers and headed for shore.

Next stop, Johan’s. Mary continued her drink smorgasbord with a Tom Collins and then a Bloody Mary. She said she had never had a Bloody Mary before, and I challenged her, saying she has one monthly. Yeah, I’m a funny guy. Mary was surprised at how spicy it was and needed a bottle of water to stop the burning in her mouth.

When it was time to move on, we took a stroll down the beach to McCoy’s. I ordered her an apple beer while she was in the CR, and she was surprised because it was just what she wanted. Well, it had to be better than the Bloody Mary, and McCoy’s doesn’t serve mixed drinks, so it was an easy call.

I put Mary in a trike for home, but I wasn’t through just yet. That’s one of the benefits of beer consumption; my staying power is elongated. I popped into Snackbar for a couple of drinks with my old bargirl friends, including Lydell. She had seen me walking earlier with Mary but only asked about the floating bar. Yep, I’m proudly flaunting my player reputation these days!

I still wasn’t quite ready to call it a night, and I had a “buy one, get one coupon” to exploit before its expiration, so I made a rare visit to Queen Victoria, the nearest SOB bar to my current location. And that’s where I met Rein. Well, I had met her before. She briefly worked at the old Dive In Bar, which is now Hideaway. She had also been involved in the ill-fated Posiden bar in Calapadayan that was out of business after a few months. Anyway, I had a great time getting reacquainted with her; she’s quite the conversationalist.

Two beers, two lady drinks, then home safe and sound.

Speaking of Facebook, Nerissa from Cheap Charlies sent me a new friend request, and I accepted it. Of course, it’s a little too little and a little too late. Happy to be her friend again and feel comfortable returning to Cheap Charlies occasionally, but she has shown me a side of her character that foretells the drama that would come with a relationship. No, thank you! Or maybe I should thank her for teaching me to embrace being the player she thought I was.

And the Facebook memories feature reminded me just how damn happy I was to be living the Itaewon life back in 2006.

But things can certainly always be worse.

Speaking of accidents, there was a bad one this morning on the National Highway in downtown Barretto. I didn’t witness it, but someone sent me a video, and it was pretty gruesome. I understand the bus driver was killed, and many passengers in the Jeepney were severely injured.

Alright, well, let me leave you with something to cleanse your palate before I go. This is a children’s video, and it is hilarious when viewed in context.

The punchline is the definition of “Pekpek” in Tagalog.

I guess that’s about enough for one day’s reading here at LTG. I’m skipping the SOB tonight and escorting Mary on her continued journey of exploration in the bars of Barretto. We’ll start the night in Sloppy Joe’s and take it from there. Back tomorrow with a full report.

I set up a new hosting service with an outfit called Bluehost. I hope the migration goes well, would hate to lose 18 years of blogging history. The domain should activate within hours; moving the history might take a week.

I checked reviews, and Bluehost is supposed to be good, especially for WordPress blogs like mine. But whatever is wrong with Hostgator these past few days is bad enough, but their non-responsive customer “service” was inexcusable.

My other big thrill this morning was dealing with my Chase credit card account. I had cleaned my cookies in an effort to resolve the blog issues, and Chase no longer recognized my device, so I needed to enter a verification code. No big deal; in the past, they have always emailed the code. This time that was not an option; it had to be by phone. Except they had an old phone number from the USA. So, I had to call them, and that was a nightmare. When I finally got through, the person I was speaking with disconnected. When I got through again, a security question asked me what was my address in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Um, I lived there in 1982, and that’s about all I remember. A follow-up question was, who did my mortgage on a house in South Carolina? Does anyone remember crap like that? I don’t. Like I told the agent, I’m lucky to remember my name these days. Oh well, we finally got it resolved, and I have access to my account again. The first thing I did was update my phone number. They can contact me next time.

Anyway, rant over. For now.

I’ve had no luck contacting Hostgator’s alleged 24-hour chat help desk. And the accessing my blog issues continue. I mean, I can eventually get back online, but it takes several tries. No idea what the problem is. Anyway, I’ve decided to move to a new blog host service. Not sure how long the migration takes at this point, but if I’m offline, don’t panic; I’ll be back!

Shouldn’t be down for more than a few hours I’m told.

I looked all over San Antonio and didn’t find it. We did come across the Philippine Navy base, where we were detained during a Hash run back in 2019, but wisely did not breach the perimeter this time. The purpose of the trip to “not the one in Texas” was to scout potential Hash trails for an outstation run in May.

Speaking of bars, the feeding at Hideaway went fine, although I really need to get my spending under control. The pizza was 890 pesos, Joy’s lasagna was 420 pesos, and the fried chicken was 500 pesos…that’s almost $40. My bar tab after a bunch of drinks for the ladies and me was another $50. Oh, well. You can’t take it with you, I suppose.

Hideaway was my first and last stop on the night. As I stumbled down the highway thinking about “where to next?” a trike driver pulled up and said, “Sir John, I’ll take you home now.” I figured my guardian angel must have sent it, so I hopped in and called it a night.

It was a full and fine day.

Another day in my life that started with a walk and ended with a drunken stagger.

The walk was all flat, but I was breathing hard for the last couple of kilometers. I hope my lungs won’t take my breath away.

Feeding time at Hideaway rolled around, and I headed out to take care of business. Last night the girls enjoyed pizza (Hawaiian, of course), pork liempo, and a roasted chicken. I baked a dozen apple cinnamon muffins for dessert.

When it was time to move on from Hideaway, I hoofed it down the highway to Alaska Club for my nightcap.

Made it home alone and safe. And now, I’m ready to face the challenges of a brand new day.

Mary is coming over after school. I’m preparing some pork chops in a cream of mushroom soup sauce in the crockpot. After the meal, I’ll take her to the floating bar for a couple of drinks before she goes back home to Kalaklan.

If I were the asshole Nerissa seems to think I am, I’d bring Mary with me to Cheap Charlies. Hmm, maybe next time.

I hear some people
been talkin' me down,
Bring up my name,
pass it 'round.
They don't mention
happy times
They do their thing,
I'll do mine.

Ooh baby,
that's hard to change
I can't tell them
how to feel.
Some get stoned,
some get strange,
But sooner or later
it all gets real.

Walk on

…is that the question?

Commenter Brian shared these thoughts on a recent post:

Random thoughts that somewhat tie in to her giving you the cold shoulder. I may have said this previously in response to an earlier post of yours, but there definitely is a double standard with the number of girls a guy is with vs. the number of guys a girl is with and thoughts thereof.

Although you probably don’t see yourself this way, I bet that most of the girls you come in contact with in your little burg see you as a player. One girl one night, a different one the next week, etc. As you mentioned, in a small town, everyone knows your business. With that type of reputation, most/all ladies will hesitate to get to know you on anything other than a superficial level

My initial reaction was that visiting different bars and buying your favorite girls a lady drink, then leaving alone, doesn’t really qualify as being a player. I think that paying for company or sex is kind of the opposite of being a player. I see a player as someone who strings more than one woman along emotionally, making promises he doesn’t mean to keep and ultimately breaking hearts. Of course, women can be players, too, and I’d wager there are more female players in this town than there are men making a game of romance.

On the other hand, how you are perceived often overrides whatever the truth might be. That seems to be Brian’s primary point: if the women in my town see me as a player, whether I am or not, they will treat me as someone who can’t be trusted with their heart. That seems to indeed be the case with Nerissa.

I went to see Nerissa in Cheap Charlies last night and wasn’t sure what to expect, seeing as how she had unfriended and blocked me on Facebook without a word. She didn’t decline when I invited her to join me for a drink, so that was a start. However, she ordered a double lady drink, something she hadn’t tried before. Given the circumstances, I didn’t object. I also told the other girls milling about that I wanted one on one time with Nerissa. And then I asked her why she had blocked me.

“Because I saw you at BarCelona with another girl,” she responded. That’s what I expected the issue was, but it still didn’t make much sense to me. I’ve had one date with Nerissa: nothing physical, no promises, no commitments. I pointed out that she hadn’t responded when I had asked her when her next day off would be, intending to take her out for dinner. Nerissa said she hadn’t answered because she didn’t know when she’d be off yet. Fine, why didn’t you say that? I told her that her non-responsiveness led me to believe she wasn’t interested in dating me. Nerissa asked me why I hadn’t told her I was seeing someone else, and I truthfully responded that I didn’t feel that I had a relationship with her or any obligation to do so. I told her that if I were trying to hide that I was meeting someone, I wouldn’t have chosen to sit on the rooftop at BarCelona in full view of everyone sitting in Cheap Charlies. I asked her why she hadn’t raised her concerns with me directly instead of just blocking me without explanation. She acted like it was no big deal to be blocked and explained that she didn’t want to see posts of me with another girl.

And that’s pretty much where we left it. I had three drinks; she had two (doubles). I paid my tab and left. I guess my feeling is I’m glad I found out how she is sooner rather than later. If she got that jealous before we were even in a relationship, I can only imagine the nightmare she would likely be as a jealous girlfriend. And perhaps she feels the same–happy to learn I’m such a “player” early on. And so it goes.

After my departure, I headed up the highway to John’s place for some grub.

I also ordered some Korean-style chicken wings to surprise the Hideaway girls.

I only had one drink at Hideaway, knowing I’d be back today for the regular Wednesday feeding. I finished my evening at The Green Room with two more drinks, then caught a trike back home.

More and more, I’m thinking I’m better off going through life alone. Who needs all the drama?

I continue to fill my time in the usual ways, walking and drinking being the bookends, with blogging and napping occupying the space in between. I used to feel like I was wasting what was left of my life by not engaging in more meaningful activities during my retirement years, but lately, I’ve come to accept that I’m in my comfort zone, and if this is all there is, then that will be enough. That’s not to say I’m not receptive to any opportunities to change my life that may come along, but in the meantime, I won’t lament the things I don’t have. I’ve actually come to appreciate the value of my solitary life, boring though it may be. There are worse things than being alone, and I’m not convinced that the relationship I’ve craved in my imagination is worth the drama that seems inherent when you open your heart to another.

That’s my initial thinking, anyway. As Joni Mitchell sang all those years ago, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone…” We’ll see if any of the women currently vying for my attention are able to change my mind.

When it was time for my evening entertainment, I took a walk out to Baloy Beach.

In its previous iteration, the food delivered on board the floating bar came from Treasure Island. This year, the menu was from Lagoon. It’s okay, but not one of my favorites. So, instead of eating on the floater, I went to Treasure Island when I disembarked.

After my meal, I walked back to the highway and stopped at Snackbar for my nightcap. Haven’t been there in a while; there is too much drama with some of the staff. Last night was fine, though. Even Lydell, the gal I dated a couple of times, was sweet to me. She surprised me by playing “Cotton Eye Joe” and inviting me to do some country swing dancing with her. It was actually quite fun, and she earned herself a couple of lady drinks.

And then, it was time to go home, so I grabbed a trike. Made me a smoothie and then hit the sack. Fitbit says I was asleep at 8:30. That’s the way this old man rolls these days.

Yesterday the Wednesday Walkers, all three of us, took a 9K stroll around the Naugsol valley. My lungs are still acting up, so my compadres accommodated me with a mostly flat trail. It was a beautiful day yesterday, and I think we all enjoyed it. I took a shitload of pictures, and here they are:

My evening hours were filled with the feeding at Hideaway (chicken and pork) and some time at Whiskey Girl on the way home.

Joshua wound up having to go to the Cebu consulate to get his visa processed. Apparently, the Korean embassy in Manila is currently backlogged, and he would have had to wait two more weeks. He rented a scooter in Cebu, has been exploring the island, and appears to be enjoying himself.

Rumor has it the floating bar on Baloy has now opened, and I’m going to venture out that way this afternoon to find out for myself. See you here tomorrow.